Reaching Inward to Reach Out

It is hard to be discerning, to know when to give. To know how to give, and give joyfully! You have to check yourself, be prayerful, and be seeking God's word. Whether you have time, the money, or the talents as each of us has been given gifts (1 Peter 4:10) and are we going to bury what God has so graciously given us to have as stewards or will God say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!" Matthew 25: 14-30 is the parable of the talents, where Jesus tells of two men who went out and used what they had been given and multiplied their master's talents and the one man who hid his talent in the ground. 
There is a great need here in Sierra Leone, many are impoverished, they live in a cycle of corruption, there is abuse in the schools, the homes, and the streets. I pray that this country and individuals will see Christians rise above to a state of giving. Giving of their gifts: time, money, talents. Whether a Christian Sierra Leonean chooses to be an example to her neighbors by showing compassion instead of rising up in defensiveness, or an American chooses to give up a meal once a week to give $5 or so dollars to a village in Africa that Love will be an Irresistible Revolution that will have Christians reaching out more because God first reached out to us! 
Blessing & Love,
Jaimie
Please check out my sista Bethany's blog as she has taken the initiative to reach out to a village here in Sierra Leone! I will be able to see this movement in action as I visit the village that will benefit from these seeds!
http://jbeo.blogspot.com/