Dessert or Protein?

**UPDATE**(we'll call this "Icing on the Dessert") since I posted this, another precious friend KE sent me an email telling me that she has challenged all of her friends to donate $50. She's working it from her end. Now, THAT's WHAT I'M TALKIN' BOUT! Praise ye, Jesus!

If you're here for the dessert, here it is. Today, I have received emails from friends HW and KH each pledging $1,000. So....that makes $2,000 for the cause, not counting my own contribution of $1,000....so if my math is correct.....that is $3,000 so far. That is in less than 24 hours. I am ecstatic.

I received other emails pledging to send something and to notify me soon of those amounts. One sweet friend, PS, asked if it is okay to send $20? HECK YEA, y'all. It all adds up and quite frankly, my suspicion is that we'll need tons of smaller contributions to pull this off. So please, bring it on. 2 other friends have pledged to donate money tomorrow. I'm just as giddy as a kid on the way to Disneyworld....except that I'm a full grown woman on the way to my kitchen. Not that exciting.

If you are here for the protein, here it is. I have received some phone calls today, text messages and emails that have applauded me for my efforts. It is called different things.... love for God, love for orphans, etc. I could EASILY let my head get big over this, but I truly have no desire for that. I have met these kids personally. I have held their hands, kissed their sweet faces, prayed with them and they have prayed over me. I have walked in their dirt lawns and sat in the floors of their orphanage homes. I have been there. How could I NOT go to bat for these precious people? But actually there is really only one fair answer. God planned this for me to tackle. He made this my duty as part of His mission and purpose. He is probably preparing me for more of this because I am fairly defiant that I am not going to spend the rest of my life asking people to give money for this or that.

I am a Christian. I know that not all of you are. I know that. And never when I write, do I assume that you are all going to agree with my beliefs. But I still have to act out according to what I believe, and in whom I have faith.

So there is this message in Ephesians. A truth that Christians need to understand. When I exercised faith in God, God saved me by His grace. My faith leads to Him giving me grace, His grace. I am not saved by good deeds or good works. I am not His because I say please and thank you and open doors for the elderly. I am not going to Heaven because I went to Africa. And I am not "good" because I raise money for a truck. In fact, the bible says in Ephesians chapter #2 that (1) I am God's workmanship. (2) I was created in Christ Jesus TO DO good works (3) those good works that I do were prepared by GOD himself in advance. So, if I'm reading this and interpreting this correctly, it was not my idea to serve orphans. It was God's idea all along that He planned for me and He has led me to do so. He called me to be obedient, and I had a choice about that.... but He also gave me a Spirit of Himself to dwell within me to encourage me to make those right, obedient decisions.

I want you to be excited and encouraged about my efforts. I do. But I want you to be excited for the right reasons. That by God's grace He has vowed to save you if you can exercise a little faith in Him through Christ. He has prepared awesome works for you to do....planned them long in advance of your existence. And He will find a way to speak to you, to give you purpose, and hope and He will relentlessly pursue you until you are obedient to His calling. He will equip you. He shares His power even....the same power that resurrected Christ. And He will reward your service and obedience. Some of your rewards will show up here on this earth, in the form of precious relationships, answered prayers, victories, and heart smiles. Some rewards will be preserved for your arrival into the Heavenlies. We have no idea the rewards in store for us there. It's all about mission. Be on mission for God. What does He need accomplished here? How do you fit in? You do. I promise.

What really got me dwelling on this particular cause, for me to bring awareness and raise enough money for Mrs. Maruta to buy a truck was the span of a calendar. Maybe it is the American way, or part of the dream that we don't realize. But I can pretty much bet that if there is something I need today, I will have it within a year. I need a new laptop for example. Desperately. Today is February 16, 2010. If I am patient and do it right, I will probably have to wait 6 months to replace my broken one. But if I really wanted to, I could purchase one on credit today. I take for granted all of the time that whether smartly or stupidly, I can get just about anything I want. When I heard the prayer in December 2008 for a truck to bless their lives, I would never have believed that one year later they would still be praying. When I heard the same prayer 1 year later.....my stupid head was like, "REALLY?" "Y'all are STILL praying for truck?" Well, of course they are. They are in Zimbabwe, not Tennessee. They rely on donations, not wages. They don't have credit for such purchases. They need someone like me to step off of my pride post and shout "HELP" to as many people as can hear me, and pray like a crazy woman on my face in the middle of the floor, and sit back and trust the God of the universe to provide. They needed my voice and they needed your ears. And the coolest thing to me...(goose bumps just crawled up my body)......is that God knew all along. He planned this in advance for me to carry. He knew it would freak me out. He knew it would even make me a little angry. And He knew I'd wait another 86 days after the entire year I waited because I didn't even seem to care.

Sometimes our mission can seem fuzzy. Sometimes it's crystal clear. This is my crystal. And if you are so called, it is your crystal too.

I have failed 3 times to give my address. It is 6840 Bridgewater Drive, Nashville, TN 37221