Father to the Fatherless

Last night, I was listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle entitled Marriage and Men. Here is the link to it: http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/trial/marriage-and-men. Before you listen, (and I recommend that every man listens to this) be warned that this message is not for the faint of heart or for boys; it's for men who want to lead their families and do something about this problem that is gripping our nation in it's iron claws.

First of all, I am not a man and I don't write this to bust on men. I write this to call men to greatness. It's not too hard to look around our society and see the devastating effects of the absence of men. Our society is in a crisis and many are unaware of it treating the symptoms instead of the cause. The family has been redefined thereby destroyed. Kids are growing up without fathers and turning to drugs, sex and friends to fill the void of their father. Wives are caught in the trap of working to help support their family while their family is falling apart right before their very eyes. And this is happening just as much in the church as it is in the world. Yet nothing is done. I applaud the courage of Driscoll to speak hard truth man to man. I pray for more pastors like him to rail on the fatherless state of our society.

It is estimated that 40% of babies are born out of wedlock. This fact was unthinkable in the 1950s a mere 60 years ago. How far we have fallen! In two generations, we have forsaken traditional family values, embraced tolerance, feminism, and individual freedom all at the expense of the family. I would argue that the role of the father is more important than the role of the mother in a family. Most women embrace motherhood and are adequate nurturers, how God has designed it. But most men, struggle with leading their family as part of the curse. Both are important no doubt, but I believe the father is much more critical to the health of the family. God has designed that the husband is the head of the household not to domineer over everyone, but to lovingly serve and lead his family. Without this, the family is a ship without a captain heading for the rocks on the shore.

Since many boys are growing up without dads, they have no example to look to of godly leadership in the family. Here's where the church comes in to pick up the pieces. Thank God we can get what we lacked from our natural families through the church. I learned an incredible amount from watching and observing godly ladies in my church. I have much more to learn, but am thankful for them. It's time the older godly men, teach the younger ones about being a man. If you don't someone else less godly than you will with detrimental consequences.

Men, I challenge you to man up and lead your family loving your wife like Christ loved the church. Find godly counsel and an example and learn from them. If no example can be found, look to Your Heavenly Father who is perfect. He sent Jesus to die for all sin. He stands ready to forgive and restore what is broken. Your family is at stake. Your wife wants you to lead, trust me. Your kids demand that you do. The time is short and the time is now to act.

Thanks for listening.

The Children of Haiti

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to travel to Haiti on a mission trip with One Vision International working with 125 kids at an orphanage. God shattered all my expectations and taught me so much in a short amount of time. When we walked in the orphanage on Tuesday evening, the kids immediately ran to us to be held starved of human contact and love. It didn’t matter that we didn’t speak the same language. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t remember their names. It was in that moment that my soul came alive standing in a filthy, open-air shelter that 125 kids call home. I was reminded that these precious kids are made in the image of God. God has extended His grace to them because of His love no other reason just as He has extended His grace to all. I was amazed by the children at the orphanage. Their beautiful faces captivated me from the moment we walked in.

The next day, we spent the entire day at the orphanage. When we arrived, they were finishing up school for the younger kids (the older kids had already left for school). The kids were served a breakfast of spaghetti, a portion large enough for an adult. Every child ate every morsel even the smallest one of them.



We shared the Gospel with them through a book written in Creole, their native language. We played, sang songs, made balloon art (which took me forever to figure out, because Susan was teaching me left-handed which didn’t make sense to me). They sang to us in Creole which was beautiful. We sang the hokey-pokey to them which was not so beautiful. When the older kids returned from school, they greeted each one of us with "Bonswa" and a kiss on the cheek. How precious and sweet is that! During our time there, the kids were on you constantly, starved of human contact. One little boy(picture below) begged for me to hold him a large part of the day. If I tried to put him down, he began to cry. Chris and I are now sponsoring him through One Vision International so he can eat and have medicine. Please prayerfully consider how you can become involved in these kids' lives. For just $50/month, a child will be provided with food and medicines. For more information go to www.onevisioninternational.org.