I'm so thankful to be born in the U.S. and to have freedom. I'm grateful for the men and women who protect that freedom.
I'm thankful to have access to education, basic resources, and even wealth beyond what many people around the world can comprehend. I believe that with freedom there comes tremendous responsibility to speak up and advocate for those who don't have freedom and to speak up against injustice.
Do I? No, not as I should when I feel God leading me to speak up for others or sometimes even for myself.
I do gain strength and courage from believers who are personally advocating and making a difference like Kay Warren, and local Kimberly Smith of Make Way Partners. They are women who saw a need, became advocates, and rallied others to take action. Kay has some very informative videos on her web site www.kaywarren.com. Also, her book Dangerous Surrender is very thought provoking and motivational. Kimberly is making some amazing strides with Women and Children in the Sudan.
I'm thankful for WMU, where I work. It is an organization that has been consistant advocates against injustice through special focuses, curriculum, and products. Over the next couple of years, WMU will be shifting their Project HELP focus from poverty to human exploitation. They will be providing education and avenues for advocacy. I'm very excited about being a part of this project on the children's team. We will even be addressing this issue on a child's level in Children in Action and Girls in Action at various times throughout the year beginning September 2010 with subjects like bullying, orphans, world hunger, etc...,. I'll have more information on that as we get closer to the launch date, but it is a good thing to keep in mind when you are thinking about what you want to teach children through your church programs. (You can always contact me at work if you are interested in starting our curriculum 205-991-4052 or meaker@wmu.org!)
I should give the disclaimer that whatever I say about WMU doesn't represent national WMU or others at WMU. It is just my personal opionion.
Another disclaimer, I am very subjective because of the impact God has made at many stages of my life from a child in GA until now through WMU. And I know the heart of the leadership- missions. Through WMU, and I believe God's leadership, the missions needs around the globe, both spiritual and physical, are told in such a way that it evokes a response.
Freedom...
Now, that I think about it. We are amazingly blessed to have the religious freedoms that we have. We have the freedom to express the incarnational prescence of God through our lives in our own communities and in many places around the world with little or no fear for lossing our lives. We have the freedom to educate our children about missions and engage them in missions. That is pretty radical!
