I’ve seen the joking and jabbing. I won’t lie. I laughed at a bunch of them (I can’t help it. You guys are just so quick witted)… my heart is also VERY sad for Harold Camping (who has gone silent) and his followers. There have been many sad stories of how people have reacted out of fear to the end of times.

So much damage has been done. Not only is this another area for the world to make fun of Christians, but the reality is many passionate people were misled and are now left heart-broken and confused. I’m praying this doesn’t turn them away from preparing for Christ’s return, but that it’s drives them to dig into God’s Word even more and more importantly… for themselves.

Everyone has their opinions. That’s what I love so much about HOW God created us.

My opinion?

The end is gonna happen someday. Not today. And I don’t believe we can mathematically calculate when that’s going to happen. God is SO much bigger than that… however… we should live every day like Jesus is returning tomorrow. I am not afraid. I look forward to living eternity with my Jesus.

Till then, I will continue my best to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.

Now, to Harold Camping (let’s just pretend he’ll see this even though we all know he won’t).

Dear Mr. Camping and all those who followed his teachings…
I can only imagine how disappointed you must feel. I’m sorry. You meant well. You have passion and you truly want the best for people. I appreciate that. With that said… I’m here if you need a hug. No judgment here (no pun intended).

Now, how about YOU?
What’s YOUR opinion?

Then, today, I ran across this video of one of my favorite speakers and authors, Francis Chan (holla out to the Asian Invasion… ) and was again humbled by my own judgmental thoughts.

It’s worth a look:

{from Kyle Reed}

Bin Laden’s death has just been announced. I saw it first on the Twitter feed, so Brian and I quickly turned our television to CNN.

Since I’m a multi-tasker, I’m sitting here watching the news AND watching Twitter… and I’m sadly surprised to see SO many people in the Christian circle celebrating the death of this man.

Yes, he was a terrorist. Yes, he hurt many. Yes, his terrorism became VERY personal to us on 9/11… but he was merely human.

Just like me… infallible, broken, human.

I tweeted (and facebook’d) this:

… and was honestly happy to see I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling.

But for those of you who are celebrating, I have this to say:

Bin Laden did a LOT wrong. He was misguided and was sold out to the wrong cause… but at least he was passionately sold out to something. I’m not justifying or saying what he did was alright… I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt some of us to have a bit more passion (and compassion)… and for those of us who say we are SOLD OUT to Jesus… we should be the LAST people celebrating this devastating news. We should NOT be singing “We Are The Champions” in the streets as CNN is reporting.

Don’t get me wrong… I am relieved that his misguided passions have ceased with his death. And I believe God will be the final judge in all of this. But when did we become the monsters that cheer the death of another human?

I’m not one to say if Bin Laden chose to accept Jesus Christ into his life before he died, but an educated guess would say he didn’t… which means he’s most likely facing eternity without a loving Savior. A loving Savior NONE of us deserve… but many of us get. We should be mourning the loss of this additional soul… not celebrating.

What are YOUR thoughts? Share….

If you don’t know by now, Haiti was hit by a 7.0 earthquake. Because of their buildings’ poor infrastructure, Haiti is now in complete devastation. It looks like 100,000 people are dead and more wounded. Motherless children and children-less mothers now walk the rubbled streets.

Can you imagine?

No water.
No lights.
No shelter.
No food.
No sign of your family.
The smell of death surrounds you.
Does that lifeless leg protruding from under that rubble belongs to anyone you know.
And now, the riots are starting.

I can’t stop thinking and praying for the people of Haiti.

I don’t want to add to the noise… I just want to help facilitate direction to resources.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Online Prayer Chain
World Vision
American Red Cross
Medical Teams International
One Day’s Wages
MercyCorps
Compassion International
Nine Ways to get Involved – from Mashable

Please pray with me.

And if you are someone who can really help financially or physically… please do. PLEASE!

So many of my friends have found ways to save money.  Clipping coupons, downsizing, box color instead of salon love, cutting out Starbucks…

For those who don’t know, I actually consider it my JOB as the CEO of my household to help every dollar my sweet husband & I bring in stretch to it’s fullest potential.  We’ve had a bit of an adventure this past month shaving more wasteful dollars off the frivolous list and getting them into savings.  

I figured this would be a GREAT time to share what we all do to save money. Many of you are WAY more brilliant than me so I would love to glean new ideas off of you.  First, let me share what the Clayville’s have done:

10 AVENUES OF “SHAVING”:

1. Envelope System.  We basically only take out cash for our weekly/monthly budget and steer clear from using debit cards (we got rid of credit cards a LONG time ago).
2. Unbundled our home internet/cable/phone.  We now only have internet and a cheap homeline ($9.95 per month).  We got rid of cable.  No TV at all.
3. Cut out our daily coffee runs.  But let’s be serious… we still grab a drink maybe a couple of times a week.
4. Buy store brand.  We still shop at New Seasons & Whole Foods because we are committed to eating mostly organic (we, as a family, have decided we will cut other things before this), but sticking to store brands brings the cost WAY down while still getting great quality, which leads me to…
5. Eat at home 95% of the time.  Again, if you know me, you know I LOVE to eat.  I really appreciate different tastes.  We used to eat out maybe 75% of the time.  It’s has definitely scaled back to 5% now though.  That has now manifested itself into my kitchen skills.  Hubs says he likes my cooking better anyway
6. Box Color is my friend.  No more salon visits every 3-4 months.
7. Craigslist.  We’re selling EVERYTHING we don’t use.  Makes room in my garage too.  This is probably easier for me to do since I’m an organizational nazi who is DEFINITELY NOT a hoarder.
8. Walking.  The weather has been a lot nicer, so we walk with the kids a lot more.  Saves a lot of gas money driving to…
9. The Library.  We get almost all our DVD movies from there right now.  We actually don’t borrow books because we LOVE books and mark and write all over them.  Pretty sure the library wouldn’t be so happy about that.
10. No mani/pedi’s.  No spa treatments at all.  This is awfully painful for me.  I keep my nails and toes clean and polished myself.

So… I wanna know…

… where are YOU shaving?

… or listening/watching (click on the picture):