Waterworld

By Jay Cookingham (Soulfari)

"Filthy water cannot be washed." - African Proverb

Depending on our body size, our bodies contain 55% to 75% water. Experts suggest that approximately two liters (around seven glasses) of water a day is the minimum to maintain proper hydration and health.

Our bodies are walking, breathing water worlds.

Today many kids will die because the water in their world is unfit to drink. They will die from waterborne illnesses that are cause by drinking dirty, contaminated water.

charity: water reports it this way...

4,500 children die each day from diseases caused by a lack of safe drinking water and proper sanitation. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a baby’s chance of dying from diarrhea is almost 520 times greater than here in the US. Illnesses like diarrhea are caused by drinking contaminated water and kill more than 2.2 million people each year. That’s the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing every day. Children under five are the most susceptible to water-borne disease; their developing bodies often fail to withstand the amount of parasites normally found in contaminated water sources. 

God reports on it this way:

"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." (Isaiah 41:17)

God’s heart is moved and so should ours. Let’s not forsake them.

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Just $20 can give one-person access to clean water. Pray and then please go and support the 30-Day project over at charity: water.

God bless you…Jay

I was born and raised in Poughkeepsie, New York, just about 80 miles north of the Big Apple. My family and I live in Hyde Park, New York, the former home of Franklin Roosevelt, but I didn't let that stop us from living there. Seriously, it's a real nice town, rich with history. My wife Christine and I have been happily married for 28 years and have seven (yes seven) children, five boys and two girls. I am passionate about my relationships, with God and my family, they are the fuel for my creativity and the drive to finish strong.

Water For Life

By Alan

"Water, Water, Everywhere and not a drop to drink."

Samuel Coleridge wrote "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" and spoke those famous words, talking about being at sea and surrounded by undrinkable sea water. Imagine the frustration of those sailors, dying of thirst, but unable to partake of billions of gallons in water surrounding them.

For the very short period of time when I was in Mexico with others building simple housing, I had to be constantly aware of water. We were forced to drink water when our bodies told us it wasn't needed. We often had heat stroke cases among our team for those that forgot. We had to truck our own drinkable water in with us, because, as we were constantly reminded, the local water was safe for those that were locally raised, but potentially quite harmful to our non-locally raised bodies. We still had to use local water to mix concrete and stucco for walls, and it was often tempting to just splash it into our mouths to cool off the desert heat. But that would have been risky at the least, and dangerous at the worst. Water, but not to drink.

Most of us reading online with Internet connections have never encountered anything like real thirst or life threatening dehydration. We live in a world of privilege, where drinkable water is not only a common thing, we trivialize it. We use pure clean water to drink, prepare food, wash our face and hands, or wash our dishes. But, we also use that same pure water for washing the dog, watering the lawn, washing the car, or even just running down the drain because we aren't bothering to use it right now.

How many people in this world can afford to waste pure water?

God has known this all along. The role of water is such a basic fundamental understanding throughout the Bible, that it continues as a theme from the beginning to the end.

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Summer Rain

By Lauren D

I went on a mission trip to Tennessee with my church youth group last summer. We worked on several houses that belonged to eldery and low-income families. We spent the week painting, cleaning, clearing debris, and making repairs. After one of our work days, we went back to where we were staying to take showers and get out of our work clothes. When everyone was done, we went outside to play Frisbee until it was time to meet up with the leaders and go to dinner and Chapel.

After about ten minutes of play time, we were hit by one of those summer downpours. It felt so good just running around without a care in the world, it was amazing. The rain eventually started slowing down and then came to a stop, all of the teens were sitting in a circle on top of a hill. We started talking about what a blessing water is. One of the other things we were doing while on this trip was collecting money for a charity that builds wells all around the world. We spent some time wondering how many lives could be saved by bottling up the water from just one rainy day.

I think we get too used to having water whenever we want it. We don't appreciate what a real blessing it is. Not only can we drink as much as we want, we don't have to worry about getting sick from drinking it. My friends and I agreed to hold each other accountable for not wasting water all during this trip, and even after we got home. We agreed to try and continue to support people who are bringing clean water to those who don't have it.

So here I am, asking you to help Ginny and her friends this month as they try to raise money for charity: water. So that they can go build some more wells for families who don't have clean water. Ask yourself... then go and ask all of your friends and family:

How important it is to you to have clean water?

Then ask yourself (and others) how much you could sacrifice to help to provide that same blessing for other people around the world. It doesn't matter what the dollar amount is. Every little bit helps. You may only be able to give a few dollars, but if you can get all of your friends and family to donate, too, all together it can really add up.

Go. I challenge you to make a difference in the life of a family. Be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Lauren is finishing her freshman year in high school. She loves drama, music, crazy nails, frogs and anything green. She's not a "get your hands in the dirt and dance with bugs" kind of person, but if you need someone to love on your kids or scrub your walls, she's your girl. Like most teens, her life pretty much revolves around school work and friends, but she has a huge heart for Jesus and takes every opportunity to serve His kingdom.

Filling the Pool

By Michelle (Graceful, Faith in the Everyday)

Last week as temperatures soared into the 90s we spread a plastic tarp on the backyard grass, hauled the electric pump out of the basement and inflated the kids’ pool. We upgraded this year. A couple of weeks ago we trolled the aisles of Menards until we found a suitable pool – one that’s  a step or two up from the standard kiddie pool but yet  can still squeeze into our postage-stamp backyard.

The kids danced around the blue lagoon as freezing water sloshed from the hose into the pristine plastic. It took several hours for the pool to fill to the top – 3,463 gallons in all – but it wasn’t until the pool was completely full that we noticed the problem. Because of the slight slope in our yard, the pool was uneven. Unfortunately, the filter side of the pool happened to be the shallower side, so instead of sucking in water, the filter wheezed air, straining the motor and threatening to burn out.

There was only one viable solution: drain the pool and move it to a flatter spot.

So that’s what we did. Granted, we used a few buckets to water the plants and flowers in our yard. And the water we drained from the pool was useful for the grass. But still, while the pool drained and as it filled again with another 3,463 gallons of water, I couldn’t help but think about how that water could have been used much more productively in many parts of the world. How those few thousand gallons might have saved actual human lives.

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One Word At A Time: Farm

By Ginny (MAD21)

This post is a participant in a blog carnival over at Peter Pollock's place.
After you finish here, be sure to go and check out what everyone else wrote on: Farm.

I have personally never lived on a farm. But I grew up in an area that was primarily farm land so I had lots of friends who did. My best friend, for example, lived about 45 minutes away from me. On the only road between us were your standard crops growing pretty much year round, but there were also two particular farms where over the years, we mastered the art of holding our breaths. The first one was the pig farm. I personally think nothing except perhaps chickens and a sugar factory (from beets) stink more than a pig farm <blech!>. But it was a small farm so it wasn't hard to hold our breaths until we were past the smell. But then there was the second farm... I don't remember how many acres Mr. Simplot owned on that particular farm, let's just say it seemed like miles, and miles, and miles... of STEER. On a day with comfortable temperatures it wasn't a big deal to drive by this farm, it smelled, but you could tolerate it for the 10 minutes or so it took you to pass the area. However, on hot and rainy days... that was a whole other story. Ya, we never mastered holding our breaths long enough to get past the smell on those days.

My dad grew up in eastern Idaho on a farm. He spent his entire youth tending the fields (no animals much to my disappointment). There are a few things I remember my dad talking about regarding farm life from his perspective: he HATED overalls (because he was forced to wear them all the time); he was never allowed to plow the ground for new planting because for some reason he couldn't ever drive in lines straight enough for my grandfather or my uncle; and it was HARD work.

Aside from hearing endless farming stories, having fresh fruit and veggies available during the various seasons, the one thing I liked most about growing up around farm land in Idaho was irrigation. I know that is an odd thing like about living near farms, but think about it from a child's perspective... what more could you ask for during the long hot summers but gigantic sprinklers and ditches to jump in and tube down. Seriously awesome. I remember my dad telling me years ago that just one section of a particular kind of irrigation sprinkler was around $250,000. The first thing I thought of? "Wow, that's an expensive sprinkler for me to run through."

Our challenge to Make a Difference... to many.

I talked a little last Friday in my Fingerprint post about how we have such a different perspective when it comes to water in this country than others do in many areas around the world. My friend and co-blogger Matt over at Becoming Last was inspired to do something big, really big.

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