CRADLE-TO-PRISON

Congregations are working alongside communities, wrapping
around families, and pursuing restorative justice. As Christians
who understand the divine character of grace, we have to
become people of second chances. While I understand the
impulse towards zero-tolerance policies, this approach is
especially problematic for kids of color; it has a direct impact
on these kids getting involved with the prison system later in life.

There’s an example of a church here in Washington, D.C., that
has opened their doors and set up education, counseling, and
a safe space for any child that has been suspended from school.
Instead of spending a week at home, or worse, getting into even
more trouble out on the streets, this church welcomes them with
open arms. Rather than doubling down on shame and punishment,
the congregation views these suspensions as teachable moments,
asking, "What can we do for kids who we know have the strong
potential to get caught up in a system that’s going to have terrible,
life-altering consequences?"

There are more than 300,000 churches across the United States
and 40,000 high-poverty public schools. That's a ratio 6 to 1. How
amazing would it be if every church in America was proactively
involved in wrapping around the kids in these struggling schools
and advocating for polices that will ensure more of our kids get
through high school, receive a quality education, have expanded
options in life, and discover their God-given purpose?

(Nicole Baker Fulgham is president and founder of The
Expectations Project)

FOOTPRINTS

The Footprints Prayer

One night I had a dream...

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene
I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; One belonged to
me, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of my life
flashed before us, I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life, There was
only one set of footprints.

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest
times in my life This really bothered me, and I questioned the
Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
You would walk with me all the way; But I have noticed that
during the most troublesome times in my life, There is only
one set of footprints. I don't understand why in times when I
needed you the most, you should leave me.

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child. I love you, and
I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and
suffering. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then
that I carried you.

PAY IT FORWARD

The two Amish girls, seven and 12 years old, were
watching the family's roadside farm stand in Oswegatchie,
New York. When a couple pulled up and invited them to
see their puppy, the girls jumped at the opportunity.

They went to look at the puppy, and then they
disappeared. They disappeared for an entire day.

Eventually, the girls showed up at the home of Jeffrey
and Pamela Stinson, a couple who live about 15 miles
from the spot from which the girls had been kidnapped.
The cold, wet, hungry girls ate a small watermelon and
then asked to be taken home.

The Stinsons debated about getting the police involved,
but then thought it best to honor the girls' request.
Thinking back, Jeffrey Stinson explained: "We never
gave it any thought about implications or dangers. We
knew those girls had to get home." And home those
girls went: home to joy, tears and welcoming arms.

And that, my friends, usually would be the end of the story.

It isn't. You see, the grateful Amish family heard the
Stinson's garage had burned down while they were on
vacation. Wishing to show their gratitude in a tangible form,
the family promised to give the Stinsons a "garage raising.
" For those of you who don't know, a garage raising is like
a barn raising, but smaller.

And so it was, the two girls who had been kidnapped, their
11 brothers and sisters, their parents, grandparents, and
relatives all came together and a garage went up at the
Stinson home. A garage is there, a visible token of
appreciation for an act of kindness.

I'M SCHOCKED!

Our nation has been shocked by the footage of football star
Ray Rice knocking his now-wife Janay out cold in an elevator.
What most people still don’t realize is that this kind of abuse
is far too common and almost never talked about.

Rather than taking the opportunity to raise awareness about
domestic and sexual violence, “Fox and Friends” chose to
mock and blame the victim. The news hosts criticized victims
by saying they were “sending a terrible message” by staying
with their abusers and joked that women should simply “take
the stairs.”

Fox News is taking time on their show to mock and criticize
victims of domestic violence. As Christians, let’s send a
message that we want to see Fox News support women,
not degrade them.

News outlets in America need to do their part to spread the
message that abuse and domestic violence are WRONG.
But when Fox News makes jokes about the abuse that
Janay Rice experienced, they are sending the opposite
message: violence against women is a great punchline.

Abuse of women is not a laughing matter. Click here to
tell Fox News to run an honest segment about violence
against women.

