Month 12: The End of the Beginning

2013 has been one of the greatest years of my life.  I have been blown away by the generosity of so many people to help solve the world's problem of the lack of clean water.  To see God raise almost $12,000 from such a small project is just another reminder that all things are possible with Christ.

When this year started, I shared with you that I found encouragement in Jesus's words at the Feast of Tabernacles when he said "Jesus stood up and cried out "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'"

John 7:37-38.

My year is almost over and I can tell you that I am more thirsty than I have ever been.  I am thirsty to drink in more Christ and let living waters flow from my heart.

So many people have been asking me "What does 2014 look like for you?"  I don't know the answer.  I know on the morning of Jan. 1 I will have a big cup of coffee and I will take pleasure in it.  It isn't my goal to take less pleasure in non-water drinks, but rather to take more pleasure in my spiritual disciplines.  This year has given me a deeper, more clear perspective of not only what I really need, but in how much pleasure I take in non-spiritual things when compared to how much pleasure I take in my worship of the one true King.

So this is the end of the beginning for me.  The beginning of a more clear view of what is importantant in my life.  The beginning of realizing how thirsty I am, and need to be, for Christ.  The beginning of watching God do amazing things through simple acts and regular people.   Christmas was the beginning of Christ on earth, but it wasn't the end.  Once He was here, He prayed, He invested, He loved, He ministered, He fellowshipped, He laughed, He loved, He presented the truth.  So 2013 was a great beginning for me of realizing how thirsty I need to be to have a deeper experience of Christ doing all of those things with me, here, today, and tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who gave, prayed, read for the Water for Water campaign.  It was a very special year.  As you prepare for 2014, I want to simply challenge you with one question -

Are you thirsty?

Month 11: Thanks

Pretty unoriginal topic for November, huh?  It is a basic concept, being thankful, but one that I can't get out of my mind recently. I'm thankful for the many blessings I have in life.  My family, my job, my church, my-first-place-and-going-to-the-super-bowl-Kansas-City-Chiefs and a variety of other things in my life that make me smile.  I am also thankful for water.  The number one killer in the world is the lack of clean drinking water, and I'm thankful that it is available for me wherever I turn, every second of every day.

My passion for helping solve the world's clean water problem began a few years ago when I watched this video, and I can't think of any more appropriate time to share it with you, especially in light of the activities to take place tomorrow (and at some stores today...):

Advent Conspiracy Original Video

We have so much to be thankful for, even without the presents. We have water.  As we sit around the table today to enjoy a meal with friends and family, and as we prepare in the next few weeks to celebrate the birth of the King, I pray that we all are thankful, wherever we are in our lives, for the many blessings we have.  Continually remembering Paul's final instructions to the church in Thessalonica when he said:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thess. 5:16-18

That's not always easy.  How do we give thanks in pain?  How do we give thanks in the anxious moments in our life?  How do we give thanks when some in the world don't have clean water?  The answer is revealed in what we will celebrate in 28 days - that Christ, who left the presence of his Father to come to this earth and be born of the virgin Mary, died for our sins.  Be thankful that, despite our current condition-good or bad, one day He will return and bring heaven on earth.  There will be no more tears, no more pain, no more lacking of any necessity.  Be thankful in the uncertain present because of the certain future.  Be thankful for Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Month 10: Quarters

I talk a lot about running. I love running.  I'm going to let you in on the secret strategy I use in every run (race or training).  I don't have a copyright on this method yet, so make sure you don't tell anyone.   Here it is: quarters.  I divide every run into 4 quarters, each with a specific purpose.  First quarter-warm up.  Second quarter-set my pace.  Third quarter- the fight.  Final quarter- the finish.  Mentally, its how I attack every run.  Runs that are odd-numbered distances in length require a little long division, but I'm slow enough, I have enough time to think about the math while I run.

October is the first month of the last quarter of the year.  Using my running strategy, I have just finished the fight and I'm coming around the bend for the finish of the Water for Water 2013 campaign.  In every race, every training run, every jog, I want to finish strong.  So naturally, I want to take that same mindset into finishing this amazing year strong.  Our goal all year has been to raise $10,000 for a clean water well in Ethiopia and we sit today having raised $9,495.70 in pledges and donations.  Time to finish strong and overcome the goal.

