They are small children in distant lands; digging through trash, begging for money, serving perverted masters and living day to day not knowing when the next meal will come.

They are people dying of AIDS, famine and wars they never asked to be a part of. They are refugees without a home and prostitutes searching for their heart.

They are men and women trapped in ritualistic religions, bound by superstitions and enslaved to evil.

They are your neighbors, coworkers and family members suffering with guilt, shame and addictions; living self-serving lives driven by money, success and notoriety. 

They are the homeless on the sidewalk, the punk kids in the parking lot and the single mother working two jobs.

They are the ones that are harder to love, out of your realm of comfort and messy to get involved with. They may ruin your life, take advantage of you, demand your money, your time and your thoughts. 

They are the abandoned and forgotten ones, suffering in their sins – or maybe some of ours. We avert our eyes and disengage our hearts. For what? To live "our" life? To live up to certain expectations? To keep things simple and neat?

They may steal your dreams, invade your home and change what you consider "normal". They may alter your plans, re-engage your heart and teach you more about life and love than you ever could have imagined. 

They are the ones that reflect the heart of God and "they" are meant to be an intimate part of "we". 

I love to love; people, life, the world, nature, children, strangers, sunny days and fresh smells, fields of flowers and lingering sunsets.  I feel God when I am enjoying His creation. 

Yesterday I went for a walk/run at some nearby trails.  I've been there many times in earlier seasons, but this was the first time I've been in many weeks.  Immediately my senses were overwhelmed.  I walked in silence for a while, trying to soak in as much as possible, yet distracted by details the entire time. 

The Sandhill cranes are back in full force.  The pairs were scattered throughout the field, some lingering in the tall grass right off the side of the trail.  The red on top of their slender heads highlighted their graceful movements.  The grass and weeds were bright green, blanketing the fields with the soothing image of life in full force.  Magnificent stalks of bunched purple flowers formed piles along the trail and into the fields, begging to be examined more closely.  I joined the bees in closer inspection of these captivating flowers. 

As I moved along the trail my nose caught the scent of life at every step.  Fresh grass and flowers, as well some weed that left a distinct mark in its presence, filled my nostrils.  Every once in a while I thought I caught a whiff of an animal that had once been nearby.  A short grass with bunches of hair-like wisps, tinged with red in the late summer, scattered the path in clusters.  I couldn't resist leaning down to run my hands across the silky tops that were shuttering in the breeze.  I was tempted to pick one to carry along for my enjoyment, but decided rather to be an observer of life that day.  

Several times I was stopped in my tracks by the sheer wonder of creation.  An entire field, blanketed in small yellow flowers, contrasted with a brilliant blue sky and full-figured clouds, demanded this hesitation and awe.  A forest path lined with birch trees shaking their emerald leaves, sent waves of peaceful admiration through my body and mind. 

I think He did this on purpose.  Made a world of such wonder that when you take the time to become a part of it for a moment, it takes your breath away.  I think He is glorified in our wonder. 

"I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.  Return to me, for I have redeemed you.  Sing for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath.  Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all you trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel."  ~Isaiah 44:22-23 

As a believer, and proclaimed follower of Christ, I also claim to have many questions and very few answers. Things seem so clear when you think you have them all figured out. But, when you begin to look closer, dig deeper and question your own motives behind many of your beliefs and actions it seems that only more questions arise - at least that is my experience.

For example, what do you do about homeless people (the question could just as easily apply to the poor, orphaned, addict, your neighbor)? Well, the seemingly logical "right" answer would be to help them out. Is it that easy though? What about the obnoxious drunk homeless people that refuse to put any effort into cleaning up their life and contribute to society? What about the homeless people that find it easier to beg for money than look for a job and sometimes make more money by sitting on the sidewalk? And, if those aren't stumping enough questions - how do you choose who to help? Are you supposed to help every homeless person you pass? Should you turn your car around and go back to where they are if you pass on the other side of the street?

It doesn't really make sense to care for these people when it seems like they should be able to do something about their situation - I mean, after all, there are jobs out there and shelters and programs to care for these situations. And, it is very possible that you will be taken advantage of, and your generosity be used for something that only serves to exacerbate their condition. So, would you really be helping by helping?

