The Opposite of Poverty

My friend Michaela has a shirt that says
"The opposite of poverty isn't wealth...
The opposite of poverty is enough."

I have always really liked this shirt and I still do, but as of late I would like to change it a little bit. I went to an orphan care conference the other week and heard one of the authors (Brian Fikkert) of When Helping Hurts speak.  He had a lot of really good things to say, but there was one set of concepts that have really grabbed my attention.

The way we define poverty completely shapes how we go about "poverty alleviation".  He said that if you ask a middle-upper class person what poverty is, their definition will almost undoubtedly include some reference to a lacking of material possessions; it will be material focused.  However, if you ask a person in "material poverty" what poverty is, they will always include feelings of shame, marginalization, lack of a voice, etc.

Poverty has much deeper wounds and causes than we are willing to see. As a result, often times our attempts to alleviate poverty are like putting a Sesame Street Band-aid on a deep gash that requires cleaning and stitches or a broken bone.  It is easy for us to go through our closets and "get rid" of some old clothes by putting them in a bag and sending them to some country in the developing world, but how does that really help a community become more self-sustained?  The only thing it really does it create a dependence on foreign aid.

God spoke to me through this.  I have a confession: I love being needed. This is not an uncommon desire, in fact, I think most people feel good when they are needed.  However I think it can become an obsession for me.  I can fall into finding my identity as a "helper" instead of as a daughter of God, a follower of Jesus.  Truly helping people requires my own repentance.  I cannot try and be god for other people.  I cannot be my own god.  I am broken. We are broken.  We have strayed from what we were created to be. This has resulted in a messed up world.

Poverty alleviation is only going to happen when people are reconciled back to their Father, their Creator.

In light of this, I would like to propose a new saying:
"The opposite of poverty isn't wealth...
The opposite of poverty is reconciliation."

I have many more thoughts on this topic and a whole long journal entry reflecting on it even more.  If you every would like to discuss this, I would love to talk to you!

Free!

I'm free I'm free I'm free
[in more ways than one]

Anointing

This is a very  very very rough draft...

Savior, Savior
What did you save me for?

You saved me from the black tar–
my human nature;
from a justified death–
my debt.

You have delivered me from captivity!
You have made a way out of Egypt;
I am running full force toward Your Promise Land;
Your kingdom come to Earth!

You have saved me for joy, peace, love;
for Your glory, Oh Great King above.

Oh Jesus let my lips declare your love and good news to the poor,
let my feet take me to the places where You have ordained me to proclaim freedom,
let my hands be used for the recovery of sight for the blind and release of the oppressed,
and let every ounce of my being be used to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor!

~inspired by Luke 4:18-19 [Isaiah 61:1-2]

Jehovah Rapha

Jehovah Rapha!

How encouraging.

How how how?

How how how can my professor expect me to write this essay?
Doesn't he know that my mind is focused on much more important things than how six sociological concepts fit into both my life and Barak's?
Doesn't he know that every time I write Barak I think of my precious little Alice Baraka in Kenya?
He is not helping my issues with a lack of focus on school!
Silly silly silly man, don't you know I would rather be in Africa?

Fundamental Truths

What would it look like if Christians actually lived like we believed the basic truths?

Truth One:
God loves you!

That has been blowing my mind lately!  Why has it become so mundane to say "God loves you"?  It has lost its power.  I stop and think about what that actually means though; the implications that one tiny phrase has on our lives... God Loves Us! HE LOVES US!!!! BAHHHHHHH!  We have a God, the Most High King, the Creator, I AM, who loves us perfectly.  Perfect love casts out all fear.  We are not called to living in fear, but in freedom in the love of Christ!  Too often we are too afraid to live in that freedom because we don't truly believe at our core that
God
Loves
Us!

GAHHHHH I feel giddy just thinking about that!
I am striving to live from the perspective that God truly loves me.

Themes

Themes I have seen two or more of brothers and sisters go through this year (I have also experienced many of these this year):

-Believing destructive lies
-Experiencing a new kind of joy
-Being trapped in prisons
-Breaking out into freedom
-Living out of a spirit of fear
-Not being content where God has us
-Waiting patiently on the LORD [sometimes impatiently]
-Discovering our identities in Christ
-Jehovah Jireh!

Through all of these I have seen God be faithful.

God is so good.  My soul is rejoicing in that today.