One Cup of Rice Water Does Matter

Thursday night on the way home from work I got hit with a sickness. It hit me like a ton of bricks. As soon as I arrived home and turned the car off it began. My teeth started to chatter. I thought maybe I had gotten use to the heat in the car after traveling an hour from work. I opened the car door and walked to the house. I became so cold I could barely stand it. I shook uncontrollably. My teeth chattered even harder. I felt like I just fell through ice into a freezing lake. My chest tightened up and I could barely breath. I grabbed my heaviest winter coat (and believe me it is about the heaviest you can find...I am originally from Michigan you know). I had a hard time just putting it on, I was shaking so badly. My breathing became more pronounced like I had been running a marathon. Thank God my winter hat was in my coat pocket. I put that on and the thick hood from my coat over that. This seemed to do nothing. I grabbed two heavy comforter blankets and laid on the couch. My wife got another pair of socks and put them over the pair I already had on. It seemed like eternity, (but must have been 2 hours I laid there) teeth chattering...cherishing each breath of air. My teeth finally stopped chattering and my body was exhausted. After making all the necessary preparations for missing work the next day, I immediately fell asleep. I basically only awoke to go the bathroom or try to drink chicken broth for the next 24 hours. My wife diligently looked for ways to help. She found some kind of concoction out of her trusty health remedy book and asked me if I wanted to try it. It took a lot of strength just to say "yes" in agreement (this is no exaggeration). I won't go into details, but I visited the bathroom frequently in that 24hrs and had probably lost all nutrients that would give me any kind of strength. (OK Don't lose me now, this story does have a very good point). My wife put together her rice water concoction and I mustered the strength to take a few sips. This was the turning point. I've never felt anything like it. I literally could feel my body absorb the nutrients from this "magic" potion.

I thought about that first day I noticed my wife at college. I would go to breakfast most mornings as soon as the doors would open for the campus meals. There would usually be maybe 5 to 10 other people throughout all the campus that would be willing to go that early to eat a campus breakfast. One of those people was my future wife sitting there several tables away, with a guy friend of hers. She had the best posture I had ever seen and I think I even remember pointing that out to a friend of mine one morning at breakfast. There was something very intriguing about her and I could not deny her long red/brown/blond hair was about the most beautiful I had ever seen. Little did I know that years later I would be laying on a couch and she would be giving me a drink to save my life. (OK that one might be a little exaggerated) So maybe my wife put something else in this concoction of hers? : )

This was the beginning to my recovery, although it took another 24 hrs just to have enough strength to actually get up without it being a huge task. I really appreciated my wife helping me in any way she could to make me comfortable. I was so dependent and desperate for help that even one glass of her rice water concoction made a difference. This got me thinking about those in Haiti. They got hit suddenly with a disaster that caused them to be dependent and desperate like never before. I couldn't shake this thought of how desperate they must have become. Do you remember being this sick or desperate? Remember how much just a small glass of apple juice or soup was so important and appreciative? That one cup of rice water did matter to me! I will never forget it. So to, others who are in desperate need will not forget. One act of kindness will not go unappreciated! Better yet, the God of Heaven says, "Verily I say unto you, in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".

We are so blessed here in America that I think it is hard for us to contemplate the importance of one glass of water. Remember the next time you are sick and think about how important that help is. Additionally, when you drink your next glass of water or eat your next meal think about how precious that would be to someone else. I am still recovering from my sickness and am thinking about how nice it would be to eat a meal. Don't wait until you're sick to contemplate the same thing. Think of the most desperate times in your life. Maybe it is was a sickness, a death, a disease, or some other tragedy. One cup of rice water does make a difference. One cup of rice water does matter.

It happens to be my mother's birthday today. I must say that she has given me that "one cup of rice water" many times and I have never forgotten. I have seen my Mom do this for many other people too, without ever getting much in return. Thank you Mom. I love you and have a Happy Birthday!

No More

Three drips of blood
Fall to the ground
Red eyes and broken hearts
College applications and new starts

Rice and beans
Are precious things
Dirt pies and cloudy skies
Smell of death and swarms of flies

People leaving
They’ve done their part
They’ve quenched the thirst
Within their heart

I gave something
Is what they say
Now let me live
For it’s another day

It’s too much effort
To sacrifice more
I have to build bigger barns
To put more in store

What can I do
When the cable bill is due
The internet and electric
The gas and ooh ooh…I just remembered
There’s a steak on the grill

Sorry I have to go
I have to entertain my friends
Send me some pictures
Some ideas you recommend

Maybe later
when I have more time to spare
And I can save some more money
Give me time to prepare

Meanwhile the blood keeps dripping
And rain falls to the ground
Staining the applications
Of children who have drowned

2-20-10

Copyright © 2010 Brian Jackson All rights reserved

This is not directed at anyone, but it is written in the hope that we don't forget. I don't think we should feel guilty if we eat food or buy things that those who are poor may not be able to. There will always be great needs in this world. We are very spoiled here in America and sometimes I think we need to step back and remember how blessed we are. We do have plenty to spare. I am not only talking about money. We have been given much...let's give like it. "To whom much is given, much is required."

I Will

I will pose a question

I love you

I will write a sentence

I love you

I will feel a feeling

I love you

I will deny my feelings

I love you

I will state a paradox

I love you

I will say a statement

I love you

I will be silent

I love you

I will hold your hand

I love you

I will push away

I love you

I will tell the truth

I love you

I will endure pain

I love you

I will die

I love you



And this is love…I will

For love is action

Love is a choice

And this is my choice
To love you


And I will


2/18/10

Copyright © 2010 Brian Jackson All rights reserved

A Mother's Love - A Son's New Beginning

Rescue Haiti's Children: The Rescue of an Orphan from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

Please at least watch this video beginning at 3:30

Haiti Blog

If you would like to see a thorough review of the Haiti trip, please check out Shane Ison's blog. I haven't really shared much info., but Shane is very good about remembering and communicating details.
http://shaneison.wordpress.com/
Shane and his wife Crystal have done a great job of blogging the trip. More importantly they are keeping everyone up to date with the developments and communications from Christian brothers abroad.
Please continue to pray and give as the Lord leads.

