Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 84

Traveling Light?

Under the obvious direction of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul also chimed in on the discussion of enough. In his first letter to his young disciple, Timothy, Paul offered a series of teachings to those who were wealthy. At the end of his teaching, Paul shared his own understanding of enough. He wrote, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (1 Timothy 6:8).

Really? Food and clothing? That’s not a lot to live on. Where’s the big screen TV? Where’s my iPod/iPad/iWhatever? Where’s my retirement plan? Paul wasn’t saying that these things were bad, just that they weren’t necessary. Paul added a new word to our working definition of enough—contentment. By doing so, he lowered the bar dramatically on what the Bible says we need to be content–food and covering. Basically, if we have food in our stomachs, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads, we’re good.

Can you see the obvious tension that exists between how so many of us live and what the Bible says is really necessary? Do you see the great distance between how our culture defines enough and how King Agur, Jesus and Paul defined it? What do we do with that? Are we sinning because we have savings accounts? Am I out of God’s will because I live in more than a one-bedroom house? And, what if you don’t feel content with just food and clothing? What if you think you need more? What do you then?

From Enough: Finding More by Living with Less

Want to Protect Your Marriage? Have a Marriage Mission.

Marriage is hard. We all know that. Even the strongest marriages go through seasons of testing and difficulty. Without the glue of the Holy Spirit and a commitment to covenant love in marriage, couples can all too easily decide that their marriage assignment is just too difficult.

A Christian counselor told me recently that she is seeing an “epidemic” of separations and divorces among Christian couples. The most tragic part is that the couples have very little reason to end the marriage. There has been no infidelity or abuse of any kind. Rather, many couples are choosing to quit their marriages these days simply because they’re not happy, or not happy enough.

A marriage mission gives you compelling reason to not just stay married, but to stay healthy in marriage. A husband-and-wife team that is mentoring young married couples, leading a Bible study for unchurched people, serving in leadership roles in their church, spending time in short-term missions, giving significant amounts of money to ministries, working with troubled youth or leading a prayer ministry will understand the impact if their marriage fails. Couples with marriage missions know how high the stakes really are. They are fighting for more than just their own marriage. They are fighting for all the lives they currently impact and might impact in the future. Susie and I both feel motivated to keep our marriage strong and healthy, not just for the sake of our children, but also for the sake of the many lives God has given us the opportunity to impact. Letting our marriage fail would be one of the most selfish things we could do.

So what is a marriage mission? It’s have a purpose for your marriage that’s bigger and more meaningful than just collecting stuff, looking really good and being happy. A marriage mission is finding a cause that you and your spouse are both passionate about–something that benefits others and not just you–and giving yourselves to it. But when you’ve got a marriage purpose that’s bigger than either of you, you’ve got a great reason to keep the marriage on the right track.

Care to weigh in? Post a comment and tell me about your own marriage mission or those of people who inspire you.

Want to know more about having a marriage mission? Check out Pray Big for Your Marriage.

Thoughts on Fireworks, a Week Later

Each summer my family vacations in Estes Park, Colorado. It’s a lovely town nestled between the foothills and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. To me, Estes is a second home.

Every two or three years we get spend the Fourth of July in Estes. This is a real treat because Estes throws a great July 4th party. I don’t know how much, but I guarantee that a major portion of the city’s annual budget is set aside for fireworks. Paris, New York and Sidney on New Year’s Eve can’t match the dazzling display that lights up the sky over Estes on a typical July 4th. I mean these guys really go for it. And whenever the Davis clan is in Estes on the 4th, you can be sure we’re down with the rest of the town, watching the fireworks over Lake Estes.

There is, however, another reason that I love watching the July 4th fireworks display in Estes Park, and that is what I call The Real Show. You see, July and August in the Colorado mountains tend to have a very predictable trend: afternoon thunderstorms. With only a few exceptions, summer afternoons in Estes are blessed with a couple of hours of rain, wind, thunder and sometimes hail. You can pretty much bet on it. And most summer evenings, after the storms blow through the mountains, they move right out into the plains over Denver, Fort Collins and Boulder (and even with the fires, this year has been no exception). And that’s usually where they are on July 4th, at 9:30 PM, when the fireworks start over Lake Estes. They’re lighting up the eastern sky with their own fireworks. That’s why I call it The Real Show: because as good as Estes’ July 4th display is, it can’t touch the awesome power and grandeur of a mountain thunderstorm.

