Joy is a decision, a really brave one, about how you are going to respond to life.

If God places a child before you, and you are too busy to wield either a positive or negative influence...you just did the later! You communicated that the child doesn't matter and isn't important.

It all begins, I maintain, with that powerful and underutilized thing called love. God's love for the individual is displayed by those people who reflect his love in their words and deeds. It ultimately gets understood and accepted by the child in poverty, and through that individual's love for others, the world gets changed.

One changed child eventually changes a family. A changed family will influence change in its church. Enough changed churches will transform a community. Changed communities change regions. Changed regions will in time change an entire nation.

We absolutely must battle with every bit of determination we can muster to root out the harm that would warp the souls and spirits of children in our world.

I have become convinced that if God stands a child before you, for even just a minute, it is a divine appointment.

Joy is a decision, a really brave one, about how you are going to respond to life.