//don't you dare close your eyes.

somalia.

i can't even begin.

honestly, i don't know much about how everything

fits together in africa...

but i do know that when i'm in ethiopia, i'll be right next door...

and i do know the ache is my spirit and the 

helplessness i feel...

the images coming out of somalia...

i seriously do not have words.

and i'm begging you to look at them.

{pc: Tyler Hicks, NY times}

....

this is hell.

and don't you dare close you eyes.

i'm a mess.

i'm conflicted.

i'm scared.

i'm confused.

i'm overwhelmed.

why aren't we going there in droves, O Christians?

listen....i'm just as guilty.

and just because i'm headed to ethiopia in six months means jack.

i know that.

i know that.

i know that.

are we scared?

i'm scared.

i'm scared of dying...

be it to myself, losing a dream of a family of my own, 

a pretty house and a successful photography business....

be it to sickness, catching something from one of the children 

i know i won't have the strength to stay away from....

be it by the pirates that wreak havoc on the seas 

or the anti-Christian fanatics that hate my King..

i'm terrified.

i think about Jesus.

perfect, holy, without stain or blemish...

had everything He ever needed or wanted...

was He scared when He looks at us in our sin...

desperate, helpless, depraved....

whenever I think about the crucifixion,

i'm always amazed at how Jesus just kept going..

step by step..

step by step to calvary.

He went from Heaven to the cross 

because He thought we were worth it.

i'm not saying i or any of us are Jesus...

but we are called to love like He does...

with reckless abandon...

without fear or worry or concern...

to go to the dark places of the world because we are the light...

and maybe that means leaving behind our plans

and maybe that means leaving behind our dreams

and maybe that means giving up our cushy lifestyle...

{ps: even if you're "poor" in america, you're still in the top 3% of the world}

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” - Isaiah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good.    And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy    and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

one last thought...

and i'm begging you to keep me accountable to this as well...

Proverbs 24:12 says: 

 If you say, "See, we did not know this,"
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?

I've seen this proverb paraphrased like this:

once our eyes are opened, 
we cannot pretend we don't know what to do.

God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls,

knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.

O Christian...

God knows that you know...

so don't you dare close your eyes.


it's time for a change.
what are we going to do?
where are we going to go?