Some food for thought...

I read somewhere that when you're pregnant it's common to feel forgetful or "foggy" from time to time as blood flow is highly focused on your baby...brain gets deprived or something. I'm going to claim that! Despite my fogginess, I have had a few thoughts floating around in my mind...and then they run off again when I'm distracted by figuring out what to make for dinner that won't make me gag, what needs to be done around the house, etc.

I've been thinking about the fact that I feel like I'm wasting the time that the Lord has given me. I watch too much T.V. I get frazzled when I have too many things on my schedule, even if those things are good, like volunteering at the pregnancy help center or getting together with friends so our kids can play. And when I come across sites like www.jesussaidlove.com, I feel like even more of a slacker. Serving others doesn't have to be hard, or complicated, or even under the umbrella of an organized ministry that has a board to make its decisions.

How much do I really care about others? I heard a sermon one time that said if we want to know the answer to that, we should get out our checkbook. Ouch. How much do I really care about the suffering of others both here and around the world? Am I really willing to make sacrifices in order to meet needs? My cousin recently put an excerpt of an article on his blog that basically calls people out for being socially conscious on the surface, but not really sacrificing anything when the truth be told. You can check out the whole excerpt/article on his blog (ryan and sam in the margin) but this is the part that's been bouncing around in my mind:

"In other words: it is great when people begin to challenge the status quo as they pursue justice and mercy, but how excited should we be when it is very easy in our society to look, sound, and act radical without it costing anything?"

I'm passionate about urban ministry - I even worked at an inner city school for the last 5 years, but what am I doing to further support the families I have grown to love? I feel strongly about the need for loving ministry to women in crisis, but I only make it to the pregnancy center like once a month. I read a blog regularly of a rescue center in Haiti that is AMAZING, and often read about needs they have, but have I sent anything to them, or donated funds? Nope...I just read the blog, look at the pictures, and grieve...or thank the Lord for the family that runs the center and then feel like they are amazing and I'm not...but I don't move to action. Why don't I?

It's something I'm thinking about....