I'm very proud of my 2 girls- one has been on a mission trip to the Gulf coast to assist in ongoing relief efforts among those affected by hurricane Katrina, and the other is right now upstairs on the internet with a friend who just today lost her mom, and she's just trying to love her and encourage her. There is so much hurt and pain in this world, and as followers of Jesus we are called to be His hands & feet, and express His heart. Sadly, too often we Christians fall into 2 categories- we either close up in our own little safe, religious communities so we don't have to be around the "sinners" of this world, or we become so like those sinners in attitude, speech, and lifestyle that we totally discredit the life of Christ we should be living in front of them. More than anything else, I want my girls to grow up living among, and loving on, the lost and godless of this world in such a way that people look at their lives and want to aspire to be more like them, to have what they have in their lives. As writer Leonard Sweet once said, "We are to be in this world and not of it, but not out of it, either." It was Jesus Himself who once said, "Let your light so shine among men, that they may see your good actions, and glorify God in Heaven." That's a life well-spent!
Rob