hoarders

The last few things are getting packed and we are separating what we'll be taking in the vans and what we will be putting into storage. As we have gone through our kids rooms, we have discovered that some of them are hoarders. Yep, it's true, what am I going to do?

I have no idea why we have an old motorcycle wheel and why it's been in the girls room for over a year, nor why they insist on keeping it. We have never even owned a motorcycle........

a life lost

Today starts the last week I will work a job I’ve worked at for the last 17-1/2 years. I’ve no doubt left my mark on a 4th generation family business that will not be soon forgotten, but, eventually it will be forgotten.

One of my struggles with leaving has been leaving the security of a company that has always been there for my family and I. As mentioned in previous posts, there are friends and family that believe we are crazy for leaving such security.

Every day, since I put in my notice, I’ve wanted to talk to my employers about the possibility of staying and not moving to Miami. However, as those doubts about leaving arise, the words of Jesus echo in my mind. He said in Matthew 16:25-

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

Never have those words made more sense to me than they do right now! It would be very easy to stay and save my job and our lives as we know them. It is very difficult to leave and as foolish as it seems, I know it’s for the purpose of not only "life" for me and my family, it’s "life" for many who do not know Jesus yet. 

I’m further reminded by Paul in I Cor 1:26-29, which says-
"Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."


So, as we leave a "secure" life behind and move to Miami to start a church for people that don’t like church and an outreach for the hungry, please pray we will never forget that it’s not about us.

Headed over to Albert Oakland park in Columbia to start the BBQ. Come on over, it might be the last time we see you before we move to Miami next week!

big doubts

We've been told more and more frequently how crazy it is for us to leave a very secure job and life and move our kids to Miami to start a church and a homeless outreach, ESPECIALLY in THIS economy (when it's the most risky).

However, we've also been told more and more frequently what an amazing thing it is, how they can absolutely see us doing something like this and how it would be great if more people would do stuff like this, ESPECIALLY in THIS economy (when people need help the most).

We are totally getting both sides of this argument.


What's funny to me is the difference between the people that have these two mindsets. The people that think we're nuts are mostly people that have been following Jesus for many years and going to church, living a life of faith. And the people that are very encouraging, giving and supportive are mostly people that (you would think) are very far from God, (ie., they are not going to church, would say they haven't prayed for a long time and even have real doubts that God exists). They are the ones that are getting behind this.


So already God is using our adventure to affect people far from him. They are already turning their heads towards God and getting curious. I can't imagine what else God is going to do!

We've heard many different church planters tell us, "the people that we were counting on the most, would be the ones to abandon us and the ones that we never expected to understand, would be the amazing ones, that join us in the effort."

Please pray that God would bring the right people, with the right hearts, along side us in this great undertaking, and that seeds of doubt would die a quick death.

In the mean time, here is a small reminder lesson of how "crazy" people can help create great movements:

Head Slap

A question we've been getting a lot lately is -


"So what does a church for people that don't like church look like?"


Imagine that you're walking down a crowded sidewalk and you hear a voice above the noise of the crowd growing louder and louder. Soon you spot a guy standing on a small platform a little above the crowd yelling at people as they walk by. As you get closer you notice that most of the crowd is annoyed and suddenly you see the guy throwing something and hitting someone. His words, now understandable, are "You! Your teeth are rotting in your head! Because YOU are NOT using Crest Toothpaste!" Suddenly he chucks a sample tube of Crest into the crowd, smacking a lady in the head. She rushes off, covering the side of her face with her purse for protection. A young man behind her picks up the sample and chucks it back at the obnoxious speaker, who ducks the tube and yells, "FINE! Go ahead! live with rotting teeth! He continues "THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE YOUR TEETH IS WITH CREST!" Obviously this guy is not connecting well with the crowd. Most are thinking, they have used non-Crest toothpaste all their lives and their teeth are just fine and this has got to be the biggest jerk they have ever seen and the next time they get toothpaste they are NOT buying Crest!


