Rapper wins $40K for UM children’s home - UMC.org

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

4:00 P.M. EST March 28, 2011

Lil Jon photo courtesy of NBC.

The big “Celebrity Apprentice” winner Sunday night wasn’t just Lil Jon – it was also children and youth at the north Georgia United Methodist Children’s Home.
The rapper and “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant won $40,000 for his first time as a project manager on the hit NBC show. His designated charity is the North Georgia Annual (regional) Conference’s United Methodist Children’s Home, located in Decatur.
The money – which will be collected on next week’s show – will go to the facility’s family-housing program to provide shelter for homeless families. “Our family-housing program does not receive any funding from the state of Georgia,” said Terence Johnson, director of programs. Currently eight families, about 30 people, need shelter.
Children and staff at the Georgia home have been glued to the television on Sunday nights since the Atlanta rapper and music producer chose them for all the money he wins on the show, which will run until May.
“Lil Jon called us last fall to see if it was OK for him to pick us as his charity,” Johnson said. “Of course, we were ecstatic. From that point on, we have been rooting for him. We are hoping he can get a chance to be a project leader again.”
Johnson said the musician spent most of a Saturday at the children’s home learning about the facility and meeting and playing with some of the children.

Lil Jon photo by Jiccasso Stylez.

"I chose the United Methodist Children’s Home as my charity because it’s a personal thing for me. My family took in some foster kids when I was young, so I know the importance. Every kid deserves a good home and the best opportunities," said Lil Jon.
The United Methodist Children’s Home was established in 1871 to care for children orphaned during the Civil War. The ministry provides services for children from birth into their early 20s, including foster care, residential and family housing, and independent and transitional living for older youth.
Johnson said the children hope to have a reception and a talent show for Lil Jon after he finishes “Celebrity Apprentice.”
In addition to the money, the staff is also thrilled about the national and local media attention that they hope will benefit the children.
“We have a great need for foster parents,” Johnson said. “If anyone is interested in being a foster parent anywhere in north Georgia, we really want them to submit applications or at least inquire so we can follow up.”
Lil Jon’s winning episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” may be viewed here.
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

God’s Love

1 John 4:10

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

 
God is all around. When we see the splendor of nature around us, we know that we're observing God's craftsmanship. He crafted the innocent chirping of the birds and the warmth felt by the morning sun. These are His gifts to us. These are gifts for us to enjoy, gifts of heaven on earth. These gifts constantly remind us of His kind and unconditional love for us. God is always willing to shower us with His many gifts and blessings.

He loved us so much that He gave us the ultimate gift in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus, who provides forgiveness of our sins. Through Him we are given eternal life. Eternal life which permits us to further experience God's love.


Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we come to you with thanksgiving and praise. We are thankful for the many gifts you have blessed us with. We are often too busy to take the time to say thank you. In your perfect plan, you have provided us with an abundance of love. A love that is so great that you gave us your Son, Christ Jesus. We thank you for this gift of love. Please allow us to bless others with the love that you have blessed us with. In your name we pray. Amen

Lent: A Time to Fast and Pray

By Kathrin Chavez

Lent is the time of year when many Christians seek the truth behind the paradox of subtraction equals addition.
Fasting, practiced faithfully by biblical figures, is coming back into vogue. More and more Christians find the spiritual discipline brings enlightenment and enrichment to their lives.
"I'm not skipping a meal because in place of that meal I'm actually dining with God," says the Rev. Jacqui King, pastor of Nu Faith Community United Methodist Church in Houston.
Fasting has long roots in many Christian traditions, including Methodism. John Wesley fasted twice a week when he was young and called fasting one of the "acts of piety," along with praying and studying the Bible.
Wesley's example inspired the Rev. Holly Boardman, a retired United Methodist minister now living in Orlando, Fla. In the traditional vows taken at her ordination, she promised to practice fasting and to recommend it to others.
"There have been times I'd be wrestling with some issue in a church,” Boardman said, “and when I fasted and prayed about it, I felt like I heard an answer from God," Boardman said.
"God speaks sometimes when you're open, when you're listening. Fasting sets the stage for hearing God."
King says preparation is all-important to conducting a fast. She prepares her house "by removing those things from which I'm fasting”
She also prepares her family. Her children are grown now, but when they were young the Kings had a family meeting to talk about what each would give up for a fast. The children were athletes and could not eliminate meals, but they had other options, she said, such as removing certain foods from their diet.
Registered dietitian Jamie Pope, who teaches nutrition at Vanderbilt University's School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn., warns people to consult their physicians when contemplating a fast of more than 24 hours. The body begins to dip into its reserves after that time, she said. A fast could be particularly dangerous for a person with an eating disorder, she said.
King understands. "Some people can't fast from food, because of medical conditions. I encourage them to think about other things that distract their attention and may keep them from praying. Turn the TV off; turn the stereo equipment off. I even encourage people to fast from their cell phones.”
King further prepares by putting notepads in places where "I read my Bible. When God begins to speak to me, I'm not having to look for a piece of paper. It's there, along with a pen,"
King said. "I'm a journaler. I look at prayer, fasting and journaling alike." She also suggests accompanying a fast with devotional literature to guide prayer and reflection. One might use the long-familiar words of a hymn and see them in a new way. The Internet has an array of devotional materials.
In October, the Rev. Clint Ware, associate pastor of First United Methodist Church in Clinton, Miss., challenged his congregation to fast once a week.
"I was surprised to see the emphasis Jesus put on it. He talked about three things in the Sermon on the Mount, and he put them all under the heading of acts of righteousness. He said, ‘When you give to the poor..., when you pray..., when you fast....'
"When you read this, you see that Jesus put all three of these on the same level. He expected that they would be done. We place emphasis on prayer and giving to the poor, but we haven't put the same emphasis on fasting as Jesus did."
Bret Walker in Pitman, N.J., also noticed Christ's emphasis on fasting in Matthew's recounting of the Sermon on the Mount.
He first fasted as an individual, and then he invited other members at Pitman United Methodist Church to join him once a month in a 24-hour fast. Eight people became a core group as the Wesleyan Fasting Society. They time their fasts to coincide with the church's celebration of Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month.
"Every mealtime or any time I feel hunger pangs, I use that time to pray," Walker said. He has felt more "committed to God. I bring my physical hunger, put it out of the way, and find my spiritual hunger."
July 2009 was difficult as the fasting day fell on July 4. Walker told the society members they "weren't going to lose their place in heaven," if they skipped the practice that month.
Boardman, too, believes fasting should not be too legalistic.
"Fasting doesn't have to be so black and white and all or nothing," she said. "It's a gracious thing, not an imposition. It's a gracious devotion rather than a rigorous one."
* Kathrin Chavez is freelance writer in Franklin, Tenn.
This article originally ran in the Jan-Feb. 2010 edition of Interpreter magazine.