Anyways, he came to the Tampa area a while back so we decided to see him in person. I wasn't too thrilled initially about the location which was the Clear Water, Fl area. Fortunately the drive was uneventful there and back even if a bit longer than expected (I do grown/moan/complain about Tampa traffic). The event itself was well worth the time and money. He is so very funny but also has a side we had not seen on the videos. He called on the crowd to sponsor children through Child Fund (https://www.childfund.org/) where he sponsors a few children (I think he said 6!). We decided to go ahead and do the same (er, 1 child right now that is) so we are sponsoring a girl in the Philippines.
We received a little letter from "our girl" a little while back and it was such a sweet note. Child Fund recommends writing and learning about each other. The sad part is that I have been dragging my feet in regards to writing her a letter. For a while, I just chalked it up to being busy - and at times I am. I've started to figure out what is probably the bigger reason though. It isn't because we have nothing to say but is more about feeling guilty when we admit to ourselves that we have such an overabundance of so many things compared to this little girl and her family. One of the hardest decisions we make during the week is which restaurant do we want to go to. Contrast that to mothers who have to pick which child gets food each day. Our lives are very drastically different.
We were going to send a large shoe box sized bunch of stuff to our girl - colored pencils, paper, containers to put stuff but after getting it all and then checking the Child Fund site - it said it was only really feasible to send flat stuff like letters, pictures, etc. It indicated that this was due to cost and "duty" fees or similar things - basically not very cost effective. I'm still tempted to try but we'll see. In the mean time, I'm trying to shake the embarrassment of "having too much" so I can write her and encourage her to love Jesus and pursue her dreams. I think she mentioned maybe teaching someday.
And by the way, Mark Lowry is a Christian comedian and unapologetic about it! You can get more info about him or find his store at: https://marklowry.com/.
It is kinda funny - when we went to see Mark Lowry, we ended up parking "on the wrong side" of the building.. wrong only in the sense we had to walk a bit more but it was easier to get out afterwards though. I wish I had known this ahead of time because we walked by Mark's transportation I think - I think it would have been hilarious to leave some funny notes etc for him. Oh well, missed an opportunity that probably would simply had led to my embarrassment anyways.
I'm just grateful that he is around sharing Jesus message using such a great medium and prompting everyone to do more than "help themselves".
Hebrews 6:10
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Hebrews 13:16
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hope God blesses you and you use your blessings for others!
Scott
