The Leaking Window

"What would you do if you won the Lottery?"  Most might reply that they would whole-heartedly consider giving a large amount to charity.  But I wonder if we shouldn't wait to win the lottery before we become so generous...   Darling Ethiopian Princess with Her Treasured Toy November 2010 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,  worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said,  “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth;  but she, out of her poverty, put in everything— all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44 NIV Poverty. I grew up in what I considered poverty. Some nights dinner consisted of cold cerea...

Originally published on January 24, 2014 The Ethiopia/Uganda Chronicles Chapter Four - The Doubt Ethiopian boy chasing the team van.   photography by Anthony Kaetzel It was November.  A Saturday.  We were scheduled to get our immunizations for Ethiopia and Uganda later that morning. He came down the stairs and he was upset.  He told us that he just realized he would be missing a couple of competitions in February when we were in Africa.  He was beside himself.  These were competitions that he had been preparing for... one for almost a year. He wondered to us if he was really supposed to go to Ethiopia and Uganda.  He didn't feel called.  Perhaps God had spoken to us about it, but God had not spoken to him.  He was frustrated. His father calmly asked him to find out the dates of the competition to be certain that they were conflicting with our trip to Africa.  He went upstairs.  He went to hi...