the Statistics are Staggering.

• 1 Billion very important people lack access to clean water. (Although we don't know them personally, are they really less valuable than we are?) They drink from polluted lakes and streams where animal waste, human waste, and parasites infect the water.
• Women and children walk 2 hours each way to fetch water (hauling dirty water back to their families.) They have no time or energy left for education or small business, and many of them die.
• Preventable water related diseases kill 4 children every minute.. Imagine if that many precious ones were dying in the U.S.!
  

  CHOLERA KILLS! (learn more)
  GUINEA WORM CRIPPLES! (learn more)
  TRACHOMA BLINDS! (learn more)
  

• 25,000 people lose their lives to water-related illnesses every single day.
  

  The Solution is Simple.  All they need is a well!
  

  As little as $10 can provide one person with a lifetime supply of clean water.
  You can provide that money without dipping into your savings, without affecting your contributions to churches and other charities. Instead, you can effectively get restaurants and grocery stores to make a contribution for you. Here's how:
  

  Go deeper with The 1000 Wells Project!

• For 2 weeks Sunday, January 8th -Sunday, January 21st make water your only beverage.

• Contribute the money you would have spent at the soda machine and coffee shop toward the
  drilling of clean water wells on Sunday, January 21st in Bible Class.
  

• You are going to learn more about this project in your Bible Classes on Sunday, January 8th.
  

  Is it a sacrifice to give up your milk, coffee, soda, etc. for 2 weeks? Yes!
  Will you be changing someone else's life forever? Absolutely.

I got an e-mail from IJM this week giving me an update about the benefit dinner I went to a few weeks ago.  It stated that they have raised over $89,000!  Praise God!  One of the things you may not know about discinctly it is a theirinctly Christian Organization.  They are doing what they are doing because of God's work in their life.  They are freeing people from slavery around the world because that is what God calls us to do in this world.  Thanks again for partnering with us this past year to help free others from slavery. 

YOU HAVE ONE LIFE . . . DO SOMETHING

  Today is the Winter Solstice.  In other words it is the shortest day of the year.  That means the sun will set about 2:00 in the afternoon, or at least it feels like it.  I don't know about you, but I am not a big fan of the Winter Solstice.  I am the kind of guy that much prefers the Summer Solstice.  I love the sun.  I might be one of those guys who suffers just a bit from Seasonal Affect Disorder (aka SAD).  SAD is a disorder where people get depressed when they don't get enough sunlight in their day.  Now I wouldn't say I get depressed, but I sure do miss the sunlight, I don't like it when it is dark so early, and I love the sun (have I said that already?)  Anyways, I don't think I have any deep theological point relating to the winter solstice, but I am going to ask God about it when I get to heaven and ask WHY?


CLICK HERE to learn more about the Winter Solstice or go to your local library.

LIVE FROM THE !!!

This week's show is a live broadcast from Gilroy.  Thomas (aka Bill Franken) tries to get random interviews on the street as he continues his campaign for mayor of Thomasville, we call Bethany Hall at work, we try to interview the security guards at Girlroy,  and much, much, more!!!!

CLICK HERE to see PHOTOS from the gala event


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If you want to stream the show CLICK HERE. Get it by clicking on the Attachment link below:

What a great week of Christmas activities! We started it all off with Christmas Sanctuary on Wednesday night where we worshipped in the cold, had hot coco, and celebrated the birth of Jesus and the last week of Advent.

Friday night we had the High School Christmas Party complete with all sorts of games, a chocolate fondue fountain, Shout Out the Movies and just plain hanging out. 

Then on Saturday we headed up to the San Francisco Rescue Mission to be a part of their Christmas Meal Delivery.  We helped put together and deliver 3500 meals that the mission was distributing to their neighborhood.  We braved the cold, wind and rain and it was worth it.

Sunday night we had a great time at the Junior High Christmas Party playing board games, eating great food and having an all in all great time.

CLICK HERE for pictures of Christmas Sanctuary

CLICK HERE for pictures of the High School Christmas Party

CLICK HERE for pictures of the SFRM Service Day

CLICK HERE for a video of Adam performing at the SFRM

CLICK HERE for pictures from the Junior High Christmas Party

Thank you to all of you who worked so hard decorating, cleaning, helping, hosting, driving, chaperoning, participating in these events to help make them such a success.  Lots of great memories.

So this past Thursday I got the opportunity to go Snowboarding for the first time this season. It was one of those top 10 days a person gets to go snowboarding.  There were only about 200 people on the mountain, the sky was crystal blue, there were clouds covering the Reno desert so it looked as if we were on top of the world, Lake Tahoe was as blue as ever.  When you went down a run you were usually the only person on that run.  It was amazing.  It was some Good Stuff.

