I Won. You Can Too!

When I attend conferences, one of my favorite things to do is visit every booth in the exhibit hall and learn about all the organizations that are represented.

 Yeah, not really.

But, two years ago my sister won an iPad as the result of a little contest one of my favorite conferences, Orphan Summit put on. They provided a list of all the exhibitors and told us that if you could convince 20 exhibitors to initial your list, you could win something.

I wasn't planning on attempting this great and noble feat, but I had a 4 year old who was tired of sitting in workshops and a sister who thought she would win. Her dream was contagious.

The end result: I found myself wandering up and down the exhibit hall aisles. Aisles filled with booths from really great organizations doing amazing things all over the world to help orphans. As we walked we subtlety tried to catch exhibitors eyes and coerce them to sign our paper.

Besides learning that every single person in the orphan care community has some link to Zambia, I managed to obtain 20 sets of initials. And thus, found myself entered in a contest to win a prize.

Low and behold, they called my name. I did not win the iPad, but I did win a children's book entitled Walter's Flying Bus by Ed Strauss and Josiah Thiesen.

Walter's Flying Bus is a special book. It is the story of a boy in Uganda and his friends. They each have a dream and a special gift that turns an abandoned bus into a vehicle that delivers each one to their forever families.

Even better, this book is available as an interactive e-book that you can buy as an iPhone/iPad app for only $.99 (for a limited time).

It is amazing. Seriously, I LOVE the app and so do my kids. It is a prime example of how art can be used to inspire and change lives; and it is a great way to expose and inspire your own kids. A way to plant a seed in their hearts to care for and love on the orphaned.

To top it all off, 100% of the after-tax profits from the app sales go towards efforts helping special needs orphans around the world.

So while I may have "won" at Summit 9 this year, you can win too. And help orphans at the same time. And if you share this with your friends, they can win too!

It's a win-win-win-win-win. :)

Encourage them to Go

This series has taken a little longer than I thought it would. If you have stuck with me throughout, thank you!!

This last one is one of the most important:

#10 Don't Squelch or Limit what God is doing in the lives of your Kids

At Vacation Bible School last summer, the kids were trying to raise money for a local charity. As we were getting read to go to one of the last classes, one of my kids came down with his piggy bank, proceeded to take the majority of the money out and asked if he could give it to the charity that night.

It was a sweet, generous gesture.

Would you like to know what my first thought was?

I wanted to ask him if he was sure he wanted to give that much.

I wanted to limit his generosity because it felt like he was making too big of a sacrifice, you know, so he could spend that $20 on some cheap toy instead.

Thankfully, God talked me down before I talked him down. I ended up encouraging him in his giving. Even though, to my shame, I felt the desire to hold him back.

I was talking to a dear friend whose kids are grown about this topic and asked her what they did to encourage a global perspective in their kids. She told me,

I don't think we did anything specific. But, I do think that as we saw how God was growing our kids' hearts, we tried not to squelch or limit what he was doing. As parents, when we are students of our child's design, and see what their "bent" is, we want to encourage and challenge them to explore possibilities. For example, when our daughter talked about being a missionary when she was in 5th grade, we told her we thought that was great.

Frankly this can be easier said than done. Encouraging my daughter to be a missionary is one thing. But then, watching her become one and be placed in potentially dangerous situations is another. I hope when the time comes I will encourage my kids in what God has called them to no matter what I feel on the inside, even when doing so compromises their safety.

Christians are not called to live a safe life. We are called to obey where we are called to go no matter what.

When we see a call being placed on our kids, let's don't try to hold them back. Instead, let's encourage them to go.

That last sentence was the perfect place to stop, but at the risk of creating a post that is too long I want to add one more thought before I close out this series on global perspective.

You might follow all ten of these suggestions to encourage a global perspective in your kids and one hundred more and there is a chance that your kids will not care in the slightest. We can do all the right things as parents, but in the end our kids have free will. We are not responsible for what they choose. We are responsible to faithfully parent and teach our kids God's truths.

They must choose how they will live it out.

One of my kids had a small excerpt published in our local paper. The topic was "How would you spend one million dollars?" I immediately thought of all the orphans he would help. Instead he wrote this:

"I would buy a Nerf sword and Nerf gun. I would buy lots of toys at garage sales."

