“And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’”  Matthew 18:3

These words have been on my mind lately.  My nine year old daughter received a Bible for Christmas and has been reading it every day…last I heard she was up to 2 Samuel.  (I remember trying to read the Bible on my own when I was a kid.  I always got stuck somewhere around Noah and the flood in Genesis.)

My daughter has wanted to do some kind of mission project for a while now.  She wants to use her love of drawing and coloring to serve others.  She told me she really wanted to help homeless kids or kids in an orphanage in the U.S.  We searched the internet to find just the right project – it was harder than one might expect!  My husband finally found the one she felt was the best choice.  It is called Project Shoebox, and it supports kids in foster care here in Wisconsin.  Her idea is to give pictures she has drawn and/or colored to anyone who gives money to her for this project.  She will then go buy the items for the shoeboxes and take them to the drop off site to be given to the foster kids.

She amazes me!  She’s nine and she gets it!  She understands that being a Christian is about more than going to a church building on Sunday mornings.  Because of her relationship with Christ, she wants to use the gifts and talents God has given her to help others.  No excuses about why she can’t.  She’s just going to do it.  How cool is that?

As adults, we somehow forget that we are called to change the world in positive ways by showing Christ’s love to others.  We forget that if God has called us to do something, we can do it with the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

My daughter inspires me to be intentional about living what I believe.  Who or What inspires you to “be the Church”?