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This is long overdue . . . maybe because the right words are hard to craft; perhaps impossible. Nevertheless, it is more than worth the attempt to share with you about a most godly woman who has poured her life into mine for just over 40 years now. Her name is Sherry Barnard, but I call her mom.

She is the Proverbs 31 woman. Many women have done excellently–true. But my mom surpasses them all.  She has raised two boys: one who is pretty much perfect, and then there’s my brother. (It’s o.k. mom, I’m just getting back at Brandon for all the camp illustrations he has used me in.) Her career as a nurse never came before her family. As a matter of fact, after working for a well-known pediatrician for a period of time, she left the clinic and went to work as a school nurse so that she could be in the same school my brother and I attended. When we were out of school, she was at home with us. I’m not sure if she saw that as a good thing, but she is still sane to this day and the nervous twitch has diminished significantly.

Perhaps the most significant investment my mom has made in my life is one that cannot be measured this side of Heaven, but certainly is measured by the standards of such a celestial place. From the moment I first drew breath, and even before, I have been prayed over, and prayed for, and prayed through many things. In the difficult moments of my life, she gave wise counsel from a heart that overflowed with mercy. She was there when my heart was full of anger and resentment towards God; when I was running from Him and found myself waist deep in the prodigal’s pig pen. I still remember very vividly sitting on our plaid (ugly) couch in a drafty parsonage one night, and with tears in her eyes my mom said, “Shawn stop running.” And then she shared with me a verse that spoke deeply to me:  “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord . . .”  Acts 3:19-20 That was the beginning of the change that would soon happen in my life.

Time doesn’t allow me to tell you of all that I could about her . . . if there were such words.  But know this:  her smile is contagious; her sense of humor is hilarious; her attitude is optimistic; her charm is genuine; her presence is comforting; her friendship is priceless; her love is overwhelming; her faith is firm; her example is Christ-like; and her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

To know my mom is to know the beauty of God’s most valued creation, and the best He blesses us with in a godly woman.  Her name is Sherry, but I call her mom.

I love you mom.  Happy Mother’s Day!

In 2000, God began to stir in the heart of a pastor the need for a church in Kawama township in Kitwe, Zambia. Now, ten years later, Kawama Baptist Church has grown to 120 members . . . 100 of them having trusted Christ and followed in baptism. Pastor Richard Daka, one of the most humble men I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, has from the beginning put everything he has, literally, into the planting and growth of Kawama. With very little resources, but a strong belief in a God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all we can ask or imagine, Pastor Richard began to build a wooden structure which they are currently using for their place of worship. As you’ll see in the video and photos, it is a small space that barely keeps the rain out. Because they have grown, they have sought to build a church next to the existing one, as you’ll see in the video also.

For most of the 10 years of their existence, they have been saving money, making bricks by hand, and constructing their new church. But it is far from done because of their lack of money to finish it. They have some money that is currently being saved so they can put a roof on the church; but they are struggling to acquire the funds. They are in need of a slab floor so that they do not have muddy floors during the rainy season. The bottom line is simple: Kawama church is $5,000 (U.S.) from putting on a roof, pouring a slab and finishing their church building that has been in process for long enough. I’ve embedded a video of the church that I took while in Zambia recently. I wasn’t asked to do this by anyone, but have felt compelled by God’s Spirit to make an appeal to those who desire to invest in something bigger than themselves, that is eternally significant and Christ-exalting.

On this blog there is a place where you can donate via PayPal to the Kawama work. Because this is not a tax-exempt donation, some may be leary to give. All I have to give you is my word that 100% will go directly to Kawama and that 100% of those funds will be used exclusively for the completion of Kawama church. I trust Pastor Richard enough that I’m willing to place my integrity upon his. Once the funds have been raised I will re-post and any monies left over will go directly to the Chande Orphanage building project in Kitwe, Zambia (Ndeke township) . . . another reputable ministry with which I am working. Currently there are over 400 students in their school; most of whom are orphans. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me @ shawn.barnard@mac.com. Thank you for investing in kingdom work and making Christ famous in all the earth.

