Road Trip Playlist 2014 #8

Review of June 12...

This will be brief because there was not much activity yesterday except driving across the desert.  I arrived at North Hills Church of God mid-afternoon to meet up with my generous host, Pastor Jim Davey, who also serves on the Heart for Lebanon board.  I knew Jim from his days of leading the national youth ministry.  I asked if I could stay with him rather than get a hotel.  I didn't realize that the H4L meetings were not necessarily in Phoenix, but south of the city in Chandler.  The distance from Jim in North Phoenix is about an hour drive!  Oh well, this gives us a lot of time to catch up and learn more about each other's ministries.  I've always appreciated Jim's heart for people and it is great to hear about North Hills because Keli and I spent a summer serving this congregation as interns back in 1994.

We had a dinner with the board last night, and it was good to get some of the initial reports discussed, which were full of great news on a lot of good work done by H4L.  There is much to discuss today, but first, it's time for the playlist...

Disclaimer: 

The views, opinions, antics, and behavior of <insert artist name here>

or those same represented within their song <insert song title here>

or of their record label, affiliates, or any other fan base

are NOT necessarily the views, opinions, antics or behavior of the Oldham Family,

Three Worlds, Church of God Ministries, Church of God doctrine,

or any other related Christian or organization;

it's merely a song, on a blog post, 

so read the rest of the post to find out what strange meaning Ken is drawing from it. :)

and now..., continuing with the 2014 Playlist...

Working with Heart for Lebanon can be tough because you are constantly faced with poverty, sadness, brokenness, and increasing need with diminishing resources.  It's so difficult to process for many how severe the Syrian refugee crisis has become, especially in Lebanon; founder Camille Melki and COO Tom Atema put some points together that help put it in context:

- every 2.5 seconds another Syruan crosses the border into Lebanon

- the concentration of refugees in Lebanon is the greatest concentration of refugees anywhere in the world

- one out of every four persons in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee

- there has begun a new wave of Iraqi refugees due to recent events there

And this is just some of what could be written.

It can be overwhelming.  But, Someday, we are going to see an end to this; someday, we will see an end to these earthly issues and be welcomed into heavenly grandeur where every tear will be wiped away.

Someday.  Until then, get up each day, and make today better around you--through your smile, your kindness, your patience, your love, make today the someday someone has been hoping for...

Rob Thomas' hit song, "Someday"...