Laughing With

Laughing With





This is not my video... It's from Regina Spektor
Check out her site! God bless

~Lily

Don't take things for granted

Our nation is so blessed! Everything we have we take for
granted. Our food, clothing, cities, even family... all this
is taken for granted. Imagine being a mother and waking
up your children in a little shack surrounded by garbage.
They are crying for food but you have nothing to give them.
You mix salt with water to give them some taste and
something to fill their little stomachs. That is normal in
third world countries. In America, we complain if we don't
have food whenever we feel like it. We expect to wake up
tomorrow and there will be food, clothes and a home
ready for us, just like today. No, we must realize that
what we have, God has given us.

So... what can we do??? First and foremost we can pray...
pray for the people in countries where food is NOT taken
for granted, pray that we as a country will not take things
for granted but share what we have in abundance. And
give, donate food, clothes or time to local organizations
that help the poor. Also thank God for what He HAS
given you! God bless

~Lily

Love 146

Love 146 is working towards the abolition
of child sex trafficking and exploitation
through aftercare and prevention.

Here are some staggering statistics from
their web-site...

*Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery,
involving victims who are forced, defrauded or
coerced into labor or sexual exploitation.

*It is estimated that 2 children are sold every
minute.

*United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) now
believes that the number of children trafficked
annually... is around... 1.2 million (2006)

*The U.N. and other experts estimate the total
market value of illicit human trafficking at roughly
$32 billion. This makes trafficking in persons the
second most lucrative crime in the world.

*It is estimated that at least 27 million people are
currently enslaved around the world, this is more
than double the number of Africans enslaved during
the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Check out the Love146 website to learn more.

Go to their videos to see the amazing story of how
they got their name.

God Bless!

~Lily

Just a thought!

Have you ever wondered what
a specific person is doing in
Africa right now? What injustices
are going on in our world? Our
world is SO dark and lost! Be
a light today and pray for
someone in the world!
God bless!

Lily

Little Evangelist

Here's a story from "Too Small to Ignore" by
Dr. Wess Stafford. Very heartfelt story!
Be encouraged by it!

"Compassion's South Korea director, Dr. Justin
Suh, and members of his board of directors
were visiting the work in Ecuador and arrived
at a certain project one evening. They were
scheduled to see the program the next morning.
"We are so grateful for your visit to us," the
pastor said when they climbed out of the minibus.
"But I'm so very sorry to inform you that tomorrow
will not be a typical day at our project. I know
you want to meet the children and see what we
are trying to do for them in this desperate
community, but..." At this, the man's throat
began to tighten. "The children will not be
gathering as usual tomorrow. Instead, we will have
a funeral." He took a deep breath before continuing.
"Two of our little boys, brothers, were crossing the
busy street to come to the project yesterday and
were struck by a huge truck. The eight-year-old
was severley injured and is in intensive care at the
city hospital. But the little six-year-old was crushed
and died in the dirty street. He was a wonderful
little boy. We are all heartbroken." Justin Suh replied,
"Oh, my brother, we are so very sorry." The pastor
wiped a tear and continued, "In our culture, children
do not generally attend funerals, especially tragic ones
like this. So I'm afraid you will not see among us what
you came so far to see." The South Korean leaders
conferred and then offered,"Would it be all right if we
came anyway, sat with your congregation, and just
grieved with our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters in
their great loss? We know something of such great
sorrow in our own land." The next morning when the
Korean delegation arrived at the little church, the
sanctuary was filled to capacity. To their surprise,
some sixty of the mourners sitting on the coarse wooden
benches were children. The pastor met the visitors at
the door and just shrugged his shoulders; he had no
explanation for why so many children had shown up for
a funeral. While waiting for the service to begin, the
national staff members began to move among the
children, quietly talking with them in Spanish.
Eventually Justin and his group heard the report. Child
after child had said, "He was my friend. He is the one who
told me of Jesus' love. He helped me invite Jesus into
my heart. I'm sad, but I've come today to send him to
his heavenly home."
This little Ecuadorian child had led over fifty of his friends
to Jesus! His life's work was gloriously accomplished by the
tender age of six. God needed a great evangelist for that
village. He needed a child.

God bless!
~Lily

Too Small to Ignore

Too Small to Ignore is a powerful book by Dr. Wess Stafford,
President and CEO of Compassion International. The book
tells about Dr. Staffords childhood in Africa as a young boy
in a missionary family. The big message of the book is why
the least of these matters most.



Jesus really loved children and He made a point in showing
this.
Matthew 18:5 says,
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name
welcomes me."
Jesus repeatedly welcomed and blessed children.

However, children are not a priority in today's world.
Dr. Stafford writes,
"When hunger and famine strike a nation, adults become weak
and hungry,but it is the children who most often starve to
death. When disease arrives with all its fury, adults can become
very sick, but the first to die are usually children. When war
erupts over ethnicity or boundary lines in the dust, it is the
littlest victims who pay the most tragic price. Far more children
were injured or permanently maimed by our battles. The
tragedies go on for years after the last gunshot or grenade blast,
as land mines and booby-trapped toys keep wounding, terrorizing,
and killing our innocent ones. The ritual sacrifice of children has
been taboo for thousands of years. Yet tragically it is practiced
every day across our world. We sacrifice children on our altars of
our most destructive sins. when the sickness of pornography has
run to its most evil and destructive end, it takes the form of child
pornography. When prostitution reaches its sickest, most depraved
form, it becomes child prostitution."

Here are a few devestating statistics...

*55 percent of childrens deaths in the world is responsible from
malnutrition.
*The earth can produce enough food for every man, woman, and child
to have 2,720 calories per day-more than any of us need.
*On September 11, the same day the twin towers fell, thirty thousand
children under the age of five from hunger and AIDS.
*The World Health Organization reported taht 745,000 children died
in 2001 from the measles.
The total cost of vaccinating them would have been only $558,750. We
spend five times that much on chewing gum each and every year.

It's all a matter of priorities.
Speaking of priorities, isn't it interesting how a schoolteacher earns
between $25,000 and $30,000 a year while a professional baseball
pitcher earns that much for every out he throws?

So how can we help? It is not always possible to go and rescue fifty
children and take them into our homes, and clothe and feed them.
However, sponsoring a child can help one child at a time.
By telling them them that they are loved and cared about, by nurturing
their dreams and encouraging them to be the best they can be, we
can help children overcome poverty and discouragement.
Proverbs 31:8 says,
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of
all who are destitute."

God bless you!
~Lily

Wow...

Today, nearly 27,000 children age 5
and younger will die of preventable
causes. That's about 18 children every
minute. And that is just in one day.
To help change that statistic, go to
Compassion and find more about
sponsoring a child. Have a great week!
God bless!
~lily