I remember the first time I saw The Real Show. I was oohing and aahing with the rest of the town when I noticed the lightning display off in the east. It was almost as if a competition were being held for the best light show. I’ve got to tell you, it was no contest. A beautiful blast of man-made, colorful light would rain down over the lake for a few seconds. Then the entire eastern sky would turn brilliantly white, the lightning illuminating the towering thunder-heads from behind. The effect looked like an entirely new mountain range had been formed over the valley, with peaks soaring up to 30 and 40 thousand feet. Then, horizontal streaks of jagged light would shoot across the sky, like divinely fired lasers that reached for hundreds of miles. And then, back in Estes, there’d be another cute poof and bang along with about 1.7 seconds of color and sparks that topped out at 150 feet above the lake. Like I said–no contest.

I just love it when the best of man pales before the most ordinary work of God. I don’t mean to imply there that anything God does is ordinary, far from it. It’s just that thunderstorms are everyday occurrences. July 4th shows come only once-a-year. Cities and town spend millions annually in preparation for their big bang events that last 20 minutes. And a typical, run-of-the-mill, common thunderstorm (as if there really is such a thing) makes our best fireworks shows look silly.

So, do some comparing of your own. Consider the magnificence of the human eye as opposed to the best lenses man can build, or the human brain versus even the most powerful computers in the world. Look at common sparrow and then an airplane. Listen to the incredible sounds produced by the tiny vocal chords of a parakeet and know that man has no creation that can even come close. Look up at the lights in the sky–the stars at night and the sun during the day–and know that we are powerless to produce anything even worthy of comparison. Then on new years or next July 4, go to your favorite fireworks celebration and ooh and aah with the rest of your town. After about 20 minutes it will be over, but the stars will still be shining up in the heavens; and somewhere, if not over you, a typical, run-of-the-mill, common thunderstorm will be giving The Real Show.

His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles, Psalm 97:4

Are You Stuffed?

Enough. It’s a curious word, isn’t it? Enough. Why don’t you say it out loud a few times—enough, enough, enough. I bet you can define enough without even looking it up: Enough–the condition or state of having plenty; Enough–to be full or filled; Enough–without lack. Enough.

We use the word enough many times a day without even thinking. I have enough gas to get home. Do you have enough money for the movie? We’ve got enough time for just two more questions. I don’t have enough sugar for the recipe. We don’t have enough money to pay our taxes. I’ve had just about enough of your back-talk. I think I’ve got enough room for one more helping of cobbler.

Enough. Whatever enough is, we instinctively know when we do or do not have enough of it.

Except when it comes to things and money. Why is it that so many of us don’t know how to define enough when it comes to the material and/or financial aspects of our lives? You would think that those definitions of enough would be the easiest to figure out. You just define enough by what you need, right? If you need $10 for a movie and you have $10, then you have enough. If it costs $35 to fill up your gas tank, and you have $35, then you’ve got enough. But it isn’t really that simple, is it? When it comes to stuff, we wrestle with all kinds of questions about what is and isn’t enough. How many square feet—bedrooms, bathrooms, garage, kitchen, dining room, breakfast nook, exercise room, entertainment room, work room and study—will make up enough house for us? How much car—new or used, lease or own, cloth, vinyl or leather interior, single or multi-cd player, v-6 or v-8 engine, GPS, speaker phone, TV and DVD player, sun roof, and/or moon roof—will be enough car for me?  How much money—five figures, as long as the first figure is an 8 or a 9, six figures or even seven figures—do I need to meet my needs? To feel secure? To be happy? To feel like I have enough? You get the point.

How can we so readily define enough when it comes to filling-up our gas tanks but we can’t define it when it comes to filling up our lives? As far as stuff is concerned, when is enough enough?

