The Compassion Project.
Our church community group has joined together this month to accomplish one goal: To find sponsors for ten specific children through Compassion International.
Our group has the packets, including a photo, for ten specific children who are currently in need of sponsorship. We are hoping to connect ten people who have the desire to financially support the spiritual, educational, and physical growth of a child who is severely limited by poverty with one of these ten children.
Here’s what we specifically love about Compassion:
1. Compassion is Christ-centered and Gospel driven. They know their real goal is eternal.
2. Compassion approaches childrens’ needs holistically, marrying the opportunity to share the love of Christ with the opportunity to practically serve children in the most basic fundamental ways (education, safety, medical care, etc).
3. Compassion practices accountable stewardship of finances. More than 80% of funds go directly toward Compassion projects. Less than 20% goes toward administrative costs and fund-raising efforts. Internal and external audits performed yearly ensure right use of funds. They also work to keep costs low and to spread every dollar, enabling working families to participate in this ministry ($38 per month).
4. Compassion works WITH and through local churches, not in addition to or in lieu of local churches. Children and families get connected with a well-rooted church family where they have relationships and consistent Christian discipleship.
Are you one of the sponsors we’re looking for and praying for? Are you interested in making a longer term commitment to a child you don’t know, but one that you will get to know as you exchange letters from across the world? Do you want to help?
Below are links to information about each of the children we’re advocating for. If you are interested in sponsoring one of these children, please contact us for more information or to make a commitment. Comment on this page or send a private email to raspberry39@hotmail.com.
Liz - SPONSOR FOUND!!! Thank you A. Olson!!!
Maria – SPONSOR FOUND!!! Thank you J. & C. VanHoof!!!
Submitted Parenting.
Sometimes I look at a picture of Grace and I project a certain idea about her onto the image. In this photo I think she looks like she’s in deep theological study of Scripture. That idea makes me happy. As she grows up, I want her to be thoroughly knowledgeable of and deeply submitted to the authority of Scripture.
Then this strange voice comes into my head accusing me of “projecting onto Grace things that aren’t necessarily hers” and “violating her development and choices with my own ideas” and needing to “wait to see “what she wants for herself.’”
And then I another more familiar voice says, “The previous thought you just had is [crappola]. Your highest calling as a parent is to guide and mold and teach your childrens’ minds in such a way that they will grow up in the knowledge and admonition of [The Lord].”
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 ESV)
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.“ (Proverbs 22:6 ESV)
I don’t know who’s talking to my head when the crappola thought comes in. Whoever it is, he’s a liar. It’s one thing to push my daughter to be a ballerina because I always regretted not take dance classes as a girl. It’s another thing to obey Scripture and share the incredible joy of Christ with my daughter, training her up in hopes that she will love and serve and obey Christ when she is old (and while she’s young). To not strive for this in my family is blatant disobedience to Christ.
When the two disagree on a subject, I must always submit to Christ, not culture/self/the new book I’m reading/whatever.
Whose voice will you obey as a parent?
Wrap Ups.
Last year, right about the time Grace was born, we started “the kitchen project.” New flooring, countertops, sink, DISHWASHER(!), stove, hardware, faucet, trim, paint…..the kitchen project. Most of the work was finished shortly after Gracie emerged into the big wide world, but those last few items just had to be put on the back burner while life happened.
In addition, we poured a patio this summer but had no steps to make the transition from the back door to the patio less “startling.”
So Fall brings the closure of summer and the closure of our unfinished family (read “Paul”) projects.
What projects did you work on this summer?
Who Cooks at Your House?
Who cooks at your house? At our home, Catrina is the primary chef, though there are some meals that seem to require a man’s touch. Anything having to do with the barbecue is Paul’s domain, and he is a good king.
Last night was too hot to cook indoors. Paul saved the day by creating a delicious dinner of barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, and summer time tomatoes topped with mayo, salt, & pepper. A simple and scrumptious meal that we enjoyed till the last bite!
It was a great treat. Not only because the food was delicious, but because I got a night off and didn’t have to cook in the 206 degree weather! Thank you Paul!
Who cooks at your house? What is your best recipe?
Do Dogs Ever Feel Self-Conscious About Their Appearance?
