Heart Changes

I think I could be in the process of a heart change, maybe a growth spurt, or maybe like The Grinch, my heart is growing more love and compassion.

After reading Francis Chan's book Crazy Love last year, I was impressed to do something in service to the homeless.  In that previous blog entry I shared my feeling about the homeless and about specific homeless folk in our area.

We've been faithful handing out baggies and backpacks (We have an abundance of drawstring backpacks we've been using too.  They work great!) filled with goodies when we come in contact with the homeless.  The kids really love it.  They're always disappointed if we see a homeless person and don't have a baggie.  I hear, "Mom, we need to get another baggie in the car."

Yes we do.

This year Francis Chan spoke twice at our church.  One service was a pre-Easter worship service and the other was on Easter morning.

Meet Ivan

Meet Ivan

A number of years ago, God placed "the orphan" so heavily on my heart I could scarcely think of little else.  I read amazing stories of adoption, read blogs concerning orphans, prayed for and helped friends financially who were in the process of adoption and humbly asked God to make adoption a reality in our family.

I meditated on James 1:27

²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

At that time, it was estimated that there were 143 million orphans worldwide. There is no way one cannot be astounded by such a number.  (See the rice post if you want to have a visual of 143 million).  I read a couple days ago the number is now hovering around 163 million!!

My heart aches for ALL these children who do not have a family to call their own.

The prayer became, "Lord, use us to reach the orphan."  Making a difference to one or a few of them is what each of is called to do.

Over the years we've met, hosted, sponsored and cared for orphans as God continues to bring them into our lives.

Our first encounter was with a group from Childcare Worldwide in 2006.  If you're not familiar with Childcare Worldwide, definitely check them out.  They're listed with a 5-Star rating from Ministry Watch.com

Childcare Worldwide formed the Ugandan Orphan's Choir to "bring a message of hope to American audiences through the traditional rhythmic dances and songs of Africa."

Back in September of 2006 our church scheduled to have the choir perform.  To defray costs, the choir asks churches to host the chaperones and kids.  I literally JUMPED at the opportunity when our pastor asked for volunteering homes.

After the church service, I walked up to him as a line of other interested families was forming.  I quickly let him know I sensed they were SUPPOSED to be at our home.

He agreed.

All five boys and the male chaperone to the choir were placed with us for a 2-3 day stay.

We cleaned,  readied our home, and welcomed the boys with open arms.

Little did I know, 2 days with these kids ROCKED my world.  My heart's desire to live out James 1:27 was fueled.

These boys arrived with nothing but a backpack, but they exuded JOY like I'd never seen before.  All of them had lost one or both of their parents to the AIDS epidemic. They were delivered from near disaster and placed in a Children's Village where they now received housing, food, clothing, character development and an education.

Prior to being rescued by Childcare, some of these young children (under 13) are found caring for their younger siblings because their parents have died.  Some of these children bury their own parents.  Some are left in the care of older grandparents who do not have the means nor the strength to care for them.  It's heartbreaking!

Childcare Worldwide steps in and offers these children hope for a better future.

One of these boys in particular found a place in our hearts.  His name is Ivan.  We were able to spend Christmas 2006 with Ivan and another boy from the choir, Alex. Both boys are dear to us.

Christmas 2006

With Alex

With Ivan

Alex helped me roll out lefse while the other boys played.  Sadly, we have not heard from Alex since his stay with us.

Alex: "This Chapati?"  Me: "No, this is lefse.  Another flatbread."

Although my husband has not received a heart for adoption as I have, when he met Ivan he said, "He would fit in our family."  Ivan's photo is on a shelf in our family room with other family photos.  We will forever think of him as a special member of our family.

This is the photo we received last year from Ivan.
He has GROWN so much!

Adoption of the kids from the choir is not an option, and adoption from Uganda is difficult to say the least, but we've been blessed to have the opportunity to stay in contact with Ivan and hopefully one day we will meet him again.

We've never learned much about Ivan and his life prior to coming to Childcare. What we do know is he has a genuinely kind disposition and became instant friends with our oldest son.

We got a letter from Ivan this week.  Ivan's now 16 years old and loves to play soccer.  He's doing very well in school.  Childcare Worldwide's goal is to have the children receive quality education and training in a profession so they may not just survive, but succeed!  I think Ivan will break out of the cycle of poverty and succeed in whatever he chooses!

