Follow Mara as she risks her own precarious safety to rescue a pregant young woman held in modern slavery. 

At the same time, halfway around the world in a Thai brothel, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States. They (the couple) are friends of the family of Jonathan Flannery, the Bible student to whom Mara now finds herself attracted.

Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle who formerly held her as a sex slave in his San Diego brothel—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

If you have not already, you’ll want to read the action-packed first novel in the “Freedom” series, Deliver Me from Evil. Learn more about Mara, Jonathan, and Jefe—as well as the horrific and all too real problem of human trafficking, which stretches around the world even to our own neighborhoods.

The third and final novel in this series, The Deliverer, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2012.

My husband, Wayne, and I began to rejoice when the doctor said, “It’s a girl.” But when we didn’t hear her cry, we knew something was wrong. Our first child, Kelley, was not breathing, and her little body was blue.

The doctor and nurses began to furiously work over her. They gave her oxygen, but still she did not breathe on her own. Scared and confused, Wayne and I could only watch their attempts to save her. A couple of minutes passed but they still could not get Kelley to breathe. A nurse brought in shock paddles.

Finally, as they prepared to shock our daughter’s small heart, Kelley took her first breath. Our fear turned once again to joy and then to gratitude when we learned she was completely healthy.

What happened with Kelley’s delivery was certainly not what we had expected. We went to the hospital anticipating a normal delivery and a healthy baby. Instead, we experienced a near tragedy. Had the crisis ended in the loss of our baby, our future would have been very different.

The Resurrection Gives Hope

Jesus’ disciples followed Him with great anticipation for the future, but they did not expect His death, even though He clearly told them. In the tomb with His body, they buried their hopes and dreams for what they thought Jesus would do. Then they huddled together in grief and fear. Their future felt bleak.

The disciples did not realize Jesus’ death was the Father’s plan from the beginning of time, nor did they comprehend what His death accomplished for them. They certainly did not anticipate what happened next. Their Rabbi—dead and buried on Friday—walked out of the tomb on Sunday. And that changed everything.

Jesus’ resurrection necessitated a total paradigm shift for those first followers. The disciples’ perspective changed from a temporary, earthly one to an eternal, heavenly one. The kingdom they served was spiritual, not physical. Their hope was everlasting, not limited by time and space.

Disillusioned and fearful after Jesus’ death, the disciples displayed boldness and courage after His resurrection. Even in the face of persecution they continued to spread the good news of Jesus around the world because they were looking to a future hope.

Jesus’ death and resurrection impacts both our life on this earth and our eternal future. Those who enter into a saving relationship with Jesus receive power from the Holy Spirit to boldly follow Him and experience abundant life in this world.

More important, physical death holds no sting for believers. By His resurrection, Jesus broke its power, and physical death is not the final reality for those who put their faith and trust in Him. Our hope for an eternal future with Jesus is confirmed by an empty tomb.

Editor’s note: Adapted from“God’s Truth Revealed: Biblical Foundations for the Christian Faith.”

Kathy Howard, www.kathyhoward.org, has authored 3 Bible studies, Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith. She and her husband live inHouston,Texas.

You may be interested in her articles, “Shaky Times Need an Unshakeable Faith” and “Embrace the ‘Crazy’ Wisdom of God.” Listen to a podcast with Kathy here.

Ideal for reading during the 40 days of Lent (February 22, 2012, to April 7, 2012; not counting Sundays) in preparation for Easter, this study also can be used any time of the year.

Book description

We are created to live in an altar’d state—surrendered, yielded, free.

The noun altar is usually understood to be a place of worshipful offering. Something of value is offered up and released on the altar. When we turn the noun altar into a verb—altar our fear, our failure, our possessiveness, our need to control—all those things that hold us captive and keep us from running the race at full throttle are released.

Through careful exposition and biblical teaching, celebrated author and prayer expert Jennifer Kennedy Dean guides readers on a 40-day exploration of the Scriptures and what it means to truly live a life dead to flesh and alive to the Spirit.

Download the introduction and first chapter (day 1) of this book now.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is in demand as a speaker and has addressed audiences at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family. Her recent books include The Power of Small and Life Unhindered! She is best known for her Live a Praying Life Bible study and related products.

She recently became a grandmother to Campbell Wayne Dean. Read more about that here.

There are no certainties in the Christian life, and there are no certainties in business. As a result, living as a Christian in the world of business means having to live with a lot of uncertainty.

Years ago a friend, Jim Dotson, was an award-winning, top-selling salesman in the world’s largest pharmaceutical corporation (Pfizer). He was climbing the ranks fast. But with the increased notoriety and pay, came increased demands for more travel, longer hours, and relocation.

Eventually his wife challenged him by pointing out that he wasn’t living according to his faith and his values. Shaken up, he realized she was right and set about to correct his wrongs. Jim began refusing the Saturday morning golf meetings and wouldn’t move yet again for the company cause. (They had moved 9 times in 10 years.)

Paying a Price

The change was met with cold resistance by the management team. He began to be slighted and pushed to the side, he told me. Bypassed for a promotion he deserved, he said he began to realize that he had been stalled on the corporate ladder. Nevertheless, he knew he had made the right decisions.

The minor losses of corporate reputation and (potentially) forfeited financial gain were nothing compared to the increased family time and quality of life Jim enjoyed. Through this process, Jim and Ann decided to adopt a daughter from Russia.

After returning from Russia with their new daughter, Jim was surprised by an emergency meeting with some members of corporate leadership. They falsely accused Jim of using company pharmaceuticals to buy his adopted daughter and immediately terminated him.

Startled and stumbling out the door, Jim’s life and the life of his family had been changed forever. Though his career had been ruined, he retained what was important: his wife, his kids, their new adopted daughter.

Jim’s story demonstrates what can happen when the culture of this world collides with the values of the kingdom of heaven. We can expect trials when we desire to follow the values of Christ. There is a price to be paid as we are salt and light in the marketplace.

More to the Story

Not out of revenge, but out of a desire to protect his reputation, Jim decided to mount a legal challenge to his termination. It cost him a home and ate up his family’s savings. However, after a 6-year legal process that ended at the US Supreme Court, he won his case.* His reputation was rightfully restored.

There is not always a victorious end to every cultural collision in the marketplace. The real economics of living by faith at work are not about accruing status and monies in this world, but about storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20). The returns on our very long-term investment are huge when compared to the short-term gains of this world.

*Editor’s note: For a longer, more detailed account of Jim’s personal experience, click here to read an article from the Raleigh News & Observer. If you are interested in Jim’s case and how it relates to  US law and adoption, you may find more information here.

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Road trips are about cruising the byways and steering clear of the busy highways. It’s about finding the roads less traveled. It’s about taking the time to explore the interesting, the unique, or the just plain strange.

Lifelong memories are made on road trips—memories filled with unplanned detours and dead-ends that end up in adventure and fun. I’m always ready for a road trip and here are a few of my favorites:

Quick Road Trips

Scenic Historic A1A—Florida. Follow the seashore as you travel this 72-mile stretch of highway. This north Florida road trip takes you down the old road to the beach. Starting out near Ponte Vedra Beach, the road hugs the coast through St. Augustine and ends in Flagler Beach. But it’s only the official Scenic Historic A1A that ends, A1A, as US 1 continues south all the way to Key West.

North Shore Drive, Minnesota. Travel the coast of Lake Superior on this 154-mile scenic drive from Duluth to the Canadian border. You’ll find amazing waterfalls, parks, lighthouses, museums, and eclectic shops all along the road.

A few more quick road trips:

• White Mountain Trail. This 100-mile scenic road trip through the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire is breathtaking.
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Travel US 441 through the Great Smoky Mountains.
• Washington, D.C.,  to Williamsburg. A 160-mile trip through historic Virginia.
• Monterey to Morro Bay, California. Travel 125 miles of scenic California coastline.

Not-So-Quick Road Trips

Route 66—The Mother Road. Spanning the country from Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 covered almost 2,500 miles. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1984 and would have been lost to progress, if not for the people who weren’t willing to let this famous icon slip away. I’m heading out on Route 66 in April 2012. I’ll be traveling from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles. Stay tuned to New Hope Digital for updates and to learn more about this amazing adventure.

Here are a few more of the not-so-quick road trips:

• National Road—US 40 from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to near Salt Lake City, Utah. (It once ran all the way to San Francisco.)
• Blue Ridge Parkway—470 miles of breathtaking scenery through North Carolina and Virginia
• Great Lakes Seaway Trail—500 miles of islands, waterfalls, and historic sites through New York and Pennsylvania

Whether you’re traveling just down the road a ways or across thousands of miles, remember to enjoy the adventure. Don’t push too hard for a destination—blessings are out there on the road. Enjoy the adventure!

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from God, Grace, and Girlfriends by Mary R. Snyder.

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures.

When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

We are delighted to post a new position for New Hope Publishers. Please email HR@wmu.org for more information or to submit a resume.

Title: Life in the Light

Artist’s description: I tried to illustrate ideas and activities that portray light and life. I feel like we can find true joy when we recognize that God blesses us with each day. We should take advantage of them with our family and friends.

Question: Are you daily living in the light of Christ’s grace?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in 2 of our featured books this month. How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? by Rhonda Rhea explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible. In God, Grace, and Girlfriends by Mary R. Snyder you’ll learn the importance of friendships; discover tips on building healthy friendships; and find dozens of possible trips, events, and adventures for you and your girlfriends to explore.

Anyone who has ever prayed or pleaded with God to act now knows that, much like a parent responding to a child, God answers prayer in 1 of 3 ways: yes, later, or no.

And, much like children, we usually respond in typical fashion: A yes response receives praise and gratitude. “Later” is met with impatience and frustration. A no gets anger and questioning in return.

But God postpones fulfilling our requests or even gives us an outright no, because He has:

1. A bigger perspective and long range goals for us and humanity.
2. A better plan than our plan.
3. Perfect timing.

God never works randomly: there’s always a plan and blessed are we whom He uses to fulfill His plans, even when inconvenient. Many Old Testament men and women persevered in doing the Lord’s work in spite of disappointment. With physical eyes, they never saw the fulfillment of His ultimate plan: the Messiah, Jesus Christ. But they knew Jesus was coming and accepted their role in the unfolding story of salvation.

They trusted, obeyed, and discovered peace in accepting that God was in control of every situation. Sometimes they were part of a miracle, like Sarah having a baby at 90 years old, and other times they endured great sorrow and pain, but God used each one to His glory. He will use you and me too—and we can experience this joy as long as we persevere in the faith.

So how can you stay faithful when God says no or tells you to wait?

• Trust God and His love for you.
• Pray for grace to expect and accept His answers
• Replace worry with worship.
• Turn pleas into praises.

Like Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah, 2 of my daughters pleaded with God for a baby for years. And like Sarah and Rachel they often tried to take circumstances into their own hands and circumvent God’s unseen plans. But when they finally surrendered their will to God’s will and made peace with Him as Hannah did, each woman was granted a testimony of the blessing of waiting on His timing.

God’s waiting room can be lonely and painful. It helps to have a support group going through similar circumstances. Then, “[i]nstead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (Philippians 4:6–7 MSG).

Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian. She recently authored Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah: Pleading with God.

Janet discovered her purpose when God called her to “Feed My sheep.” Janet answered that call by developing the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Janet served as a lay minister in that work for 12 years. She and her husband, Dave, have 4 married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 amazing grandchildren. They make their home in rural Idaho.

You also may be interested in a podcast with Janet, “Beating Burnout.”

Scriptures marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

• God is with us.

• God is powerful to save us.

• God takes delight in us.

• God will quiet us with His love.

• God rejoices over us with singing.

Interested in a Bible study on our (the church’s) bride-and-groom relationship with Christ? Check out Chosen and Cherished: Becoming the Bride of Christ by Edna Ellison, Joy Brown, and Kimberly Sowell.

A people lover and humorist, Edna Ellison will tickle your funny bone as she teaches spiritual truths. Award-winning author of 23 books and more than 400 magazine articles, Edna is a well-known keynote speaker who loves leading prayer retreats and writers conferences across the United States and overseas. Holding a PhD from the University of Alabama, she is the author or coauthor of several New Hope books, including Women of the Covenant, Woman to Woman, and A Passion for Purpose.

When you receive news—good or bad—what do you want to do? When something unusual happens, what’s your first impulse? For many women, our response is the same as Mary’s when she found out she was pregnant. We find someone to tell.

After the angel Gabriel told young Mary she was going to be the mother of Jesus, “soon afterward” she headed toward her cousin Elizabeth’s house (Luke 1:39 GNT). She needed to talk about her unusual experience. She must have pinched herself on the way and asked herself, Did I really see an angel? Did he really tell me that I am going to have God’s child? Was I dreaming or was this real?

When something unusual happens to us our impulse is to talk about it, to replay the experience. We can relive it and express our emotions about it. Talking can help us deal with the fallout and/or enrich our experience.

The Bible suggests that it may have been enriching for Mary. It was after she arrived at Elizabeth’s and shared her experience that she broke forth in song, “My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad . . . for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! From now on all people will call me happy” (Luke 1:46–48 GNT).

While talking about the unusual is a natural response—and often an important one—some of us also need to talk about the usual, the ordinary things of life. You know what I mean if you’ve wanted to share your delight in something your child said or to tell a neighbor about seeing goldfinches in your yard. You can understand if you have wanted to talk about an embarrassing moment you had in a restaurant, a new recipe you tried, a helpful magazine article you read, or your frustration with some new software.

I call this kind of talk “life processing,” and my mother and I are good at it, especially after a large family gathering. We work together getting the meal ready for her children, their spouses, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and sometimes cousins. We eat at noon and then have punch and cake in the afternoon or watermelon depending on the season.

Around 3:30 people start leaving making their way back home.  By 5:00, it is just Mom, my father, my husband, Bob, and me left. We warm the leftovers for a light supper. The men quickly eat and head to the living room to watch the evening news. That’s when Mom says, “Want a cup of coffee?” I always answer, “Sure,” because I know we are going to be sitting for awhile.

As we sip coffee and nibble on some leftover pie, we talk about the day—the food, the children, the games, the laughter—whatever might have transpired. Some like my father would say “it’s a bunch of talk about nothing.” Not to Mom and me, it isn’t.

Rather it’s the capstone of the day, completing and rounding it out, giving us a satisfied feeling and enriching the experience.

Editor’s note: This article has been excerpted/adapted from The Friendship Factor: Why Women Need Other Women.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

My wonderful hubby surprised me a while back with an anniversary cruise. Hawaii, baby! We had the most marvelous time just being together for 7 glorious days.

I admit it, I’m a cruise fan. I love everything about it—especially the food. A cruise and overeating go together like a hand in glove. Well, more accurately, they go together like a size 10 hand in a size 2 glove. I guess I was just asking for a trip back to maternity pants. I now refer to myself as “17 years postpartum.”

The staff on the ship said that the average person gains 7–10 pounds on a 7-day cruise. But then, I’ve always considered myself an overachiever.

On prime rib night, my husband and I were walking out of the dining room and, even though he was about to let his belt out a notch, Richie said he was thinking of ordering yet another prime rib. Another one! I figured that could cost him at least another 2 belt notches. I told him I thought that would be a mistake. Get it? Prime rib? “Mis-steak”?

If we’re going to overdo, though, it’s good to make sure we’re “overdoing” in the right areas. Exceeding calorie limits? Not such a great thing to consistently overdo. But 1 Thessalonians 4:1 talks about living right to please God and then it says, “Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more” (NIV1984).

To do and then do some more. It’s an encouragement to keep growing. Not so much growing in the “bring on the elastic waistbands” way, but rather growing in maturity—sanctification.

Paul goes in verses 2–3 to say, “For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” (NIV1984). The Amplified Bible calls that sanctification, “consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living).”

We grow as we seek to stay in the light, dwelling in the presence of the Lord, making sure our lives are for Him and all about Him. Our growth is not an option. It’s a command. Verses 7 and 8 in that same passage in 1 Thessalonians say, “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit” (NIV).

It can be a little startling to think about the fact that to reject His instruction and to reject the call to pursue a holy, consecrated life is to reject our heavenly Father Himself. And that rejection means we’re ignoring the Holy Spirit He gave to help live that life. A mistake of the highest order.

Dwelling in His presence results in a life in which growing “a notch or two” spiritually—the good kind of growth—is a regular occurrence. And we need to seek that consistency in growth even more diligently than we would seek the biggest everything-fried-to-perfection buffet.

There’s a lot at steak—I mean, stake.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from chapter 14 of How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person?

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? You also may enjoy her articles “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love” and “Stretched: Fears Fade in God’s Light.”

Scripture marked (NIV1984) taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked (NIV) taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Amplified® Bible, Copyright ©1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

The only woman in the Bible referred to as a “grandmother” is Timothy’s grandmother, Lois.

She and her daughter Eunice received accolades from the Apostle Paul on their rearing of his protégé and future pastor, young Timothy: “I [Paul] have been reminded of your sincere faith which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 NIV).

He later adds: “And how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15 NIV).

As a grandmother of 11 grandchildren who all know about Jesus (and some know Jesus as their Savior), here’s what I’ve learned from Lois:

1. Pray for, mentor, and nurture the faith of your adult children—the parents of your grandchildren.
2. Give with a purpose. Choose gifts that introduce grandchildren to Jesus at an early age. Shop at Christian bookstores or online to find age-appropriate games, books, DVDs, CDs, and toys.
3. Look for opportunities to talk to grandchildren about Jesus and His love for them.
4. Be a role model that family members admire and respect.
5. Assume an active role in your grandchildren’s lives, even if you live far apart. Stay current and don’t criticize the things that interest them. Learn their communication style and method—email, texting, Skype or FaceTime, cell phone, social networking, etc. Remain relatable and relational with each generation.

Lois and Eunice were intentional in raising Timothy in the faith. The world didn’t set standards for their home, God did. They knew God’s Word and taught it to Timothy. I’ve found songs are one effective means to help children (and their parents) learn Scripture. Most kids love to sing along to CDs in the car and soon Mommy and Daddy are learning the words too.

Parents are often so busy raising their children that they rely on the church to educate the kids spiritually. We grandparents are usually at a stage of life where we can help parents nurture faith in the home. If relationships are strained with adult children or you don’t live close, you can still pray for them and/or keep in touch in different ways.

My prayer is that my legacy to my grandchildren will be: Grammie taught us about the Bible and Jesus, and she lived what she believed.

What spiritual legacy are you leaving for your family?

Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian. She recently authored Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice: Nurturing Faith in Your Family, among other Bible studies for New Hope Publishers.

Janet discovered her purpose when God called her to “Feed My sheep.” Janet answered that call by developing the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Janet served as a lay minister for 12 years in this ministry. See The Team Jesus That Built for more on this topic.

She and her husband, Dave, have 4 married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 amazing grandchildren. They make their home in rural Idaho.

Scripture marked NIV from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

I am a grandmother. 

At 2 am on January 13, Campbell Wayne Dean made his appearance. He was 7 pounds 1 ounce, 20 inches long.

Many of you grandparents have been telling me for years how amazing it would be, but, truthfully, I thought you might be exaggerating. Now I think you were underplaying it.

Sara’s parents, Kim and Nora Campbell, along with Sara’s sister Emily, and I were there. Of course, Kennedy, my son, was there too. We had all been in the room through the hours of labor, watching the monitors that measured Sara’s contractions and telling stories about the births of Kennedy and Sara.

When time for the birth came, we relocated to the waiting room, except for Kennedy. After a short stint, a picture popped up on our cell phones (sent by Kennedy) and we had our first look at Campbell. I suspect that our stampede back to the birthing room registered on the Richter scale.

Jennifer, Kennedy, and Campbell joined by Jennifer's mother, Audrey Kennedy.

Truth be told, a newborn baby looks like a newborn baby. Unless it is your newborn baby. For the few days I was able to stay after Campbell’s birth, I inspected him head to toe, marveling at every detail. I am utterly entranced, taken, enchanted with my grandson.

He has done nothing to so capture my heart except to exist. The fact that he is delights me beyond measure. Perhaps this is a glimpse into the unfathomable, unearned love that the Father has for us.

As I inspected and memorized every detail—from the way his little forehead wrinkles up as he strains to open his eyes to the way his tiny toe joints feel so small and delicate—I began to pray over him from head to toe.

HEAD

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.—Proverbs 2:1–8 (NIV)

EYES

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.—Proverbs 4:25–27 (NIV)

MOUTH

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.—Proverbs 10:11 (NIV)

HEART

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.—Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

HANDS

Diligent hands will rule.—Proverbs 12:24 (NIV)

FEET AND LEGS

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.—Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)

I am committed to praying for Campbell and any yet-to-be siblings and cousins from head to toe.

Author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation.  Her two most recent releases are Altar’d and The Power of Small. She is in demand as a speaker and has spoken in such venues as the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family. Links to all 4 of her grandmother columns  are available on her Voices page.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

I love good light. 

Every morning the first thing I do is open all the blinds in my house.  I want to see the light spill into the room. 

However, when I recently discovered some additional lines on my face I wanted to jerk the blinds down and use only candles for lighting!  

After some thought, I determined the darkness would keep me from seeing the lines, but it wouldn’t make them fade. So, I took action and bought a strong magnifying mirror complete with high-wattage lighting, just so I could inspect those wrinkles  more closely.

I soon realized the megamirror made tiny lines look like major crevices.  Therefore, I went back to opening the blinds, letting the natural light shine in, and made a decision to invest in some good eye cream.

Good light shows things just as they are —like those tiny lines on my face. We are called to be the light to the world.  We don’t need to magnify the tiny or minimize the important. Just light it up and God will do the rest.

Light Up a Friendship

In my relationships, I wonder if I’m more of a megawatt bulb or a tiny tea light.  I decided I’ve been both—and I’ve had friends who’ve done the same. Some shined so brightly it hurt my eyes to look at them and others were so dim I almost had to strike a match to find them.

I’ve been a few different types of lights in my friendships, maybe you’ve seen me around:

• Spotlight—obnoxiously bright. This brilliant light emphasizes every tiny speck and dot.  She’s the girl who quickly points out the flaws in others, but keeps herself behind the glare.
• Lighthouse—swings a wide arc of light to showcase danger.  She shows you the dangers and moves on.  She’s a great friend to have.  She doesn’t dwell on the problems, just casts a light over them, and let’s you decide if you want to take the risk.
• Laser pointer—focused.  She may highlight your greatest attribute or your biggest flaw, but she has a singular focus.  She can be your greatest advocate or your biggest stumbling block.  
• Flashlight—shines bright but can dim quickly.  She’s great to have around when it’s too dark to know the way.  She is trustworthy and true; don’t overwork her, but trust her.  She’s a workhorse. 
• Candlelight—soft, flickering and great for hiding flaws.  She’s the friend who doesn’t push too hard or ask too much.  Low on light and low on challenge.
• Lamplight—casts a warm pool of light.  She’s friendly and neither too bright nor too dim. She’s the girl who sees you for who you are and loves you right where you are. 

I’ve stood behind the harsh spotlight as I pointed out the flaws of others.  I’ve pointed a laser on a molehill and made it look like a mountain.  These days I’m trying to be the lamplight.  I want to cast a warm light and make those around me feel loved.  

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

Read How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? for more humor, wit, and biblical wisdom. Group discussion guide included in the book. Download the first 2 chapters here now.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? You also may enjoy her articles and “Stretched: Fears Fade in God’s Light” and “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love.”

Driving through town one night, my husband, Snow, and I found a young man lying on the yellow center-line in the middle of a highway.

Snow got out, picked the guy up, and talked with him. The young man (I’ll call him John) was high on drugs, almost incoherent. He wore only a pair of jeans—no shirt, underwear, or shoes—his long hair matted together in clumps. Snow, who worked at city hall, gave him a bed in the city jail.

The next morning Snow gave him clean clothes and found a place for him to live. Several other city employees got involved in helping John.

Two weeks later, Snow and I went to a Bible study, where I saw a clean-cut young man across the room. Why couldn’t John live like this young man? What a difference in their behaviors and lifestyles! If only John could meet him . . .

After the Bible study, Snow and I walked over to him.

“Remember John?” Snow asked.

“Yes, I . . .” I realized this clean-cut young man was John. What a change! His clothes were clean; his hair was cut, combed, and styled.

John continued to be a faithful member of that Bible study, joined a support group, and became a member of a Christian church, where he accepted Jesus as his Savior! Within a year, he was reunited with his parents who had kicked him out of their home and family. Today he walks “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 KJV).

John is typical of thousands of people who wander, looking for answers to their problems. Christian ministers—all of us who are on mission to introduce lost, wandering people to Jesus—have the answers. As we share Jesus with them, we can be the gatekeepers to new life.

Lord, help us find lost, wandering people who need You. Enable us to reach out to show them new life in You. Amen.

Editor’s note: This article was excerpted from A Passion for Purpose: 365 Daily Devotions for Missional Living by Kimberly Sowell, Edna Ellison, Joy Brown, Tricia Scribner, and Marie Alston.

A popular author and speaker, Edna Ellison, PhD, has addressed women in almost every state in the US and has led women’s conferences across Europe and South and Middle America. She is the author or coauthor of numerous books from New Hope Publishers, including Women of the Covenant, Stronger Still, and Woman to Woman.

Our theme on New Hope Digital this month is Light Living: Basking in the Love of the Savior. What a great way to start 2012!

Christmas is not that long past, and when I began thinking of light, I was drawn to John 1:4–5 (ESV): “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

For those of us in Christ, we have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Truly, we have been enlightened (John 1:9; following the New Revised Standard).

I think of biblical enlightening in 2 ways. First, there is the sudden, miraculous burst of light we call salvation. Think of a bright light being turned on in a dark room. It is immediate and, in this case, permanent.

Charles Wesley, in one of my favorite hymns, described it this way: “Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray; I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free” (“And Can It Be That I Should Gain”).

Second, we are enlightened day by day, little by little. Think of the dawning of a new day. The sun’s rays only gradually wash into those remote corners of the forest, those deep hollows between the hills. But, moment by moment, the sun rises higher and higher until all bask in the noonday heat.

This is our sanctification—the process by which God transforms us and shines His light on the dark, sinful places in our lives. Let’s welcome His glorious love into our deepest need.

This January we focus on Rhonda Rhea’s latest release, How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? Bright Ideas for Delightful Transformation. Through humor and stories, Rhonda explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible. The light of Christ is the only means that can provide positive, lasting change in our lives.

And we don’t hide the light we’ve been given under a bushel, do we? No, we are to share with both believing friends and with the lost near and far. For more on that, listen to Mary R. Snyder’s podcast as she discusses her book God, Grace, and Girlfriends and read a powerful call to action from Kathi Macias on the issue of modern slavery. Kathi’s first novel focused on human trafficking, Deliver Me from Evil, is out now and the second novel in the “Freedom” trilogy, Special Delivery, will release in March.

Just a reminder: Nook books are now available. Click here to read a press release that contains a link to our full list of current ebooks. With free reading apps, these books can be read on your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Android.

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

OK, I realize some of you hardly ever wear tights so you probably won’t totally get this. But anyone else who’s suffered from “medium denial” will sooo feel my pain.

Especially when I mention that whole song and dance number a girl’s got to do to try to writhe into one of those pair of tights that’s gone completely rogue size-wise. It’s bad enough that as soon as we arrive in that between-size zone, there’s a mind game that begins. At the first realization that we’re in grave danger of going up a size, fear gets us in a grip that’s tighter than an XS.

Sometimes there are even voices in our heads. And they don’t whisper. They’re yelling “No! Not going to happen! I will stretch these size small tights from here to Guam if I have to. I’m 5 feet tall and I positively refuse to be a medium!”

I’m not sure how I figure that stretching those small tights within an inch of their poor little elastic lives is going to make me look like I did 20 pounds ago anyway. That really is a stretch.

Oh well, maybe I’m just revealing entirely too much from my own little stockpile of personal fears.

Fears Flee in His Presence

Fear, from the trivial to the deadly serious, can be startlingly powerful. It can absolutely surprise us as we sense it squeezing the breath right out of us and pinching our attempts to walk out our life of faith. But isn’t it amazing that as we breathe in the presence of the God of light, our fears immediately begin to fade away?

In Psalm 27:1 (HCSB), David gives himself a bit of a pep talk when he reminds himself, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?”

When we know His saving grace and have experienced His life-changing light, fear suddenly seems silly. And when we think about the fact that our all-powerful God manifests Himself in radiant light and then consider all the amazing things light does, we can’t help but see our courage bolstered, just as David did.

Light illuminates so we can see where we’re going. Light helps protect us from danger. It provides security. Light even enables growth and warmth. Any time we’re afraid, as we look to Him in all His light and ponder His power, we can find the Lord stretching us. Fears fade. Courage is renewed.

