As I got news yesterday about the earthquake in Haiti and eventually saw images and heard reports about the casualties, my heart was paralyzed. I mean, I thought about . . . .

The devastation

The rubble

The bodies

The blood

The fear in people’s eyes

The poverty

The absence of food, water and shelter

The uncertainty that comes with nightfall

The staggering number and volume of the loss of life

What could I do amidst so much death and disaster? Maybe you feel the same way. You know, feeling paralyzed because the situation seems so hopeless,  and you wonder how can your little contribution help the situation. This is often the case when tragedy strikes, and it is so overwhelming that we don’t know what to do. In not knowing what to do, we settle for doing nothing and idle hearts and hands can only make things worse. Well, I don’t want you to let emotional paralysis prevent you from doing something. Do something! What Haiti needs now is our prayers and monetary resources.

Here is a list of legitimate organizations to which you can give. Also, my good friend Milan Ford is donating a percentage of the proceeds from his recently published best-selling book. Purchase a copy for the thought-provoking content, but also because your purchase will help bring relief to the devastation in Haiti.

Here are some other things you can do:

1. Fast during lunch, breakfast or dinner (or all three meals), and spend that time praying for the people in Haiti.
2. Take a portion of the money you would have spent on clothes, a new tech toy, or groceries and donate it to one of the organizations listed
3. Turn your next small group, elders or management team meeting into a call to action
4. Pray with and for Haitian-born U.S. citizens
5. Pray for wisdom and strength for pastors, priest and missionaries who are attempting for serve and comfort
6. Talk with your kids about the devastation and have them pray for the kids in Haiti
7. Volunteer to go and be part of the ground relief team (I’m thinking and praying about that and talking it over with Tonia)

Don’t let this moment pass without you and your family engaging. God is near the brokenhearted and he comes near them through us.

Do something!

What are some other ways you can help bring comfort and relief to the people and land of Haiti?

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1. Repent of our stinginess and be more generous 
2. Use food wisely at parties, reunions and open houses (take extra or leftover food to a homeless shelter) 
3. Have a family garage sale and give the proceeds to a cause fighting poverty, shelter or food bank
4. Serve at a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen, as a family
5. Meet and get to know people of all socioeconomic levels
6. Make one “poor meal” a month in your home (eat a very, very, very simple meal to remind your family that for many people such a meal is not an unpleasant reality that happens once a month. It is a way of life). 
7. Become actively involved in causes fighting and decreasing poverty – One, Samaritan’s Purse,, Plumpynut
8. Change your lifestyle – Live more simply
9. Start a family charity box or coffee can, where you put extra change, money you would spend for coffee or fast food. Each month determine what charity, shelter, or poor person the money will go to. 
10. Be homeless for a day or night
11. Adopt a child or children
12. Take a homeless person to dinner and actually sit and talk with him/her
13. Skip a weekly trip to the grocery store and donate money to a poor single mother, shelter, or food bank
14. Talk with your children about poverty and its affects
15. Avoid overconsumption
16. Fight injustice and oppression – in schools, among women, people of color, etc.
17. Get involved with Tabitha’s Closet 
18. Invite friends to watch a documentary on poverty and how it affects the futures of poor people
19. Give people what they really need and lack; don’t give stuff away just to be kind or to not feel guilty
20. Educate yourself on at least one aspect of poverty over the next month 

I know we will always have poor people in our world. This simply means we have more opportunities to bless them with our generosity. What are some other do you think we can make poverty history in our world? 

Don’t forget to leave a comment. Later this week I will let you know what organization we’ve chosen and how much we will be contributing. Thanks for your partnership. Grace and peace.

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