They should.
Bows aside, the dogs look great after being groomed today thanks to Klips by Kim of Buckley, WA. We’ve been really happy with their services. Chewy and Sadie get consistently good haircuts at very competitive prices for our area ($35 each as of today).
Good Morning Diva!
Gracie has been developing a new habit: waking up a little bit earlier every morning until her mother says, “Hey, who sets the alarm clock in this house?” We thought it was the earlier sunrise. But even with a black-out shade in place, she clung to her early-bird wake-ups.
Before I realized it, my little girl who was sleeping through the night until 7:00 in the morning started demanding breakfast at 6:30, then 6…does 5:30 work?…no, let’s make it 5. Well, what’s a half hour? How about we meet at 4:30?
I don’t think so. After realizing that I had become an April Fool in June, Paul and I put our heads together to formulate a plan of attack.
The little girl went cold turkey last night. It’s a hard habit to break, but I’m more than confident that she can do it. I’ve seen her do it!
It’s my own resolve that’s hard to hold on to at 5:45 AM when she’s been crying on and off for almost an hour and I know that I could get her to shush-for-Pete’s-sake in a minute-and-a-half if I just got out of bed and gave her what she wanted and then I could start this re-training program again tomorrow when I’m less tired…..
But I won’t be less tired. And she’ll have learned that if she can hold out a tad longer, Mom will give in…just keep it up a few more minutes. That’s right…I can practically hear Mommy stumbling down the hallway right now…let’s turn it up a notch, shall we???
Paul is a little sleepy today. But in a couple days…maybe a week, we should be seeing those longer and more peaceful nights return to us. We hope.
In the meantime, what’s your advice? Moms: Have any of you encountered the Earlier-Mornings-By-Unnoticeable-Increments routine from your little ones? And how did you get them to get back into their sleep-longer habit?
Where Does Failure Lead You?
I’m a big fat failure. I’ve failed as a mother. I’ve failed as a wife. I’ve failed as a human.
At least, this is what I was thinking yesterday right before my tearful-temper-tantrum-of-self-pity-party.
It has been a long four weeks, five weeks, couple of weeks. Paul’s been sick. I’ve been sick. Gracie inherited allergies from her dad. She’s growing a tooth out the front of her gum and her other teeth are throwing the kind of party that makes her feel irritable.
On top of that, she got her first official cold. I’ve never been so watchful of someone’s breathing. The baby monitor and I have rediscovered the relationship we had the first few weeks after her birth.
None of us have been sleeping well.
All of which would lead any reasonable woman to the state I was in yesterday. Tears, doubt, whining, and the mad ravings of a lunatic:
“I think, ‘What would the perfect wife DO?’ And the answer is, she would get up early in the morning and exercise AND LIKE IT! And then she’d get the house in order before the baby wakes up! She’d have all her chores done by noon so that she could spend the afternoon outside in the yard weeding the flower beds. HAVE YOU SEEN THE FLOWER BEDS? THEY’RE A DISASTER! Oh, I can’t go on! We can’t have anymore kids! I want to eat carbs all day everyday for the rest of my life but I’m too chubby to be able to afford it! What do you mean ‘things will be better soon?” The house ALWAYS looks like this!”
[Cue tears]
It was horrible. Mostly for Paul. Oh, what that man has to put up with.
I’ve had a little time to think about my temper tantrum since yesterday and it has made me ponder something: Where was it all going?
I realized shortly after my explosion of tears that all (ALL) my thinking in that moment was about me. My failure, my mood, my shortcomings, my abilities, my anguish, my flower beds, what I should do better.
Now, it’s alright to re-evaluate your productivity. It’s okay to consider areas where you might be able to improve. It’s good to think about how you can serve more effectively.
But you’re in danger when your thinking begins to wrap you into the seductive cocoon of self. You’re in danger when you begin to swim in condemnation.
My thinking yesterday was not Godly. Yes, I’ve been tired. Yes, it’s hard sometimes to have a baby who’s sick. Yes, I have lots of excuses for why I might be upset. But the truth is that God wants my inadequacies and failures to lead me to the Gospel and not to more of myself.