Now, as you continue down the sidewalk and the voice fades into the background, you're still amazed and annoyed at what you just witnessed. As your walking along the crowd noise starts to increase a little and you think "great! now what?" Then you spy a sign in the distance, the sign says "FREE" which kind of makes you feel a little relieved. You notice the crowd walking in the opposite direction all seem to be in a pleasant mood. As you get closer to the sign, your curiosity is drawn to normal every day people handing something out. When you're walking by, a lady hands you something and says "I hope you like it" with a smile. Your curiosity causes you to grab the item without missing a step, you look down and see in your hand a sample tube of Colgate Toothpaste. Your first thought is "CRAZY TOOTHPASTE PEOPLE!" then as you continue walking the guy next to you says "I like their way better", and you agree, looking back to see others now starting to smile.


So, the Crest people are how most of society sees the church today and it only takes one bad experience to turn someone away from church forever. A church for people that don't like church will look a lot like the Colgate people. Giving out little samples of Jesus' love without expectation or condemnation, loving people to Jesus.


A quote I read the other day by a poet was "People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but, they will never forget how you made them feel."

countdown

We are very close to making the jump from Missouri to Florida to kick-start a church and an outreach to the homeless. Many questions, doubts, hopes, victories, battles, anxieties and prayers are hitting us square in the face. It's been hard to imagine leaving friends and family as we head to the mission field of Miami, where there is an incredible homeless rate and a 92% unchurched rate (in North Miami).

We have had countless confirmations that this is what God wants us to do and we look forward with anxious anticipation of what God is going to do in North Miami. However, the hardest thing for us is that we are less than two weeks away and still have not reached the fundraising goal necessary to actually make the move.

Please pray for us!!!!

And if you feel like God is telling YOU to help sponsor this project, Please, Please, Please send us a note of how much, how often and for how long. We also have a very convenient "Donate" button linked to a paypal account you can use for the first donation. If you have not already made a first donation, the time has come!

Your donation will not only help radically change lives for all eternity, but more immediately it will help keep us from becoming homeless ourselves (hah!).

compassion

Blog Post by Wendy Kauffman

When among the suffering we find that they do not so much need the skills of our hands or the knowledge of our minds as they do the compassion of our hearts. It is as if the suffering person extends an invitation to us saying ‘Before you do anything FOR me, please come alongside me. Enter into communion with me so that you can BE with me in my pain. Walk alongside me as my friend and companion. 
 ~ Trevor Hudson

I love this quote because I think it holds a very important truth for us: Compassion is ultimately about presence. An outflow of compassion can be giving of our finances, resources and skills, but at the end of the day while those things might help display a compassionate heart, compassion is really about relationship. Compassion is about coming alongside someone in the midst of their pain and struggle and just being there. Pain involves discomfort. Entering into someone else’s struggle IS uncomfortable. But, it’s how life is meant to be lived. It’s how we know that love is genuine…we intentionally enter the murkiness of someone’s situation because that’s what love does. It gets dirty. It is willing to suffer with someone. I know this is something I have not always been good at in the past.


I don’t know about you, but my instinct is to fix whatever situation is causing pain. And  sometimes, we CAN do things that help fix a problem, But I have come to realize that there are just some situations that I can’t fix (yeah, I’m a little slow on the uptake sometimes!). There are many difficult circumstances in which I can’t offer anyone anything but myself. They want to know that someone cares. More than they want us to DO something for them, they want us to BE with them.

As we are getting so close to moving to Miami and our lives are so busy here, I feel bad that I can't seem to find the time to be with those who seem to still need my presence here. We see in the Bible and the ministry of Jesus that this is what drew people to Him. He had compassion and was present with them. Pray that our compassion comes out of coming along side of them and being present with them and that we aren't distracted by how we think we can fix them. Pray that we remember that mostly we need to be there for them, that we need to be building relationships with them.

kid stuff

I read Matthew 18 today and the disciples asked Jesus who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven and in verses 2-5 it says-

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Often I've heard that this scripture means that our faith needs to be like the faith of a child, but I think it's much more than that. Jesus said if we don't change and become like little children, we'll never enter the kingdom of heaven. So what are some of the attributes of a child?

