GOD IS NUDGING

God has put something on my heart, and it has been sitting there for a long time.  It has drifted out of my mind from time to time and sat there dormant, and then all of the sudden it comes screaming back making me listen.  I am not sure exactly how to move with this nudge, but I feel I must move.  Honestly it is completely daunting, unrealistic, scary, crazy, etc., etc., etc.....that's how I know it's from God.   A few years ago, my church did a sermon series on simplifying Christmas.  One of the stats that my pastor shared was how much money it would take to provide clean water to everyone in the world....and let me tell you it's a lot.  In 2008 when I first heard this quote, it was $10 billion; and I thought....that is A LOT.  That is until I heard this number, $450 billion; and then I became sick to my stomach.  Can you guess what the $450 billion was spent on in 2008?  I dare say you won't believe it, because I still have trouble wrapping my brain around it; and I bet it's even more in 2013.  In 2008, Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas stuff....not helping homeless, sick, malnourished, starving, orphaned, no drinking water people....but on STUFF!  Since that day, I realized that even though $10 billion is a lot....it's really not that much in comparison to other stuff we waste spend our money on.  I have struggled and struggled with this.  As I said, it's been on my heart sitting for a long long time.  When I think to myself....What can I do to help solve this water issue?  I immediately follow up that thought with this thought....I can't do anything.  I'm one person, and I can't come up with $10 billion alone.  Then I am reminded of Rich Stearn's book "The Hole In Our Gospel" and how in so many instances...one person changed the lives of many with one small purchase or act of obedience.  Recently I find myself wondering this....What would happen if my church, your church, our church, the non-churched, believers, non-believers, whoever wanted to started a huge fundraising campaign to raise money for the least of these...the homeless, sick, malnourished, starving, orphaned or no drinking water people?  People helping people if you will.  What if we started with trying to raise as much as we could to provide clean drinking water to everyone we could?  Could we do it?  If we reached out to enough people, could we do it?  Could we do it?  I have this odd feeling that we could, and that is why God keeps telling me..."YOU have to start somewhere!"  I just finished reading 7 by Jen Hatmaker.  One of my favorite quotes from her was this...."Obedience is not a lack of fear.  It's just doing it scared!" Pray!