Heart of Mercy

The Daraja Children’s Choir performed at our church a few nights ago. The choir is made up of children from Kenya. The children sing of God’s love and grace. They are a testimony to Him. The children come to show God’s love to us here in the United States, and they come to bring awareness. These children struggle to survive every day. They live in dangerous areas. There is often not enough food. Water is difficult to get. Some eat one meal a day. Most don’t go to school. Those who do usually don’t finish. Yet, they sing of God’s love and grace.




The organization who established the choir is 410 Bridge (www.410bridge.org). 410 Bridge is working to share the love of God with the people of Kenya. They do that by serving the people. They are working to partner churches with communities in Kenya to improve the quality of living and to share Jesus Christ. The best way to show God’s love is to help communities meet the needs of the people.

At the concert, a short video was shown to introduce the purpose of the choir. The video told how the children struggle daily to live and explained many of them don’t have parents. As my six-year-old granddaughter watched the video, she began to cry. She cried throughout the concert. When asked, why she was crying she could not say; however, she didn’t want to leave. Later that night, her mom asked her once again why she cried at the concert. Her answer was, “Because the children don’t have parents.” Mercy—having mercy can be painful. Mercy is a signal to act. The feeling of mercy is God’s call for us to make a difference. Mercy looks into a situation and desires to make a difference. Mercy can take us by surprise. The feeling of mercy at times can’t be controlled, but the decision to act is totally in our control.

We can make a difference in people’s lives. We can act if we choose too. For me, my granddaughter was a wake-up call. When mercy strikes, do I, will I act to make a difference?

Learn more about 410 Bride and the Daraja Choir at: www.410bridge.com

See videos at: www.youtube.com/410bridge

See more pictures of the concert at: Joe McDowell Photography

My dear friend Bill Walton

I met Bill when we moved to Winter Springs, Florida and joined First Baptist of Oviedo in the mid-80s. I knew Bill from a distance. You see, Bill made me nervous. Bill was born with Cerebral Palsy. As a result, Bill didn't have much use of his legs. He moved around using crutches. He was different and so, I avoided him. All this changed when another guy I knew at church invited me to be part of a morning men's group. I was unsure about getting involved in this, especially when he said we would meet at 5:30 AM! I was pretty much a "no go" when I heard that, but he asked me to give it four weeks--just four weeks. So, I agreed. Little did I know this group of men would come to mean so much to me and that we would meet together for almost five years.

I got directions to the house where we would meet each week and on the Friday of our first meeting I arrived pulling into the driveway of a nicely maintained single-wide mobile home located in a retirement community. I wasn't sure if I was in the right place. It turned out to be Bill's house. He lived there with his aging parents. In this first meeting, I found Bill was a nice enough guy and I was totally amazed by his positive attitude toward life even though from my perspective, his circumstances were a real bummer.

Over the weeks, I grew to know Bill and the other guys in the group. We talked about Jesus and about what it meant to be a follower of His. I came to love these early Friday morning meetings and even more so, the men I met with. Bill and I began to go out visiting church guests together--and I enjoyed his company. He prayed for me each time we were together and I was always touched and moved by his prayers. Eventually I began to pray for him, too. We would spend an hour in prayer together. Soon, Bill was invited to my home for dinner with my wife and daughters. Before long, Bill became a fixture. I would pick him up for meals at our house and he would go places with me and my family. He became part of our family.

Bill's crutches are awkward at times. Once when were out and about together, I had walked on a little ahead of Bill when I heard him call my name. His voice sounded a little shaky as I turned to him. His left crutch was slipping as he tried to cross a shallow curb. As I raced to him, I watched as if in slow motion his crutch slid away from him and he landed on the ground. I hurried to him to find him to be physically okay and we laughed together as I helped him back to his feet and onto his crutches. People watching felt sad, I know, but Bill and I saw the comedy in the moment and we enjoyed the laugh. This is Bill--making the most of whatever the situation is. Though he is physically crippled, God has redeemed what the fall of man allowed.

Bill has used his disability for the Kingdom. Through it he has met and ministered to many people. He has shared the gospel with untold numbers of people and he has lifted more prayers for people than anyone I know. He has battled evil in the spiritual world through prayer and his victories are countless. God has used him to ward off evil many times over. Bill may be crippled in a physical sense, but he is healthy where most are crippled. He is a man of God, a follower of Christ -- he is led by the Spirit of the One true God.

Bill is a deeply spiritual man. He is a man who prays for others. He is spiritually wise and yet there is an innocence about Bill. He always sees the best in people and he trusts anyone until they break that trust. He is an instant friend to all people. He loves. He really loves.
Bill is truly a "father in the faith" to me. He taught me much about God's love. He helped me understand the Bible as we studied together. He taught me though the prayers he prayed. Mostly, he taught me by his example.

Thanks Bill! I love you my Brother Bill.

Valley of Harmons, Jamaica

A morning in Harmons. Joy in the eyes of a little girl as she greets the day. Her day will not be filled with shopping, or playing in the park, or swinging in the backyard, or playing with wonderful dolls, or watching Dora the Explore, or sitting in the cool of an air conditioned house. Her day will be spent playing with used toys. She will run and play with other children in the area. She will spend lots of time with her family. Her day by our standards will be simple. Most of our children would be bored with her day and the lack of expensive toys. She will be happy with her day. She will giggle and play. She is beautiful inside and out.