From Enough: Finding More by Living with Less

A Heightened Sense of What Really Matters

How much is Enough? Do we really need more than we have? What if we could finally come to the understanding that what we have right this minute is really and truly enough? Will Davis Jr., pastor of Austin Christian Fellowship in Texas thinks that people that live in our culture don’t really understand how to be content with what we have.

A few weeks ago I received a copy of Enough: Finding More by Living with Less by Will Davis Jr.

As I was reading this book I started looking around my house, garage and yard. I really do have ‘enough’. I have enough food, shelter, water, clothes and stuff to survive and even thrive. Sometimes the stuff that we have starts to blur our perspective. Davis calls this blurred vision, SMOG. We get so lost in the smog around us that we lose our focus on what makes us really happy.

My take away from this book is a heightened sense of what really matters.

I have a huge stack of stuff now in the garage waiting to donate to my friend’s yard sale.

I have several piles designated to pass to friends and family.

I have 2 huge bags of extra trash – things that really have no value but have been taking up space.

This book is a wake up call to help us realize that enough is actually enough. If we’re not content with what we already have, then it would be hard for us to be content with more.

You can buy Enough: Finding More by Living with Less from Amazon.

Do you have ENOUGH? How can you decide when you have enough? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Especially since this blog is called Real Life Deals! Do these deals and savings ideas I post help us grow in contentment? Hmmm…. something to think about today.

Submitted to Real Life Deals by Sharon W.

Some Thoughts on the “Coming Out” of Anderson Cooper

Earlier this week CNN News Correspondent Anderson Cooper issued a statement saying that he is and always had been gay. It’s a courageous move for Cooper, as the same-sex debate is still quite divisive in our country. I applaud Cooper for wanting to be authentic and not wanting to hide how he sees himself.

Anderson Cooper

But Cooper did a curious and perhaps strategic thing in his statement–he invoked God’s name. He didn’t do so to the degree to which he’s being quoted, but he did say, “In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God’s greatest gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and share love with the people in my life.” Again, I applaud the humility demonstrated by Cooper. He certainly doesn’t seem to be picking a fight.

But his comments have fueled a flurry of commentary and punch lines, including this by Paul Raushenbush, Senior Religion Editor at the Huffington Post:

Anderson Cooper thanked God for his ability to love another person of the same gender, and thanks God every day for the love he has in his life. In his easy manner, Mr. Cooper is saying his sexuality is a divine gift, and that he is thankful to God that he was so wonderfully made. That is some beautiful and powerful stuff. And it also goes to the heart of the fight for full rights for the LGBT community. Religion remains the central battleground for gay rights and most of the anti-gay rhetoric relies on the argument that being gay is ‘un-natural’ and goes against God’s design . . . . . Anderson rejects that idea with his two easy sentences — his ability to love the way he loves was given to him by God and he thanks God every day for it. Take that. (Read the whole article here.)

I’m not as convinced that Cooper’s comments are the slam dunk that Raushenbush thinks they are. In fact, if God is behind Cooper’s same-sex orientation, then many could argue that he (God) is to be booed rather than cheered or thanked. Naming gay orientation as a God-thing actually raises more questions than it answers.

Think about it: God gives Cooper a perfectly functioning anatomy that appears the be designed for heterosexual sex. It’s also an anatomy that cannot procreate with the object of Cooper’s love–another man. It’s almost as if God put a gay man in a straight body.

Why would God do that? Why would he create a group of people, wire them up to be attracted to and love people of their same sex, and not equip them to have healthy sexual relationships and to be able to share the joy of seeding and giving birth to their own children. If God is behind that, It seems more like a bad practical joke rather than something for which he should thanked.

The God of the Bible is a God of love and compassion. He is infinitely wise and infinitely good. He doesn’t play practical jokes and he doesn’t mess up something as important as anatomy. If he wanted people to be able to function in gay relationships, then he would have given them bodies that freed them, not enslaved them.