We can see the truth and can think more clearly. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV). By His marvelous light, He provides the good kind of stretch in every tight situation.

And also in every “tights” situation.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? You also may enjoy her article “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love.”

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

One of the questions I frequently hear is: “Why do you write about such dark subjects?”

My answer: Why wouldn’t I?

Truthfully, though, I don’t write about dark subjects. I write about light shining in the darkness—even the darkest places imaginable—because that’s where it is most needed. I’ve done an entire fiction series (“Extreme Devotion”: No Greater Love; More than Conquerors; Red Ink; People of the Book) on the topic of the persecuted church, and yes, some scenes are dark and will most definitely make readers uncomfortable. Good!

God hasn’t called us to comfort, but to courage; He hasn’t equipped us to run from the darkness in fear, but rather to live in a way that lights the path of escape for those who are trapped there. And though the 4 novels in the “Extreme Devotion” series don’t necessarily wrap up with the typical happily-ever-after endings of many novels, they do finish on a triumphant note because the darkness can never overcome God’s Light.

Confronting the Darkness of Human Trafficking

Now I am in the midst of releasing a “Freedom” series trilogy on the topic of human trafficking. The first book of the series, Deliver Me from Evil, is already out, with Special Delivery to release in March and the third book later this year. It doesn’t get much darker than human trafficking, does it?

But when you consider that an estimated 27 million people worldwide are trapped in modern-day slavery right now, today, in the 21st century, including an estimated 100,000–300,000 minors involved in or at risk of sex trafficking right here in the United States, how can I keep silent?

God has given me a gift, a talent and passion to write. He has also given me His light to shine from within me onto others, and how better to do it than to use my gift of writing to expose the deeds of darkness and to rescue the victims?

When Jesus walked the earth, He declared Himself to be the light of the world (John 9:5). Now that He has ascended into heaven, He has passed the torch to us, His church, to bring light and hope to a dark and dying world. Dare we ignore that mandate? Can we justify going only where darkness is but a shadow, avoiding the true depths of midnight-darkness and perverted depravity that would destroy the very people who have been stamped with the image of their Creator?

I don’t believe we can avoid it. President Obama has declared January 2012 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and the US Senate has designated January 11 to be a National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. Secular groups around the world are taking a stand against this horrific atrocity, and I applaud them.

But it is the church, those of us who have the Light living inside us, who must lead the way, standing together to dispel the darkness and to set the captives free.

Will you join me? The Light of the world will walk with us, each and every step of the way.

Editor’s note: Check out Kathi’s podcast on the subject of addressing modern slavery through fiction. Click here for more resources and ideas from New Hope Digital on fighting modern slavery, including the nonfiction book Not in My Town by Charles Powell and Dillon Burroughs.

Award-winning author Kathi Macias has written the 4-novel “Extreme Devotion” series and is currently working on the “Freedom” trilogy. Click here to download the first 2 chapters of the first book, Deliver Me from Evil. Book 2 in the “Freedom” series, Special Delivery, is scheduled to release in March. The “Extreme Devotion” series (No Greater Love; More than Conquerors; Red Ink, and People of the Book) and Deliver Me from Evil are also now available as ebooks for your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, and Nook.

Mary R. Snyder is the author of God, Grace, and Girlfriends: Adventures in Faith and Friendship. In addition to the print book, the ebook is available here. Nook books can be read on your PC, Mac, Android, iPad,  iPhone, or Nook. (Go here for free reading apps.)

You can download the first chapter of her book now for free from New Hope Digital.

Mary R. Snyder’s busy blog, www.maryrsnyder.com, is one of multiple ways women can connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures because, with God’s love, humor, and vivid detail, she carries God’s holy truth in her messages. 

Mary Snyder will be on the Girl’s Get-A-Way cruise from January 12-16, 2012. She is currently a featured columnist with New Hope Digital.

As seen on Fox news, Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery (978-1-59669-301-2, $19.99) answers questions and promotes discussion about the slavery system that crisscrosses Atlanta, Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, California, Texas, North Carolina, Haiti, Amsterdam, India, Cambodia, and beyond. The authors’ gripping journey shocks but also motivates and provides resources to equip new generations of abolitionists from all corners of society and diverse worldviews who share the common call to stop injustice. DVD included with book.

New Hope Publishers also offers the “Freedom” fiction series by award-winning author Kathi Macias. Deliver Me from Evil (978-1-59669-306-7, $14.99) is the first release in the series and Special Delivery (978-1-59669-307-4, $14.99) will be available this March.

Watch for a special article from Kathi Macias scheduled to be posted on January 11 on this site.

The New Hope Publishers Web site offers several podcasts, articles/columns, and videos on human trafficking. You may be especially interested in the article, “Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery,” which, in one place, lists and links to much of the New Hope Digital content.

Please also consider supporting the efforts of WorldCrafts, our ministry partner, and its Set1Free campaign. The Set1Free campaign highlights artisan groups working with women freed from sexual exploitation and/or others at risk of human trafficking.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

A sampling of our ebook list includes: Orphanology, Live a Praying Life!, Called and Accountable, Thirst No More, Soul Shaping, and all 6 current fiction titles from Kathi Macias. New titles will be added as available. A full current list is available here.  

For the latest resources from New Hope Publishers go to www.NewHopeDigital.com where you’ll find articles, podcasts, videos, book information, and more.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

Everywhere we went they could tell.

We didn’t even have to open our mouths. The stares and the whispers made it obvious: they knew we were Americans. But, we weren’t in Africa or Asia where two Caucasian women would easily stand out. We were in Europe.

In October 2011, I spent 2 weeks in Kishinev, Moldova, teaching a class at the Moldova Bible Seminary. I taught 4 hours each morning and spent most of the afternoon grading work and preparing for the next class. My friend Lisa, who traveled with me, stayed busy during the day ministering in various ways with the local church. We both got to interact with many Moldovans and hear about their lives.

Communism’s Lingering Effects

Moldova—part of the former Soviet block—is sandwiched between the Ukraine and Romania. Even 2 decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union the effects of Communist oppression still linger. Many Moldovans remember the overwhelming dominance of the USSR and the rest have heard the stories from the older ones who experienced it.

For instance, Alina, one of our young Moldovan companions and translators, told us about her great-grandparents. Their home was considered especially nice in the small village where they lived because it had 2 rooms—one for the family and one for the animals in cold weather. The Communist Party decided the house would be a great place to hold their local meetings.

Immediately the family was snatched up with only the clothes on their back and dumped in the snowy forests of Siberia to fend for themselves. Lisa asked Alina how they survived. “They wanted to live” was her matter-of-fact answer.

Someone else told us that children were taken from their parents. Others told us of the need to whisper, even at home, because of the very real possibility of being turned in for “crimes” against the government. Constant need. Constant fear. And the dark cloud of despondency that rose during the Soviet years still lingers.

So how did they know we were Americans? Lisa and I thought it must be the way we dressed. Perhaps our style of shoes tipped them off. But, according to Alina, it’s because our faces are “open and ready to smile.”

The darkness of Communism still shadows the Moldovan’s demeanor and overall view of life. By contrast, Lisa and I have lived in freedom all our lives and it shows.

Do I Stand Out?

This experience raised some questions in my mind. Shouldn’t the effects of my spiritual freedom be more evident than those of my political freedom? Yet, no one stares at me on the street because the presence of Christ shines through me.

Why don’t I stand out among my American neighbors like I did on the streets of Moldova?  Instead I tend to blend in.

Here’s my prayer: Lord, make me different from the world. Conform me to the image of Christ so those around me can tell that I belong to You. 

I welcome the stares.

Kathy Howard, www.kathyhoward.org, has authored 3 Bible studies, Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith. She and her husband live in Houston, Texas.

You may be interested in her articles, “Shaky Times Need an Unshakeable Faith” and “Embrace the ‘Crazy’ Wisdom of God.” Listen to a podcast with Kathy here.

Download the introduction and first chapter of Mary R. Snyder’s God, Grace, and Girlfriends today.

Christ’s light changes our lives and our friendships. Women everywhere, in all walks of life, are looking for girlfriends they can depend on. Friends who will stand by them, friends they can laugh with, and friends they can have an adventure with.  True-blue, dyed-in-the-wool girlfriends. Whether you’re in college or retired, a stay-at-home mom or any empty nester, a single career women or a working mother, you likely can identify with this heart cry of women everywhere: “Lord, send me girlfriends!”

In God, Grace, and Girlfriends you’ll learn the importance of friendships; discover tips on building healthy friendships; and explore dozens of possible trips, events, and adventures for you and your girlfriends.

Mary R. Snyder‘s busy blog, www.maryrsnyder.com, is one of multiple ways women can connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures because, with God’s love, humor, and vivid detail, she carries God’s holy truth in her messages. 

Mary Snyder will be on the Girl’s Get-A-Way cruise from January 12-16, 2012. She is currently a featured columnist with New Hope Digital.

James wrote, “Is any one of you sick? He should call for the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:14–15 NIV). His words remind us that sometimes you just can’t pray through your ailments alone.

In your pain or fear, your faith is almost zilch. You can’t bring yourself to articulate your need, let alone believe that God would heal you. James’ solution was to “call for the elders.” In other words, share that need with others.

For some of us, with very personal needs or with a hesitancy to share, we may need to call for strong faith-believing women to pray for us. We can lean on them to offer faith-believing prayers on our behalf.

James also implies that sin may be part of a sick person’s problem. He encourages us to confess those sins to each other (James 5:16a NIV)—something that may be harder to do than to ask for physical healing. But confession may be just the avenue we need to experience God’s forgiveness.

Extending God’s Grace

As we confess, other people can be His instruments for learning God forgives us. Long ago, God granted the power to express His forgiveness to His followers. It was during one of Jesus’s resurrection appearances. As Jesus showed His followers His hands and side, he said, “‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven’” (John 20:21–23 NIV).

This doesn’t mean that we do the actual forgiving of another’s sins, but it does mean that it is our privilege to convey God’s forgiveness. If we recognize a woman is repentant, then we can assure her of God’s forgiveness.

This can be through words or actions. As we interact with each other, we may actually voice words of forgiveness, but God’s grace may also be extended in a woman’s eyes, in her facial expression, in the touch of her hand or the hug she gives on parting.

Unexpected blessings, confirmations, reassurance, answered prayer, an experiencing of God’s presence, healing, and forgiveness are among the spiritual possibilities that may transpire when we meet with others in the name of Jesus.

I say may because we can’t predict which of these will occur, and neither can we demand that any of them occur. What we can do is prepare an environment where God can work. To prepare that environment, we need to talk.

Editor’s note: This article has been excerpted/adapted from The Friendship Factor: Why Women Need Other Women.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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Fruitful, joy-filled, victorious living happens only as we are spiritually enlightened through the truth of the Word of God and by the inner working of the Spirit of God. With humor and stories, Rhonda Rhea explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible. Her goal is to draw us back to the only light that can produce real change in our lives and in the lives of those we know and love, Christ Himself.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books. You may enjoy her article for New Hope Digital: “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love.” (Watch for more content from Rhonda this month.)

She lives in the St. Louis area but enjoys travelings to every corner of the nation speaking at all kinds of conferences and events. Rhonda says her favorite and most adventurous roles are as wife to Richie Rhea, senior pastor of Troy First Baptist Church, and as mom to her 5 nearly grown children.

Even in an economic recession, a massive amount of money is spent within the United States. And Christmastime is always a time of vast expenditures. A recent Gallup poll showed that the average American family planned on spending $764 on gifts this 2011 holiday season, slightly higher than what they planned at the same time for the 2010 holiday season.

That equals a lot of money.

Personal financial stewardship means Christians recognize that everything they have comes from God. We are not the owners of anything. Commonly, this is recognized as an impetus to tithing or giving from our earnings.

We should definitely be givers, no doubt. But as we pass through the holiday season, it is a time we can reflect on our spending. Are we spending too much? Should we be more generous and donate more to our churches or Christian ministries or charities?

These are worthwhile questions, but I’d like to say there is another question we should be asking as well. Is there a way that we can spend better? We intuitively understand we can (and sometimes should) spend less, but when we need to spend, can we spend better?

Responsible Spending

If there is anything that drives the way the world works, it’s money. Money talks and people listen. If the Christians of the world would regularly spend their money on products and at retailers that are consistently socially responsible, then the world would be radically different.

The good news is that there are several ways you can do this in 2012.

• Do you like chocolate? Who doesn’t? What about coffee and tea? If you buy these products, consider Full Circle Exchange. They verify that everyone in the supply chain of their products is compensated fairly and treated well. Their products are also produced in an environmentally responsible manner. In addition, they give a percentage of their profits to charity.
• Are you looking for fair-trade, handmade jewelry, accessories, stationery, Christmas decorations, and more? Then order from WorldCrafts, a ministry partner of New Hope Digital. Your purchase will support hardworking entrepreneurs in impoverished places around the world. Artisan groups noted as Set1Free are working with women leaving or at risk of sexual exploitation/trafficking.
• Most of us wear shoes. If you buy from TOMS Shoes your purchase will lead to the donation of a pair of shoes to a child in need. Your pair of shoes will help protect the feet of one of the millions of children around the world who are at risk of injury, infection, and soil-transmitted diseases.
• Wear glasses? If you purchase a pair of glasses from Warby Parker then they will give away a pair to one of the millions of people in the world who do not have access to affordable eyeglasses. Furthermore, they use some of their profits to partner with groups that train low-income entrepreneurs on how to sell eyeglasses affordably and profitably.

If you buy from these companies you will receive something for your purchase. It is not like giving to charity. Giving to charity is exactly that, it’s giving. But we also have to spend money. We need things like eyeglasses, shoes, home décor, and we can even enjoy a cup of java with some good chocolate from time to time.

Instead of simply going to the mall and reflexively buying whatever from whomever, let’s think more about our spending and how it can also help to create a more just world.

Mark L. Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Editor’s note: In regard to Full Circle Exchange, TOMS Shoes, and Warby Parker, this article does not constitute an endorsement by New Hope Publishers. Nor is it an exhaustive list of socially responsible companies. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. New Hope does not make any claim regarding the specific work of these 3 companies and cannot vet the charities they may support.

After sharing an important story from a recent missions trip to Japan, Kimberly gives suggestions for action in the new year. Will there be people celebrating Christ for the first time next year because of God’s grace through your obedience?

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries and the author of several books for New Hope Publishers, including Soul Shaping, Women of the Covenant, and A Passion for Purpose. She also serves as director of missions mobilization and women’s minstry at Second Baptist Church, Lancaster, South Carolina.

Kimberly recommended http://www.joshuaproject.net/ for more information on people groups.

You also may be interested in these titles:

• Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker
• Prayer 101: What Every Intercessor Needs to Know
• Called to Love: Stories of Compassion, Faith, and God’s Amazing Grace
• The Missional Entrepreneur: Principles and Practices for Business as Mission
• Bounce the Balls and They Will Come: A Coach’s Passion for the Great Commission
• Families on Mission: Ideas for Teaching Your Preschooler to Love, Share, and Care
• Equipped for Adventure: A Practical Guide for Short-Term Mission Trips
• Faces in the Crowd: Reaching Your International Neighbor for Christ

Chapter 13 is titled “The Church Multiplication Alliance: Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Concerts of Prayer Greater New York Partnership.” Read how God has moved in powerful ways through this alliance in New York City and around the world.

Mac Pier writes, “The partnership in building the alliance was rooted in Redeemer’s credibility as a rapidly growing church committed to the good of the whole church. The partnership was also rooted in Concerts of Prayer’s commitment to knit together as many diverse traditions in the Bible-believing church world as possible.”

Pier goes on to call the 2003 National Leadership Forum that Concerts of Prayer cohosted with Mission America as a “turning point” for the alliance. During that forum, Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian did 3 expositions from the Book of Acts for leaders attending from 50 cities. A brief summary (6 highlighted themes) is included in the chapter available for download now.

If you are hungry to see God move among the churches in your city, you may also be interested in Beyond My Church: Thinking and Living So That the World Might Know by Jason C. Dukes, available now from New Hope Publishers.  Activist and author Alan Hirsch writes, “Jason Dukes is the real deal. And his vision for the unity (as well as the universality) of the church in mission is as visionary as it is practical. We need more of this in our time.”

Download the first chapter of Jason’s book here.

Jason C. Dukes has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey, cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church. This faith community focuses on being the church, doing life together, and giving herself away. Jason helped to create and launch the Restoration Concept, House Blend Cafe, the Reproducing Churches network, and the Church of West Orange. He and his wife, Jen, have 5 children and live in Orlando.

You may also be interested in Jason’s other books:

• Live Sent
• Cartas Vivas

by Brenda Poinsett

When Bernie was a missionary pilot, flying Bible translators for the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service in Peru, he and his wife Nancy were nostalgic for Christmas back home in Pennsylvania. It was their third Christmas away from home, but their 3 boys were excited as Christmas approached. To the boys, Peru was home. And the air around the mission center, with more than 300 translators and support personnel, was festive.

The week before Christmas, Bernie’s flight coordinator asked him to make an emergency flight to the Maranon River basin, carrying medical supplies to an Indian tribe where there had been an epidemic. He scheduled Bernie to return to Nancy and the boys on the evening of December 23.

Bernie made the 5-hour flight without incident. The old Aeronca plane with its bulky pontoons droned through the scattered clouds and safely landed on the river near the Indian village. He planned to spend the night at the village, sleeping in a jungle lean-to between two palm trees, and depart the next morning for home.

During the night, however, he heard rain splattering on the thatch roof over his head. When he awoke in the morning the entire river basin was covered with fog and rain. There would be no flying that day.

It rained all day and through the next night. Christmas Eve was the same. The clouds were down to the tops of the trees. The rain fell steadily.

In the Wrong Place?

Bernie slipped on a poncho and trudged through the village down to the river’s edge. The plane was tied against the bank, rocking gently on the rain-splattered water. He crawled out on a pontoon and sat under the wing, feeling desperately sorry for himself.

It was Christmas Eve, and the night was descending on the jungle. He knew there was no way he could get back home.

Back in Pennsylvania, his folks would have returned from church and his mother would be getting the turkey ready. Outside, the snow would be falling. The big tree, with the star on top, would be standing as always in its corner.

Back at the mission center, 6 hours away, Nancy and the boys would be sitting at home alone. They knew that he was stuck in the jungle because he had been able to radio them. He would not be with family for Christmas.

“Oh, God,” he moaned, “I’m in the wrong place.”

More than anything else he wanted to be home for Christmas.

Instead, he sloshed his way back to his hut in the little village. He shared some yucca with a couple of Indian children, and read them the Christmas story out of the Bible, doing his best to translate it so they could understand.

A Radical New Perspective

That night, under his mosquito net, Bernie had a visitation from God—a midnight clear moment like the shepherds experienced on the hills outside ofBethlehem. There were no angels, and no bright light, but the clarity was there, and so was a voice.

As he lay in his hammock, desperately homesick, he heard God say: “My son, this is what Christmas is all about. Jesus left heaven and on Christmas morning He woke up in the ‘wrong place’—a stable in Bethlehem. Christmas means leaving home, not going home. My only begotten Son did not come home for Christmas—He left His home to be with you.”

Bernie opened his eyes. Overhead, through the mosquito net, he could see the brown palm-thatch leaves that formed the ceiling of the lean-to. Beneath him was the hard-packed dirt floor. All around was the sound of gently falling rain.

But out there in the darkness were men and women, boys and girls, tiny babies—all part of the Indian tribe. He was there, away from home Christmas Eve, because Jesus left his home on Christmas. Bernie was there because Jesus said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (John 20:21 KJV)

During the night the rain stopped. On Christmas Day Bernie was able to take off from the river and by nightfall he was back with his loved ones. He went back knowing in an indelible way that Christmas is God’s ultimate missionary outreach. In the wrong place for Christmas, a silent night turned into a holy night.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

by Patricia Ennis

It was October of my 18th year of life when my dad stepped into eternity. As a college freshman I not only had to deal with my own grief, I also was faced with the responsibility of helping my mother adjust to a new lifestyle.

You see, when Dad died, she not only lost her husband of 30 years, she also lost her circle of friends. Suddenly the married couples (my dad was the first of their group to die) didn’t know what to do about Mother—so they did nothing. Her grieving process was actually extended because of the withdrawal of her friends, many with whom she and Dad had enjoyed fellowship for years.

Our plight was magnified by the reality that we did not have extended family, and I was an only child. Quite frankly, the outlook for the holiday season appeared pretty dismal!

As the holidays approached, our neighbors graciously invited us to share their Christmas celebration with them. The sincere invitation, their effort to fold us into their family, inclusion in the gift exchange, and intentional conversation that focused on recounting the blessings of the year as well as looking forward to the next turned what could have been a miserable day into one of joy.

Of course we missed our husband and Dad but the focus on the Lord’s provision for us through the hospitality of our neighbors (Philippians 4:8–9, 19) soothed our grieving spirits.

A Catalyst to Biblical Compassion

I have a happy ending to my mother’s loss of her circle of friends, which I described at the beginning of this story. Ever the gracious Southern hostess, she did not cease to extend hospitality because of the change in her marital status—in the 5 years that she lived beyond Dad’s death, we entertained frequently, and eventually our guest list included widows from the group that had earlier excluded my mother. Though her arthritic condition precluded her from doing quite as much food preparation as she was accustomed to do, she continued to help me hone the skills that were second nature to her.

The loving hospitality extended to us on that first lonely Christmas served as a catalyst for Mom and me to open our home throughout the year—especially during the holiday season! Will you consider displaying biblical compassion by including some of the “others”—singles, widows, and the grieving—in your holiday celebrations? Who, knows, you might be entertaining an angel incognito (Hebrews 13:2)!

Patricia Ennis is the author of Becoming a Young Woman Who Pleases God. She serves as distinguished professor and director of homemaking programs, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

By Sheryle Cruse

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”—Matthew 1:23 (NKJV)

Matthew 1:23 reminds us of Jesus’ name, Immanuel—“God with us.” That means that as we Christmas hustle and bustle, Christmas shop, and Christmas stress about this wonderful time of year, He is right there. When we’re cheery, when we’re grumpy, He’s there. When we forget Him, when we remember Him, He’s still there.

There are Nativity displays galore during this season. We see varying styles and sizes. And Who is in these Nativity scenes? It’s Baby Jesus.

Jesus—He’s not just another Christmas ornament. He is God with us. Are we living in step with our Savior? Or do we treat Him as just a decoration?

Jesus is relevant and present. He doesn’t want to merely decorate your life; He wants to guide it and bless it! Are we keeping the “main thing the main thing?” Are we celebrating that?

Immanuel. God is with us. It’s a celebration beyond tradition; it’s God’s loving gift for us!

Now a poet living in St. Paul, Minnesota, Sheryl Cruse writes as a way of ministering to those struggling with eating disorders. Her poems have been published in several journals and newsletters. She is the author of Thin Enough: My Spiritual Journey Through the Living Death of an Eating Disorder.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Kimberly Sowell

It looked like the twinkling landscape of any major American city square readied for Christmas. But we were far from home. We were in Japan.

I was standing on a corner of Fukuoka with my daughter, a friend and her daughter, and our male teammate as we beckoned people to come talk with us about the true meaning of Christmas. The dazzling display of Christmas lights was breathtaking, but those lightbulbs seemed dim in comparison to the light of Christ that was shining through my daughter. I stood back with tears in my eyes as my 9-year-old told a woman that Jesus is the King of kings and He means everything to her. She was sharing Jesus with a world in need.

God at Work

This was a missions trip like no other. Our method for spreading the good news was to work with our resident missionary to share the gospel on the city streets and to do several Christmas parties around the city. God opened the door for 10 Christmas parties, and God brought more than 300 moms, children, senior citizens, and college students to hear the true meaning of Christmas and the story of why Jesus came.

One woman said, “I saw a picture of Jesus dying on the Cross, and it always made me feel sad. But now I know that Jesus came to save the whole world.” Wow!

Another woman came to a party and asked if she could come again the next day; the story of Jesus impressed her and she wanted to hear it again. One lady asked about prayer, another person asked to hear a testimony . . . God was at work.

At Christmas and throughout the year, the world needs to hear that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). How will God use you? Share that Christmas cheer!

Editor’s note: You also may be interested in listening to a podcast next week with Kimberly on the subject of world evangelization. Scheduled to be posted on December 29, 2011.

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries. She is also a regular voice on New Hope Digital. Her most recent works include Soul Shaping, Women of the Covenant, and A Passion for Purpose.

by Linda M. Clark

Because my husband’s work took us away from both sides of our family, we developed some Christmas traditions built around reaching out to people in need. We exchanged gifts and mailed the usual boxes to grandparents and friends, but my husband and I always tried to provide opportunities for our 3 children to experience giving rather than just receiving.

In addition to earning money for the annual Christmas missions offering by doing extra household chores, Wayne, Phillip, and Janna helped with a variety of projects for homeless families, providing holiday meals, gathering canned goods, and buying gifts for children. We had a lot of fun through the years as a family knowing that we helped others to celebrate Christmas too.

Children grow up, marry, and establish homes of their own. After many years, it was just my husband and me! That first year was a time of adjustment because there were no children at our Christmas celebrations.

It was obvious that we needed to establish new traditions, ones that fit our new title as “empty nesters.” We began to look for new opportunities to share Christ with others during the Christmas season.

Since then, we have tried in a number of ways to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of others at Christmastime. We have served meals at a senior citizen center and on skid row in Los Angeles. We have bought gifts for children whose parents were in prison and helped with a follow-up celebration event for their families. One year in an effort to help one of my granddaughters learn the blessing of giving to others we shopped for winter scarves and matching gloves for the homeless. Another year we set a goal of filling 15 Operation Christmas Child boxes. The hardest part was finding the boxes!

We have recently moved from California to Indiana and are already in search of a Christmas project that will allow us to share God’s love through Jesus, His Son. Merry Christmas as you, too, establish or continue Christmas celebrations and ministries!

Linda M. Clark speaks both nationally and internationally on a wide range of subjects of interest to women and leads seminars, retreats, and conferences on spiritual growth, women’s life issues, and missions. She is the compiler of 5 Leadership Essentials for Women and author of Awaken the Leader in You.

Title: Homeless for the Holidays

Artist’s description: With this piece, I wanted to capture the typical Christmas feast image you see on Christmas cards and magazines, but with a twist. Celebrating Christmas in a world of need isn’t just about giving gifts. Often times we think about buying things for others, when the greatest gift we could give them is our time and the love of Jesus Christ. This is where the homeless character comes into play, because by serving “the least” we are serving God Himself. You never know how important a hot meal and a loving attitude is to someone who has suffered their whole life.

Question: Is there room at your table this Christmas?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in our focus book this month on New Hope Digital: Beyond My Church by Jason C. Dukes. This book explores how the church can live in a manner that draws others to believe in the Son of God.

As you are celebrating Immanuel this year, may I ask you a question regarding your neighbors (all those who live on the daily pathways of your life right there in your community)?

I admit up front that this question is a loaded one. It will be followed by some personal thoughts on the story of the shepherds and how Immanuel’s arrival changed forever those individuals and their community and our world.

So, here’s the question: If the people of your community believed and actually lived as though “God with us” was a reality, what might surprisingly be different about the neighborhood, the community, and the city where you live?

Luke 2 and Some Thoughts on His Coming

As you ponder this question, please consider the following personal reflections (with accompanying Scriptures) from the story of the shepherds in Luke 2:8–20 (NASB).

:: Emmanuel challenges our community’s religious norms, bypassing the ritually religious people to show up among those who weren’t necessarily religiously active.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

:: Emmanuel questions who our community values, highlighting the presence of the powerless and exposing the powerful (by their lack of presence).

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

:: Emmanuel rebukes how our community typically thinks of God. We do not perform well in order to gain His presence, but rather He is pleased to give us His presence in spite of our performance.

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

:: Emmanuel causes us to look for God differently. We search for Him away from our erected mountains of worship only to find Him out in the midst of the ignored, unimportant, overlooked, and dirtiest of places.

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

:: Emmanuel transforms wayward loners into loving worshippers, making us into a community of people who learn the ways of God together even from the most unexpected of teachers.

 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

The Bottom Line

How might Immanuel change the way you and I think and live and interact in our community? May we remember daily what God desires, who He values, how He loves us, where He is, and why He is so worthy of our worship.

Because while we were still sinners, both self-indulgent and self-righteous, He came to be with us.

And that changes things.

Even how we celebrate His coming.