When you are in the finish portion of a run, you have made it through the fight, you have overcome the hardest part.  1 John 5:4 reminds us that when we abide in Christ, we overcome the decay of this world.  I want to be an overcomer.  I want to finish strong.  I am revitalized and energized to fulfill every purpose of this campaign.  To raise money, to demonstrate to myself what my basic needs are, to be healthier, to share the love of Christ with everyone in my life.

What last quarter are you in right now?  Your life? (none of us know the answer to that one), parenting? employment?  Whatever it is, let's finish strong together.  When Paul was at the end of his life he told Timothy that he was being poured out as a drink offering as he had 1. fought the good fight, 2. run the race and 3. kept the faith. (2 Tim. 5:4).  That is what I want for the small part of the year I have left, and when I'm done, I'll have a small glimpse of the completion of a task for the kingdom and encouragement for the next phase of my life.  The finish quarter is the best of them all...

Month 9: Cancer

My sister was suddenly diagnosed with Stage 3 Triple Negative breast cancer in September.  The word best used to describe my emotional response to this news was that it was surreal.  She wasn't just some young mother and wife that I knew or that was a friend of a friend, but this was my sister.  When we are honest with ourselves, our initial reaction to news like that is - am I going to lose my sister?  Memories of a sibling relationship that span recent months and past decades ago instantly fill your mind as you reflect on how much your sister has been a part of your life.

Now that I have had many weeks to digest this new change in my family's life, my emotional response has moved from surreal to encouragement.  Not encouragement because the chemotherapy is working (and it is-Praise the Lord-the tumors are shrinking) but encouragement in seeing not only who my sister is, but who she is in Christ.  She is strong, encouraging, focused, and even without all of her hair, still beautiful.  Those are words that would be easy to say if I was just trying to be "nice" or try to "make her feel better", but it is more than that.  They are descriptions that I think of when I see her going through this phase of her life.

I don't know if I will get to experience 5 more months or 50 more years of my sister being here on this earth (I am praying earnestly for the latter).  I don't know if I will be on this earth for only 5 months or 50 more years.   But what I do know is that right now, I am witnessing my sister abide in Christ.  I am witnessing my sister experiencing community with family and friends and seeing genuine love shared among people to support my sister.  That is a glimpse of the restored community we can all expect to have in heaven.

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.

1 John 4:13-16

This blog all year has been a picture of how my journey through 2013.  Seeing my sister abiding in Christ and seeing Him sustain her through this process is a beautiful picture of God's love that has truly and deeply affected me. No matter where we are in our lives, all we need is Christ.  That's not always easy to see, but it is always true.

Month 8: Giving

The primary goal of the Water for Water campaign was, and still is, to raise money to build a clean water well in Africa and raise awareness about the world's number one killer - the lack of clean water.  As we near the end of the year, the money continues to come in.  We are within hundreds of dollars of reaching the $10,000 goal set at the beginning of the year.  As I reflect on that amount, I wonder - where did it all come from?

The secondary answer to that question is from generous people.  Many, many different donors have pledged or given money to this goal.  Co-workers, family members, church friends, coffee shops, random internet strangers.  All making a decision to give something that they didn't have to.  All making the decision to use money that could be spent on other material items, yet set apart for a greater purpose.  Knowing that so many people made a sacrifice for clean water in the name of Christ, whether they are a Christian or not, is an extremely humbling experience.

The primary answer is that the money came from God.  That isn't just a Sunday school or feel good statement, I believe that with every bit of my heart.  God had a purpose to glorify His kingdom through this campaign by not only building a well for those who need clean water, but also by showing the beauty of a group of people giving of themselves and living out the idea that we should think of the interests of others over our own interests.

Should this surprise us-that God would give so generously?  Not when we are reminded in James that God "gives generously and without reproach".  So as we reflect on what God has given in the water campaign, I pray that we will all wonder what else He wants to give us in our lives.  I pray that we will continue to be in constant conversation with God, not only asking "what next?" or "what do I do?", but also listening.  In this constant conversation with God we realize that when we are giving of ourselves, we are simultaneously receiving the gift of the presence of God.