 

They are curious about everything
They are fed by their parents

They make best friends everywhere they go

They are led by their parents
They are clothed by their parents

They are taught by their parents

When lost in a crowd they stop and scream until they are found

So, how often do I rely on God like a little kid relies on his dad? I would say that on a scale of 1 to 10, I rely on God at about a 5. There is definately room for improvement.

When we move to Miami, in just 3 short weeks, please pray that we become like little children and rely on God for everything.

WOW!

Blog post by Wendy Kauffman:

So it is very late and it's quiet in the house again and I find myself unable to sleep. Happens quite a bit these days. I have been doing a lot more praying and reading with this absence of sleep then I have ever found myself doing before.

I have been thinking a lot about some of the statements people have made to me over the last few days about this new adventure we are headed for in Miami. I know people are really trying to be encouraging so I am really taking to heart what everyone is saying. There is one word I have heard many times over the last 5 days, it is "WOW!"

I've been reading a lot in the Old Testament lately, I guess I am finding comfort in some of the crazy "WOW" moments. Tonight I was reading in Ezekiel 4.
I have read this many times before but, "WOW!", God told Ezekiel to cook his food over dried human excrement. Now that was probably one of those times where many people probably said things like "WOW!"

I guess what I have figured out is I am in good company. I don't really mind being a "Fool for Christ". Getting really used to the idea now. Made me think of a song by Nicole Nordeman. Love the lyrics and found great comfort in it tonight. It's helping me to go back to sleep!

There are times when faith and common sense do not align
When hardcore evidence of you is hard to find
And I am silenced in the face of argumentative debate
And its a long hill its a lonely climb

Cause they want proof
They want proof of all these mysteries I claim
Cause only fools believe would want to chant a dead man's name
Maybe its true, yeah but..........

Chorus:
I'll be a fool for you (fool for you)
Oh because you asked me too
A simpleton who's seemingly naive
I do believe
You came and made yourself a fool for me

I admit that in my darkest hours I've asked what if
What if we've created some kind of man made faith like this
Out of good intention, or emotional invention
And after life is through there will be no you

Cause they want proof of all these miracles I claim
Cause only fools believe that men can walk on waves
Maybe its true, yeah but.......Chorus

Unaware of popularity
Unconcerned with dignity
You've made me free
That's proof enough for me
Oh, Oh yeah...........

I'd be a fool for you (fool for you)
Oh if you ask me too
A simpleton who's only thinking of
The cause of love
I will speak Jesus' name
If that makes me crazy
They can call me great
I'm happy to be seemingly naive
I do believe you came and made yourself a fool for me

double trouble

Having twin boys can sometimes be a challenge. You NEVER know what's going to happen next. You have to buy two of everything when it comes to them, yet, they both want their own identity. One likes his hair buzz cut and the other likes the moppy Justin Bieber look. One of them is always getting blamed for what the other did and as sure as you've corrected one for tracking in mud, the other tracks in mud over the freshly cleaned floor. They can go from calm to off the hook rowdy in 3.2 seconds and between the two of them, they know everything.

It's also tough teaching them to always tell the truth. They will either throw each other under the bus if they see no way out of trouble or they'll cling unified to the lie until the bitter end. Sometimes it's hard to imagine what lengths we'll go to teach them the right things.

With that said, kudos to the Minnesota father of twins who could not tell a lie-　

 "Minnesota Boy May Lose $50G for Amazing Hockey Shot Because of Dad's Honesty"

dead people

I LOVE THIS STORY!

 

 

SAfrican Man Wakes After 21 Hours in Morgue Fridge

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A South African health official says a man awoke to find himself in a morgue fridge — nearly a day after his family thought he had died.

Health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said Monday that the man awoke Sunday afternoon, 21 hours after his family called in an undertaker who sent him to the morgue after an asthma attack.

Kupelo says the man started yelling, prompting morgue workers to run away in fear. They eventually returned and removed him from the fridge. He was then taken to a nearby hospital and later discharged by doctors who deemed him stable.