So, what would you suggest? In response to what we have learned and continue to learn from Immanuel, how might the local church expressions in our neighborhoods join together to do more than just celebrate Christmas in the same old ways? How might we together go and be Immanuel in our communities?

Please leave your stories and thoughts so we can celebrate and learn His ways together!

Jason C. Dukes, author of Live Sent, Cartas Vivas, and Beyond My Church, has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Raised in New Orleans, he is a Christ follower and a leader, a husband and a father, a learner and a teacher, a servant and a brother. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

by Rhonda Rhea

So much shopping! By the time I finish making my shopping list, I often start to wonder if I’m going to have to sell an organ before the bills come in.

Incidentally, I’m leery of selling off parts I’m presently using. However, there doesn’t seem to be a big market for tonsils. Slightly used appendix anyone? Nice spleen, only one owner. How about my gizzard?

I do try to stay this side of the organ black market, but toward the end of the shopping season you just might find me turning my purse upside down and giving it several latch-rattling shakes. I don’t know why I think I’m going to be pleasantly surprised at what shakes out of those dark recesses of my purse. I somehow imagine enough cash to finish off the entire shopping list will suddenly appear—and maybe enough to get my nails done.

I’m brought forlornly back to reality when I realize I’ll be trying to finish off the list by wheeling and dealing with 3 nickels, a large ball of purse fuzz, and some stale gum. To say the least, none of that looks good for my nails.

On My Knees

My shopping strategy may not always be the smartest, but here’s hoping my real Christmas celebration will always begin and end on my knees. Whether life is humming along pleasantly or we’re suffering through difficulties a lot bigger than a minor but taxing financial situation at the mall, prayer should be our continuous response to God, who provides everything we really need. James 5:13 says,“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.” (NLT).

The Christmas charge (which has nothing to do with a credit card) is to stay connected to our Creator through His provision of prayer. The Message phrases Mark 11:24 this way:  “‘That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything.’”

God’s “everything” is not really about all the items on that shopping list. As a matter of fact, it tends to put all our shopping lists in perspective. It’s about knowing Him and the spiritual fruit-filled life He can provide.

So let’s stay connected to the Father in prayer and watch as He fills our life with sweetness. You’ll find that staying in touch with Him even influences our buying decisions. I think that means I can keep my spleen. And I found out I don’t even have a gizzard.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of 8 books, most recently How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? from New Hope Publishers. She lives in the St. Louis area but enjoys traveling to every corner of the nation speaking at all kinds of conferences and events. Rhonda says her favorite and most adventurous roles are as wife to Richie Rhea, senior pastor of Troy First Baptist Church, and as mom to her 5 nearly grown children.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture indicated taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Many of us are frantically scurrying around during these busy December days. Sometimes we don’t know whether we are coming or going. We tell ourselves every year that this year it will be different.

Well, is it different for you this year? When our focus is on Christ and celebrating His birth, we find perspective. Seek Him and you will find Him.

Through WMU’s International Initiatives^sm we have the privilege of partnering with incredible national Christians and others who celebrate and share about the birth of our Savior in the countries in which they serve. WMU^® is the parent company of New Hope Publishers.

Global Resource Services (GRS)

Global Resource Services continues to identify and meet humanitarian needs in the Democratic People’s Republicof Korea(DPRK or North Korea). There are significant numbers of communities who lack access to safe and clean drinking water. WMU’s Pure Water, Pure Love^sm has provided funding for 4 water distribution systems in the Haepo community. These systems provide water for the soy factory, swine farm, health clinic, and nearby villages. More than 100,000 people now have a clean water source. A new project in North Korea is now helping to feed malnourished children.

Arab Woman Today (AWT)

One of the vital ministries of AWT is the radio broadcast. Although many Arab women are highly educated, there are also quite a few Arab women who are illiterate. Many others have no direct access to the Internet. Therefore, books, magazines, and the Internet are empty avenues for them.

To overcome these barriers, and also to provide the opportunity for all women to receive God’s Word in their own place, AWT Ministries broadcasts twice a week on Trans World Radio (TWR). Woman Today is a 15-minute radio program, which is picked up by listeners throughout the Middle East andNorth Africa. Social, spiritual, and psychological topics are discussed on the program, which is built around themes relevant to the daily lives and needs of Arab women.

Moldova: Beginning of Life

Human trafficking is rampant in parts of Moldova. Beginning of Life (BOL) is a ministry, located in Kishnev, Moldova, that reaches out to minister to the needs of hurting women and children. Started as a ministry to women considering abortion, their work has now grown to include actively supporting women escaping human trafficking, providing care to pregnant women with AIDS, and serving in the local schools to educate children on the dangers of trafficking.

Kristy Carr is a ministry consultant for National WMU. More resources regarding International Initiatives, including information about other partners and opportunities, are available here. A flyer is also available.

In this podcast, author Brenda Poinsett discusses ways to reduce the stress of holiday hospitality. She then considers the Christian foundation for hospitality and why she likes to entertain in her home. In closing, she prays for the audience and their opportunities to host Christmas celebrations.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

by Lorie L. Keene

The Christmas season is always very exciting for me. I admit that I love all of the lights, decorations, and foods associated with this time of year.

However, beyond favorite presents and memories of family celebrations, one Christmas stands out in my memory.

When I was about 10 years old my parents adopted a local family for Christmas. I did not fully understand what that meant at first, but as they allowed me to participate in the purchasing of gifts and preparing items for the couple’s children, I began to see a clearer picture of what it means to give.

I will never forget that chilly Christmas Eve night when my parents bundled me up and allowed me to ride with them to the family’s home. We knocked on the door and were greeted by a precious woman who seemed so happy to see us.

I saw their home through my 10-year-old eyes and was in shock. I had just left a house with a huge decorated tree and lots of gifts already underneath. What I encountered there, however, was a bare living room with what I can only describe as a Charlie Brown Christmas tree struggling to stand up in the corner. Unlike my own, it was mostly bare and sheltered no gifts.

My parents and I placed our presents under the tree, prayed with her, and left. My mom used that night to remind me that Christmas is not about what I get, but is instead about how I can give to others in the name of Jesus.

Because of that experience, and because of my own faith convictions, I prayerfully try to keep my eyes open for people in my church or community who could use a gift of love, especially around the holidays. It may be inviting a newly widowed lady to my home. Or, perhaps, it is an envelope of money lovingly placed on the dash of a church member’s car during the service.

The Lord will direct our hearts to the needs of His children. We need only to ask.

‘“It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”—Acts 20:35 (ESV)

Lorie L. Keene is the author of Pull Up a Chair: You, Me, and the Gospel of John. She holds a master of divinity degree in Christian education/women’s ministries and a ThM (master of theology) from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Lorie and her family live in Tennessee.

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Angie Quantrell

Just 30 minutes.

This year, as in many years past, our family plans to begin Christmas festivities with a Christmas Eve candlelight service. As pastor, wife, and family, we have started candlelight services in each church where we have served. Not only is the time special, expectant, hushed, and joyful, it also sets the tone for young and old alike—Christmas is the birthday remembrance and celebration of our King.

In a world where excesses abound and many people focus on indulging their “wants,” our family has found this peaceful reminder helpful to keep us thinking about Jesus. It’s just a small step, but over the years, we have invited countless families, friends, church members, and guests to join us in contemplating the birth of the Savior in story, song, and fellowship. All in attendance are welcomed with open arms, receiving a gift of love and truth for a world that needs both.

Of course, our Christmas Eve candlelight service is not a heavy time, but a joyful, uncomplicated occasion. Often, the simple message, decorations, Christmas music, and loving greetings embrace those who need it most.

Thoughts of a dark world without light give way as candles light candles, and the Christmas Eve gathering transforms into a room filled with light. Christmas carols sound best when sung by candlelight. The reflection of candlelight in each face has pointed our hearts to Him, the One who loves us so much that He came to be the Light.

What is 30 minutes? A half hour of quiet, calm, and remembering can make a big difference in the midst of all the Christmas hoopla.

Our children expect it, our hearts embrace it, our King delights in it. It’s what we do. We share the Light.

Angie Quantrell is currently teaching kindergarten at Harrah Community Christian School on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington. She is the author of resources for both adults and preschooolers. Her work includes Families on Mission and the 4-book “I Can” series (I Can Pray, I Can Give, I Can Do It!, and I Can Be More Like Jesus). 

Angie lives in the Yakima Valley of central Washington with her husband, Pastor Kevin. She loves life and growing closer to Jesus every day.

by Donna S. Thomas

Abdul was a graduate student in nuclear energy. That impressed me. We talked more about his university back home and what it was like. Then he asked me a question.

“Would you mind helping me at the grocery store? There are so many things, and I am having trouble just understanding what everything is.”

Of course. I was glad to help him. This was perfect, a good beginning, a good way to develop a relationship.

At a later time with him, I said, “Abdul, the next time we meet, I want you to tell me about Islam, and then I’ll tell you about Christianity.”

He was open to that. We had some interesting conversation, and he was very open to talking and listening.

It wasn’t long before he came to my house for dinner. He was much more interested in the house, what I had, the pictures on the wall, and how I did things than he was in the dinner. That was a couple of years ago, and we developed a great relationship. We had wonderful times together, as I answered his questions, and we talked about Islam and Christianity.

Around the first week in December, I had him over to my house again. He asked questions about Christmas. At least some people in every country know about Christmas, but few really know what it is all about. He wanted to know about the Christmas tree and how we celebrate the holiday. He wondered why we buy so many things and why we give gifts. Then he threw a bombshell.

“There is something I don’t understand. Is Santa Claus Jesus’ father?”

What a misconception. I was so glad that he felt comfortable asking that question. And I was so glad that I was there to answer it. His question provided the perfect opportunity for me to tell him who Jesus really is and why he came to earth.

Easter brought his questions about the Easter bunny, and again I was able to rid him of all those ideas that have come from the commercialization of our special days. We had other times together and more questions before he returned to Jordan. He wasn’t here long, but I know he valued our friendship and appreciated learning about Jesus.

Donna Thomas is the author of Faces in the Crowd: Reaching Your International Neighbor for Christ. For five decades, Donna has had the remarkable privilege of training church leaders in countries as far away as China, India, Russia, and Egypt. She’s been to more than 80 countries; she can pilot a single-engine plane; and, with her late husband, Chuck, she cofounded Project Partner with Christ. She more recently founded Christian Vision Ministries and speaks to numerous audiences across the US.

Beyond My Church by Jason C. Dukes is a wonderful book to highlight this Christmas season. When we think beyond ourselves and beyond our particular local congregations, then the kingdom of God can grow in exciting ways. When we think and live in unity with other Christ followers across all sorts of dividing lines, then our message will be authenticated to a waiting world.

The message of the newly released Beyond My Church fits perfectly with our December theme on New Hope Digital: Celebrating Christmas in a World of Need. In addition to a free download of the first chapter of Jason’s book, look for two columns and a podcast from him as well this month.

A number of our New Hope authors have stepped to the plate (nice to think of baseball in the winter, you know) this month and contributed a variety of articles on the theme of celebrating Christmas well. Great work has been contributed by Dan Darling, Kathi Macias, the Singletons, and several others. I truly hope you’ll both enjoy and be moved by these pieces.

And don’t miss a new column from Mary R. Snyder and an update on the grandmother blog by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our visitors a joyous, peaceful, and Christ-honoring Christmas. Let’s celebrate well—enjoying God’s gifts to us with our families and friends. May our days also be marked by giving to the needy, praying for the lost, and going to those who need to hear the glorious message of Immanuel.

“When the King of kinds exchanged His majestic robes for swaddling clothes, surely it was the most beautiful, awe-inspiring moment in all eternity.”—from Pursuing the Christ by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

by Joy Brown

Raymond and Robert had lived beside each other for 35 years. Yet they had not spoken in 20 years.

The dispute began over the ownership of a pecan tree that stood half way between their homes. Mutual bitterness grew as deeply as the roots of the tree.

If they happened out in the yard at the same time, they automatically looked in opposite directions. Every morning, as ritualistically as the sun rising, they retrieved the morning paper—one looking north, the other looking south.

Their children graduated from high school and college, got married, and had children of their own. The two men received promotions, became grandfathers, and retired. So many seasons came and went, and the only thing these two experienced in common was their resentment.

Christmas arrived with all its merriment and joy. Betty busily prepared for the next day’s dinner. She asked Raymond to take a freshly baked pie next door for Margaret and Robert. He resisted. However, the look in Betty’s eyes convinced him that resistance was not an option.

Mumbling, he bundled up and plodded through the fresh snow. His shaky finger rang the doorbell. Instead of Margaret’s warm smile greeting him as he had hoped, he stood face- to-face with Robert.

“Accidental” Peace Offering

“Is Margaret here?” His voice sounded weak.

A gruff voice answered in reply, “No, still shopping.”

Raymond extended his arms with the pie.

Robert did not reach for the pie, did not say a word, but he stood and stared at his neighbor. In a half frightened, half confused tone, he asked, “Would you like to come in?”

Raymond had his golden opportunity. He could refuse, walk away, and end with the final word! Everything in him wanted to, but nothing in him would let him. So he entered the house.

At first the conversation was awkward. Then, Raymond noticed the picture album on the table. “I don’t suppose you have any pictures of the grands in there, do you?”

“Only a few hundred.”

What was that sound? The two men were laughing together!

Raymond picked up the album and the first pictures he saw were ones of the two couples and their children sharing everything from watermelon to snowmen. Then, only pictures of Robert, Margaret, and their family completed the album.    

Raymond closed the book and asked, “What happened?”

Robert stared at the floor and muttered, “The tree, remember?”

The two sat in silence. You see, the tree had died in a winter ice storm 5 years after the dispute began.

They looked up, but this time not in opposite directions. Each extended his hand. Neither said, “I’m sorry.” Neither had to, for their silent handshake spoke loudly.

Wading through the deepening snow on his way back home, Raymond unknowingly walked over the very spot where the tree once stood. In the distance and in his heart carolers joyfully sang, “Peace on earth, good will toward men.”

Forgiveness is the world’s greatest need at Christmas . . . and throughout the year!

Editor’s note: Joy’s article is a work of fiction. However, she writes: “When my [pastor] husband, Wayne, read this [actually a longer version] at the end of a sermon, a man came up to me afterwards and said that he and his neighbor did not speak for years . . . and it was over the ownership of a tree! I could hardly believe it. My how we can allow little things to cause such trouble!” When we know the eternal pardon of Christ, we can be free to forgive others.

Joy Brown is a dramatist, a sign linguist, and a gifted Bible expositor. She is a coauthor of A Passion for Purpose, A Month of Miracles, and Chosen and Cherished.

A minister’s wife for almost 40 years, Joy’s passion is biblical research, with an emphasis on understanding New Testament concepts in light of their Hebraic context. She and her husband, Wayne, founded Diversified Ministries, a global missions and evangelism outreach, which also provides retreats for ministers, missionaries, and their spouses. They live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

We were new to the church.

I was no longer the woman in charge of Bible study, women’s ministry, or any of a host of other projects I’d managed with our previous church body. I was just Mary.

I didn’t have a passel of girlfriends to talk with before the service started or a group to chat with after. I had my family, but no girlfriends.

In this new place, I slowed down enough to look around. What I saw broke my heart and changed the way I connect with people.

She brushed by me with a quick “Hi, glad you’re here,” but she never made eye contact. I watched her slip around a few others with the flash of a smile as she made her way across the room. She stopped and spoke to a couple of women before rushing off to whatever important mission called her name.

She was busy.

She didn‘t have time to stop and talk with newcomers. She had important things to do, just like I once did. Oh, Lord was that me? And He spoke right into my heart, Yes, dear child.

I was once the busy woman with a smile on her face who never had time to look anyone in the eye. It wasn’t that I didn‘t want to look, I was afraid of what I might see there. What if the person needed something? I didn’t have time for that.

I understood this busy woman because I was just like her. My heart broke for her and my heart broke for me. In all the busyness, I missed the people.

The Lord began to open my eyes to the people He places in my path every day and the blessings I will miss if I don’t take the time to stop and connect. 

These days I try to:

• Look at the person right in front of me.  Don’t look over her shoulder for the woman you want to meet.  Engage the one in front of you.
• Stop what I’m doing. I’ve often asked, “How are you?” when I truly did not want to know the answer. I asked while digging money out of my wallet or while flipping through a stack of paper. Now, I try to stop what I’m doing and then ask a question.
• Listen to the answer. I do my best to stand still and look the person in the eye while she speaks. And, yes, I do sometimes struggle to pay attention when the answer goes on a bit longer than I’d imagined. The connection is worth the few extra minutes of time.
• Respond in love. Maybe she’s negative or complaining—don’t dismiss it.  Remember you don’t know what she’s going through. Speak kindly and pray for her.

Please know that I still struggle to focus on the person the Lord places in front of me. I want to connect, but many times it’s just with the people I choose, not the people the Lord has for me. I’m learning to trust God’s plan for connections, but it’s a matter of daily prayer. It’s a giving over of my will to His much bigger plan. 

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

My grandson Campbell’s birth date can now be counted out in weeks.

“He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.”—Proverbs 14:26 (NIV1984)

The spiritual inheritance I will leave behind for future generations begins with my own walk with the Lord. As I make God my fortress and my stronghold, part of the inheritance I leave—part of my estate—is my dwelling place.

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.”—Psalm 90:1 (NIV1984)

“But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.”—Psalm 94:22 (NIV1984)

Kennedy, Sara, the dogs, and Campbell's crib

All that I invest in my personal relationship with the Lord will provide spiritual shelter for future generations. I am nearly 60 years old, but I still take refuge in my parents’ faith. When times are hard, my parents’ faith, tested and proven through the years, is a safe place for me to run. Because I have taken shelter there time and again, I have developed my own faith.

My dad always loved the Scripture. My childhood memories are peppered with scenes of Daddy as he sat reading the Bible privately, or as he read to us at family devotionals, or as he reclined across the foot of our beds at night and led us to memorize verses and passages of Scripture. When I read from the King James Version, I hear my father’s voice. He made me love the Word of God.

My mother has always been excited about prayer. My earliest memories include her prayer groups and her excitement in telling us about great prayer adventures. She made me crave prayer.

They have passed on the rare and beautiful treasures with which their lives were adorned.

Now I can build a secure fortress of genuine faith for my own children and for their children. The stronghold I am building for my descendants looks a lot like the one my parents built for me. We have the same Architect and the same Interior Decorator. I am adding my own personal touches to the décor, things that are uniquely mine.

Working on a Building Filled with Treasure

“The house of the righteous contains great treasure.”—Proverbs 15:6 (NIV1984)

As I continue to discover new depths of faith, I am building a home place for generations to come.

“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”—Proverbs 24:3–4 (NIV1984)

The Lord is building riches into your life as you walk with Him. As you display them to your children and your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren, they will learn to love and value them. They will say to themselves, “Someday I want that treasure in my life.” As the Lord teaches them as He has taught you, the wisdom, understanding, and insight they gain in their walk will have even more value because it echoes your history with the Lord.

My prayer as a grandmother-to-be is this: Lord, let me leave rare and beautiful treasures to enrich the lives of the generations of my descendants. May I live in such a way that they desire You. Teach me to put You on display. Use my life to show Campbell and his (yet-to-be) siblings and cousins how beautiful, spectacular, and wonderful You are.

A well-respected author and speaker, Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Her recent books include Life Unhindered! and The Power of Small. Available for preorder now: Altar’d.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

by Brenna Stull

When it comes to Christmas, we want to be a “Go Tell It on the Mountain” family not an “All I Want for Christmas” clan. But that takes intentionality in today’s American culture.

My husband and I have found a number of ways to directly involve our children in giving to those in need, both locally and globally. A few examples include writing letters to our sponsored children overseas, helping distribute food boxes to people in our community, and buying and delivering gifts to the children of those in prison.

One of my favorite family Christmas traditions is this: my husband gives a $20 bill to each of the children early in December and encourages them to be prayerful and alert. Who would God have them bless with $20? Or will it be used to help a few people?

It is a good exercise in focusing on others, prayer, listening to God’s leading, and giving. [Of course, you can tailor this activity to your own family and give whatever amount you choose to your children.]

When I think about it, I realize that my goal is actually to live in the spirit of that exercise all 365 days of the year.

Lord, help me to focus on others and not myself. Teach me to be in constant prayer. Keep me alert to hear your voice as the Holy Spirit directs and guides. Remind me to live generously, knowing that I am always giving out of my Father’s abundance, which was never mine to hoard in the first place. May this Christmas season be filled with the joy and peace due its celebration, and may they continue throughout the year as I go and tell the good news of Christ. 

Brenna Stull, pastor’s wife (Chris) and mother to 5 children, is a professional home organizer. She is the author of Coach Mom: 7 Strategies for Organizing Your Family into an All-Star Team. Passionate and transparent, she is a popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats and Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) meetings. Brenna and her family live in McKinney, Texas.

by Gayla Parker

One morning, after decorating for Christmas the previous day, I came down the stairs into our living room to find a most unusual sight.

Multiple G.I. Joe action figures had surrounded the manger scene. Some were lying on their stomachs, weapons in hand, on the roof of the stable. Others were hanging from the roof, looking down at Baby Jesus. And a few were standing behind the Nativity, heads barely visible, also with weapons in hand.

My first reaction was to remind our sons that the manger scene was not a place for pretend battles but a reminder of the birth of Jesus. But before I began my lecture that morning I asked them why they decided to place the action figures around the manger. The answer was nothing like I had expected.

Nathan, our second born, replied, “I put them there. They are guarding Baby Jesus so Herod can’t kill him.”

Who could argue with that? The boys never heard the lecture I was prepared to give. Every year since then our manger scene has housed a few G.I. figures to “guard Baby Jesus.”

A Smile and a Reminder

The memory brings a smile to my face and reminds me that I must be intentional about “guarding” Jesus during the Christmas season and every other season.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27). That is how we guard Him in our lives.

When we love the Lord with all our heart, the words that come out of our mouths are edifying. Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

Loving Jesus with our minds is thinking on these things, “Whatever is true . . . excellent or praiseworthy” (Philippians 4:8). It is amazing how grumpiness and irritability disappear when we practice this advice from Paul.

Loving Jesus with our soul and strength is reflected in our actions. In Matthew 2 the wise men knew Jesus had been born because they saw His bright star. We are His bright stars today, leading others to Christ when we serve food at a shelter, take gifts to a child in need, invite an international to dinner, and/or give more than we keep.

In the day of His birth, Jesus was a threat to Herod. I wonder, is the church still a threat to powers of darkness today? Are our words an overflow of Christ in our heart? Are our thoughts focused on what is good? Are we the stars that lead men to Christ? Is the testimony of our life guarding the reputation of Jesus?

During this Christmas season, let us all be intentional about guarding Baby Jesus so that others might come to know Him today as the Savior of the world.

Gayla Parker is the author of Active Compassion: A Calling to Care. She is a former missionary to the Philippines, the current WMU executive director of Maryland and Delaware, and a popular women’s speaker.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Jesus came to earth and took upon Himself the constraints of space and time. Born unceremoniously in a stable, His birth was greeted with stable smells and cattle lows. But that hidden moment, noticed by no one of consequence in the world’s estimation, is the moment that defines all other moments. The Word became flesh and made His home among us.”—from Pursuing the Christ by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Artist Roxanne Lingle also performs original music (“For Me”) with lyrics by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.

Well-respected author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Her recent works include Live a Praying Life! and The Power of Small. Don’t miss her upcoming release, Altar’d.

Do you know the story of Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4)?

Jesus goes up to a Samaritan woman at a well and asks her to draw Him a drink. She questions the request:  why ask me for a drink when You’re a Jew and I’m a Samaritan? Jesus then quips that if she knew to whom she was talking, she would have asked Him to draw the water.

The Samaritan woman responds by rightly pointing out that Jesus had nothing with which to draw water. Jesus responds that she would never thirst again if she drinks His “living water.” He uses the opportunity to make clear that He is the promised Messiah.

Because of this passage (John 4:10 and also later John 7:38), Jesus is commonly referred to as the Living Water.

Children gathering water in Kenya. Photo by Tracy Haworth.

If one reads the Gospels with any honesty and regularity, the natural conclusion one reaches is that Jesus is nothing short of a genius. (The supernatural conclusion is to trust  Jesus as the only Son of God, worthy of all our worship.)  Every single one of His parables, stories, and comments has a powerful point,  frequently laced with multiple meanings. With this in mind, it is obviously no accident that Jesus uses the analogy of living water and correlates it to Himself.

The first miracle that Jesus performed was turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2). But after this miracle, He did not stand up and tell the crowd that He was the wine of life or living wine. Some may consider wine a fine addition to a special occasion, but it is hardly an indispensable part of life. So, Jesus does not describe himself in these terms.

Water, on the other hand, is absolutely essential to human survival. Without water, we, powerful humans we are, would die, within days. It would be a long, slow, and painful death, one that we would not wish on our worst enemy.

God is the creator of water. In the first chapter of Genesis, God blesses creation and its waters, “God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth’” (Genesis 1:22 NIV).

David makes it clear that the waters demonstrate God’s sovereignty over the earth: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters” (Psalm 24:1–2 NIV).

What Can You Do Without Water?

The water that many of us access by the flick of a faucet is easily taken for granted. Years ago, before we were married, my wife, Laurie, experienced a drought in Russia. The challenge of living without water became a harsh reality. Typically, we think of water for drinking but when you don’t have access to it, you begin to realize it affects everything we do.

The people could not clean their clothes, their dishes, nor themselves. They could not flush the commode nor wash their floors. They could not clean their food nor cook it.

They had to search for water, carry it, and spend hours boiling it. When water is not regular and plentiful, the search for it takes over one’s life.

There is little one can do without water. You cannot spend your time studying in school, building your business, or caring for your family. Water acquisition becomes an all-consuming task from which there is no relief. The need is constant.

There is not much time for church worship or contemplating spiritual things. This is why we cannot divide the physical from the spiritual. God created us as physical and spiritual beings. If we are weak in one area, it will frequently affect the other. And this is why Christians and churches around the world need to focus on ensuring others have clean water. With it, they have a better chance to flourish, enjoying life as God designed— in fellowship with one another and with the Living Water.

“If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42 NIV).

Editor’s note: You may also be interested in recent articles regarding clean water by Jason C. Dukes and Dillon Burroughs.

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

by Greg Singleton

We Singletons celebrate. Whether it’s a great report card, a football victory, or the final episode of a family favorite television show, we’ve always found a way to make it even bigger and better.

The Christmas season arrives early at our house, and by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend we’re fully decorated. The entire yard—front and back–and each room in the house takes on a new holiday style. Plenty of lights, trees and greenery, miniature snow villages and supersized ornaments, manger scenes, and a gallery of celebrations past make the whole place joyful. 

Music has always filled our home. At almost any time of the day, someone is singing or a favorite collection of holiday music is playing from the stereo system, a 90s beat-up boom box, or on iTunes.

We celebrate Christmas extravagantly and wholeheartedly.  But it’s never been for our own amusement. Our family’s calling is that we do Christmas for others.

Share the Joy

So, during the entire season, we share our joy. We make sure we invite over dear friends and take that opportunity to let them know how much we appreciate them. We include extended family members and celebrate a common heritage.

One evening, we have a tradition of inviting all the neighbors on our street to actually spend time together, more than just a wave and a hello. Also, our home church group— many of them young single adults who are away from their families—will gather one Sunday night and enjoy a full celebration at our house.

Then, on the last Tuesday evening before school closes for the holidays, Martha’s public high school students come by every year for a time of food and fun at “the Sings’ house.” Many of them won’t celebrate the season at their home. Family finances will prevent it, if they have a family at all.  Christmas is not always a big deal if you’re an inner-city kid living in poverty. Almost every one of them will hug us and thank us for the evening. (Not that long ago, one of them came by to visit and told us how sharing Christmas with us gave them hope.)

The Christmas season can be pretty empty if we don’t share it. But, when there’s a purpose for all the lights and sounds, when the joy of Jesus’ birth accompanies and envelopes every tradition, every decoration, every gathering and all the laughter, music, and noise, the celebration can change our lives and the lives of so many others around us.

Martha and Greg Singleton are the authors of Let It Shine! and Setting Up Stones. They have, for more than 30 years, met the challenges of balancing successful professional careers in journalism and marketing while raising a faith-filled family (a son, Matt, and a daughter, Annie). Together, they creatively share their experiences and insights on family life at conferences, seminars, workshops, churches of various denominations, schools, and businesses. They live in San Antonio, Texas.

by Martha Singleton

Christmas.

The word brings me visions of my childhood home, wonderful food, and repeated rides around our small town to see lights on neighbors’ houses and the Nativity scene in the park.

