Perspective

Still settling in after being in Nicaragua for nine days and it is amazing the things you forget about that are just givens in America. For instance, I still say a little prayer of thanks every time I can flush toilet paper!!! ( i know that could be interpreted as TMI, but at least I didn't tell you about how I had chinese food and the bathroom smelled exactly like the restaurant for an hour OOPS! Sorry bout that, I guess I just did)

Its kind of like if you fast for a day, you have a TOTALLY new appreciation and gratefulness for food when you resume eating. The trouble is that just like with my TP, it is usually short lived. I don't envision myself gratefully flushing for months to come is what I'm saying. However, I want to change that. I think the blessings of God flow when you are grateful to Him for the "little things" that really aren't that little considering only a fraction of the world enjoys them. What does it look like to be in a constant state of thanksgiving? I don't know, but for me it begins by repenting of the so many things I take for granted and just expect. ie, plenty to eat, water, ac, a job, healthy kids, an amazing wife, freedom to worship, coffee, and a literal myriad of other things.

I sat down in my office and wrote down ten things I am thankful to God for and I found myself not only unable to stop at ten, but incapable of being "down". How could I possible be melancholy when God has given me soooooooooooooo much to be thankful for?!!!!!

Here is a very interesting article I ran across that list what the world would look like if it was shrunk down to 100 people while maintaining all existing human ratios

60 asians
12 europeans
8 latin americans
5 from usa and canada
1 from south pacific
14 africans
49 would be female
51 would be male
82 would be non white, 18 white
67 would be non christian, 33 would be "christian"
32% of the world's wealth would in the hands of only 5 people and all 5 would be us citizens
80 would live in sub standard housing
24 would have no electricity
33 would have no access to safe water
67 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death, 2 would be near birth
only 1 would have a college education
7 would have internet access.

Puts into a little more perspective what we have as Americans. Let's not forget where it came from