Iraqi Dinar

The Reformation Manifesto

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Today I read 214 pages. An entire book. Just ask the Sacramento River, my reading buddy for most of it. My feet in the river’s heart, my heart warmed via my cold feet in its chilly water. My heart electric with passion for the nations – particularly one nation: Iraq. I’d wanted to read The Reformation Manifesto by Cindy Jacobs for about a year, but over the last few days the want became undefiable. Today I set off to work on my book, the one I am writing, but the metaphorical key was not working in the lock. I could not stop thinking about this other book. I was famished for some vision-casting for nation-building. Thus, I opted to look for The Reformation Manifesto at Barnes & Noble, no avail; next stop: Bethel Church’s bookstore. FOUND. While there I got to jumpstart someone’s car, fun! I love people.

Long live invincibility! / God is ALWAYS with you

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Go ahead, do the impossible. Take a stand. Believe God will stand with you. He will. And the hilarious bit is, not only will your courage be beautiful, but it may well lead entire nations into friendship with God. It happened that way for Daniel and his three friends. His three friends went into the fire rather than bow to an idol; and lo-and-behold Jesus showed up with them in the fire AND the whole nation began to consider this God truly was the one true God. (See the Old Testament book of Daniel chapter 3)

A friend recently asked me if I am afraid to live in a war zone, specifically in Iraq. I said, “No. I expect to have invincibility like Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego in the fire. Not only did they survive, but Jesus showed up and the whole nation thought it might be a great idea to follow the true God. That’s what I expect – the whole nation to fall in love with Jesus.”

“Oh, okay. You do know that happened in Babylon, modern Iraq?” my friend queried.

“Yes. haha. I am well aware,” I replied.


Long live invincibility! (pun intended)

PIONEER (song by Rick Pino)

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I heard this song for the first time yesterday and it was like eating Ritz crackers as a six year old with a tummy ache:
calming, strengthening, and reassuring.

And so to all who are called to blaze new trails through thick terrain, take heart. The reason your journey is irresistible is YOU WERE BORN FOR THIS. The world needs you to take your place in history and in the future.

You can do it! And with great glory, you will. The world awaits the revealing of the sons and daughters of God.

As a friend recently wrote,

“Cynicism is the language of cowards – always think the worst, you’ll never be disappointed.

It takes courage to have hope.”

And as the psalmist wrote, “I would have despaired, but I know I will see God’s goodness here on earth” (Psalm 27:13)

HAVE HOPE!!!!!!!!!

Jesus is the HOPE of the nations. How can we not have hope when the embodiment of hope lives inside us?

Make that new path. Pave that road. Believe change is possible. Believe Jesus. Generations to come will be grateful you did.

“The Children of Iraq Have Names”

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The Children of Iraq Have Names

by David Krieger*, November 1, 2002


The children of Iraq have names.
They are not the nameless ones.

The children of Iraq have faces.
They are not the faceless ones.

The children of Iraq do not wear Saddam’s face.
They each have their own face.

The children of Iraq have names.
They are not all called Saddam Hussein.

The children of Iraq have hearts.
They are not the heartless ones.

The children of Iraq have dreams.
They are not the dreamless ones.

The children of Iraq have hearts that pound.
They are not meant to be statistics of war.

The children of Iraq have smiles.
They are not the sullen ones.

The children of Iraq have twinkling eyes.
They are quick and lively with their laughter.

The children of Iraq have hopes.
They are not the hopeless ones.

The children of Iraq have fears.
They are not the fearless ones.

The children of Iraq have names.
Their names are not collateral damage.

What do you call the children of Iraq?
Call them Omar, Mohamed, Fahad.

Call them Marwa and Tiba.
Call them by their names.

But never call them statistics of war.
Never call them collateral damage.

*David Krieger is a founder and president of The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

(“Suffer the Children: Dispatches to and from the Front Line” by Andrew White, page 33)

http://www.amazon.com/Suffer-Children-Dispatches-Front-Line/dp/1847063748/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306906995&sr=1-5

“I ♥ Baghdad” shirts! ~~~ Help me get to Baghdad! ~~~

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“The person with the most hope

has the most influence.”

– unknown

Well folks, I am selling

“I ♥ Baghdad” t-shirts!

Each shirt is $20, but if you buy one by Wednesday, June 1 you get 10% off by using this coupon code: ISAIAH668

You can also save money per shirt by buying TEN SHIRTS for $180, which saves $2 per shirt. So, if you have a group of friends, a class, a church, a prayer group, a book club, etc who want to support the HOPE Revolution for Iraq, it’s a beautiful opportunity to do so!

I’m planning to visit Baghdad this October in preparation for semi-moving there some time in 2012. These shirts are raising money for that trip. I want to be part of rebuilding the nation and filling Iraq with OUTRAGEOUS HOPE. Things are not what they seem. Beneath the ground is a well of hope churning and stirring to explode across the land. I am drawing together a momentum of people who will stand with me and with heaven and declare, “I LOVE BAGHDAD WITH OUTRAGEOUS HOPE.” Take your heart off the “news”, the dread, the negative expectations, and dare to believe for Iraq’s flourishing. There’s nothing special or helpful or loving about believing for a negative outcome, THE PERSON WITH THE MOST HOPE HAS THE MOST INFLUENCE. If we are going to transform the world, we’ve got to stop looking at the physical and obvious, and tap into heaven’s plans for nations. God LOVES the nations. And through Him we have the ability to BRING HEAVEN TO EARTH, like Jesus prayed in the Lord’s prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”