If you feel a tug at your heart when you see kids like Ivan, do something about it. Visit Childcare Worldwide's website.  You never know when you'll get to meet your sponsored child.  We were able to meet our sponsored child, Caleb last year.  That's another story and another post.

Have a blessed day!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Psalm 8:1-2

LORD, our Lord, 

   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

   You have set your glory 

   in the heavens. 

² Through the praise of children and infants 

   you have established a stronghold against your enemies, 

   to silence the foe and the avenger. 

Once a month I volunteer at our church nursery.  It's my opportunity to hold babies and enjoy the wonder and amazement only seen in the eyes of children.  I love it when they look at a Cheerio with complete interest and abandon or, when over the raucous of kids playing, they hear music and start bouncing to the beat.  I especially love it when they look up with big, innocent eyes and whisper in a faint voice something VERY important, perhaps even earth-shaking.  The wisdom of children should never be overlooked.  I've found they're privy to the truths the aged have adulterated.  I was reminded once again to listen to the children, for from their innocence they still know the truth of our Creator. 

Yesterday as the children were arriving, leaders were greeting, entertaining and inviting them to play.  Some of the younger ones began to cry.  I usually hold the crying babies until they're settled.  While holding them I watched the older children who were excited to see the array of toys, puzzles, play-dough, books, and friends.

Shortly after arriving, a little two-year old girl, named Faye, walked up to me.  She had sparkly blue eyes and very short, slightly curly blond hair.  Faye wanted to tell me something.  I squatted to the floor, and listened intently over the drum of racing cars and battery powered toys.  My ears were straining to make sense of the language of this precious two year old.  I felt like I needed an interpreter.  I looked at her and asked her to repeat.  Faye delivered her message again.  Again, I couldn't understand.  I started to offer suggestions for what I "thought" I was hearing.  Patiently, she repeated herself again, and again, and again.  My brain was working overtime, trying to decipher the two-year old English.    Finally, I was beginning to put it together.  Faye began to smile at this persistent 40-something.  She was being understood.

Faye said again, "JESUS IS POWERFUL!"

Oh my word, Faye, your are right!  What an amazing collection of three words!

It doesn't get much better than that!

Jesus knew I needed to hear those words that morning.  He knew the delivery would come from a precious two year old.  He knew I'd listen to a 2-year old.

So many times we look to the "intellectual" or "learned" men to explain the truths of the universe to us, but often all we need to do is look in the eyes of a child to remind us what is REALLY important.

So today, my reflection will be on the following verse.  May my words be pleasing to the Lord, as Faye's were.

Psalm 19:14

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹⁴ May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart 

   be pleasing in your sight, 

   LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Nothing New Under the Sun

What has been will be again.

what has been done will be done again/

there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9

This morning during our Bible time we read about Elisha prophesying to the future leader of Syria, Hazael in 2 Kings 8.  God allowed the prophet, Elisha, to see Hazael's evil heart and the murderous plan he had to kill the ruling Syrian king and then take the throne.  In seeing Hazael's future, Elisha also saw what the Syrian king would do to the Israelites.  I thought to myself...Syria.  Israel.  Conflict. Nothing new under the sun.

In the book study classes I'm teaching, one class is reading The Drinking Gourd (also included Follow the Drinking Gourd) and the other class is reading Out of the Dust.

In Follow the Drinking Gourd a family of slaves is risking their safety and their lives to reach FREEDOM.  Others assisting them working on the Underground Railroad are risking their lives and safety to help the slaves reach FREEDOM.  FREEDOM is valuable!  FREEDOM is worth risking your life just to attain.  I tell our kids and the students in my class to never take FREEDOM for granted.  It is lost all too quickly and is hard to gain back, just look at history...Please!

Having the FREEDOM to homeschool is such a gift!  I'm thankful for everyday that we live in a country where we can homeschool, but I never take it for granted as the right can be taken away.

On a quick search I found at least 39 countries where it is actually illegal to homeschool.  Included in the list are:

Germany, Greece, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, Iceland, Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine, Cuba, Greenland, Guatemala, Turkey, Brazil, and China to name a few.

