Taken for Granted

Oh how life has changed upon returning from a trip that has surely changed my way of viewing daily life. For all who helped and prayed over my trip, I am full of joy and thanks to report the Lord Almighty had his precious hand on each part of our(PFP's; Projects For Progress) journeys through West Africa. There were many things that stood out to me the upon interacting and embracing the people of Benin. Daily life for these villagers was quite astounding and made me realize how many things we take for granted and under appreciate here in first world countries.
Here are just a few: Stop signs, clean gas, clean clothes, more than one pair of clothes, clean water, bathrooms, beds, toothbrushes, shoes, medicine,healthcare, parents, clean food, toilet paper, soap, hugs, kisses, affection, gentle touches, smiles, high fives, fist pounds, stickers, beach balls, soccer balls, head bands, education, childhood, fun in the sun, soccer nets, lawn mowers, computers.

I am not here to make anyone feel bad for using/enjoying any of the above material items or actions. I would just suggest examining how we value some of the things in our life and what we could give up in order to further assist others in sincere need. There are people every where not just in West Africa who need these very basic things. So find a way to step out of your daily thought and show some love to someone you might not have before. It may sound cheezy, or even as if I am a good example for following these same principles(bc I am not) but I have really felt God calling me to care for not just the severe in need but those who feel as if they have it all together. When you begin to talk about true issues and hardships across the world people begin to open up and express ideas about there world. Please check out www.projectforprogress.blogspot.com for many updates with the outreaches we did in and around Parakou, Benin. Thank you again so much for the prayers and time reading my thoughts. I would love to answer any questions or more specifics about west Africa or the country of Benin.

Love

Obediance creates moments Clarity

I have thought much lately about the moments in life when I have found the most joy and pleasure. Being raised in a middle class white family I have had many moments of joy with siblings, parents, and friends enjoying some of what I believe are the finer things in life. Many of these include amazing scenery amongst creation. Although these things in and of themselves are not bad things, in fact they have provided times for many great adventures, conversations and awestruck moments. Many of these moments I feel have provided me with some of my greatest perspectives on life and given Glimpses of why our God has put me in said life circumstances. I stress glimpses because they are to short and all to easy to forget. Conversely during those times in my life of hardship and vulnerability I seem to have remembered and ingrained those into my heart/memory far more so than the Joy. To me this edifies how our creator works. It is those times I have grown the most as follower of Christ and must continue to never settle for comfortability(hickish) or always seeking pleasure. Ultimately it comes back to obediance, something I rarely did much of as a teen, but have had just enough clarity to strive to revert back to such a crucial dicsipline. As I plan, meditate, and obey(MO) for my upcoming trip to Africa I pray the Lord softens my heart and fills me with creative conversation to share of His GREATNESS. If you have not yet checked out Projects For Progress on FB, please do. This is the non-profit I will be traveling to West Africa with come July 18-28. Ideas or thoughts, prayers would be cool......

Blessings

Andrew

Responsability

I have once again tonight realized the responsibility each one of us has and must to some degree carry out if we want to understand our purpose with time given to us on earth. After work I decided to go check out some basketball courts up the road that my neighbor had been telling me about for a few months now. I live in a fairly diverse part of Atlanta, called Kirkwood. So I went to this recreation center and came to find out the indoor courts were closed. There was still plenty of light out so I decided to hit the outdoor courts. I noticed a few younger black men sitting around the courts give me the "what is this guy doing here look when I started to shoot". An older gentlemen also a black man decided to casually shoot with me. Those who know me understand my love for black men, especially older black males and more specifically their beards. So we shot and exchanged a few words and continued to warm up. It turns out my neighbor, Terrance, was there as he said he was most days and recognized me. This immediately opened the door for all of his friends to come join me on the "good side" of the court for some b-ball. Before I knew it we had 8 guys playing a game of 21, which eventually turned into 5 on5. We played for over an hour and I fealt somewhat apart of their hood for that hour. I had untill tonight missed this aspect of the neighborhood I live in and again was shown tonight my responsability a follower of Christ to never get to comfortable with any situation. Most of you all are of the upper class of society, so this should directly effect you and most certainly shake you up. I am not saying every one should go to the poorer parts of town and shoot hoops, but you should without a doubt put yourself in uncomfortbale situations. The apostle Paul talks of his weaknesses, faults, insecurities and how when he lives and breaths those out Christ reveals truths not yet seen or understood. As darkness crept in as I began walking to my car, I was approached by and older black man named coach Man. He volunteered at the rec center for almost every sport. Before I even told him my name he asked me to come up and hang with the kids when I got some time. Apparently they need some help/coaches for upcoming sports. I assumed Coach Mann was from the neighborhood, he then told me he was from Conyers which is about 35 minutes away. He has a big bus for all of the kids, He told me the drive is nothing compared to hanging out and occasionally feeding these hungry, searching for something kids. It is now even as I write this that I am convicted of the responsibility I let fall by the waste side on a daily basis, but also encouraged by what is to come after tonight.

Searching For Truth in a Fallen World

I have been thinking and trying to find a way to express my feelings in a new and exciting way. I will try and use this technology to share the Goodness of our creator and what He has been up to in my life here in the ATL over the past few years. I have been out of school for a while now but will hopefully have somewhat decent grammar skills.....There is sure to be a little Hicksish(my goofiness inherited mainly from my father, I have come to accept) thrown in here and there. So for all of my friends and family and peoples I don't know hopefully this enlightens, encourages and pushes you to search a bit more for your purpose here on this crazy place we call earth. I would love feedback and prayer or anything else you would care to share. The title of the Blog correlates with a recent tattoo I was blessed with. "On eagle wings I have taken you to myself". This was God's reminder to His people of Israel after they had been freed from the tyrants of Egypt and wondering in the desert. I am no Israelite but feel as though that same promise has been extended to me and serves as a daily reminder to continue searching desperately for truth and renewal amongst a fallen world. There are many things the Lord has put on my heart and I look forward to sharing them and putting this blog to work for the Kingdom. My hope is that me putting into words my thoughts help me become less selfish and more understanding to the needs of my community and to the nations.

Searching For Truth in a fallen world