In light of Haiti's plight, many people long to help out by giving monetarily however, there are countless scams that make giving difficult. Who can you trust?  If you want to give but don't know where to begin aside from the Red Cross, check out  Three Angel's Children's Relief.  Three Angel's Children's Relief operates a children's orphanage that happens to be  located 11 miles from the recent earthquake. The good news is the children are safe!  The bad news is they are in dire need of supplies.

As Christians, we take the words of Isaiah seriously - chapter 61 reads,"the Lord has anointed me to...proclaim the year of the Lord's favor... and provide for those who grieve in Zion—They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities." We take God at his word when he says that we are his hands and his feet that will rebuild when chaos hits.  Right now, Haiti is a far cry from resembling Zion; the land is broken and the people are dying by the thousands. Let us pray that those who are experienced in disaster relief be strengthened for the work ahead. Let us pray that the medical personell be fortified with wisdom and courage it takes to restore the wounded back to good health.  May God's presence  refresh and "bind up the brokenhearted" and may we continue this prayer without ceasing.

My mother-in-law sent us an email this morning that blew my socks off. Well, actually, I'm wearing flip-flops but you get my point.  She said, "The fruit of the Spirit is not to make us look good, but to make the Father look good." You mean its not about us?  But wait a minute, I go to church and prayer meeting and eat tofu... Doesn't that count?

So often we get wrapped up in our human-DOing instead of  human-BEing, that we forget the essentials to abundant living.  After Elijah got busy on Mt. Carmel, God visited his zealous friend in a cave. God did not come in the wind, earthquake or fire but in a still small voice. This gentle approach astonished the prophet for after all, he had just hacked 450 heathens to death for idolatry. No wonder he was depressed.  Fighting fire with fire has never worked but sharing the fruit at God's table certainly does. When do you think this truth hit Elijah like a ton of bricks and  wouldn't you  have loved to have been there to share in his joy?

When we demonstrate  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, we cannot but help make an impact on those around us.  We can get pretty puffed up, even to the point of thinking its our hand that ultimately made the difference. Newsflash! The fruits  of the Spirit are not about dolling us up or creating super-fly-sugarcoated personalities - no way. God wants us to be real - like Him.  Jesus addressed this authenticity in Matthew 5:48, "Therefore you shall be perfect as my father in heaven is perfect."  God himself invented this natural principle we call the fruits of the Spirit  and he knows that we must first be true  (perfect) to ourselves in order to be true to Him and others. We are loving,kind and compassionate because he was loving, kind and compassionate with us first (1 John 4:19).

2010 is here and  while we make and break resolutions, our God is constant.  The good news is that now more than ever, no matter what obstacles we meet, we - as Christians - are determined to share the Good Word about God's character. Eden's Bridge encapsulates how this Good Word travels in spite of ill health, personal betrayals, natural catastrophe or economic and political mayhem.  In their song, "The Way Goes On" we can be inspired in our walk here and now and be reminded of our privilege to serve - not judge or condemn -  humanity.  As you listen in, follow the lyrics and think of how your life has impact on planet earth as a citizen of heaven and child of God. 

"The wanderers and the pilgrims sought to share Your precious Word and to travel in Your footsteps was their purpose and their goal.  But the journey lies beyond the heart in a deeper faith.  And the road goes on into the light as we seek Your face.  And the way goes on across the oceans through the deep woods and the desert and the way goes on in the seeking of my spirit into tomorrow.  Alone inside my empty cell I search for You in the silence a road to life art thou O Lord and at journey's end lies my dwelling."

And The Way goes on...