I do not believe that God is the source of Mr. Cooper’s or anyone else’s same-sex attraction. Just because a person is a certain way from birth doesn’t automatically mean that it was God’s will or design. There are many genetic conditions and predispositions that are clearly not the work of God, but rather evidence of the imperfect, pain-filled world in which we live.

Gay people aren’t blessed, they’re broken–just like the rest of us. If I were given the privilege of speaking personally to Mr. Cooper, I’d affirm his faith and humility before God and encourage him to be open to the possibility that God may in fact have a a better plan for him than the one he is currently living. And that possibility, by the way, is one that the rest of us must be open to as well.

In Honor of America’s Birthday, a Call to Remember . . . .

Samuel Adams

Father of the American Revolution, Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I . . . recommend my Soul to that Almighty Being who gave it, and my body I commit to the dust, relying upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.

Will of Samuel Adams

Charles Carroll

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

On the mercy of my Redeemer I rely for salvation and on His merits; not on the works I have done in obedience to His precepts.

From an autographed letter in our possession written by Charles Carroll to Charles W. Wharton, Esq., on September 27, 1825, from Doughoragen, Maryland.

William Cushing

First Associate Justice Appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Court

Sensible of my mortality, but being of sound mind, after recommending my soul to Almighty God through the merits of my Redeemer and my body to the earth . . .

Will of William Cushing

John Dickinson

Signer of the Constitution

Rendering thanks to my Creator for my existence and station among His works, for my birth in a country enlightened by the Gospel and enjoying freedom, and for all His other kindnesses, to Him I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity.

Will of John Dickinson

John Hancock

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I John Hancock, . . . being advanced in years and being of perfect mind and memory-thanks be given to God-therefore calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing it is appointed for all men once to die [Hebrews 9:27], do make and ordain this my last will and testament…Principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it: and my body I recommend to the earth . . . nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mercy and power of God. . .

Will of John Hancock

Patrick Henry

Governor of Virginia, Patriot

This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.

Will of Patrick Henry

John Jay

First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court

Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved son. He has been pleased to bless me with excellent parents, with a virtuous wife, and with worthy children. His protection has companied me through many eventful years, faithfully employed in the service of my country; His providence has not only conducted me to this tranquil situation but also given me abundant reason to be contented and thankful. Blessed be His holy name!

Will of John Jay

Daniel St. Thomas Jenifer

Signer of the Constitution

In the name of God, Amen. I, Daniel of Saint Thomas Jenifer . . . of dispossing mind and memory, commend my soul to my blessed Redeemer. . .

Will of Daniel St. Thomas Jenifer

Henry Knox

Revolutionary War General, Secretary of War

First, I think it proper to express my unshaken opinion of the immortality of my soul or mind; and to dedicate and devote the same to the supreme head of the Universe – to that great and tremendous Jehovah, – Who created the universal frame of nature, worlds, and systems in number infinite . . . To this awfully sublime Being do I resign my spirit with unlimited confidence of His mercy and protection . . .

Will of Henry Knox

John Langdon

Signer of the Constitution

In the name of God, Amen. I, John Langdon, . . . considering the uncertainty of life and that it is appointed unto all men once to die [Hebrews 9:27], do make, ordain and publish this my last will and testament in manner following, that is to say-First: I commend my soul to the infinite mercies of God in Christ Jesus, the beloved Son of the Father, who died and rose again that He might be the Lord of the dead and of the living . . . professing to believe and hope in the joyful Scripture doctrine of a resurrection to eternal life . . .

Will of John Langdon

John Morton

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

With an awful reverence to the great Almighty God, Creator of all mankind, I, John Morton . . . being sick and weak in body but of sound mind and memory-thanks be given to Almighty God for the same, for all His mercies and favors-and considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the times thereof, do, for the settling of such temporal estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life . . .

Will of John Morton

Robert Treat Paine

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I desire to bless and praise the name of God most high for appointing me my birth in a land of Gospel Light where the glorious tidings of a Savior and of pardon and salvation through Him have been continually sounding in mine ears.

Robert Treat Paine, The Papers of Robert Treat Paine, Stephen Riley and Edward Hanson, editors (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1992), Vol. I, p. 48, March/April, 1749.

