Perspective.

My family sponsors a child through Compassion International. His name is Nevine, he lives in Kenya, and he just turned 17 years old on Valentine's Day. We have been sponsoring him for about 5 years and have enjoyed writing him, and learning about him from Compassion and from the letters we receive from him. We love LOVE getting letters from him. It thrills my girls and absolutely makes our day when we see a Compassion envelope in the mail. Letters that are sent to the kids and letters that they send their sponsor family are screened, and translated if necessary. Nevine can write and speak English (thanks to the schooling he receives through Compassion), and the only translation that takes place is an occasional slang word or geographically specific term that I might not understand. But for the most part, his letters are all him. And I love them.

Because of the screening/translating/distance, it takes a couple of months for letters to get from him to me and visa versa. This week I received a letter from him thanking us for the Christmas money that we sent through Compassion to him. He is allowed to use the money, with direction from his family and the Compassion staff, to purchase Christmas presents for himself. This is a picture of what he wrote.



If that doesn't put life into perspective, I don't know what will.

I'm so thankful that there are organizations like Compassion that allow me to be a part of his life. I'm so proud of him and his willingness to take care of his family. What an amazing young man he's turning into.

If you would like to sponsor a child from Compassion, click the link above. It costs $38 a month and you will be a part of releasing a child from poverty in Jesus' name. There's no bigger blessing on this planet.

Good Good Good.

I read a lot of blogs every day. So many people can write so much better than I can. So many people are so funny that my sides hurt from laughing when I read their posts. So many people are informative. And I love reading and knowing these people - some in real life.

But few are life changing. Few posts make your heart ache or your spirit stir. Few posts make me think until my brain hurts. And few posts bring me a step closer to my Heavenly Father.

This post does all that. And it was written by a sweet friend of mine, Melanie. If you don't read her blog (she's hysterical), bookmark it and read it everysingleday. While, on a daily basis, her blog is one of my favorite things to read, her heart, as evidenced in this post, is sweeter than anything on this planet. I adore her. And you will too.

Thanks, Mel.

Hey, Guess What?

WAR EAGLE!!!!

Scripture Memory

A couple of years ago, Beth Moore challenged all of those who read her blog to memorize scripture twice a month. Because we live in a world where we Christians are not only a minority, but are persecuted because of our faith daily, we are called to know His word - so that we are equipped when we are tested, tempted, or need to defend our faith (Psalm 119:11). And I know that I need to do a MUCH better job of this.

This year (2011) we are doing the scripture memorization again. And I'm really excited about it! My first scripture - which is also my theme for the year - is Galatians 5:1 - "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." I know that I tend to find a fault that I have, tell myself that I'm the only person on the planet with that fault, and then build a house and join the neighborhood association in the middle of that fault. But the Lord has called me to something different, and I will spend every single day this year reminding myself of the truth promised in Galatians 5:1. Because when I live in the yoke of slavery, the focus is on me - not on the Father. And the purpose of my life is to glorify Him.

So. On the 1st and 15th of every month, I will memorize a new scripture. If you'd like to join me, and the rest of Beth Moore's blog peeps, head over here and leave a comment with your chosen verse. I also ask (beg, plead) you to hold me accountable. When you see me in Publix, carpool, or gym, ask me what my scripture is. Let me know if you want me to do the same to you! Let's see how many people will join and stay the course for the whole year. We will be a POWERFUL force for our God when we are filled to the brim with the Word.

And I can't wait to see what will come of THAT.

Merry Christmas 2010!

I have inadvertently taken a bloggy break - the busyness of life (and 3 active kids) has kept me running. I am truly understanding first hand the meaning of the words "mom's taxi."

But this week, we have slowed down. We have stayed in our PJ's and watched movies. We have baked cookies and popped popcorn. We have spent time together as a family, just the 5 of us (the dog makes 6), and we have loved every single second of it.

So I'll be back in 2011 with more random and hopefully a bit of wisdom and humor thrown in. Until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Halloweeeeen!!!

Around here, Halloween is more of a reason to hang out with neighbors and walk around the neighborhood socializing than a time for scary and gore. We keep it low key and more of a "Fall Celebration" than anything else.

Except for the costumes. All 3 of my girls see Halloween very differently. Camille really doesn't care what she dresses as, and will change her mind 412 times before actually stepping outside to trick-or-treat. Tait decides the day after Halloween what she wants to be the next year and doesn't budge from that decision. Mary Emma, however, is in another league. She always has been. She decides what she wants to be, draws pictures complete with instructions, arrows, and map keys, and strategizes about how and when we need to start getting her dressed to maximize trick-or-treat time. She has pictures drawn on the back of her bedroom door planning her costumes till 2018. It's my "job" to fulfill a vision that is in her head. And we have a BALL doing it.

This year, Camille was a black cat, Tait was Dorothy, and Mary Emma was Elphaba (the green witch from Wicked). My sister-in-law is in the 2nd National Tour of Wicked, so we're a little obsessed with the Land of Oz around here right now.






I hope you had a successful Halloween full of Milk Duds and miniature 100 Grands. I actually read on the Twitter that someone was pilfering through her child's Halloween stash and found a REGULAR SIZED 100 Grand. I do believe the Lord smiled upon her household in that very moment.

And now, on to Thanksgiving. Which is my personal favorite. :)

I'm Not A Fan Of The Scary

Tonight after dance class, the kids and I went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner. And yes, I said "one of our favorite" - we have many. I'm pretty sure my little family would fare well in the heart of Texas with all its tacos and queso and salsa goodness. I just need to teach Mary Emma that "chicken fingers" does not equal Mexican food.

When we walked in, we saw three life-sized zombie mannequins sitting in chairs. The restaurant was full of spider webs and skeletons and all the Halloween paraphernalia, so the zombie guys didn't get much attention.



However, I didn't know one little detail about the zombie guys.

The one on the left was real. And he jumped at me. And I almost LAID. HIM. FLAT. The kids were surprisingly not scared (they didn't witness the jumping at me) and actually shook his hand (he was VERY gentle with the kids).

But I'm not sure when my heart rate will return to normal or the blood will reenter my face.

Stupid Halloween.