My oldest daughter Avery has a request.

She does not understand why there are kids around the world that do not have food to eat, medical care, or access to education.  Her five-year-old mind doesn’t fully comprehend that our family can’t help every child, but she is truly bothered that there are hungry kids in the world.

Here is the story that my wife tells on her blog.

We were on the Compassion website looking at the little girl we sponsor. We were talking all about her country and finding pictures of other children who were waiting for a sponsor. After scrolling through page after page of un-sponsored children, Avery turned to me confused and asked

Why can’t we sponsor them all?

In that moment, as I looked into her eyes glistening with tears, I was ready to sell a kidney so we could sponsor some more kids.  Luckily, Brent was sitting next to me and began to try to explain money to her.  Her reply was

Well, what will happen to those kids if we don’t send them money?

Don’t you love how the concept of money is lost on children.  They only focus on the right thing to do, not the financial strain that might result!

We talked through how we can pray for those children and how God will provide for them.

What about your website?  Can you ask them to send money?

Yes, Avery is very persistent, some might say stubborn, and I do believe she has caught my heart for helping children in need.  So here is the request from my oldest daughter.  We know not everyone is in a position to sponsor a child every month, but her desire is for 10 children to be helped.

So what can you do?  Avery is asking:

1. Sponsor a child. Compassion makes it extremely easy to see all the un-sponsored children.  Here is a list of  all children needing sponsored. Begin sponsoring a child today.  Its only $38 a month!!
2. Donate SOMETHING. If you are not able to commit to sponsoring a child, visit Compassion and give even a small amount. At the top of their site there is a “Make a Contribution” link.  If you click on that, you can send money for anything from water filtration to AIDS initiative to wherever the greatest need is.  You can donate $5, $10, or any other amount you feel like you can handle this month. Every dollar counts. And although this money goes into a general fund and not to a specific child, with these contributions, 10 children will ultimately be helped.
3. Let Avery Know. (This one isn’t necessary but it would be neat for Avery to see her idea in motion)  After you have donated, let me know either by a comment on the blog or through an email or contact page.  I would love for Avery to see her wish of 10 children being helped come true.

Then hope shines brighter than the noon-day sun. Christ is no longer held by death, but he is alive. The power of God displayed. Death has no sting, sin has no grip; Christ took it all and overcame. The power of God knows no end or enemy it cannot conquer.

On this Easter morning, Lord I humble myself to the truth that this good news is available to even me…. everyday.

When I walk off the stage on Sunday morning it as if the sun goes down on my week. The week is finally over. When I get home laziness overwhelms me and my body longs for a couch and a remote and my eyes begin to shut.

Yesterday my cousin and her husband were visiting us, so my normal routine was a bit off. We were all talking in the kitchen when I peered into our room to see Elianna resting in our bed.

When I opened the door she jumped. This is normal for nap time. Nine out of ten times when she is supposed to be sleeping, she is playing. An open door is a sign that she is busted. But this time, I whisper, “It’s ok, Daddy wants to cuddle with you.” I climb in to the bed, pull her three, almost four-year-old body, next to mine. As she snuggled up next to me her beautiful blue eyes searched until they met mine and she said, “You are the best poppa in the world.”

My heart melted. I pulled her close, kissed the top of her head, and closed my eyes knowing I needed to remember this moment.

Having three kids all under that age of five often feels like a tornado. In the midst of trying to get everyone dressed with their shoes on and in the car, I often forget to get on their level and enjoy them. Yesterday was a reminder for me….

Take time. Get on her level. Do the things that matter to her – even if it means being a princess and holding a doll. She is worth it.

Each of my kids are different.  They feel special in different ways.  Overtime, I have identified what each kid loves. My two girls love individual time.  You can read about that here and here. Now just to take the time and do it.

So what about you? How do you make your kids feel special?

Circumstances and events can be annoying, but living in anger is misery.  When we let our anger go and blow up, or if you let your frustration fester and leave it buried in your heart and mind, life loses its joy.

Bottom line, living in anger is miserable.  Here is how I have fought it in my life.

1. Realize the impact of your anger.

Whether you blow up and yell or passively turn inwards, your anger affects those around you. Your spouse, kids, co-workers, and friends know the affects of your anger all to well. Look deep, and think about how you have affected those around you with your anger. Yikes.  That is not a very fun thought.

2. Cut it off at the pass.

Most people don’t just snap with out reason. Typically there has been a myriad of things that have piled up and one final straw will break the camel’s back. When you know you are close to blowing, take a step back. Clear your mind.  Work on something else, take a walk, punch a punching bag.  Realize that you are about to act silly and stress everyone out if you don’t stop the downward spiral of anger

3. Get a bigger perspective.

The majority of time people lose their cool over small stuff. Your kid forgets to put on their shoes and your running late, someone cuts you off in traffic, you stub your toe. All of these may be annoying, but in the grand scheme of life they are not worth losing your cool and putting everyone around you on edge.

