Tag Archives: take your candle

Go Light Our World!

Go Light Your World has changed its name to Go Light OUR World (GLOW), emphasizing our community responsibility to bringing light into the darkness. The website change will happen later this week. Www.golightyourworld.org will automatically be redirected to www.GoLightOurWorld.org. The ministry’s home page will come up first and then viewers can click on the Blog page or other ministry pages. We believe the list of ‘followers’ who get daily posts sent directly to their email inbox will remain unaffected. There is a possibility that the website domain change could cause the site to be down for a short period of time.

Did you know… Go Light Our World is a tax-exempt 501c3 nonprofit ministry incorporated to carry the gospel throughout the world with specific mission of helping families discover and pursue God’s best for them. GLOW is governed by a board of directors including incorporators, Bryan and Marcia Thayer. Tax exempt donations to GLOW go directly to ministry fields in Bolivia, Bulgaria, and other places around the globe. GLOW supports vital ministries that promote self-sufficiency and literacy while introducing children and families to the REAL light of the world, Jesus.

Go Light Our World had its beginning during one of our missions to post-Katrina New Orleans. Beyond our teams’ efforts to rebuild houses, these missions were all focused on rebuilding lives by bringing light to shine into the darkness of their world.

Chris Rice wrote a song titled Go Light Your World, which captures the heart of our ministry. In it he writes:
“There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold
There is a Spirit who brings a fire
Ignites a candle and makes His home.
So carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world.”

We each were created for a purpose. We weren’t created to sit on the sidelines, but to intentionally and passionately live out our purpose by making a difference in the lives of others.

We believe that God gives each of us a light that can bring real and lasting hope to the lives of others and that working together as a community of believers, our light shines brighter.

We will be sharing more in future posts about how you can partner with us to Go Light Our World!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16

Going Home!

Ten weeks ago I had no clue I had a deadly disease. Eight weeks ago I was being treated for Leukemia. Today I am in remission and ready to go home. We are so thankful for God’s faithfulness, thousands of prayers (even from scores of people we don’t even know), a great medical team here at Mercy, countless get well cards, and practical expressions of love. We are also thankful for the relationships that have been formed (some for a short season, some for longer), and for many opportunities to share God’s love, truth, and grace. . . and to receive blessings and lessons learned too.

Blessings always travel on two-way streets.

As we were telling Hector, an environmental services worker here, it is the same Jesus who bore the weight of the cross 2000 years ago who has carried the weight of this cancer. We could not have done this well without the power, grace and guidance of His Spirit.

Next stop will be Iowa City Hospital for a consultation about my rare chromosomal condition and the discussion about stem cell transplantation. More chemo is also in the works over the next few months.

So now we go to another mission field, knowing that what Nurse Naomi shared with us is true:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8

This is the truth behind Go Light Your World ministries; the light of Jesus illuminates and dispels darkness. We each have a candle.

Go Light Your World.