This morning we talked about the passage in Mark 3 when Jesus kind of dissed his family and instead stated that his family was those who do the will on God. We talked about priorities and the tension between being willing to give up everything to follow God and providing a good living for your family. Do you move your family to a trailer park or the ghetto to be a positive force, or is this dangerous and unfair to your family?

Is it simply a matter of perspective? Or is it about living more intentionally? Maybe you should just pray and read your Bible more?

Thoughts?

We received very sad news from A & J in South Africa. They witnessed a horrific car accident involving their close friends. Please pray for them, Marilyn Cook, and the Cook family. There is more information at www.feedlesideng.com.

May God fill their emptiness and provide healing.

If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.

But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to be meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” – Donald Miller

How do we keep the important things of our life at the forefront of our daily lives?

This week we gathered in the neighborhood park and read from Psalms 104:

“^24-30 What a wildly wonderful world, God!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
All the creatures look expectantly to you
to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around;
you open your hand and they eat from it.
If you turned your back,
they’d die in a minute—
Take back your Spirit and they die,
revert to original mud;
Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.

^31-32 The glory of God—let it last forever!
Let God enjoy his creation!”

After which we went through the entire neighborhood and park and cleaned up trash. Park, entrances, exits, sides of roads, abandoned houses, etc. It was a great day and very rewarding to see the kids so actively involved. Even the neighborhood kids joined in. One of them noting with an extreme excitement, “Oooo can I help pick up garbage too!”

Lets all remember its God’s creation and chip in to make Him proud daily of all He has given us!