[W]hen I consider that this instrument contemplates my departure from this life and all earthly enjoyments and my entrance on another state of existence, I am constrained to express my adoration of the Supreme Being, the Author of my existence, in full belief of his providential goodness and his forgiving mercy revealed to the world through Jesus Christ, through whom I hope for never ending happiness in a future state, acknowledging with grateful remembrance the happiness I have enjoyed in my passage through a long life. . .

Will of Robert Treat Paine

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

Signer of the Constitution

To the eternal, immutable, and only true God be all honor and glory, now and forever, Amen!. . .

Will of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

Rufus Putnam

Revolutionary War General, First Surveyor General of the United States

[F]irst, I give my soul to a holy, sovereign God Who gave it in humble hope of a blessed immortality through the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. My body I commit to the earth to be buried in a decent Christian manner. I fully believe that this body shall, by the mighty power of God, be raised to life at the last day; ‘for this corruptable (sic) must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.’ [I Corinthians 15:53]

Will of Rufus Putnam

Benjamin Rush

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

My only hope of salvation is in the infinite, transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the cross. Nothing but His blood will wash away my sins. I rely exclusively upon it. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!

Benjamin Rush, The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, George Corner, editor (Princeton: Princeton University Press for the American Philosophical Society, 1948), p. 166, Travels Through Life, An Account of Sundry Incidents & Events in the Life of Benjamin Rush.

Roger Sherman

Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signer of the Constitution

I believe that there is one only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. . . . that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are a revelation from God. . . . that God did send His own Son to become man, die in the room and stead of sinners, and thus to lay a foundation for the offer of pardon and salvation to all mankind so as all may be saved who are willing to accept the Gospel offer.

Lewis Henry Boutell, The Life of Roger Sherman (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1896), pp. 272-273.

Richard Stockton

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I think it proper here not only to subscribe to the entire belief of the great and leading doctrines of the Christian religion, such as the Being of God, the universal defection and depravity of human nature, the divinity of the person and the completeness of the redemption purchased by the blessed Savior, the necessity of the operations of the Divine Spirit, of Divine Faith, accompanied with an habitual virtuous life, and the universality of the divine Providence, but also . . . that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom; that the way of life held up in the Christian system is calculated for the most complete happiness that can be enjoyed in this mortal state; that all occasions of vice and immorality is injurious either immediately or consequentially, even in this life; that as Almighty God hath not been pleased in the Holy Scriptures to prescribe any precise mode in which He is to be publicly worshiped, all contention about it generally arises from want of knowledge or want of virtue.

Will of Richard Stockton

Jonathan Trumbull Sr.

Governor of Connecticut, Patriot

Principally and first of all, I bequeath my soul to God the Creator and Giver thereof, and body to the Earth . . . nothing doubting but that I shall receive the same again at the General Resurrection thro the power of Almighty God; believing and hoping for eternal life thro the merits of my dear, exalted Redeemer Jesus Christ.

Will of Jonathan Trumbull

John Witherspoon

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

I entreat you in the most earnest manner to believe in Jesus Christ, for there is no salvation in any other [Acts 4:12]. . . . [I]f you are not reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, if you are not clothed with the spotless robe of His righteousness, you must forever perish.

John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. V, pp. 276, 278, The Absolute Necessity of Salvation Through Christ, January 2, 1758.

For more information, visit Wallbuilders.com.

Looking for a Great Family Vacation Spot? May I Suggest . . . .

Check out Wind River Ranch, in Estes Park, Colorado. Susie and I spoke at a family camp there last week and found it to be one of the best kept secrets in Colorado. Then we found out it isn’t such a secret.

Wind River is a well-known, well-respected Christian dude ranch. Opened in 1999, Wind River offers:

Horseback riding on beautiful mountain trails
Excellent children, youth and adult activities
Daily worship and teaching by gifted leaders and teachers
And, hiking, fly-fishing, frisbee golf, golf, and an old-fashioned soda fountain!!!!

