For music lovers...

My son, Cliff, has a MySpace Music site. You can check it out at cliffjennings.com.

Everyday is a Vacation

The Discovery Channel has become one of my favorite TV destinations. I was watching Man vs. Wild the other night and Bear Grylls was out in the middle of nowhere starving again. He connected with a Namibian tribe in the desert and they spent eight hours digging a porcupine out of a burrow so that the tribe could eat. One comment that he made during the show was that it was normal and necessary for the tribesmen to do this in order to survive.

Can you imagine living in the desert and digging eight feet into the earth all day so that you could eat porcupine for supper?

I recently visited Water Missions International in Charleston, SC. (See May 12 post.) It’s an incredible ministry that provides water purification systems for those in need of clean drinking water. Over one billion people – yes, that’s a b in front of illion – do not have access to clean drinking water. More than two billion do not have adequate sanitation. Every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-related illness. Four children a minute. When you stop and digest that fact, it numbs you.

I’ve witnessed poverty around the world. I’ve spent two months in Africa and worked with Tanzanians who wore the same clothes every day. The women walked out of the village into the bush everyday to gather firewood and bring it back balanced on their heads. A chicken and a Coca-Cola for supper was a unique luxury. I’ve seen filthy Aborigines in Western Australia who worked in gold mines for a measly wage while the owners of the mines sold the fruit of the labor for hundreds of dollars per ounce. I’ve stayed in a modest home in Guatemala where the “shower” was freezing cold water from a half-inch PVC pipe. I’ve seen the poverty in Nicaraguan refugee camps in Costa Rica and Palestinian refugee camps in Israel. The world is so much different than most Americans know.

This spring in my American hometown the temperature reached the high 80’s. We were getting a little stuffy in the house so I went through the annual ritual of waiting until the heat was unbearable before turning on the air-conditioner. The heat won and now I am comfortable. Everyday I’ve taken a hot shower in one of our two bathrooms. Our kitchen pantry is full. I don’t have to dig for a porcupine for supper. I just dig in my fat wallet for a credit card to pay for almost anything I need or even want.

We Americans are spoiled rotten. Everyday is a vacation for us. The sad truth is that we are so accustomed to our rich lifestyle that we don’t realize how easy our lives have become. A typical day for me would be a monumental day for many world citizens. To wake up in an air conditioned house, pop a pastry in the microwave, pour fresh milk from a refrigerator, and take a hot shower would be almost too much for some people to comprehend.

A line in National Geographic Adventure magazine caught my attention recently. “Our culture of plenty keeps us permanently in a vacation state of mind” (The Permanent Vacation by Laurence Gonzales, June/July 2008, pp. 28-31). It’s true. For most of America, we are on vacation everyday. We have clothes in our closets, food in our fridge, and a sturdy roof over our heads. We don’t look over our shoulders for predators and we do not have to constantly stoke a fire for warmth.

Am I writing this to convict you? No, it’s not my job to convict you. God does that. (See John 16:8). I don’t want you to feel guilty for living in a great country but I do want you to feel blessed and to pass that blessing along. How? That’s between you and God. Maybe you need to sponsor a child in an impoverished nation or help build a water purification system that will provide clean drinking water for an entire village. Perhaps you could help fight illiteracy or join the battle against HIV/AIDS. What if you helped establish a church in a rural community that had no witness for Jesus? What if you gave a week of your vacation away to share the love of Christ with kids using a few puppets? The needs and avenues are endless.

I guess my point is this: You are blessed. Pass it on.

I'm not sure why...

Not sure why I was compelled to stop and take this pic with my trusty cellphone camera but this local artwork always makes me laugh when I see it at a muffler shop on Edgefield Rd.

The artist must be a great salesman.

Artist to muffler shop owner: "I can paint Fred Flintstone holding a Flowmaster muffler saying God is good all the time. What do you think?"

Muffler shop owner: "You're a genius! Do it!"

A Day in Charleston

The TNC staff jumped in a rental van at 8 o'clock this morning for a quick trip to Charleston. We visited Water Missions International. What a phenomenal story and an incredible mission. George and Molly Greene began this ministry after Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras in 1999. God worked in their hearts and eventually led them to start WMI. I encourage you to learn more about this organization. TNC will be sending 2 mission teams there this summer to assist in assembling and distributing water purification systems. WMI is busy this week as they prepare to send 12 systems to the cyclone relief efforts in Myanmar. I was really impressed with this ministry.

After the WMI trip, we traveled to the DreamCenter in North Charleston. Did you know that North Charleston is the 7th most dangerous city in the United States? North Charleston, SC! The DreamCenter is Seacoast Church's efforts to reach inner-city North Charleston with ministries to the poor, the drug-addicted, prostitutes, and otherwise needy people in the area. They are less than a year old but already making a strong impact in the community. The same TNC teams who will help with WMI will also spend a few days at the DreamCenter.

We wanted the TNC staff to see these ministries in person so that we could speak passionately and intelligently about our involvement in Charleston. It was well worth the trip. A good day.

I love seeing ministries like these two reaching people in simple, practical ways.

The Story of Stuff

A short video worth watching:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

Relay for Life

Relay for Life was last Friday night. We joined cancer survivor John Redmond and his team from TrueNorth. It was a lot of fun. I didn't know that I would see so many people that I know there. We were able to catch up with a lot of old friends and acquaintances.

The highlight of the night was the luminaria service when victims of cancer are remembered and survivors are honored. I was also moved during the survivors walk and the caregivers walk. Cancer is an awful disease. Having lost a mom from breast cancer, it really hits home with me. My dad and mother-in-law are survivors also. Unfortunately, cancer has become too commonplace today. Hopefully, events like Relay for Life will help us get to the bottom of this disease that disturbs so many lives.

(Thanks to Mike Adams for the pic.)

Ben Stein's Expelled

The TNC staff went to see "Expelled" Tuesday afternoon. I think every young person - especially upper level high school and college students need to see this movie. I want Bailey to see it before she goes to college in the fall. I highly recommend it.