Understanding Refugees

Understanding Refugees that are brought into the United States has been something I've been trying to do. There is no way I could possibly grasp the hurt and struggles so many of the famlies have dealt with. Each time I see a new face, I wonder what the pain behind their eyes entails. Could someone have beaten them? Were they searching for food for their children and themselves? How many pairs of clothes do they have? Were they woman who have been severely abused and mistreated? Were they sexually abused? Did they separate from their family? Do they have children; do they know where their children are; did they lose their children to death? Do they have AIDS or are they HIV positive? What kinds of work do they know how to do? How long were they forced out of their homes and into a refugee camp? What was the refugee camp like? Do they speak any English at all? Are they afraid here? How many people do they know here; do they have relatives with them?

For many cases, the answers to my questions are typically very haunting. Sometimes Americans wonder why I have a heart to want to help people from another country when there are so many people here in America that need help. I believe that God has called us to go into ALL the nations helping ALL people, not just Americans. And for the most part, it seems to me that the needier of people are not always right here in America. The refugee situation affects so many countries. The refugee situation is affecting the United States now because so many of the refugees are fleeing from their own countries in hopes of being free from the political and religeous pressures in their own country.

I don't feel like it is my responsibility to ask, "Why they are here and who do I help?" My plea from the Lord is only TO help ALL. The families are here and I don't believe it is by chance. For whatever reason, I believe God allowed these families to come to America and my responsibility as a Jesus follower is to love them. My love for the Lord will spill on to them and will cause me to want to help them. I'll need to help them in many ways. And, I can't do it alone! In Christ I can do ALL things...but won't you come along and help me help them?

Here are some things we can do to help our local refugee famlies at Catholic Charities:

• Sponsor A Family (with prayer, financially, and through building friendships - giving time)
• Help find them a job
• Help them learn English (help with ESL classes)
• Bring them clothes
• Bring them food
• Donate Money to Catholic Charities
• Provide ESL teaching supplies
• Come along side of them and teach them our culture (paying bills, grocery shopping)
• Encourage them through building a friendship
• Help w/ their entry into the US by setting up their Apartment, furnishings, kitchen supplies, toiletries, etc.
• Teach them necessary healthy habbits: Brushing Teeth, Washing Hands, etc.

The needs of the displaced families in our Memphis area is huge. Once meeting a few of them, you will better understand how great their need is. Please consider going with me on Mondays and/or Tuesdays to Catholic Chatities to see how you can help.

There is Always Tomorrow

Think, think. As I sit at my kitchen table in front of my lap top and next to my window, the sights are much the same as I've seen many days in a row. It is raining again. The window pictures the flood of water running through a small dip that is stretched across my backyard. There wooden fence hides much of the forrest that I wish I could see. There are still, however, lots of green treetops surrounding my back yard. The trees make for a great hiding place for all of the birds I've enticed to come into my yard. Since I've added a couple of bird feeders, I have enjoyed watching colorful birds share the seeds and sweet syrup I've found.

My energy level today seems to have depleted. I'm more comfortable sitting still in the quietness of my home writing. I've gone this way and that way for so many days that my body is begging for some rest. More than I want to admit, my body is also begging for some exercise. Almost daily, my body fights for my attention wanting exercise and my mind fights for my attention wanting to be still. Thinking on this, I am sure that the two can win. Through exercise, I can surround myself with peaceful things such as nature. If I could force my body out the door to take a walk, run or a bike ride - I might discover that I can also allow my mind to rest.

I've had visions of redesigning my backyard. I want to make my yard friendlier to some of the birds. If I could get a bird bath and a few more bird feeders and houses, I could watch more of the colorful birds. I could take more pictures of the birds that visit my back yard. Maybe tomorrow or the next day or next weekend I could do it.

Tomorrow I say. So many times I complain about others who say, "tomorrow". And here I am saying, "tomorrow". Not just with regards to exercising, but so it is with me. I'm praying for moments solitude and rest in my head. I'm praying for moments of joy as I do step out in order to make use my talents and gifts. I'm praying for moments of satisfaction as I allow God to motivate my body to move physically.

But today, I know that there will be tomorrow. And just who am I to think that there is going to be a tomorrow? Tomorrow is never garaunteed. Maybe, I should start today. I couldn't hurt.

On Promises...

I researched the bible passages today on what Gods word says about our promises to one another...

(P) Proverbs 19:1 and (L) Leviticus 27:9-10

(The Message)
P - 1 Better to be poor and honest than a rich person no one can trust.
L- 9-13 "If he vowed an animal that is acceptable as an offering to God, the animal is given to God and becomes the property of the Sanctuary. He must not exchange or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one.”


(New Living Translation)
P- 1 Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool.
L- 9 “If your vow involves giving an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, any gift to the Lord will be considered holy. 10 You may not exchange or substitute it for another animal—neither a good animal for a bad one nor a bad animal for a good one.”


(King James)
P- Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
L- “And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good one.”

With help from Diana Gray Ministries:

God classes Integrity more valuable than the riches of this world. He classes Integrity more valuable than anything that we could ever own. Cheating, stealing, lying, breaking one's promises, withholding tithe money out of greed or spite is the world's way but not what the Lord desires a Christian to be. We are required to live a higher standard of living by holding our integrity dear to ourselves. When people of the world look at you as a Christian do they say you are no different than them or do they say they really respect you? Poverty if far better if a person has integrity and honor than all the riches that every existed throughout time. What is your life worth? Can you take any material thing with you when you die? We all need to get our priorities straight and realize that keeping our word is important to our self-respect as well as our integrity.

God spoke the world into existence and promised to save us from our sins by sending us His son to die on the cross. If we repent asking Jesus to come into our heart, God will keep His word to save us! God keeps His word; does He expect us to keep ours?

Keeping promises demonstrates our “True Inner Self.” It shows whether or not we have corruptible or incorruptible morals (fruitful seed) inside of us. Integrity, Honor, Self-respect and Honesty means everything to man and to the Lord! What kind of Christian walk does the Lord desire us to have? Is keeping one's word really important or do we have the right to alter and change it? Does the world respect people who break their promises? A broken promise means a broken trust and relationship. Trust and respect as well as one's honor is the basis of our relationship with our Lord. He expects us to keep our word, (vow, oath) to others as well!

When you give your word to someone you are also giving it unto the Lord. The Lord teaches us in the Bible that we must not go back on our promises even if we have to pay a higher price to keep them. Our promises are taken seriously and we will be held accountable for them. Changing our minds is not acceptable to the Lord!

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Lord, today I pray that we remember how important it is to you that we keep our word with one another. Help us to understand the value that you put in us to do what we say we will do. Lord, forgive us for the times we’ve been dishonest to one another which in turn makes us dishonest to you. Help us to faithful work on repairing the brokenness of trust and our own inside image so that others will know that we are yours and may come to you also. Lord, help us to never, ever, cause another person (including one another) to stumble because of our untruthfulness and dishonesty.

In Jesus name, clean us from the inside out and make us new. In our newness, allow us please Lord, to share the kind of integrity and honesty that you hold. May we part from our old ways and follow you with every bit of our being. Thank you for the promise that you gave of your son Jesus. I thank you that your character (all of the past things you’ve done hold true still today) as we can know without a doubt that your promise in your son will hold true for eternity. May we be more like you.