Archive - In My Shoes
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1,000 Words: Days 1 & 2
If a picture is worth 1,000 words… this year I plan on communicating a 365,000 word story in 2011. I’ve watched/followed some friends and their progress through the 365 Project in years past. It was pretty cool and a great way to catalog the year. We’ll see how it goes, but I’ll be posting a photo a day (or a catch up post with photos from the project). If you want to follow the progress, it’s going down- HERE.
*jdel
My New Friend, Salem
While at Catalyst, I was faced yet again with an opportunity to impact a child’s life. I say “yet again” because on missions trips, at conferences, in youth group, by my youth leaders… we were encouraged for years to sponsor a child. My reason for never doing it? “Someone out there can do it, I have a lot going on.” (yeah, pretty crappy attitude to say the least).
So, as I’m sitting there watching this all transpire, I was reminded of the amazing moment I saw the year prior. It was an emotional meeting of a sponsor and the young man who received a major gift in the form of schooling, godly teaching, and the basic necessities. This all happened because a sponsor stepped up and wanted to change a child’s life. Check out the video of their meeting below…
Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo. (video embedded above)
God just kind of stirred in me this year. They brought Jimmy back and interviewed him about his experience. Then, they showed of a video as Jimmy went over seas to meet the child he now sponsors. It was inspiring. God was tugging on me to be less selfish and more selfless. So, I walked out, went to their booth, and chose… Salem.
Salem was the only boy left on the table. (his picture @ the top of this post)
He’s 5 years old.
Lives with his mom & dad in Africa, 48 km west of Zeway.
House floor is dirt, walls are mud, and a roof made of scrap tin.
HIV/AIDS is a huge threat in their community.
He’s been missing school because his family didn’t have the money.
Family income is an average of $23 a month.
My family spent more than that at lunch on Sunday.
I’m so glad he is connected to our family.
We’re excited to write to him weekly.
Our goal is to go and visit him in the next few years.
And for $45 a month his life is changed forever.
He gets schooling, a godly influence, Bible teaching, clean water, healthy food, and HIV/AIDS treatments and education. For the price of a quick trip to the grocery store, he’s changing our lives more than we’re changing his. We’re better because of it. It’s teaching us discipline, sacrifice, and loving others before ourselves. When our spending money gets low and we think about how we won’t be going out, we’ll be reminded that we are choosing not to go out because Salem deserves a better life.
Want to sponsor a child through Compassion International?
Click Here To Get Started.
*jdel
Beautiful Worn Down Shanty
I like my Ray Ban glasses.
Not because they help me see, but because they feel/look cool.
I sometimes buy shirts that have shorter sleeves to show my tattoos.
It takes months for me to pick out shoes (because I care what people think).
Before I leave the house, I put three different sets of gauges in my ears…
As I try to pick the most stylish pair.
I stop frequently to look at myself in the mirror.
I want to make sure I look “kept up” “together” “approachable.”
I read a couple of blogs…
Not because they are helpful, but because it’s what everyone else reads.
Sometimes, I tweet ideas in the hopes of being retweeted by someone popular.
I on occasion do these things to appear like I’m a luxurious mansion.
Like I’m put together and have things in order.
When on the inside I’m just another broken person.
A regular guy in need of a Savior - just like you.
While the outside looks in order, the inside is just as worn and tattered.
It’s a worn down shanty, patched and repaired by the blood of Jesus.
But their is beauty in these worn down boards.
There’s love behind every nail driven into the repairs of these walls.
These walls tell a story.
A story of redemption and hope.
Redemption from addiction to pornography.
Redemption from a life of stealing and robbing.
Redemption from turning women into objects.
Hope in a Savior.
Hope by bringing me the most amazing wife I could dream of.
Hope by blessing me with two beautiful girls.
Hope in watching God’s community of Forefront changing lives.
These worn walls in this run down shanty are a work of the ultimate artist.
He’s touched these walls and left His mark.
Picaso, DaVinci, Van Gogh, Monet…
Like children’s finger painting compared to the Master’s efforts.
His work is perfect.
His technique has no flaws.
His storytelling is poetic.
And His touch is not only these worn walls, but the works that hang upon them.
*jdel
Eight, Is A Magic Number
This weekend Carrie and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary. It was a blast. We’ve been together for eight years, and it’s been an adventure the entire time. Do we fight? Occasionally. Do we always see eye to eye? Nope. But, she can bring a smile to my face unlike any other. She daily shows me why God is the most important person in our lives. She’s also pretty sexy (my opinion, but it’s the only one that matters). We celebrated by taking a trip up to DC to watch my Mets get trampled by the Nationals. 13-3? Really?!
Regardless of the game, it was a fantastic time to get away with my wife and celebrate the marriage God has given us.
Jason
These Hard Times. A Story.
Have you ever had difficult times in life?
Ever wondered why God would allow you to enter into a rough patch?
Many times, we are able to reflect and understand it- when we’re on the other side. The song is “These Hard Times” by Needtobreathe, off their album “The Outsiders.”
These Hard Times. A Story. from Forefront Church on Vimeo.
Want to listen to the song? It’s embedded for your listening pleasure below.
This is a preview of some of the stuff that will happen this Friday Night at the Aidnow.org Benefit.
Grand Affairs, Va Beach
7-9pm, $10 donation at the door
Email Ann@aidnow.org for more information
Jason *over and out*
Dear Satan
Dear Satan,
I’m pretty sure you know me. I’m positive I know you. Actually, I without a shadow of doubt know that you know exactly who I am. You convinced me to tell my first lie as a kid. When my parents went to bed, I wrestled with sneaking out at you told me it was alright. As I got older, you paraded girls in front of me and told me if I pursued them like all my friends, “No one would ever know what happened behind closed doors.” The addictions I faced and battled were defined by you as “Fun, exciting, and a way to have people like me.”
You broke my Spirit.
But God knew me too. He knows me. He knew me before I was even created. He knows what I’ll be doing a year from now- 50 years from now. He saved me. His power is real. He put a new spirit in me. Not to replace my personality, but to enhance and complete who He designed me to be from the very beginning. But, somewhere along the way I slipped. Maybe it isn’t necessarily a slip… I guess I’d say- lost perspective. I quit looking in my rear view mirror. I became so wrapped up in the amazing love of God that I completely discounted one simple truth…
You’re still real.
You’re just as powerful as the day you convinced me to lie. I’m older and wiser, but so are you. You know my weakness. My fear. My loneliness. My pain. You know how to hit me just right and knock me down. But, I discounted you. I forgot about you. Well, I didn’t completely forget about you, I just figured I love God so much, that He will protect me (which he does) and I guess I just let my defenses down from time to time. God warned me to take you seriously. He taught me to see you as a smart, stealthy, powerful adversary who wants nothing more than to separate me from His love.
You’re not a cartoon. You’re not dancing on my left shoulder with a little angel on the right one. You’re not George Burns. You’ve been portrayed in such a light that you’re not longer a threat- you’re a punchline. The problem is the threat is very real and the joke will be on me if I don’t listen to God’s wisdom and teaching: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8).
The good news is that the end of the story is already known: You Lose, God Prevails. I will hold to that truth- and never forget you’re watching… waiting in the wings for me to lose my footing. Lurking in the darkness to press in on my Spirit. God has claimed me, so you can take a trip to Hell. I’m a follower of Jesus and you have no place here. Step off.
Jason *over and out*