Month 7: Source

I had the joy, and I truly mean joy, to celebrate 10 years of marriage with my lovely wife in July by spending some time in Alaska.  While I did miss sipping coffee in Glacier Bay, we did many amazing things and met some interesting people.  I was particularly fond of the way Alaskans made fun of Texans.  I heard one native say that Texas should be thankful they let it be the second biggest state, because they could split in two and then Texas would be third...

Maybe the most amazing thing I experienced was the hike up to, and on, the Laughton Glacier just outside of Skagway, Alaska.  Over 8 miles and all-day to complete, I saw nature in a way I had never seen it before.  When we reached the snow line, we had to stop.  Our guides said any farther and there wouldn't be any way to determine what was underneath the snow and parts of the glacier could collapse.  At the snow line of a glacier are very small streams of pure glacier water that build and build to become raging rivers back in town.  Realizing that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I dipped my water bottle down, let the tiny stream fill it up and drank in cold glacier water, right from the source.

I'm sure that it was mostly psychological (from the scenery and being tired of the uphill hike), but it was probably the best tasting water I had ever had in my life.  It was like it was water directly from God.  It was a great reminder of one of the two purposes of this campaign.  Primarily I'm doing this to give clean water to those in need.  But secondarily is to remind myself that, just like water is all I really need to survive, all I need is Jesus to live in this life.

Hebrews 9 reminds us that Jesus, through prayer and community with the father, was made perfect and became the source of eternal salvation.  Just as I took in that cool water on that mountain side which was the source of what would turn into a raging river, I want to be refreshed by Jesus, as my source, and let him grow and expand through me so that I can show the world his love.  He is my true source.

We are still just over $8,000.00.  Still taking per mile pledges for the 10/19/13 Kansas City Marathon to raise more money. Thank you for your support.

Month 6: Halfway

You are going to die.  I don't mean to get you down, but its true.  Sometimes I think we don't think about that.  Or worse, we all assume that we are going to complete every task, impart every piece of wisdom to our children and grandchildren, pay off every debt, do just enough "good" and gently fall asleep in our mid-to-late eighties and wake up on a puffy-white porch on a cloud with a white-bearded God who will smile and say "welcome...we've been waiting".  It doesn't always work like that.  So once you have realized that you are going to die (a known fact), then ponder this question- have you already reached your halfway point of life? (an unknown fact).  Have you lived more days on this earth than you have left to live?

The point is, none of us know our lifetime halfway point.  But if we want to finish strong, we should always assume that we have passed it.  The alternative is to continue living like we have decades left to accomplish everything.  The latter usually ends up with mountains of procrastination and unfinished projects and deeds.

I'm halfway through Water for Water 2013.  I know I can make it to the end, but do I want to just "make it" or do I want to finish strong?  In every long run, the halfway point is a significant step for me.  I mentally grasp the fact that I have less to run than I have already run.  Knowing that, I speed up.  Almost all of my races/runs of over 10 miles result in a slightly faster second half than first.  It is because I know the end is nearer with every step.  See where I'm going with this?

Take the story of Terah, Abraham's father.  We only hear a few verses about him in Genesis 11.  What we learn is that he uprooted his family from Ur and set out towards Canaan.  But he never made it.  He reached approximately the halfway point (Haran) and he "settled there".  I wonder how many blessings of life Terah missed out on by stopping halfway instead of finishing his journey in the promised land?  We all know the historical pillar his son went on to be, but how much greater could Terah(and possibly Abraham?)'s life have been if he had continued to completion that which he was being led by God to do? What blessings did he miss out on?

Finish strong.  Live life like you are past the halfway point because everyday is a gift and you never know when your days on earth will end.  Run strong towards the finish line, experiencing the intended blessings for you along the way and when you reach the finish line, it won't be a puffy cloud porch you'll be resting on, but rather in the fold of Christ the King in perfectly restored community.  Forever.  The first six months of this year have been some of the greatest days of my life.  Now I'm going to start speeding up and finish 2013 as one of the best years of my life.  Won't you run with me?

