We are in the Christian season of Lent.  The 40 days prior to Easter.  We think of Lent as a season where we give up something important to us in order to place our focus more intently on God.  In our Christian tradition, Jesus gave up his life to pardon all of our sins.  I have to ask myself what can I sacrifice in my life that others might be able to experience God’s love in their life?

At a recent house dedication in Augusta Crossings, Pastor J. Vincent Terry of SE Raleigh’s Mount Peace Baptist Church shared with us a quote that really spoke volumes to me:

“We all drink from wells that we did not dig and we eat fruit from vines we did not plant.”

I attended Habitat for Humanity’s annual legislative advocacy conference in Washington,  D.C. earlier this week.  Habitat has long held that our building houses alone will not get us anywhere close to eliminating substandard housing from the world, but that our building of homes plus a strong advocacy voice will be what it takes.

In Proverbs 31:8-9 we hear our call to advocacy:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

I was in a workshop on Saturday at Providence Baptist Church, led by Dr. Brian Fikkert, one of the co-authors of When Helping Hurts:  How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor.  I am excited by the conversation that this book is framing among local churches seeking to be engaged locally and globally in alleviating poverty as a calling from God.

I found ten biblical references to the concept of loving your neighbor as yourself.  These are prominent words and ones that we’ve all heard many times.  At Habitat, we see it acted out all the time. Last night, Habitat Wake was blessed to receive a commitment from Coastal Federal Credit Union to partner with us to fund the building of a house plus the lot the house will be built upon.  They handed us a $100,000 check to make that happen.  Events like that are always exciting!

I just wish all of our donors and volunteers could be around to hear the incredible words of heartfelt gratitude that we hear from those we serve. At Sunday evening’s Holiday Home Tour, we heard from Capt. Dwayne Robinson (U.S. Army) who moved into a Habitat Wake house with his mother  20 years ago when he was 11.  Dwayne was so eloquent in speaking about how much having their own home has meant to his family and how he is now a proud homeowner along with his wife and young family.

Have you ever wondered if the help you extend to another actually helped them long-term or perhaps actually hurt their development into the person that God intends for them?  Was your charity empowering to their development of did it cause an unhealthy dependence and reinforce a low sense of self-worth?

We have three criteria that all of our home-buyers must meet to be accepted into the Habitat program.  They are: 1) need for housing  2)  ability to pay  and 3)  willingness to partner.  These have long been a part of our Habitat’s successful selection criteria helping us insure that  a Habitat house will indeed be a blessing and not a burden.

This past Saturday, I made an early trip out to our Morrisville site to congratulate our newest home buyer, Amy on the completion of her home.  I couldn't stay for the house dedication that morning because we had five other dedications happening across town in East Raleigh.  Nice problem to have.

“You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.”     Psalm 65:11

In all of my years at Habitat, nearly 25 now, I have always felt blessed to be in such a positive place where people bring their best to share with others.  When it works well, Habitat is a true cycle where those who give, receive through and through.