For His fame,

Shawn

I’ve seen the vastness and expanse of God’s creative genius . . . from the savanna’s of Africa, to the Sahara Desert; from the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea to the majesty of the French Alps.  But even with such glorious splendor that awes and inspires to the degree that mind cannot conceive words, nor pen write to paper, it doesn’t compare to the supremacy of Christ and the matchless and unfathomable glory of His kingdom.

We taste the appetizer when still the main course is yet to come–the anticipated marriage supper of the Lamb with the exalted Christ, fully in His presence.  But in this moment, tasting, we savor His goodness.  Just as His Word is my delight, so is the creative expression of His wonder.

There is a God, and all of creation is loudly making a declaration that is to His praise . . . for His fame and renown.

My heart is broken today for the people of Haiti.  Port au Prince, the capitol city of 2 million people, has been decimated according to news reports.  Perhaps you’ve seen the all-too-graphic images.  The death toll is rising; some reports are claiming as many as 50,000 have lost their lives, with another 3 million people injured or homeless according to a Red Cross official.   Of course, there is no way of knowing what the exact number is; they may never know exactly, but it’s tragic.  As a side note, the H1N1 “crisis” that has garnered the attention of our government and seemingly stirred a panic around the world, has accounted for 12, 799 deaths worldwide (19 of which have occurred in DFW)  . . . out of 6 billion people.  It has been labeled a pandemic.  I’m not making light of H1N1, but if that is a pandemic then what do you call the  Haitian earthquake?  To put it in perspective such an event  would be like eliminating 1/3 of the population of the city where I live, and affecting half of the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.

What makes this tragic is not just that people died, but that many, if not most, died without knowing Jesus Christ as Savior.  What a tragedy.  A heart cries out, “Why do these things happen?!  Why do children die, and why do an already downtrodden people suffer even more?!”  And God’s broken heart-cry resonates in the darkness of this world that sin has marred what He created as good.  But God, being rich in mercy and grace, has made a way for desperate, hopeless, downtrodden and broken people to find hope in Him . . . even in the midst of sin’s aftermath.  The garden of Eden may have been the epicenter of a Fall that would shake and shatter humanity, but the cross was the epicenter of a Holy quake that would tear the veil that separated man from God,  break sin’s shackles, and offer life and reconciliation with God through Christ His Son.  It is such hope and life that the people of Haiti need, but it must been seen and spoken through the activity of those of us who have the hope of Christ and whose hearts have been stirred to do something.  So what will you do?

You can give money.  Be careful to whom you give because there are some, to be sure, who will seek to profit off of another person’s suffering.  I’m choosing to give through the Baptist Global Response fund.  You can do so if you choose by going online to http://www.baptistglobalresponse.com/new/giving.php

Within the next several months teams who have disaster relief training will be needed to go and help in Haiti.  So what can you do now?  Put your “yes” on the table and be ready to go if God open’s that door for you.  Begin now getting a passport if you don’t have one.  Locate a group who is looking to be mobilized as the time comes.  And most importantly . . . pray that God would use you to be Jesus to Haiti.

I am thankful that our government is responding and even taking the lead in the relief effort.  My prayer is that Christ-followers will respond with as much fervor, and in doing so display the compassion and hope that is only found in Jesus Christ.  My challenge to all who read this is simple:  do something.

I’m not sure what you desire when it comes to knowing God, but I want a deeper understanding of who He is and of His ways.  I don’t want to be distant.  I don’t want to be superficial.  I don’t want to give Him a passing glance, or a Sunday morning nod.  I want to know Him.

