I spent 3 blissful hours there with my good friends and my wife. I shuffled off to work, did 10 hours in “the tank” and drove right back to church for another 1.5 hours of worship.
Totality of my day bracketed by worship at Shiloh. I loved it. I even shot some of my patented “shaky-cam” video on Saturday night just to share with you. This is the Shiloh Choir. It does focus after a few seconds. Have a blessed day. That’s what it did for me. I hope it does the same for you.
If you were wondering “Why does he have so many different youtube.com channels?” The answer is that I’m a moron and I set the one on the phone up and then couldn’t find it so I built a second one. I’ll fix that some day. Like now. But I already burned the bandwidth to upload this so there it is.
We’re nine weeks into Sponsorship Sunday and it’s time to open a little segment of my heart on this topic. It’s awfully easy to become jaded to the needs of others when you are bombarded with requests for donations day after day. I know that I’ve been that way all my life. Still am, for the most part. Here’s a hint to charities – Once I send you some money, back off for a while. I have a rule that I never donate to a charity that nags me. Fortunately for most of them, my wife screens the mail. I’m a bit of a Scrooge when I find too many requests for help. Use the postage money to support the cause!
I hope this weekly column doesn’t have that impact on anyone in the audience. It would be a shame if it did, as I think it’s pretty low key. You can read it or not, I keep it on the same day each week, it’s never snuck in under the tent’s edge.
Today I’d like to tell you what those kids mean to me at Grace Village. I deal with thousands of little ones every year as Santa. And I can spot a phony about 2 blocks away. I met not a one of them at Grace Village.
They are the most remarkably gentle, polite, nice children you will ever deal with in your life. All of them are so grateful for the love and care they get from the teachers and missionaries at that center. God truly works with them and their staff. Just typing the words I am awestruck by the kindness and love that abounds in that place.
Orphanage is a bad word in the United States. It is in many parts of Haiti as well. But Grace Village is an oasis of Christ’s love in a troubled country. I love those kids. I love the staff. If I wasn’t married with a job and responsibilities I’d ask to be sent there as a staff member today. I could easily spend all of my days there until God calls me home.
Yes, it’s that annointed. Please take a few minutes and pray about your ability to help these beautiful kids. I’ve met most of them you read about here and I’d consider it a personal blessing to hear from Jeff Gacek that they’ve been getting sponsors from this blog. I know my audience is a good group. Your emails touch me greatly every day. I will never use my lists or influence to nag for funds. I appreciate the voluntary nature of our relationship and will continue to respect that gift you give to me.
Be blessed and consider sponsoring Isaac and his extended “family” at Grace Village. I know my sponsorship of two little girls is a huge plus in my life. I wish the same joy for you.
Isaac once had the opportunity to learn to ride a bike and says it’s his favorite thing to do. Isaac came to Grace Village with his brother Romual and they both remain close to one another. Isaac would like to be an engineer some day so he puts a lot of effort into his studies, especially math. Isaac’s prayer request is for his family.
Isaac came to Healing Haiti in September, 2008. Isaac and his brother Romual are orphans, both or their parents are deceased.
Birth Info
Birthdate: September 26, 1999
Place of Birth: Cap-Hatien, Haiti
It is my hope that one of you will find your heart touched by this child and take up a bit of Christ’s work by sponsoring them for an extended period. My wife and I are sponsoring a pair of sisters and I look at it this way – I only gave up a fast-food dinner each day to change the life of a child. Healing Haiti will do the right things for these children and I have full confidence in their work. I am not affiliated with them, they don’t endorse this blog, nothing like that at all. I just love kids (can’t be Santa and not love children) and know that Grace Village is the difference between life and death for many of these children. Please open your heart and prayerfully reflect on the opportunity God’s giving us to sponsor these children. Some of them have come out of slavery and have some of the toughest lives you could imagine prior to Grace Village.
The scourge of all things flying was at her best yesterday. I took a few minutes of “shaky-cam” video on my phone and put it up here on Youtube.com. I have it below for your enjoyment.
Well now, that got your interest. It will take a day or two for them to get back to me. But the winner was selected by a careful process this morning – I asked my mom to pick a number between 1 and 10. She picked 7.
Odd meant down, even meant up. So I went to my list of subscribers and counted 1/2 way down. Then I went down 7 more. And that’s how the winner was chosen.
I did notice something worth mentioning – A lot of people signed up to subscribe but never sent back the confirmation email. So, if you would like to subscribe it’s pretty easy to do it right here and now.
Just click on the box over on the right. They’ll ask you for your email. You fill that in and they will send you a confirmation email. You have to click the link saying that you want the subscription. If you don’t, they won’t send you another. That prevents your friends from signing you up for free subscriptions to The Watchtower and it’s online version. Or worse yet, my blog.
So, I’ll announce the winner as soon as they respond. And if you’re reading this here blog and your email starts with the letters ma… look for an email from me today. I’ve already sent it.
And, no, my mommy didn’t win the cookbook. But I’ll probably send her one anyway. Out of my own pocket.
Famous Dave’s new cookbook: Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook
My thanks to Famous Dave Anderson for doing the interview last week and for graciously signing his new cookbook for our winner. Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook. So hit the subscription box on the right to be eligible for our next contest!
When this posts, 0742 Central Daylight Savings Time, you will have 18 minutes left to subscribe to the blog (box on the right) and be eligible for the contest. Yes, a final chance. I will be notifying the winner via email and once they contact me in return I will announce their name.
Famous Dave’s new cookbook: Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook
Just another reminder, If you are a subscriber to the blog you are eligible to win a copy of Famous Dave’s new cookbook: Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook. So hit the subscription box on the right and say a prayer!
Now that the tub thumping is complete we can talk about the dog.
Stormy is not properly named. Cringer might be more accurate. Especially when you have a thunderstorm.
For the last week we’ve had wicked storms in the Twin Cities. I know she doesn’t like thunder so I’ve been bringing her upstairs to bed instead of putting her in her box at night. That way she can be secure when the show starts.
The net result is that after my convalescence from surgery and a week of bad weather the girl is more firmly in my heart than ever before. On several occasions she’s hopped up on the bed to be near me at the peak of the storm. If it wasn’t raining she’d be sticking her nose in the corner and ignoring me.
Nose in the corner.
Not the case anymore. On two different occasions I’ve fallen asleep with her sleeping next to me on the bed, my arm draped over her warm little body. She lies there staring straight ahead and flinching when the thunder strikes. I’ve had a few sleepless nights comforting her during those storms. I can sleep when I die. This is premium bonding time.
As a result I’m getting eye contact. And requests for pets. And a general sense that she’s actually enjoying my company. It started to get better when I was on leave as my knee healed. But this last week has been special. I don’t mind losing the sleep if it calms her down. And I genuinely like the warmth of her laying next to me.
I am blessed to be able to give her that love. I know that she’s not trusting. She’s not able to give her heart to me at this point. But every time it rains I get blessings from Heaven.
What blessings do you get when it “rains” in your life?
