There is a lot to pray for in Haiti, but there is also a lot to praise GOD for at All Things New. Please join in me in doing both. We will update you soon with what we know about the assassination and what it will mean for the country, but for now there are just too many unknowns.
Pray for our kids. Imagine seeing your country in shambles and finding out your President had been killed inside his own home. The uncertainty they were already feeling multiplied by a sense of insecurity and anarchy that they should not have to think about. Pray for our employees as well.
A culture marked by humility does just the opposite. It puts other people above ourselves while still calling out sin. It exalts Jesus as the Name above every name. It loves those who are different and those who are the same. It sees everyone as an image-bearer of GOD, and no matter their beliefs, orientation, or political affiliation it treats them as such.
She did what she had to do, but she should not have had to do that as a 14 and 15 year old girl. She did, however, grow up during that time and she is one of the more mature kids at All Things New. She loves church, is devoted to Bible Study and prayer, and she is fiercely loyal. It may take her a minute to open up and to care about you, but when she does, she is all in.
My friend Lener sent me a message yesterday that simply said, "Matt the life is very difficult in haiti without Jesus, only Jesus who can protect us. Please pray for us."
But also, in the midst of that, pray for our kids to not let these things define who they are. For them to rise above the incredible negative things that have happened in their country over the past few weeks, months, and years, and for them to be more than conquerors. For them to work and for us to help them in whatever way we can become the men and women they were created to be.
So I have to ask myself, why can my wife, my children, my family, my job, and my days change my life completely when anything out of the ordinary happens, but I want my GOD to just be there and let me live a normal life without too much interference from Him?
Flag Day in Haiti is a very uniquely Haitian thing. It is, honestly, one of the best days (Christmas and Easter would qualify as well) to be in Haiti because of the celebration that goes on. There are parades everywhere, everyone dresses in red, and there is a sense of excitement that rivals an international soccer match. Our kids love it and we celebrate it every year at All Things New. Every year they want to go into Gressier to be a part of the parades, and every year (except for the last 2, and they didn't even ask) we let them go.
Let's stop pouring our lives into the battles that mean absolutely nothing and turn to the GOD who saved us. Let's please stop teaching our children that the school, the baseball field, the office, or the football stadium is more important than the ground at the foot of the cross. Let's figure out how to spend more time there and less time on things that don't matter.
Very, very few of us have ever had to truly live in "survival mode" for any extended period of time. The type of "survival mode" where you have no idea how you are going to eat, where you are going to live, and how you are going to change your situation. Every single one of the 22 children at All Things New along with the other 10 that we take care of have been there and lived that. They have known what it means to struggle to survive.
There is a lot to pray for in Haiti, but there is also a lot to praise GOD for at All Things New. Please join in me in doing both. We will update you soon with what we know about the assassination and what it will mean for the country, but for now there are just too many unknowns.
Pray for our kids. Imagine seeing your country in shambles and finding out your President had been killed inside his own home. The uncertainty they were already feeling multiplied by a sense of insecurity and anarchy that they should not have to think about. Pray for our employees as well.
A culture marked by humility does just the opposite. It puts other people above ourselves while still calling out sin. It exalts Jesus as the Name above every name. It loves those who are different and those who are the same. It sees everyone as an image-bearer of GOD, and no matter their beliefs, orientation, or political affiliation it treats them as such.
She did what she had to do, but she should not have had to do that as a 14 and 15 year old girl. She did, however, grow up during that time and she is one of the more mature kids at All Things New. She loves church, is devoted to Bible Study and prayer, and she is fiercely loyal. It may take her a minute to open up and to care about you, but when she does, she is all in.
We are hoping that this idea will help our kids and even be reproducible for other areas and ministries in Haiti.
My friend Lener sent me a message yesterday that simply said, "Matt the life is very difficult in haiti without Jesus, only Jesus who can protect us. Please pray for us."
But also, in the midst of that, pray for our kids to not let these things define who they are. For them to rise above the incredible negative things that have happened in their country over the past few weeks, months, and years, and for them to be more than conquerors. For them to work and for us to help them in whatever way we can become the men and women they were created to be.
So I have to ask myself, why can my wife, my children, my family, my job, and my days change my life completely when anything out of the ordinary happens, but I want my GOD to just be there and let me live a normal life without too much interference from Him?
Flag Day in Haiti is a very uniquely Haitian thing. It is, honestly, one of the best days (Christmas and Easter would qualify as well) to be in Haiti because of the celebration that goes on. There are parades everywhere, everyone dresses in red, and there is a sense of excitement that rivals an international soccer match. Our kids love it and we celebrate it every year at All Things New. Every year they want to go into Gressier to be a part of the parades, and every year (except for the last 2, and they didn't even ask) we let them go.
What a profound thought, right? If you say you are going to pray for someone that you actually do it
Let's stop pouring our lives into the battles that mean absolutely nothing and turn to the GOD who saved us. Let's please stop teaching our children that the school, the baseball field, the office, or the football stadium is more important than the ground at the foot of the cross. Let's figure out how to spend more time there and less time on things that don't matter.
Very, very few of us have ever had to truly live in "survival mode" for any extended period of time. The type of "survival mode" where you have no idea how you are going to eat, where you are going to live, and how you are going to change your situation. Every single one of the 22 children at All Things New along with the other 10 that we take care of have been there and lived that. They have known what it means to struggle to survive.
