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One of my daughters is a second grade teacher.
She loves her children…loves to see them grow and blossom.
She prays for them.
They are not bodies in a desk…they are souls to be loved and nurtured.
They are all made in the image of God.

Since teachers have the summer off, there is a myriad of things that can be done.
Wonderful things to which you can volunteer your time.
Wonderful places to travel.

Claire was able to do both this summer, when she spent the summer in Nashville.
She was a willing and much needed volunteer.

My daughter has a heart of compassion.
In college, she went to Africa…and probably, if truth be told, left a bit of her heart there.

She volunteered this summer with an organization called The Mocha Club.
A simple idea…give up your coffee money…to support projects in Africa.
Claire’s heart goes towards the education needs there.
But her eyes were opened to another huge problem.

Women in Ethiopia, with no other viable means of income, turn to prostitution.
One in nine women sell their bodies to support themselves and their children.
To the women, this is not a moral issue…it is an economic one.

The Mocha Club helps these women by giving them dignified work.
FashionABLE was born!

The Ethiopian women make beautiful scarves that are sold online and in retail stores.
I purchased one.
Claire brought another one home for me, and bought others to give to friends.

The card that was attached to my scarf touched me.
Thank you for purchasing this scarf. Because of you, I am ABLE to feel dignity in my work.

I am able to send my son to school.
I am able to have hope in the future.
Each woman has a story.
Each woman has a very specific reason to be thankful.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

We are made in the image of God.
Satan wants to mar God’s image in us.
What better way than to make someone feel like they are property…instead of treasure.

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so He went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who  had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “if this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner. (Luke 7:36-39)

Jesus answered Simon, the Pharisee, with a parable. He told Simon about two men who owed money to a moneylender. One owed five hundred denarii and the other owed fifty.
(a denarii was about a day’s wages) Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so the moneylender cancelled the debts of both.

Jesus asked Simon a question about the story He just shared.
“Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. (Luke 7:42,43)

The part of the story, that I have always loved best, comes next.

Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?”
(Luke 7:44)

Simon, the Pharisee, did not SEE the woman.
Simon only saw a category: SINNER.

Jesus saw her.
Jesus knew her remorse over her sin.
Jesus was the recipient of her kindness towards Him.

Simon, who put himself in the righteous category, failed to do even the smallest act of kindness when Jesus entered his home.

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much.
But he who has been forgiven little loves little. (Luke 7:47)

The women in Ethiopia, and other places around the world, are seen merely as categories.
The dignified work they are now doing, allows them to know they are valuable.
They are valuable to others.
They are valuable to God.

She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. (Proverbs 31:24,25)

Dignity…value…worth.
The way God already sees us.
The way we come to see ourselves…when we know how deeply He loves us.

See the person…NOT the category.
See them the way God sees them.
Forgiven and loved.

 

 

2 responses to “Categories”

1. Gina great Website .Your Children are blessed and are being a blessing to others. I will keep them in my prayers. Love In Christ. Your friend Ken Tedesco

   Reply

   • Ken,
     Thank you, friend!
     Only God could bring grade school friends together again for His Kingdom…after all these years!
     Your music is amazing!
     I pray that many will be blessed by your worship music!
     Keep singing for Him…and telling His story!
     Gina

     Reply