Freedom is such a gift and if we truly examine history when people want for a change and turn over personal rights and freedoms to leadership or government in hopes that they'll be taken care of...they lose.  Remember, nothing new under the sun.  Just ask the Israelites what happened when they wanted a King and then make your way down the history timeline.

Before I leave the topic of slavery, let's not fool ourselves and think it's no longer around.  Just as evil is alive and thriving, so is slavery.  In fact, according to International Justice Mission,

More children, women and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade: Millions toil in bondage, their work and even their bodies the property of an owner.

This is an outrage that it still exists.  Nothing new under the sun.

In the Out of the Dust book study we're all getting a glimpse of what true poverty, tragedy, and desolation look like.  The people who lived through the Depression and Dust Bowl experienced hardship I don't think any American now knows unless they lived through it in their youth.  We are a blessed and spoiled people.  We don't understand the hardship experienced in the 30's.  My heart aches for what Americans during this era experienced, but what amazes me is their willingness to work hard (for meager pay), persevere, and be strong during this tough time.  I've watched many videos from survivors of the Dust Bowl on Living History Farm. These were tough times!  What the farmers of Middle America experienced caused me to think on the plagues Egypt experienced.  In addition to dust storms, those in the Dust Bowl saw drought, destruction, grasshoppers eating everything, including their clothing, famine, then day turning into night, death, disease, etc.

Finally, thinking on the poverty of the era.  The families we're reading about in Out of the Dust basically lived in extreme poverty, yet if someone stumbled onto their doorstep, or if a baby was born, they continued to find ways to give.  If we turn back to history, God tells us, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."  Give to the poor, don't expect someone else to take care of it.  God's command was to us, the individual.  Doing without, scraping by, being creative in providing for yourself and your family is nothing new and in this process give some of what you're blessed with to someone else.

There are many other correlations I've seen through our learning, but these were the few that have occupied my thoughts.  Disunity, strife, conflict, poverty, slavery, greed...nothing new under the sun.

I cannot close on the negativity though.  I also believe that faithfulness, truth, perseverance, hard work, honesty, humility, surrender, obedience, giving, compassion, kindness, and sacrifice are nothing new under the sun.  We each just need to make a choice where we're individually going to invest ourselves.

Welcome Home Ocean View World Series Champions

Rolling out the RED CARPET

Last night we welcomed home our 2011 Little League World Series Champs!  It was a heartwarming celebration of a job well done!  Reports say over 500 people were present, mostly local Huntington Beach families, but there was one precious boy who traveled over 40 miles to welcome the boys home. 

At the end of the evening, I met this little guy who asked his dad to bring him to Huntington Beach, from Baldwin Park, so he could be part of the celebration and hopefully meet the 2011 Little League World Series Champions.  Despite the fact that would get home late before his first day of school, he told his dad he wanted to be in HB.  His dad carried a large American flag seen in many of the photos and news video.  They proudly wore clothing with the Declaration of Independence and "God Bless America" printed on front celebrating the U.S. win over Japan on Sunday. 

Before I met him, his little guy had the opportunity to have a few of the OV boys sign his flag. 

Upon hearing his story, we decided to give him our OVLL foamboard sign we made when the boys played and defeated Northern California in San Bernadino.  He was just beaming and so happy. 

The sign we made for San Bernadino

Look at this face!  Priceless!

Next, the goal was to get all the boys from the team to sign his poster.  I love this stuff!  He was glowing!  His dad told us that he was starting school this week and would probably bring the poster to school.  I was a mom on a mission for this little guy.  Although it was late, and the Ocean View boys were getting ready to leave, we found them and I think we were able to get all of them to autograph his sign.  They were all so gracious and encouraging! 

Trevor signing

Ryo

Eric

Eric and Steven

An OV dad and his dad.

One of the best events of the night for me

With our league vice president

Seeing a child light up when he has a dream come true warms my heart! I hope last night was memorable for this baseball fan.  I know it was memorable for me.  Meeting this little one and his dad made my night!

Thanks for coming all the way from Baldwin Park and thank you for supporting Ocean View Little League! 

Blessings!

The Memorial- Angela

Missing this Face!

Today was Angela's memorial.  It was the most beautiful, heartfelt, touching and inspiring memorial I've ever attended.  Honestly though, I'm still numb to the reality that she's no longer here.

Hearing her friends, family, her boys and her husband share stories about her left me feeling encouraged to be a better wife, mom, mentor, prayer warrior and friend.  Even though she's no longer here with us she's still bringing out the best in everyone.

