Stepping Stones of Life

Stepping Stones

Stepping-stone
A stone to raise the feet above the surface of water or mud in walking.
A means of progress or advancement.

"There is a reason for this step
It's building a bigger whole
Keep on in the process
There is purpose for it all"
-Loren Thornburg

I feel as though I am crossing a river. Papa is having me cross this river one step at a time, one stone at a time. You see, I was on the bank in New Haven and He wanted me to leave and cross the river. A river that is bringing healing and wholeness to my heart. A river that is testing me. A river that is taking me deep in Him. A river that is preparing me for His purpose.
So, He had me step out on to the Transit Training stone. A stone that brought me to the end of myself in the corn fields of Madison, WI. From that stone I leaped on to a solid safe stone, HOME! The home stone was a big one and a safe one. Home was place where Papa brought more healing and wholeness to my heart. I kinda wanted to camp there but, when I got to comfortable He placed another stone in my path. A stone that would lead me to the ocean near Tijuana, Mexico. I did not stay on that stone long cause it was a bit unstable. The Tijuana stone brought a bit of testing. I must admit I failed the test a few times, but Papa told me that He had more grace for me then I did for myself. The stone I am on now is a leadership training stone in LA. On this stone I feel as though I am in the deepest part of the river. A place where Papa has wanted me. So, I will camp here a bit and go deep with my first Love and enjoy the deepest part of the river.

When Papa leads me to the next stone I will write more.

The safe place

"I have come to see that we Christians are not called to safety, but we are promised that God will be with us when we are in danger and there is no better place to be than in the hands of God. Perhaps the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safety and comfort."
--Shane Claiborne

A friend sent me this quote after I emailed about my time here in Tijuana. One of our staff was walking home at 9:30 at night and got mugged. She should not have been walking alone.


I woke up one morning thinking about the safe places in life and the quote. I was thinking about how I asked for prayers for our safety, when I should have asked for prayers for the violence to end here and this place to become a safe place for all who live and work here.

I am in the hands of God no matter where I am in the world, the red light district of Pune, feeding orphans in South Africa, Starbucks at home, on one of my walks, or in downtown Tijuana prayer walking, etc... When I am in the not so safe places I find myself leaning into the hands of God and depending on the leading of the Holy Spirit.

So, I do ask that you pray for Tijuana, Mexico. The violence here is affecting the poor. It is affecting Homes of Hope. Many teams are not going to come a build houses because of the news reports of the violence. It is sad to me that the enemy is using fear to keep families from receiving homes.

My challenge to myself and others is to remember we are in the hands of God and instead of always praying for our safety, lets pray for the not so safe places God send us to. Let's pray for the violence to end. And may we not give in to the fear of the enemy!!

Cupcakes and Cans

Cupcakes and Cans some of the little things!

Who would have thought that cupcakes could help build homes for orahans in South Africa or that recyling cans could build water wells for villages in Africa.

The little things really do make a difference!

I am friends with two amazing guys who are making a difference by using the little things in their hands to help children in Africa. One I have already written about and he is Ty, my nephew. Since Nov. of last year we have collected cans from ditches, parking lots, trash cans, work, and friends. He has made about $165.00 and has sent it to The Mission: Water for Life a James Robinson ministry. They are building water wells and there is a company matching all funds sent for this project. It is about four or five thousand dollars to build one well.

"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." (Isaiah 41:17)

4500 children die each day form unsafe water and a lack of sanitation facilities. This should not be!! Please don't waste water!

The other guy is someone I work for. He is giving ten cents off of every cupcake we sale to an organization call Ten Thousand Homes in South Africa. Just ten cents can make a difference. In about six weeks time we sold just about enough cupcakes to build one home. We are also collecting change, because we believe our change and change someones world. It can actually build a home for a family, cause all the little things add up!

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." (James 1:27)

The question is: What are the little things you can be doing to make a difference in someones life?

Think about it and ask God to show you the little things in your hands!! Then, take action!

The Little Things!

"There are many of us willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things." -D.L. Moody

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."
- Mother Teresa


Little Things (a song by JJ Heller)

There are not enough minutes in the day
I am crippled by the thought of wasting time
I don't have enough money to heal the poor
So I don't want to try

But it's the little things that make a difference
It's the little things that show love
It's the little things
A simple cup of water that can change the world
That can save our sons and daughters

I'll be praying for the widow all alone
Sewing clothes for a loaf of bread
It is not my fault that she is hungry
It's my joy to make sure she's fed

We are all related children of the King
We may not have much, but what we have we bring.

The Glory of God

The Glory of God

MAN

Fully Alive

Kathyrn

pure

All God's

The power of a creative life

live to tell your story

FREE TO BE ME

Writing for the soul

daughter

A life that says

WELCOME

My Story

life outreach

living

photography

grab coffee

prayer

justice

Relationship with God

life today

THE TRUTH: God Loves

me.

In the Beginning

IN THE BEGINNING

GOD

The Giver of Life

in love

With No Regrets

Straight From The Heart

Has made everything beautiful in it's time

By Grace

Changing the World

One Life

At A Time

LOVE!

Does it make a difference?

Poverty and hunger have a face and a name for me. I have seen it in the eyes of people I have had the honor to meet in Africa and India and Mexico and the projects of New Orleans and the homeless of New York City.

I don't like to waste food, because of my time spent in other countries and these cities.

I was recently challenged, by a statement that said it won't make a difference if you eat that or not to a someone starving in another country. I have wrestled with that a bit and bounced it off a few people.

I don't waste cause I think if we all just took what was just enough, then maybe we might have enough to feed the world.

Maybe if we were not so wasteful and we were good stewards of what God gave us, then we could see not only relief, but development for those who are dying do to starvation.

How much food is wasted each day? How much is over consumed each day here in our super size it have it your way western world?

**Please Note, this is a work in progress and I will add more as I continue to process this out and pray. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Here is some of the more. I found this article this morning and wanted to share some of it.

"Happy is one who cares for the poor; the Lord will save him in a day of adversity. (Psalm 41:1)"

"According to the United Nations, about 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes. That's one person every three and a half seconds. Unfortunately, it is children who die most often. There are and estimated 1.o8 billion poor people in developing countries who live on $1 a day or less (Global Poverty Monitoring, World Bank). Of these, an estimated 798 million suffer from chronic hunger. (http://www.worldhunger.org/)"

"We are told throughout the Bible to care for the poor and to provide food for the hungry. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus made it clear that when we care for the poor, we are caring for Him. In helping the poor and the hungry, we are spending our time and resources on things that are close to the heart of God."

"During my prayer time, I asked the Lord to show me what He wanted me to do to help the hungry people around the world. I knew that with the money we could save by not wasting so much food we could help others who were in desperate need. And I knew we could give even more that that." (take from Journey magazine)

**Still praying about this. Maybe I need to give up my Starbucks and super sized eating habits and fast and pray and see where I could send the extra money to help the poor. Even if it is only for a day that someone gets a meal. A meal that I might take for granted for myself. I think in God's economy it would be worth it.