Scripture tells us that Jesus cared for women who were
downtrodden by society and abused by their
contemporaries. Let’s remind Fox News that Jesus’
example should compel us to show love to women
who have been abused.

In faith,
Beau, Janelle, and the rest of the Sojourners team

POPE FRANCIS

"the last will be first, and the first, last" (Matthew 20:16).

You probably heard the news story that Pope Francis will
visit the Philippines in January, 2015. But you may not
have heard this story of the Pope's earlier visit to New
York City. It seems His Holiness was traveling to a much
anticipated, historic meeting with the Secretary General
of the United Nations, and restless from his long journey,
was eager to arrive at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
As the the pilot started his approach, due to unsafe wind
conditions, he was instead instructed to land at Newark
Airport in New Jersey. When the plane finally touched
down, the Pope, now a bit agitated, was whisked away in
a limousine to his meeting. With only minutes to spare,
he sat anxiously in the back seat of the vehicle. "Can you
drive a bit faster my son?" the Pope gently asked the
chauffeur. "I'm terribly sorry Your Holiness," the limousine
driver begged, "but I can't afford another speeding ticket.
I already have been warned that if I receive one more
violation I will lose my license."

The Pope responded sympathetically to the worried driver,
then asked him to stop the car. To the chauffeur's
astonishment, the Pope got out of the limousine, tapped
on the driver's door and told him that he would drive the
rest of the way. The driver moved to the back seat and
the Pope got behind the wheel. Driving much faster than
the chauffeur would have dared, the Pontiff darted in and
out of traffic, narrowly missing several parked cars.
Observing the speeding limousine, a police officer promptly
signaled the vehicle to pull over. "Let me handle this one,
" the officer announced to his partner. "Before I'm through w
ith this guy he'll have at least five tickets!"

After only a minute, the visibly shaken officer returned to
his squad car with his ticket book still unopened. "You
didn't write him a single ticket?" his partner protested.
"What happened?"

"I couldn't write him a ticket," the first officer said
sheepishly. "This guy is a big shot, I mean, a really big
shot!"

"Who was it?" his partner asked. "The Mayor of New York
City. . . The Governor of New York State. . . The Chief of
Police? Don't tell me you pulled over the New York City
Police Chief!"

"No, he's bigger than all of them!" the first officer insisted.

"Bigger than all of them? Who's bigger than them?"

"Well," said the first officer, "I'm not exactly sure who he is
but the Pope is his chauffeur!"

"the last will be first, and the first, last" (Matthew 20:16).

HE COULD HAVE DONE A LOT OF THINGS

Humility

t has always amazed me that Jesus, the King of kings,
humbled Himself and came to earth to be our suffering
Servant. He was not born in the palace of the kings.
Indeed, He could have ordered the angels of heaven to
come and prepare a grand building, which could be
substituted for the Bethlehem stable and manger.

When King Herod tried to have the Savior murdered,
Jesus could have transported Himself, Mary, and Joseph
to a place of safety. He could have commandeered a
chariot of fire like Elijah's. He could have ordered the
sands of the desert to blind and confuse the soldiers,
or He might have simply struck down anyone who
opposed Him.

As the Savior hung on the cross, He had the power to
switch places with those who had put Him there. Being
God's Son, Jesus could have done many things to make
His life on earth easier. He could have done those things,
but He didn't. Instead, He chose to live His life in poverty
and humility.

But why?

Had I been in His place I would have used all my authority
to save myself from the attack of my enemies. If I had
been Jesus, I would have performed a miracle to frighten
my enemies and force them to keep their distance.

But Jesus didn't do any of those things. Instead, He
humbled himself even unto death. Jesus gave up all earthly
glory and allowed Himself to be taken by His persecutors
and murderers.

Paul helps us understand in His epistle to the Philippians.
There He says, "Your attitude should be the same as that
of Christ Jesus. ... (He) took on the nature of a servant. ...
As a man He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on the cross" (See Philippians 5:5-8).