Some of the stories were funny.  Some were reflective.  Some were lively.  Many shared how Angela consistently spoke her mind.  She was honest and bold.  Loved that!  Stories from her boys were precious.  They loved their momma in so many ways!  Hearing from her little 8 year old brought sobs.  He never ceased hoping his momma would be healed.  She is now whole and healed, just not here. 

I'm so glad she chose to homeschool her boys.  She had more time with them than many moms ever experience.  She not only taught them intellectual material, she taught them to be godly leaders and great men.  What an amazing mom!  Her boys reflect the upbringing they received.  She would have been so proud of them today.  I'm sure somehow she knows and heard their heartfelt reflections.

I've never seen a couple like Angela and her husband.  They were so in love.  So many people commented on their oneness.  What they shared as husband and wife many couples strive for.  They shared 26 beautiful years of marriage.  And today I learned they met, were engaged 28 days later and married 8 months later.  It was a blessed marriage.

Reed sang a song for his beautiful bride today- "I Can Only Imagine"

Angela gave so much of herself to her family and friends.  Her love for Christ was always apparent.  She was definitely a humble servant and I'm sure when she crossed over from this world, Jesus met her and said, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  Apparently, hours before her death, her eyes opened wide, she looked up and reached upward.  I'm sure there were angels awaiting and greeting her at Heaven's gate.

She was a giver.  She gave of her time.  She gave of her resources.  She reached out to many and gave whatever she could.  We learned today, she wanted to be an organ donor, but because cancer overtook her body she didn't think she could.  The day following her death, her husband received a call from the coroner's office.  They asked if she would have liked to have her corneas donated.  Apparently, the coroner said it is the one part of the body that is still suitable for organ donation following death of a cancer patient.  Her family agreed to donate.  Angela continues to give.  Because of this selfless giving, two people will probably receive sight.  

Did I mention she was amazing?

Her family has set up the Angela Robinson Memorial Fund for donations.  At the sight you can see additional photos of this precious woman and her wonderful family.

We will continue to remember this dear friend. 

Angela consistently reminded me to slow down.  Her words are on the forefront of my mind.  It is my desire to slow down, spend more time with family and friends, simplify and take more photos.  Angela, I'm working on it.

Miss you girl!

Baggie #1 Finds A Home!

We had a couple errands to do today and while approaching a red light there was a man standing on the median.  We've never seen him before.

Our middle son said, "Mom, that's him!" and quickly reached for our baggie.  I guess he knew that was the person who was supposed to be the recipient of the baggie.

I rolled my window down.  The man glanced at me and took the baggie.  He didn't really smile.  He looked down.  His teeth were pretty bad.  My girlie said from the back seat, "Good thing we have toothpaste for him."

He continued to hold his sign.

We drove off.  Being the giver is a great thing.  We're blessed.

We're going to get more baggies ready.

Trying to Find Crazy Love Through a Baggie

The Baggie

I have a large gallon-sized baggie in the car.  The kids brought it home from church a couple weeks ago.  It is filled with hand sanitizer, snacks, personal hygiene items, and a Bible verse.  We prayed concerning the baggie asking God to allow this simple gesture of giving to bless someone.  We've been carrying it around for over a week now in the hopes of finding someone who may be in need. 

I'm going to be quite honest for a moment.  Don't pass judgement.  Thoughts that run through my head might be familiar thoughts that run through the minds of many Americans.

Before we had the baggie in the car, it seemed daily we were coming in contact with homeless people, or maybe they're just people with signs trying to look very pitiful.  To be quite honest they kind of annoy me.

One guy who sits at the post office is probably in his 20's.  He holds a sign that reads something like, "My wife and child are in a motel please help."  He actually used the word "Motel."  Motel just sounds bad.  Motel makes me think of dirty and gross.  It makes me think bed bugs and cockroaches.  Hotel sounds like a much nicer place.  Hotel sounds like crisp, white sheets and continental breakfast.  I wish he said his wife and child were in a hotel.  I wouldn't feel so bad for them.  I really wanted to go up to him and say, "Join the military, be a man and get a job."  I wondered if he really did have a wife and child in a motel.  Okay, maybe I'm heartless, but I'm being honest.  He looks workable.  When I see him, I'm dropping off packages of items I've sold on ebay.  I don't make a ton of money, but I do what I can to help our family out.  I'd pick weeds or clean toilets if it would help our family out.

