As families, we're blessed to be a BLESSING!

Think for a moment about how different your life would be if you were born in a land isolated from God and filled with extreme poverty, sickness, and disease. What would it be like if you were born in an area where praying to an idol or giving homage to an ancestor was your only hope? What if constant fear of evil spirits consumed your life? Wouldn't you want someone to share God's life-giving message of salvation with you?

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TODAY!!! January 22, 2010:  It's not too late to participate!  Through your prayers, your family can be a blessing to those who are HURTING and those who are HELPING in Haiti. Join together with other Christian believers from across the globe in today's WORLD PRAYER & FASTING DAY for Haiti. (click for more info...)

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We have received God's light, but it is not just for us. As Christians, we are called to shine God's light in the darkness.

For those of us who live in devoloped countries, we need to realize how much God has blessed us.

• We are blessed! - Every day we enjoy clean, hot running water -- without a thought.
• We are blessed! - Our typical meals often include ingredients from all around the world: fruit from California and the Polynesian islands, olive oil from Italy and the Middle East and perhaps coffee from Columbia (just try looking at your food labels for a few days). We eat better than the ancient kings!
• We are blessed! - Most of us, with only a few quick calls to a credit card company and a local travel agency, could likely travel next month to any destination in the world if we really wanted to (not that I'm advocating debt, but if reaching people is our piority, our budgets can be made to accommodate).

God has given us the greatest "Good News" of all time and a job description to "Get this news out!" He has given us an abundance of resources to accomplish the task and a challenge that "To whom much is given, from him much will be required" (Luke 12:48).

As Hudson Taylor, missionary to China said, "The Great Commission is not an option to consider. It is a command to obey." 

This article is excerpted from The Mission-Minded Child - Raising a New Generation to Fulfill God's Purpose, by Ann Dunagan (Authentic, 2007). To challenge you and your family to become more mission-minded and eternally-focused, you're invited to "Take the 40-Day Mission-Minded FAMILY CHALLENGE!"  - available FREE online at Harvest Ministry - with daily 5-minute motivational videos.