And then there was the decorated tree. One hundred percent real and the cause of croupy coughs that plagued me every year (though we didn’t make the connection until much later!)

In our own home, Greg and I tried purposefully to all our decorations, festivities, and traditions focus on God’s great love in sending Jesus to live and die for us.

We talked about the symbolism behind evergreens and gifts and lights as we decorated. We made the Nativity scene the focus of it all. We worked together as a family for the entire month of November to create yard decorations that would be a joy to our neighborhood and that would proclaim the good news of Christ’s birth.

In our giving and worship and service, we made sure our kids knew it was all because of Jesus and all for Him.

My Daughter’s Memories

Last week, my now adult daughter and I took a fun “girls” trip to Houston’s Nutcracker Market. As we rolled down I-10, with a new CD of Christmas music playing, I asked her, “When I say ‘Christmas,’ what pictures come to your mind?”

Her answer was immediate.

“Our whole family in the garage, sawing and painting for the yard scene. Devotion times every night at the manger scene. And getting in the car and looking at all the lights, singing along with the Christmas music on the way home from the Christmas Eve service.”

It was a thrill to me that what she remembered, what she treasured, and what she seeks to carry on in her home, with her husband and son, are the very things that we tried to emphasize. The time spent together, working on shared outreach projects, talking about Jesus, singing, reading the Bible story, and worshipping together were what made Christmas a special, holy time for our family. These activities served as a point of encouragement and inspiration in following Jesus throughout the year.

Sometimes as parents we can get swept up in the frenzy of preparation and fail to see the significance of our little conversations and interactions with our children. But if we are faithful and create an atmosphere that focuses on Jesus, Christmas can become for our families—and for those we seek to include—truly the holiest and happiest time of year.

Martha and Greg Singleton are the authors of Let It Shine! and Setting Up Stones. They have, for more than 30 years, met the challenges of balancing successful professional careers in journalism and marketing while raising a faith-filled family (a son, Matt, and a daughter, Annie). Together, they creatively share their experiences and insights on family life at conferences, seminars, workshops, churches of various denominations, schools, and businesses. They live in San Antonio, Texas.

by Daniel Darling

Lately many Christians in the US seem to have developed either one of two attitudes about Christmas.

Either we get hooked into the overheated “war on Christmas” rhetoric fueled by conservative media outlets and certain activist organizations that feel it necessary to justify their existence around the holidays. We get cranky. Christmas means whining constantly about the tired and overworked Walmart cashier who didn’t say merry Christmas.

This means we’ve reduced our interest in the story of the Incarnation (and our concern for the world) to a mostly meaningless phrase at the checkout line. Not good.

Or we take the opposite approach to Christmas. We get sucked into the consumerist, gotta-get-all-those-gifts mentality that makes the season of God’s miraculous entrance into the world about last-minute deals, scarves that nobody wants, and plastic gift cards. Of course, gift-giving can be redemptive and point to the story of the ultimate gift of Jesus, God’s Son. But often the greatest Gift gets shoved into the closet because it (actually, He) gets in the way of so many other seemingly important gifts.

Ouch! Immanuel treated like the aftershave bought for that cranky uncle who whines about the Walmart greeter.

A Different Way to Celebrate

I think both approaches miss the majesty of Christmas. Yes, the Western world is increasingly secularized and dismissive of Jesus. But that’s why we are still here. We are the ones who have been eternally transformed by the Incarnation. And we are to bless others in His name.

If we want the guy at the checkout to be excited about the real story of Christmas, why not let the gospel pour from us so he visibly sees Christ in us? If the message of Christmas is getting obscured, let’s shout it joyfully from our own little platforms. Maybe, just maybe, the secular world would take notice.

And let’s reset our priorities. Yes, there is an element of holiday stress we can’t avoid. I don’t quite recommend following John Grisham’s advice and skipping Christmas altogether. But we don’t have to let gifts, trees, and parties overwhelm the real story.

Let’s marvel that our calendars still force us to pause, one month out of the year, and stand in awe of God’s breaking into our world, deity in the flesh. Let’s not shove the breathtaking mystery of Jesus’ birth to the side.

Let’s put that front and center, in our own heartsLet’s beam with the joy of knowing the God-man. Let’s be the people who light up on Christmas and delight to tell the world about God’s love expressed in the Savior.

Daniel Darling is the senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. His latest release is iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/danieldarling; www.twitter.com/dandarling; www.danieldarling.com.

by Kathi Macias

What could the controversial issue of illegal immigration possibly have to do with Christmas? I asked myself that question several times when I first began to contemplate the idea of writing a Christmas novel.

You see, I don’t write feel-good or escape fiction, not as a rule anyway. My novels are nearly always based around some sort of social injustice and how the church can make a difference to the people caught up in the middle of that injustice. But a Christmas story should be an easy read . . . shouldn’t it?

The original Christmas story was not an easy read. An engaged couple, shunned by many who knew them for what was imagined to be an immoral union and a premature pregnancy, was forced to make a long, arduous journey just before the young woman’s baby was due.

As if that weren’t enough, by the time they reached their destination, they were unable to find a comfortable room where they could rest. Instead, they were forced to take shelter in a stable, with only the animals as their companions. When the woman’s child was born, she wrapped Him and laid Him in a manger, or feed trough.

That child, with such an inauspicious entrance into the world, would change the entire course of that world, though none but shepherds came to honor Him at the time. Wise men from the East also came to pay homage to the boy, but not until a couple of years later. The baby’s birth was lonely and humble, possibly even frightening and certainly painful for the young woman who bore Him.

But God saw it all—every moment, every tear, every cry—for He had purposed it from the beginning. A sinless baby would be born to redeem mankind on a dark, lonely night that would be celebrated for centuries to come. Is there any reason to think that the God who looked down upon that seemingly unremarkable first Christmas would not still look down on those in poor and humble circumstances, extending His love and care through the people who claim to belong to Him?

Christmas is a joyous time for many, but for those of us who know the One who is the true meaning and purpose of Christmas, it is more than that. It is indeed a celebration of His coming and the gift(s) He extended in the process. Yet it is also a time to reach out to the poor and needy among us and extend God’s love in every possible way we can.

And so A Christmas Journey Home, a novel built around illegal immigration and those who exist within its controversies, was born in my heart—and has now been transferred to a book. What an honor to partner with God in its creation!

The latest release from award-winning author Kathi Macias is A Christmas Journey Home. You may also be interested in Deliver Me From Evil, the first novel in her new, engaging “Freedom” series, which focuses on the fight against modern slavery.

For more information on sex trafficking, see resources here. You can also download the first 2 chapters of Deliver Me From Evil, which is the first novel in the “Freedom” series. An estimated 27 million people worldwide are held in some form of modern slavery.

People of the Book takes readers deep into Saudi Arabia. Download the first 3 chapters here and begin to learn more about the horrific issue of honor killings. People of the Book is the fourth novel in the “Extreme Devotion” series, which highlights the persecuted church around the world.  

Download a free sample of A Christmas Journey Home. This edgy yet heartwarming novel looks at the immigration issue from several angles. Two widows, victims of border violence, find their lives intersect in an unusual way on Christmas Eve. You can also watch a video trailer here.

This segment originally aired October 14, 2011, on The Harvest Show.

Download the table of contents, introduction, and first chapter of Beyond My Church by Jason C. Dukes.

Unity. What Jesus prayed for. How God’s work happens.

Jesus prayed for His followers to think “beyond my church” so that God’s work would happen among us—and beyond us. When we love one another as Jesus loves us—living according to His ways rather than our own—the world will see Him.

Join pastor, speaker, and author Jason C. Dukes and discover how Christ-centered unity can become part of the DNA of your local church expression.

“Jason Dukes is the real deal. And his vision for the unity (as well as the universality) of the church in mission is as visionary as it is practical. We need more of this in our time.”—Alan Hirsch, activist and coauthor of The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church

Download the first chapter of Beyond My Church now.

Jason C. Dukes, author of Live Sent and Cartas Vivas, has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Raised in New Orleans, he is a Christ follower and a leader, a husband and a father, a learner and a teacher, a servant and a brother. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church.

Jason helped to create and launch the Restoration Concept, House Blend Cafe, the Reproducing Churches network, and the Church of West Orange. He and his wife, Jen, have 5 children and live in Orlando.

A word from Dillon from the introduction: “Let me . . . share my desire for this book—changed lives changing lives. To my knowledge, I know of no devotional book that seeks to connect its readers in daily community. Thirst No More seeks to be the first. Each day (beginning January 1, 2012) we will experience the privilege to journey together each day at www.ThirstNoMoreBook.com. I encourage you to share your thoughts and to encourage others who share along the way.”

Dillon Burroughs is a best-selling writer of more than 26 books. He is best known for his collaborative works with faith-based leaders, authors, and athletes, though he has also earned a growing reputation within the social justice movement.

A portion of this book’s proceeds is being donated to the efforts of Living Water International by the author.

Listen to more podcasts with Dillon Burroughs.

Let this soak in: Americans spend $400 billon annually on Christmas expenses while at least one estimate indicates that only $30 billion could provide clean water and sanitation for every person on earth (assuming competent, responsible implementers could be found to do the work).

Now consider these 2 words: Advent conspiracy.

The two words are an odd pair no doubt. But not so odd to 4 local church expressions in Houston, Texas, who, in light of Jesus’ love and the reality of the worldwide water crisis, decided to conspire together during the Christmas of 2006 to “worship fully, spend less, give more, love all.” Advent Conspiracy has now blossomed into a movement of many thousands of Christ followers across the globe who are spending less on themselves in order to bless others with clean water.  

Westpoint Church near Orlando, Florida, the local church expression of which I am a member, got involved during the Christmas seasons of 2008 and 2009. We were able to raise enough money each year to help support 2 different clean water well projects in partnership with Living Water International. (By the way, my fellow New Hope author Dillon Burroughs will be donating a portion of the proceeds from his book, Thirst No More, to this same organization.) 

Unified to Make a Difference

But the story got a whole lot more exciting for me in 2010. Last year, the Church of West Orange, a diverse group of several local church expressions being the church together to West Orange County (central Florida), joined together in an attempt to raise $11,000 for a village in Ethiopia that lacked easy access to clean water. (The story of the Churchof West Orange, which includes Westpoint Church, and our desire to live out the unity Jesus prayed for His followers in John 17 is highlighted in my new book, Beyond My Church.)  By God’s grace, we were able to reach our goal of $11,000 and now that Ethiopian village has clean water.

Even better, an existing gospel partnership in that particular village—focused on loving families and orphans—now enjoys greater influence with the people there as a result of the water ministry. Our together effort in Florida—deciding to get less stuff and give more hope—is yielding eternal fruit in a remote area of Africa thousands of miles away from us.

It didn’t come without both unity and sacrifice, though. Unity was on display not only through 6 local church expressions on the west side of Orlando, but also through several local businesses who took part. This got people—both those connected with a church family and those not connected with a church family—to come together around an important project, which in turn sparked some awesome conversation about the real meaning of Christmas and the generosity of the God who came near as Emmanuel. 

Sacrifice was on display, as well. But when you really stop and think about it, was it? In no way do we ever want to take away from how special Christmas is to all of us, and in no way do we want to diminish the significance of the church cantatas and celebrations and pageants that are held each year, but is it really a sacrifice to spend less on those gifts and those celebrations in order to give a gift so basic as clean water to someone in need? That’s not sacrifice. That’s compassion.

We are empowered to show compassion to both the local and global needs of which we become aware because of the gracious sacrifice that was made for us through the arrival of a Baby whose tiny, smooth-skinned hands and feet would not remain unscarred. 

In fact, as churches and individuals we were grateful to get less and give more. I am not telling this story out of pride to gain your applause. Rather, I am sharing it in hopes that it will encourage you to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all this Christmas. There’s joy to be found!

May you stir up some conspiracy in your town this Advent. Unite together around a local or a global need, or both if you can, and then spend less so you can give more hope away. 

By your living in such a manner, perhaps someone else’s heart and mind and life will be changed in just the way you may have hoped for had you brought them to a big cantata. And maybe that’s the conspiracy. Christmas was not intended to be about presents and presentation, but about presence. Compassion. God coming near to us. Then we go and do the same together. 

Jason C. Dukes, author of Live Sent, Cartas Vivas, and Beyond My Church, has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Raised in New Orleans, he is a Christ follower and a leader, a husband and a father, a learner and a teacher, a servant and a brother. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church.

by Pat Ennis

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”—Jeremiah 17:7–8 (ESV)

Pursuing my doctorate was a decision I agonized over. I entered higher education with a master’s degree and the promise from my employer that my position would never be contingent on pursuing a doctorate.

As the home economics program I developed blossomed and matured, however, I knew that I would hinder its credibility if I selfishly maintained my reluctance to embark on a doctoral program.

My gracious heavenly Father allowed me to discover Jeremiah 17:7–8 early in my degree program. Subsequently, it became the motivating verse for my doctoral studies.

Today, some 20 years later, I continue to benefit from the truth learned from my “terminal degree experience.” It taught me that the heat would come; the drought is certain; however, there is a supernatural source of vitality when one chooses to trust in her gracious heavenly Father.

Author Pat Ennis is an accomplished home economics teacher who has taught for the San Diego Unified School District, Christian Heritage College, and the Master’s College. She currently serves as distinguished professor of homemaking and director of the homemaking program at The College at Southwestern. She is also the author of Becoming a Young Woman Who Pleases God.

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Janet Thompson

One morning while sitting on the deck of our mountain cabin enjoying the majesty of God’s creation, I pondered a new title for my Mentoring God’s Way Bible study series.

God had answered my prayers for a publishing home for this series and New Hope Publishers requested a fresh title that still captured the essence of the studies—learning God’s plan for mentoring by exploring mentoring relationships in the Bible and applying those timeless lessons to life today.

I was reading the Bible through in a year during my quiet time and happened to be in the Book of Numbers that morning. Numbers wasn’t a book I typically read enthusiastically, but I knew it held essential keys to unlocking biblical treasures throughout the Bible, so I was reading every word.

Suddenly, Numbers 14:14 caught my attention: “And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O LORD, have been seen face to face” (NIV 1984). That was it! “Face-to-Face” was the perfect title for the series.

My goal is for readers to experience a face-to-face encounter (figuratively) with the biblical characters, while studying face-to-face physically with others, and in the process coming face-to-face spiritually with the Lord. My affirmation that God used this Scripture to speak the new title to me came when New Hope agreed to call the series “Face-to-Face.”

Janet Thompson is the author of the “Face-to-Face” series of Bible studies and The Team That Jesus Built. Recently published titles in her Bible study series include Face-to-Face with Priscilla and Aquila and Face-to-Face with Euodia and Syntyche. Two more titles are scheduled for release in winter 2012: Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah and Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

by Dan Darling

Choosing your favorite Bible verse is like choosing your favorite child. You really don’t have a favorite, because you love all of them. (Though I would add some of the verses in Leviticus seem to me more like wacked-out cousins!

Nevertheless, perhaps the most significant verse in my life over the course of the last few years has been James 4:6: “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (ESV).

This verse is actually repeated in 1 Peter 5:5 and originally quoted from Proverbs 3:34. The concept sums up the whole of the Bible’s big story, and it upends our thinking about how to approach God.

We think that if we come, like Cain, with our best works, that God will favor us. But pride—boasting of the goodness in us—invites the resistance of the Almighty.

Instead, the way to God lies in humility. In brokenness we realize our need. Only the humble find their way to the Cross. And once we’ve received salvation, humility continues to be the path to intimacy with the Almighty.

In life, we have a choice. We can invite God’s resistance or His grace. I know which one I need and want. I want His grace. I don’t like the idea of fighting God. That’s not a battle I can win.

Daniel Darling is the senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. His latest release is iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/danieldarling; www.twitter.com/dandarling; www.danieldarling.com.

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Rhonda Rhea

My daughter Kaley once told me that if you want to know how much a person cares about you, then approach the person when he has a bag of Skittles.

If he doesn’t readily offer to fork over a tasty candy or two, no real love there. If he offers, but pours some into his own hand first and then picks you out a yellow or a green one, then it’s a pretty shallow, wimpy kind of love. If it’s a real, genuine, unselfish love, he’ll give you a handful. And not just any random handful either. No, he’ll make sure you get plenty of reds and purples. Now that’s love, man.

First Peter 3:8–9 has long been an inspiration, an admonition, and, OK I admit it, often a source of some heavy-duty conviction for me. The passage instructs me to live deeply in the reds and purples when it says, “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathesize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it” (NLT).

How glorious it is that humble, tenderhearted love invites the colorful blessings of God. Every day, Lord, let me hunger and thirst to live in loving obedience—and to taste the rainbow!

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of eight books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? and High Heels in High Places. She lives in the St. Louis area but enjoys traveling to every corner of the nation speaking at all kinds of conferences and events. Rhonda says her favorite and most adventurous roles are as wife to Richie Rhea, senior pastor of Troy First Baptist Church, and as mom to her five nearly grown children.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”—Matthew 10:42 (NIV)

Water is essential to life. In fact, water makes up about 60 percent of an adult’s body weight. Without it, we don’t just struggle—we can’t even live.

I came to understand as never before the importance of water during my second trip to Haiti in 2009. The school where I stayed served more than 1,200 students, yet the area did not have a single water source. Instead, water was trucked to the site twice each week. This situation served as an ongoing source of frustration, both due to the financial considerations involved and the struggle to maintain enough water for the school’s children.

When I returned a year later, a few people from our work crew were gathered for dinner when we were told that a Canadian team who had been drilling for water had found a clean water well. First-time visitors were happy at the news, but showed little understanding of the event’s significance. In contrast, the long-term teachers and missionaries in attendance were moved to tears and celebration, knowing that water would change everything.

No longer would the daily conversation revolve around whether there would be enough water to cook, provide water to children at lunch, or wash dishes. Water had been found. Lives would be changed.

That day has stayed in my mind ever since. When I began to work on my first devotional book, I had the title Thirst No More in mind and was considering how I could use the title to also share about the need for clean water in Haiti. What I discovered in the process is that the problems regarding clean water are far greater than one village in Haiti.

Listen to how the clean water organization Living Water International describes the situation:

“Water. It is at the heart of a daily crisis faced by a billion of the world’s most vulnerable people—a crisis that threatens life and destroys livelihoods on a devastating scale.
“Unlike war and terrorism, the global water crisis does not make media headlines, despite the fact that it claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. Unlike natural disasters, it does not rally concerted international action, despite the fact that more people die each year from drinking dirty water than from the world’s hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes combined.”

Let’s Do Something 15 Second Spot from Living Water International on Vimeo.

That’s why water matters. Jesus taught that there would be a reward for those who gave a single cup of water to those in need. How much better is it to provide a well that could provide water to many more?

As James wrote in the New Testament, our calling to follow Jesus is a challenge to help those in need. He taught:

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:14–17 NIV).

As we have the ability, our pursuit of God must include meeting the physical needs of others. Since water is the most basic of human necessities, it only makes sense to begin there.

Ultimately, water matters because people matter. When we provide water to those without, it honors God and helps those we are called to serve. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (NIV).

Dillon Burroughs is author of the new one-year devotional Thirst No More and coauthor of Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery with Charles Powell. Find out more about Dillon and his work at DillonBurroughs.org and ThirstNoMoreBook.com.

Scripture marked (NIV) is from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

by Angie Quantrell

“‘For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.’”—Isaiah 44:3 (NKJV)

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”—Mattthew 18:2–3 (NKJV)

After a drastic change of direction in our life plans, the last few years have been challenging. The abrupt about-face left us reeling and scattered. Scrambling to recover, our hearts have been as dry, cracked ground.

Mercifully, though, His Spirit has poured down into us. He has provided and cared for us as we walk the new trail of His leading. Rebuilding our hearts with love, He is still refreshing and preparing us to continue our journey.

My new teaching job is a direct blessing for my thirsty heart. The delight I receive as I teach students about the love of God fills my soul. The amazement I witness when they grasp spiritual truths—truths many adults are too busy to consider—is wonderful. The thoughtful questions from these 5-year-olds leave me speechless.

As I watch the little children in my class and peek into their open hearts, I remember Who fills my dry ground and blesses those who seek Him.

I am filled.

Angie Quantrell is currently teaching kindergarten at Harrah Community Christian School on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington. She is the author of resources for both adults and preschooolers. Her work includes Families on Mission and the 4-book I Can series (I Can Pray, I Can Give, I Can Do It!, and I Can Be More Like Jesus).

Angie lives in the Yakima Valley of central Washington with her husband, Pastor Kevin; they have 2 adult children. She loves life and growing closer to Jesus every day.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Chandra Peele

When was the last time you saw God’s Word unfold right in front of your eyes?

As I plan and enjoy weddings for both of my daughters and celebrate the (upcoming) release of Church Lady—a book I’ve been writing for 8 years—I’ve quoted my life verse more times than I can count!

Let me explain.

Eleven years ago while trying to keep all the plates spinning, (some things never change), I felt the need to find a life verse. I wanted a portion of Scripture that I could quote silently or publicly, a verse that would settle me, a timeless and priceless Word from my Savior that no one and nothing could take away.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:7, “‘Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for’” (NLT). So, I did, and when the Lord revealed my life verse there was no doubt He had answered my prayer. It was as though His finger stretched down from heaven and underlined the words as I read Psalm 37:3–7 (NLT).

• “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.” (37:3)
• “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (37:4)
• “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him and He will help you.” (37:5)
• “He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.” (37:6)
• “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” (37:7)

These words have developed in me a strong faith and continue to comfort me, encourage me, and bless others when I share them.

Are you spinning plates? Maybe you need a life verse. Ask the Lord to shine His light on a verse especially for you. You will be amazed how often it comes to your mind and how often He opens a door for you to share it with others.

High-energy author and speaker Chandra Peele has been endorsed by pastor and author Max Lucado; Christian contemporary recording artist Natalie Grant; and author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean.  She has written several books for teens, including Power(full) and Cherished. Her upcoming release for adult women is Church Lady. Chandra lives with her husband, Bruce, in Houston, Texas.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

As the months pass and Campbell’s birth approaches, preparations are at high tide.

A guest room has become a nursery. The crib is assembled. Baby supplies are accumulating. Little Sara’s circumference is increasing. Campbell’s movements are stronger. Already he begins to know their touch as he moves in response to their pokes and presses.

Most of this I only know secondhand because I am 700 miles away. Technology closes those miles some, but it doesn’t take the place of being physically present.

So, I am thankful to know that I can be intimately involved in every nanosecond of Campbell’s life through prayer. My prayers are more powerful than my presence.

As all the careful preparations are being made, each meant to enrich Campbell’s life and provide for his care and safety, no stone is left unturned. As it should be. But, if we would make such careful preparation for Campbell’s physical welfare, could we be less diligent in preparing for his spiritual welfare?

Limitless Reach

I think the best grandmothering I can do is to be a staunch and unrelenting advocate in the spiritual realm for Campbell and all his siblings and cousins yet to be. Prayer has limitless reach and is not confined by time or geography.

You and I can reach into the future through prayer this very day. We can sit in our living rooms or on the airplane or in the doctor’s office and impact the world for generations to come.

Consider this: As you pray for generations, even those yet unborn, maybe one of those descendants will take the gospel to a previously unreached corner of the world, so that a people walking in darkness will see a great light, and a light will dawn on those walking in the shadow of death. Your life can impact a people of whom you have never heard, and you can be instrumental in bringing forth generations of believers from a nation you may never see.

It is beyond our imaginations what prayer can effect on the earth. When God’s name and His renown are the desire of our heart (Isaiah 26:8), our prayers for our children, grandchildren, and descendants can be the catalyst that will cause His fame to spread to all the corners of the earth. I pray this promise for my descendants

[Campbell] will be called [an oak] of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor (Isaiah 61:3 NIV 1984).

Editor’s note: You may be interested in Leaving a Legacy of Prayer, 30 scriptural prayer cards from Jennifer designed to assist you in praying for your descendants. Order at http://prayinglife.org/catalog/prayercards.html.

A well-respected author and speaker, Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Her recent books include Life Unhindered! and The Power of Small. Her upcoming release, Altar’d, is available for preorder.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Title: Blood and Water

Artist’s description: This piece symbolizes the idea that Jesus is the ultimate source of life, the Living Water. I wanted to express the fact that even where there is no life or color, Jesus can bring forth abundant life through the power of His blood.

Question: Are you thirsty for the Living Water?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: This month’s theme is Thirst No More: Satisfied in God and His Word. You may be interested in reading Thirst No More, a 1-year devotional from Dillon Burroughs. An online community will be forming in January 2012 at www.thirstnomorebook.com.

What a wonderful banquet God has laid out for us in His Word. He satisfies fully.

Kimberly Sowell has written and contributed to several books from New Hope Publishers. Some of her recent titles include Women of the Covenant, A Passion for Purpose, and Soul Shaping. She is a regular voice on New Hope Digital as well, offering content on adoption, missions, evangelism, parenting, and other subjects.

They say that love can make you do crazy things. I once baked cookies for the most handsome boy in the eighth grade.

I guess the crazy thing was that I was in the second grade.

Fear is rather motivating as well, which is the reason I once trapped a bug under a paper cup and then covered it with a stack of heavy textbooks for an entire weekend until my husband could come home to kill the little six-legged monster terrorizing me in my very own living room. Love, fear, desperation, anger—strong emotions provoke strong responses.

But what of gratitude?

We tend to think of gratitude as the result of an action, like the deep appreciation we feel when someone has blessed our lives. But gratitude doesn’t have to be an ending point; it can be a turning point of the heart.

Gratitude Can Be a Catalyst

I have noted that some of the most zealous witnesses for Jesus Christ are the people who have walked to the edge of darkness, looked long at their impending destruction, felt the heat of the flames of hell, and then ran into the arms of Jesus. They tell everyone about Jesus because they want the world to know and love the Savior who gave them new life. They are grateful, and that gratitude propels them to live beyond themselves.

I also have noted that some of the most contagious Christians I know are people who stay immersed in Scripture. God’s Word is an eternal record of what He has done for us. Lest we forget from whence we came, we open its pages and recall that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). On our worst day, when we feel defeated, God’s Word reminds us that “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

From Genesis to Revelation, God is revealing His Truth, His Light, His Love, His Redemption, His Sacrifice, His Way—every page reminds us how God reached down to save our souls. Gratefulness should begin to well up in our souls. Let it flow!

Get in God’s Word, and count your blessings. Remember what God has done for you. Let gratitude be the motivation that propels you into the world to spread the message of hope through Jesus Christ.

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries, dedicated to inspiring women to make their relationship with Jesus Christ the center of who they are and how they live each moment—growing in Christ and sharing their faith with the world. Her most recent books include Soul Shaping, A Passion for Purpose, and Women of the Covenant.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Deliver Me from Evil is the first novel in Kath’s 3-novel Freedom series focused on human trafficking. The second novel, Special Delivery, is scheduled for release in March. You may preorder now.

KM1 from WMU on Vimeo.

Find out more about human trafficking by starting with resources and information provided here on New Hope Digital.

This video aired October 13 on The Harvest Show.

Recently I had a discussion about the words of the song Imagine that accompanied a short video based on the movie The Killing Fields. When I reviewed the lyrics I found them to be incredibly relevant to how atrocities can happen like those that the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot inflicted on the people of Cambodia.

You might want to listen to the lyrics of Imagine. John Lennon’s song imagines life without heaven or hell, past or future. Pol Pot acted without regard for the past or the future. When leaders of any kind make decisions that only consider today, the ultimate outcome has to be disaster. In fact, the best decisions are made looking back and forward, concerned for the past, and committed to building a better future. To live for today disregards the wisdom of the sages and the hope for a better tomorrow.  Without heaven there is no hope, and without hell there is no penalty for the torture and killing of an entire nation. Throughout the Old Testament God admonishes His people to remember His goodness throughout history, for the goodness of God in the past assures us that He will indeed fulfill His promise of a future with hope throughout the days ahead.

Imagine speaks of life without countries or religions as a way to peace. Pol Pot didn’t come from outside his country. He didn’t espouse any religion. He was Cambodian. He was a citizen of the country he destroyed. No doubt some believe that without loyalties there will be peace. But if we dare take a good look within, we will find and admit that the peace we seek doesn’t exist within us. We can change everything about our world and we will still be the same hungry souls searching for peace. Peace is a divine attribute of God and only accessible through Him. The good news is that the Lord offers peace to all who trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Lennon’s song talks of imagined unity. Pol Pot dreamed of a godless society where power and evil ruled. He had a dream that included a delusional unity of people without freedom. As long as unity is perceived as a dream, or as an achievement of mankind, we will miss the gift of Christ that in Him we are one. In Christ there is love, and not hate. Christ asked His Father, God (and I believe God granted His prayer), that with all of our uniqueness in culture, language, education, position, and wealth, we would be one. Unity isn’t a dream, but a freedom we have in Christ.