Then there's the guy by the gas station who holds the sign, "I WANT BEERS."  That's honest.  I'm not giving him any money.  We heard a representative from The Lighthouse Mission speak a few years back about people with signs wanting money.  He cautioned us not to give them money as the money given might buy them their last drink.  He also told us there was help if they truly desired it, but they'd have to get cleaned up.

There's another lady at the post office who has her young child in the stroller.  She just says, "Peeese.  Peeeeeeeeeese."  I feel for her and her little one.

There's another guy at the post office I kind of like.  He's always looking for plastic and glass bottles to return for the deposit.  He's always got a smile on his face.  I overheard him talking with another guy one day.  They were talking about tough times.  Yes, we are in tough times.  We gave him food.

Then there are the people we see in front of grocery stores collecting money for the homeless.  I don't really like that they sit in front of the grocery store.  To be honest, I'm not sure about the motives.  We've seen them collect money, then put it in their own pocket.

In front of one of the major shopping areas in our town there is a guy who stands in the median and then comes up close to your window.  Pressure.  I feel like he invades my space.

So at what point do I look them in the eye, show compassion and give.  A huge part of me is reminded of the gypsies we encountered in Italy.  Okay, I was told they were gypsies, but can't confirm.  All I know is there was trickery, deception and theft going on.  We were told to beware.  In public places they would offer to sell you a magazine and the next thing you realize, you've been robbed. 

I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  A couple things stand out.  The book is about living a Christian faith that is sacrificial, loving, giving, different.  He calls Christians out from living lukewarm lives just giving God your leftovers into a faith that is surrendered.  He challenges Christians who think they're living a healthy faith and compares them to the Laodiceans, "who thought they had everything until Christ told them they were poor and wretched.  They were all about declaring, 'Look, we are healthy, have good families, or we go to church every week.' Obviously, it's not what you advertise that counts; it's what you are really made of."

He continues, "God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward.  He measures our lives by how we love."  Furthermore Chan states, "True love requires sacrifice.  And our love is shown by how we live our lives; "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (p. 119 Crazy Love)

I love.  I love the orphans.  I love kids.  I love to give to organizations that help kids who are impoverished, destitute or who need support.  I love Childcare Worldwide.  They're a great organization that genuinely helps children survive and thrive.  I like giving to Childcare.  I'd sacrifice for Childcare Worldwide and orphans.

But am I willing to sacrifice for people who annoy me?  Do my actions show Christ's love?  My compassion meter doesn't go off when I see those mentioned earlier.  I'm being honest.  It's honesty Wednesday.  Are those folks just looking to take advantage?  I don't know.

I think back to one Thanksgiving when our small group collected and gave a large Rubbermaid bin full of food and household items.  We were all so excited collecting items for a family in need.  I had visions of a family that would be blessed and grateful to receive a healthy Thanksgiving meal.  (Maybe I've watched A Christmas Carol one too many times).  I was in charge of delivering the goods.  The address I was given was to a room in a Motel.  Yes, it was a dirty, gross motel.  I knocked on the door.  One person answered.  I introduced myself and told them I was from the church.  I glanced around the room and there were people laying on the bed.  The room was stuffy and stinky.  Fresh air was greatly needed.  I smiled and told them I'd return, but might need some help.  They all just laid there.  I went to the car and carried the bin inside.  Still they all just laid on the bed watching me.  I dropped off the remainder of the items and left.  No thank you.  No nothing.  I drove away thinking, "These folks took advantage of giving."

Later, when discussing the matter with others at church the consensus was, "Yes, they may have taken advantage, but we have NO IDEA how Jesus will use this time to bring about His Glory."  God may have used this as a seed to bring those folks closer to him.  Maybe they had no hope to even get off that bed or no joy to smile and greet someone.  We don't know their circumstances, but I need to trust that some good came from it.

So now the challenge for me is from page 118 of Crazy Love, "How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ--the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items, the member of my own family with whom I can't seem to have a conversation and not get annoyed?"  I'd like to add the person I come in contact with in the median or in front of the post office holding a sign wanting something.

