Every 7 Seconds …

Fast_for_Food.jpg … a child is dying from hunger related causes.

An almost equal tragedy is that we’ve become so desensitised to the suffering of others that we often let statistics like that float past us without a second thought.

Can I beg you not to just click past this post? Please take the time to read it through and let it touch your heart.

I’ve seen the desperation in the eyes of those who can’t afford to feed their families. My visit to Haiti in April this year with Compassion Australia was cut short due to rioting and looting brought about by the global food crisis. People in developing countries do not have enough food and even when food is available the cost is beyond the reach of the majority of the population.

The effects of the global food crisis have been further exacerbated by the global financial crisis.

Throughout November, Compassion staff and supporters are joining together in a practical and focused way to support families who are hungry and in desperate need of food because of the global food crisis. FAST for FOOD will help us focus on the need and provide practical ways to make a difference. Will you join us in making life more livable for those who are desperately in need?

I’ll be highlighting the need and sharing something from the FAST for FOOD Prayer Calendar every day through November. Will you commit to praying each day for those who need your help? The need is urgent.

Around the world, people are feeling the effects of the economic and food crises—none more so than the 300 million children who will go to bed tonight hungry. We know that when the well-off suffer, the poor die. The world needs light now more than ever.

As men and women of a steadfast and generous God, this is our opportunity to demonstrate our unshakeable trust in Him by reaching out and generously assisting those who are in desperate need. Although we are not immune to world events, we can rest assured that God is faithful, loves the poor and continues to call Compassion to challenge, partner and equip the church to release millions more children from poverty in Jesus’ name. In God’s economy there is always more than enough and He is always faithful when we pray, fast, give and share with generous and joyful hearts.

I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Ephesians 3:20 (CEV)

Are you prepared to commit yourself to the cause for the month of November? If you are please let me know in the comments section of this post. You can also help to spread the message by pointing others towards this post.

Together we can see change happening in our own lives and in the lives of those who are waiting to see God’s love displayed through his people.



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Crash and Crumble

lightning.jpgI’ve mentioned before that we’re getting our home ready to sell.

Our efforts were dealt a bit of a blow – quite literally – on Friday night.

While I certainly appreciated the rain and I always enjoy a good electrical storm, I could have done without the wind.

Just before nine on Friday night I heard some very loud thunder and so I looked out into our front yard to watch the lightening display.

Shortly after that I heard a very loud crumbling noise coming from the back yard. I looked out to see that a very large section of our side fence had just blown over. I watched a while longer and saw another section collapse.

It was rather spectacular seeing the back yard light up like it was the middle of the day each time the lightning flashed. It’s been a while since I’ve seen lightning that bright.

An insurance assessor was around to our home this morning to survey the damage. He said that even a couple of sheets that hadn’t gone down are cracked and ready to go. So now we need to get some quotes to replace twenty five metres of fencing. We’re told that fencing contractors are very busy at the moment but we’re hoping it won’t take too long to get the repairs done.

Oh well, maybe it’ll be a selling point. “Four bedroom two bathroom home with a brand new side fence for sale.”



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User Name Check

How many web services have you signed up for in the past few years?

From Flickr to Gmail, Blogger, Digg, YouTube, Twitter, StumbleUpon and so many others, you’ve probably got accounts all over the place.

Ever forget some of the services you’ve registered to use? If you generally use the same user name when you sign up, maybe User Name Check can help.

It’s a fairly new service that will check around 70 services to see if your chosen user name is taken or available. As well as telling you where you might have already registered it might help you find a few new services you’d like to start using.



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Pitch your blog on ProBlogger

problogger.jpgWhen it comes to the blogosphere it doesn’t get much bigger than Darren Rowse and ProBlogger. If you’re not already reading ProBlogger it’s probably about time you started. you’ll gain some incredible insights into growing your blog and even making some serious dollars from your blog.

Do you wish that you had access to the kind of readership that ProBlogger reaches? This weekend you have the opportunity to pitch your blog to Darren’s readers as he runs another social experiment and invites you to participate.

In the post Tell us about Your Blog in 140 Characters or Less, Darren encourages you to … well … tell him about your blog in 140 characters or less.

Over 500 bloggers have already taken advantage of the offer and by the time you read this post there may well be hundreds more. So why are you waiting. Go tell the world why they should be reading your blog.

By the way, if you’re here for the first time after following the link from ProBlogger – welcome. I hope you’ll take the time to look around and find out a little more about me and my blog. Check out my About page if you want a quick idea of who I am. You’ll find a couple of options for getting free updates to RodneyOlsen.net at the top of my right hand sidebar. If you’ve got a few days you might also like to spend some time trawling through several years of archives.



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Ritchie and the Fonz team up again

This has got to be one of the more bizarre celebrity political endorsements I’ve seen but at least it’s fun seeing Ron Howard revisiting some of his early TV roles.

I’m not endorsing either candidate. Being in Australia means that while the choice of President in the US will certainly effect me and everyone else in the world, I don’t have a say one way or the other.



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