Social Justice, and my opinion thereof

God recently put me in a really intriguing position for a period of about four months back in the late summer and autumn. I was able to help shape and focus a church's Serve Ministry team. This was a rewarding experience, because I learned so much of what was going on in my backyard, with regards to homelessness, poverty, and general societal brokenness. I know how to help others be involved, and I know about really amazing ministries, that are doing things out in the community.
But one of my favorite parts about the those four months was all of the learning I did about why we serve.

learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.

-Isaiah 1:17

That scripture makes me think of a song, Courageous, which has a lyric that goes "Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God". I liked that lyric so much that I taped it to the back of my iPod, to remind me of my true purpose here on earth: to shine a light. 

There's a part in the gospels where Jesus is talking about love for him, and talks of serving others because by doing so, we're serving Him. Christ even calls us to be feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, etc. 

Wow. Where was I when we covered that in church? Because it never spoke to me the way it did when I was reading that portion in private study. And here's the thing that throws me, consistently: if the church is a gathering of Christians, and Christians are called to serve... then why aren't churches serving? I look at a lot of the churches in the KC area, and I see a lot of "programs". There's sports, awanas, sponsored schools. But where are the soup kitchens, and the food drives. Are we serving the sick, the hungry, the poor?

Image found here

Resolutions and the New Year

I've always been a pretty enthusiastic New Year's resolution type. I've always picked at least one big one and a handful of smaller ones. But as I spent time pondering the idea of resolving to be a better person simply because the calendar is turning over, I realized: this year, I really don't want to make "resolutions", I want to make changes.

I promise not to spend this entire post being completely overwhelmingly cheesy.

But it's a thought, right? That so much of the time, we're so busy thinking of what we'd like to change, we don't actually bother to change.

I think I'll stick with monthly goals instead. As for January, my goal is to: organize five areas of life.

Well there's some room for interpretation, as you might rightly be thinking right now. But I've already accomplished one of my goals. In full. Can you say that for your resolution?

I organized the kitchen counter and a couple of cabinets. It's nothing gorgeous, it's utilitarian, non-decorated, and useful for our family space. But it works all of a sudden. I'm not overwhelmed with clutter when I try to cook. I have place for things. And we managed to sort through things we don't need anymore. We've also resolved to put extra dishes that we don't need in storage. It's nice to have them in case something breaks (especially pyrex, I love pyrex), but we don't need them all in the cabinets.

And I felt so accomplished. I've never felt that way about a resolution. But a itty-bitty, tiny goal.... yes, that I've got the capability to manage.

Images found here, and here