Strangely enough, since we've had the baggie, we haven't run into anyone.  I've got the eagle eye out wondering who might need to be blessed with a baggie of hygiene items and snacks and we haven't seen anyone. 

Lastly, I'll share this quote from Crazy Love,

"But God doesn't call us to be comfortable.  He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."

Where would you be if you went out of your area of comfort and sacrificed, waiting for God to come through?

Summer Staycation: Blessings From Above- Angels Game

As we're watching our pennies at home, I can't help but feel completely humbled when blessings pour out in unexpected ways.  This was the case on Friday, July 8, 2011, when I got a call from my hub.

He called us Friday with news he had been given four tickets to the Angels game.  The Angels were playing the Mariners.  Being from the Northwest, but living in Southern California we're fans of both teams.  Needless to say the kids and I were pretty excited.   My hub will occasionally receive a ticket or an invitation to go with a work group, but rarely do we receive four tickets.  With only four tickets he suggested I go with the kids.  Since we were receiving complimentary tickets, I was expecting to make the hike up to the 400 level.  We like to take our kids to a couple games each season and we're familiar with the nosebleed section, but it's just fun to be at the game.  Was I in for a surprise!

Arriving at the stadium, I glanced at our tickets to see where we'd be sitting.  Section 109!!!  What??  These are fabulous seats along the third baseline!  My hub had told the boys to bring their mitts to the game.  I was surprised at that, but I didn't know what great seats we'd been given.  Blessings!

Wonderful Surprise!

Great Seats!

We have some Jared Weaver fans in the house.

A beautiful night!

Ichiro







Ichiro!



I don't think this game helped Ichiro's batting average, but he did have a Fabulous bunt!  Impressive!

The kids and I had a great night together.  The boys wore Mariner gear.  My girlie and I wore Angels gear.  We were a perfectly balanced family.  Sadly, the Mariners lost, but how wonderful for the Angels! The final score was 4-3.  Vernon Wells, Hank Conger and Mark Trumbo of the Angels all hit home runs.  On a side note, a couple Mariner fans who call themselves "The Old Bats" shared with us at Spring Training that we should record events of the games on a sticky  note and paperclip them to our tickets.  Next year when we're at spring training we can ask the players who hit home runs to sign the tickets from the night of their home run.  Great idea!  I've started recording so we have a plan for next year.

I love seeing our kids become excited about baseball.  I've never been one to follow the sport, but I'm becoming more interested in it as they are playing and wanting to see games.  I have a lot of learning to do, but it's never too late to learn something new.  Maybe we'll have to resubscribe to cable so they can begin watching games on television.

More Inspiration- TOMS Shoes & Sunglasses

Last night we were blessed to attend a recorded taping of a Focus on the Family Feet on the Ground Event.  Brandon Heath started the night off with his awesome heartfelt music.  While he was singing "Give Me Your Eyes," I was reminded of a service class I taught at our local homeschool co-op.  This song was one of our theme songs for the class.  We prayed that we would have the eyes of Jesus to see the needs around us and to respond to those needs.  As a class we saw kids giving sacrificially, working to serve others, and then paying blessings forward to others.

Following the singing, we heard from Amon Kasambala, the CEO of Focus on the Family Africa.  Focus on the Family Africa has been so instrumental in African countries in helping care for the orphans, family education and community service. The mission is "Nurturing and Protecting Families in Africa through Outreach and Trustworthy Resources."  


Lastly, Jim Daly from Focus interviewed TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie.  Here's a clip on the history of TOMS.

Blake shared his inspiration in starting TOMS, one of his many entrepreneurial efforts, and the success he has experienced.  He shared about his faith in Christ and his heart to reach others in a self-sustaining business.  To date, TOMS has given away over a million shoes worldwide!  Amazing!  Jim shared the verse from Luke 12:48 "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  Blake is living out this verse and his giving is an inspiration to us all.

I love the faces in the following short TOMS clip!  Such precious children.

A few weeks ago TOMS launched their next One For One product.  Watch this touching video:

All of us, has the capacity to give to others.  Today is a great day to look at ways we can serve.  Ask God to give you eyes to see a need.  Listen.  Be creative. Maybe it's a smile. Maybe it's making a meal for a neighbor who just had a baby. Perhaps it's opening up your home to an orphan. Or, maybe it's buying a pair of TOMS shoes or sunglasses so that one can be given away.  Whatever you choose to do, I'm sure through your sacrifice, it will be blessed.

