Prayables - Romans 8:28 - Scripture

Reflection: It Turns Out Well

Who do you love? Your list is probably not that unusual and likely includes family, friends, yourself, and Justin Bieber (just kidding!). Did you remember to put God on the list? Where does he rank? Obviously, who you love isn't typically thought of the same way you'd talk about your top ten favorite movies. Yet when you do focus on the importance of loving God, it changes things.

You want it all to turn out O.K. Romans 8:28 is scripture about how important a loving spirit is to be able to live a good life, one of purpose. Happy endings are your destiny, don't worry. Only God Knows how it will turn out, and for those who believe in Him, it turns out well.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28

Blog: Color My World

Coloring books have been hard hit by progress. My granddaughter Rosie loves to color and she’s very good at it. I have a home office. When Rosie comes over, it’s straight to my paper stash where she’ll choose from card stock, colored paper or plain ‘ole 20 lb extra bright white. Then she’ll sit me down at my desk and give instructions. “Grandma, find me a unicorn, Hello Kitty, and a princess.” I google her request + “coloring page” and voila! Rosie has a designer coloring “book” made especially for her.

I had an uninspiring day yesterday. I’m not sure why. My calendar was filled with interesting meetings with interesting people, but I couldn’t get my mojo going. I'm accustomed to writing about what inspires me every day. I usually wake up every morning brilliant with insight about inspiration, until yesterday: nada.

Yet one of my meetings yesterday was with Andrew Youn, founder of the One Acre Fund. OAF is a charity I support that works in rural areas of East Africa. Extreme poverty is common. The people there are mostly farmers who rely on the crops from their tiny parcel of land to feed their children, and send them to school. But they don't even have the basics of what they need to have a successful harvest. One Acre Fund makes loans of simple farm inputs. Farmers get seeds, fertilizer, training and access to markets. The crop yields are always at least double. In one growing season, lives change.

I love a cause that’s efficient. When I donate my time or money, I'm ending hunger for a family, so far, 150,000 have been served and the number is growing. Andrew talked about Razoa, a One Acre Fund client. Before the harvest her boys went to the public school with 80 kids in a classroom. Only half had a pencil and less had paper. After the harvest, there was money to send both boys to a school where each student had books, supplies and one teacher for a classroom of eleven.

How is it that I sat through a positively motivating story about a family permanently lifting themselves out of poverty, and I was unmoved? It’s shocking that I can run a business, do volunteer work, chat with family and friends and not really be emotionally present. It wasn’t until I woke up this morning that I stopped to think about the kids in Kenya sitting in a packed classroom with nothing in front of them to help them learn.

Where we live, Rosie and her friends have plenty of learning tools. She has a full backpack and a new box of Crayolas. Thank God, for all we have and for all those who will have what they need, one day soon. Today is a new day. May I be inspired and do my part, fully connected to those whose lives I touch.

-Susan Diamond

Joke: Veterinary Bill

Glenn took his dog to the veterinary clinic, and laid its limp body on the table. The doctor pulled out his stethoscope, listened to the dog's chest for a moment, then shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but your dog has passed away."

"What?" Glenn screamed. "You haven't even done any tests! I want another opinion."

The vet left the room and returned in a few moments with a Labrador Retriever. The Retriever sniffed the dog on the table carefully from head to toe. Finally, the Retriever shook it's head and barked once (meaning "dead and gone").

The vet took the Labrador away and returned a few minutes later with a cat, which also sniffed carefully over the dog on the table before shaking its head and saying, "Meow" (meaning "he's gone").

After the cat jumped off the table, the vet handed Glenn a bill for $600. The man shook the bill at the vet. "$600!!!! Just to tell me my dog is dead?!!! That's outrageous!"

The vet explained. "If you had taken my word for it, the charge would have been $50, but with the Lab work and the cat scan..."