The mortuary owner says his family is very happy to have him home.

Kupelo urged South Africans to call on health officials to confirm that their relatives are really dead.

home invasion

On a recent trip out of town we left our cat behind, you know to guard the house and all. He's strictly an out-side cat, but, to make sure he was safe we brought him in and put him in the basement. Little did we know it, but a small insurgency of hostile forces covertly hitched a ride into our residence upon his back. Yep, our cat had fleas.

At first, we had no idea. Then, when we picked up our dog from the vet, who was boarding her. Soon we could tell our strictly inside dog was having a flea problem. It wasn't long until we were seeing fleas everywhere and knew it wasn't just an occasional day tripper, it was an army advancing it's kingdom.

It was the worst in the basement (where the cat was), the main floor had quite a few and a couple had even made it up stairs. This called for drastic action, we treated both the cat and the dog, bought them both new flea collars and last Saturday we bombed the house with 8 bug bombs (we were taking this very serious) and ..... it worked.

It's amazing to me how it only takes a couple fleas and the whole house is affected.

Today in the Verve reading plan, we read Matthew chapter 13, where Jesus is talking to the masses about the Kingdom of God. In verse 33 it says "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."

What he's saying is it only takes a little yeast to affect a great amount of flour, right? In other words, it only takes a little bit of the Kingdom of Heaven to affect the world.
 

So, like the invading fleas, if little 'ol you and me love God and love people, then those people will get infected with God and start loving other people too and so on and so on and so on. 
Soon, the Kingdom of God is advancing and our action is affecting the whole community, right? (hopefully we wont be viewed as pests and get bombed in the process though)

As we move off to Miami to start a church for people that have no interest in God, please pray that we will be able to advance God's Kingdom in Miami by loving people in extraordinary ways.
How about you? Are there people around you that could use a little of God's love in their life?

big britches

Kids seem to be very aware of things happening around them. In fact, my kids are so aware, they'll catch me off guard and say the WRONG thing at the right time - every time! Here are a couple of things I would appreciate if my kids were not so aware of:

At a very public place - "Dad you make $xxxx every week, right?"
At dinner - "Dad, didn't mom say she already salted that?"
In the car - "Dad, I think the speed limit is 45"
At home- "Dad, how come your name isn't on the chore list?"
Headed to Walmart - "Dad, you didn't shower today, did you?"

Kids seem to always want to be on the grown up side of things, even though they are only 8.

If you're following along with Verve's reading plan, today we read Matthew 12 and it started out like this:

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."

I laughed when I read this, because not only is it an extreme view of the sabbath (a weekly day of rest) but, because Jesus is the son of God.

How often do we tell God what to do? It seems we often get in this mode of defining the lines in the sand box that we cannot cross. Then we remind God of what we will not do and what He is supposed to do. When all along it was God who made the playground.

When we move to Miami to start a church to reach people far from God, please pray that we will always remain humble and remember who is really in charge.

dropped

Post by: Wendy Kauffman

I have many jobs these days, not just because I'm a mom, but, because I just have a lot of irons in the fire. One of my jobs is selling Jordan Essentials. A line of skin care products that I love selling because it's a product I can believe in. A product that I can trust in and know that when I use it, it won't harm me or my family. I don't think I could sell anything I don't use and could not put my trust in.

 At the beginning of the year, I made a commitment to look at areas in my life that I wanted God to change me in. I came up with a few I felt like I needed a heart change in. One of the words that I put on my list was surrender. If you know me then you know that I'm kind of a control freak. So the word surrender felt like a big one for me. What I've realized this past week is I am actually pretty good at surrendering. Surrendering for me is being willing to go where ever God will send me. I am very willing to do that!

 After spending pretty much an entire week of not really sleeping, last night, God showed me something - I don't trust!

I heard someone say once that surrender is about the will, but trust is about the heart! Although trust and surrender overlap, sometimes they are entirely different. Trust speaks deeply of our relationships. It is a rare moment when we trust someone, on a heart level, with whom we are not in a relationship with. So that is where God has me right now, working on another level of my relationship with him. Prayerfully I will come out on the other side with a deeper relationship with him.

