Follow Anne's Blog.

One of my favorite bloggers, Anne Jackson at Flowerdust.net, is currently touring Moldova and Russia with Children's Hope Chest. I'd encourage you to follow her blog over the next week. It is hard, hard stuff, but maybe there is something we can do.

Because...

Because I'm a fan of his, and because my sister actually finished his book, and because his book is next on my reading list, and because I liked another one of his video clips so much, and because I saw this clip on a friend's blog and thought it was profound...

Here is a little bit from Francis Chan... Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday - A Pit Stop for Cake!

Lifesong in Ethiopia

Would you like to see what Lifesong is doing in Ethiopia?

Then by all means, read on!

Lifesong Ethiopia 2010 from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

We found many of the students in the Ziway Lifesong School were coming to school hungry and brought no food for lunch. Teachers complained of lack of attention on the students’ part. Lifesong initiated a school feeding program in November, 2009, for all 300 students at the school.

For breakfast each receives fafa, a porridge-like food that provides the nutrients that each growing child needs. The lunch menu rotates through a cycle of fish soup, the national foods of shiro and injera, vegetable beef soup, and pasta.

Now that the Adami Tulu Nursery School has re-opened, Lifesong has also started a similar breakfast and lunch feeding program there.

The Ziway school feeding program, in which 300 children are fed two meals each day, has been very successful. Caregivers, teachers, and the students themselves report that they are much healthier, more attentive in class, and have more muscle and skin tone.

Sustaining the program of feeding each student a nutritious breakfast and lunch at the Adami Tulu School will take additional funding and special logistics. However, if it is God’s will, we know that He will provide what is necessary for the feeding program. On the first day of the feeding program, all students were measured for their height and weight and this data was recorded. Several children were found to be malnourished. Now that we have this statistical data, we intend to monitor the students’ progress.

View all current projects. View all Lifesong Ethiopia videos.

In Ethiopia, $3 feeds 1 child for a month!

I am a Peanut.

The world does not revolve around me.

I know that. But sometimes, my world does.

Every word spoken I take personally. A weird look and I wonder what I did wrong. Everything comes down to how it will affect my life.

When my world shrinks down to me alone, it is time for a healthy dose of perspective.

It's time to step back and remind myself that I am just one peanut in a jar taking up a bit of space in the snack isle of a mega grocery store.

It's time to remember that the story is not about me. I get to participate in the story, but it is not about me.

It is about my all-powerful God who spoke the world into being. A world so big that if our galaxy the Milky Way (a relatively small galaxy) was the size of North America, our solar system would be the size of a coffee cup.*

My God who, despite my peanut status, knows me, has a purpose for me (a part to play in His story) AND gives me access to His power so that His purpose can be fulfilled.

It is utterly unbelievable.

The only response I can think of is to take my eyes off of me and worship my Creator. As Bill Bright says in his book, God Discover His Character, "All you can do is bow down before Him in humble adoration, servitude and worship."

"The Lord merely spoke and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let everyone in the world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of Him. For when He spoke, the world began. It appeared at His command. The Lord shatters the plans of nations and thwarts all their schemes. But the Lord's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken."

Psalm 33:6-11

*This stat was taken from Bill Bright's God, Discover His Character.

Jane Austen - A Book Review

“Janeia”, Peter Leithart’s term for the mania of all things Austen, may apply to me.

I must admit I am a fan, and as I am not the only one, ample material has been supplied to feed my love of all things Jane. Movies like Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma rank among my favorites (BBC versions included). I couldn’t wait to see the movie Becoming Jane when it released. And, let’s not forget the media that gave rise to Janeia in the first place… the books. I’ve read all, but Northanger Abby and that is on my list.

All this to say, when I saw that Thomas Nelson was publishing a series of short biographies and Jane Austen was on the list, I grabbed it immediately.

The small 150 page book was a quick read. I must admit, the first chapter or two left my eyes glazed over as my mind wandered elsewhere, but that changed as I got to know Jane, or Jenny as she was known to her family.

I was glad to get to know the real Jenny (who’s life does not, by the way match very closely to the Jane we discovered in the movie, Becoming Jane, especially in the romance department).

Nevertheless, the real Jane was as likable as her heroines with a smart sense of humor. If you have read her books you could hardly imagine anything less. Her biography is filled with letters written by Jane, to Jane and about Jane, chronicling her life and giving readers insight into the woman credited with birthing the modern novel.

If you have participated in Janeia on any level and want to know more about the lady who inspired it almost 200 years ago, I would recommend the biography Jane Austen by Peter Leithart. I’m guessing it will give you a greater appreciation for the work of Jane Austen, as well as the woman herself.


***DISCLOSURE NOTICE: A free copy of this book was supplied to me for the purpose of review by Thomas Nelson Publishing. No monetary exchange was given. All comments and wording in this review are purely my own.

Attempts at Craftiness with Decoupage

Over the last several weeks, my crafty side has decided to peek out. On a small, decoupaging level at least.

Suhn's adoption has been the inspiration for this new venture. The two projects I've completed center around her and her names, both her English one and her Chinese one.

It all started when I discovered that her Chinese name came from a Chinese saying. Translated into English the saying goes, "A fall of seasonal snow gives a promise of a fruitful year." Our agency was able to send me the Chinese version and I turned it into my own little art project. I want to introduce elements of China into our home. I figured this was a good place to start.


The main cost came in the form of the picture frame. Most of the paper came from old Real Simple magazines, with a few sheets of scrapbook paper thrown in. Add in a bottle of decoupage glue for $6 and this is what I came up with:



My next project involved Suhn's English name. All of our kids have their names on the walls of their bedrooms. The boys have wooden letters painted in yellow. Mya, the firstborn, has small canvas letters from Pottery Barn.

I wanted to do something fun without spending a lot of money so I decided to put my trusty bottle of decoupage glue to work. I purchased four 8 X 10 canvas squares from Hobby Lobby along with sheets of scrapbook paper. I blew up and printed off Suhn's name in a font I liked in MS word and went to work.

I am excited about the final project (look too close or you will see numerous mistakes from an amateur crafter).

I'm even more excited about the price. I spent less than $12.


How about you? If you've experienced the fun of decoupage what have you created? I still have some left and would love more ideas!