4. Rest in God’s Sovereignty.

While the events and circumstances that cause your frustration may not make sense to you, the Lord knows every detail of your day and has allowed every thing that has taken place to take place. He is a master at turning frustrations, annoyances, and heartaches into trophies of his glory. Rest and trust in him.

So what about you?  I would love to hear how you battle anger and frustration in your life. Let’s talk in the comments below.

[Photo: Andrew]

Knocking on your neighbors door at midnight for a cup of sugar is not advisable.

But Jesus tells a story of a man, we will call him Bill, who went to his friend’s house for bread at midnight.  The friend, whom we will refer to as Jake, was in bed  and so was his entire family.  Jake did not want to get up and wake everyone.  I am imagining the houses in those days were rather small, and one person getting up would have awakened the children – if you are parent you know how annoying that can be.   It turns out Jake was finally urged out of bed not because of deep friendship but because of Bill’s impudence to come and beat down the door at midnight.  (Luke 11:5-13)

Don’t worry, I didn’t know what impudence meant until I looked it up. It is a peculiar word that in the original language means, “lack of sensitivity to what is proper.”

In other words, Bill had a need for bread because a guest was on their way, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get some bread. He came to the door and made some noise until he got what he came for.

I don’t know about you, but a lot of time when I pray, I pray wimpy prayers – almost like I am a beggar just hoping God will care for me.  NO!  Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock – and to do it boldly.  We are sons and daughters, and He likes to give us good gifts!

Go pray.  Be bold.  You Father loves you.

[Image: Cavin]

Most of us seek to be great.  God just wants us to be useful.

We define greatness by those with a lot of exposure - the ones who have record deals, book deals, and  lead worship at big churches.

God defines greatness by those who are useful – the ones who follow where he leads them, are available when he calls, and serve where he puts them.

Confusing greatness and usefulness is a disease that leads to comparison, discontentment, and years of useless striving.

Relax and enjoy the road God has you on.  The ones who God has used the most in history are those who were useful, not great.

[Image: Beverly & Pack]

I have a great friend who has spent the last 3 years in law school.  He does not have grand visions of being a well-payed trial lawyer – he wants to serve the Kingdom of God in the area of Justice.  He picked up his family, moved states, and jumped into an excruciating and expensive curriculum to follow where God called him.

A couple months back he took the bar exam, and many of us prayed for him.  I can’t imagine the pressure of recalling the knowledge for the examen, but also the pressure of passing to validate the investment of three years in law school.

Last week I got an email from him on the eve of finding out his results. It was an incredible manifesto on being thankful.  Here is the end of  his message.

I wanted to write you all before I receive the bar news because if the news is good I don’t want you for one moment to think that my Thanksgiving is dependent on such blessing, for my Thanksgiving depends on its object: God himself. And if the news is bad, remember my thanksgiving depends on the God who lends me breath, so I will be thankful.

I am sure it has been a process, but he has figured out how to be thankful in all circumstances. Awesome!

What about you?  How do you wrestle with God’s command to be thankful in all circumstances?

I love this video because it reminds me to never give up no matter how many times I fall. I am not talking about being stubborn, bull-headed, or inflexible – that is a result of pride.  I am talking about knowing what God has called you to do and never letting go of it no matter how hard or how many times you fall.

The greatest successes that I have had are a result of knowing what God had called me to and sticking with it.  A lot of the time, if not most, people did not understand.  But I knew that God had called me.

So, the only way I know not to give up:

Know Gods calling in your life, and let his grace pick you up when you fall.

As I laid my head down to go to sleep , after Kari and I had spent five minutes talking about what I should do next, I found the secret.

Prayer.

Before I fell asleep, I began to pray, “God you know these people, you know the situations, you know I need to hear back from them. Would you please work in the ways only you can.  You can do more in 5 minutes that I can do in 5 years with all my tasks.  Please Lord work in this situation.”

The next day both people emailed me back.

God is still alive and on his throne. I’m learning to quit stressing and just pray!

The hardest thing you will ever do is not start a business, start a church, run a marathon, get through a rocky period in your marriage, etc……

The hardest thing you will ever do is surrender your life and let the Lord have total control. Don’t fool yourself. It is a daily battle. The one time you surrendered at a conference or camp counts; its good, but it needs to be like that everyday.

Relax, Christ in you does all the hard work. You need to surrender and let him.