Imagine suggests the absence of possessions as a step toward the absence of greed. Pol Pot confiscated everything the people owned. He drove the people from their homes.  He took their freedom and required that every person was to be the same, treated the same, own the same (own nothing), and live the same. Everyone’s home was taken, their land was taken. They were given the same amount of food and ate at the same time. Ask those who lived through this if such a lifestyle ended greed or hunger. Ask if sharing came naturally, or instead each sought their personal survival. Visit Cambodia and observe the pain of people without possessions.

Why do we allow the brutality of oppression and genocide? We have the power of God within us, and His Word to commission us. “Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we didn’t know about this,’ won’t He who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t He who protects your life know? Won’t He repay a person according to his work?” (Proverbs 24:11-12 HCSB).  

Sudan, The Congo, Somalia, Burma, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, are a few of the countries identified as places where evidence of genocide cannot be ignored. Even so, in each of these places Christ is at work. Our intercession is urgent and necessary, whether it comes in the form of prayer or in joining those who are working on the front lines to bring freedom and hope.

by Linda M. Clark

In the midst of my father’s health decline, I sought encouraging words from the Bible. And as his death became imminent, I searched for words of consolation for the grief that would come.

I was drawn to Psalm 91, because it had always been one of my father’s favorite passages.

As I sat by his bedside, I read the words aloud, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night” (1, 2, 4–5 KJV). Words that had meant a lot to him during his almost 60 years of pastoral ministry became words of solace to me.

As I moved through the grayness of grief, His presence sustained me. His presence led me to new-found joy and peace. His steady presence quenched my thirst for understanding, acceptance, and perseverance.

When life’s circumstances become difficult and the future looms like a dark cloud over daily life, God’s Word is not silent. When I learn to rely on His faithfulness, I am the recipient of grace, mercy, and security. I have not only the psalmist’s declarations of comfort and praise, but the promise of God’s presence.

Linda M. Clark speaks both nationally and internationally on a wide range of subjects of interest to women and leads seminars, retreats, and conferences on spiritual growth, women’s life issues, and missions. She is the author of 5 Leadership Essentials for Women and Awaken the Leader in You.

Cool. Clear. Refreshing. For most Americans the thought of getting deathly ill from the water we just played in or the water we just guzzled down never crosses our mind. But the US is the exception, not the norm.

As a missionary living in Asia, I learned rather quickly that water that looks clean is probably not clean. Many people overseas must make a daily choice between severe dehydration and the risk of dysentery, typhoid, and e-coli from contaminated water.

Where we lived, it seemed like every day a child was hospitalized or someone died or someone contracted a new skin disease from his or her home water source. The simple tasks of bathing and brushing teeth were often the cause.

That’s where Pure Water, Pure Love^sm (PWPL) comes in. A simple water filter or a new water well can make the difference between wellness and illness and sometimes even between life and death. Since 1997 WMU® has been meeting one of the most basic human needs of missionaries through PWPL. The goal of this ministry is to provide missionaries and the people they serve with clean drinking water, free from disease-causing microorganisms, at no cost to them.

The water filter in our home was amazing! Every time our children swallowed water in the shower, brushed their teeth, mixed a glass of Kool-aid, mixed a container of powdered milk, or simply drank a glass of water, I never had to worry about what disease they might contract because we had a PWPL water filter in our home.

A donation to PWPL provides water filters for missionary families serving around the world. And not only that, PWPL now assists in providing water wells to communities in the US and abroad.

Pure Water for Haiti

For example, in 2006, PWPL partnered with Mission Waco to provide safe, clean water for the people of thevillage of Ferrier in the northeastern part of Haiti.

While there, Mission Waco also helped repair three older and defunct wells. All are located in an impoverished village of 13,000 where the average family income is less than a dollar a day. 

The director of Mission Waco, Jimmy Dorrell, says it best, “Clean water is one of the most precious commodities for this nation that often resorts to bacteria-infested river water to drink.”

In 2010, just a couple of months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Pure Water, Pure Love once again provided a grant to provide a clean water source to so many in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

Mission Waco has been involved in ministries in Haiti for more than 20 years.

What You Can Do

Check out more stories at wmu.com/PWPL. Then consider giving up bottled water for a week and send the dollars saved to PWPL. And the next time you guzzle down a cold bottle of water remember to pray for those who live without clean water every day and for the missionaries who live among them.

Jesus said, “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink . . . whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:35, 40 NIV). It is a small price to pay for a very great reward!

Gayla Parker is the author of Active Compassion: A Calling to Care.

Jimmy Dorrell is the author of Trolls and Truth: 14 Realities About Today’s Church That We Don’t Want to See. He and his wife, Janet, wrote Plunge2Poverty: An Intensive Poverty Simulation Experience.

National WMU staff contributed to this article.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

by Sharon Norris Elliott

Sometimes, I get overwhelmed by all the plates I have spinning.

In addition to my writing and speaking ministry, I work a full-time job teaching high school English and journalism. I’m also involved in the teaching ministry at my church, I’m CEO of my own coaching/editing business, and I have a vibrant relationship with my loving husband and grown children.

There is never a time when I have absolutely nothing to do, and that fact occasionally makes me think I’m doing something wrong. Others seem perfectly content with sitting around, but I’m driven to use my time in a way that shows accomplishment of some kind.

Although I can feel frazzled at times, Haggai 2:4 has become a significant scripture for me. It says, “‘Yet now be strong . . . and work; for I am with you,’ says the LORD of hosts” (NKJV).

Each of these areas of my life was given to me by God as a trust. The time spent working in each area is an offering to Him. His presence in my home, at my computer, on a platform, in my classrooms, with my clients, and in my church work, is enough to get me rejuvenated and keep me motivated. He gives me the strength to work.

Sharon Norris Elliott found time in her busy schedule to write Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame. Have you considered a Power Suit/WorldCrafts^sm Party?

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

My closest friendships have developed when I least it expected it.

While I was busy working, serving, parenting, and just doing life, God placed some amazing people in my path. Some became lifelong friends, others were only around for a season. But each one had a purpose—some made me laugh at myself, others pushed me to go beyond my small dreams, a few were never supposed to be friends, and some were meant to travel with me for a time. These bonds didn’t happen by mistake—they were God sent.

I’m learning to embrace friendships for the season God intends—and I’m learning to let go when the time is right or the relationship is wrong. It’s a lesson learned in the trenches, through much heartache and tears.

Truths I’ve learned:

Some friends are only for a season. I remember dear friends from my early parenting years. We traveled from bottles and diapers to homework and softball. We share some sweet memories, but our lives have gone in different directions.

Not every friend will become a close friend. And that’s OK. It’s not possible to be great friends with everyone in your circle—you’ll wear yourself out trying. We can see a foundation or model for our own relationships in the relationships Jesus had while on earth. He had varying degrees of closeness with different people. For instance, He was closer to Peter, James, and John than the other disciples.

Sandpaper people have a purpose. The person who just rubs you wrong is in your life for a reason. We often see in Scripture that God uses people to show us His message. Look closer, what is God trying to teach you through this relationship?

Friendships require boundaries and balance. Both are needed to keep your relationships healthy. Friends have a precious place in my life, but they do not take the place of my Savior or my spouse. When you make time for friends, but not for Jesus or your husband, it’s time to reevaluate.

Friendships require an investment. Any healthy relationship requires work, and friendships are no different. I have to be willing and able to invest time. If I don’t have the time, then maybe it’s just not the right time for the friendship.

It’s only by the risen Christ that we find the wisdom to walk through the blessings and the messiness of friendships. I want to honor God in my friendships. I want to laugh, share, encourage, and challenge my friends to be all they can be in Christ. And I need friends who want to do the same for me.

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her upcoming New Hope Publishers release is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

His new one-year devotional, Thirst No More, addresses spiritual need by leading readers to meditate on the words of Christ. And he also addresses the world’s physical need for water. One in 8 people on our planet lack access to clean drinking water. 

Dillon will be donating a portion of the book’s proceeds to Living Water International. Through clean water initiatives, lives are being saved every day in the name of Jesus, our Living Water.

Be sure to visit the devotional’s Web site at www.ThirstNoMoreBook.com. Each day, beginning January 1, 2012, you can connect with Dillon and other readers in daily community.  

Dillon lives in Tennessee with his wife, Deborah, and 3 children.

Morning glories have forever changed their meaning for me. Instead of reminding me of a sunny day, I’ll remember our tour guide in Cambodia. He was a child when Pol Pot liberated Cambodia in 1975. Pol Pot’s regime soon took him from his parents to work in the fields. When the fields were flooded, the soldiers would boat him and other children out into the fields where they would grab a banana leaf with one arm to keep from drowning while they cut morning glories with the other. Our guide ate banana stems that he salted to fill his stomach as he was given almost nothing to eat.

 The story of the Killing Fields began when the Khmer Rouge liberated Cambodia. Two hours after entering Phnom Penh, the new regime under Pol Pot ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns, sending the entire urban population out into the countryside to till the land. Everything the people owned was confiscated—homes, housewares, eating utensils, clothing—everything belonged to the state. Thousands starved or died of disease during the evacuation. The people were allowed to own nothing. Everyone was given a black shirt and pants to wear, ate in a communal kitchen, ate exactly the same thing and same amount, and at the same time. If you didn’t like the food it meant death.

The reign of Pol Pot is described by the U. S. Department of State.

Many of those forced to evacuate the cities were resettled in new villages, which lacked food, agricultural implements, and medical care. Many starved before the first harvest, and hunger and malnutrition–bordering on starvation–were constant during those years. Those who resisted or who questioned orders were immediately executed, as were most military and civilian leaders of the former regime who failed to disguise their pasts.

Agriculture was collectivized, and the surviving part of the industrial base was abandoned or placed under state control. Cambodia had neither a currency nor a banking system. The regime controlled every aspect of life and reduced everyone to the level of abject obedience through terror. Torture centers were established, and detailed records were kept of the thousands murdered there. Public executions of those considered unreliable or with links to the previous government were common. Few succeeded in escaping the military patrols and fleeing the country. Solid estimates of the numbers who died between 1975 and 1979 are not available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of thousands more died from forced labor, starvation, and disease–both under the Khmer Rouge and during the Vietnamese invasion in 1978. Estimates of the dead range from 1.7 million to 3 million, out of a 1975 population estimated at 7.3 million.

Seeing the Killing Fields was difficult but necessary. Grass-covered ditches marked the places where mass graves were found—over 20,000 graves have been uncovered.  Signs throughout the fields insure visitors will know what was found and what was done in this place.

The Genocide Museum is in the prison where people were imprisoned and tortured in rooms smaller than a twin bed, and victims were made to live in their excrement and brought out only to endure the most horrific torture.  The museum has a photo of the day the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. The joy of the people is evident as the troops entered the city but soon their joy was replaced with fear as Cambodia became a land of atrocities.

The oppression of Cambodia is a significant reason for the extreme poverty today. With a yearly average income of   $270, there are few options for employment. Children sell silk scarves, journals, bookmarks, purses, throws, photos, and other items of interest to tourists.  Along most roads are makeshift markets where everything and anything is sold to passersby.

Companies like WorldCrafts can make a huge difference in places like this where there is almost no job potential. We can help develop a nation as we partner to bring both physical and spiritual hope to the people of Cambodia.  Be sure to visit the WorldCrafts Web site and join us in bringing dignity to the impoverished.

Godliness with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out.—1 Timothy 6:6–7 (HCSB)

Contentment is a heart issue. And a lack of contentment reveals a heart problem. I, for one, admit to it. And I’m certain I’m not alone.

We are daily presented with so many options to go here, do this, redo that, become this, change that, buy this, get a new one of those. And these relentless messages come at us in so many ways: Twitter, Facebook, Web sites, TV, cable TV, billboards, books, newspapers, magazines. No wonder we’re enthralled by bigger, better, and different.

And what compounds the problem is that we are more mobile, more educated, and more affluent than ever before. (I’m speaking broadly of twenty-first-century Americans in comparison to the past 5,000 years of humanity not versus Americans in 2008 say). Thus, as our desires seem ever more attainable, our temptation to indulge our dissatisfaction becomes even more intense.

Now I’m certainly not saying it’s always wrong to change cars, careers, cities, or churches; receive a promotion or go on vacation; or buy new things that are useful and needed. If these things can be done for the glory of God, then so be it (1 Corinthians 10:31). But what I am saying is that a continual malaise of discontent is unhealthy and sinful. It reveals a lack of trust in God and His care for us. It robs us of great gain.

A lack of contentment spoils the fruit we should be producing as believers—and thereby damages our witness as well. It’s hard to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled when we’re on the prowl for something faster, brighter, and newer.

Jesus said, “Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life” (John 4:14 HCSB).

We find our contentment, everlasting contentment, in Him alone. He calls us to drink deeply. He’ll never stop giving us more of Himself, and in Him we find what we really need anyway.

So, don’t worry and fret or give in to lust, jealousy, pride, or greed; rather, be godly. Bring everything to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6) as our Lord Jesus Christ did, then let Him deal with it all and with you.

It’s our hearts that need refreshing rather than our circumstances. Be satisfied; we already have more than we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 1:3–6; 3:20).

by Greg Singleton

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.—Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV)

“Josiah has cystic fibrosis.”

The doctor’s diagnosis for our newborn grandson was crushing. Fear, anger and confusion overwhelmed our entire family.

But, like a wave rushing over me, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Proverbs 3:5–6. This verse was familiar to me, because I had previously trusted in its truth when facing decisions or in difficult and challenging times. Through the years, it had been a refuge for me.

Trust is day-to-day. When circumstances and challenges don’t match up with what I had expected or hoped for, real trust doesn’t waiver. So, I choose to persevere, believing that my Father will lead me.

For Josiah, this day, I place him in God’s hands. He has been a three-year miracle. The doctors don’t understand why CF hasn’t wrecked his health, why he has never once been hospitalized, or why he has been healthier than most other children who don’t have the disease.

Today, I enjoy playing sports with my grandson, laughing with him, and watching him learn and grow. This day, I trust God.

Martha and Greg Singleton are the authors of Let It Shine! and Setting Up Stones. They have, for more than 30 years, met the challenges of balancing successful professional careers in journalism and marketing while raising a faith-filled family (a son, Matt, and a daughter, Annie). Together, they creatively share their experiences and insights on family life at conferences, seminars, workshops, churches of various denominations, schools, and businesses. They live in San Antonio, Texas. Visit them at http://martha-greg.blogspot.com/.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Martha Singleton

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”—Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)

All I had to do was ask.

The scholarship that allowed me to attend Baylor University was for one year only. And, believe me, there was no way my recently widowed mother could afford a second year there. Yet, I knew God had led me to that school.

So, I registered for classes, and prayed. In July, I got a call from the residence halls director, offering me a job I hadn’t even known to apply for. And so it went. Doors continued to open each time my tuition was due until, finally, I had that degree in hand.

Those years were my first experience with “calling out” in faith and watching for answers, which would come from places and in ways I never could have imagined.

Recently, I’ve seen a grandchild with cystic fibrosis enjoy good health, not having to experience a single hospital stay in the 2.5 years of his life. And my adult children have jobs in a tight market. These are two “mighty things” I’ve been shown in the past few years but my list is long and consistent over the decades.

We struggle, we try to figure things out and make them work, and then, we realize we should have started with our Father. He does indeed show us great and mighty things beyond our knowing, in ways that always delight and amaze.

All we have to do is ask.

Martha and Greg Singleton, http://martha-greg.blogspot.com/, are the authors of Let It Shine! and Setting Up Stones. They have, for more than 30 years, met the challenges of balancing successful professional careers in journalism and marketing while raising a faith-filled family (a son, Matt, and a daughter, Annie). Together, they creatively share their experiences and insights on family life at conferences, seminars, workshops, churches of various denominations, schools, and businesses. They live in San Antonio, Texas.

Now available in a hardcover edition, this beautiful little book can help you step out of the holiday hustle and bustle to reconnect with the true meaning of the Advent season—the coming of the Christ.

Using the themes of Advent—hope, peace, joy—Jennifer Kennedy Dean provides a 31-day journey through messianic prophecies and well-known New Testament passages. Each day includes a morning and evening prayer that allows you to rest, escape from the busyness of the holiday season, and meditate on the Savior.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is best known for her classic work on prayer, Live a Praying Life.

by Jill Baughan

Cleaning up is highly overrated.

Not that I’m a slob, mind you. But I’ve found that leaving a mess to sit around for a while can increase the shelf life of your good times.

I finally figured this out about a month ago when I saw 2 pairs of wet shoes drying out on our little front porch swing. Though smelly and ratty looking, they reminded me of a great time we’d had whitewater rafting that previous weekend. They reminded me of laughter mixed with adrenaline, wet clothes, and people I love.

So I left them there. For 2 weeks.

Then I took a picture of them so I could savor one small reminder of a day well played.

Most of us are just so busy that we miss—or at best, tend to forget—so many of these priceless, fleeting gifts God offers. But I (and maybe you), in the midst of all the busyness, have an endless thirst for hanging onto life’s exquisite moments.

That’s why I love Matthew’s account of the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus took the 5 loaves and 2 fish, gave thanks to God, and passed the food around. Then, Matthew says, they all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up 12 basketfuls of broken pieces that were left behind. (See Matthew 14:19–21.)

I really believe—if they’d had a camera—they, too, would have taken a picture so they could savor a small reminder of the remainder of the miracle.

Born into a close-knit family in the idyllic town of Bluffton, Indiana, Jill Baughan has grappled with a series of painful experiences, ranging from her father’s early death to her own infertility. These hurts have changed her, but her innate wildness remains unshaken.

“Even when part of me mourns what’s lost and trembles at what’s to
come, I still want to hop on a Harley, swing like Tarzan from a vine, and toilet paper the preacher’s house.”

Baughan believes that too many women have let life’s hurts overwhelm their sense of fun, and she, no stranger to pain herself, wrote Born to Be Wild to help them rediscover it. Visit www.jillbaughan.com.

by Kimberly Sowell

I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.—Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 (NKJV)

I need balance in my life, and here’s why: God has emblazoned on my heart a desire to live a surrendered life for Him. I want to lay down my very life for Christ as a living sacrifice.

Everywhere I look I find Scripture to keep me at the foot of the Cross, and then these 2 verses come along and remind me of a beautiful truth—the surrendered life doesn’t have to be a life of misery. God gives me joy! God wants to give me rest and refreshment each day.

I encourage every laborer in God’s harvest field to join me in delighting in the precious life-giving words of these 2 verses. God loves us, and while we’re dying to self, we’re invited to enjoy the journey. What a gift of God indeed.

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries, dedicated to inspiring women to make their relationship with Jesus Christ the center of who they are and how they live each moment—growing in Christ and sharing their faith with the world. Her most recent books include Soul Shaping, A Passion for Purpose, and Women of the Covenant.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Sheryle Cruse

And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.—Mark 5:41 (KJV)

I had a girl crush on Jesus. Actually, it was the English actor playing Jesus in the influential 1977 film, Jesus of Nazareth. Robert Powell was definitely a dreamy Jesus! His words, “Talitha cumi” (“Damsel, I say unto you, arise”), first wooed me as a little girl.

But those words resurfaced for me as an anorexic and bulimic adult. Mark 5:41 became hope to me, beyond a schoolgirl crush. Not only did I arise to a rededicated faith in God, but I also arose from my eating-disorder deathbed. I felt just like Jairus’s daughter. Everyone gave up hope. But Jesus didn’t.

From that experience, this Scripture verse had further impact. The tender command, “Talitha cumi,” became a core element of what later developed into my first book, Thin Enough: My Spiritual Journey Through the Living Death of an Eating Disorder, published in 2006. I never counted on arising in a creative way such as this; after all, for years, I fought God on my ugly truth. But He always operates beyond our limitations.

Once bound by fear, eating disorders, and hopelessness, now I am a living example of the power of Jesus’ voice. Mark 5:41 represents realized life, blessings, and hope to me.

And to think, it all started with a girl crush. God can and does use everything for His purposes!

Now a poet living in St. Paul, Minnesota, Sheryle Cruse writes as a way of ministering to those struggling with eating disorders. Her poems have been published in several journals and newsletters. She has also written several dramatic pieces that have been performed in churches and theaters.

by Jason C. Dukes

I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.—Philippians 1:6 (HCSB)

Recently, our church family has been walking together through some crunch-time decisions. We’ve been gaining some clarity with regard to our next steps on mission together to neighbors and nations.

One morning when I was just being honest with the Lord about some of my frustrations and disappointments with where we are as a church family, a message from a friend popped up on my phone. It was simply this verse: Philippians 1:6.

It felt as though a flood came over me encouraging me to stay devoted and faithful—to keep sowing those seeds we have been sowing for more than 7 years now. I sensed that we will see more and more of what Jesus intended for His church, even if it means hard transitions that none of us expect.

My cup overflowed.

Pastor Jason C. Dukes, author of Live Sent: You Are a Letter, is a follower and a leader, a husband and a father, a learner and a teacher. His desire is to equip the church to be making disciples. Since 2004 he has been on an amazing journey with Westpoint Church in the Orlando, Florida, area.

His next book, Beyond My Church: Thinking and Living So That the World Might Know, will go on sale this December.

Scripture taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

Our theme this month on New Hope Digital is Thirst No More: Satisfied in God and His Word.

It is a weighty and broad topic, but always timely. If we are not satisfied in God, then we will search elsewhere. And our searching will be in vain or worse.

I have asked our authors to contribute brief articles on this theme, focusing on God’s Word primarily, and you’ll be able to read responses this month from several of them, including Jason C. Dukes, Kimberly Sowell, and Sharon Norris Elliott. My hope is that these articles will testify to Christ’s goodness in our authors’ lives and will encourage all of us to hold steadfast to His Word.

New Hope Digital will also be featuring articles by and podcasts with Dillon Burroughs, author of Thirst No More. (The title is taken from Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well in John 4). His one-year devotional journey focuses on the 4 Gospels, particularly the words of Jesus Christ Himself. It is a simple but powerful work that has been endorsed by Dr. Erwin Lutzer of Moody Church, Chicago, and I believe it will be a catalyst for changed lives in 2012.

You can download the first 2 weeks of the devotional free here. And, beginning January 1, you can join a community of readers and travel the journey together at the interactive site, www.thirstnomorebook.com.

One last thing: Christmas will soon be upon us and New Hope Publishers has 2 new books for the season this year. Reading together the new hardcover edition of Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s Pursuing the Christ would make a great family holiday tradition. This 31-day devotional and prayer guide is based on themes of Advent, such as hope, peace, and joy. 

And A Christmas Journey Home by Kathi Macias is a novel sure to challenge and encourage readers’ hearts and minds. Two widows—one driven by fear and a promise, the other by bitterness and revenge—must make their journeys along different pathways, but with the same destination: a barn full of animals that stands waiting for them on Christmas Eve.

After months of planning we boarded our plane to Bangkok, Thailand, twenty-two women and men. I am finally visiting the place where WorldCrafts began and four of our partner artisan guilds in Thailand and Cambodia.

I was reminded during the nearly 24 hour flight to go half way around the world that scripture admonishes God’s people to care for the poor. In regard to trading fairly, the Bible is specific in how the poor are to be treated in the workplace. “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning” (Leviticus 19:13 ESV). The Hebrew term לֹֽא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק, oppress not, emphasizes the desperate nature of poverty—withholding wages from a poor person, even for a night, may result in a night without food, shelter, or warm clothing, or even mean the end of a life.

The reason given in the Bible for being just toward the poor is “I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:11). In other words, the Lord cares deeply for the poor and expects us to share His concern. Isn’t this enough, that the sovereign God of the universe requires us to act in this way? How we treat a poor worker has nothing to do with their worthiness, but rather God’s expectation for how we are to live. If God’s expectations aren’t enough, we must recognize the unmerited favor God has extended to us. So then our motive becomes thankfulness—gratitude to the Lord for lavishing on us immense spiritual treasures and graciousness.

Listen as author Dillon Burroughs tells how he came to write the one-year devotional journey Thirst No More. He also  shares what he learned about contentment and gratitude during the process.

Each day (beginning January 1, 2012) you can join the Thirst No More experience with other readers at http://www.thirstnomorebook.com/.

Dillon is a best-selling writer of more than 26 books. He is best known for his collaborative works with faith-based leaders, authors, and athletes. Not in My Town, coauthored with Charles Powell, was his first New Hope Publishers release.

 Not in My Town examines the critical issue of human trafficking with a focus on this crime within the United States.

How can parents help their children develop a heart for the lost? It starts by building a foundation in the home and progresses to parents setting an example in their community and beyond.

1. Parents, give your children a love for the Bible. Make learning the Bible an adventure of discovery. When you teach your children Bible verses, passages, or stories, ask them how these relate to their lives. The greatest gift we can personally give our children is teaching them how to read and apply the Bible to their lives daily. When our everyday actions reflect God’s Word, our lives become the greatest outreach tool God created.

2. Teach your children to love people. I find this can be really difficult in today’s world, because I do want to teach my children to avoid strangers and stay away from bullies. Nonetheless, encourage your children to be kind to others. Pray with your children each day, asking God to bring someone into their lives with whom they can share His love. If your child is having an issue loving a particular person, don’t push him or her. Instead, pray that God will take that negative feeling away from your child. In any case, we can love by praying, even for our enemies.

3. Pray for the lost. As a family, make it a regular part of your week to pray for the lost in your community and world. Do prayerwalks in your neighborhood and at school. Use prayer resources, like Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org/), to pray for people groups around the world.

4. Share your faith with your children. Share your personal faith with your kids using Scripture. Help your child to write and discuss his or her own faith story. (I encourage you to keep this to give them later.)

5. Share your faith with others. Let your child see you reaching out and sharing your faith in your neighborhood and doing missions around the world. Make opportunities for your family to build relationships with the lost in your neighborhood through playdates, dinner parties, cookouts, or by bringing gifts of food. Do missions trips individually or as a family. But, either way, share the stories and experiences with your child.

Parents, look at ministry, missions, and life in general as a journey that you are taking with your children. They are looking to you for guidance. Reaching out to the lost begins with reaching them.

Mitzi Eaker is an author (Missions Moments 2), wife, and mom who shares her journey and ideas at www.mitzieaker.com. Missions Moments 2 offers 52 easy-to-use missional messages and activities for today’s families.

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”—Jesus (John 4:14 NIV)

We live in an era that values speed, production, and efficiency. Deadlines and due dates drive much of our daily routine. Enough is never enough.

But is this the life God intends for us to live? Did the One who came to give us life abundantly desire us to experience burnout, depression, or frustrations over unmet obligations and incomplete tasks?

Jesus offers a different view of the world. In a word, it’s contentment.

Many strive because they are unsatisfied. Dissatisfaction with career, relationships, the past, the future—the reasons could fill volumes. That’s why Jesus offered words of comfort—“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”

Notice the words in this verse. Each one matters greatly. “Whoever” makes clear that no restrictions apply. Jesus offers each of us true satisfaction, real contentment.

Next, notice the action—“drinks.” There is one thing we must do; we are required to turn to Jesus in complete dependence. Just as the human body cannot continue for long without water, the human soul cannot endure for long without quenching its thirst.

“The water I give them” refers to what Jesus offers. We drink, but He is the One who provides. Without His water, our thirsting will go unsatisfied. Our lives will trek from one alternative to the next, lacking purpose and meaning.

The final phrase—“will never thirst”—shows Jesus is the lasting answer to the enduring problem of discontentment. Without the joy of God in our lives, we will continue to long for other passions that fail to please beyond the moment. The promise of Jesus provides for our needs now and extends into all eternity.

As humans in a fallen world, we still wear down, but, as followers of Christ, we are never without our Source of strength. He is with us, He provides, and He will continue to quench our thirst for all eternity.

Dillon Burroughs is author of the new one-year devotional Thirst No More and coauthor of Not in My Town with Charles Powell. Find out more at DillonBurroughs.org.

Scripture marked (NIV) is from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37 NIV 1984).

You thirst for God. But how can you experience more of Him each day?

Thirst No More provides a path. Read and meditate on passages from the 4 Gospels, primarily the direct words of Jesus.  Encounter fresh insights into His love, compassion, and desires for your daily walk. A special word from Dillon: “I know of no devotional book that seeks to connect its readers in daily community. Thirst No More seeks to be the first. Each day (beginning January 1, 2012), we will experience the privilege to journey together each day at www. ThirstNoMoreBook.com. I encourage you to share your thoughts and to encourage others who share along the way.”