Also, I need your help selling these shirts. Would you help publicize these shirts and the HOPE movement for Iraq by sharing the link below via email, facebook, twitter, blogs, personal websites, word of mouth, etc? THANK YOU!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79715167/i-heart-baghdad-shirt-blank-back?ref=v1_other_2

 

 

Micah 5 thoughts on the MIDDLE EAST

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In the midst of the hubbub about Israel and Palestine, there is a melody – a melody of hope, peace, and purpose. Bethlehem was called by name as a city of promise in Micah 5. Bethlehem is now in the Palestinian Territories, a place I love wholeheartedly – a people beautiful and important. In Isaiah 9 it says the Lord’s government will be ever-increasing. I believe there is a plan for peace in the Middle East. In heaven in a file cabinet, there is a plan. And it is so full of love it would dumbfound even the most compassionate human being. Two years ago I was thinking about all this me-lee, this confusion and unrest. I was living in Bethlehem, surrounded by a thirty-foot concrete wall and checkpoints. And I was declaring Bethlehem’s true identity to be re-established. From those thoughts came the following song, sung on a balcony in the Bethlehem area. He WILL be their peace.

❤ Baghdad ❤

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15 years ago a dream seed was planted in the soil of my heart. Long before that Abraham looked up  into a night sky and dared to believe a distant promise. (Genesis 15) Later, 10-20 years later, he had his Isaac. This year I get to have my Baghdad. I get to go somewhere my heart has dreamed of for quite some time.

God’s word to Abraham rings, like a loud top spinning into silence on a hardwood floor. Its frenzy and its stillness enthrall one’s ears and one’s being. All my cells love his voice. They hush to listen. They lean against my skin as a child to a door, and they intently listen. What they hear electrifies them into ecstasy. He has a way with words.

“Do not be afraid, Abram.


I am your shield,


 your very great reward.”

(Genesis 15:1)

That’s it. Those are His words.

I love God. He is not only our protection, he is our promise. His Presence is both shield and reward.

In honor of my Father, the Creator, and the one who LOVES cities: here are some illustrations of sweet, beautiful Baghdad, Iraq – by a man who was born there in 1964. Nuzzle your heart’s ears against the door, listen for heaven’s words, heaven’s secrets, heaven’s dreams for this priceless city and its people. Shhhh…. listen. Papa God is speaking. . .

He has dreams for Baghdad and He wants to let His sons and daughters in on them.

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”

(Proverbs 25:2)

Washing Osama’s Feet

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Sometimes I wonder what would happen if instead of sending thousands of soldiers overseas into war zones we sent radical followers of Jesus to TRANSFORM nations. There is a rumbling beneath the ground in the Middle East, it’s the unrest of dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction is not a bad thing if it leads people to Truth and Truth TRANSFORMS an entire REGION and the ENTIRE world! The Middle East is part of Jesus’ inheritance! MINE TOO!!

Either Jesus is who He said He is and so am I, or not. If He is, then He is worth every minute of my stepping out of my comfort zone for love. If I am, then I am a living letter to the world of HIS love.

I dare the whole body of Christ globally to get uncomfortable for the sake of LOVE. Jesus “dared” me to pour my passion into the Middle East 15 years ago when I was 16 – beyond logic, beyond reason, despite what anyone else said or thought, to LOVE extravagantly – because really that is what LOVE is – extravagant. Now, He has cordially invited me to live in Baghdad, Iraq. And I am happily accepting the invitation/dare. I’m still quite often streeeeeeeeeeetched by this dare, this beckoning, this holy addiction. And I would not have it any other way.

Nor would He.

Presently, I have seemingly zillions of thoughts regarding Osama Bin Laden’s death. In fact, upon hearing the news via text message from my sister Dana and my friend Naomi, I was up until 3am conversing with my sister Dori about the complicated appearance of the ordeal and yet the simple (albeit often difficult) mandate of LOVE.

A few months ago a very dear friend of mine who lives in Bethlehem, Israel/Palestinian Territories wrote the following to me:

“Dawn…FAITH is going to produce such results in your life…you could be the one… who sets the four corners of the middle east ablaze with fire from heaven… you’re the type of person who can truly pray for someone like Osama bin Laden and really feel God’s love for him.
Do you know how rare that is?
You’re explosive for this region”

I must say his words made my day. I was feeling discouraged and longing to be in the Middle East. I needed to hear someone remind me WHO I am and what I am called to. Moreover, as people who lived in the Middle East, amongst a people group known and stereotyped as terrorists, we know that one can not use external structure, punishment, or even democracy itself to bring the Middle East into peace. As with most issues, whether individual or national, the roots of the problems are matters of the heart. Thus, the solution for peace in the Middle East is NEW hearts. There is only one way to get a new heart: follow Jesus. Yet, we don’t love the Middle East SO they will know Jesus. NO NO NO. We love the Middle East because WE LOVE THE MIDDLE EAST, because WE love Jesus, God lives in us, and He told us to love our enemies (whether in the Middle East or next door).

WE LOVE THE MIDDLE EAST BECAUSE WE ARE WONDERFULLY, HAPHAZARDLY, UNABASHEDLY IN LOVE WITH JESUS!!!!

We simply can not resist!

<I speak to the Middle East: You are loved. You are beautiful. You have a purpose and a destiny. You were born to flourish. I will always look for ways to wash your feet. You were made in the image of God  – and recognizing that likeness in you, I cherish you. Blessings in every sphere of society. Blessings of peace and blessings of LOVE.>

Here are some other sites and thoughts in the wake of Osama’s death. Blessings of Holy Spirit wisdom and original ideas of world transformation as you read. I LOVE YOU. : )

Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer

The Pangea Blog

My dear friend Ana’s blog

Testimonies of Muslims meeting Jesus