Winning Words 9/2/11
“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” (Gandhi) My theology says that god is whatever is most important in my life. I know what it is to say, “I believe in God, Father, Son and Spirit,” but I don’t know what it is to be so hungry that a crust of bread becomes my god. I must not ignore those requests from my Church for World Hunger funds. ;-) Jack

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: Thanks for these WW that help us to discern what to do each day in a world desparate to know Jesus.////FROM JACK: Well, it does seem to be a desperate world.

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE: Another good 'un.////FROM JACK: Any one that causes me to "do" somethin' is a good 'un. I must not forget to remember those who are hungry.////MORE FROM HAWKEYE: We help support Food for the Poor, an interdenominational outreach to the Caribbean area. They only have 4% overhead! The closest I've seen to that is an amazing 6%. Very efficient use of money.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: When I visited the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. a couple of years ago, an elderly (attractive, beautifully dressed) woman survivor of the holocaust spoke to us, saying,"You probably had lunch, and are looking forward to a nice dinner", so you will likely never understand how you can be so hungry, that you would do almost ANYTHING for a crust of bread: and recounted some instances of that happening in her camp. She weighed 72 lbs. when they were liberated. In fact, she married one of the U.S .soldiers (Jewish) that liberated the camp, eventually. She was not a bit overweight, but said she would never take for granted having enough food, and food banks for the homeless was high on her charity list. We've seen some lean times, but we have no idea what it is to be really hungry, do we?! Good WW!////FROM JACK: There are so many things that we take for granted. It distresses me that we can be so focused in on picayune things.

FROM BF IN MICHIGAN: Great message and important reminder!////FROM JACK: Some people tie a string on their finger. Some people read Winning Words.

FROM JB IN MICHIGAN: I lost one of my best friends this week to a heart attack at age 50. His name is Jim Gleeson and please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. ////FROM JACK: Eventually, something is more important, even than bread...the end of life. "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" We trust our loved ones and ourselves into the eternal care of a God of love. May the life of Jim be a blessing.

FROM GOOD DEBT JON: I like this one.////FROM JACK: I chose it, because it gave a definition of God that made me say, "I've never thought of it that way before."

FROM CS IN MICHIGAN: Maybe god is now appearing to the starving children in sommalia in the form of plumpy nut, an amazing answer to improving severe malnutrition. It is made by a French manufacturer. You can google it. It's miraculous if they can get it to the children in time. Always enjoy your daily "words"//// FROM JACK: There are ways to feed the hungry, and I'm sure they would be found faster if we were able to feel the pangs of hunger as the Somalis do.