Please take a moment to view this video from our recent trip to Haiti. This is only a small glimpse of life in Haiti and the devastation the people face every day. I have so much to share with you starting next week…until then, feel free to share this video with others.

Haiti 2010 from Michael Goldsmith on Vimeo.

A brief video highlighting a mission trip to Haiti in July of 2010. Sponsored by the Bridge Community Church, this mission trip provided help to “Growing Hope for Haiti” - an incredible organization dedicated to sharing Jesus and restoring hope to a country devastated by tragedy.

On July 5th I will be doing something I’ve never had the opportunity to do - I’ll be traveling to Leogane, Haiti with a team of 12 to help rebuild a broken and suffering community. With estimates of over one million people still displaced and crammed into tents, I’m not taking this trip lightly. First of all, I feel this is something that God has asked me to do, and second, I’m hoping to find some small way to make a difference in a place where hope can sometimes be hard to find.

I will be working with Growing Hope for Haiti. They are a non-profit organization founded to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people of Haiti. Growing Hope for Haiti seeks to help the people of Haiti become more independent, self-sufficient and to provide for their own families and community.

GHH is working with the Fuller Center (founder of Habitat for Humanity) to provide permanent housing for the victims of the recent earthquake. The Haitian families themselves are responsible for the labor of building their own homes. Growing Hope for Haiti has provided the land and the Fuller Center is providing the building materials.

Now for the part where I need your help. I’m looking for partners to help with the expense of this trip. This is your chance to find YOUR small way to make a difference - your donation WILL change the course of someone’s life. It might be one person, a family or it might even help a community. Can I count on you to help?

Here are two practical ways you can help:

• PRAY. While this may sound simplistic, it might just be the most important thing you can do. Please pray for our team, our travel and most importantly that God’s presence will be evident in our presence in Haiti.
• DONATE. There will probably be several items that will be needed before our departure, but the best way you can help is with a cash donation. It doesn’t matter how small (or how big!) the donation - every little bit will help! The total cost will be approx. $1100 per person, and any money donated over the $1100 will go directly to another team member for this trip. Here’s a nice side benefit - all donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!

So I’m throwing out the challenge to all of you - especially those who know me personally. I’m connected to many of you through Twitter and Facebook, and with over a thousand connections this should happen fairly quickly. BUT I NEED ALL OF YOU TO HELP!! Let’s blow this goal out of the water and see what happens!

Our team is comprised of many local school teachers and other Parkland community members. The Bridge Community Church has graciously offered to have their accountant take care of the financial details for this trip. I’m so glad that part of the trip is being managed by someone other than me! And remember, all donations are tax deductible!

Here’s the address to send your donation:
(Please make checks out to “The Bridge Community Church” with “Mission Trip - Michael Goldsmith” in the memo)

Michael Goldsmith
209 W. Marvin
Fredericktown, MO 63645

Thank you so much for your partnership and help with this upcoming trip! I’m looking forward to what God has in store and can’t wait to see what happens. In the meantime, if you have any questions or want to talk more about this trip, feel free to contact me at anytime or leave me a comment on this post.

Grace and peace,

Michael

Seven years ago today, our youngest daughter, Emilee Grace appeared in this world for the first time. An awesome miracle for a family who didn’t expect (and didn’t think it possible!) to have another child. Little did we know what an impact she would have on our lives!

Sometimes it feels like God has given our family a second chance to do things over again. He is a God of second chances right? Not that we were horrible parents, but we didn’t necessarily win any parenting awards in the past either. That being said, we have two other UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME kids: Kayla and Seth. They have been the result of many years of trial and error, the shotgun approach (try something and hope you hit it), and “learn from our own mistakes” styles of parenting. Thankfully, they survived.

Fast forward to today. We certainly don’t claim to be perfect parents by any stretch of the imagination, but with God’s help we have tried to do our best to invest in our kids and train them to leave home and conquer their dreams. I think we’re doing a little better these days. At least I hope so.

The time will come when we will look back with laughter, tears, (maybe fright?) and a host of wonderful memories we’ve shared with our kids. I’m afraid that time is coming all too soon. But for now, I want to enjoy the time we all spend together. The hugs. The smiles. The “I love you’s.” And for that special little girl who has blessed our lives more than she can ever imagine, I simply say, “Happy Birthday Ems – WE LOVE YOU!”

Are you building a memory or creating a vacancy?

Over the past few years I’ve really tried to focus on creating opportunities to share time with my kids. I guess I’m trying to make up for all the times I screwed it up in the past. From date nights to family game night, I’ve found it doesn’t take a lot of money to make my kids happy. You know what they want most? Me. As crazy as that sounds, my kids just want a little part of me. Them. Me. Time. Together.

Memories are one of the most powerful stimuli for our brain. While no one knows for sure how many memories our brain can hold, some studies suggest it’s well over 100 million megabytes. That’s a lot of space! One memory can literally last a lifetime…for good or for bad. Are we taking time to build positive memories with our kids? Think of it this way…we all try to suppress bad memories from past events (some of you just thought of something right now). Our memories turn into “vacancies.” Ultimately we’re left with a void in our heart.

Good memories however, build a permanent foundation of positive thoughts. We’re investing into the health of our soul and of others. Most adults have the opportunity to pick and choose our memories. Kids don’t always have the same choice. As parents we hold an incredible amount of influence over our kids. It’s something that none of us should take for granted. Yet we go around treating everyday like everything revolves around us and what we want. The “me” attitude creates vacancies for everyone else. And you know what the sad thing is? Our kids love us anyway. Even when we chip away at their heart.

Take a moment this week to spend time with your kids. It may be as a family, with just the kids, or even a “one-on-one” moment. They may not thank you for it now, but they will. And that moment will make it all worthwhile.

“Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.”

2 Cor. 4:1-2 (MsgB)

There are times when all of us need to be still and quiet. Sometimes peaceful. Sometimes struggling. Always listening. And there are times when saying nothing actually says the most.

There is also a time to scream. Not a “scream like you’re a girl” scream, but the scream of an anguished soul longing to be heard.  No masks. No games. A time to fight and to stand for the Truth.

And that time is now…

It’s time to make a difference. Not for me. Not for my family. But out of the obedience of what God has called us all to do: love others and make an impact wherever we can. The challenge is in the here and now.

My brain has been full of ideas lately…I think they’re God-sized ideas. I’m trying not to limit them, but doubt sometimes gets in the way. In the next few months I’m going to share some of these ideas here on this blog and I’m going to ask you to join me in the journey. I need your help, your feedback, your suggestions, and yes, even your criticisms. I’ll be launching a new project, writing feverishly and pretty much throwing caution to the wind.

I may have been thrown down a few times, but I can assure you…I am NOT broken. It’s time. Will you join me?

“…You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.“ 2 Cor. 4:8b-9 (MsgB)