Hungry?

Last night my wife and I sat down to a dinner together of what could very rightly be called hot mush. It was a combination of rice, soy, carrots, rice, celery, rice, red peppers, rice and some vitamin and mineral fortification. Oh yeah, and there was rice. It tasted a whole lot like a can of campbell's chicken soup that someone had made using 3x the recommended amount of water.

Weak chicken gruel is not our normal dinner.

We knew that going in, but we did it anyway. It was an exercise in empathy. We were trying to get a tiny glimpse of what the people who are fed by Northwest Haiti Christian Mission are actually fed. All things considered, its not too bad. We cooked up a bag which contains 4-6 meals and wound up eating over half for dinner.

We expected to be hungry afterward and really we weren't. We expected it to taste bad and really it didn't. The worst part about the experience was thinking about eating that twice a day and nothing else. I couldn't imagine eating this and only this for weeks, months or years at a time. But, then again I've never really been hungry. And chances are you haven't been either.

We're partnering with Kids Against Hunger in Cincinnati to package thousands of these meals to help fight hunger in Haiti. KAH will provide the rice, soy, veggies and bags and we'll supply the funds and the manpower to put them all together. It gives a concrete way to give more this Christmas while spending less. You can donate by sending a check to Parkside with KAH in the memo or even better, you can come and pack some bags with us. Sunday 12/6 at Family Christmas from 5:30 - 7:30 or for our Tailgate with a Purpose on 12/13 both at our Salem Road campus.

Why?

Because its that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and we are completely surrounded by food. We ate a ton while away for Thanksgiving and things show no signs of slowing.

Because I've never really been hungry.

Because I'm a disciple of Jesus, and that's what he would do.

Because everyone deserves a little satisfaction and laughter.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Luke 4 - Angry, Tired and Alone

Jesus was all fired up, he just had his encounter with John and the Holy Spirit and must have been on top of the world. So, he goes out the the desert to move from peak to valley. Here, he goes without food for 40 days and obviously, is hungry. Then the tempter comes. This pattern is as true for each one of us as it is for Jesus. We go from a high to a low where we face some physical trials and then the Spiritual trials start. If we look, we can figure out what these physical traits are and look for help when we face them. Personally, I've got three things. When any two of these are present, I know I'm in for a fight. Angry, tired or alone. Pick any two and there is likely to be trouble. So, if you see me angry and tired or angry and alone or tired and alone (I guess you wouldn't see me if I was alone), urge me to get some sleep, talk me out of whatever is making me angry or just don't leave me alone. In the long run I'll appreciate it and the tempter won't. If you tell me your triggers I'll try to do the same.