I want to know this God who created me; who fashioned me with His own hands; who has put His very breath in me; who has ordained the days of my life; who orders my steps.  I want to know the God who knew me in my mother’s womb; who knows the number of hairs on my head; who knows me inside-out.  I want to know this God who wants a relationship with me and loves me so deeply and passionately that He would sacrifice His son for His glory and my salvation.  I want to know this God who desires to dwell in me and change me from the inside-out; who wants to use me to change the world for His glory, beginning with those closest to me and reaching the stranger around the world.  I want to know this God who sustains me, heals me, comforts me, provides for me, endures me, and never gives up on me; this God who leads me in this journey of life, who whispers words of kindness and wisdom.  I want to know this God who makes Himself knowable, accessible, approachable, and yet know this God who, at the same time, is perfectly holy, awesome in power, gloriously majestic, clothed in splendor, unmatched, incomparable, and eternal.  I want to know this God who has promised the glorious return of His Son, King Jesus who will make all things new and rescue me from this world to Himself and His heavenly kingdom; I want to know Him!

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”  –The apostle Paul (A radical Christ-follower)

There are a lot of things in this world that I just don’t get. For instance, dumb warning labels. Have you ever read any of these? A warning label on a chainsaw reads, “Do not attempt to stop chain with hands.” You think? Or how about this hair dryer label for all of you who are multi-taskers, “Do not use in the shower.” I’ll remember that one.

But, there is one more thing I don’t get: treadmills. If I’m going to exert that much energy, I want to get somewhere. Nonetheless, I must confess that, not only do I use one, but have learned an important life lesson from doing so.

Have you ever felt like your life is a lot like running on a treadmill? There is a lot of energy being exerted, but you’re going nowhere. Ever feel that way? Perhaps a snapshot of your life looks like this: You wake up, get ready for the day ahead, feed the kids, go to work, come home, clean the house, cook dinner, pay bills, watch T.V., go to bed, and then it begins all over again in the morning. And that’s your life. It’s what you do, and you go through the motions . . . and exist.

But isn’t there more to life than just existing? There is more to life. This longing inside to really live, and not just exist, is in every person. The question is how do you get there? I believe that you and I were created for the purpose of living, not existing. And because I believe that God is the Creator, living can’t happen apart from knowing God through His Son, Jesus. The Bible affirms that truth:  “Whoever has the Son (Jesus), has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.” (1 John 5:12)

It just makes sense. Knowing your purpose leads to living with purpose. You weren’t meant to just exist; you were created by the Life-giver to really live.  So, here’s to living life to the fullest and getting off the treadmill.

When I was a kid, I loved to eat Cracker Jack.  If you have no clue what I’m talking about, shame on you . . .just Google it.  But you need to know that Cracker Jack is as American as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and the car company formerly known as Chevrolet (see upcoming blog on my thoughts about Obama Motors).  As a matter of fact, July 5th is Cracker Jack Day for all of you who are keeping track at home . . .I”m sure there are millions of you.

Eating Cracker Jack is like a party in your mouth, but that’s not the point; it’s about the prize in the box.  The caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts are good, but there’s something more.  Every box of Cracker Jack has a prize:  the Bozo tattoo; the decoder ring that doesn’t fit; baseball stickers; a small Chihuahua.  Ok, maybe not the Chihuahua, but how cool would that be?  It really doesn’t matter what the toy is; it’s the excitement of opening the box, digging through the popcorn, opening the prize and seeing what you got that makes it fun.  But you have to work for it, so to speak.  You have to unfold, dig, and unwrap to find the prize.

I think King David would’ve loved Cracker Jack, but then again who wouldn’t?  Here’s what David wrote in Psalm 119:30: “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:30 (ESV)  David understood what it meant to unfold God’s words and to dig deeply into what He was saying, knowing that the prize was understanding, wisdom, direction, knowledge, and truth.

What would happen, if instead of just casually reading God’s word, you began to ask God to help you unfold it?  What if you began to not only enjoy the sweetness of God’s truth–“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103–but made it a discipline to unwrap, and dig deeper to find the treasure of what God is saying?  What a waste to read God’s word and walk away with a sweetness in your mouth, but empty of all the treasures of truth He wants you to discover and hide in your heart.

Savor His words, but don’t miss the prize.

I think I’m going to go get some Cracker Jack.