Why I love my church . . . leave your shoes at the door

I love going to my church, the community it fosters and the great friends we have made there. Many weeks there is a message that just cuts to your soul. This week's message on generosity was one of those. The story was a familiar one, one we have heard a millions times---the story of the Good Samaritan. Pete Wilson gave a great background on the Samaritan people and how they were treated during that time period. We are called to Love one another. To Love our neighbors. The question was Who is our Neighbor?  Did you know that there are 300 million people in this world with no shoes? Are they are neighbors?  We think so and Pete called upon us to Love our Neighbors by leaving our shoes at the door when we left as we partnered with Soles4souls. Yes, it was 30 degrees out, and yes, we answered the call. The girls didn't think twice about handing over their church shoes. (They actually thought it was quite fun and mischievous to be running around church with no shoes on and encouraged their friends to do the same.) I was so proud of them and it actually made me a bit teary.

We have so much and it is such a struggle to find ways to help our kids realize the many blessings they have in this world. Thanks Cross Point for providing the opportunity to teach our kids about giving.
The photographer who took these photos has more about the story and some great pictures at http://bohobellaphotography.blogspot.com/2010/12/barefoot-sunday.html.