Carpenter Shop - Danyel Carpenter

Last week I needed a fresh perspective; I needed to look at my life with gratitude; thanking Jesus for who He is and all that He has done. Looking at our lives differently means we are not solely focused on our own problems. We see the problems of others; we see how much we have; how truly grateful we are. Sometimes we cannot feel our gratitude until we turn our eyes outward.

We are blessed and our children are blessed. How many women do you know that die in childbirth in our country? How many women do you know that have lost a child due to diarrhea or malnutrition? How many teenage girls do you know who have been forced to marry a much older man only to become his second or third wife? Yet for many women all over the world, this is a very real possibility in their lives.

Here are some pictures that inspired me to live with a fresh perspective.

Fact: Each year, more than 4 million newborns die in their first month - equivalent to the number of babies born in the United States annually.

In this I am grateful for my healthy children who were born in this country. One whild who may have been born with a fatal illness, easily treated here int he States, but it would have been undetected elsewhere. One whild who may have come into this world even earlier without prenatal care and who would have been without the premature infant care so many of our hospitals have.

Fact: In some African countries 90% of the female children are forced to undergo female genitalia mutilation.

In this I am grateful for parents who were just as excited to have a daughter born to them as they would have been to have a son born. I am grateful that I am married to a man who is not afraid to allow his little girls to grow up and become complete women.

Fact: This woman set herself on fire to escape the horrors of her life; forced to marry a hnusband of her father's choosing at the age of 15, as a second wife, living in a house with 20 of her husband's relatives; not being able to leave the house.

I am gratful for my one husband; I grateful that I had an opportunity to fall in love with him and marry him out of my choice.

So what do we do with our gratitude? We recognize the downpour of Christ's love for us; a love that we do not deserve; and yet He poured out extravagantly on us nonetheless. Then we bring that love to the rest of the world. Let's be aware of more than just our corner; let's inform others what we have learned. Let's ask God what He specifically wants each one of us to do.

For more infomation on these topics and opportunities to help change the world go to www.worldvision.com

We Are In This Together

We Are in This Together

But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!”Nehemiah 2:17

Did you notice the words we and us in this verse? In order to motivate the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, Nehemiah had to identify with their problem, their need, and their future. It was no longer their problem. Now Nehemiah saw the broken wall as our problem. Imagine the kind of response Nehemiah would have received if he had said, “You folks have gotten yourselves into a bad mess. You know what you need to do? You need to rebuild that wall. If you need me, I’ll be in my office. After all, I wasn’t part of the problem. You people will have to get it on and do the work. Let me know how it turns out.”
Identifying with the problem encourages motivation.
When Lee Iacocca became chairman and CEO of Chrysler at the height of the auto giant’s problems in 1979, he knew he would have to ask employees to take a pay cut to keep the company out of bankruptcy. Although he persuaded Congress to guarantee the company loans, he was still deeply distrusted by Chrysler’s union members. He knew that he had to find a way to persuade these workers that he had Chrysler’s best interests at heart.
Iacocca called a meeting of key management and union executives. He announced that for the next year his salary would be $1. The gambit worked. By sacrificing his own salary, Iacocca proved that he placed the welfare of the company over personal gain. He identified with the workers. He was saying, “We are in this together. And, together we can make it through.” He knew that people will accept a lot of pain when everybody is going through the trial together. If the followers know that the leader’s in with them, together they can move a mountain or, in Nehemiah’s case, build a wall.
In what ways can you identify with the people you lead? How can you say to them, “We are in this together”?