This Ticks Me Off!!! It Better Tick You Off, Too!

I saw a story on Good Morning America this morning about how some (13 out of 27)charities seeking contributions to help America's veterans received an "F" from the American Instititue of Philanthropy, a watchdog group that rates charities in terms of how much money is spent on administrative needs, fund raising, and actual programs. Over the past two years almost half a BILLION dollars have been received by the sorriest of the sorry in this category of people using disabled veterans to give themselves six-figure salaries!

What qualifies as an "F" charity? One which gives less than 35% of collected funds to actual programs. Read the full story here:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/11/failing-to-serv.html

Does this mean you shouldn't give? Of course not! Just give wisely. Here is the website that rates charitable organizations: http://www.charitywatch.org/

Here is a great article on how to determine whether or not to give including a charity checklist:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/charity.shtm

Remember, in the past two years just under 500,000,000.00 did NOT go to deserving veterans just because good-hearted donors did not check out a charity. And that's just for veterans; the same thing is occurring in other types of charities as well.

Also, Christians need to be just as careful when giving to Christian ministries. The EVANGELICAL COUNCIL FOR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY is one way you can be more sure about the integrity of a ministry. Look for this logo at websites for added security in your giving. Detailed information can be found at: http://www.ecfa.org/Default.aspx

WARNING: Don't get cynical, get smart. Give generously to those who really need it, just make sure whoever you are giving your money to is giving it to the needy!

Oh To Be Like "Otters in Love!"

WARNING: The "CUTE" factor of this video may be detrimental to those of you suffering from chronic cynicism!

So don't forget to take time out of your busy schedule to follow the otters' example and to fulfill 1 Peter 4:8,9: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

A Husky Impersonating Me Watching Television

This is one smart dog...or at least a dog trying to understand how to become smarter. Kaiser has a better attention span than some people I know (like me!). This clip reminded me of how I probably looked Friday night when I was watching the local news....the subject of the post below this one!

When Is Hating Something Good?

This past weekend at my mom's, I was watching the local news, and was saddened by the usual "clutter" of one sad and/or scary story after another. The lead story was about how a lady's cat had been trapped by a neighbor and sent to be put down without the lady's knowledge...THAT WAS THE LEAD STORY!!! Surely in a metropolitan area of over 250,000 people, there was something happening that was a bit more significant or uplifting than that. For our cat lovers out there, I PROMISE that I would make the same comment if the pet had been a dog.

After that came stories about the danger we face eating frozen pizza with e.coli, children at risk in daycares with no insurance, the continuing drought threatening Atlanta, and coverage of the worst auto accident of the day, always with pictures! It would be easy to say the station is totally at fault, but why do they show an obviously unbalanced collection of sad, tragic, and/or fear filled stories? Why do the 20/20 type shows so often show tales of murder, deception or violence? Could it be that they are giving the public what we want? After all, how many of us slow down when we pass an accident? How many of us pass on tragic news more quickly than good news? Why is it so much easier to whine and complain about things instead of trying to make things better?

My point? PLEASE generate some good, uplifting news this week! When was the last time you gossiped about something good someone has done? When was the last time you tried to make the world a better place for someone? For some inspiration, click on this video of a foreign Honda commercial about HATE! The objects of hate are old, noisy diesel engines, which are creatively removed from the story as it progresses, only to be replaced by a better idea! The animation is great, and the song is to the point, catchy, and hopefully will inspire you to hate in a more productive way.

Meet The Robinsons - Complete Surprise

I recently watched Disney's "Meet the Robinsons," just, I thought, to see the animation. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very wonderful story. Sure, it is filled with silly kids' stuff (to make it marketable), but underneath it all was a story line about a young boy's critical decision on his world view, especially with regards to being backward looking (to the past in an attempt to find his birth mother who left him on the orphanage's doorstep for some "unknown" reason) or forward looking.