Hoping for work. There may not be any. His build shows he is ahard worker. He can haul maul and rocks, he can mix concrete, he can pour foundations, erect concrete walls -- he can build a house. His greats hope for work today is Won by One. Will he be needed today? He must wait and see – If not today, maybe tomorrow.

Glad to be on the job. She works the greenhouse -- a project of Won by One. The greenhouse project employs local people growing vegetable for the people of the area. Good produce will be available for a good price and more, all too rare, jobs are created.

The village of Harmons is located in a remote area of Jamaica. The people of the area are poor. There is no industry there except an Alcoa mine and it does not add much economically to the area in which it is located. The primary employer in the area is a mission organization, Won by One. This ministry brings missions groups into the area. These missions groups generate the dollars needed to build small houses for those in need and they also provide manual labor needed to build the houses. This mission effort allows Won by One to employ many of the people of Harmons. The love of Christ is shared through service and the relationships built through this mission effort.The people of Harmons are lovely. They are warm and friendly. There are smiles and laughter all around. Though they do not have much from a material standpoint, they have much joy. They enjoy life and they welcome others to enjoy life with them. I hope to return there someday to experience the real Jamaica, to be a part of their lives for a few days, to help build a house, and to experience the warmth of these people.

Dancing with Miriam

During a wedding reception recently, I had the privilege of dancing with my granddaughter, Miriam. We had fun! She was beautiful in her dress and her smile lit up the dance floor. She moved her feet and she twirled and twirled. I would not take anything for those few moments with her. For those few minutes, it was just the two of us and the music that played. We enjoyed each other’s company and we made a memory.

Dancing—why do we dance? Dancing is fun. Usually we dance with someone we know or even love. Dancing is a way to interact with one another and to experience music together. To be a good dancer, one must have rhythm. Rhythm allows one to interact with their dance partner and with the music in a smooth, organized, and even a beautiful way.

Life is kinda like dancing. Though it can be fun most of the time, there are times when it ain’t so fun; however, if we are fortunate, we can experience it with people we know and love. In life, we certainly interact with one another and we experience it together. To be a good life live-er, we need rhythm. The rhythm we need for life is the understanding that life is a precious gift and that it has great purpose. No one understands a music score better then the composer. The composer can explain the rhythm of their piece better than anyone else. The composer of life is God. No one can explain life and the rhythm we need to live it better than Him. In Christ, we can find the rhythm we need for a beautiful life.

At a Spot

Ever find yourself at a spot - a spot where everything seems difficult? You think well this or that ought to be difficult, but this and that ought to be easy, but IT'S NOT! Nothing, nothing seems to be easy. You see great things, desire great things, know they are wonderful things but there is frustration at every turn. Roadblock after roadblock seem to appear. You feel like you could just pull your hair out. Ever been at this spot? What do you do? I wish I knew! I wish I had the grand answer. In the scheme of things, what do I know? I know this, you have to keep at it. Even in the frustration, you have keep pushing. You do what you can do. You venture around the roadblocks in other directions. You do something! You chip away. You accomplish what you can. You believe breakthrough is just around the corner. You never give up. Most importantly, you check you attitude. You find a way to stay positive. How? You remember what's important. You remember why you are doing what you are doing in the first place. See each little step a success. Break it all down. Look for victory in the little things realizing the victory in the big things may come later. AND, give it a rest! Leave it for a while. Do something else. Most of all take it all to God. Pray, put the spot and all it contains at His feet. Remember Jesus. Remember family. Remember blessings. Let it all fall into the right perspective. Before you know it you will look around to find "the spot" is now behind you.

Gazing

A look into the face of a baby seems cause the world to stop just for a moment. To gaze into a little face is consuming. The awesome miracle of life captivates the moment and all fades away except that little face. Praise God for the miracle of birth. Praise God His continual blessings. Praise God for life.

Routine got you down?

At times, probably each of us has hope our life will in some way count for something bigger than the mundane routines of our life. I think, however, it is often in the very routines that we consider mundane emerge opportunities to truly count. Unless we are sluggards, our routines are often productive and beneficial. They are often the very catalyst of growth in our life. They are often the very thing that makes us an "expert" in some way.
It is funny; although we consider our routines mundane, we often get so upset and thrown out of kilter when interruptions occur. How stupid is that? One would think we would welcome some interruptions. Interestingly, interruptions are probably the moments that offer us the greatest potential to do what we hope for—to count for something bigger. The challenge I am giving to myself and to you is to rethink interruptions. Welcome them and actively look for the opportunity to count for something potentially bigger. Let the ordinary lead you to the extraordinary. God may very well send you an interruption so you can count for something bigger. Don’t miss it!

Marriage Takes Three Podcast

Marriage Takes ThreeGod established the institution of marriage at the beginning of time. In the creation account found in Genesis, we not only read about the relationship the man and the woman had with each other, but also about the relationship they had with God. As the man and the woman focused [not only] on each other but also on God, all was well. However, when they lost their focus on God, things began to unravel. In order for a marriage to be all that it can be, it must include God. There needs to be more than a two-way relationship between a man and a woman. There must be a three-way relationship between a man, a woman, and God. Marriage takes three. Join Rev. Joe McDowell in weekly "Marriage Takes Three" podcast lessons on marriage. In the podcasts, we will study the theology of marriage, we will see the biblical principles of marriage, and we will discuss practical applications to help you make your marriage the best that it can be.

For insight and inspiration for your marriage:

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