Getting "Radical" On My Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday today.  Got some nice gifts, thoughtful cards, text messages, phone calls and many well wishes from my Facebook buddies.  I feel very blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and am truly grateful.  As I sat down to write this I was drawn to the usual birthday post; picture of the cake, blowing out candles, opening presents etc....but my heart needed to speak, and it needed to speak of different things.

  One of the reasons I always scrapbooked and now blog is so that I can keep a record of our life.  I am the curator of my families museum if you will?  In the past these memories have pretty much been about the fun events we have shared or trips we have taken but as I am getting older I realize that I also want my children to have some of the "other" stories as well.   I want to go back 20 years from now and be reminded of what was going on in my life at 44 years of age and not just where I went for dinner on my birthday.   I don't want to forget what God was doing in my life at that time.

Last September I picked up our church newspaper.  As I was flipping through the articles one stood out to me.  It was a review of a book entitled  Radical:Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream by David Platt.  I felt a nudging in my Spirit to buy this book.  The message was something God wanted me to hear.  I purchased the book a few days later and began reading it.  It's a small book.  Only 219 pages.  But the message was powerful.  The message was difficult to hear.  The message was impossible for me to ignore.  I started crying about Chapter 2 and finished the book in tears on my knees before God.  When I was finished with the book I had a choice to make, go on with life as usual or change.  I chose change.  Change is never easy.

One of the things the author encouraged was to read through the entire Bible.  I did so this year.

I could never tell all of what the book says but basically what I took from it was this, there are more than 1 billion people in the world who live and die in desperate poverty.  There are more than twenty six thousand children today who will breathe their last breath due to starvation or a preventable disease.  The latest statistics show that there are 147 million orphans in the world at this moment.   If I am a follower of Christ and Christ said "radical" things like, "sell everything you have and give to the poor."  Then I cannot go on with life as usual.  I began praying for God to show me what he wanted from me.  For every person the answer to this question is different.  I have spent the last year, I started on my 43rd birthday, doing what the author calls the "Radical Experiment" trying to figure out what this means for me and my family.  Trying to figure out what God's desire in this area is. 

This message could not have come at a worse time.  It has been a difficult year for our family financially and it is so easy to say we don't have any extra right now, but that isn't true.  We never go to bed hungry, we have iphones with internet and cable TV.  We eat out several times a week.   We are rich compared to most of the rest of the world.   So I guess the change in me since my last birthday and reading this book has been an awareness of what I do with my money and how I view it.  It isn't my money.  It's God's.  I only manage it and I will be held accountable for how I do so.  The change that has been so hard is a mindset change.  In America we think  "more is better."   My new Radical mindset is, "giving more is better."   

I don't know if I should be ashamed to say this or proud to say this but my son has been so far ahead of me in this area.  At the beginning of his Junior year Madison got several kids from school to go in with him to sponsor a child through Compassion International.  They chose a teenage boy the same age as them, 16.   He is from Uganda and his name is Kibwika.   I found out half way through the year that most of the kids never have their sponsorship money and that Madison pays the entire amount each month from his lifeguard check which isn't that much.   This is in addition to the money I see my son tithe each week to church from his paycheck.  Kibwika has a birthday coming up.  Madison has taken up $100 in donations for him.  It's the maximum amount you are allowed to donate through Compassion for a birthday gift.  He was determined Kibwika would get all they were allowed to give for a birthday.  But it isn't just the money that makes me so proud of him.   Madison truly loves this boy he has never met.  He keeps Kibwika's picture next to his bed and prays for him every night.  He writes him letters and is thrilled when he receives one in return.

Kibwika - A Fellow Chirstian Brother Living In Uganda

I began my Radical Experiment on my 43rd birthday.  I finished on my 44th.  This morning I gave myself a gift.  I signed up to sponsor Annie. 

Annie- Her Name Means "Grace or Favour"

 She is a precious little baby girl living in a Special Needs orphanage in China.  Look at those sweet cheeks!!!  I am sponsoring her through An Orphan's Wish.  A wonderful organization that does so much to help children.  I cannot wait to receive updates and pictures on her.  She is less than a year old and her special need at this time is unknown.  

I am not sure where else God will lead me in this area but I do know that he isn't finished.   Even more will be expected and I am okay with that.