Susie and I were blown away by how Spirit-led, professional and authentic the staff and wranglers were. Our adult girls were with us and had a blast. Many of the families that were there last week were return families who had also invited friends or other members of their extended family (which speaks volumes about the quality of the camp). Many other couples signed up for future camps while there.

Bottom line, this was one of the best camp experiences Susie and I have ever had. I encourage you to visit www.windriverranch.com and take a look for yourself. Also, check out the 2013 Calendar as Susie and are speaking twice there next year!

See you at the ranch!

Check out this Wind River YouTube video!

If you have trouble viewing this video, click here.

“A Message Every Christian Needs to Hear”

We live in a culture that pushes us to strive for more of everything – material possessions, money, power, fame – but how much is enough? That is the question this book addresses from a Biblical perspective. It’s not only about discerning what is enough, but also what our responsibility is to those who don’t have enough when we have more than we need.

I loved the message of this book because it isn’t implying that poverty, voluntary or otherwise, is Biblical but rather promotes setting boundaries against the pursuit of material excess so that we can instead pursue spiritual abundance.

The book is divided into five sections with each containing chapters relating to the topics. The sections include Enough is Enough, More Than Enough, Less Than Enough, Moving Toward Enough, and Less is More.

Although I don’t think the author is suggesting that we literally give away all we own, the message does suggest that we come to a mindset of being willing to give up anything the Lord requires so that those things don’t become a hindrance to our faith. As Davis puts it, “the more you try to pursue God and carry your riches along with you, the more cumbersome your stuff will become.”

Davis also makes the case that when we have more than enough we come to depend on material things more than God’s provision. He writes, “As long as we have wealth, resources, connections, and earthly power at our disposal, we’ll be tempted to rely on those things instead of God. That’s why God often strips us down to almost nothing – to having a mere shepherd’s staff – before he uses us. When we’re empty-handed we have nothing to rely on but his power. And that’s when he does his best work through us.”

The message of this book is much needed in our culture of excess and the pursuit of wealth, and is delivered in a way that encourages change. Rather than coming away from it feeling guilty, I was motivated to do things differently in order to define what “enough” means for my family. I was encouraged to find ways to share my “more than enough” while relying more on the Lord to provide in my “less than enough”.

Order Here.

–Submitted by Books and Chocolate to Amazon.com.

Don’t Leave Them at the Gate

This is Melissa. She’s probably 11 or 12 and lives with her mother Gilda and her brother Pepe (pictured as well) in a small tent city in Haiti. I met Melissa last week when we visited her tent city. I said Hi to her and she walked right up to me and grabbed my hand. Let’s just say she had me at Hello. It was quite an endearing act, and one that is quite common in Haiti. Little children will walk up to you, climb into you arms and even fall to sleep. In Haiti it’s sweet; in the States we’d be horrified that children were left to fend for themselves with complete strangers. Welcome to Haiti.

Melissa walked with me all the way back to our compound, holding my hand the entire way. Then, my heart started breaking. Inside the walls of our compound is safety, clean water, plenty of food, clean beds, and hope. But Melissa isn’t one of the kids that lives there. She doesn’t have the opportunities that the 100 or so orphans who live there do. I couldn’t take her in with me.

When we got to the gate I had to stop and tell Melissa that she couldn’t go any further. I had to leave her in her harsh, hunger-filled world with little hope. I tore myself away from her and walked into the compound. It was gut-wrenching. Fortunately, I was able to go back and visit Melissa every day while I was in Haiti, and even give her mother some food and money. But in the end, I still had to leave her.

It’s times like that when I realize that I have more than enough. Way more. It’s times like that when I know that I would gladly part with any and all of it to help the Melissas of the world. Please understand something–Melissa cannot change her situation. She simply will not get the education, the care and training she needs to lead her family out of poverty. Her only hope is that those of us with more than enough decide to give away not just our extra, but our conveniences and perceived rights, and decide to change the tent cities in Haiti, the slums in Calcutta and the ghettos in New York.

Is that country club membership or that personal trainer or those regular pedis and manis really worth it when you think of Melissa? Let’s not leave her at the gate. Move toward enough and get serious about changing the world around you.