One of the things that I have learned about myself this year is that there is a certain connection that I have with the outdoors. When I was in Maui I connected with the ocean through surfing and diving, I connected with the land through hikes through the rainforest.  When I am boarding I connect with the mountain.  I don't mean to sound all He-Man Naturalist.  In reality I think I am somewhat the opposite.  I do enjoy sitting on my couch indoors a lot.  But I am starting to think that I do too much of that after some of my experience this year.  I do want to spend more time outdoors this next year.  More time camping, hiking in the middle of nowhere, more time at the ocean enjoying the waves, more time just sitting in my backyard enjoying the sun shine.

I do think there is something very theological in connecting with nature.  I think that is part of our spiritual DNA that God wove into us as humans.  I think when God created the Earth, he wove into our very fabric a connection with nature.  Look at Genesis 1 and the command that we are to take care of the creation.  That is our duty.  But I do think that when God did look back on His creation that his declaration of "It was God," (i.e. “Good Stuff”) is also meant as a license for us to totally enjoy his creation as we take care of it.  So I encourage you to take some time this week to enjoy the outdoors.  Take a walk down your street, sit in your backyard to read, go to a local park and hang out, take a day trip to Santa Cruz of Half Moon Bay and watch the waves roll in for a few hours, look at the stars at night and be reminded of the God of this universe, enjoy this gift of God for your enjoyment and be reminded that this is “Good Stuff”

I took the girls to see Narnia last weekend.  We has a truly amazing time.  Abby had a smile on her face for most of the film and it was a joy just watching her watch the movie.  So there was only one thing that frustrated me– Aslan. I think the movie really missed on Aslan’s character. The quote is true… Aslan is kind… but not tame. In this move, Aslan seemed tame. Too small. Too manageable. When he talked, I felt like I was at a puppet show. I think Lewis’ Aslan is much bigger, more wild, a blur.

So how can a movie miss on the central character? In contrast, I thought the white witch (Tilda Swinton) was incredible. She was portrayed as one with limitations except in her cruelty.

Do you think that we, as people, are more capable of creating a more believable evil than a believable good? If so, why?

The question scares me a bit. It scares me to think, what we are capable of... and how much more “natural” it is to create hell than heaven on earth.

And the only finger I’m pointing is in the direction of my own heart.

This week's show includes a phone call to Jackie, a visit to Critters Corner, and tons of other Christmas Music.  Enjoy!!!

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This past Wednesday, I met another hero of mine.  Her name is Elizabeth.  She grew up in China.  When she finished her sophomore year, her aunt sold her into slavery in Malaysia.  I went to a benefit dinner hosted by the International Justice Mission (IJM) where I got to hear more of the IJM story, but more importantly, Elizabeth's story. 

She told the story of travelling with her aunt and being excited by the sights of the new places she got to see.  The whole time she was traveling, she had no idea that she was going to be sold into the sex trade by her own family member. 

Through her tears she told of starving herself and fighting off her oppressors until finally giving in and starting a life in a brothel.  It was heart wrenching.

What makes Elizabeth a hero of mine was that as she told of her time in the heart of the brothel living life as a sex slave, she testified of her total dependence on God.  She spoke of how she prayed for God to save her and take her away from this.  She was authentic in the way she also would questions Why?  Why Go would make her go through this.

But God did hear her prayers.

God did rescue her through the efforts of IJM.

Her dream now is to become a social worker and to study Bible.  She wants to go back to her home and serve others, and help others from serving the same fate shoue could still be.

How can someone in such dire straits still depend on God?

You would think they would have no use for Him in the midst of such horrible strocities.  But Elizabeth didn't.  Elizabeth could and did still depend on God throug the valley of the Shadow of death. 

I sit her in my woram home, surrounded by so many creature comforts, hearing my girls sleeping in their room and Amy working around the house and I think, Why not me?  Why am I not one of the 24 million people who are in some form of slavery today?

Why did God choose me to live in such freedom with such material blessings?

Thank you for your support of IJM this past year.  As a minsitry YOU donated over $450 to the work of IJM.  We are going to have another season in 2006 where you can help donate to help free people like Elizabeth from sexual slavery.  Be in prayer for hte mission of IJM and what they are doing.  Check out more about IJM by going to www.IJM.org.

You have one life . . . DO Something.

This week's show includes a series of phone calls to Erin, Kyle and Cory as well as Pizooki News and favorite Cheesecake Flavors and much, much, more!!!!

CLICK HERE if you have iTunes and want to automatically have the podcast downloaded. Just click the SUBSCRIBE button.

CLICK HERE to LEARN how to have iTunes AUTOMATICALLY download the Audio Show to your computer for FREE..

If you want to stream the show CLICK HERE. Get it by clicking on the Attachment link below: