Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 

Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.  Your gold and silver are corroded.

Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you.

The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

James 4:1-6

When I first read this passage this morning, I almost skipped it because I thought, “This passage is for the extremely wealthy who mistreat poor people.”  My readers will not be able to relate to these verses.

I thought this because,

I don’t consider myself wealthy.

I shop at WalMart.

I love Goodwill stores.

My husband and college son share a car that is very used.

I save grocery bags to use as trash can liners in my bathrooms.

Our home is modest and needs a new driveway, a new roof, and a new fence.

We are not extravagant people.

BUT………

When I think of the sweet people we met in India two years ago, I feel extremely wealthy.

I feel as if I spend most of my money, except for what we give at church on Sunday morning, on my family’s needs.

I feel spoiled.

And I ask myself, am I doing enough for the poor?

I adopted Raj through World Vision, but I feel like there’s more for me to do.

I want to live selflessly, and yet I fight a very selfish nature.

I do not want to be considered a “hoarder” of my wealth.

I do not want my gold and silver to testify against me.

I’m praying this morning that God will open my eyes and heart and ears to His plan for me and Tim.

Where does He want to use us?

How does He want to use us?

He’s stirring something inside of us, and I don’t know what that means or look likes.

But I want to be ready.

And I want to be willing.

I’m praying for you, too.

How can God use you to meet the needs of a hurting world that needs His love???

When Nick was sick, my mom saw a perfect  thumbs-up cloud in the sky after we had been photographing friends and family with their thumbs-up after Nick’s second successful surgery.

I shared the cloud picture on Nick’s website (Click  Nick’s website  and then go to “Nick’s Story” and scroll down about 1/3 of the page and you’ll see the cloud picture). After I shared the picture we began receiving photos of thumbs-up from all over the world.

This is one of the thumbs-up pictures we received from Haiti.

If these kids were able to smile and share God’s love with us at a time when we needed to feel it so deeply, what can we do for them, and so many others, now?