{ bakerella and blinders }

On Saturday, I met Bakerella. (Otherwise known as Angie Dudley).

I kind of geeked out about it.

I have followed her blog for a while now, and even tried my hand at making her Cake Pops for Hannah's 1st birthday party.

She was at the Oak Book mall for a book signing at Williams-Sonoma.

Two of my favorite co-workers and I decided to make a day of it.

We were early enough to get a good spot in line for the signing. I was #10.

Prior to the signing, Bakerella did a Q&A session and answered lots of questions from the audience about making her Cake Pops.

For a crafty, bloggy nerd like myself, this was a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

However, somewhere in the middle of her Q&A, I started feeling very guilty.

Materialistic. Self-absorbed. Flaky. Blind.

As I stared around at the hundred or so ladies who were hanging on every word about how to make tiny little desserts on sticks, my mind flashed to this.

Then I recalled a statistic I'd read last week in David Platt's book "Radical":

Over 26,000 children die every day of starvation or preventable diseases. You realize that that is the equivalent of 100 planes filled with children falling from the sky and crashing every single day. . . . We must do something about it. Faith in us compels us to. So the challenge is, to go through our spending and to ask of every single line item in our budget, ‘Is it more important to spend this money than it is to feed a starving child?’

Wow. Right between the eyes.
There was no rationalizing the way I'd chosen to spend my time and money that day.
But honestly, I would not trade the time I spent building relationships with my co-workers.
So I was kind of justified, right? At least I thought so.
Until lunch.

We went to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.
In and of itself, a case study in overindulgent American life.
I ordered a club sandwich and tea, and had a wonderful time with my friends.
When the dessert menu came out, we were amazed with all the decadent options.
But then I was whacked upside the head once more...
A "special" cheesecake was on the menu to raise money to feed the hungry.
25 cents from each order would be sent to a charity to feed the world's hungry.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
A QUARTER!?!?!?!
I just spent $30 on a lunch that I could have probably done without, and the best I can do is send a quarter to someone who might not get another meal for days.
I could have puked right there.

To say that I've been convicted lately would be an understatement.
I am being pursued by a God who wants more from me.
He wants me to remove the blinders that have for so long prevented me from seeing beyond my own comfort and wants.

Now PLEASE don't misunderstand the point of my ramblings.
I am NOT saying that it is a bad thing to spend a day with your friends doing something you enjoy. I am so thankful for my fabulous co-workers and it really was a great day.
Bakerella is insanely talented, genuinely sweet, and I am still a big fan of hers.
It's just that when I examined the stark contrast of our day against what I have been reading about God's call for us to care for orphans, it really made me stop & think. And it made me uncomfortable...much more so that I ever have been.

So, I'm not really sure what to do with this.
What tangible things can I do? How do I turn a conviction into action?
The bottom line is that I need to change.
I am required to.