Day 3 of Rice and Beans

"Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'" (NIV)


I am loving the booklet LAHASH published this year for their Rice and Beans month. Either I didn't get last years or they didn't have one. It is basically a 30-day devotional to read together as a family. It is helping both Luke and I and then I when Luke is gone for diner (about half the time) to keep putting in front of the kids (and myself) the reason we are eating rice and beans for a solid month.





I read (paraphrasing) the adult portion for Luke and I and then read the kids their portion. The kids portion jumped out and me and ran over me with more force than what I had read for Luke and I.

"Giving someone a present, sharing your lunch with a classmate, or letting someone take a first turn are all nice things we can do for our friends. They will probably say "Thank you!" or even share with you the next time. But what if someone doesn't say "Thank you," or they don't have enough to share with you? Doing nice things for those people is a lot harder, because you might not get anything back. But Jesus tells us to love everybody, especially people who are not able to do anything nice for us. It might be hard, but Jesus said if we love everyone, He will reward us with incredible riches in Heaven!" --Rice and Beans Booklet

I have felt many times in my 9 years of marriage like I couldn't reach out to help or minister to someone because I simply couldn't afford to. I couldn't cook a meal for a friend because frankly, I barely had the funds to feed our growing family. I couldn't go out with a friend for coffee because I was embarrassed to say that I couldn't afford the $2.00 cup of coffee. I couldn't support the missionary friends who I wanted to because most months we were barely scraping together the money to pay rent or a house payment.

I felt the Health, Wealth and Happiness Gospel screaming it's happy self into my puckering and confused face that if I just believed harder, had more faith, spoke the right words, went to church enough times, read my Bible 3 hours a day, spoke a certain way, volunteered for every church and ministry opportunity that came my way that God would pour out His blessings on us and we'd have MORE MORE MORE. Usually that meant more money.

It's not happened. In fact, not much has changed financially in our 9 years of marriage, but I have seen God's pouring out of GRACE, MERCY, LOVE, TOGETHERNESS, PEACE, PATIENCE, and FAITHFULNESS in our marriage and family.

I have learned that when extra does come our way that it's OK and even FUN to give it away and BLESS someone else. "I have learned that time and service are just as important, if not more so than money. I have learned that a simple note or a warm loaf of home made bread, or a phone call touch hearts in profound ways.

I may not be able to afford to put my kids in soccer or gymnastics or ballet, or karate, or whatever is the thing for kids to do; however, I can afford my time to teach them that eating something as simple as Rice and Beans every night for dinner will truly impact someone else who is their age on the other side of the globe.

I hope, I pray that one day when they grow up that whatever their financial status: whether they be rich or poor, that they can reach out to others around them. That they will look beyond themselves and their circumstances and see the needs of others and give what they can give: Time, a Listening Ear, Money, an Act of Kindness, a Sacrifice of Self.

Feed the Hungry

It's that time of year again! We kicked off the 2nd Annual Challenge of... sponsored by LAHASH International.

"As the day winds to a close across East Africa, many of our partners and the people they serve will come home to a simple dinner. The charcoal stoves will glow in cool evening air that is filled with stories and laughter. One common meal is rice and beans. In homes made of mud, concrete, or tin, communities will gather and thank God for provision for another day." -Rice and Beans booklet

We want to do our part... This isn't just about Simplifying our diets or eating healthy. "This is standing in Solidarity with our brothers and sisters in East Africa who can only afford simple meals like rice and beans."
This is Sharing in a simple way by cutting back our excess to help feed our brothers and sisters who may otherwise go hungry at night.

Do my kids like this idea? Not so much, but hard things are caught and taught. They don't come naturally do selfish hearts.


The booklet wrote this for kids: "Many years ago God sent a man named Isaiah to tell the people of Israel a message. They were showing off while they fasted for a day. But at the same time were being mean, not sharing, and not obeying God. Do you ever do good things just to show off? God doesn't like it when people show off. He wants people who are honest, kind, and share with people even when others aren't watching. Today try to do good things even when people aren't watching you."
My kids still complained about dinner.

Then we showed them the video story of Sauda's Plate.
That silenced their grumbling. I choked up and had to stop eating even though this was my 4th or 5th time to see the video. Sauda is HIV-positive. Her mover died several years ago from HIV-related illness and her father went to another city to look for work.

They were spellbound.

Sauda is 14.

She lives alone.

Many nights she goes to bed hungry.

I pointed out to my children that the only time that they ever went to bed hungry was because they didn't LIKE dinner not because they didn't Have food to eat.

Sauda was just one child who was helped last year by the Rice and Beans Campaign.

We as a family are praying that double as many people will be helped this year.