I guess that depends on the kind of help you are intending to give. You can provide for their short term comfort with food, clothing or even money. It probably would help some, but I think the biggest impact would be the action of helping at all. It is the act of service, the humbling of self to serve those around you - regardless of the result - that impacts lives. People aren't touched by the object they receive, but by the motive that spurred the action, and when that motive is pure and simple love, it changes lives - especially when it is a love that doesn't make sense.

Jesus loved the ones it didn't make sense to love (and still does). He lived in a way that didn't make sense to pretty much everyone who knew him. Even his disciples were always questioning his actions, stories and thoughts. The rest of society mostly mocked his absurd ways of love and acceptance. He stepped out of bounds, broke through the box of religion and showed people what true religion was (James 1:27). He told a parable that pretty much eliminates our right to judge anyone else's condition based on the fact that when we have been pardoned of a debt we are incapable of paying it is absolutely absurd for us to go demanding others to live up to the very thing we are unable to attain ourselves (Matthew 18:23-35).

So, I guess I'm still working out in my own life how to live in action what I believe to be true in word. I drove pass a homeless guy with a sign tonight. I hesitated at the stop sign - even looked through my bags to see what I could give him, but found nothing I thought he would want/need. I gave a weak smile and continued down the road with even more questions tumbling around my mind.

How do I describe You; to try to contain You to words on this page? There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said about You, there are no words to write that are new to Your ear. They all come from You; they are You. You exist outside of time; You are everlasting and in everything - every moment. Your expanse stretches farther than the heavens, yet you inhabit every molecule here on earth.

"Who do you say I am?" (Matt 16:15)

I would say... to me You are;

You are the homeless person I walked by on the street the other day. You are the orphan reaching their arms up to be held. You are the person sitting alone after losing someone they love. You are the sunrise and sunset; you are the breeze whispering through the trees when I go for a run. You are the expanse of a mountain that takes my breath away. You are best friends and loyal dogs, long summer days and laughing till you cry. You are all things that make me smile. You are Life. You are before time, before life, before thought. You exist regardless of the wavering beliefs of Your people. Your glory does not require recognition to make it more amazing, though it is difficult to deny.

You are the One who challenges me to be more. More love, more grace, more patience, more understanding, more self control... more of You. You are the One who gives me confidence and builds my convictions. You are the race in my heart and movement in my soul when I am immersed in Your will. I don't always see You, feel You or hear You, but I believe You are there - You have shown me, I sometimes just have to remember to sit in the stillness of Your presence.

You are enormous, complicated, and indescribable. You are the word on the tip of my tongue and the thought I can not quite comprehend - yet, You come simply and humbly to serve. You are my Savior. You are the One who has saved me from myself more times than I can count and ultimately saved me from being eternally separated from Your presence. You are the answer. You are perfection. You are fully God - fully man.

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matt 16:16)

My heart can not rest - it can not sit silent. I am excited and my Spirit rejoices in harmony with the encounter of its movement around me. The recognition of this supernatural connection expresses itself in a stirring peace.

The other morning in the shower I was wondering why we (believers) shy away from interacting with those labeled as "sinners"; the outcast and the one whose sin is glaringly obvious in their life (many of us have become too good at hiding our sin). Sometimes I think it is because we see ourselves in their sin and it scares us. We think that in associating ourselves with "those" people, we will be revealed as the sinners we really are; our weaknesses laid bare and our hearts made vulnerable. But look at Jesus' life; those were the very people he went out of his way to associate with.

My thoughts took me to the girls I met in Thailand last year. Many of them were trapped in lies that had convinced them that selling their bodies was the best way to provide for themselves and their families. And while I can't say that I identified with the occupation, I could still see myself in each of those girls. The lies convincing them that they needed this money only scratch the surface of the tangled web Satan has woven in their hearts.

There are much deeper longings that pierce the heart of women, regardless of race, age, status, occupation or location. There are the desires to be loved and cared for that all women identify with, as well as the endless pursuit for affirmation of our beauty and worth. I saw those longings in the eyes of the women at the bars; I recognized it from the eyes of the reflection that looks back at me everyday. The truth that Satan tries to hide is that those longings are beautiful, natural and can only be filled by our Creator! All other pursuits to fill those desires only leave us feeling empty, worthless and hungry for more.

