Last week we went into a home where the owner of these proudly told us he was excited over his new pair of shoes.

Then his brother quickly ran into the other room to put on these shoes.  “These are my new shoes”, the little guy said.

Both boys paraded their shoes for Kelly, Scott, Dan and me. I knew this would haunt me later.

You see, God has got my number.  He knows that it bothers me to see children with bare feet running through the streets.  He knows it bothers me to see holes in the shoes of children.  He knows that it gets my heart when I see a child with mismatched shoes.   I have written posts on it and I have told stories about the shoes.  Its tangible poverty.  I can see it.  I come home to a closet of shoes I hardly wear and I am reminded of the fact that children around the world would simply love my leftovers.  Every trip I go on I see little feet tucked inside inadequate footwear.  I think about those little feet. As a mom, I just want to put these kids in a nice pair of shoes.  Maybe this sounds silly but its kind of my thing that gets me every time.  I found it ironic that on this trip two little boys would parade their shoes before me with pride.  Ok God..you know my heart and you know how this gets me, whats up?

I know that when I see poverty, God challenges me on my heart, my attitudes, my selfishness, my excessiveness.  He reminds me of His sacrifice and his love for me.  Over 2000 verses in the Bible address our responsibility to the poor.  Shaun Groves gave a statistic last week.  He said there are as many people who are obese as those that are starving.  So how many children are barefoot in the world and how many pairs of shoes are in all our closets?  Another interesting statistic that I have heard is that if everyone who attends church in America was willing to give away 1% of their income, we could alleviate the worlds worst poverty.  As for now here are simple ways you can make a difference

1) Sponsor a child.  Its $38 a month.

2) Make a one time donation to Compassion for other types of programs.  Check out all these funds from Malaria to micro-businesses (like chicken farms).

3) For $20 a month you can help a mother and a baby every month. Its a perfect program for you if you can’t afford the $38 a month sponsorship.  This program is vital in getting babies nourished and properly cared for in the early stages of life.  It literally is saving the lives of infants in areas where infant mortality is very high.