Special Update: Breaking News

Amazing news.  Our church has been investing in the community of Dubancho, Ethiopia for a few years now.  I have been explaining this work to Living Water over the last month and we just found out this week that they are going to do a test drill right in Dubancho to evaluate the possibility of a well or other water assistance system!  We don't know the feasibility yet, but every penny raised in the Water for Water 2013 campaign will go to fund this project.  If the well in Dubancho is not feasible, then the money will still go to the people of Ethiopia generally.   It has been amazing to see God work through so many different people to make this a possibility.  And all the money previously given to the Give Well pages will be credited toward the project!

I am blown away by this development.  As of today's date, the campaign has raised $8,003.10 in pledges in donations.  We will know after the test drill exactly how much it will cost for a new well, if one is possible, but we are more likely than not well over half way to the total needed. Updates to come!

Vist the most recent Give Well page at:

http://www.water.cc/robwonnellmailcom/give-well-1

Thank you for your generosity!!

Month 5: Ebb

I think it is interesting to research the origin of various sayings.  Especially ones that if you knew the meaning of you would probably stop saying (i.e. "rule of thumb").  There is a saying that I have been thinking of a lot this month-ebb and flow.  It describes water movement, usually from the sea, that characterizes the rushing in of the tides towards the shore (flow) and the reflux action that takes the water away (ebb).

I told everyone in Facebook land that there wasn't any reason that 2013 couldn't be the best year of their life and I also applied that challenge to myself.  2013 started off with an amazing "flow" for me.  The donations and pledges were flowing in and the total raised for Water for Water for the year was growing so fast.  I was in the Word every day.  I prayed for so many people so often.  God was working through me as a husband, father and employee.  However, May felt like the low point of the ebb, or decline, of excitement and energy in so many areas of my life.   But I was never discouraged...

Instead, I realized that now is when I continue preparations to finish strong.  We all want to finish strong, but we have to prepare for it.  When I was training for my first marathon back in 2004, I would tell myself on my long training runs "today is the day I finish the New York Marathon".  The rationale was that engaging in the long training runs, and they were hard, prepared me to finish the race when the day came.  And I did.

Frankly, if I allowed this current lull to continue, then in November or December, if I were to catch up on my "Bible in a Year" plan, pray an hour more everyday, and receive $20,000 in donations, well, I think I would be selling the experience short and not be experiencing the height of God's blessing. Now is the time I prepare to finish strong.  It's not the sprint at the end, but the perseverance in the hard times that makes finishing strong even possible and allows us to experience the full blessing of the race.

I don't think I have ever quoted The Voice (the Bible translation, not the TV show) in any sermon, lesson or blog, but I think the phrases it uses are applicable to this point, when we look at how it recounts Romans chapter 5:3-5:

We also celebrate in seasons of suffering because we know that when we suffer we develop endurance,which shapes our characters. When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness. And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love.

Giving up all drinks but water for a year is hardly suffering, but the words ring true in my heart right now.  If you are having a hard time, if you are experiencing suffering or difficult uncertainty, I pray that you are encouraged by the certainty of the future experience of God's goodness.  God is going to give clean water to those in need.   And that is good.  God is going to restore this earth through His Son.  And that is good.  And when that perfect day comes, we will forever experience a flood of love that has no ebb.

Month 4: Team

I was sitting around this weekend thinking about some really great ideas for the May installation of Water for Water 2013, when I realized I was a little late in getting the April one out.  Ooops.  I guess belated is better than benever.

I was enamored in April with the concept of a team.  As I researched the subject, I learned that a group of people may not necessarily be a team.  The difference is that a team requires the individual members to have a common purpose.  I watched my oldest son participate in his first organized sport in April, soccer.  He played defender a lot and it was amazing to see him and his co-defender and the goalie raise their hands and jump when the team scored a goal.  He didn't care that he didn't score it.  He wasn't looking off at the trees wondering what was for lunch.  He was zoned in on what the other portion of the team was doing- and the celebration was communal.  

As I thought about the concept of a team, I saw examples popping up all around me.  I saw a church community to come together to pray and celebrate the life of a beautiful baby girl when the first week of her life was filled with unknowns about her future.  I saw a group of people praying and preparing to embark on a mission trip to Ethiopia.  I met a team of citizens that organizes an annual small race to help raise money to fight cancer in a growing midwestern town.  Every example I witnessed was the very definition of a group of people with a common purpose.

