It all began at a red light...
Illustration
It all began at a red light. Kevin Salwen was driving his fourteen-year-old daughter home from a sleepover. While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.
"Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal," Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove home but Hannah would not let the matter drop. She pestered her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
"What do you want us to do?" her mother responded, "Sell our house?" Never make such a statement to a teenager Kevin would learn. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.
Eventually they did just that. The project -- crazy, impetuous, and utterly inspiring -- is chronicled in a book by her father, The Power of Half. The Salwens' offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference.
It's tough being a prophet and being charged to confront people of their wrong doings. The Old Testament Prophet Amos, speaking the Word of God, challenged the people, "Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land." It was a call to change, to pay attention to the poor. It was also a call to action.
"Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal," Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove home but Hannah would not let the matter drop. She pestered her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
"What do you want us to do?" her mother responded, "Sell our house?" Never make such a statement to a teenager Kevin would learn. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.
Eventually they did just that. The project -- crazy, impetuous, and utterly inspiring -- is chronicled in a book by her father, The Power of Half. The Salwens' offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference.
It's tough being a prophet and being charged to confront people of their wrong doings. The Old Testament Prophet Amos, speaking the Word of God, challenged the people, "Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land." It was a call to change, to pay attention to the poor. It was also a call to action.
