Please Help Water Our Thirsty World

There is a need right now for water. Fresh, CLEAN water. Most likely at some point today, you grabbed a glass from the cabinet and got a drink of tap water...or you drank from a public drinking fountain...or you bought a bottled water at the store. Point is: you had fresh, clean, uncontaminated water at your fingertips within minutes, if not seconds.

But there are people in this world who do not have fresh drinking water, and instead drink from streams that they've had to walk miles for just a taste of the dirty brown water. They deserve more, and we can help. 

There is a wonderful organization out of southeast Iowa called Water Our Thirsty World  whose purpose is to take chlorine filtration systems to parts of the worlds where there is no clean water. 

Watch this video to learn more. 

If you would like to give, you may visit their site at www.ourthirstyworld.org and you can give via paypal on their "Get Involved" page. In roughly 3 short weeks, the team at WOTW will be taking chlorine devices to villages in Africa, and teaching the local people how to use their devices, and the importance of drinking and using clean water. For the people receiving these filters, this is a life saving moment! 

For those living in southeast Iowa, you have an opportunity to get involved next Wednesday, April 25 at 6pm on the campus of IWC for their Water Walk 2012. Visit Facebook here for more information. For those who live in Kansas or elsewhere and would like to donate for the trip to Afraic and/or help purchase a filter, visit the website and donate via paypal, or contact Alan or myself to donate and we will make certain your donation gets to the WOTW team. Remember: No donation is too small for this awesome cause. 

Feel free to repost this blog and share with family and friends and help spread the urgency of helping meet the need of clean, safe water for all. 

*Photos from WOTW website and facebook page. 

He is Risen! Happy Easter!

I received this in an email from a friend about 5 years ago, and ever since, I love going back and reading it on Easter, and being reminded of the meaning even in the most seemingly insignificant details surrounding the empty tomb...


Why did Jesus fold the Napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus
loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!"

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Is that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm done".

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because.......

The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"

Jesus is Coming Back!  

He is Risen! Happy Easter!

Why did Jesus fold the Napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus
loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!"

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Is that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm done".

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because.......

The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"

Jesus is Coming Back!  

He is Risen! Happy Easter!

Why did Jesus fold the Napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus
loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!"

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Is that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm done".

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because.......

The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"

Jesus is Coming Back!