Yesterday, I showed y'all our family giving jar.  A few weeks ago, God began revealing himself in new ways to me, beginning to paint a picture of how to live more radically for Him.  How to dig deeper.  What breaks His heart.  And, what am I going to do about it?!  I don't know why I still am SO amazed at how God hits home his points to me through repetition.  When He is revealing himself to me, he often makes it so abundantly clear that I cannot run from it.  Right now, I'd literally have to cover my ears with my hands and scream "la la la, I'm not listening" in order to miss one particular point.

I throw my money away.  Sure, I clip coupons.  I do the grocery game.  I bargain shop.  I try to be a wise steward of our money.  Even praying as I shop sometimes that I'd find what I need at a good price and make good decisions financially.  Yep, we're debt free, other than our house.  But, lest I pat myself on the back, I've been shown a mirror of our overall spending attitudes, and it ain't pretty.  

You see, in the grand scheme of things, we spend money on luxuries.  That is where we throw our money away and can make small changes that can make a big impact.  It's not that it's evil to order soft drinks when eating out.  Or that it's a sin to go for ice cream.  But, in going about our little spoiled American dream lifestyle, we are blinded to the fact that we could make little tiny changes financially.  And in so doing, we could make amazing contributions to the fight against poverty--if we'd just open our eyes.  We could have a whole new appreciation for our blessings if we embark on a little paradigm shift.  And, that my bloggy friends, is what today's post is all about.

In the last few weeks, I have been hit with information through radio, television, Facebook and even conversations with friends that has made one cohesive point.  It takes very little to do so very much.  That is what I need to imprint on my brain and begin to do something about.  Because I keep hearing over and again dollar amounts on donations and how incredibly far they go. 

Through Cross International, $22 will feed a child in Haiti for a year.

A year.  $22.  Or, you could buy ice cream for your family of 5.

How about $0.25?  To feed a child a meal through Cross International.  

Yes.  A quarter.  You can buy a soda or feed 3 children a meal.  

$25 would feed 100 children through that program.  Or, you could buy a pair of running shorts.

Check them out...Cross International.  They have programs around the world.

Want to think of your own backyard?  Anyone read the incredible book, Same Kind of Different as Me by Denver Moore and Ron Hall?  The true story happened at Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth.

$1.86 feeds a Fort Worth homeless person a Thanksgiving meal.

$1.86.  You can hit the Target dollar spot and grab a candy bar.

OR, pay for a Thanksgiving meal.  How about $18.60 to feed ten homeless people?  Or, you could buy about 3 Starbucks drinks.

Ever tell you children to finish their dinner because there's starving children in Africa?  How about dying children in Africa due to malaria.  A totally preventable disease.  If they only had mesquito nets to sleep under.  

It's $10 to purchase a net, deliver it to the recipient and educate them about it's usage through Nothing but Nets.

$10 to save the life of an African child.  Or, you could go buy a CD.

A few months ago, I sat on a plane next to a man who is on the board of directors for Vapor Ministries.  They build self-sustaining sports centers in Africa, where children play in soccer leagues and hear the gospel.  At these sports centers, a well is built to supply clean water to the community, and the villagers learn trades to sustain themselves.  Check them out here.    I cannot remember how much he said a well costs to build.  But, I believe it was only a few hundred dollars.

A few hundred dollars.  A night or two at a hotel.  Or a well to provide fresh water for an entire community.  

A sweet friend I know, Brittney, works at Family Legacy Zambia in Irving.  They are working with orphans and the poor in Zambia.  For $40, you can sponsor a child for a month.  

$40 for an orphan in Africa to get an education.  Or lunch out for a family of 4, IF you're careful.  

We sponsor kids through Compassion International, and have for years.  It's $42 a month per child for the children to be enrolled in their programs.

$42 a month.  That's a pair of jeans that aren't even some big expensive brand name.

Glimpse of GRACE:  Do you see what I'm getting at?  We throw our money away all too readily.  We think we deserve a meal out after church every Sunday.  Or, we grab a Starbucks when we're out of coffee at home or just because.  Even as careful as I think I might be, I spend money without thinking too much about it.

And, all the while, I'm missing opportunities to make a lifelong and eternal difference around the world.  I may even spend my money on "good things."  But, there are better things--BEST things that I ignore as I go on about my day in pleasant ignorance. 

Because that's what Americans do.  I whine when I don't have my favorite coffee creamer at home.  Yet, I could feed two homeless people a Thanksgiving meal for that same amount of money. 

I don't intend for this to be a guilt trip. Rather, I intend for you to join me in this wake up call.  

It's time we wake up.  It's time we take a good hard look around.  It's time we get informed and educated on just how much we have, just how much we can give.  Just how much good we can do.

Will you join me?  It's time to wake up.  This is your little alarm.  Please don't hit snooze.