Now, because Jesus, true Man and true God has fulfilled
the Commandments for us, has defeated temptations for
us, and conquered death for us, all who believe on Him as
Savior are washed, cleansed, forgiven and saved. Now all
that is left for His people to do is follow their Lord in humility.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, we thank You for the humble and sacrificial
work You did for us. Help us to be humble in our daily
contacts with others. This we ask so souls might be won
for Your kingdom. In Your Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

LIVES AT STAKE!

With Congress failing to enact immigration reform,
attention and pressure is now focused on what
President Obama can do to address our broken
immigration system. In June, the president
announced, “I’m beginning a new effort to fix as
much of our immigration system as I can on my
own, without Congress.”

Like everything else in Washington, the president’s
plans have been caught up in politics. With the
surge of migrant children at the U.S. border
fostering misperceptions about border security,
immigration has again become a hot-button issue
in congressional races across the country. Given
pressure from Democrats in tough races and the
desire to depoliticize any administrative action, the
White House announced the president would not
be taking any steps until after the November
elections.

The political calculus is always changing, but the
day-to-day worries and fears of family separation
remain the same. Both Republicans and Democrats
need to stop using immigrant families as political
footballs and remember the lives at stake in this
debate. It is the faith community’s job to offer them
this reminder.

With hope,
The Sojourners Immigration Team

DON'T WALK BY!

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 15:10New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for
the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

Psalm 41
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
    The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.

Proverbs 14:21New Living Translation (NLT)
21 It is a sin to belittle one’s neighbor;
    blessed are those who help the poor.

Luke 6:20 New Living Translation (NLT)
20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
    for the Kingdom of God is yours.

2 Corinthians 9:9New Living Translation (NLT)
9 As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

Reflection:

In an experiment, people volunteered to dress up as
homeless individuals. Then, they were placed where
an unknowing family member typically passed by.
Cameras were set up to capture what would happen
when family members walked past their closest
relatives dressed in a pauper’s clothing.

In all cases, the unsuspecting relatives walked right
by. Later, experimenters showed these relatives what
the cameras had captured, only this time the faces
of the homeless were shown. The relatives were
stunned when they realized who exactly it was that
they had passed.

While we are naturally drawn to those who are
outwardly similar to us, we have to learn to bond with
the similarities that reside within. Every one of us was
created in the image of God. We are all brothers and
sisters at our core. Don’t be fooled by the outer shell.
Love every person for who they are within. Don’t walk
by the homeless or the nameless. Each one is our
brother, our sister, our friend. We dare not pass them
by!

DON'T WALK BY!

May god bless all of us and open our minds and hearts
so that we can help each other; regardless of who they
are; remember blessing has no color; god bless us all.
when some one cries for help dont look the other way;
we are all god;s people; you may be in a good position
today but you never know what tomorrow brings; always
remember that god is our keeper.

Prayer For The Poor By Mother Theresa

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout
the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give
them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and
by our understanding love, give them peace and Joy. Amen

KICK THEM ALL OUT?

Scripture:

16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”
17 “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they
answered.18 “Bring them here,” he said.
 Matthew 14 New Living Translation (NLT)

Reflection:

The kicking out of suffering immigrant families and
unaccompanied children is not the answer,” Bishop
Minerva Carcaño, the United Methodist Bishop in Los
Angeles, said in a news release. “Immediately stopping
the deportations and extending due process to children
escaping the violence of drug cartels, gangs, and poverty
is the just way to respond."

Could Loaves and Fishes Change The Immigration
Dilemma? What might happen if we were to look at the
two goods of protection and hospitality not as competing
goods in a world of scarcity, but as complimentary goods
in a world of abundance? I think we might come up with
new solutions that no one has yet imagined.

Central American Refugee Crisis at the Border—How You
Can Help  The need is urgent, overwhelming, and large in
scope but ultimately requires that these vulnerable children
be treated with love and compassion. It’s crucial that each
child be offered adequate resources by trained professionals
that will help preserve their dignity and protect them from
further harm.

Deported: A View From the 'Other' Side
With each story, the layers of isolation, dehumanization,
and misunderstanding began to be peeled back. We had all
heard the stories of deportation in the headlines, but none of
us had come face to face with the humans behind the story.

Jesus Is at the Border
The good news is that it’s not too late to change. We can
repent. We can change our hearts and minds so that we can
follow Jesus in breaking down the barriers between “us” and
“them.” We can embrace our differences and become one with
God and our fellow human beings. We can join in God’s
economy of abundant love and set things right by healing the
world and trusting that there is enough room, enough wealth,
enough food, and enough housing for “us” and for “them.”

JESUS IS AT THE BORDER!!!!!!!

SOLVING THE PROBLEMS WE SEE

Scripture:

 Romans 13:9-10 (NLT)

9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit
adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal.
You must not covet.”These—and other such
commandments—are summed up in this one
commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the
requirements of God’s law.

Reflection:

Like every other high school senior, Courtney Barich
dreamt of her prom night. She would wear a magnificent
dress and dance the night away like Cinderella. However,
as Courtney searched for a gown, something in her changed.

Courtney had found the perfect dress with a $700 price tag
that was within her budget. The store asked Courtney to
return the next day for alterations. On the way home,
Courtney couldn’t help but feel wrong about spending so
much money on a dress that she would wear for one evening.
As she second-guessed her choice to her mom, Courtney’s
mom replied, “You’d look good in anything, even a potato sack.”

That off-the-cuff remark set off a light bulb in Courtney’s head.
In a few months, Courtney was headed to the Philippines on a
school mission to help out a poor orphanage in need. Courtney
pledged to wear a burlap potato sack to prom if she could raise
$10,000 for the orphanage. On prom night, she made good on
her promise and wore a burlap dress fashioned by a designer
who donated her time to help Courtney out. As her other friends
displayed glitzy and glamorous gowns, Courtney glowed with
the joy of knowing that she had made a positive difference in the
lives of those in need.

It’s true — none of us can fix everything, but all of us can do
something. Just as Courtney did, with a little creativity and
determination, we, too, can make a significant impact on the
lives of our brothers and sisters in need. Remember, if God shows
us a problem, we must ask how we can help. How might you
contribute to God’s purposes today?

(Reflection section by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein)

THE SECRET

"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God"
(Matthew 16:16).

So listen closely. There once was a very learned philosophy
professor who had earned not one, not two, but three post-
graduate degrees. And his head was crammed full of just
about everything philosophers of every Age had to say about
happiness. Still, he pondered the subject incessantly. He
was so obsessed with the question that he decided to set
out in search of the wisest and happiest person in the world,
wherever it took him, and at whatever cost. After years of
travel to distant places, and at great expense, he finally was
told of a woman who fit the description of the person he was
looking for. And so he set out on a rugged journey to the top
of a high mountain where this wisest and happiest of all
persons lived.

The woman greeted him with a warm smile and a sympathetic
ear. She listened patiently for hours as he described his
pursuit of happiness through years and years of study and
research. At the conclusion of his long discourse, he begged
the wise woman to let him in on the secret of happiness -- the
secret that has eluded him all his life. "Tell me now," he
demanded, but the wise woman would not be hurried. "I
suggest we have some tea," she said. Unhurriedly, she began
the tea ceremony and slowly poured the brew into the
professor's cup. She poured until the cup was overflowing. And
she continued to pour until, finally, the professor asked her to
stop. "Just tell me the secret," he shouted. "This I cannot do,
" said the wise woman. "Like this teacup that is full to
overflowing, your mind is so full of your own knowledge and
your own thoughts that you have no room for anything more.
If I tried to tell you the secret of happiness, it would only spill
 out. You must first empty yourself!"

I'm now going to tell you my secret of happiness. This secret
was given to me by my mother.  It took me a long time to
understand this secret and there still a wonderful mystery to
this secret. There's a lot of people who know this secret and
live by it.  There's a lot of people who know the secret and
don't care.  And finally there is a lot of people who don't know
the secret at all.

This secret has changed my life, it has given me love and
happiness. The Secret is This, "JESUS CHRIST IS THE
SON OF THE LOVING GOD!"