Happy Giving!!

The Joy of Giving

Almost yearly my sweetheart signs up to "Adopt-a-Family" through his workplace.  It's always a big deal for us (especially him) to shop, wrap, and deliver to a family who is in need.  Here's how it works:  Nominated families are screened and then employees are given information about them that would assist in the buying process.  This year in my sweetheart's unit participants were grouped (about 4-5 people) and then they each donated money (whatever they chose to give).  The money was pooled and DH (Dear Hub) brought it home and we did the shopping.

Our family was a husband, wife, a daughter, age 7 and a little boy, age 3.  We tried to make the money stretch as far as we could.  I really enjoy the shopping part. Big Surprise?  The kids and I headed out to the mall and start looking for great sales of quality clothing.  We were able to buy an outfit (2 for the little girl) for each member, a couple toys for the kids, and a $100 grocery gift card for their family.  We were really happy with our purchases.

As the day got closer for delivery, life began to get a little crazy.  That always seems to happen when a blessing is on its way.  The day we were supposed to deliver I took the kids on a field trip to the Queen Mary.  While we were gone, Hub was at work and afterward he rushed home to wrap the gifts.  We met up at home.  I was at the point where I didn't really want to go.  Our house looked disasterous and needed SERIOUS cleaning, we were getting ready to head out of town for a soccer tournament, laundry needed to be done for that, etc.  The endless list of household responsibilites was hanging over my head, but we decided it was best to do the delivery as a family.

Here's a note my sweetheart sent out regarding our visit...

"To all-

I just wanted to give a little update for the family we adopted this year.
We finished all the shopping for the family and wrapped the gifts for delivery a week ago Friday. We were able to purchase shoes, some basic clothes and a couple toys for each of the kids. We then set aside a $100 gift card for food purchases for the holidays. With a little help from a translator, we contacted the family and confirmed the location and drop-off time.

We wrapped all the presents and loaded my whole family up in the car for the delivery. We arrived at their apartment a little before 3pm. We met Mom and daughter. The whole family lives in a small, older 1 bedroom apartment and all their furniture is salvaged from the demolition work her husband does for income. Mom spoke very good English and we stayed and spoke with her for over half an hour. She was a great host – she offered us bottled water while we were there and spent the entire day cleaning and getting ready for our arrival. Their daughter was very shy and quiet but near the end of our time was starting to talk and relax. Her mother was very proud of her little girl as she is one of the best students in her class.  Mom thanked us multiple times for our kindness. She confessed that the auto insurance was due this month (a vehicle her husband needs for work) and they had no idea how they were going to make this payment along with their other bills – let alone buy gifts for Christmas.

For my family it was a highlight of the Christmas spirit and season and your donation was very much appreciated by a family in real need.

Thanks again to all of you for participating."
 
Like he said, they lived in a SMALL (like 300 sq. ft. at the most) one bedroom apartment.  The parents and little boy slept in the one bedroom and the little seven year old girl slept on a futon in what was the living room.  On cold nights dad would sleep in the living room and little girl slept with mom so she wouldn't get cold.
 
Mom shared with us how they planned to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe that night.  Mom had made rice and milk for ALL the guests who were coming that night.  She was really excited.  It reminded me of some of our experiences we had while we lived in the Azores when I was growing up.  I wanted to stay and celebrate with them, even though I don't know anything about the Virgin of Guadalupe.
 
Mom was supposed to pick up her son at 3:30 and twice her friend called to say, "Let's Go," but she just kept putting her off so she could sit and visit with us a bit longer.  After about a 1/2 hour visit we had to go and Mom needed to pick up her little guy.
 
In that 1/2 hour my heart was FILLED!  I wished we had more to give them.  The joy that we experienced on the ride home was inexplicable.  We were all filled!  It seemed like we were so much more appreciative than we were when we arrived.  We were not as bogged down by what wasn't done, but focused on what was right in our lives.  Somehow, our perspective was shifted ever so slightly and suddenly that we had hearts of thankfulness and gratitude that we didn't have when we walked into that little apartment.
 
I don't know if we'll see that little mom again.  I hope so.  God used her in a season of frantic, busy discontent and replaced it with gladness and joy.  Thank you!