an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie...or a three point sermon? The cookie comes with a listening ear, the sermon is often accompanied by a communication card that allows you to indicate what level of great you are doing (notice how there isn't a box for 'I'm struggling' or 'I just don't know what I believe'?). On this evening the girl I met in the foyer didn't need a three point sermon, she needed to know that someone cared about her and that she was okay.

James 1:27 reads: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." As I've pondered this during the past couple days I'm struck with the question of how organized religion, more specifically the church of America facilitate pure religion. Its a big question for my little mind, food for thought.

As a friend pointed out the other day, sometimes we don't set out to change the world either because we are overwhelmed or say well, I can't do this whole thing, so I don't do any at all. Or, because we are afraid of our potential and of what could really happen if we really surrendered our all to the Lord.

Choices are easy to blog about, but more challenging to live out.