Book Review: Buy This Land by Chi-Dooh Li (@Skip_Li)
Have you ever dared to chase after one of your crazy ideas?
Buy This Land
My shared connection to Guatemala made this book especially interesting to me as I could envision the places and people the author shares throughout the pages of this real-life story. Chi-Dooh (Skip) Li provides a vivid and detail description of his own childhood and early career which lead him to establish Agros International, an organization recognized for combating the root causes of poverty.
In America, we take for granted our ability to purchase our own land. This is a privilege often unreachable for the poor in countries like Guatemala. Li’s passion to provide hope and a stepping stone for those in need propels him to create Agros as a way to help the poor purchase their own land.
Buy This Land
Buy This Land
Do you own or rent your place of living? Why do you think land ownership is such a big deal?
(Please note: I received a copy of Buy This Land for free from the author. I was not required to provide a favorable review. I truly believe this book will open your eyes and challenge you to chase after your own crazy ideas.
Also to note: There are affiliate links in this post. Should you purchase Buy This Land by clicking one of these links, I receive a small percentage of the purchase. These funds are used to support The Stretched Blog and to extend ministry and missions to Guatemala. Thank you!)
Mission Mindset – You Are Authorized
When we read the Great Commission, we typically hear this, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey…” Am I right?
There’s a key part of this we typically overlook. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Why is this important?
When we hear the Great Commission, we think of saving “the lost.” This is great, but it might be off base. We are supposed to have this mission mindset, because Jesus told us to. And He’s the boss – the authority. We have been authorized to be on a mission.
In order for us to serve effectively, we must come under Christ’s authority.
Do you have a problem with authority?
How does your mindset change knowing you have been commissioned to go on a mission?
Mission Mindset – From The Mind To The Hands And Feet
Is a faith without action a sincere faith?
Jean Racine
Faith is nothing without action. I can believe until I’m blue in the face, but it’s nothing if I don’t follow through on it.
All talk and no action is like listening to the teacher in a Charlie Brown comic, “Blah blah, blah blah, blah blah.”
I don’t want to be like this. I want my belief to be coupled with action. I want my life to be more than just words – “Blah blah, blah blah, blah blah.”
A mission mindset can’t stay only in the mind. At some point, it has to move into our hands and feet.
Walk across the street. Shake hands with a stranger. Spend time with a neighbor in need. Reach out to widows and orphans near home and abroad. Don’t just sit on the couch. Decide today to take action on your faith.
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:14-26
What action can you take today to put hands and feet on your faith?
Christmas for 7000!
Have you started making plans for Christmas?
Have you started putting your Christmas list together?
My wife is getting our Christmas list together. In fact, she has already started listening to Christmas music. It seems a bit early to me, but I was reminded by a recent correspondence that it is time to get ready for the Christmas season.
This brings me to today’s post. I suppose it is more of a challenge.
My friend, Dave Sgro, has been working and serving in the village of Santo Domingo Xenacoj in Guatemala for the past several years. Each year, he has been conducting a Christmas giveaway for the children in the village. It started out small, and it has grown to a few thousand. This year, GO Ministries (Dave’s mission organization) has expanded into a nearby village. They plan to giveaway Christmas gifts to 7,000 children. This is a major endeavor with tremendous opportunities to touch the lives of children and their families.
Your help is important to make this happen. And you’ll need to act fast in order to pull this off for a late December giveaway. Check out Dave’s video and instructions below for more details.
These gifts will go to kids I have played with and served the past three years in Guatemala. You will make a difference if you decide to help out.
Post by David Sgro.
Here’s a list of the items Dave is looking for in each shoe box:
CHRISTMAS ITEMS (Remove packaging as possible)
1. Tooth Brushes
2. Tooth Paste
3. Combs
4. Brushes
5. Marbles
6. Stickers
7. Jump Ropes
8. Plastic Animals
9. Playing Cards
10. Nail Polish
11. Pens
12. Pencils
13. Erasers
14. Rulers
15. Matchbox Cars
16. Crayons
17. Travel Shampoo
18. Travel Soap
19. Hair Things
20. Lip Gloss
To help you see the impact of past Christmas giveaways, check out this video:
What’s on your Christmas list?
Taught To Teach
If you don’t have a teacher you can’t have a disciple.
Dallas Willard
It’s hard to be an effective missionary if we are unwilling to be taught.
Let me explain.
The Great Commission instructs us to go into all the world and make disciples. (You can look it up here.)
Teaching is one of our primary responsibilities as Christ followers and missionaries. But teaching does not happen very well if we are not willing to be taught or discipled first. If you want to have a mission mindset, you must have a willingness to learn.
Who is investing in your life? How are you learning and growing to become a disciple of Christ?
The Crux Of The Missionary Message
He [Jesus Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
I John 2:2
More than anything, this is the significance of Christ’s life to us and to the world.
Today’s culture has watered down this message. We talk very little about sin. “What’s okay for him is okay for him.”
Sin is real. And it ultimately leads to death (“the wages of sin is death”) and separation from eternity with Christ.
