Child Hunger

Jesus said "You will always have the poor among you." (John 12:8) Deuteronomy 15:7-8 says "If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs."

I think maybe there maybe hope for those of us trying to do good in the world. You see, sometimes it is overwhelming when you think of trying to change the world for good. Certainly you can't end child hunger or poverty. Sometimes Christians cite Jesus' words as proof we will never win the war. Maybe that is just too pessimistic. True, we may always have the poor amongst us, but there is a long way from poor to starvation and poverty. If we embraced the Deuteronomy passage, maybe, just maybe we could end poverty and child hunger.

We have a ways to go, but if Coke can have a vision to have every person in the world drink a Coke, certainly we can have a vision to end hunger...for good.

Articles of interest:

Herald Tribune

Reuters

The Louisiana Weekly

The Toronto Star

Re-Invention

Invention of something new, notwithstanding Solomon's perspective on such matters, is extraordinary. Some of the TV shows that deal with inventors on the Golf Channel and on network television show how difficult it is to come up with something new.

I had lunch with a creative friend the other day and he touched on that. He, unlike me, has been highly successful at inventing and re-inventing himself many times.

I will say, however, that I think I am finally doing one or the other on this new CD project, even as it pertains to my musicianship. One friend that heard a rough mix said she thought I had finally captured "my" sound. I think so too.

Anyway I wil keep working towards the release, looking forward to it.

How to save the world

Ok, so this blog will not actually outline how to save the world. In a sense it is a day in the life blog. Many of my readers know my new day job is develop relationships and resources that will help feed children in Canada and around the world. It ends up being much more than that. You can't feed sick children very well, and so if their life can be saved you give them medicine and then the food sticks as it were. Sometimes you help get them clean and healthy and keep them healthy, but the bottom line is to help them reach a baseline existence that is so far below our expectations it still seems like desperate poverty to us.

The story is simple, and the actions aren't clever. They are simple. But we live in a complex developed society with market leaders in raising money - and of course we still have massive world child hunger. Sadly we still have incredible Canadian child hunger. I just want to buy them food, hook them up with a loving church community and say, ok now, get better. But it isn't that simple is it. The great divide between church, state and the poor is massive. Yes we have Salvation Army and bright spots of hope through other successful churches in some communities. But the church is shrinking, its influence is shrinking, and the need is getting bigger.

So what is the innovation. In a world with staggering technology, the ability to communicate clearly and quickly (this blog is at least quick), how is it that we cannot actually as a Christ following people transform communties with lavished love. How can the x thousand of Christians from all denominations etc. not join to love every poor person into health, every orphan into family, every terminally ill person to their maker. I am cursed? with the utopian thought that we can and should. Moreover we must.

We have leaders studying to be better leaders and not learning that humility is what they lack most of all. I still marvel that the findings of Jim Collins the secular leadership guru were that great leaders possessed two qualities: humilty, and an unquenchable thirst to see the vision accomplished.

God help me find a way to do much, much more.

So it has hit

A new template on the blog and a whole new website. Check out, and preferably buy!, my songs from the latest CD on iTunes and songs from The Apartment Sessions on cTunes.

The latest CD is Noticing the Sky, so not brand new for those who have been following for a while. Still a new CD in the works, always updates as they happen.