It is a hilarious answer and even if the thought of giving money away did not enter his sweet head, at least he was being frugal with his purchases. We do our best to teach and broaden his perspective, but in the end it is up to him to choose.

Thanks again for following along with this little series. If you have any additional ideas to share, please do! I appreciate every comment you have made. So many of you are living this out and I am so thankful for the examples you are to me as we journey on together.

Care for the Orphaned

#9 Care for the Orphaned

Adoption is definitely one way you can do this. And, one of the side-benefits of international adoption is that it brings "global perspective" into your family in an intensely personal way. Our family has become multi-cultural since adopting Suhn. We try to incorporate a little bit of China into our American life which has been fun for all of us. But, Adoption is not the only way you can care for the orphaned.  

Stefanie at Ni Hao Y'All shares a few additional ways you can help care for orphans here.

I am going to add one more thing to her list:

Support families around you who have adopted. Have your kids help you prepare a meal for them when they bring their little one home. Talk about the adoption process with your kids and learn about the countries people you know are adopting from. Support their fundraisers. Love on their kids.

Our church family and friends have been an amazing blessing to us in the way they have accepted Suhn, loved on her and in general embraced her as one of their own. Adoption has not exactly been an easy road for me, but I guarantee you it would have been 10,000 times harder without the amazing support, love and prayers of our family, friends and church family. 

You may not be called to adopt, but if you know someone who has, your love and support can lighten their load and give you a practical way to grow compassion and a global perspective in  your kids.

Gifts that Give Back (along with 6, 7, and 8)

6. Let your Kids see you Be Generous. There are so many creative and fun ways to do this, especially this time of year!

Participate in programs like Operation Christmas Child.

Lifesong for Orphans is giving out a special Advent Calendar that incorporates giving into your holiday season.

Take advantage of Christmas Catalogs that ministries like Compassion, World Vision and Lifesong put out. Consider cutting back on Christmas gifts and shopping these catalogs as a family with the money you saved.
Or ask friends to bring money to your birthday party instead of gifts and shop the catalogs as a group.

Purchase gifts that give back. We are That Family has a list of places to shop here. HKI (a charitable organization that raises funds for orphans in Suhn and Zak's province in China) is doing a fundraiser with Thirty-One Bags here until November 23. Scarlet Threads and Live Fashionable are two other organizations that will give back through your shopping support.

Whatever you do, let your kids see you do it! Take the time to turn your Christmas shopping into a teachable moment. Let your kids shop with you to fill the shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. Pour over the ministry catalogs together. This holiday season let your generosity be visible and contagious!

7. Sponsor a Child
We have sponsored children through Compassion  International for over ten years. Two of our Compassion kids have aged out of the system. When the last one did, we decided to sponsor another child, but this time let Mya pick.

We now sponsor a child in Ethiopia who is about Mya's age. Mya is in charge of writing letters to her. She knows where she lives on our map, and whenever Compassion sends updates or our sponsor child writes letters it gives an amazing, personal teaching moment for our daughter on what life is like on the other side of the world.

8. Take your Kids on a Mission Trip
Many of these ideas will involve a sacrifice of time and money, but the perspective it gives our kids is priceless. Mya traveled with me to Zambia this past spring.

Mid-way through the trip she looked up at me and said, "Mom, the world is a lot bigger than I thought."

Exposing our kids first-hand to the way others live can be a life-changing experience that will encourage a global perspective like nothing else.

Your Turn: Please share places you have found where you can purchase gifts that give back, or any other ways you encourage a global perspective in your kids.

Pray

#5 Pray.

It is one of the simplest and maybe the most profound way you can encourage a global perspective in your child.

Pray as a family for the world.

Does that sound overwhelming? Or bring up questions like How?

I have a few resources that will help:

1. Window on the World is a book that shares over 90 countries and people groups with its readers. We are currently reading through it as part of our family devotions at dinner time. Each page shares the story of a child in a specific country or people group along with a little bit about that country and specific ways you can pray for each people group.

Sometimes we are consistent in our family devotions and make it through several people groups a week, and sometimes we only make it through one (or less). Consistency is not our strong suit.

2. If you don't want to purchase a book, consider creating your own prayer cards.

The Joshua Project has a webpage where they have already created prayer cards for many of the people groups around the world. All you need to do is print them off and pray!

