Faith Raising

Brandon and I have been at this Support Raising thing for about 4 months now. I can't believe it has been that long. When I look back to April when we started I would have thought by August we would have alot more money coming in and be a whole lot closer to our goal. I could easily get discouraged and think that God's not going to hear our prayers and provide for our need but I know we're going to get there. It seems everytime I get stressed or worried about it I am reminded of what powerful and loving God we serve.

We were driving home from Indianapolis the other night and as we drove by a church the message on their sign stood out to me. It said "Where God guides, He provides." That little statement really rang true for me. I think back to last summer when Brandon and I were searching for where God wanted us to go and what capacity He wanted us to serve. As we stayed on that path constantly seeking God's direction and guidance we found the opportunity on the Verona team and before we knew it, God had put us where we belong. I know every appointment with a church missions board, every connection we establish, every email we send, and every dollar that comes in is a step towards our goal. All of these things are blessings and gifts from God. I try to not take any of them for granted but it's so easy to forget that we're not the ones controling who gives us money and who meets with us...it's our mighty God.

I just pray that as each person on our team strives to get to Verona that we all remember throughout every step that even though there is alot to accomplish, God will meet us half way. He'll be there to guide us and He will be there to give us all we need to complete the work He has called us to do.

Morning Devotions

This morning I was reading an exerpt from Blaise Pascal. He was talking about the amazing contradictions that we are as humans. There isn't another creature on the planet with the same kind of duality that we have. On the one hand we, who were created in God's image longing for a restored relationship with Him (even when we don't know that we long for it). We are capable of great love, service, and devotions through God. Yet on the other hand we have our fallen nature. We do the wrong thing more than we do what we know to be right. We seek out all sorts of carnal desires and pleasures and we lie, steal, and hate without thinking twice. No other species in the world could produce an Adolf Hitler and a Mother Theresa in the same gene pool.

Pascal went on to say that for him, no other religion gives a satisfactory explanation for this dual nature that we all have inside us besides the Gospel of Jesus. Even the shadow side of our hearts scream out and testify to the name of Jesus Christ!

I was thinking about this in my own life. I know that I have a long way to go before that final nail gets driven into my flesh and he stays down for the count. I daily have to pin him to the ground and tune out his protests. But he does not control me anymore. What a blessing to have the strength of Christ in my arms as I wrestle to the ground the old me and remind him that Someone Else is in charge now. What peace and what joy to finally have clarity of thought and a clear vision without all the duality that plagues us all. I am so thankful that I'm on the road to be a singular person, a person that imitates Jesus Christ. When I look back just a couple of years and see the things I've done or the way I've treated some people, I am humbled. I know that I will probably have that same experience a couple years from now when I'm farther on this daily journey with my Lord and Savior. Above all, I'm thankful that if we just open oursleves up (with all our filth and duality) God's Spirit will enter in, and that before long when people look at us they'll see Him instead. That's the ultimate goal.

Thoughts from Above

I will start this blog with some lyrics from a talented group called BarlowGirl:

I waited for You, today

but You didn't show, no 

I needed You, today; so where did You go?

You told me call, said you'd be there

and though I haven't seen You 

are You still there?

I cried out with no reply and 

I can't feel You by my side so

I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here, and I'm never alone 

And though  I can't not see You

And I can't explain why 

Such a deep deep reassurance

You placed in my life

We cannot separate cause You're part of me

and though your invisible I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply and 

I can't feel You by my side so

I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here, and I'm never alone

We cannot separate, You're part of me

Though You're invisible, I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply and 

I can't feel You by my side so

I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here, and I'm never alone 

This song speaks the truth in how some of us feel about the presence of God.  God is not limited to time or space, but we are.  Therefore, we find comfort in physical touch and what we can see to classify certain reality.  Although these things are important, I think that our relationship with God is a challenge against time, space and certain humanly comforts that we have.  We cannot see God, but know He's there.  Though he is physically invisible, He is visible as we apply His teachings to our daily life.  Ultimately, we are never alone.  That is more comforting than any physical touch or gift of sight in this world.  

Signing off,

Brandi Shea Davis

Free Hugs!

The other day I was surfing the web and I came across information about something called the Free Hugs Campaign. It was started by this guy who goes by the name of Juan Mann. How did it all get started? Read what Juan Mann had to say:

"I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

"Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

"So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.

"And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.

"Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time."

Soon, Juan Mann started doing this every week. Not long afterward, someone videotaped what was happening and posted it on YouTube. (Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4). After that, people with Free Hugs signs started cropping up all over the world. While you are on YouTube, check out the other related links, too.

People are so hungry for love. We have love. God's perfect love. What a perfect arrangement! Let's share it!