But there is a remedy.
Christ died for our sins. He sacrificed His life so we might have the opportunity for eternal life. (John 3:16)
This is the crux of the missionary message. In order to have a mission mindset, we must recognize Christ’s role in dealing with our sins, and we must find ways to carry this message to a lost and broken world.
What is your perspective on sin?
Plate Spinning
A few months ago, I had to explain what the expression “plate spinning” means to one of the younger members of our department. He had just been promoted from a design engineering position to a position that required more project management responsibility. As I was explaining to him about the challenges of staying on top of all the different aspects of his new job, I used the expression “plate spinning”, and he looked at me with a puzzled look.
I explained to him what the expression meant, and I thought to myself “I am getting old.”
Plate spinning was a popular “talent” exhibited on television shows like The Ed Sullivan Show. I seem to remember seeing it for the first time on The Bozo Show.
I use the phrase all the time as it often describes very well the self-inflicted challenge I face by trying to accomplish too many things at the same time.
I’m glad I could educate my team member on the fine art of plate spinning, but this conversation was a good reminder of our need to stay culturally relevant. If I didn’t take the time to explain this expression, my younger team member may have simply thought I was crazy. It’s essential we find ways to connect with those coming behind us. We have things to share and a message to pass along, but we will miss out on opportunities for this message to be received if we don’t connect with the receiver of the message – if we don’t speak their language.
If we’re serious about having a mission mindset, it is important that we take the time to become culturally relevant – to know and understand those around us and to consider how we can share our message in a way that connects with our audience.
This is one of the reasons I enjoy hanging out with the teenagers at our church. It seems impossible to me, but I’m one of the “older” adult volunteers in the group. I have learned quite a bit from the teens. I often find myself asking them what a phrase or comment means. For example, someone said “YOLO.” I didn’t know what they were saying, so I asked. (You only live once.)
So here is my question for you: What are you doing to make sure your message is heard? How are you staying culturally relevant in an ever evolving world?
What’s your favorite expression and does it still make sense in today’s world (or do you need to explain it)?
Increase Impact By Decreasing Impulse
Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
George Elliot
When was the last time you did something impulsive?
Going out for ice cream is one of my most favorite impulsive things to do. But I’m sure I’ve done some other pretty impulsive things. After I graduated from college, I impulsively leased a Limited Ford Explorer. This was such a dumb move. Many of my impulsive moves involve stupid purchases. For example, I bought a set of books about the worlds greatest inventions. I only had to pay for the 30 volumes in 15 “easy” payments. What was I thinking? I’ve barely cracked open these books.
When was the last time you did something impulsive to develop yourself?
This is a bit more of a challenge. I’ve probably signed up for a race or two on impulse, but it required a lot of work to prepare for the race after I signed up.
Developing yourself doesn’t happen by impulse. It happens by discipline.
Discipline isn’t often very fun. It requires focus and determination. It requires stamina. And it requires a vision for the end which happens after hard work.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
This is true in many areas of our lives. If I want to be a better runner, I have to put in the practice. If I want to be a better speaker or writer, I have to do it repeatedly. When we reach our goal time in a race or when we publish something worthwhile that we wrote, we can see how discipline pays off in the end.
Why don’t we realize this when it comes to our relationship with God?
Growing closer to God does not happen by impulse. It happens through a series of repeated small steps. It happens by discipline.
If we want to have a mission mindset, we have to be focused first on our growing closer to God – we have to live a life of discipline.
Do you consider yourself to be impulsive? In your life, how has discipline led to greater rewards? What steps do you need to take to grow closer to God?
For The Sake Of The Name
There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in – that we do it to God, to Christ, and that’s why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.
Mother Theresa
Having a mission mindset requires us to be attached only to Christ.
We must focus on Christ and His nature.
I too easily get distracted. I am easily swayed by the “attractions” and “distractions” of this world.
And this is why I need the Holy Spirit in my life – to remind me, to teach me, to rescue me, to point me back to the Name.
It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 3 John 7
God, I want to serve You. I want to know You. I want to bring glory to Your Name.
What is distracting you from having a mission mindset?
The Key Action To Take When You Are On A Mission
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.
St. Augustine
We want to be people to be people of action.
We want to be part of things being accomplished. When we go on a short-term missions trip or when we chose to serve in our community, this typically means we want to get our hands dirty. We want to build houses. We want to feed hungry children. We want to help widows. These actions are important, and I believe they are part of every Christ followers calling.
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:26-27
But what if we are missing out on the key action we must take to truly move from just having a mission mindset to actually going on a mission?
The action we can easily overlook involves getting our knees dirty instead of our hands. Yes. Prayer is the action we must take if we want to be the most effective missionaries.
“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:38
- Prayer keeps us connected to God.
- Prayer humbles us.
- Prayer gives us appropriate perspective.
- Prayer reminds us who is in charge.
- Prayer works.
- Prayer is effective.
- Prayer is an action.
Let’s not forget about prayer!