Dillon will be donating a portion of this book’s proceeds to the efforts of Living Water International, http://www.water.cc/.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer, senior pastor of  Moody Church, Chicago, Illinois, writes, “This devotional provides seed thoughts for reading the Scripture so that all of us can find guidance and light for each day. Best of all, you can share your insights with others who participate in this journey along with you!”

Download the introduction and first 2 weeks of Thirst No More, a new one-year devotional journey

Dillon Burroughs is a best-selling writer of more than 26 books. He is best known for his collaborative works with faith-based leaders, authors, and athletes, though he has also earned a growing reputation within the social justic movement.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

It is easy for many American Christians today to be deceived about what it means to grow in Christlikeness.

A subtle deception can creep in when you begin to believe that because you’re aware of what’s going on in the Christian subculture, then you are growing as a disciple. But is spiritual growth about knowing the latest and greatest evangelical speakers along with the hottest topics and debates?

For example, we live in a day filled with conferences. You can find at least one per month on various issues in various places. You can go see all the Christian celebrities and have them sign your Bible. As in Paul’s day, you can go see “the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel” (2 Corinthians 8:18 ESV).

Most of the same guys speak at most of the same conferences that I pay attention to, and you could probably follow them around as conference groupies. Some find it acceptable to do this conference jumping and podcasting instead of being involved in a local church.

Please, understand, I’m not opposed to conferences. And I love many of the big-name preachers today. I know some of them personally, and I thank God for their ministry.

But something is wrong if you think you’re growing spiritually because you can name 10 preachers while at the same time you can’t name 10 orphans. Or, 10 single mothers in need of care. Or, 10 refugees in need of help. Or, 10 of the world’s poor who live on less than a dollar a day.

Are we measuring spiritual growth according to the Bible?

If you want to know if you are living out your faith, here is a good test: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27 ESV).

Of course, this is only one verse. Right, but doesn’t the whole of Scripture testify that one trait of Christlikeness is caring for people the way Christ has cared for us?

And how has He cared for us? When we were spiritual paupers, He gave us great grace. When we were spiritual widows, He became our bridegroom. When we were spiritual sojourners, He welcomed us into His home. When we were orphans, He adopted us into His family.

True spiritual growth involves active love for actual people. Don’t grow content with the idea of love. Love a flesh and blood person in need of your risk-taking, cross-bearing love. This is exactly what James is getting at with the word visit.

This word is used throughout Scripture. It doesn’t mean to drop by for a donut and stay a minute. The root word is the word from which we get a word for pastor. James is urging believers to “shepherd” the orphan and widow.

This verb appears frequently in the Bible in reference to God visiting His people to redeem and encourage them, particularly during pivotal stages of history with the arrival of key redemptive leaders and culminating with the birth of Christ. (See Genesis 21:1, 50:24; Exodus 3:16, 4:31; Ruth 1:6; Matthew 25:36; Luke 1:68, 1:78, 7:16; Acts 7:23, 15:14.) When God visited his people, He was involved in their lives and displayed His grace in their need.

How can you shepherd the orphan and widow? Well, how does God shepherd you? He cares for you; He provides for you; He protects you; He instructs you by his Word; He’s involved in your life.

In regard to orphan care, there are a number of ways to visit orphans in their affliction. Adoption is only one way to address the global orphan crisis. Not all children are available for adoption.

We need believers to

• develop funds
• help with transitional assistance
• build Christian facilities
•  care for orphanage caregivers
• adopt orphanages as a church
• proclaim the gospel on missions trips
• and foster children.

We need some who are willing to go plant their lives in a village filled with orphans, who can preach the gospel, and grow those children in the grace of God. And much, much more.

From the overflow of a heart enthralled by the fact that Christ visited us in our affliction, rescuing us from our situation, let’s care for those in affliction. Spiritual growth is not about being famous or knowing the famous—it’s about faithfulness to Jesus.

Tony Merida is the coauthor of Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care. He serves as professor of preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is also the lead pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He and his wife, Kimberly, are parents of 5 children. www.tonymerida.net

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

At some time in life we all beg God to perform in a way we think is best. Even a woman of strong faith can experience a crisis of faith when life doesn’t turn out as she expects and she knows God could intervene on her behalf.

Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah thought God should provide a child and pleaded with Him to honor their hearts’ desire. In different ways, each woman took matters into her own hands when God’s timing didn’t match her timetable.

Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah explores various issues in women’s lives that lead to pleading with God and ways they react when He doesn’t immediately respond or they don’t like His answer, as well as guiding women to learn to rest in God’s sovereignty and wait on His timing.

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Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $8.99
EAN: 9781596693210
ISBN: 1596693215
Item #: N124128

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: January 31, 2012

Category: Biblical Studies, Bible Study, Topical
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Series: New Hope Bible Studies for Women
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 144
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Lois and Eunice followed the numerous Scriptures instructing one generation to pass on their faith to the next generation, and young Timothy grew up to be a second-generation leader of the early church.

Often mentoring focuses on reaching out to others, but as parents and grandparents the first line of mentoring should be within your own family, a concept repeated throughout the Bible. The Bible has many devastating examples of parents who were poor role models or didn’t rear their children to know God, as well good and faithful parents whose children wandered away from God.

Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice focuses on how women today can be grandmothers, mothers, aunts, and mentors whose faith takes root in the next generation.

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Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $8.99
EAN: 9781596693227
ISBN: 1596693223
Item #: N124129

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: January 31, 2012

Category: Biblical Studies, Bible Study, Topical
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Series: New Hope Bible Studies for Women
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 144
Pack Qty: 36

Somewhere along the way, this woman of noble character—wholesome, God-fearing, lovable, kind, giving, and serving—lost her respect. You’ve seen her. You may even be her—the godly and beautiful woman who, in spite of herself, has resembled her complete opposite twin, evil and ugly, a time or two in her life. And wouldn’t you know it? That was the exact moment someone snapped a picture and recorded it on the hard drive of her mind, filed it under Stereotypes, and titled it Church Lady.

It’s time for a do-over, a truce, a meeting of the sisters. Delete the hard drive, wipe out the negative stereotype, and shine up her tarnished reputation. Join Chandra Peele and reclaim the honor and humility that is the Church Lady.

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Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693234
ISBN: 1596693231
Item #: N124130

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: March 6, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Practical Life, Women
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 5.5 X 8.5 Inches
Page Count: 192
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In book two of the “Freedom” series, readers find Mara fighting against her attraction to Bible college student Jonathan Flannery even while wrestling with risking her own precarious safety to become involved in the rescue of another girl who is pregnant and desperately wants to escape her captors and save her own life, as well as her child’s.

Halfway around the world in a brothel in Thailand, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States, friends of Jonathan’s family. Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle, who held her as a sex slave in his brothel in San Diego for years—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

Will his underworld connections be successful in kidnapping and killing the girl who believes she has finally won her freedom?

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Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693074
ISBN: 159669307X
Item #: N114141

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: March 6, 2012

Category: Fiction, General Fiction, General
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Series: Freedom
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 320
Pack Qty: 36

Thinking beyond your church matters because the unity of the church is imperative in order for the work of God to happen in our city and in our world.

And not just unity in the one local church family that you call your own. When all followers of Jesus actually love one another like Jesus loved us— living according to His ways rather than our own— then the world will see and, in turn, believe that Jesus was actually sent as the Son of God. This is the unity Jesus prayed for. It should be lived out among His followers and can only be present when God is the force holding us all together.

In this new release by pastor Jason Dukes, you will explore this unity and discover how it can become part of the DNA of your local church expression.

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Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693456
ISBN: 1596693452
Item #: N124150

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: December 6, 2011

Category: Christian Living, Practical Life, General
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 192
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We are created to live in an altar’d state—surrendered, yielded, free.

The noun altar is usually understood to be a place of worshipful offering. Something of value is offered up and released on the altar.

When we turn the noun altar into a verb—altar our fear, our failure, our possessiveness, our need to control—all those things that hold us captive and keep us from running the race at full throttle are released.

Through careful exposition and biblical teaching, celebrated author and prayer expert Jennifer Kennedy Dean guides readers on a 40-day exploration of the Scriptures and what it means to truly live a life dead to flesh and alive to the spirit.

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Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693319
ISBN: 1596693312
Item #: N124138

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: January 15, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Spiritual Growth , General
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 208
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Rhonda Rhea

All of us search for light. We seek enlightenment, understanding, and answers. We seek hope. So many people grope through smothering spiritual darkness reaching for something to bring light into their lives. Some even think they’ve found it in other things. After all, it would be easy for a blind person to think he’s found light if he’s never seen it or experienced it for himself.

But there is only one way to find the light we really need and to be able to live the Christian life in successful obedience, and that is to let the true Light flood our hearts. Fruitful, joy-filled, victorious living happens only as we are spiritually enlightened through the truth of the Word of God and by the inner working of the Spirit of God.

Through humor and stories, Rhonda Rhea explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible to draw us back to the real light found in Christ. This light is the only light that can provide change in our lives, and is ultimately not just a light that changes us, but the lives of those we come in contact with as well.

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Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99

EAN: 9781596693258

ISBN: 1596693258

Item #: N124132

Publisher: New Hope Publishers

Imprint: New Hope Publishers

Pub Date: January 3, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Practical Life, Women

Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)

Language: English

Size: 5.5 X 8.5 Inches

Page Count: 192

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• How Many Light Bulbs Does It Take to Change a Person?

Most Christians recognize and realize that Christ calls us to care for the least and the lost. He put it clearly when he said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NIV).

Giving is good. Several years ago I lived in Russia and, unbeknownst to my roommate and me, we needed to stockpile food in anticipation of the winter. During the winter months, food shortages were common there. Unfortunately, we learned this when an unexpected snowstorm blew in and all the food markets shut down. We had no food and no way to get it. We were fully dependent on the kindness of strangers for our next meal. I’m thankful many people gave to us generously.

Giving is clearly a part of our biblical calling as followers of Christ. Giving is good not only because it benefits the recipient, but also because it benefits the giver. It is morally purifying. Jesus said, “But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you” (Luke 11:41 NIV). Giving takes us to greatness. Proverbs 18:16 says, “A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great” (NIV).

There are many people in true need who require generosity on the part of others. For example, people recovering from traumatic natural disasters find themselves in desperate need of others who will step up and provide for them. The Bible frequently cites widows and orphans—people who have no family to care for them—as people in need of a gift.

Millions of children around the world, for a wide variety of reasons, are in need of basics like food and water and medicine. Other children, again for various reasons, are denied the opportunity to receive an education. Giving a child the opportunity to receive an education is a gift that lasts a lifetime.

Giving supplies some needs but direct charity without proper discretion can actually cause harm. Some giving can actually perpetuate poverty.

Here are some principles to help ensure that our giving results in maximum benefit:

Give anonymously. Anonymous giving is good for one’s spiritual walk. Jesus said, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:3–4 NIV).

It is also good for the recipient. Being put in the position of depending on others can be humbling, even humiliating.

Through the years I’ve interviewed hundreds of poor people who have received charity. Many of them deal with a high degree of anxiety and anguish because of the way they had to receive the charity.

Drawing unnecessary attention to the recipient is almost always detrimental. Anonymous giving can offset the negative effects of gift receiving.

Give dignity and opportunity. As I see it, there are two primary sets of people who find themselves in poverty. The first are people who have become addicted to some type of drug, have made a series of bad decisions, or have otherwise done something to create their own situation.

The second are people who were born into generational poverty and/or were thrust into poverty due to external circumstances—think human trafficking, sudden death of close family, natural disasters, severe illness, and abandonment, etc.—over which they had little or no control. [A third category might be those people who simultaneously or at various stages fall into both sets.]

Unfortunately, many people do not give generously because they only consider the first set of impoverished persons. But there are millions, even billions, of people who really just need an opportunity. They need a hand up, not a handout. Gifts specifically for education and microenterprise (or loans/no-interest loans) can offer the poor opportunity with dignity.

As for that first group, whose actions left them in poverty, they live in a world where they carry a stigma and consequences for their actions. But we serve a God of second chances, even 70 times 7 chances. If we believe in redemption, then we should be willing to give it to others. Felons and addicts all need dignity and opportunity.

Give through professional organizations. Through the years I have occasionally given something directly to a person on the street. It’s always been food, never money. And those times of giving have been meaningful and memorable.

However, after years of working for and with professional charities, I have become convinced that much counterproductive giving can be eliminated by donating through a professional organization. Not only that, I believe the positive effects of giving can be multiplied in wonderful ways by these types of ministries.

Well-respected Christian charities/ministries have spent years figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Why reinvent the wheel? These groups have specific expertise, local knowledge, and good relationships. A gift through these organizations grows, expands, and achieves maximum impact. It is giving that not only feels good, but also does well.

Editor’s note: This article by Mark Russell is focused on charity (straight donations). New Hope Digital acknowledges there are many other ways to help the poor, some of which have been explored by Mark and others on this site (fair-trade employment, for instance).

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

We don’t need to wait for a programmed emphasis to care for those around us.

I think sometimes that many churches spend too much time waiting for the next campaign—the next “40-days-of-something”—and we miss out on the opportunities to live and tell the gospel that are passing us by every day.

Please don’t get me wrong. I value campaigns. I just don’t want us to miss all that God could be doing through us and our churches to care for the orphan, the widow, and the oppressed day by day. Nor do I want us to miss out on opportunities to spread the good news of Jesus in the simplest of things in our lives.

James 1:27 is a call upon every believer to visit or “shepherd” the orphan and widow in his and her distress, and God has given us some powerful clues for how we might accomplish this work in His Word.

In Acts 2:42–47, we are reminded that after Pentecost the church had its greatest impact for the gospel through small groups who met in each other’s homes. These groups met for meals, community, and study, and to help each other live out what they were learning from the apostles’ teaching.

Today your small group may be a group that meets in someone’s home, or it may be a Sunday school class that meets at your church. The principle is the same. With many small groups throughout the body of Christ doing specific things in the power of the Holy Spirit to care for vulnerable people, gospel-centered transformation can occur.

Here are a few ideas for how your small group can take action to help orphans, widows, and the oppressed:

1. Find a single mom or single dad with whom your group can develop an ongoing relationship. You can help him or her and the kids by providing resources at special times, such as the beginning of the school year (supplies, uniforms, etc.) or Christmas. Or maybe your group can offer help with homework or the opportunity to be another Christian adult presence in a child’s life. Many times the “functionally” fatherless in our midst slip through the cracks, but they are no less needy.

2. Have your group trained to provide respite care for foster families and volunteer to babysit for a local foster family. Families with foster children can’t leave them with just anyone because of regulations, and a few hours of relief can be a huge help.

3. Plan a group project to raise money to care for orphans. Our friends at World Orphans suggest a number of ways to raise money, including running a marathon or shaving your head! I’m sure you can think of many creative ways to raise the funds. Surprisingly, as little as $5,000 can fund an entire orphan care project that will meet the ongoing needs of 12 kids. Just a few dollars a month can make a huge difference in the life of 1 child!

4. Your group can throw a shower for a family adopting or fostering an older child. Many times we don’t think about showers for adoptive/foster families, especially those welcoming older children, but this can be a great way to bless the family.

5. Consider donating medical supplies, an appliance, or other items to an orphanage or women’s shelter as Christmas gifts. Instead of buying Secret Santa gifts for each other, pool your money and purchase a gift for an orphanage through a ministry like Promise 139.

6. Build a long-term relationship between your small group and a widow. Plan regular visits to check on her and take care of small tasks like grass cutting, changing light bulbs, or anything she might have trouble doing by herself.

7. Go Christmas caroling with your group to several widows’ homes and take a basket of holiday goodies. Invite them to be part of your group’s Christmas celebration. Fellowship at this time can be a real source of encouragement.

8. Speak up together for the oppressed, including widows, orphans, and others. As a part of your regular meeting times, pray regarding the issues of human exploitation, human trafficking, and other forms of oppression. There are many ways to take action. International Justice Mission is one resource with which I am familiar. You can find more resources, ideas, and ways to get involved through Project HELP (WMU), WorldCrafts, and New Hope Digital. (See especially Not in My Town and “Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery.”) 

9. Sponsor a child (or children) as a group. For little more than a dollar a day, you can change the life of a child by providing food, clothing, education, discipleship, and in some cases even a loving place to call home. Your group’s giving is a means of protecting these children from those who would exploit and oppress them as well. Some great organizations that give you the opportunity to both sponsor a child and to connect with them in relationship are Compassion International, World Orphans, and Children’s HopeChest.

It takes about 46,000 steps to complete a marathon. One step out of 46,000 doesn’t seem so significant, but in accomplishing the goal, no single step can stand on its own. In trying to care for the estimated 163 million orphans and countless widows of the world, the actions of our small groups may seem like small steps, but without them, we will never move toward the goal of ending oppression and fatherlessness to the glory of God!

Editor’s note: More ideas for orphan care can be found in Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care.

Rick, coauthor with Tony Merida of Orphanology, serves as discipleship pastor at Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He, along with his wife, Denise, played an integral role in the cofounding of Promise 139, an international orphan-hosting ministry. They have adopted 3 children.

Read Mark 2:1–12.

You may also be interested in these podcasts, “Practical Ideas to Show Active Compassion” and “Jesus, Four Friends, and Active Compassion.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2OQrWd8wEI

Editor’s note: Caring for others in Christ’s name is not easy. Adoption is not easy. Adopted children often come from situations of great brokenness and carry that with them into their new families. Christy’s testimony describes reality for some and provides hope for everyone—that God can be trusted in all of life’s situations. At the end of the article, we have included some brief, encouraging thoughts from Rick Morton, adoptive father and coauthor of Orphanology. Orphan Sunday is November, 6, 2011.

Christy and James Jessup and family.

Madison was actually the child we were most prepared for. Our other children were all foster children that we were able to later adopt. We had 4 hours to go pick one up, one day to get ready for another, and a week’s notice for the third. The difference with Madison, who was turning 3 when she came to live with us, was that her case went straight to adoption. Social services transitioned her from her grandparents’ home to ours, and it took more than a month.

During the first 2 years, we noticed something remarkably different between her and our other children. She didn’t want to be with us. She never gave us hugs, and when we hugged her she was always stiff. She just wanted material things. As she got older, we noticed she had problems with anger, and they continued to get worse. She was subsequently diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder (RAD).

We had never heard of this. Basically it means that she doesn’t have the ability to attach to anyone, due to the abuse and neglect she suffered in the first 3 years of her life. Kids with attachment issues often feel unwanted, worthless, and unlovable.

When an infant is crying because of a need, it is extremely important that the caregiver meets the need, so that trust develops. If the need is not met, as inMadison’s situation, mistrust and rage will occur. Madison learned at an early age that she had to take care of herself. She had to be in control, in order to feel safe and even to survive.

Now, as an 8-year-old, she doesn’t think about consequences, because she is too focused on being in control. This is why, after spitting in my face, she won’t obey me when I tell her to go to her room. This is why she refuses to get in the van when we’re in a hurry, but stands beside it yelling at everyone to shut up. This is also why she refuses to talk when I try to process with her why she does things and why she won’t talk about her feelings. She feels she must be in control.

Various instances occurred in the past few months that led us to choose a pretty drastic path for her. She threw a shoe at my head while I was driving; our 10-year-old began demonstrating defiant behaviors; and our son turned very emotional. She was also in trouble at school. 

Right now, Madison has moved out of our home. We still have weekly contact with her, and depending on how she acts during those times, she can eventually transition her way back home.

We pray for Madison’s healing, that God will show her how much she needs her family, and, most of all, that she will see she needs Him and His love and grace. We also pray for God to hold our family in the tough times and make us teachable, even when we don’t want to be taught.

I have been reminded over and over again that life is not all about us. It’s about God and His glory. I don’t know why God chose our family to go through this with Madison. When she’s home, I am physically and emotionally exhausted, just trying to survive the day. But, I do know that even though we had never heard of RAD, God had.

For now, I will rest in knowing that I can always trust my heavenly Father to be there. He will not neglect us as Madison’s earthly parents did, but instead He loves us and meets our needs. I hope and pray Madison one day will see that too.

Christy Jessup was an elementary teacher for 10 years before she became the part-time children’s director for Friendly Hills Church in North Carolina. Her husband, James, serves as the youth pastor with the same church.

Rick Morton:

RAD is real, and it is a consideration in adopting older children. To me, Christy seems to be an example of Christ-like love, even in the midst of the most awful of circumstances. Her family has not given up or disowned this child. They are “still in the game.” They are still trusting God for reconciliation and restoration, and they trust God’s sovereignty.

In a world broken and marred by sin, awful things happen. Adoption and orphan care isn’t always a fairy tale. To me, this story is evidence of the never-giving-up nature of the gospel.  

It is important to count the costs involved in adoption. The fact that this sort of brokenness is real does not however negate James 1:27 or change our theology of adoption.

We have friends who have had to institutionalize 2 of their kids as a result of RAD. After more than a year, God is granting them breakthroughs, and they will likely come home. They didn’t give up, but at times their journey has been awful and uncertain. God, His love, and His provision for them are certain, even in their storm.

Kathi Macias, award-winning author, has written more than 20 books, including the “Extreme Devotion” series of 4 novels for New Hope Publishers. Red Ink, which features a widowed character, was named 2011 Golden Scroll Book Awards Novel of the Year and was a finalist for a Carol Award. Her latest ripped-from-the-headlines novel is A Christmas Journey Home, which prominently features 2 young widows on different journeys with the same destination.

Deliver Me From Evil, another of Kathi’s recent releases, begins the “Freedom” series of novels on the topic of human trafficking.

God instructs us in James 1:27 to care for widows and orphans.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”—James 1:27 (NIV)

God often uses children to open the doors to these ministries. So how can children, along with their families, care for these vulnerable people?

The key to caring, for both orphans and widows in our own community and around the world, lies in building relationships.

Here are a few tangible ways for children to build and strengthen ongoing relationships:

1. Be a friend. The best way kids can care for orphans in their community is to be a normal friend to them. The same is true for widows. Most widows would welcome having a child or two come to visit them. During these visits why not share stories, sing together, play a game, or do a craft?

2. Be thoughtful. A little gift can go a long way. Help children bake some special goodies and take them to widows in your community weekly or monthly. Or make a homemade craft. Just a little something to let them know that someone cares for them. Teach your kids to be kind in word and deed to children who may have recently joined their school, church, or community through foster care or adoption.

3. Be generous. Consider giving money to a family that is adopting a child. Kids can have a lemonade stand or cookie sale to raise money for adoption. In addition, consider sponsoring an orphan through a child sponsorship program. This is a great way for kids to encourage and minister to children in another country through writing. Be generous to a widow and make sure they have gifts on special occasions. Simple handmade gifts or art from kids will make them feel special.

4. Be prayerful. Pray for and with orphans and widow every chance you get! Pray for families going through adoption or serving as foster families. Pray for individuals that provide services to widows like nurses, health aids, and social workers. Pray that our churches will respond to the needs of orphans and widows in our own communities.

5. Be open. Be open to how God wants you and your children to use your specific gifts, talents, and resources to minister to widows and orphans. He may want you to open your heart, hands, and home to care for widows and orphans in a special way.

Mitzi Eaker is an author, wife, and mom who shares her journey and ideas at http://www.mitzieaker.com She has written Mission Moments 2: 52 Easy-to-Use Missional Messages and Activities for Today’s Family.

Scripture marked (NIV) taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

It is a perversion of something intended for beauty, a violation of a person’s human rights, and an event that can render the victim helpless, broken, and bitter.

The only explanation someone can give for this horrific event is sin—not on the victim’s account, but on the perpetrator’s. Sin is a separation from God and from the things of God. When sin enters the picture, things once counted as good and pure become evil and tainted.

But restoration can come. A victim of sexual assault does not have to feel used, hurt, or shameful. God can restore what was broken and give us strength to forgive those who have wronged us.

This process of healing can take time and be a tedious journey to walk through. In this study, readers will learn the truth about sexual assault and how it affects the victims. They will also learn the value of walking through the healing process with a victim of sexual assault while discovering the freedom that comes from trusting in God’s restoration and ultimate healing.

Beauty from Ashes: Connecting Issues Download on Restoration After Sexual Assault (EN114115) $4.99

Learn the truth about rape, the healing process involved, and God’s ultimate healing through this Connecting Issues download. Learn how to assist people who have been victims and what resources are available to them. Special consideration is given on how to handle sexual assault if it happens to your child, as well as ministry tips on how to help someone who is recovering from assault.

This download comes with a teaching guide for use in small group settings and adaptations for enhanced exploration.

“Just a minute.” Three simple words I often spoke to my family. 

• I was just a minute from watching my little girl twirl and dance to her favorite song.
• I was just a minute away from looking at her finger painted masterpiece.
• I was just a minute from listening to my husband’s fishing story.

It was always just a minute—and somehow those minutes turned into years. 

I missed so much in just a minute. I disconnected from the people I loved most on this earth and it all seemed to happen in just a minute, but truthfully it took years.

My out-of-balance life was filled with minutes dedicated to other people and sadly lacking minutes dedicated to Christ. My life with Christ and my family became an afterthought to my busy schedule. I filled my days with busyness—work projects, church committees, and friend relationships.

The Lord used a messy friendship that I placed over my time with family and with Christ to show me how disconnected I had become. I then began the work of reconnecting to Him and the people I love with all my heart—my family. 

I learned a few things on my journey:

• Keep Jesus first. I keep my eyes and heart on Him. When I stopped making family a priority, it was a season when Christ wasn’t a priority. I was desperately trying to distract myself from what was lacking in my life—time with Christ.  I filled my time with busyness and the wrong people.

I’m in a new season and now do my best to make Him and His Word the center of my day. Now, please don’t think I walk around with my head bowed all the day—I don’t.   I do try to start each day with this prayer: Lord, let me see the people You place in front of me and make them my priority. Above all else, let me glorify You.   

It’s amazing how much that simple prayer is changing my life. The people the Lord places in front of me the most are those I love and live with—my family. 

• Value family. I gave lip service to valuing family, but my lack of attention spoke volumes. I’m learning to see the people in my life, not just look at them with a cursory glance.

I listen when my husband talks. I look at him; I pay attention with my mind and my heart. I do the same with my daughters. Do I always succeed? Of course not. I still get distracted and overwhelmed at times, but they are a priority in my life—not an afterthought.

I slipped into a disconnected life when I placed people, projects, and titles before Christ in my life. It happened slowly . . . putting off prayer and quiet time because I had a deadline or a meeting. Reconnecting took time and energy, but it was well worth the work.

Take just a minute today and connect to those who are closest to you—Christ first and then your family. You’ll be blessed by those minutes.

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her upcoming New Hope Publishers release is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

Mary Snyder’s story is not unique. Women everywhere, in all walks of life, are looking for girlfriends they can depend on. Friends who will stand by them, friends they can laugh with, and friends they can have an adventure with. True-blue, dyed-in-the-wool girlfriends.

Whether you’re in college or retired, a stay-at-home mom or an empty nester, a single career woman or a working mother, you likely can identify with this heart cry of women everywhere: Lord, send me girlfriends!

In God, Grace, and Girlfriends you’ll learn the importance of friendships, discover tips on building friendships, and explore dozens of possible trips, events, and adventures for you and your girlfriends to explore.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • ChristianBook.com • WMUStore.com
Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $16.99
EAN: 9781596693265
ISBN: 1596693266
Item #: N124133

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: December 6, 2011

Category: Christian Living, Practical Life, Women
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 240
Pack Qty: 36

This podcast is an excellent resource for small groups and individual readers of Kimberly’s books, especially A Passion for Purpose and Journey to Significance (see chapter 6).

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries, dedicated to inspiring women to make their relationship with Jesus Christ the center of who they are and how they live each moment—growing in Christ and sharing their faith with the world.

As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures because she carries God’s Holy truth in her messages with God’s love, humor, and vivid detail. Snyder testifies that life’s path is a walk of faith, including “litter, potholes, and missteps,” as she mentors and teaches “fellow travelers” in small groups, writes books and online articles, and speaks to audiences—on sea and land. Snyder uses that less-than-perfect life as the vehicle to share her passion for women to grow in deep relationship with the Lord, know His Holy Word, and enjoy serving Him at home and afar.

When she’s not cruisin’ and connecting on the ocean or Route 66, Mary makes the Birmingham, Alabama, area home.

• God, Grace, and Girlfriends

I pray these “fiction with a mission” books, as well as my nonfiction books, will encourage readers to commit to a deeper life of prayer and service to God and others.

—Kathi Macias, author of A Christmas Journey Home and Deliver Me from Evil (latest releases)

I am living sent by teaching at a public high school in the inner city of San Antonio. And I am participating in the life of that community as I attend ball games and concerts, weddings and quinceañeras, and family barbecues.