These little failures have good purpose. They are mere shadows of my big failure: sin. They are not meant to eternally haunt me, they’re meant to point me in the direction of Christ! Where I am weak, He is strong! Where I am inadequate, He is more than adequate. Where I fail, He is perfect. And He is enough for me.
Let my failures lead me to the cross where I find forgiveness. Let my failures lead me to Christ where I find sufficiency.
Though I will work to improve, though I will work towards discipline, though I will work toward becoming a servant, I must remember that Christ has already covered my failures. My greatest success is nothing outside of Christ.
He is the perfect parent, and I am in Him.
He is the perfect spouse, and I am in Him.
He is the perfect One, and I am in Him.
So let my failures lead me to Him.
What’s Your Toilet Seat Personality?
We needed a new toilet seat as ours had become…”dangerous.” Not being big fans of attracting attention to our toilet, we went with a standard, unassuming, white seat. No frills, and definitely not “plush.” No offense to those of you with pampered keesters, but we think padded toilet seats are kind of creepy.
But if you”re the kind of person who wants “frills” with your toilet seat, you can most certainly get them!
One quick search on Amazon reveals a broad variety of toilet seat choices I had never been aware of. If you don’t like your current toilet seat, but there’s nothing wrong with it warranting replacement, they even have toilet seat TATTOOS!
Which leads me to the question…What’s your toilet seat personality? If you HAD to go outrageous, what sort of seat would you choose?
I think I would go for the dark seat with flames. I’d feel like I was ”going” into the pit of hell and sticking it to the devil. That’d show him.
Which one would it be for you?
Most Delicious Chain Letter.
Did you ever receive a chain letter as a kid? You had to make six copies of the letter and send them out to your friends and one back to the person who originally gave it to you and if you didn’t your dog would die of Swine Flu. Remember?
Church ladies have a different kind of chain letter. It comes with all kinds of benefits including 1. it is delicious and 2. there’s no threat of Swine Flu or Bird Flu or a meteor hitting your house if you choose not to participate.
It’s called Amish Friendship Bread and it makes the rounds about once a year at our church.
This stuff is endless. A friend gives you a “start” which is a bag of mystery-fluid-dough-stuff and an instruction letter. Most of the instructions are, strangely enough, “Mush the bag.” That’s my kind of cooking. By the time you’re done with the instructions, you have at least one loaf of heaven and approximately 8,000 “starts” to distribute amongst your friends.
This is a good time to join a megachurch. If you don’t belong to a megachurch, like us, then you’re sort of in a pickle trying to find ladies who haven’t already received a “start” and dodging the ladies who are trying to give you theirs.
We love chain loaf season. We eat Amish Friendship Bread till it’s coming out of our ears! And when we’ve had our fill, we quietly stop the cycle of yeast life by throwing away our remaining “starts,” knowing all the while that we’ll see them again next year when someone shows up at Ladies Bible Study with that sneaky look on their face…”Do you and Paul like Amish Friendship Bread?”
No meteor and all the carbs we can eat??? We’re in!!!
P.S. Thank you Lucie for the Amish Friendship Bread start. We LOVE it….and I’ve remembered to “mush the bag” every day.
Who Has a Mini Trampoline?
Do you have a mini trampoline I can borrow for a week?
Sure, they remind me of 1987, leg warmers, and bigger hair, but I’ve kind of been wanting one lately. I have it in my head that if I had a mini trampoline, I might actually bounce on it and therefore get a little exercise on a regular basis. These baby belly rolls are beginning to get a little too comfortable.
The truth is, I probably wouldn’t use a mini tramp if I had one. It would effectively hold down the carpet in one corner of our living room, taunting and mocking me as I sit on the couch eating ice cream and watching The Biggest Loser.
I always have some big plan on what will help me to exercise, but my serious lack of discipline always seems to overcomes the “big plan.” So, in an effort to not spend money on something I won’t use, I’m going with the borrow method to prove or disprove my sincerity. I figure that if I have this item in my house, and I don’t touch it more than twice the first week, then I’ll never use it if it stays in my house permanently and I can move onto my next “big plan.”
So, with that being said….does anyone have a mini trampoline I can borrow for a week? I promise to give it back, potentially unused.
