Sacrifice

What do you think Philippians 2:3 means?

What's the biggest sacrifice you've ever seen someone make?

Any other thoughts on sacrifice?

Endurance

What was the one thing about this chapter that most stuck out to you?

For me it was:

"I think it's really cool that God chooses to use us to alleviate suffering. God hears the cries of the oppressed. If we open our hearts, we can be the answer to their cries for relief and hope, so their enduring will not be in vain."

Take a moment to read Proverbs 31:8-9, and don't forget to answer the questions in the book.

What to bring...

Here's the lists I promised in terms of what some needs are in Boston:

Starlight:
-blankets
-big men's clothing
-travel deodorants
-hats, gloves, scarves

Cradles to Crayons:
-New school supplies 
-Kids' clothing sizes 11/12-14/16
-New underwear sizes 2T-14/16
-Newborn clothing size 0-6 months
-Cribs
-Boppy pillows
-Diaper bags & new bottles
-Baby carriers/slings
-Birthday gifts for kids ages 1-2 & 9-12

Jubilee House:
"We are doing a park out reach for kids ... so any small toys and items we can give away as prizes as well as craft items we can do projects with.

The other outreach we are doing is called "Soul Spa"... Girls for Change is is an evening program geared to JR HIGH girls to keep them off the streets. It is a 6 week program on Monday night with a Bible study on Tuesdays. So any girly type give aways for about 24 girls would be great!!"

yeah...I have no idea what a "boppy pillow" is either. : )

Compassion

George Muller "realized the mission field God had in mind for him was right in front of him. God wanted him to minister to everyone he met." What are needs that you see around you? What are ways that you could serve others now?

I think it's pretty cool that the vision that George Muller had of taking care of children didn't "die with him", as Zach puts it. What's a dream or idea that you have that you want others to catch on to and run with?

Leadership

Zach does a really good job in this chapter of presenting leadership in a way that everyone can participate in. A lot of times when we think of leaders, we think you have to be talkative and enjoy being up front and the center of attention, but really you can lead no matter what your personality it. It's just how you lead that might be different. Check out the Helen Keller quote at the beginning of the chapter...it's pretty cool!

One way to learn how to be a good leader is to look at people you like to follow. Think about someone you admire as a good leader. What makes them such a good leader? How can you reflect their leadership in your life?

Don't forget to read & answer Zach's questions at the end of the chapter. He's got some great ones!

World Expansion Experience...

Thanks to everyone who joined us this weekend...I really enjoyed getting to spend time with all of you & getting to know you better. The stuff we were talking about really matters a lot to me...I hope that you were able to learn and grow and maybe even think a little differently as a result. Even though I've learned a lot about poverty and how people live in different countries, I'm always reminded about how much I still have to learn. Things like I never realized until we were looking at the map today about how many people live in Nigeria. Or about what it must be like for someone who is homeless...even though I've had that "experience" before, every time it makes me think what it must be like for someone that it's not an "experience" for, but actually their life. Wow. And I'm also always challenged to think about how I'm going to live my life differently as a result of what I know. Even though we all appreciated my many sweatshirts/hoodies last night, it made me realize I have way more than I need and that there's other people that could use them more than me. (more than me...hey...that's our slogan : ) And I know I want to continue to look for opportunities to serve others...here where I live and also in other countries.

So what did you learn? What made you think differently? How will it affect how you live? Take a couple minutes and share a comment here. I'll post a new chapter to blog about soon...

Courage

"By liberating yourself from fear, you open the door of your mind, allwing the room once occupied by fear to be filled with creativity and passion. And when creativity and passion come in and clean things out, you are able to care about more than yourself and your own fears. And that is a good thing."

I love this thought. I used to be extremely afraid of heights. Totally freaked out. One day I got to thinking "why am I afraid of heights...this is dumb!" So I forced myself to face my fears...at first just a little and then more and more. Now I have a healthy respect of heights (I don't attempt to do stupid things), and I'm able to really enjoy things that would have freaked me out before, like rock climbing. Or help others when they're scared of heights.

Who do you think is courageous? If you know them, ask them how they faced their fears and tell us about it.

You don't need to answer this question here, but what is something you are afraid of? What do you think are the steps you need to take to face that fear?

What We Bring...

A couple of you have already been on here since last night and given some initial thoughts as to what/how we could bring to donate to the ministries we're partnering with. I thought that it might be good to have a centralized place for those converstations to take place. And this is it. So I'll copy and past the comments that have already been left that apply to this, and if you have thoughts/ideas/suggestions, just add yours to this post. We'll continue our other posts to be about the various chapters. Had a great time hanging out with everyone last night...see you around!

Community

Just finished reading Zach's thoughts on community and thought they were really interesting. I think my favorite part was...well, actually, I want to know what your favorite thought was. I'll share mine after awhile : )

How do you think we can develop good, trusting, loving, accountable community on our Boston trip?

Make sure to take some time to answer the questions on page 43-45. I think that Zach's questions there will really help you to engage in exploring community.

See you Sunday night!

Influence

High fives to those of you who have already hopped in and participated in our first unnofficial question. Now it's time to get down to business for real. Take some time when you're done with the chapter on Influence to answer the questions in the book. Then look at the questions below (one of them is similar) and answer them by clicking on comment button below. Make sure to mention your first name & last initial so I will know who has participated. And don't feel like you have to stop with your first comment...read what other people say and respond to that, too.

Who do you think is the most influential person in the world? Why?

How do others view your generation? How do you wish your generation were branded?

Take a look at Proverbs 31:8-9. Think back to Deuteronomy 10:17-19 from our last meeting. Read Micah 6:8. From our discussion last week, what does "justice" mean to you? Why do you think it's important to God?

off to a great start...

Hey everyone...
It was great hanging out with everyone last night...I think we've got an awesome team and am really looking forward to the trip this summer! I'll be posting some questions related to Influence that will be due on Sunday later on this week, but for now I'd love to hear some more about the people that inspire you. Last night we wrote down some people on those cards...maybe you didn't get to share or now that you've had the opportunity to think about it some more, you have someone you'd like to mention and why they inspire you. Just click below and add your comment to the discussion.

welcome to morethanme...

there'll be more up tomorrow...