come...

Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

My heart has been aching. Weeping. Longing. I can only pray. Pray that I never again pass up the chance to love. Never waste an opportunity to go where God is calling me. Seek out His voice. To reach for His hand and follow after wherever it may lead. I cannot fathom living in naiveté, waiting for this world to change. It is not possible. His Love is much too great for that. And if nothing else, to pray unceasingly that the beautiful souls in need may come to the saving knowledge of Truth and run freely into His loving arms. That every tongue of every nation will praise His name. Because He is the only answer.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

For myself and for you, whoever you may be, I pray we refuse getting caught up in the triteness of the celebrations these times bring and make an effort, as small as it may seem, to make a sacrifice. Step outside of our own lives and into the lives of those He is waiting for. Commit to pray for the opportunity to be of service. Begin right where we are. You can easily look up postings of volunteer need in your area at Volunteer Match, or check out many different places on the web. There are so many great organizations to support if one were seeking. Locally, both Feed My Starving Children and Loaves & Fishes are great places that allow you to walk right in and serve. They both have numerous openings in the next few weeks before Christmas! Groups such as World Vision, Feed The Children, Samaritan's Purse, and Compassion are well known organizations who can only make the difference they do through the support offered. I strongly encourage us all to educate ourselves and those around us about the condition of the world we are living in enough to know what to pray for and how to make a difference. Unicef has an informative report entitled "The State of the World's Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible". I would encourage you to take a look at it. You can check out the popular ONE blog here to explore world poverty and how people are being affected, as well.

May this season of Love, Joy, & Peace truly become just that to you and to those who have yet to know what it means. God bless...