While the recognition of our sin in unexpected places may scare us, it is a crucial part of our testimony. The realization that we are only who and where we are because of the grace of God, and not because we are perfect or have it all figured out, is what frees people to accept forgiveness and be restored. I met a handful of beautifully restored girls who had amazing testimonies of redemption and grace amidst the darkness that covered the costal town and I believe they are only the beginning of a movement God is bringing to restore purity around the world.

God created us to invade the impossible and bring Kingdom on earth through the recognition and release of His power in the Spirit in our everyday lives. Be an invader.

check out what some invaders are up too - http://stephaniefisk.theworldrace.org/index.asp?filename=team-up-gear-upbiking-against-trafficking

World statistics are good in some ways. They allow you to be amazed at the numbers, the odds, the percentages of people with AIDS, starving, dying, misplaced, afflicted, and homeless - the list is endless. But, the downfall of statistics is that they fail to give pain a face. They fall short of identifying the problems of the world with real people. Real people living, breathing, feeling, suffering, crying, praying and asking why?!

Are they so different from us? Are you more than the statistic you fall under? What is it now… 52% of families are now broken homes? Wow! That makes us amazed, maybe even makes us wonder; "what can be done?!". But, what about when the family is someone we know? When it is our family? Now it is more than a statistic - it becomes the reality of everyday life. There is no escaping when you are the statistic.

I am a statistics user. Sometimes I like to discover new facts to make minds spin (along with my own) and I don't think there is anything intrinsically wrong with using statistics, but somewhere along the way people have to start acting on the stirrings and feelings in their heart. Be amazed… and then do something! Every statistic has a face, a name and a story. Learn them, know them, love them, and change some statistics.

Where are the people who know me; who already know my heart, my moods, and my passions and why do I hold back from allowing new people to learn? Why does the excitement and restless stirring in my soul dance behind my eyes, but become a jumbled confusion of mismatched words on my lips? If some people can wear their heart on their sleeve, maybe I can write my heart on mine and make it a little easier to read.

I went to church on Sunday. Doesn't seem like a big deal to announce, but in moving to a new place it is a pretty big deal. Just "randomly" picking a church from a handful that are within walking distance, then showing up (alone) not knowing what to expect - it can be intimidating…sadly.

Other Racers may be able to identify with this next comment, but going to church is more challenging post World Race. Are my expectations or standards too high? Do I expect too much from a church to actually be the Church; to live by the Spirit, to pray in expectancy, to live among the people and to be Christ on earth? Or is it that I go now expecting the church not to be the Church? Which is worse? I miss the community of this past year and the fellowship of believers who were figuring out how to be the Body using our differences as our strengths.

I started thinking about expectations and how on the Race we were told to go into the year expecting things to be different than what we expected. It is a smoother mental/emotional transition when you are not set on a specific way things should play out; when you give up the control of your mind to the reality of your experience.

What about life now? How do expectations fit when thinking about church, work, friends, love and life? There must be a balance of healthy expectations and open flexibility. I can expect the church to be how God intended, but will I give grace when it is not? I could expect a job to fuel my passions, but how will I respond if it becomes an indicator of where these passions are not? Or maybe I should expect my passions to fuel my job… hmm. I expect friends to still be there, but I realize that time changes relationships and creates new ones. I expect love to drive my actions, or maybe this is a hope, and I expect to be loved, but will my world crumble if the feeling is ever returned void? I expect life to be an astounding reminder of my Creator; lived in obedient adoration - and this I believe is a choice, so why do I settle for less?

So, once again, I went to church on Sunday and I'm not sure what I expected, but honestly I was pleasantly surprised. I saw a pastor who believed in a Spirit led service and opened a time for anyone receiving a word from God to share. I saw missions all over the walls of the church and in the words of the people. I saw wisdom of the delicate balance of going somewhere because you want to tell people about Jesus versus going in obedience to where God is calling. I saw opportunities for outreach to the local homeless and feeding of the hungry. And I even had a couple people come up and talk to me since I looked like a new face in the crowd. Why am I surprised and why do I fear that these first impressions are only a tease to my soul? Is it based on a fear that I will feel foolish if my hopes are proved vain? It is a delicate balance between an enlightened hope of what is to come and non-passive acceptance of what actually is.

"That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be - it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be." - Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals