Listening In

A conversation with Suhn...

S: Mom, you are the queen.

M: Yes, and who is Daddy?

S: The king.

M: Who are you and Mya?

S: Princesses

M: What about Simon and Jonah?

S: Princes

M: And what about Sean?

S: He's the puppy!

There you have it, our royal puppy.

Aunt Leslie

Aunt Leslie is one of the coolest people ever.

For starters, she is an artist and an amazing singer.

But even better than that, she is probably one of the best aunts in the world.

She does cool things like take us on trips to Chicago or invite us over for slumber parties. She even watches Barbie movies with us.

She helps us with our Halloween costumes.

She babysits us for FREE.

She makes cool things out of sand like mermaids, whales and frogs.

Yep, she is really quite amazing.

When I grow up I want to be an artist aunt just like her!

Everyone should have an Aunt Leslie, but I know not everyone can.

I heard there are some kids in Zambia who need help. They need an Aunt Leslie. Someone to have slumber parties with. Someone to teach them things about art and music. Someone to care about them the way my Aunt Leslie cares about me.

Even though I will miss her terribly, I've decided that I will share her with them... for a little bit.

So I am sending her to Africa to teach art and music for at least a year. And here is where I need your help. It costs money to go to Africa, so to help out I'm going to be selling yummy, sweet lemonade at my mom's Garage Sale later this week. All the proceeds from the garage sale and my lemonade will go to Lifesong for Orphans to help Aunt Leslie go to Africa.

So please come on out to my house this Thursday (1-7) and Friday (8-5) and help me send Aunt Leslie to Africa.

There are a lot of kids who will be so glad you did!

PS If you can't come to our sale, and still want to help you can go here and mention Aunt Leslie's name in the memo!

Thanks for helping!

Love,

Mya

PSS If you are local, please help us spread the word and share this post and information on the garage sale on facebook!!

Summit VII

My head is still spinning trying to process Summit VII.

It was overwhelming. Over 1500 people coming together to

talk, network, inspire, learn, and advocate for the orphan.

the topics were many

poverty, adoption, church adoption funds, global initiatives, foster care

and the need,

orphans, street kids, poverty, injustice, human trafficking

the need breaks my heart.

It steals my breath and SCREAMS, YOU MUST DO MORE!

On my own, the need is paralyzing. Thankfully I'm not on my own and it is not up to me to rescue. I am called to obey, one step at a time. He may or may not call me to do "great" things (by the world's standards) to alleviate the need.

That is His job, not mine.

He simply asks that I listen to His voice and obey His call, big or small, whatever that may be.

Interested in a few sound bytes/links from the Summit? Here you go -

• When our children look into our eyes do the see how precious they are? - Karin Purvis is a rock star. Go to Empowered to Connect to find helpful resources and videos if you are the parent of a child from a hard place.


• Poverty alleviation is not about us coming and rescuing the poor, it is about us coming together with them and working toward a closer relationship with Jesus. We must walk humbly with the materially poor as Christ transforms us both. - Brian Fikkert, co-authored the book When Helping Hurts. Kory's thoughts on Brian were this, "I like listening to smart people and I like listening to funny people, but I really like listening to smart, funny people." We are planning on buying this book, it is a paradigm shift we all need.


• We are not called to save the world, we are called to be a light. - Kristen Welsh, a favorite blogger of mine and founder of Mercy House. You can find her blog here.

Wordless Wednesday - On a Walk

Help Orphans

I am really excited!

Tomorrow Kory, Suhn and I will be heading to Louisville Kentucky for the 7th Annual Orphan Summit. We will be surrounded by people filled with God's heart for the orphan. We had the opportunity to go last year and it was inspiring. I have no doubt this year will be as well... I'll let you know!

Since I have orphans on the brain tonight, I thought I'd share a couple of events going on right now or in the near future that give YOU an opportunity to advocate for the fatherless.

First up, how about a chance to shop for a GREAT cause! You can learn about the cause over at the Love Changes Lives blog and check out this post to see how you can help. Henan is the province in China where Suhn was born and Henan Kids helps raise funds to support the orphanages in her province. In the month of May if you purchase any shirt at ByGraceDesigns and enter Henan Kids in the Referral Code box, $5 will be donated to that organization. Yipee!!

Second, for all you locals, there is an event called 5K for orphans coming up in July. All money will got to support an orphanage in Guatemala. If you are a runner, or simply have "Run a 5K" on your bucket list (like me), this is a great opportunity! There will also be a 1-mile walk and a Kids Run so bring the family! Go here for more information or here for the registration form.

And while I'm at it, another great site to check out, the newly created Forgotten Initiative website. If you have a heart for Foster Care this is a great ministry to support or pray about starting in your neck of the woods! You can also become a fan on Facebook here.

Know of other ways to help the orphan? Please share in the comments!

Motherhood Should Come With...

I'm participating in 5 minute Friday again. 5 minutes to write, unedited, whatever comes. Today's prompt is: Motherhood should come with...

Head over to Gypsy Mama to read others or add your own!

Go.
Motherhood should come with a major compensation plan. Money won't do, that's too shallow for the depth this job requires.

No amount of money would be enough.

Motherhood should come with compensation that means something... like a million hugs, kisses and snuggles. The touch and feel of small hands in yours. Constant reminders to be and play in the present. I love yous written and spoken. Special looks.

The chance to see a child grow into an adult with purpose. To be a part of something bigger than yourself. To be challenged to give up yourself for the sake of another.

These are the compensations motherhood should come with.

It's a big job. No one told me how hard it would be. Or how blessed I would be because of it.
Stop.

What to Read on Vacation

Last week Hubs and I escaped to Florida.

The kids stayed home (with grandparents), and we had the luxury of doing whatever we felt like doing. Bliss!

We walked the beach, rode bikes, slept in, went out to eat, read by the pool...

It was a much need break from the busyness of life; and more importantly an investment in our relationship. And while this isn't really the point of this post, if it has been over a year, or 2 or 3 since you've had time away with your hubby, alone. Stop reading and plan a trip TODAY!!!

Back to the reading by the pool...

Vacation reading is a treat. I only read certain kinds of books on vacation. I stay away from deep, life-changing stuff. Non-fiction is off limits. No literary prose or Pulitzer prize winners allowed. Instead I focus my attention on...

any guesses???

Drum roll please...

Thrillers.

John Grisham provides a huge selection along the legal lines. But I've dabbled in T Davis Bunn and Ted Dekker as well.

No real meat. Pure entertainment. Fast-paced reads that allow me to barrel through at least two per vacation.

Periodically, I will make an exception to my vacation reading fare. But the exceptions don't read as well, because let's face it... there is nothing like getting lost in a good thriller, hiding from the Florida sun under an umbrella poolside.

How about you... What are your favorite vacation reads?

Wordless Wednesday - I know I've been MIA... I've simply been enjoying the view...