Where I Live

I live in the state of Oregon.  Oregon is a stunningly beautiful place.  A true gem of God's creation!

Uncage The Soul Video Productions has just produced an incredible video entitled "Finding Oregon."  The video a 6 month compilation of time lapse photography captures the states unparalleled beauty.  It features the Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, the Southwestern Coast, the Alvord Desert, Leslie Gulch, Blue Mountains, Crater Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Deschutes River, and more.



Read more about what it took to capture these stunning scenes here.  

Ready to visit?

Child Sponsorship

I just learned about an incredible interactive web series produced by Missions in Action, a ministry with the simple purpose of making a difference around the world.  They currently have a team traveling around the globe for the purpose of

1. Identifying a problem somewhere around the world that people are facing.
2. Highlighting the actions that individuals and/or companies are taking to help those in need.
3. Providing a way for viewers to help out through a specific call to action.

As a long time child sponsor and a blogger for Compassion International I am excited about the impact this series will have.

They currently are in the Philippians visiting children and families who live in extreme poverty in the flooded villages of Northern Manila, and showcasing the power of child sponsorship.

Watch this powerful first episode and then ask God what role He might have you play.

I have so enjoyed the relationships I have had over the years with various children.  Currently my family and I have the privilege of sponsoring  Fernando Isaac Tetlalmatzi Reyes in Mexico and so enjoy the developing relationship we have with him.  What a joy it is for my family knowing that we are blessing a young boy living in the midst of great need.

If you have not already done so, I encourage you to consider becoming a child sponsor.  You will bless a child in untold ways and you yourself will experience blessing like never before.

Persecuted

Last week I had the privilege of being at the Right Now conference in Dallas Texas.  In a question and answer session with Francis Chan, Francis was speaking about his recent experience in India.  When asked what the Church of India thought about the American Church he simply replied, they don't understand it.

He said, they couldn't understand why people would leave their church.  Why would a believer leave their church because they did not like they way their pastor preached?  Why would a follower of Jesus leave their church because they did not like the music?  Why would one leave their church because the children's ministry was not exactly to their liking?  You see for those that follow Jesus in a place like India, they put their very lives at risk to follow Him.  Faith is not something they claim with their lips but rather something they risk their lives for.

This Sunday is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  This Sunday as we head off to church with not a care in the world many thousands around the world are putting their lives in danger doing the same thing.

May this video produced by K.P. Yohannan, the founder and international director for Gospel for Asia move you like it did me.  May it remind us to not only pray for the 40,000 people that are put to death for surrendering their lives to Jesus, but also help us consider our own journey with Jesus.  May it cause us to fully surrender to the One that did likewise for us.