What I realized last night is that I am in the middle of a potentially life-changing trust issue right now. We are getting ready to move to Miami to reach people who don't have a relationship with God and it's very scary!

If I don't trust God in this, it's not going to go very well, because the people in Miami who are far from God, won't buy it if they don't see I trust it. Just like in my Jordan Essentials business, I can't sell it if I don't trust it.

Please pray that as we step out in our surrender to God, that we trust God (even though it may not always turn out the way we want).
Also, please pray that the people of Miami will see we trust God because of our relationship with God and that they will want to have that same kind of deep level relationship with God too.

on your mark!

How many times have you heard of a huge successful business that started in someones garage? Or what about an athlete that's shattered all the records who thanks his mom for driving him to all the youth practices? If you asked the people involved in great success stories, I bet every one of them tell you of not only the rise to the top, but, also the humble beginning and the great failures they experience along the way.

What about you? When was your great goal achieved? Or, are you still waiting for your epoch moment?

We all have a beginning. The apostle Paul said, "run the race to win it!" But, that race begins somewhere, for me, my race began when I realized my attempts to find happiness had fallen short of the mark and that I would rather be dead than continue without God.

This new project, "Operation: Miami", is also one of humble beginnings, it's starting in my living room. Sure, we'll have some bumps and bruises along the way, but, imagine for a moment the great successes it can have. Imagine the generations of people that will be affected and will start their own beginnings with God. How awesome will it be if we do turn Miami up-side-down?
None of that can happen though if we don't do one thing: start the race.

Please help us out by praying for us often. We are in the race of our life and we need a cheering section. We also need team members and sponsors, please pray that God will provide enough of both.

wipeout

Miami Outrigger Canoeing Club

Okay, not sure where this came from, but, there is a Hawaiian style outrigger canoeing club on Key Biscayne, in Miami. I'm thinking maybe the older Hawaiian population has retired to Miami and the lack of waves on the Atlantic makes for easier rowing?



Hawaiian Outrigger Canoeing Club



You have to hand it to the Miamians though, they look just as intense as their Hawaiian counter parts!





Surfing is also popular in both Miami and Hawaii-

Surfing in Hawaii



Surfing in Miami

Also Rock climbing is popular in both Miami and Hawaii -




Rock Climbing in Miami



Rock Climbing in Hawaii

I now realize that Miami is going to suit me just fine and that Hawaii is a little out of my league!

everything

When I joined the army, fresh out of high school, I knew it would be a change in life style that would sometimes be a little uncomfortable. When I first arrived at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, the bus pulled up, the doors opened and the yelling began (and continued for weeks). The first thing we did was line up and march into a building that had a great big mural on it that said "you are about to become one of the best dressed soldiers in the world". We walked in and were instructed to strip. And strip we did. They took everything, my watch, my favorite t-shirt, my hair, everything.......yep even the 'ol tightie-whities.

Sometimes when we do something, we don't realize how much it's going to cost us until it's being ripped away from us.

In Matthew chapter 8, Jesus had finished up his sermon on the Mount of Olives and was getting ready to move on, in verses 18-22 it says:

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

To follow Jesus meant you have to give up everything, that your whole life will change from what it was and it may not seem like a great thing not having even a bed to sleep in, but, once again he is saying those who are not following him are dead ....... and those who do follow him have life.

Over 92% of the people in North Miami are not going to church. The whole reason we are going to Miami is to re-present Jesus to that 92% and to get as many of them to follow Jesus as we can so that they may have life.

Please pray that we will be very effective in reaching the people of Miami for Jesus. And if you feel like you want to help, please pray about joining the team. Or, pray about sponsoring us for the next couple years, every little bit will help us stay focused on those who need Life.

why we fight

Blog post by Wendy Kauffman:

Last week our oldest son, Jeremy, was at our house doing laundry, as he does about every week. It's funny because when he comes over he still manages to gain control of the t.v. from his younger brothers and sisters and it almost always ends up on the History channel or the Military channel.

