Challenge 1- October, 2009

Alright y'all here we go.

Challenge #1.

Are you ready???

This month's theme is prayer.

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Romans 12:10-12

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Matthew 18:19-20

For the next 30 days I'm committing to purposeful prayer for the orphans. God has shown me more and more recently the power of prayer, and how many precious opportunities I missed in the past because of my unbelief. I now see just how important that sweet union with Christ is when we come before Him, praise Him for who He is, and petition.

So for the month of October I am going to the feet of Jesus on behalf of these precious children.

There have been many times I have taken the plight of the orphans and refused to surrender, refused to trust them into the Father's arms, even though they were His to begin with.

I want to believe in God's plan for these children. I want to bring them to His feet in prayer- their past wounds, their present care, their futures, their adoptive families, the governments that are so messed up, the paperwork that holds them in bondage. What better place to put them into the arms of the Father who loves them more than I ever could??

31 days of prayer for these kids. Are you with me??

Welcome!!

Welcome!!! I am so glad you have stopped in and taken a peek to see what's going on here at This Next Generation. I have created this blog because I have a vision and a conviction. I believe that we are called to do something more for God's kingdom than we already are. I believe that we, guys and girls, old and young, are called to do something NOW. I believe that the call we have been given in James 1:27 that says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." is a command for everyone. There are 143 million orphans in this world and it breaks my heart to look at their faces and hold them in my arms. My life was turned around after I went to Guatemala in March of 2007. Since then I have gone back 3 times and plan on returning many more, hopefully someday with a little one in my arms. :) Yet... I am ashamed to look at my life and see how little I sacrifice for them.

I have a vision of people from THIS generation- teens and young adults- joining together for the orphans. I have a dream that God would burden many more hearts for these children, light many more fires, give people more passion for adoption and plight of the fatherless.

I don't know how it will happen, or when, or what it will look like. But I just know that there is more than this, and that God is calling me to much more than I am giving right now. So for now I just know that He has called me to start this blog, an idea He put in my head several months ago. Each month, I will present a challenge to myself that will make me be more mission-minded and orphan-focused. I'm asking you to join with me. The first one won't be too painful I promise, :) and I will be writing about that sometime this week, in time for me to start doing it on the first of the month.

I believe that there are people out there who will join together for these children. I believe that all it takes is God placing a burden on the hearts of His people. I believe that the Church was created for unity, and through that unity are we able to serve and minister together. I am hopeful of what God is going to do in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. In the end, may He be glorified.