If you want a handbook for how a team can be successful, look no further than the second chapter of Paul's letter to the church in Philipi.  He writes:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

That verse can make any team successful, whether it is a sports team, a community team, a family, and even a marriage.  I've told you how I had reflected on the concept of a team in May, but I haven't told you why.  Water for Water 2013 has now raised $6,526.30 year to date.   Our goal is to reach enough to build a well.  But even if we don't, I am truly humbled by this team.  Family members, people from church, co-workers, anonymous people from the internet who I have never met, clients, even a coffee shop (think about the irony of that...) have all partnered and given their support of this cause-to give clean water to those who don't have it.  Not just financial support, but prayer, encouraging words, even reading this blog-it is all part of the campaign.  Everyone, at least in this limited context, having the same mind, same love and thinking of the interests of others above their own.  I am proud, humbled, excited, grateful and enamored to be a part of this team with all of you.  It is beautiful.  I hope you will all raise your hands with me when we score the goal...

Month 3: Purity

pu·ri·ty

/ˈpyʊərɪti/ Show Spelled [pyoor-i-tee] Show IPA

noun

1.

the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc.: the purity of drinking water.

I don't want to get accused of plagiarism, so I'll tell you that was cut and pasted exactly from www.dictionary.com.  "The purity of drinking water".  Ironic for this blog given the content for 2013.  It's the word that has been on my heart this month.  Most people hear the word "purity" and they immediately relate it to sexual purity.  While that is true, it applies to so much more.   So much more...

So I have noticed a lot of beverages this month.  I know it sounds weird.  Sitting across the table from someone with a soda.  Watching a girl walking around with her 1/3 decaf caramel macchiato long pour extra hot with 2 shots of hazelnut.  Watching my kids gulp down buckets of milk.  I have continually thought, you know its just not water.  It is water+.  Water is its base but so much has been added to it. I realized that water has moved from a leftover drink ("well, if you don't have anything else, I guess water is ok") to my only choice.

What if my whole life, more than just what I drink, had a condition or quality of being pure and was free from anything that would debase contaminate or pollute it?  What if Christ moved from a leftover part of my life to my only choice, my only selection?

He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend.

-Proverbs 22:11

Not just "a" king.  Not just "any" king.  "The" king.  When we love purity (and by loving purity I mean pursuing it, desiring it and accepting nothing but it) we end up keeping pretty good company.  When we remove all pollutants from our heart, body and mind (yes all three) our faith is sincere.  That is where my mind has lingered this month.  The beauty and the simplicity of water.  It's all I have but its all I need.  It's the same with Christ.  If He is all you have, you have everything you need.

Total raised to date - $6,221.30.

Month 2: Sacrifice

Total to date - $5,667.30 and growing.  You guys rock.

Ok.  In humility, I admit this is hard.  Not hard like experiencing deep emotional pain.  Not hard like working an 80 hour week.  Not hard like solving a Rubik's cube.  But hard.  Harder than I thought it was going to be.  I also thought it would get easier, but frankly it is getting harder.  I would really love a  cup of coffee right about now.

There different levels of sacrifice.  On the grand scheme of things, giving up all non-water drinks for a year is pretty small.  As I walk down the paths of comparative sacrifice, from the greatest sacrifice of all (Luke 23:44-46) to amazing feats of human forgiveness (Connie ten Boom, concentration camp survivor describing an encounter with a former Ravensbruck guard seeking her forgiveness with the following words - "For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then") to barely noticeable ones (letting everyone else get in front of you at the potluck line), there is a common thread.  All of these acts, regardless of where they fall in the greatness spectrum, seek to offer something reflecting God's love that results in a holy fragrance laid at the foot of the throne.

Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.  Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God - Heb. 13:15-16.

That is what I long for.  That despite my desire for a cup of coffee in the morning, this continued sacrifice would raise money to provide water for those that have none.  That this continued sacrifice would demonstrate to everyone I come into contact with a reflection of Christ's love for the world.  That this continued sacrifice would transform who I am as person.  That this continued sacrifice would be one small part of a life that does not neglect to do good, that shares what it has and that is a sacrifice of praise that is pleasing to God.

Thanks for partnering with me on this journey.

Month 1: Detox

One month down and eleven to go.  I have no idea what the next 11 months will be like, but if they are even close to Month 1 then this is going to be an amazing journey.  We are up to $4,780.30 in donations/pledges, Living Water did an article on their website, and the firm I work at is doing a dress down day to raise money to support Water 4 Water 2013.  Those are just some of the events over the last month that have caused me to sit back and marvel at the work of Christ.

Not only am I drinking more water than I ever have, but I am thirsty for it.  Maybe, and sadly, for the first time in my life.  In the past I have probably consumed, on average, about the same quantity of liquid everyday.  Mostly coffee, tea, soda and a very small portion of that consumption has been water, historically.   I still need that same quantity of liquid but have only been able to fill that need with water.  And my thirst is being quenched.  This transition for me has given life to Peter's encouraging request found in 1 Peter 2:1-2 (paraphrased)-Once you have experienced God, put off all the bad stuff and long to be nourished even more.

You see where I am going here, and I admit, it isn't a perfect analogy, but I would be lying if I tried to describe my first month in any other way.  I have removed all drink substitutes from my life and I am filling that void with the purest of all drinks, water.  And I am truly thirsty.  That was the first step that I referenced when I started in the discussion on John 7.  Once I realized I was thirsty, I began to truly come to the source to drink.

Because of that thirst, because of that repeated journey to the source over the last month, I am experiencing John 7 living waters flowing from me.  My time in the Word, my time in prayer, the clarity of my sin, the brokeness of my heart, the perspective on what breaks the heart of God has all become abundant in my life in the last month.  My liquid detox has paralleled my spiritual detox.  I have started to push all of the "God substitutes" out of my life and instead focused on the one true God of the universe.

And probably the most exciting thing of the past month has been the realization that this is only the beginning...

You can still partner with me with a pledge due at the end of the year (just email me at w4w2013@gmail.com or donate on my Give Well Page.  It takes about $10,000.00 to build a well so we are almost halfway.  Your support doesn't have to be financial, any comments or prayers or questions are greatly appreciated as well.

Am I Thirsty Yet?

Water for Water 2013: Day One

Don't let the title fool you, I'm not going to write a blog about every day of 2013.  If I can achieve my monthly goal about the process it will be a huge achievement.  If I can make it all 365 days only drinking water, the total donation to Living Water will be....drum roll please (doesn't seem as effective when written)...$10.68 per day! That is $3,901.70 for the year.  I am amazed by the generosity that poured in with the pledges.  That money will provide clean water to people that don't have it.  It's that simple.

It is hard to put the next year in perspective after having only been awake for a couple of hours.  I don't have any caffeine shakes (yet...).   I haven't thought about how nice a glass of iced tea would be with a New Year's Day cheeseburger for lunch.  Don't usually have a glass of milk with breakfast, so didn't really miss that.  I guess the question I'm asking myself is, am I really thirsty?

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up and cried out "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'".  John 7:37-38.  Christ was referencing Isaiah 12 when the prophet was proclaiming that with thanks and joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.  So, am I thirsty?  Do I draw from the waters of salvation with thanks and joy? That appears to be a prerequisite for coming to Christ to drink.

My life is so "comfortable" that, sadly, I don't always realize my utter dependence on Christ and my complete need for a Savior.  Its easy to fall into the delusion that I am not thirsty.  There are lots of other "drink substitutes" but they don't fill me up.  Only when I focus on the God of the universe do I realize how truly thirsty I am.  This year I am going to focus on drinking the Living Water and not fool myself into believing that all of the other drink substitutes could ever quench my thirst.  Secondarily, the donations will be one example of living waters flowing from my heart.  I'm excited to discover what the other examples are.

So....let the journey begin.  Happy New Year everyone.

P.S. It isn't too late to partner with me for the year.  Even though the matching deadline has passed, you could still pledge a daily amount and see the number above grow.  You can email a pledge to w4w2013@gmail.com