Living our lives as we know it....

Throughout this week I have constantly been reminded of how much work there is to be done in this world and how we as Americans live out our every day lives ignoring the fact. 

Have you ever wondered why you are here on this earth? or what the purpose of life is?  Do you think we were created to be happy, successful people who get everything we ever wanted? When's the last time you heard something in the news that just sounded horrible and instead of saying that's horrible...those poor people, but actually did something about it?  

How many times in the last week, me included, have we thought about someone besides ourselves, done something besides our regular routine life, researched what is going on in the world outside of our bubble, or actually stopped to help someone in need?

Here are a few pictures with captions to help explain my point...

The type of houses we live in in America. Built brand new to our expectations because the millions of homes that are sitting empty waiting to be sold aren't good enough, built complete with a bedroom for everyone in the house, a garage for every car we own, an extra bedroom for guests who may happen to come into town a couple times a year.  Homes that are full of the latest gadgets, movies, video games, televisions, to keep us happy and prevent us from becoming bored. 

The type of Village people in Uganda live in.  Their families often share a living space with other families.  Their homes are often invaded by spiders, ants, and geckos.  

How we in America get to the grocury store that is 2 blocks away. 

How people in Africa get to the market that is 10 miles away. 

A nice variety of clothing and shoes. We in America make sure we have a matching pair of shoes for every outfit, and a new purse for every season of the year, so we can be up with the newest trends and only have to do laundry a couple times per month.  Over half the clothes in this closet haven't ever even been worn. 

No shoes here.  The people of Africa can't afford them. They often wear the same clothes every day of the week, and have to wash their laundry by hand.  

Enough food for everyone to have seconds or thirds and then we end up throwing the leftovers out because they aren't as good the next day.  We in America often spend hours working out to burn off the extra calories that we didn't actually need. 

People in Africa sometimes go days without eating.  They have to wait in line for hours to get a half scoop of beans.  They will eat anything they get, they aren't picky.  They are desperate enough that they will go look in the dumpsters and eat food that may have been in there for several days. 

A few more points...

~Did you know that over 750,ooo people in the United States are living without a home? 

Yet we complain that our home is "Just not big enough!" 

~Did you know that more than 15 million children die per year from starvation? 

Yet we allow our children to pick and choose what types of food they will eat, leave restaurants with half of our food still on the plate, and the same restaurant will throw away a whole meal because it wasn't made to it's customers expectations.  

~ Did you know that there are over 132 million orphans in this world today waiting to find someone to love them and care for them who have to fight with hundreds of other children to get attention? 

Yet, we insist on having all our own children, and allow the smallest of fights to separate us from ever seeing our parents. 

These are just a minute amount of the problems in this world...not mentioning all the women victim to sex trafficking on a daily basis, children victims to abuse in their homes.  We act like there's nothing we could possibly do about it, that in order to actually help with something you would have to put tons of money into traveling across the world.  These issues are not just limited to third world countries, but are happening in your neighborhood, and in our city.  It doesn't require much, even 1 hour per week of your time will help.  Not only would you be helping someone else, which is incredible, you will feel more purpose in life which can uplift your day tremendously.  Please don't let life pass you by and ignore the world around you.  There's so much to be done, and you my friend could make a huge impact!! If anything, please be content with what you have and realize how blessed you are!! 

James 5:1-6 says...

 ¹Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.²Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ³Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. ⁴Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. ⁵You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.^[a] 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. 

Amelia Lida Klemme

Isn’t she cute:)

 She’s my favorite…..

 ~I gotta say, I never thought I’d enjoy being an aunt near as much as I do…it’s probably one of the coolest things in the world. 

 ~ I remember the day she was born…March 25….I was working evenings, my shift was almost over, and my brother called me at work and said, "I can’t talk, but just wanted to let you know you’ll be an aunt in like 10 minutes….come if you want!" I had my doubts going to the hospital at midnight, given the neighborhood it was in, and just the fact that those are not exactly hospital visiting hours, but I decided that I wanted to be there.  So, I raced home to change and made my way to the hospital.  I checked in with security and made my way up to the labor and delivery floor.  Things were pretty quiet up there, but I traveled through the hallways until I found the nursery.  There, I saw the little miracle.  My brother standing over the cutest baby in the world.  She wasn’t crying one bit,  just roaming her eyes about the room as happy as can be.  She held his hand tightly as my brother gazed over her with a proud daddy look.  I watched through the glass window in excitement, and later got to hold her just a few hours after coming into this world.  Never ever would I trade that night for anything.

 ~ Since then, I’ve appreciated living in the same city.  It’s pretty fun being a part of her life and knowing that she knows, trusts, loves, and has fun with you.  Hearing her voice as you walk through the door shouting “Te-Te’s here!!,” hearing & seeing her copy things you do and say, playing our own version of rock band with her horse on a stick as a guitar, taking her to story-time, and drawing fun things on the sidewalk together are just a few of the memories I will never forget.  

~It's amazing how something so unplanned is something SO planned in God's book.  Hanging out with a 2 year old once a week isn't something I ever planned to do at my age, but it's something I so want to do and has changed me in ways that I would have never imagined!! 

 ~Oh, and another sweet deal is that at the end of the day….you can always give em back...What an amazing life!!