Peace . . .

Yesterday at church we lit the candle of "peace" as we continue to celebrate advent, the coming of a Savior. The advent season has had special meaning for me this year. The simple, yet complete words like "hope" and "peace" remind me of why Jesus came.

I was thinking about a song written by one of Dennis' and my favorite pianists, Jim Brickman. You probably hear his music as you shop in stores at this time of year. Below are the lyrics to one of his songs called "Peace."

On a city street somewhere someone shoots a gun in the midnight air, and I don’t know why.

Somebody lives, somebody dies, somebody wrongs, and a mother cries, and I don’t know why.

Some things we’ll never understand. Other things you change if you can.

Peace – you find it where the heart is. The heart is right where love lives. Love can always find a way. Hope is the something that reminds us, it’s not too late to find us. One day we may be in peace.

Haven’t spoken in 30 years after angry words and bitter tears, and I don’t know why.

Best of brothers and best of friends, one mistake and their story ends, and I don’t know why.

Some things we’ll never understand, Other things you change if you can.

Peace – you find it where the heart is. The heart is right where love lives. Love can always find a way. Hope is the something that reminds us, it’s not too late to find us. One day we may be in peace.

It’s all about forgiveness, with God as my witness, I want to live to see . . . peace.

Some things we can change . . .

Is Mrs. Jackson coming today?

This is Leah. She's my little Kids Hope girl who I visit every week for an hour at her school (or a bit longer cause we have so much fun doing things together). Our church has 50 Kids Hope mentors who meet one on one with children from Jeffers School - children who will benefit from a one-on-one relationship that invests in their lives emotionally, socially and academically.

Her teacher, Mrs. Mumby, told me when I was only three weeks into my visits, that Leah asks every Tuesday morning, "Is Mrs. Jackson coming today?" It brought tears to my eyes that my one hour a week in a very short amount of time was making such a difference in this little first graders life.

I look forward to seeing Leah every week - we color, read books, work on her math, play games and just chat. Leah is a very special girl. What a joy to bring hope to her life.

Hope for the world . . .

I've thought a lot about "hope" since I posted my last blog entry just a few days ago. I took time tonight to look through mail after a few days away visiting family in Indy. One newsletter reports of orphaned children in Nigeria whose parents were murdered in the midst of religious conflicts. A Christian agency provides food, shelter and education at a center where they live and study. The director of the center says, "There can always be hope, even in seemingly hopeless situations."

Then on a website today I read of a village in Zambia where a Christian organization purchased a well drilling rig to provide the people with healthy and accessible water. A pastor touched the water that gushed up out of the earth and said, "This is Resurrection day - we have been resurrected to hope when we had none."

Jesus . . . a father to the fatherless.

Jesus . . . living water.

Jesus came to bring hope to the world.