Compassion International has a list of 52 ways to pray for children on their website (one for each week of the year). If you need the names of specific children to pray for, visit the child sponsorship pages of Compassion and World Vision.

I often underestimate the power of prayer. But the truth is, prayer is probably the most effective thing we can do to make a difference in the world. It is something our young children can do, it is something we can do together as families. We may not see the difference our prayers make this side of heaven, but I believe someday we will be amazed when we hear how those prayers were used to change the world.

Your turn:  How does your family utilize the power of prayer?

Number 2,3, and 4

Moving right along.

#1 we talked about on Wednesday, encouraging a global perspective in your kids starts with encouraging a global perspective in yourself.

Numbers 2 - 4 are a little more on the practical side. Some of you have already shared your own lists in the comments. THANK YOU and keep'em coming!!

#2:  Encourage your Kids to Read or Read to Them.

Honestly, I believe this can include just about any type of book. While on the surface Dr. Seuss may not seem to encourage global thinking, a love of reading might.

(then again, one of my favorite quotes right now comes from Dr. Seuss: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, its not!")

Dr. Noble of Summit Ministries has been known to say, "If you want to be a leader, you have got to be a reader." If you instill in your kids a love of reading their perspective will enlarge.

Some books to focus them on a more global/missional mindset:  YWAM's Christian Heroes Then and Now. They have a series for more advanced readers (9 and up) and one for younger readers (4-6). Faith-building stories of men and women like George Mueller, Mary Slessor and Corrie Ten Boom.

If magazines or a website would keep your kid's attention better, Voice of the Martyrs has a website/blog for kids and Compassion has a magazine.

#3: Display a World Map

Here is ours.

We have push pins in all of the countries we have some kind of connection to, whether it be a Lifesong mission, a Compassion kid, or a missionary we know. It is a subtle thing, but there is something about seeing where you live compared to the rest of the world that gets a person thinking.

We have ours hanging in the office; the kids walk past it most days.

#4:  Find Local Events that Introduce Global Thinking

If you look for them you find them everywhere. This Sunday is Orphan Sunday, if you head to this website I  think there is a good chance you will find an event in your neighborhood this weekend. We are heading to hear a missionary family talk about their work in Guatamala tonight. Lifesong for Orphans is doing a Christmas tour with the muscial group FFH and 6 kids from the Lifesong school in Zambia (go here for the schedule). Our church put together their first (and hopefully not last) missions night last winter.

By supporting this type of event, you will introduce your kids to new cultures in a fun and interesting way.

These are all small ways you can start introducing global perspective to your kids at young ages, and hopefully as a result, you can begin to introduce the concept that the rest of the world does not live like we do in America. It takes some intentionality and time, but it is a lesson worth teaching.

I've got 6 more ways to encourage a global perspective coming, but for now, please continue to share some of yours!

It Starts with You

I am hoping to share ten ways to encourage a global perspective with your kids over the next few weeks. Some will get a post of their own, some will be shared together, at the end of each post I would LOVE for you to share your own ideas. The more you share, the more helpful for all of us. Otherwise, you've just got me.

On to #1:  In order to encourage a global perspective in your kids, it has to start with You!

Susie Larson writes in her book Growing Grateful Kids that we cannot teach what we do not impart. This is true in growing grateful kids and this is true in growing a global perspective. The needs of our world need to be important to us, if we want our kids to care. We have to expose ourselves to those needs. To allow ourselves to hurt for those who are hurting.

This is not an easy thing. I would much rather keep my head inside my own comfortable house and forget that the majority of the world does not live so comfortably. I know God calls us to be Jesus to those who are hurting, but sometimes it feels to hard to go where He has called.

The Israelites struggled with this too. During Haggai's time (one of the minor prophets), they were called by God to rebuild the temple. They started the job, but then stopped because of outside pressures. Instead they started building comfortable houses for themselves and abandoned their mission.

In her book, The Missional Mom, Helen Lee writes about this time and this people. She said:

During the sixteen years after they abandoned work on the temple, the Israelites demonstrated that God's mission was not as important to them as focusing on their own lives. They were fearful of their surrounding enemies and culture, but instead of engaging in a battle against those pressures, they chose to escape into their paneled houses and ignore the clear calling God had given them to rebuild His temple. The consequence for this abandonment of their calling, in addition to earning God's displeasure, is that their labors produced very little fruit. 

Ignorance may be bliss, but God calls us to more. He calls us to care for the poor and defenseless. He calls us to "administer true justice and show compassion and mercy to one another." (Zechariah 7:9) And to do that, we need to expose ourselves to our world and learn about the needs.

So how do we do that in a country where affluence appears to be the norm? Here are a few ideas:

1.  Take a Perspective Class. I have many friends who have taken this class and raved. It is a class that "shares how God has been moving, how the global Church has responded, and what the greatest needs in world evangelization are." There are classes all over the country, and on-line classes as well. Visit their website at www.perspectives.org to find out more.

2.  Read books and magazines that revolve around this topic. Compassion International and Voice of the Martyrs both produce magazines with articles centered on the needs of people groups around the world. There are a myriad of books that will expand on those needs and our response to them. Two that have been impactful in my life are The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns and The Missional Mom by Helen Lee.

3.  If you are presented with an opportunity to travel on a mission trip, take it. It may mean sacrifice financially and emotionally, but nothing enlarges your perspective like seeing firsthand how others around the world actually live.

In order to change the world, we need to know what needs changed. But once we start to expose ourselves to the hurts of the world, it is extremely overwhelming. 

But God. 

He knows every need intimately and He knows how we are best equipped to make a difference. He WANTS to use us to change the world. He WANTS us to be His hands and feet. Are you willing to step out? Seek His wisdom, follow His leading and step by step He will guide your feet. 

Now it is YOUR turn! What resources (books, movies, etc.) have had the biggest impact in enlarging your global perspective?

Blessed to Bless

This phrase has apparently been stalking me over the last few weeks. I’ve been hearing it as others speak, and reading it where others have written. All the while those words, “blessed to bless” tumble around inside my head as I move about my every days.

It’s true you know. We have not been given much to hoard and keep for ourselves. Contrary to the “American dream” type of living, that surrounds us.

We have been blessed to bless. And miraculously through the handing out of the blessing, it somehow finds its way back into our pockets. Conversely, when we hoard the blessings they oftentimes slip away leaving us feeling cheated.

We have been blessed to bless.

So how do I teach my kids this lesson? In a me-centered materialistic society, how do I help them learn and live this in their every days. I won’t pretend to be an expert because I’m not. But I have a thought, one focus that might help.

Several years ago, after watching the movie Slumdog Millionaire, I kinda lost it for a day or two. The movie had a profound effect on me. It made me want to do more. In the aftermath, I wrote this:

I want to be intentional about teaching my kids about the world and the orphans and the kids who are hurting. Maybe if they grow up with that awareness they can do something to change it. Maybe that is one way I can do something. So here are the goals I have for my children: To give them an awareness of the needs of the world around them; to grow compassion for those needs, and a desire/will to act on those needs and make a difference.

Honestly, I kind of forgot I had even made that goal until I was reading back through my moleskin notebook and rediscovered it. But I think there is a kind of magic in writing goals like that down. Even if you don’t revisit the actual written goal, pen to paper somehow indents them a little firmer in your heart. Looking back, I can see evidence of that goal's indention in how we've lived our lives.

Not that we are doing it perfectly, or even consistently. We struggle with materialism and wanting a comfortable life every day. Often our choices reflect the "American Dream,"way more than a "Blessed to Bless" attitude.  But, it is something we are aware of and trying to teach our kids. We are trying to teach them a global perspective with the hope that they will live lives of compassion and make a difference in the lives of those who are hurting and vulnerable. We hope that they will live out the phrase, “blessed to bless” as they grow.

With all that in mind, I am planning a series of posts over the next few weeks on ways we have intentionally tried to encourage a global perspective in our kids. I know for a fact that many of you who actually read my ramblings have the same goal for your families and I hope that you will add your thoughts and ideas along the way so we can all learn from each other.

One last thought, I recently read the following post on the Lifesong Blog, written by a high school student in Illinois. She writes on why we have been blessed to bless. It is well worth the read.

We have been blessed to bless. May we all live this out, in practical ways, to the glory of our God!

The Cover and Title Page

Our minister on Sunday reminded us that we were created for another world. This one is just the "cover and the title page;" the preview to the movie.

I heard Chip Ingram ask a question on the radio today, "Are we spending our lives or investing them?"

It is a question I need to ask myself every day: Am I spending my life on this world, that lasts but a moment, or am I investing my life in the world to come? 


Lord, help my live my every days with an eternal perspective, remembering how short life is and what's coming after. Help me to live for the world to come.

Then Aslan turned to them and said: 

"You do not look so happy as I mean you to be." 

Lucy said, "We're so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often." 

"No fear of that," said Aslan. "Have you not guessed?" 

Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them. 

"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly. "Your father and mother and all of you are--as you used to call it in the Shadowlands--dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended:  this is the morning." 

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were  so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. 

All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page:  now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read:  which goes on forever:  in which every chapter is better than the one before.

excerpt take from The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

A Glimpse of the Forest

I was looking through an old moleskine notebook this week. I love my moleskine notebooks because they are thin, lightweight and I can carry one around in my purse. Or leave one on my nightstand, or on the coffee table. Wherever I find them, they make me feel like a writer. The writings that fill their pages are typically a hodge podge of thoughts I don't want to forget, or conference notes, or blog post ideas, or book quotes, or vacation murmurings, or names of people whose names I am trying to remember.

The hodge podge creates a treasure-seeking kind of experience when you look back. You never know what you might find.

Proverbs 16:9 says, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Three years ago I wrote of an experience that led to some soul-searching that led to a goal. Today, three years later, I see more clearly how the person I am becoming was being shaped by those experiences. I read my plans and reviewed my steps and feel the truth of that verse.

It is exciting to see the past intersect with the present. It is exciting to dream how those experiences may continue to mature and impact the future. Because most of the time, I don't see it. I think it's called the "can't see the forest through the tress" phenomenon. This week offered a chance to climb one of those trees and glimpse a little bit of the forest.

Which reinforces one more reason why I love my moleskine notebooks.

"We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!" 

1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message

Living in Saturday

Today is Good Friday. The day we remember the sacrifice. His death.

With the rising and setting of the sun comes Saturday. I was reminded in my reading this week of the grief His disciples must have felt on that first Saturday. Trying to process his death. Questioning WHAT in the WORLD just happened. Scared. Confused. Hurt to the very CORE. Unaware of the HOPE Sunday would bring.

We are living in Saturday.

I read posts like this or this and I hurt. I am exposed to gritty stories of HARD, painful life experiences. I look into the eyes of the orphaned; I am told their stories of loss and I hurt. I see my brokenness surface over and over and I see that brokenness affect the people I love.

I catch my kid's looking for me as they perform for the church during the Easter program and I remember a girl in Ukraine who looked for me. I think of the millions of kids all over the world who have no one to look for. No one to advocate for them, pray for them or even remember them. And I hurt.

We all experience the hurt. Some more than others. Some in huge, unbearable doses. It is always there. If you haven't felt it, you will. The hurt is inevitable. Some try to hide from it or find ways to avoid or ignore it, but eventually, it finds us all.

The hurt is an undeniable truth of living in Saturday.

But there is one big difference between us and His disciples that first Saturday.

We KNOW the HOPE that comes with Sunday.

We are LIVING in Saturday, but Sunday IS coming.

We HURT in the now; but we live, by HIS grace, for the day when the hurt will leave FOREVER.
And, because of Sunday, the hurt we experience is bearable, the JOY deeper, and the PEACE overwhelming. Life can overflow with purpose. The LOVE of Jesus, who lived in our hurt, can be shared, RELISHED and overflow to ALL who wish to receive it!

PRAISE God for the empty tomb and the HOPE of Sunday!

Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 

He isn't here! He is risen from the dead!  

Luke 24:5b-6a 

There She Goes

She's officially off to Africa. My sister and aunt extraordinaire has left the country and is on her way to Zambia where she will live for the next year teaching art and music at Lifesong's school. She will be loving on kids and putting her vigorous auntie training (provided lovingly by her 11 nieces and nephews) to good use.

I am so excited to see God work in her and through her. I am so excited to see her live out this dream.

But I will miss her.

A lot.

Which I'm trying not to think about.

So let's move on.

If you are interested in following along on Leslie's great adventure, she will be blogging here (hopefully with more frequency than she's blogged the last 6 months, hint, hint).

You can also follow along with the McB family here. They arrived in Zambia today. Leslie will be living with them for the first two months until their guest house is complete. Then she will move across their yard.

Leslie, I love you. I'm praying for you. And I can't wait to see the adventure unfold.

Glory to God, for "great are his purposes and mighty are his deeds." (Jer 32:19)

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.

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!

Shoes and Beans

Raising kids in a country where you can almost unknowingly collect way more stuff than you'll ever need can be challenging. Heck, it's challenging to lessen the hold stuff has on any person little or big especially when the stuff surrounds you, bombarding you like a yippy dog when the doorbell rings.

We've been cleaning out closets this week. I have garbage bags ready to sell or give away after going through only two closets, not to mention the tubs of clothes I plan to keep. Meanwhile, I'm making a list of clothes to buy. It's crazy really. Especially when you look at how the rest of the world lives.

Telling my kids how great they have it doesn't go very far. Even telling them some kids get only one meal a day, have only one pair of shoes, etc. can go in one ear and out the other. It's not that they don't care, its just hard to grasp when you can't see it up close and personal.

Even when you've seen it up close and personal it drifts away when you are surrounded once again with "more than enough." I hate how that happens.

That's why I'm excited about a couple "days" Lifesong for Orphans is encouraging in the upcoming week.

Shoe Saturday and Tortilla Tuesday.

The Lifesong blog is focusing on Honduras this week. They have a great program (go here to read more!) making a huge difference in the lives of kids in Honduras. Kids who have one pair of shoes and eat rice, beans and tortillas every single day.

On Shoe Saturday, Lifesong invites you to count the pairs of shoes in your kids closet (with them of course) and remember the child in Honduras with only one pair.

On Tortilla Tuesday, Lifesong invites you to have a meal of rice, beans and tortillas and remember the child in Honduras who is eating the same thing.

It's a great chance to help our children, and us, remember those who have less and experience what that feels like on a small level. It's also a great chance to get involved, donate money and share your "more than enough" with the kids in Honduras.

Head on over to the Lifesong blog today to learn more!

Shopping with Purpose

Wanted to let you know, I found one more "master list" to share...

Go here, shop and help families adopt!

Grace is...

The King of the Universe desiring to adopt us and make us His own


Even when we fight Him and refuse to accept His gift


He continues to offer grace in unbelievable portions

Waiting for us to accept and surrender



"The love of God is manifested brilliantly in His grace toward undeserving sinners. And that is exactly what grace is: God's love flowing freely to the unlovely."

A.W. Tozer

To find more "snapshots" of grace, head over to Chatting at the Sky

Adopt an Orphanage

Do you have 2.5 minutes to spare today?
Then please watch the following video. Not only do I believe in the cause it shares, I love the way it is presented. Plus my little sis has put in hours and hours and hours to hand draw, trace, photograph and present this little 2.5 minute video to you.

I think you owe it to her to watch. :)

Picked

Yesterday, Mya's friend was captain of a daily recess kickball team.

She picked Mya first.

Usually Mya gets picked near the end. She doesn't mind, except that when you get picked first you get to kick first. A definite advantage when your recess time is limited.

I like to be picked too.

A friend of mine is advocating for a little girl in China who has a severe heart issue. She is a beautiful little girl who has not been picked, when being picked really matters. It is hard not to ask why? Why are some kids picked and others left behind?

Logically I know it is one more ugly result of living in a fallen world. People make wrong choices. They choose to serve themselves instead of their Creator and the result is a messed-up, hurt-filled world.

I know the Creator has not abandoned us. He gives us a way out. He gives us grace and if we accept his gift he lets us partner with Him and redeem some of the ugly.

This knowledge doesn't take the hurt out of the question. I don't know if anything will. But I know He cares and because He cares He calls us to act and be His hands and feet.

I want to ask you to pray for JiaYi, the little girl I mentioned above who needs a family. Pray for healing and pray that she gets picked.

Also, I want to mention that Orphan Sunday is November 7th this year. If your church has never participated in this nationwide event, maybe you can give them a little push in that direction. It is a great way to raise awareness and help for the orphan. Go here for resources and ideas!

"Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it."
"Well, why don't you ask Him?"
"Because I am afraid He would ask me the same question."
-Anonymous