To start off I am excited to take part in Blog Action Day. I have been thinking about this post most of the day, and I’m excited for any part I can play in raising awareness.

While I’ve definitely had a blessed life, I was part of the ‘lower’ class. We used food stamps and I was one of the ‘free lunchers’ in school. I didn’t have name brand things(clothes, food, or otherwise) unless they were on clearance(not sale…clearance), and was never ‘in style’ (usually a few behind). Sure I was made fun of sometimes, but in actuality it wasn’t bad(I had a pretty good time).
Now to take my experience and juxtapose it against the experience of those living in poverty shows how great I have it.

Every morning I can take a shower, when there are those who don’t even have clean drinking water.
I drive to work when there are people who must walk for miles for anything.
If I miss breakfast, I’m “starving” by the time lunch comes around, when some haven’t eaten for days.
I could go on, but reflecting today has shown me how easy it should be for me to thank God in every part of my life.

So where does one go from there? Well there is always some small step one can take to make an impact. A while ago I was shown a website (FreeRice.com) that by playing a game you help the hungry. And there are also organizations like Compassion or World Hope that is making a specific impact in the lives of children(My wife started sponsering a little girl in Uganda a while ago). Whatever you have (money, time, word association skills) you can use them to help the less fortunate.

So take some time today to think about the state of our world. There is plenty for everyone, its just not everywhere it needs to be yet.