Soapbox Sunday-Loving God

In January, our church began a journey with the first step being loving God. All quarter long, each class and sermon have focused on the ways that we, as a congregation could focus on this. Each member was also to search out ways to grow in love with God. Ironically, He was working on my heart just before our church began this endeavor. It was around that time that I felt the pull to start writing about my relationship with Him.

Today was "Boat Sunday" at church. I know you all may be laughing at that concept, but it was a reference to Peter getting out of the boat to faithfully trust Jesus. He sank only when his trust in Jesus faltered. This morning, my church shepherd asked me to say a few words about how I have deepened in my love for God, so I shared my experiences with this blog. I spoke of how I have always had a passion for writing, but just recently realized that it was a God-given passion to be used for His purposes. I shared how writing has brought me as close to God as I have ever been. Then, I spoke at length about all of you in blogland who are a light to others through your own sites. Every comment that you have left on my blog, every email that you have sent to me, prayers, and each of you sharing your heart on your own sites has encouraged me in a way that you will never know. Imagine the impact that it has on those that visit our sites and leave no record of their time there. I heard recently that the internet is fast becoming the way many people are searching for spiritual answers. With so many pitfalls online, I have found a safe place amongst my believer buddies.

I don't think that this a true "soapbox post", but it was foremost on my mind today. So, let me end today by challenging you, whomever you may be, to get out of the boat and let God direct you to places that you never dreamed existed. And to all of you that have impacted my walk, thank-you for your examples and for your encouragement!

Matthew 14:30 (New International Version)

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Now, I would like to share Tonya's post for Soapbox Sunday because it is a cry from her heart on something that could impact anyone of us. You can visit Tonya here.





I don't have anything with spiritual depth for this post, however it is one that is very close to my heart. As you may already know we lost our son to childhood cancer. If you'd like to post with me on this Soapbox Sunday then PLEASE FEEL FREE to copy the exact post below to your site. (Or you can email me and I'll send you the EXACT post with the codes and all already in place - I'll check my email first thing in the morning then again mid-afternoon. We'll be meeting with our Bible study group from 9-? My email address is nason5@aol.com) The more people we can get involved, the GREATER the impact. If you do post with me just leave a comment and we'll "blog hop" around. THANKS SO MUCH for your time!


Now, besides the fact that childhood cancer has struck our home, the statistics are HORRIFIC. The information below was taken from lunchforlife.org



Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in the US and it kills more children per year than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, asthma and AIDS combined. There are 15 children diagnosed with cancer for every one child diagnosed with pediatric AIDS. Yet, the U.S. invests approximately $595,000 for research per victim of pediatric AIDS and only $20,000 for each victim of childhood cancer.


The information from here to the end of this post was copied from an email. The main site is curesearch.org However there is a link below that will take you DIRECTLY to the place you'll quickly fill in your information and you'll have helped INSTANTLY!


Please help us pass the CONQUER CHILDHOOD CANCER ACT. This bill authorizes $30 million annually for five years to support pediatric cancer research. Imagine hearing your beloved son or daughter has cancer. 12,400 US families will hear these words each year. 35,000 US children are in active cancer treatment and 2,300 will die annually.

This is unacceptable when you consider we've spent 500 billion on a war overseas. 150 million over 5 years for the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act seems like a "drop in the bucket" in comparison. On the plus side, we have 52 wise senators supporting the CCCA. We need 8 more to reach 60, a majority to help pass this landmark legislation. Please honor those children that have been fighting for their lives and those who have earned their wings by taking 5 MINUTES to e-mail SENATORS that are NOT yet CO-SPONSORS. If this bill is not passed by 2008, it dies and we're back to square one.
Here is a list of states that need sponsors...Alabama (2), Alaska (2), Arizona (2), Colorado (2), Florida (2), Idaho (2), Iowa (2), Kansas (1), Louisiana (1), Maine (2), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), Montanna (2), Nevada (1), New Hampshire (2), North Dakota (2), Ohio (1), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (1), Pennsyvania (1), South Carolina (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (2), Texas (1), Utah (2), Virginia (1), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (2), Wyoming (2).


Click HERE to send a letter to your Member of Congress urging them to vote to pass the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. It will take LESS THAN 5 MINUTES.


If you have a CaringBridge site, blog, or myspace, please copy and paste this info to your site. If you know someone who lives in one of these states, copy and e-mail it to them. If you're feeling ambitious, lead a letter writing campaign in your state that needs co-sponsors. One grandma sent out thousands of copied letters to family/friends in other states. All they needed to do was sign the letter and mail it in.

"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." - William James (1842 - 1910)