Every day, I pray for each of my students and their families.

I arrive on campus ready to teach with my best effort, despite the challenges inherent with poverty, but also asking God to help me recognize any moments where He may be able to use me to speak or act in His name.

I ask Him to enable me to demonstrate His love to each person I encounter that day, and pray that what my students and their families see in me will point them toward Him.

—Martha Singleton, coauthor with Greg Singleton of Let It Shine! (latest release)

I’m a home missionary, and I am one because I thought God was calling me to be a foreign missionary.

It was something I didn’t want to do; nevertheless, I went to seminary to prepare and had my eyes opened to the excitement and challenge of missions. More important, I fully surrendered myself to God.

When I did, the urgency to be a foreign missionary dissipated, but the urgency to do missions didn’t. I discovered you can be a missionary anywhere as you see opportunities and take action, which my role as a homemaker allows me to do.

—Brenda Poinsett, author of The Friendship Factor (latest release)

I’m living sent by my commitment to be on mission for Christ each day. It is not something I do, but who I am.

The college campus (Belmont University) where I work is my mission field. My office is a place students can find love, compassion, acceptance, and prayer. It is God’s call on my life and He has equipped me for this service. He calls me daily to be salt and light to the world.

My prayer each morning in my quiet time is: “God, let me be Your instrument of love and peace on campus today. I look forward to experiencing You in a unique way. Help me to recognize that You are arranging the divine appointments You will give me.” 

Then, I come to work expecting God to show up!

—Betty Wiseman, author of Bounce the Balls and They Will Come

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final article in a series of articles highlighting how some of our New Hope authors are living sent, or living like a missionary.

I am expecting my first grandchild in January. Me, a grandmother! My little boy, a father!

My middle son, Kennedy, and my precious daughter-in-law, Sara, are expecting a baby. A few weeks ago I joined them and my co-grandmother, Nora Campbell, in the great adventure of sonogram, which has come a long way since my day. It’s a boy, we found out.

As the mother of 3 sons, I could not have been more excited. I get to add to my collection of boys. His name will be Campbell Wayne Dean.

I prayed for my boys from before they were conceived. I prayed for their wives and their offspring until the end of time. So, I have been praying for little Campbell for many years. As he is being knit together in his mother’s womb, I pray for every stitch. Already, I trust God is preparing the way for Campbell’s salvation, laying the groundwork for his birth into the kingdom.

Even these months of being cocooned in Sara’s body are designed by the Creator for His purposes. These are important months, so I pray for these days. His world is Sara’s womb right now, and he is its center. Right now he has the freedom to roam his world at will. No one else is there to restrict him, or for him to consider.

Soon, he will grow and his world will shrink. When he moves, he will touch the ends of his earth. And just when he knows everything about his world—that it has limits and that one can only stretch so far before finding them—suddenly he will be forced out of that familiar world, where he is the owner and the master, and into a world without boundaries. Where he can stretch and stretch and still not reach the edges. Where he is not the center.

Is that what it is like to be born again? Did the Creator design our first birth to illustrate our new birth? As I think about Campbell edging toward his birth, I pray for the day when he is born again. I pray that he will live the boundless life that God has designed for him. Here is what I am praying for Campbell today:

And Campbell will stride freely through wide open spaces as he looks for your truth and your wisdom; then Campbell will tell the world what he finds, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. Campbell cherishes your commandments—oh, how he loves them!—relishing every fragment of your counsel.

(based on Psalm 119:45–48, The Message)

As I watch the prayers I have prayed for my sons answered in the men they have become, I pray with expectation for Campbell.

I love the way that O. Hallesby has described this praying for future generations: “Every prayer and every sigh which you have uttered for them and their future welfare will, in God’s time, descend upon them as a gentle rain of answers to prayers” (from Prayer).

I want to know that Campbell, and all his siblings and cousins yet to be, will walk in a gentle rain of answered prayer.

Editor’s note: This is the first of several “grandmother” columns scheduled for Jennifer Kennedy Dean in the upcoming months.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Among her latest releases are Live a Praying Life!; The Power of Small; Life Unhindered!; and Set Apart

Free mobile app at http://www.techrepublic.com/software/praying-life-live-10-mobile/2497525.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Title: The Father’s Love

Caption: He’s got all the little orphans in His hand; He’s got the whole world in His hand.

Artist’s description: “This piece speaks to the fact that God is concerned for all orphans, and orphans come from all cultures and walks of life. God has the whole world, and all the orphans in it, cradled in His arms.”

Questions: Do you think of and see orphans the way God does? What are you doing to help care for them? 

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in reading Orphanology by Tony Merida and Rick Morton and Active Compassion by Gayla Parker.

Active Compassion will help you reach out and touch others with God’s compassion through:

• Relevant biblical content
• Authenic illustrations and stories
• Reflection questions
• A host of ideas to show compassion in action right where you are

Gayla Parker is a popular speaker with years of ministry experience, including being a former missionary to the Philippines. She currently serves as WMU executive director of Maryland/Delaware.

Listen to Gayla Parker talk about the ideas behind her new book, Active Compassion.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”—Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)

Driving down old country roads, I turned off the radio to talk with God. Lord, You know I haven’t shared Christ with anyone in a while. I am traveling all day today, stuck in this car, but if there’s some way I could be a witness for You, I want to tell someone about Jesus.

I pulled into the outskirts of my final destination, checked into my hotel, and went next door to Shoney’s for supper.

Martina was my waitress, a lovely young lady with an eager smile. When she brought my food and drink, we exchanged small talk and smiles. I told her I was traveling, and she told me about the area. When she picked up my last plate, I asked her a simple question. “Martina, do you ever think about spiritual things?”

A serious look swept over her face. “I have been thinking about spiritual stuff a lot lately. My mother is a Jehovah’s Witness and my daddy is a Muslim. I am going off to college in a few months, and I don’t know what I believe, but I am trying to figure it out.”

Lord, You are so good!

“Martina, could I share with you what I have found to be true in my life?”

I shared my personal testimony, which included the plan of salvation. Martina had a Bible at home, and she had been reading through the Gospels to learn more about Jesus.

“Martina, I know you have to make this decision on your own. I’m glad you have a Bible, and I want to encourage you to keep reading it. Can I also leave a little booklet with my tip that explains how to become a Christian and gives further explanation of what I believe with all my heart, that Jesus is the only way?”

“Oh, yes!” Martina exclaimed. “I would love to have one. Thanks! And I’ll be right back with your check.”

I pulled a tract out of my pocketbook along with some tip money, and I waited for Martina to return. Moments later, another waitress approached my table. “Excuse me, ma’am. You know that booklet thingy you are giving to Martina?”

“Yes, I have it right here.” I held up the tract for the waitress to see.

“Well, she was just telling me about it, and I was wondering, could I have one too?”

“Sure! I’ll be glad to give one to you!”

Wow! Martina had already told someone else what she had heard about Jesus! It was just like the Samaritan woman who left her pot at the well and went immediately into town to tell everyone about Jesus!

The second waitress and I had a brief conversation about the Lord, and she thanked me for the tract, saying it was exactly what she needed.

I could not help but feel the strength of the Lord guiding me, knowing that I had nothing at all to do with these witnessing opportunities; only He could have planted me in this town, in this restaurant, during this work shift, in that section of the restaurant, out of His deep affectionate love for these two lost lambs that He wanted to rescue.

As I rose from the booth to find the register, I greeted the man sitting behind me. “You have a good evening, sir.”

“You do the same. Be careful on your long drive home.”

I couldn’t resist teasing the man, realizing he must have heard me tell Martina I was from out of town. “Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?”

He was a tour bus driver, eating alone as his tour group ate on the other side of the restaurant. He seemed to be a kind but lonely man, and he had overheard my conversation with the two waitresses.

The Holy Spirit gently nudged me one more time. “Well, let me ask you the same question, sir. Do you think much about spiritual things?”

He replied he was very interested in God, but was unsure about whom to trust. He said he had confidence in Billy Graham and watched him anytime he was preaching on television.

As the older gentleman took small bites and stared into his glass, he confessed that he knew he needed Jesus, but he had never prayed to receive salvation. I breathed a silent prayer of thanks that the tract in my pocketbook just happened to be from Billy Graham, and handing him the tract, I pleaded with him to put off receiving salvation no longer.

God, You are amazing! I asked for 1 encounter, but You granted 3! I got the 3-for-1 special at Shoney’s tonight.

Editor’s note: Adapted from A Month of Miracles: 30 Stories of the Unmistakable Presence of God by Kimberly Sowell, Edna Ellison, Joy Brown, Tricia Scribner, Marie Alston, and Cherie Nettles.

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries, dedicated to inspiring women to make their relationship with Jesus Christ the center of who they are and how they live each moment—growing in Christ and sharing their faith with the world. She and her husband, Kevin, along with their children, make their home in Lancaster, South Carolina. Contact Kimberly at ksowell@comporium.net; www.kimberlysowell.com. 

Scripture marked (NKJV) taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season come multiple distractions—distractions that keep readers from focusing on Christ. Beloved prayer author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean, in this revised edition of Pursuing the Christ (978-1-59669-320-3, N124127, $14.99), helps readers see the distractions of Christmas in a new way.

“Let your heart be inspired and drawn closer to Christ as you read Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s beautiful devotional book, Pursuing the Christ,” says Cheri Fuller, speaker and author of Mother-Daughter Duet. “As you ponder the Scriptures and well-written insights, you’ll find yourself filled with God’s peace instead of drowning in stress this holiday season.”

Pursuing the Christ is a 31-day devotional and prayer guide based on themes of Advent, such as hope, peace, and joy. This guide, with its beautiful and poetic divider pages and easy-to-use format, leads readers through the weeks of Advent, providing familiar Christmas verses and some possibly not-so-familiar messianic passages from the Prophets and Psalms.

“When I read the exciting and inspiring buildup of the events of Advent depicted in this 31-day classic, my mind became involved in the anticipation of the birth of our Lord Jesus,” says Dr. Thelma Wells, president of A Woman of God Ministries. “Offer it as a part of your holiday festivities. It’s a year-round message of inspiration served in a tiny package of expectancy.”

About the Author

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is in demand as a speaker and has spoken in such venues as the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family. Widely recognized as an unusually gifted communicator of the deep truths of God’s Word, Jennifer is a board member for Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, a member of America’s National Prayer Committee, and a board member and broadcaster with WebTV4Women. She serves as national prayer director for Christian Women in Media. The anniversary edition of her Bible study, Live a Praying Life, was a Retailer’s Choice finalist as Bible study of the year in 2011. Jennifer was widowed in 2005 after 26 years of marriage to Wayne Dean, her partner both in life and ministry. They are the parents of three grown sons. Jennifer makes her home in Marion, Kentucky.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

—30—

The church must never lose the sense that we are sent. Staying at home base is not an option Christ gave us.

The “come-see-what-we-are-doing” attitude ruins the missional activity of the church. Certainly, the Lord made the simple call of “Come” to a number of people. But in just over 3 years, He gave them the permanent “Go.” An “our-place-is-safer” attitude will separate us from the very people God sent us to.

Perhaps you have attended church throughout childhood, been a leader in the youth group, and graduated from a Christian college. Perhaps those experiences prepared you for life and ministry. However, we must avoid creating the “bubble” that keeps us and our children from being able to befriend the lost. Instead, we need to find ways to keep going out among them.

Last year, Philip needed a new cell phone. Instead of shopping around to find a better deal, he went to the same store he has used for the past few years. He did this because we need to go to the people who are not coming to us. At that store, he encountered three employees: a single mom, a married pregnant mom, and a standoffish manager.

Our temptation is often to get in, get the phone, and get out. Instead, God desired an intersection of the gospel with the people at the cell phone store. The single mom was interested in finding a place for her 4-year-old to learn about God. The married woman, who was 8 months pregnant, needed a church that met her needs. The manager—well, he was just too cool to talk about religious subjects. But only the Lord knows what headway can be made with him over time. Since that encounter, Philip intentionally looks for reasons to go by and visit the store.

Perhaps you should do the same.

• Instead of using a different gas station each week, go to the same station and begin chatting with the clerk.

•  Or use the same checkout person at the grocery store.

• Go to lunch each week with that demanding person in the cubicle down the hall.

• Plan a barbecue and invite that needy or difficult family on your block.

We never know what our going may mean to others. It will show a level of love they have not witnessed from others. In other words, each of us must learn to be a friend—just as Christ has become a friend to us (John 15:14–15).

Adapted from Compelled by Love by Ed Stetzer and Philip Nation.

Ed Stetzer, director of Research at LifeWay Christian Resources, has planted churches, transitioned declining churches, and trained pastors and church planters.

Philip Nation serves as the equipping/teaching pastor of The Fellowship at Two Rivers and as the ministry development director for LifeWay Research.

Download the first 2 chapters.

Check out the book’s video trailer.

Download the first 2 chapters of

Synopsis

During Isabella Alcantara’s seventh month of pregnancy several members of her family are murdered by mistake—collateral damage in the gang wars of today’s Mexico. In a desperate response, Isabella’s grandfather hires a “coyote” to take her and her husband across the border to the US. But the coyote leaves them to die in the wilderness.

Living on one of the smaller spreads along the Arizona border, Miriam Nelson becomes furious with God and turns from her faith when her border patrol agent husband, David, is killed in a skirmish with the drug smugglers.

Two recently widowed women must make their journeys along different paths, but with the same destination: a barn full of animals that stands waiting for them on Christmas Eve. Forced to face their personal demons, Isabella and Miriam soon discover a common yearning that will bind them together in a most miraculous way.

About the Author

Kathi Macias is a popular speaker for women’s retreats and conferences. She has won numerous awards for her prolific and outstanding writing, which includes both fiction and nonfiction. Red Ink, part of her 4-book “Extreme Devotion” series, won 2011 Golden Scroll Book Awards Novel of the Year and was named a finalist for a Carol Award.

Her latest series from New Hope Publishers is the “Freedom” series on human trafficking. You can download a portion of the first novel in the 3-novel “Freedom” series, Deliver Me From Evil, on this site.

A mother and grandmother, Kathi and her husband, Al, call California home.

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18­–20) does not just apply to those called to serve cross-culturally in a remote part of the world.  When Jesus said “go,” he was saying “as you, believer, go from place to place, make disciples.” 

As you go through life—whether at work, at home, in your neighborhood, on vacation, or at the mall—be intentional in making disciples.  When we demonstrate active, God-honoring compassion, that’s one way we can make disciples as we journey through life.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Take the movie Fireproof along with a box of microwave popcorn, container of chocolate chip cookies, and a thank-you card to your local firehouse.

2. Turn BOGO upside down and make it buy one, give one. 

• Donate canned or packaged foods to a feeding ministry.
• Give away socks to a children’s home.  
• Offer a knit cap to a children’s cancer center.
• Gift gum to those in a hospital waiting room.
• Or when you buy that favorite cup of coffee, buy one for the server and strike up a conversation. If you buy one, you can give one.

The list could be endless.

3. Looking for something creative to do on a Saturday? When children are removed from certain drug houses, they cannot take their toys or clothes with them, due to contamination. Make child-size fleece blankets and teddy bears to take to the local police station or firehouse to be used when children lose everything.

4. October is hurricane season. Care packages with battery-operated radios, flashlights, and bottles of filtered water can be a great help. Work with churches and relief services providers in your area or through national organizations.

5. October means SAT and ACT testing for high school students. Deliver high-protein snacks and notes of encouragement at the local testing center.

6. Purchase reusable bags for the local grocery store. Screen them with words of hope. Volunteer an afternoon to bag groceries with the new bags.  Snacks for the store employees could make it a fun day for everyone.

7. October means football season and homecoming games! How about having a free car wash near the high school on the morning of the homecoming game?

8. Have a favorite book? Purchase an audio copy for a blind person in your community. Donate it to the local school for the blind or local library.

9. Invite a military family to a family meal at your home or at the church building.  Or, if you see a military family while you are enjoying a meal out, offer to pay for their food and tell them thanks for their service.

10. Enjoy exercising? Take bottled water or energy drinks for the class. Or pray for the houses and businesses you pass as you walk or run. 

11. Rake leaves for an elderly or sick neighbor.  

A life of active compassion is not just a mind-set or a discipline; it is a lifestyle that takes others to the feet of Jesus, making disciples as we go through the journey of life. It is the ultimate in adventurous living!

Editor’s note: For more great ideas, read Active Compassion: A Calling to Care by Gayla Parker.

Gayla Parker is the WMU executive director of Maryland and Delaware. She is a former missionary to the Philippines and currently a popular women’s speaker.

Learn how to care for preschoolers as they deal with major family transitions, such as divorce, blended families, adoption, and moving. Includes application and reflection questions for each of the 4 topics. A great resource for teachers of preschoolers as well.

The author, Susan Allen, is minister to children at First Baptist Church, Statesboro, Georgia.

This content, compiled by Rhonda Robbins-Reeves, originally appeared in The Hurt That They Feel from New Hope Publishers. The Hurt That They Feel is not currently available in print.

This is a priced product.  Download here now. $2.99. 33 pages (19 spreads). 

You may also be interested in Soul Shaping: Creating Compassionate Children by Kimberly Sowell and 200+ Games and Fun Activities for Teaching Preschoolers by Kathryn Kizer.

New Hope Digital’s focus this month is Active Compassion: Caring for the Least, the Lost, and the People You Meet Every Day. In some ways, the components of the theme remind me of my own personal spiritual journey. Let me explain.

As I was finishing up my master’s degree at Wheaton College 10 years or so ago, I did a term paper on God’s care for the alien. I was actively involved with English-as-a-second-language ministry at the time, and I felt led to explore the topic in greater depth. I found care for the sojourner to be a recurring theme in the Old Testament, like here in Malachi 3:5 (NASB):

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the Lord of hosts.

And as in the above verse from the Book of Malachi, I often found the alien mentioned with the widow and the orphan. These were people who had no one to defend their cause, except the Lord. And the Lord wanted His people to take care of them for His honor. Caring for widows, orphans, and strangers was also a way of remembering that, before the Lord intervened, Israel, too, had been fatherless, husbandless, and stateless.

God is still concerned for the least of these—widows, orphans, immigrants—and also runaways and street children and sex workers. Anyone being exploited or at risk of exploitation.

God actively cares for the lost as well. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son in Luke 15 speak so powerfully to His love and the fact He loved us before we loved Him (1 John 4:19). The touchstone here for me is the 3-plus years I spent with my wife, Kay, in East Asia, ministering to Chinese and Tibetans who, many times, had never heard of Jesus Christ. It is a blessed opportunity to share the love, power, and holiness of God with those in darkness, whether overseas or in our own community.

And that brings me to those people you and I meet every day (or at least fairly often). I now live in Birmingham, Alabama, and my ministry has changed. I minister through my editing and writing and through the small group I lead. No, I haven’t stopped trying to minister to the least and the lost, but I’m learning to let God open my eyes to the people around me on a regular basis. They need to see active compassion too.

I hope the New Hope Digital audience will benefit from and be encouraged by the articles/columns, podcasts, and videos we plan to provide this month. We’ll be highlighting Active Compassion by Gayla Parker; Orphanology by Tony Merida and Rick Morton; and A Christmas Journey Home by Kathi Macias. I’m also looking forward to content from Kimberly Sowell and Jennifer Kennedy Dean, among others.

There are several items already on the site related to these topics as well. Here are a few to check out:

• “Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery” (includes a list of New Hope Digital content)
• “Ron Ruthruff: Kids on the Street” (podcast)
• “Make an International Friend” (article by Donna S. Thomas).

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

You may be familiar with the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof of a house by 4 friends (Mark 2:1–12). But have you ever thought: what would have happened to the paralytic had his friends not been willing to do whatever necessary to carry him to Jesus?

There are many people we pass every day who may need someone to have compassion on them. There are co-workers, family members, neighbors, and friends who may need to be “carried” to the feet of Jesus. Like the paralyzed man, they need Jesus to change their lives on earth and for eternity. Will we bring them to Him?

Read Active Compassion: A Calling to Care by Gayla Parker and be encouraged to bring those you know and meet to the feet of Jesus. Each chapter has creative prompts for acting with compassion day by day. Gayla’s biblical and storied writing includes interactive questions for the reader to ponder.

Gayla Parker is a popular women’s speaker, a former missionary to the Philippines, and the WMU executive director of Maryland and Delaware. Gayla and her husband, Freddy, live in Baltimore, Maryland.

Download the first chapter of Active Compassion by Gayla Parker now.

Gayla is also highly involved with the Christian Women’s Job Corps^® (CWJC). CWJC ministries are bringing hope to women through Bible study, one-on-one mentoring, new life skills, and job readiness preparation.

Gayla and her husband, Freddy, live in Baltimore, Maryland, where they root for the Ravens football team.

• Active Compassion

There is no perfect list of things you can do to make America slavery-free, but here we offer a few specific ideas to help you create positive change where you live. Many more ideas to combat trafficking are found in chapter 10 of Not in My Town.

Not many of you are ready to move to D. C. to change national policy or travel to Southeast Asia to free slaves. The good news is that you don’t have to! You, along with others, can work from where you are to help create a slave-free community, county, state, country, and world.  

Reflect on these ideas and others, and do something. You can’t do everything, but the worst thing you can do is nothing.

Host an Event or Speaker
We both speak across the nation on the issue of human trafficking and can be contact through our Web site (http://www.mercymovement.com/) for further details. However, an event about trafficking does not require our presence. A local nonprofit leader, law enforcement officer, or other expert could be what you need to inform and inspire your audience to act.

You can combine your efforts with other national initiatives, such as the annual Stop Child Trafficking Now Walk (http://www.sctnow.org/) to raise funds to stop modern slavery. (The SCT walks are occurring in September/October 2011.)

Buy Fair-Trade Products
Simply put, fair-trade products have a variety of stipulations that root out any slave labor, guaranteeing the product is 100 percent free of slave labor. We support and encourage you to support fair-trade products whenever possible in your purchases.

One organization we specifically recommend is WorldCrafts. Its mission is to bring hope to impoverished people around the world, and its Set1Free campaign highlights artisan groups working against trafficking (prevention and rescue). WorldCrafts is nonprofit and a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

Respond
One writer has noted that about 1 in 3 of those rescued from trafficking in America have been so because an ordinary person saw something and acted. In some cases, it was noticing someone who lived at a place of employment and could not leave. At other times, actions have been more direct, involving assistance to a person fleeing for help and providing a route of escape. At the very least, report suspicious activities to your local authorities as well as to the national human trafficking hotline at 1-888-3737-888, operating 24/7 in English and other languages.

Prevention
It has been said that Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This may be even truer regarding the prevention of human trafficking. Some areas you can get involved in that could keep future individuals from trafficking include:

• Services to runaway and homeless teenagers
• Refugee services
• Ministries and education to ethnic groups, including conversational English classes
• Outreach to female juvenile detention centers or prisons
• Your local chamber of commerce (to help stand against local businesses that support trafficking and adult services)
• Journalism (speak out against trafficking)
• Music and other creative arts (supporting the fight against trafficking through awareness at concerts, art galleries, and other events. For example, see musician Natalie Grant’s TheHomeFoundation.net. Or Kathi Macias and her “Freedom” series of novels.)

Adapted from Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery. The book includes a small-group discussion DVD and guide.

Helpful Resources

An extensive list of resources, including other organizations involved in the fight against modern slavery, can be found at the end of Not in My Town. The following list includes resources related to trafficking found on the New Hope Digital (NHD) site, as well as some US government Web links. Many of these articles and podcasts contain additional helpful links. I would also commend CNN’s Freedom Project as a helpful multimedia resource.—Editor

US Government:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/human_trafficking

Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/

Department of States, Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/

Immigration and Customs Enforcement
http://www.ice.gov/human-trafficking/

Project HELP (WMU):
Restore and Release CD, a resource of Project HELP^sm

NHD Articles and Columns:

Publisher’s blog by Andrea Mullins
(“The Two Greatest Institutions for Human Exploitation”)

Voices columns by Charles Powell
(“Trafficked Adult Women Need Our Attention and Action;” “Three Things You Can Do Now to Fight Trafficking;” “International Trafficking 101”)

Voices columns by Dillon Burroughs
(“From Haiti to Not in My Town;” “More Ways to Stop Human Trafficking in Your Community”)

Voices columns by Kathi Macias
(“The Face of Human Trafficking;” “The Church Must Stand Against Modern Slavery Worldwide”)
And, read Kathi’s compelling new novel about human trafficking, Deliver Me from Evil.

Voices columns by Mark Russell
(“Sexploitation: The Economics of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking;” “Christian Responses to the Economics of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking;” “The Economics of Human Empowerment”)

Editor’s columns by Randy Bishop
(“Declaring War on Modern Slavery;” “Human Exploitation”)

“27 Million Slaves Exist Today” by Randy Bishop
“Prayer to Abolish Human Trafficking” by Edna Ellison
“Hope Lights the Faces of children Rescued from Trafficking” by Melody Maxwell
“Interview: Sandra Johnson, Triad Ladder of Hope Founder (Ministry to Trafficking Victims)” by New Hope Digital
“Human Trafficking Demands a Coordinated Response from Churches” by Kelly King
“Stand for Orphans and Stand Against Human Trafficking” by Rick Morton
“Kanzi Gives Back to Help Children in Need” by Katelyn George
“You Are God’s Instrument” by Sheryl Churchill
“New Hope Digital Art Forum” by David Dinkins

NHD Podcast:

Andrea Mullins: WorldCrafts Changes Lives Through Fair Trade
Charles Powell: Fighting Slavery in America
Chong Kim: A Trafficking Survivor’s Dramatic Story
Dillon Burroughs: A Look at International Human Trafficking
Dillon Burroughs: Aftercare for Trafficking Victims in the US
Dillon Burroughs: I’ve Looked into the Eyes of a Modern Slave
Kathi Macias: Confronting Modern Slavery Through Missional Fiction
Kelly King: Fighting Human Trafficking in Her Town
Mark Russell: Fair Trade and Human Exploitation
Ron Ruthruff: Kids on the Street
WorldCrafts Thailand & Cambodia Tour

Dear God,

You say in your Word, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy” (Psalm 82:3–4, NIV1984). Help us to do that.

We plead for those who are enslaved today, especially as domestic or sexual slaves. Because you love them, give them grace and peace and healing, O Almighty Lord. Open opportunities for us to help them. Show us ways we can make others aware of this terrible situation in our nation and world.

We pray that law enforcement will see situations as they are, to bring justice to those who are responsible. We pray for legislation that will enable this illegal trafficking and slavery to stop. We pray for courage in ordinary citizens who care, and who can and will liberate those held captive and exploited by others. God have mercy on us and those who are hurting. Show us how we can help.

Amen.

Author’s note: I wrote this for my church because we are exploding with women who want to help enslaved women. Thousands of slaves go through our town monthly! Some go through in large paneled trucks, which stop at the junction of I-85 and I-26 and swap cabs on the 18-wheelers. The women, who sleep in the backs of these trucks in the daytime, are picked up by a different cab and hauled to the next place for them to service 40 or so “johns” the next night.

I begged God not to make me get involved in this, because I am sickened by their pain and suffering. But, once I made my fellow churchwomen aware of the slaves’ presence, these godly women got excited about liberating them! They are calling police often, when they see any sign of prostitution or child abuse! Hallelujah! They are moving out! Our “awareness” phase is now breaking into an action phase!

Edna Ellison, Phd,  lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina. A popular author and speaker, Edna has addressed women in almost every state in the US and has led women’s conferences across Europe and South and Middle America. Books she has authored or coauthored include, among others, Woman to Woman, Stronger Still, Women of the Covenant, and Chosen and Cherished.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

A beautiful young mother came by my exhibit table this week. She was looking for something she thought she had lost. Simply, a second chance. Under a tent, standing in the grass, we talked of God’s plan for us. Does He see us stumble and decide He is through with us? I can’t find anything in His character as described in His Word that causes me to think this is true. Rather, it seems that from the time the Lord placed Adam and Eve in the garden, He was pouring out His divine blessings on His creation, regardless of how often they stumbled or failed, or turned away from His plan. Throughout the Old Testament the Lord was guiding and restoring and seeking to move people beyond their human condition to the extraordinary life He had prepared for them. He seemed to believe in people even when they didn’t believe in themselves.

Each of our lives are different, there is no doubt. Maybe it is because our lives are different that our mistakes seem to loom so much larger than anyone else’s. I know that feeling, the one you get when you know you’ve made more than a mistake. You know, the one you get when you stand before God, or fall on your face before God, and weep over your bad decisions, or missed opportunities, or misspoken words, or thoughtless actions. But I also know the other feeling, when I raise my eyes and realize the Creator of the Universe, is offering me a hand, ready to take me with Him to discover the extraordinary life He has for me.

