Cont...you never know why you're alive until you know what you will die for.

Since I've been home I've been asked many variations of the question "how has your life changed since Uganda." And so far I think I have answered that question with a million different stories. And although a clear all-inclusive responce to that question is impossible because of the deep and dramatic changes in my heart I have begun to realize some things.

You never know why you're alive until you know what you'll die for

All the things that well up in your heart after inspiration should be done. I am not talking about buying rims for your car because you watched MTV's Cribs. I am talking about the thoughts in your head of helping someone else after a Sunday message, a newspaper clip, a friend's email, or a personal testimony...the thoughts that you can rescue someone else because GOD rescued you. Deep in the heart its known that true happiness comes with giving away, and investing in the lives of others. But that deepth of the heart become a scary picture when looked at from the perspective of financial anxiety and material demands. You can feel it in your heart, that people are so much more valuable than material stuff, but if feels scary to give when the materials in your life are in front of you and their demands ring in your ears. Human hearts whisper, but can you hear it over the materials that shout demands..?

You never know why you're alive until you know what you'll die for

When I came home from Uganda I had to take a real hard look at what I wanted. Do I want to finish school? Do I want a big job? Do I want to volunteer for global missions at church? Do I want to move out? Do I want to go back? What do I want? The shouts and demands of material life took over, and I couldn't answer that question and be proud of my answer. So I have a better question posed in a song by Mercy Me: What would I die for right now..?

You never know why you're alive until you know what you'll die for

Sometimes it feels unfair to ask that question...because the materials are screaming too loud. But EVERYDAY you and I have a choice to make...EVERYDAY...a choice to live for something. Time on Earth is unknown, and always short in retrospect, so instead of living for your materials...LIVE FOR WHAT YOU WOULD DIE FOR RIGHT NOW. Because you might, and when you look back are the anxieties you feel right now worth your life. EVERYDAY you spend time, energy, and thoughtful power...are the things you worry about worth your life. If you died today would your life be worth it, what dreams do you have left unfinished. What if your life was meant to bless someone else, and they died today without your help. Would the materials be worth their life..? Tough question...maybe too tough...maybe unfair. But you only get one life.

You never know why you're alive until you know what you'll die for

I came home and finally understood that EVERYDAY I may not be able to give money, EVERYDAY I may not be able to give time. But EVERYDAY I can work for the purpose of giving away. I can write a goal down and look at it everyday, and when that goal is complete I can get a new one. Write a REAL goal, a goal I would die for. The human mind is made to solve problems, and the Christ-like heart is always in training to be more atuned to HIS voice. HE whispers to the attentive heart, and the deep goals of your heart whisper to your mind.

You never know why you're alive until you know what you'll die for

You never know why you're alive until you know what you'll die for

You never know ...why you're alive...until you know what you'll die for

Think about that. HE died to rescue me, to redeem me, and then bless me. If it was worth HIS son's life, it is certianly worth mine. But this realization did not happen instantly, nor did it come from doing a pro-con list alone in my kitchen. It came by surrounding myself with people who love to give, and who also realize the joy and happiness in validating another's life. And every second I spend with that community is another second I would die for.