The plot centers on Louis' attempt to build a memory scanner so he can unlock deep memories of his birth mom. He is a scientific genius at 12, and therefore has not been adopted since he's a little too "special" for most people. He is visited by a strange teen-ager from the future, Wilbur, who insists some evil guy is after him and his memory scanner. Louis then becomes obsessed with using Wilbur's time machine to go and meet his birth mom, but Wilbur is obsessed with getting Louis to the science fair with his scanner. The whole struggle is that one kid wants to go back because he "thinks" he can fix something, but the other kid, from the future, has something Louis doesn't have...the truth...and he knows Louis future is dependent on something (the science fair) that Louis in his ignorance thinks is unimportant. Yep...it all reminded me how often we ignore God's truth and embrace our own ignorance.

I can't tell you how many people I've met who are "stuck" in the past in regret, or bitterness, and their lives are paralyzed. The statement that kept being repeated throughout this story is "keep moving forward," sort of like what Paul writes in Philippians 3:12-14. At the end of the movie, Louis has to make the decision whether to meet his birth mother or embrace the future. All in all, it was a great message, even though you have to wade through a fair amount of silly stuff to get to it. Here is the video of one of the best songs in the soundtrack that sums up the movie's message....

Romans 8:28 Lived Out in Nick Vujicic

For when you "think" you're having a bad day, or tempted to be overwhelmed by circumstances, remember Romans 8:28 and Nick Vujicic!

For more of Nick, go to http://lifewithoutlimbs.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/ and search for Nick Vujicic.

A Monopoly Game with No Cash!? Give Me A Break!

Can you believe how far our culture (or the credit card companies) will go to shame us into using more and more credit cards, and less and less cash (and responsibility!) As if all those commercials where everything is running smoothly as people wave, tap, or swipe their credit cards weren't enough. You know, the ones where the poor, responsible soul with...gasp....CASH (or check) is shamed as everything stops for people to gawk, sneer and condemn their lack of debt and the slowness of their transactions.

Well, now our kids can learn at an even younger age how to amass huge quantities of debt with ELECTRONIC Monopoly, complete with its own credit/money card swiper! OH, and yhou start off with a balance of 15,000,000 bucks...great for a generation that all too often feels like its parents owe them a new sports car at 15! If you want to see it yourself goto: http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/monopoly/.

We may be the last generation that will even be able to count and make change, not to mention the implications this has for the fulfillment of Revelation 13:16-18: He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666..

The Cook Family Made It to Zambia!

Ricky, Niki, Austin, Coby, and Kelsey made it to Zambia last Thursday. Their blog is: http://cooksinzambia.blogspot.com/

Pray for them as they begin their 40/40 experience today when they will spend the next month getting to know the people of Zambia. Part of the time they'll spend at the seminary in Lusaka, in tents out in the bush, and with a Zambian family. It should be quite the eye-opening experience!

Don't Hurt Feelings - Wait And Attack Their Character!

Anyone who has worked on a committee in a church for any length of time has come across what Patrick Lencioni is talking about in this video. I heard him at a conference this summer, and he is excellent.


What he is talking about is Ephesians 4:15-16 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

We can choose in a meeting to be honest in love (that is the best interest of the person) by discussing the merits of an idea or an issue, or we can be selfish (not wanting to experience the momentary awkwardness of confrontation/conflict) under the guise of "not hurting their feelings" and wait until we're "safe" with others who agree with us as we talk about them behind their back, assessing not simply their ideas, but in some cases, attacking their character. So we end up not hurting their feelings in the meeting, but hurting them in the long run and by being deceptive at the same time.

Need some more challenge? Goto: http://www.catalystspace.com/content/podcast/download.aspx

For more of Patrick Lencioni, just search www.youtube.com

Pray For The Cooks!

Last night I joined the Cook and Abstance families as we said good-bye to Ricky, Niki, Austin, Coby, and Kelsey as they began their 30 something hour trip to Africa! They will arrive tomorrow morning (Thursday the 18th) in Lusaka, Zambia. In a little more than a week they will go on an orientation experience which will involve some time living in tents and then with a Zambian family.

They will manage the "missionary house" in Lusaka where missionaries will come for rest, conferences, meetings, etc. Ricky and Niki will also have weekly opportunities to be part of the local missionary teams in a variety of ministry and outreach opportunities.

Right now, just pray for their safe arrival and their safe and successful completion of their month-long orientation. Pray also for both their families who had to say good-bye last night, and for their pastor as he seeks to minister to them!



THE GATEWAY
TO ZAMBIA!