Every day of our lives was carefully put in place by the Lord Himself and He isn’t going to toss us aside so easily. In fact, we don’t know His timing for our success. I think He knew when we would finally surrender to His plan. He didn’t want us to sin, but He was far ahead of us in taking care of our sin. Isn’t that why He gave up His precious Son to a cross? God planned for us through our good times and our bad. He knew what would happen after we were born. Even so, He infused our days with Himself, His life—His extraordinary life, so we could successfully turn back to Him and participate in His extraordinary plan.

Since 2005, Triad Ladder of Hope has been working to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking within the United States. By actively partnering with a number of other agencies, the group is able to offer physical, emotional, and spiritual assistance to human trafficking survivors. Victim services are provided by a clinical social worker who is licensed by the North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board.

Triad Ladder of Hope is currently raising funds for a safe house to shelter women of all backgrounds who have escaped trafficking. The ministry is a privately funded, faith-based nonprofit. The Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina includes the cities of Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro, as well as surrounding counties.

How did you first get involved with the issue of human trafficking?

My missions pastor recommended me to another organization. I worked for them under a federal grant for 8 months, then felt God leading me to step out on my on.

How did the Triad Ladder of Hope ministry start?

Sandra Johnson

Triad Ladder of Hope was the call God placed on my heart. As I learned about the horrors of slavery in our country and in our state, my heart was broken for those who were being exploited in such a horrible way. Their rights were stripped from them, and they are forced to do work with little or no pay and are treated worse than many of us treat our pets.

I had to change my mind-set on prostitution. Our society views prostitution like this: it’s the lifestyle they chose, and we as Christians don’t want to have anything to do with them. The average age for entering prostitution is just 12 years old. They have no way of getting out. God calls all of us to help the least of these.

I talked to my pastor and the director of missions in our area and in different ways they confirmed what God was leading me to do. I felt like I could not just sit and do nothing. I had to help those who were literally voiceless. Five years ago, few people knew slavery was active in our country and many still do not know.

How are women referred to Triad Ladder of Hope?

We receive referrals in many ways: from local law enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the national trafficking hotline, other organizations, and sometimes self-referrals.

How do you partner with other service providers in the Triad area?

We network with many other organizations including churches, the Salvation Army, Lutheran Family Services Carolinas, and the North Carolina African Services Coalition. We are part of the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking and the Rescue and Restore campaign (US Department of Health and Human Services).

What specific services does Triad Ladder of Hope offer to women leaving modern slavery?

Networking with other organizations, we offer women a safe haven, giving them the hope of a new life. We provide shelter, food, clothing, trauma counseling, medical care, and legal assistance. We also provide job skills training through Christian Women’s Job Corps (national WMU). If possible, we help them make contact with their family. Everything that each of us take for granted we try to provide for our clients. We share God’s love by building a loving relationship with each client.

How does Christian Women’s Job Corps (CWJC) specifically benefit women who’ve escaped human trafficking?

Each CWJC site is customized to meet the needs of the participants and their community. We were able to incorporate the CWJC model to help victims of slavery. The purpose of CWJC is to provide a Christian context in which women in need are equipped for life and employment. It also provides a missions context in which women help women.

Triad Ladder of Hope’s mission is to care for the whole person. Victims of slavery are a group with extensive needs, and we work to meet those needs while ministering to them. Once our clients have reached a level where they are able to move back into society and live on their own, we help with training in life skills and job readiness.

CWJC was a perfect fit for the mission of Triad Ladder of Hope.

What types of slavery situations are you dealing with in the Triad area?

North Carolina ranks 8th among the states for highest human trafficking rates. Here we see labor and sex trafficking of men, women, and children. They can be as young as 5 or older than 50. A lot of our clients have been held in bondage in private homes. We have also worked with victims of sex trafficking.

Victims come from many countries, including the US. Americans can become victims here in our country, and many are taken to other countries where they are victims. The government estimates that 15,000 to 20,000 people are trafficked into our country every year. (I have been using that figure for 5 years, and, with this being the fastest growing crime in the world and second fastest in the US, I would say this statistic is probably no longer accurate.)

Victims can be from any country or continent—Russia, Thailand, Africa, Vietnam, Ukraine, China, India, and many others. There is not a country human trafficking does not touch.

Do you have any idea of the number of possible victims in the Triad area?

We know there are many, but we have no way of counting those living in slavery.

Have the types of slavery situations been changing in recent years?

I don’t know that it has been changing so much as growing. Drug lords and gangs are beginning to look at human trafficking as more profitable than selling their drugs. And it is more profitable. Drugs are a one-time sell; humans, on the other hand, are resalable and are constantly making the trafficker a profit.

What happens to victims trafficked from other countries? Do they stay or return? How difficult is it for them to be granted status to remain here?

US Immigration will have to certify the person as a victim of human trafficking. Law enforcement must be involved in the process, and the victim has to assist in any investigation (this does not apply to minors). Many in slavery, because of fear, will not come forward due to this requirement.

Once a victim has been certified, there are government monies available for them and they can apply for a T-visa. Human trafficking victims also have the option of returning home at the US government’s expense. A majority choose to stay in the US.

It is often a long process. We just reunited a formerly trafficked mother with 3 of her 5 children. It took almost 2 years, and we worked with 2 other organizations to make this happen. We are now working to bring the other 2 children here.

In some cases, we have seen U-visas used for victims of slavery.

What do you recommend as a first step for an individual who wants to get involved in helping trafficking victims?

Become educated! Know what the red flags are, what signs to look for, and what to do if you come across a potential situation that may be human trafficking. We do community training so citizens know what to look for. Most of the trafficking hotline tips come from citizens. Everybody can do something: pray, give, take action by raising awareness.

Why have you decided not to take government funding?

In Matthew 25, Jesus charges us with the privilege of taking care of those in need. Slavery is a community problem! We strongly believe it is our responsibility as the body of Christ to fight this battle and not to defer to the government.

Who will be the voice and fight for their freedom if the church doesn’t? In the 1800s it was the people of God who stood up and did something to put a stop to slavery.

We also want the freedom to openly share the love and hope of Jesus with our clients. We do not force anything on them; we are as Jesus in the way we love them. If they adhere to another religion we respect their background, and we love them as Christ loves us. There has never been a greater need in history for churches to rise up and join the fight against slavery.

There are more people living in slavery today than ever before in history.

How can churches get involved in the fight against human trafficking in the US?

Pastors need to address this issue from the pulpit. The estimated number of men sitting in our churches who are involved in pornography is unreal. Pornography fuels sex trafficking.

Our churches need to get out of their comfort zone, get out into their communities, and support and get to know their law enforcement. I went to church with a victim of slavery and, at the time, did not know she was a victim. Victims and predators alike can be and are sitting in our church pews.

Members of our churches need to know what to look for and how to identify victims. We should go into the night clubs, strip clubs, and on the streets at night and reach out to those who are in need of rescue.

Follow Triad Ladder of Hope on Facebook and Twitter.

Editor’s note: For more information on human trafficking, especially in the US, you may be interested in reading Not in My Town by Charles Powell and Dillon Burroughs.

This is Chong Kim’s dramatic story from 1995 until the day she escaped in 1997. In the interview found below she provides chilling insight into how organized crime runs its sex trafficking operations in the US. Women and children are being enslaved to satisfy the twisted desires of clients and others (via pornography). It’s about a grotesque need for power and control, Kim says.

Chong Kim is now a conference speaker, writer, wife, and mother living in Texas. Listen to the podcast and read more of Kim’s story in chapter 8 of Not in My Town  by Dillon Burroughs and Charles Powell. The book and companion DVD (included) comprise their look into the secret world of America’s modern slave trade. There is also a chapter on international human trafficking.

This month’s focus on New Hope Digital is modern slavery. From the 1500s through the 1800s, the Atlantic slave trade brought millions of men, women, and children from Africa to the New World. A mind-boggling human tragedy. Yet some commentators legitimately estimate that there are more people held in some form of slavery today than were enslaved during the entire period of the transatlantic trade.

Society, and particularly Christians, must respond to modern slavery in numerous ways. There are many things we can do. Yet instead of simply fighting to free existing slaves (in all the ways we can and should) I believe we need to work toward eliminating future slavery through personal empowerment.

Fishery in Kenya dug by hand

Last month I traveled to Kenya. Through the years, many well-meaning organizations and entities have contributed massive amounts of charity to Africa in the hopes that it would move the continent forward from slavery to prosperity. But, in many cases, the results have been lacking.

One of the main reasons is that charity, in many of its forms, prohibits rather than promotes human empowerment. I have been to Africa numerous times and witnessed the impotence of some of these interventions.

On my latest visit though I was pleased to partner, through my church, with two organizations, Genesis World Mission and MAP International, that are empowering locals for the future. They refer to their model as the “total health village” concept.

The goal is not only to treat people who are sick, but also to provide the infrastructure that prevents people from getting sick in the first place. The intervention in this rural village operates under a set of principles that actually empowers people rather than accidentally indenturing them as many development programs do.

For example, water is obviously a resource that is necessary for humans to survive and thrive. For those of us who have it on a consistent and regular basis in nearly unlimited capacity, it is easy to forget water’s importance. We need it to drink, cook, clean, and more. We also need it to grow our food. This is true whether we are growing plants or raising animals.

In the small Kenyan village I visited, I toured two different fisheries. Both fisheries need water in order to grow fish. But there the similarities end. The contrast will illustrate my definition of empowerment.

The government of Kenya, in an act of charity, dug out the first fishery right next to a river. The owner of the land was not accountable for what he would produce with the fishery. Months later, the fishery is now bone dry with weeds growing in it.

Genesis and MAP, in an act of empowerment, told another man that if he dug a fishery, they would help him line it with plastic, so that it would last longer and keep fish in. The man lives a mile and a half from the river. By hand, he dug a fishery 17 feet deep and 35 feet long.

I was privileged to be there on the day when the plastic liner was placed in the fishery. I spoke with the owner and there was a glimmer in his eye that only comes from the pride of a job well done . . . from being empowered.

I have no doubt that he will overcome the challenge of getting water to his fishery and raising fish. He has already dug his own personal pond. Is he going to let that work go to waste?

On the other hand, the man who has a fishery next to the river will probably never do anything with it. He never worked for it and is not accountable for its production.

As followers of Christ, we should oppose poverty and human enslavement, and we should do so by promoting solutions that really work for the long term. We should encourage interventions that empower men and women to become, with dignity, a part of their own solutions.

—Editor’s note: For further exploration of this topic, you may want to listen to Andrea Mullins discuss the work of WorldCrafts. WorldCrafts works with local artisan groups worldwide to offer men and women sustainable, fair-trade employment, which alleviates long-term poverty.  

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Two years ago I received an email that changed the trajectory of my ministry. The email was an invitation to discuss the issue of human trafficking in the state of Oklahoma. I wasn’t sure why I received the email but I knew I needed to know more.

What I discovered at the meeting was a room full of people passionate about fighting human trafficking. As we were introduced to each other, I quickly realized I was the only person representing a faith-based organization. (I am the women’s missions and ministries specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.) After hearing from the FBI, government agencies, and social services, I returned to my office with a sick feeling—a feeling modern slavery was much darker and much closer than I had realized.

My eyes had been opened to an issue I wish didn’t exist. An issue I wish didn’t exist in my state, much less a few miles from my office. I returned with a sense of urgency. Human trafficking wasn’t just a social issue, but a spiritual issue—which, I learned later, was the reason I received the email invitation in the first place. 

Since that initial meeting, I have asked lingering questions, searching how to confront the issue and how churches can respond. Some of the steps that we’ve initiated include:

Raising awareness among leadership. I invited an expert on the issue to talk with leaders in my sphere of influence. I took a group of women to a statewide human trafficking conference. I read everything I could and learned as much as I could about what was happening in our state. I explored solutions, because the questions I was most often asked after people heard a presentation were: “What can we do?” and “How can we stop this?

Developing a task force of women who have created a strategy with purpose. These women include a state representative, Christian communicators, my state WMU president, the coordinator of our state’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Committee, a college women’s basketball coach, and a former victim of trafficking, Barbara Maphet. These women have written articles and made presentations in several churches, thereby educating congregations and raising awareness.

I’d like to share a little about Barbara. At 17, following a tragic childhood, she met a woman with an escort service who offered a job. Barbara was taken to dinner by 2 men, who afterward took her to a hotel room and told her to strip. With the promise of clothes, drugs, and a nice place to stay— and nowhere else to go—she turned her first trick. Her journey into sex trafficking began at this time and as she was subsequently taken, as a minor, across state lines.

She was later arrested for drugs and incarcerated multiple times. In prison, she began reading Psalms. Then through the witness of two women who began visiting her cell once a week, she came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Barbara now speaks publicly about her experience and is passionately ministering to women in the Oklahoma prison system. For more of her story, see http://baptistmessenger.com/human-trafficking-a-personal-story/.

Partnering with other organizations who are also tackling the issue. We’ve primarily worked with an organization called OATH (Oklahomans Against the Trafficking of Humans). I received the initial email from them. OATH was just forming and the founder is a pastor who understands not only the importance of including government and law enforcement, but the faith community as well. We also promote organizations such as Dayspring Villa, which to my knowledge is the only faith-based women’s shelter in our state. They are able to house victims of trafficking and domestic violence.

Creating interactive experiences. We use the excellent interactive experience found on the Release and Restore CD, a resource of national WMU’s Project HELP^sm: Human Exploitation. This awareness-raising experience has been offered at an evangelism conference, a women’s conference, and most recently, a statewide collegiate event. More than 1,200 students heard about the issue and raised more than $4,200 in their offering to support Dayspring Villa.

Encouraging and equipping churches to get involved at the street level. Churches have donated hygiene items to victims and some have even begun a ministry to dancers in adult clubs. Because of the trucking industry in Oklahoma, we are encouraging churches to begin truck stop ministries and to be aware of possible victims in truck stop areas.

Including breakout seminars on this topic at women’s events. People will not get involved until they understand the issue. Books, such as  Deliver Me From Evil by Kathi Macias and Not in My Town by Dillon Burroughs and Charles Powell, can be promoted as helpful resources on the subject. In addition, WorldCrafts offers a natural way to bring up the topic of international sex trafficking through its Set1Free campaign. By developing fair-trade businesses and jobs around the world, WorldCrafts and its local artisan partners help women leave the sex industry.   

Human trafficking occurs in every state. Individuals and churches can spearhead these and other kinds of initiatives at the local, city, and state level.

You don’t have to have an official leadership title or a lot of connections or money to get started. How will your small group, your local church body, and your larger community of churches (city or state) get involved?

Kelly King is on the board of OATH (Oklahomans Against the Trafficking of Humans) and  is the women’s missions and ministries specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

Hasta ahora no se ha traducido el libro entero. Si a usted le interesa leer todo el libro en español, deje un comentario. Gracias.

Download the first chapter of More than Conquerors by Kathi Macias in Spanish.

If you are interested in reading More than Conquerors and other “Extreme Devotion” books in Spanish, it is important to let New Hope Publishers know by downloading chapter 1 above and by leaving a comment below.

We are trying to gauge interest in a full Spanish translation of this book. The full translation has not yet been completed. The prologue only appears below.

Thank you.

Translation by Cynthia Alcantara (cynthia.alcantara1@gmail.com).

Prólogo

El Pastor Manolo Rodriguez suspiró con alivio, cuando su desvencijado, coche familiar que una vez había sido azul avanzó lentamente y resopló por las ultimas pulgadas del evento que duraba una hora conocido como el cruce de la frontera. La estación internacional entre San Diego y Tijuana tenía el tráfico más pesado de cualquier cruce en el mundo, con las aproximadamente 300,000 personas que hacen el viaje dificultoso cada día, algunos para trabajar, unos para jugar, otros para comprar o visitar a parientes, y algunos para conducir actividades ilegales de varias clases. Para Héctor, esto era estrictamente una empresa de amor, una que él hacia con regularidad y aún así se aliviaba cuando terminaba.

No era que Héctor no apreciaba la belleza y las conveniencias modernas de su hermana ciudad del norte, pero prefería el paso más lento y tranquilo de su humilde casa en las afueras de Tijuana, aún ahora en 2008 cuando el crimen cada vez más usurpaba la paz de su existencia. Había vivido allí sus treinta y ocho años enteros, un niño en medio de una familia de nueve descendientes, y se había casado después con la hermosa Mariana Lopez, quien había crecido como vecina al lado de su casa. Que ella hubiera hasta notado a Héctor nunca dejó de asombrarlo, y que ella había consentido en casarse con él no era nada salvo un milagro.

Ahora, todavía viviendo en la misma vecindad donde ellos habían crecido, hacían todo lo posible por alimentar y vestir a los tres niños que Dios les había dado, así como ministrar a los cincuenta y tanto miembros de la congragación de su amada Casa de Dios. Para complementar sus ingresos, Héctor trabajaba media jornada en la tienda de reparación de zapatos de su hermano menor, Jorge. Aunque la situación financiera de ellos no permitía tener lujos, esto proporcionaba realmente un techo sobre sus cabezas y alimento en sus vientres.

Era una buena vida, pensó Héctor, mientras dirigía y oraba en el coche de veinticinco años por medio de la indisciplinada Avenida Revolución en un crujiente tráfico, la calle principal en esta ciudad de casi medio millón y medio de personas. Como siempre, Héctor se sentía ansioso por salirse del centro de la ciudad e irse a un lugar más tranquilo, con una carretera más navegable. Aunque la calidad de los caminos se deterioraran entre más lejos se fuera, se alegraba de dejar atrás el ajetreo y bullicio del comercio y turismo de Tijuana.

Él también se alegraba de dejar la tristeza que parecía agarrarse a él cada vez que cruzaba la frontera. Y sin embargo sabía que su necesidad de seguir haciendo el viaje se terminaría demasiado pronto.

En ese entonces, por supuesto, estaba la situación en Chiapas, que parecía ponerse más desesperada y peligrosa cada día. Y su madre de sesenta y tres años, Virginia Correo Rodriguez, vivía en las afueras de San Juan Chamula, exactamente en el centro de todo eso.

What does the face of a child rescued from trafficking look like?

This question raced through my mind as our plane taxied down the runway in Kathmandu. After 36 hours of travel, I was delighted at my first glimpse of the lush Nepali landscape. I peered out the window, eager to take in the sights of my home for the week.

But the question persisted: What would I see when I looked at the children?

Perhaps hollow eyes would stare back at me blankly. Angry eyes might glare from a distance. Maybe broken eyes would well up with tears. Or scared eyes would shift back and forth, not knowing whom to trust.

Through Project HELP: Human Exploitation, I’d learned about sex trafficking and other forms of exploitation. I knew that, tragically, an estimated 27 million or more people worldwide are held in some form of modern slavery. I had read disturbing statistics about global trafficking in books such as Not in My Town.

But knowing the cold facts is different from looking a real human being in the eye.

As I spent time with girls and boys recovering from unspeakable horrors, though, my anxiety soon turned to amazement.

What does the face of a child rescued from trafficking look like? I discovered that it looks a lot like the face of your child, or mine. Lit with laughter one moment, wrinkled in pain the next. Full of gap-toothed grins, wide-eyed curiosity, and mischievous giggles.

During my time in Nepal, I learned that children who have been trafficked are just that: children.

My own eyes gleamed as I laughed, danced, and sang with girls and boys very much like those everywhere. I smiled with gratitude for ministries such as The Apple of God’s Eyes, with whom I volunteered in Nepal. They and other groups like them restore the gifts of childhood and hope, through God’s grace. And I was moved to tears by the faith of the workers who dedicate their lives to such a mission.

Truthfully, I realized that all in that place is not smiles and laughter. My face falls when I think of the trauma these children have endured, and the lingering effects they may experience. I’m sad I will not be there when their mouths occasionally quiver and tears begin to fall.

But I am comforted by the fact that God knows and responds to each upturned face. God knows the number of hairs on Daya’s head, whether Ruth has dimples, and how many teeth Anish has lost. God hears each secret cry and offers beauty for ashes, joy in place of mourning—and peals of laughter to replace tears of pain.

Isn’t it just like God to provide a glimpse of hope through the face of a child?

Melody Maxwell is design editor, Children’s Resource Team, national WMU^®. She visited Nepal in August 2011.

The world’s orphan and human trafficking crises are inextricably linked. Orphan ministry means being engaged in the fight against slavery and human trafficking.

Obviously, orphans are among the least powerful and most vulnerable people on earth. That is why I believe that God has been so direct in His call to care for them. They are defenseless, and God by His very nature is a defender. In His call to emulate His holiness, He wants us to be defenders as well.

From their lack of standing and significance in society, orphaned children are easy to exploit. Mostly, when they are taken, they are not missed. When they are abused, they are not heard. And sadly, there is a seemingly endless supply of orphans to be used and cast aside by a depraved system of abusers.

According to the US State Department, somewhere between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, and approximately 50 percent of those trafficked are children. Orphan children can find themselves in dire circumstances, serving in forced labor and even prostitution at the hands of a well organized and lucrative global criminal system bent on their exploitation for the gain of others.

1. Some children are sold into slavery by their families or are given away by their families on the promise of a better life for the child, and thus they are rendered fatherless in the process.
2. Others are abducted into slavery from the streets with no one to notice their absence or to come looking for them.
3. Orphan graduates, those children who “age out” of an institutional situation, face great difficulty and can be easy targets for human traders and pimps. With nowhere to turn for the basic necessities of life, they give up the one commodity they possess—themselves—to pay the price for their subsistence.

As ambassadors of Christ, we must stand in the gap for these helpless children. They are our concern because they are God’s handiwork, and they are being treated unjustly. The presence of this kind of injustice is dishonoring to God.

To God’s glory from His example, we must look for practical ways to care for exploited orphans and to rescue them from their oppressors. How can we as individuals and as churches take part in making a difference for a vulnerable orphan? We have to be creative to make a real difference.

While we must look for little, personal ways to rescue exploited orphans, we also need to band together and use the collective voice of the church. We must stand up as citizens and voters to insist that our local, state, and national governments take action on orphans’ behalf. We must use our place in the world as a tool of pressure to make laws that fight back the slavery and oppression of these precious children.

—Adapted from Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care © 2011 by Tony Merida and Rick Morton. All rights reserved. Published by New Hope Publishers^®, Birmingham, AL.

Rick Morton, along with his wife, Denise, played an integral role in the cofounding of Promise 139, an international orphan-hosting ministry. He serves as discipleship pastor at Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Rick and Denise have three children, all adopted.

Kanzi offers handmade, fair-trade jewelry and crafts, including Nativities, from artisans across East Africa. Not only does Kanzi help develop a market for these artisans, it also donates a portion of sales to support orphans and children at risk in Uganda, enabling them to get much needed food, clothing, shelter, education, and spiritual care. These children are otherwise at risk of being forced into sexual exploitation or child labor.

When you buy Kanzi products from WorldCrafts, you enable Kanzi to expand its work.

Anne’s Story

Anne was an at-risk widow in need of a job skill that she could learn quickly and would enable her to work at night after caring for her family all day. Her creative, bright, and motivated spirit allowed her to become a natural at paper bead jewelry. Her attention to detail makes her beads stand out in the crowd, and her infectious smile does not hurt either.

She now can care for her family better because of the income she receives through Kanzi’s marketing of her jewelry. And there are many more artisans like Anne who find a market for their beautiful work through Kanzi.

Pearl Ministries

As a for-profit business, Kanzi is able to leverage its earnings to benefit communities in East Africa. So not only does Anne’s work benefit her and her family, it provides for others in need as well. Kanzi is an initiative of Pearl Ministries, Inc., a Birmingham, Alabama-based nonprofit working in Uganda with orphaned and vulnerable children and holistic community development. Kanzi contributes back to Pearl Ministries, which then partners with and helps support a local orphanage and affiliated primary school, Ranch on Jesus.

Joan’s Story

Joan lost both her parents to AIDS. Like many young orphan girls in Uganda, Joan’s future looked grim. Poor education, sexual exploitation, and hard manual labor in the fields or in rock quarries were highly probable outcomes for her life.

Wanting a better life for her granddaughter, Joan’s grandmother decided to place her at the Ranch on Jesus school thanks to a scholarship provided by Kanzi’s work. Since moving there, Joan has successfully progressed to the top of her academic class. Joan can now hope for a bright future, free of exploitation.

To see beautiful WorldCrafts products from Kanzi, including Nativities, go to http://www.worldcrafts.org/artisanDetail.asp?id=76.

Kanzi® is a registered trademark of Pearl Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.

Godavari Women: A WorldCrafts group working in India

Andrea Mullins, director of WorldCrafts and publisher of New Hope Publishers, shares how WorldCrafts is changing lives through fair trade.

She discusses the WorldCrafts Set1Free campaign and highlights the work done by the artisan group Connexions to free women from sex trafficking in Calcutta, India. She concludes by offering several ways to get personally involved in the liberating work of WorldCrafts.

The vision of WorldCrafts is to see an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life offered to every person on earth. WorldCrafts is a fair-trade division of WMU^®.

For a free WorldCrafts Fall catalog, call 1-800-968-7301 or view the pdfs at http://www.worldcrafts.org/seasonal.asp.

Monique’s name is actually Marcia, but her captors thought it wasn’t sexy or appealing enough, so they changed it soon after they abducted her. She was just walking home alone from cheerleading practice when they grabbed her. She was 15 at the time.

She’s 18 now and despairs of living long enough to hit 20. Her parents have all but given up trying to convince the authorities that she is not a runaway.

Sumalee, whose name means flower, is only 12. She was orphaned 2 years earlier and ended up living on the streets of her poverty-stricken town in Thailand, begging for food until being forced into a brothel. At times her life is so hard that she prays for an early death.

Monique and Sumalee are fictionalized girls from different cultures in different lands with completely different backgrounds and lifestyles. But they represent so many actual girls trapped in modern-day slavery, along with an estimated 27 million other men, women, and children worldwide.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy_37Tf54dc

Many of that number are exploited for sex (including children younger than Monique and Sumalee), while others are forced to labor under dangerous and difficult conditions for no more than a crust of bread or a bowl of rice, if that. Still others are enslaved for the nearly unthinkable but lucrative practice of harvesting and selling human organs on the black market.

The undeniable facts and estimated statistics of human trafficking are staggering, while the faces of this evil crime are heartbreaking—as they should be. How can we in good conscience ignore their plight?

Women and girls like Monique and Sumalee are crying out for someone to rescue them. Can we afford to ignore that cry once we’ve heard it? Can we stand before our Savior one day and say we chose not to answer?

I don’t believe so. Countless organizations, like the Mercy Movement, are banding together in this fight for abolition. Won’t you join us? Email me at ezyrtr@ca.rr.com, and I will be happy to steer you in the right direction. 

Kathi Macias is the author of Deliver Me From Evil, the first of 3 novels in the “Freedom” series on human trafficking. Red Ink, one of Kathi’s current fiction books, recently won Novel of the Year in the Golden Scroll Book Awards. Red Ink has also been named one of three finalists for the Long Contemporary Carol Award by the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

Art can be a God-honoring human response to His marvelous truth, beauty, love, and creativity. It is also an appropriate way to work through our own feelings and thoughts regarding the world around us and inside us.

We are all designed in some way to express the creative ability that God, in His grace, has granted each of us. Though author J. R. R. Tolkien refers in the following quote to a specific form of artistic creation—fantasy—I think his words reflect the truth about all human creative endeavor: “Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker.”

“All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.”—John 1:3 (HCSB)

Within the context of Christian community, art can help to restore and refresh, to challenge and convict. Yes, art can uplift and also disturb. However, while acknowledging the profundity of our struggles here and now, the Christian artist is hopeful, because Christ has risen from the dead, defeating sin and death itself.     

New Hope Publishers is in the creation business: the writing, editing, designing, and publishing of books and other resources. New Hope Digital would like also to foster a forum for creative expression and dialogue by regularly posting works of visual art to contemplate. The art will be related to our monthly themes. This month’s theme is Modern Slavery: Exposing and Ending Exploitation.

Our first piece of art is displayed here. Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome on that page in the comments section. Discussion is encouraged. Let me know (at newhopedigital@wmu.org) if you have further ideas.

Scripture taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

Title: Master Key

 Caption: Christ is the key that breaks any bond.

Artist’s description: “I wanted to capture the idea of finding Christ in situations where one is in bondage. He is the key that grants spiritual freedom. When you’re spiritually free then you can truly begin to live.”

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in our two featured  books on human trafficking, Not in My Town and Deliver Me From Evil (a novel).