A Glimpse of Hope

I must say, today I saw a glimpse of hope.

Last week I went to a local pizza shop to get some pizza and support Uganda. If you brought a 'coupon' with you, then 20% of your money went to Uganda (I wish you didn't have to have a coupon, and 20% of all the revenue from that day went to support Uganda). But anyway, There were people (supporting project have hope) selling beads which are handmade by the Acholi tribe in Uganda, which supports education and helps sustain villages. I didn't have enough cash with me, so they told me they would be selling the bead jewelry november 13th (today) at UD's student center.

I went today to buy some goodies for my sister for christmas, and for my girlfriend since it's our anniversary tomorrow. I talked with the people at the kiosk for a while. I asked them what organizations they are involved with, and they told me Uganda Untold and the Invisible Children. I told them I was very interested in joining their group, because I think it's about time for me to actually do something. I must say I haven't been involved with social activism really, but I know that it's the will of God to help people around the world.

Anyway, I saw somebody drinking some Undawater, which is distributed through a mission team of the church I attend Circle of Hope. It costs a dollar for a bottle of water and that dollar provides somebody with fresh drinking water for a whole month!!! I got really excited! "Hey where did you get that water!!!" They told me they got it at the Gulu Walk in Philly. I told them that my church is involved with distributing the water. They asked me if I knew how to get a hold of some. They said they would like to get a hold of some to sell. So I told them I could probably arrange that.

The moral of the story here is that I saw a glimpse of hope today. I am usually a pretty cynical person when it comes to the world. I see how messed up everything is and it gets me down. But after today, I really believe that there is Hope and that God wants us to turn hope into a reality. If we can help develop education for people in Uganda, and supply people with a month's worth of drinking water with only a dollar, then maybe it is possible for God's kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

check out these sites for more info:

www.projecthavehope.org

www.undawater.com/

www.invisiblechildren.com

Uganda Untold (University of Delaware)

What's Your Theological Worldview?

I saw that our friend adam took this quiz. So i decided to take it as well. Some of the questions were hard to answer, and I don't know if I'm 21 percent Roman Catholic, and i think i should be 0% fundamentalist rather than 21%, but it was fun. I also have no idea how i got 79% charismatic/pentecostal Please take it and post your results in either our comments section or on our page. The guy in the picture is Brian Mclaren, who i'm reading right now. I thought that was funny!

What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 93% Charismatic/Pentecostal 79% Neo orthodox 75% Classical Liberal 57% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 50% Modern Liberal 36% Fundamentalist 21% Roman Catholic 21% Reformed Evangelical 11%

This got me fired up.

I just read something that really upset me. I was reading through Brian McLaren's book: Everything Must Change, and i stumbled across a figure blew my mind. He's talking about US military budget. I'll just quote from the book:

"The 2006 budget showed that US military expenditures were twenty-one times larger than diplomacy and foreign aid combined, and that the United States was dead last among the most developed nations in foreign aid as a percentage of gross domestic product. One wonders what would happen if good-hearted Americans realized that a mere 10 percent of the US military budget, if reinvested in foreign aid and development, could care for the basic needs of the entire world's poor. Or if they realized that one-half of 1 percent of the US military budget would cut hunger in Africa in half by 2015. Would there be marches in the streets calling for budgetary reform?"

These figures are disturbing. How can this be? What bothers me the most is the lack of people that realized this. Especially so called followers of Jesus. Think about these hungry children next time you pay your taxes.

I'm embarrassed to live in this country

Tolerance

Tolerance is something I've struggled with for a long long time. In high school i was always hating on the jocks and preps, and people who conformed to the norms. When I entered college, I judged everyone who got wasted every weekend, and I couldn't stand how slutty some of the girls dressed. I had the wrong attitude for far too long.

Last spring it hit me. I realized that Christians are some of the most judgmental people. How can this be? I had fallen into this same trap. Followers of Christ are called NOT to judge. Jesus himself said "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven". I think we all need to listen to His words here.

Ever since I had this epiphany last spring, I have tried my hardest to respect all people and to love everyone, and it has really has been working out for me. I do not hate anyone anymore. This is coming from a person who used to be extremely cynical, but now I have forgiven everyone and I live a much more enjoyable life.

Try it!