The Hey You Lady

I am part of a small but budding blogging group, where each week we take turns choosing a topic that we all post on. This week's topic is "The Good Servant." Initially, I was drawn to the story of the Parable of the Talents . That was before Saturday Morning. *WARNING - THE FOLLOWING IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.* Saturday morning I was in a discussion group where one of the members told of how her sister recently returned from mission work in Uganda. My friend told of a scene that her sister had witnessed, of a child of only one year of age, dying of starvation. This child was being cared for by his five-year-old brother, because the parents had both died. Imagine - a five-year-old, who doesn't really know how to care for himself, taking the responsibility for caring for a child who can barely express his or her needs! My friend also posted a video of two children, Esther and her older brother Sam, age seven. When the mission crew came upon Esther and Sam, the two ...

A couple years ago I was part of a group of regular chatters on Crosswalk.com. Like many online friends we all wanted an opportunity to meet and hang out face-to-face. There was just one problem -- Distance. You see, some of us were in different parts of California; others in the group were from Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, and places in between. Meeting over coffee just wasn't practical. Our opportunity to meet came when the gal from New York accepted an invitation to sing in a festival near Nashville, TN, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We were all excited for her! Not only is she realizing a long-time dream, it was also the perfect chance for some of us to finally hang out in person! Oh, if every day could be as exciting as the trip to Nashville. But time and money is a limited resource, and we can't do exciting things like that every day. So how can we keep excitement, this feeling of lively and cheerful joy, in our lives? Do what gives you joy! This might ...

"Whoah ... there are a lot of people out there!" "How many? Is my dad in the audience?" "A lot! ... Hey! Mr. Logan and his wife are here! Do you think they see me peeking?" "But is my DADDY out there?" "Um ... Oh, I see him! He's in the third row, one, two, three ... six seats from the left." "Rebecca! Hurry! Get in your place! Mrs. Weaver is about to pull the curtain!" When I was in kindergarten my class sang at a PTA meeting. What makes this event stand out in my memory is that there was a VIP in the auditorium, sitting about two rows from the back. When I saw this person I raised my right hand to about my waist and gave a tiny wave. I don't think anyone else on the stage noticed that VIP, but to me my mother was the most important person at McKinley School that night. I don't remember what song the group of not-yet-six-year-olds sang, but I can tell you that I sang loud and proud for my "audience of one....