“Are you about ready for Christmas?,” they’ve all asked.  This phrase has replaced (for the time being) the typical “how are you today?” or “how ’bout them Cowboys?” etc.  Of course, I’ve joined right in and have asked the very same question to most everyone I’ve run across these days.  The standard answer would be “not hardly” or “are you kidding me?!?”.

As most of us in the United States ponder over and over what we have left to buy or how many gifts are enough for our loved ones, millions of people wonder if tomorrow will be the last day they take a breath.  Global poverty is on a level so freaking huge overwhelming that it will kill thousands of people long before we are settled in to watch Lebron vs. Kobe.

More after the jump… (more…)

Today is World AIDS Day, and I’ll have to be honest with you… I don’t think about the issue of HIV/AIDS near as much nowadays than before.  I think it has a lot to do with my age.  I was still young when Magic Johnson’s diagnosis was revealed (remember that?), and most of the media chatter either blamed needle sharing or promiscuity as causes.  I’ve long thought of it as an American safe sex issue, and not an issue of it being the worst killer we have ever seen in this world.  I had no idea of a world in which some 33+ million people have died from it.  How do we mourn the loss of that many people?  How can we make a difference?  (more…)

The brainchild of celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart, Help-Portrait is a movement of photographers, coming together in every major city, to use their photography skills to give back to the community.

On December 12th, photographers around the world will be grabbing their cameras, finding people in need, and taking their picture.  When the prints are ready, the photographs get delivered.

more after the jump… (more…)

There are more than 27 million slaves in the world today.

Let that sink in for a second……got it?  Ok.

There are 27 million (million!) slaves in the world today.  I have a problem with this.  A big problem.  Children as young as 4 years old are being sold into slavery every day.  Some of them are being sold in your back yard….and mine, being required to service as many as 40 men per day.  Your heart breaking yet?

More after the jump…. (more…)

This is Iba, and he is 9 yrs. old. Him and I share the same birthday. I’ve sponsored him now for two years.  My wife sponsored him for me on my birthday in ‘07, and I sponsored a little girl who shared her birthday for her birthday gift that year.  We thought it was a good way to get involved with sponsorship.  Instead of figuring out what birthday gift to buy for someone who doesn’t really need anything, we chose to provide for someone who needs a lot.  It’s really a no-brainer considering how blessed we really are.  

Iba lives in Burkina Faso, which is a landlocked country in Northwest Africa. It was originally occupied by the French, and Iba’s letters are translated from French to English to me….pretty cool. I have never met this young man, but I think he is just the coolest little guy. His entire family is Muslim. In fact, 50% the est. 15+million people of Burkina Faso are Muslim, with 10% being Christian.

Through Compassion’s program, Iba has been told the Good News of the Gospel.   (more…)