This particular time it landed on the HBO mini series "Band of Brothers." If you have not seen "Band of Brothers", it's a series that chronicles the journey of American soldiers through Germany in World War II. It's a very realistic story of bravery and courage but also of the disappointment, doubt and dismay of the soldiers involved.

The particular episode they were watching was titled "Why we fight."

"Why we fight" depicts the first images of the Nazi concentration camps. The prisoners inside were either dead or as close to it as you come. Death was all around and the scene is quite moving and surreal. It was this moment that every soldier knew why he was there... why he fought.

He fought to bring liberation to the captives, redemption to those who had no hope, and life to those headed for certain death.

As we're getting ready for our move to Miami, to start a church for people that don't like church, there are days where my heart sinks in my chest, where I feel heaviness for what we are about to do. What we are asking others to join us in doing. I know there are times when we will doubt, when we will have disappointments and when we will feel like giving up.

Please pray that during those times we remember why we are there, why we fight, the reason why God has called us to love and serve this community. For the liberation of the captives, Hope for the hopeless, and a life in Christ in a dying world.

Also, please pray that we always remember that we can not and are not doing this alone!

frantic

As we draw ever closer to the day we will be leaving Missouri and moving to Miami, to start an outreach for the poor and a church for people that don't like church, our heads are starting to spin at how busy we are becoming. There are still a lot of things un-done and a lot of needs to be met.

 

During August, we are doing a big push to raise the funds necessary to not only get us to Miami, but to help us to settle there. Right now, we need help more than ever. Our financial need is a bit of a worry to us, please pray that our faith is strengthened every day.

 

Also please pray about helping support us. Starting a new church will be very hard financially. We do not expect to get a salary from the church for the first few years, until the church becomes self supporting through tithes and offerings. So, we are asking you, our friends and family to help support our family for the move, pre-launch and first couple years while the church is getting off the ground. Please help today, if you can. You can either click on the donate button below or email me for other details.

 

Also, if you would, please share the blog on your facebook wall, which will help draw more followers and get the word out about the awesome things God is doing in South Florida and the crazy things he has us doing there, like opening a cafe' to feed the homeless and starting a church for people that are very far from God.

 

You can really help us by praying for the following things:

• that our move will be smooth and without incident 
• that God will prepare the hearts of Miamians that we will be meeting 
• that we will find the perfect house quickly and that it will be big enough to host meetings, parties and a family of 7 
• that we will hear God's instruction every day 
• that we will get plugged into the community quickly 
• that God will provide all our needs while getting the church off the ground 
• that God will provide the perfect people to join the launch team 
• that we will be able to develop good relationships with the other churches in the area
• that thousands of people will be affected by Gods love and that we turn Miami up-side-down

life stinks

Upon occasion, bad things happen outside our control. It's true, sometimes life stinks and when life stinks, we loose faith in God and we ask why. Why did this happen to me? - Do you really love me God? - God do you really exist? Then the if only's start - if only I had talked to so and so before they died or if only I had prayed more or if only I would have worked harder, I wouldn't have lost my job. And then the guilt sets in and we think - this bad thing happened because I have not been reading my bible lately - or - I haven't gone to church - or - because I had bad thoughts about this person - or - this happened because of my sin - it's all my fault.

We all process bad things in various ways and often it's blaming others, God or ourselves or all three.

In John chapter 11, it tells about Lazereth, a friend of Jesus' that got sick and died. In verses 32-35 it says:

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept.

Even bad things happened in Jesus' life and in this instance Mary thought it best to blame Jesus for not being there when they needed him the most. However, the grief and pain she experienced was real AND the grief and pain Jesus experienced was real. He knows what it's like to be you. He knows we are living in a fallen and corrupt world and sometimes life stinks.

The thing is, Jesus cries with us, he hurts with us, he is beside us and in him we can be comforted knowing someday he will wipe away every tear and there will be no more sorrow and no more pain.

But, not yet.