V-Day: Camino de Cruces

On Valentine's day Heidi and I went on an awesome hike with friends on a trail here called, Camino de Cruces. This trail is OLD. It was used by the Spaniards back in the 1500's to haul their loot across the isthmus of Panama. You can still hike the trail from Panama City, on the Pacific (south) side of Panama, to Colon, on the Caribbean (north) side. I have to say that this was one of the best Valentine's day holidays that I have had. Not just because we didn't spend money, but because Heidi and I were able to enjoy nature together and do something we like to do.

These two pictures below are from the top of a waterfall that is dried up right now. When rainy season comes, we've been told it is extremely powerful and beautiful. We got close to the edge and it was a long way down; don't let the picture fool you! All and all it was a beautiful day topped off with a Spaghetti dinner at home! What did you do for V-day?

40 days of Water

Today I want to talk about a commitment that my household has made. Heidi and I, and Carissa, have decided that for 40 days we will drink nothing but water as our beverage of choice at meals or at any other time of the day. This means that we won't drink a morning coffee, have a coke with lunch, and that when we travel we will have to do our best to ignore Starbucks. But we are committed to and can do it.

The idea is that for the forty days (Lent) between March 1 and April 9 (the Thursday before Easter) we will be "giving up" or sacrificing all beverages, other than water, to remember those that do not have clean water in prayer. By doing this we will also be celebrating and giving thanks to God for the blessing that He has given us through water.

Water is an awesome symbol of purity to those of us who have Pure water! We believe all people should have this perception of water--as a cleansing and pure element. "...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22. We believe that all people should be guaranteed access to clean water to drink and for sanitation. We believe that water is a gift of God.

Each of us will keep track of the beverage we wanted to purchase to drink, or we will assign a value to that morning cup of coffee when we first get to work, and at the end of the 40 days we will donate what we saved to help dig clean water wells in Africa through Blood:Water Mission. We want to help this organization to give clean water to those who don't have a choice. You can learn more about the 40 days of Water by clicking on the banner above or here. If you would like to participate with us in this journey you can download this "scorecard" to keep track of the money you save by only drinking water over the "40 days of Water." You can click on the image below to be taken to a site to download the scorecard file.

So, will you take part in this with us? If so leave a comment so we can pray together for you; or send me an email, privately. We would love to see a lot of people get involved in this and see the fruits of this act of obedience. We will share with you at the end of the 40 days how much money we were able to save as a group of three (if you want to be included in the group just let me know)! We have never kept track of how much we spent on pop or coffee or milk or juice, so this could be very enlightening. (No need to be legalistic, we think it is okay to have milk in your cereal each morning). :-)

I will send a reminder on February 28th as we start the journey the following day. We believe the Lord will bless this.

Not Just Mere Mortals

Our small group just finished the last lesson in "The Truth Project" last week. There are 12 lessons overall. They were all great, but that last one really got a hold of me.

During the last lesson a man gets interviewed that has not had, by most of our standards, a desirable life. He was abused as a child, his parents divorced, he never knew if his father loved him or not. Over the course of the program (12 weeks) this man was also interviewed on different topics and I thought nothing of it. I thought he was just a punk, tattoo-artist, that thought whatever he wanted to think and will never come around. Man, isn't that a boastful, prideful way for a Christian to think?

That man, isn't just a mere mortal. He has a soul that will go to an eternal place someday. He doesn't know Jesus. My heart broke.

Just think, if every time we interacted with a person we would remember that they are not just a mere mortal? How would we treat people differently? Would our priorities change? Or would we just feel bad about ourselves and for them?

The other day I wrote a Facebook status complaining about how a the customer service lady in front of me was taking her sweet old time. She was sending text messages and answering her cell phone. I spent at least 2 hours sitting across from her at her desk. I didn't once share the gospel with her. I never once thought of her as someone that is either going to have eternal life or eternal damnation. God, change my mind set and attitude to always be aware of the constant battle for the souls of your creation, your children! May we be a people preoccupied with the things of God, sharing with others what living in relationship with Christ truly means!