ARE YOU READY TO BE OFFERED?

I have been contemplating as of late my position in life...even more so, after returning from Haiti. My personal temptation is not as much to increase in power or make a lot of money, but rather that I do exactly the thing it is that I want to do. I believe it's alright to work to be in a particular position that you desire, but maybe God has other plans. He has an eternal view. He may want us to be unnoticed, maybe ridiculed, or perhaps even persecuted. It pleased God to bruise His own Son. Why then would He not do the same to you and I? If God did not bruise His Son, then where would we be? We can not see into the future, but if God so chose to bruise us what eternal changes would this bring? How does this help those around us and generations to come? It may even please our Father to not show us any reasons for the path we trod. Would this not take a deeper more committed faith? What about our Haiti brothers and sisters that may struggle their whole life only to die in the same condition? The second we die, these questions will no longer matter...for then we will see Christ. All things will be revealed in God's timing. He is the Story Writer and each person has their part to play, even though they may not agree. Why would an ant question the destruction of a piece of land? He only sees what is happening in his little world. The destruction may be to build a beautiful building, but the ant would never understand or care. We are the building of God. He may choose to tear us down, but is it not to build up a beautiful building? All things work together for good to those who love God right? Maybe our problem is our idea of beauty and our temporal earthly mindset. Like the ant, many times we only see what's around us. Many times the struggle is because we think we must understand something before we can except it. The Christian life is not of sight and it is not of blindness, but it is of faith. We see God! This is not a blind faith! For though we may stumble, though we may not see clearly, we are held and guided along by the hand of God. Lay aside our doubts. Lay aside our demands. Lay on the altar. Are we ready to be offered? After contemplating these thoughts, I "happened" to read the following quote from Oswald Chambers....


ARE YOU READY TO BE OFFERED?

Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.

Are you willing to be offered for the work of the faithful - to pour out your life blood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say - "I am not going to be offered up just yet, I do not want God to choose my work. I want to choose the scenery of my own sacrifice; I want to have the right kind of people watching and saying, 'Well done.'

It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a door-mat under other people's feet. Suppose God wants to teach you to say, "I know how to be abased" - are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket - to be so hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the life you served? Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work and remain saints because it is beneath their dignity.

Philippians 2:17

Live and Let Die

Words that poor(I spelled it this way on purpose)on paper are rich in emotion, yet fall to the ground. How can I hug you in words? How can I express emotions that need to be screamed or touched? AHHHHHHH!! Do you feel my frustration? : ) Even AHHHHH! can be taken in so many different ways. I do like that words can be interpreted in different ways by different people and thus the intrigue of poetry I suppose. However, sometimes you want to smack someone in the face with the exact words and emotion you intend to give. To some point I'm sick of words. It's like saying and not doing, like teaching and not living. Words are important, but if you can't feel the expression then what profit does it have? Intellect is not enough. Maybe this is why we need to be a living word. Take it in and spread it out. Live it. I guess I'm venting a little bit with the frustration of not being able to express in words the thoughts of my heart. Maybe if you come by I can just give you a hug, but then I have to explain what that hug meant right? The closest I think a person can come to expressing true emotions is through music and lyrics. I pray the Lord leads me to someone who can help in this manner. Someone who could express exactly what I attempt to convey only in word. Music transcends the mind and reaches the emotion like no other media. Maybe someone out there can help me? I am busting at the seems desiring to express in ways beyond a written word. At any rate, here is a writing that poorly expresses emotion that needs to be felt and heard. This is written from the perspective of true love. This is not written with any particular person in mind, but rather for humanity as a whole. Love that should be given to friends, family, and even foes. Love looks for the success of the one loved. Love is the embodiment of self-denial. Well I won't go on, just read I Cor. 13. One of the most difficult things for me to say is "I love you". With this comes a commitment of extreme proportions. If you truly mean that you love, then you must be willing to embrace the costs of love...even to the point of death. Greater love hath no man than this, that he lays down his life for his friend. This is beyond a simple emotion and must come from Love Itself. Consider the next time you say "I love you" and hold your tongue if it is a selfish, shallow or temporary love. Ah!..and my God said and meant "I love you"! He expressed this love in the living Word. Forgive me as I express in word an ill attempt at love.

Can you set aside your thoughts
just for a moment?
Set aside your problems
Set aside your worries
Set aside your fears
There is no tomorrow
but this moment right here
No other time to consider
but now
in this moment
Can you feel it?
This moment of release?

Hold this moment
Don’t let it go
I have something
to tell you
Hold your breath
and take this in
Nothing else to consider
but these words…
I
Love
You
yes…
I Love You
Absorb this into your soul
This is true
and I will show you, my friend

Don’t let this moment go yet
I need you to understand
Don’t back away in fear
Don’t put up your fences
Don’t consider ulterior motives
I mean this with all my heart
I may not be able to show you
enough to convince you
but someday the time may come
and yes
I will die for you.
I will die for you
and then you will understand
I will have no hesitation
I will embrace the moment
for this is the opportunity
I’ve been waiting for
My last great chance to show you

But for now, let me live
Lets take down our fences
and live
Live without hesitation…
But alas, this moment is over
You put up your fences
and I put up mine
One day I will show you
One day you’ll believe
But for now I stand beside you
and with love I will proceed
1/29/10

Copyright © 2010 Brian Jackson All rights reserved