Love Shines

Easter Pizza and My Jesus

2011-04-26T16:51:00.007-05:00

For Easter dinner this year, my husband made his YUMMY homemade pizza. Obviously, it was not the traditional Easter fare, but it made Dave so happy to make it and the family so happy to eat it! Dave is famous for his homemade pizzas and he did not disappoint Sunday. We had six different kinds of gourmet pizzas with ingredients like Gorgonzola cheese, pesto, and chipolte pepper (don't worry- none of these ingredients were all on the same pizza).

First, Dave helped Carter make his very own cheese and pepperoni pizza with Ragu sauce (Carter has not yet acquired a taste for the likes of pesto.)

Carter did a great job and ate it all up! Here is Daddy kissing the cook:
I made place cards with a Bible verse on the back and stuck each place card in its own little Easter basket for each of us. This is as close to Martha Stewart as I get.

Easter was so special this year to me. I have never felt closer to my Jesus. Now I realize that He is as close to me as my own breath. I just love Him.

I have to tell you about this book...

"Daily Light" by Jonathan Bagster with Anne Graham Lotz is a treasure. It is a daily devotional with both a morning and an evening reading. Daily Light was first compiled by Johnathan Bagster in 1794. It has become a family tradition to pass this devotional down in Anne's family. Ruth Graham received a volume when she was a young girl in China, receiving hers from her missionary mother. Anne received hers on her tenth birthday. She has continued the tradition with her family. Each reading is entirely composed of Scripture (this modern version uses the New King James Version). Here is today's (April 26th) morning reading:

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.

Underneath are the everlasting arms. * When [Peter] saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" * The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand.

The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all the day long; and he shall dwell between His shoulders. * [Cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. * He who touches you touches the apple of his eye.

They shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all.

Song of Sol., 2:6; Deut. 33:27; Matt. 14:30-31; {s. 36:23-24; Deut. 33:12; 1 Pet. 5:7; Zech. 2:8; John 10:28-29

And that was just the morning for today: just imagine how wonderful the whole book is! I am so glad that Anne talked about this devotional in one of her books I read, "Why? Trusting God When You Don't Understand." I had never heard of it before I read Anne's book.

I've had Daily Light for just over two months and have been reading it along with my Bible studies faithfully. There never ceases to be some portion of the day's devotion that is relevant for me on that same day.

For What Price?

2011-04-23T13:33:00.007-05:00

Good Friday was a very good Friday for me...

I started out the day with my favorite little (big) boy in the world. We stopped at the market to get infamous "cheese puffs" for his class Easter party. I dropped him off at school with prayers and "I love you's" and then I headed to work.

But I kept thinking about the conversations my son and I have been having for several days.

Carter, my compassionate and inquisitive guy:

A couple of nights earlier my son and I had watched "The Passion the Christ." Watching the movie with Carter was awesome because he asked such great questions... There is nothing like an inquisitive ten-year old that makes you stop and think about things that we often coast over. Luckily, we own the movie and could pause it and look things up in the Bible or online when he asked questions.

An example of one of his questions was one that he asked as Judas was betraying Jesus, " How much was 30 pieces of silver worth back then?" I looked up various sources and found that 30 silver coins was the redemption price paid for a slave. Jesus was betrayed for the going rate of a slave.

There were many others questions, many answers I did not have, and many deep conversations that are still ongoing...

If God was in control, how come He allowed Jesus to die?

Why did God allow Jesus to suffer?

Why did people treat Jesus like they did?

Wasn't there another way?

Ahh...but this is the story of the Gospel in all its splendor...

As Jesus said..."For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:38-40

For us...He did it all for us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4

How cheaply are you and I selling Jesus for today? We wonder at the price Judas betrayed Jesus for, but are we not doing the same thing when we do not follow Him?

Or are we truly following Him...which may cost us everything?

I attended a simulcast of Secret Church last night....what a Good Friday it was. Please click on this link to learn more.

I am still letting it all sink in...I loved every minute of it. The subject last night for the 10th meeting of Secret Church: Crucifixion, Salvation, and the Glory of God. If I keep digging in, maybe I will have more answers for Carter...maybe I will learn to truly, truly follow Him.

Blessings to you on this glorious Easter weekend...peace to you.

Priscilla Shirer Rocks...

2011-04-13T16:42:00.010-05:00

No, she is not paying me to say this, nor is she giving me anything for free... Priscilla Shirer rocks. I saw her speak live for the first time back a few months ago at Deeper Still in Birmingham along with Mama Beth (aka Beth Moore) and Lady Kay (Kay Arthur). Those are my nicknames for Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Arthur, by the way. They do not call themselves these nicknames to my knowledge-ha! Priscilla really blew my socks off when she spoke the Word at Deeper Still, so when I found out the next women's Bible study at church was Priscilla's Discerning the Voice of God, I signed right up. I loved the Discerning the Voice of God study and got so much out of it. My biggest take away was that sometimes there is an answer from God in the waiting process. Sometimes we want to hear from Him so badly, but we feel like we are waiting, waiting, waiting....and sometimes this waiting period is part of what He is telling us or teaching us. Priscilla's love for the LORD and her love for all of us really shined through in this study and in her video messages. I guess I should say, "DVD messages," but you know what I mean, right? We all liked that study so much that we voted to do this one next... Jonah is awesome. When you face an interruption in your plans for the future (or maybe just your plans for the day) do you see this change as an interruption? Maybe you could see that interruption as a "Divine Intervention!" Priscilla really, really, really brings it in her video lessons. She is challenging us to GO and do something with everything we are learning in Bible study. I could not agree with her more. If we get ourselves all filled up with teaching, but do not go out and LOVE people to Christ, it is sad.... I am in the middle of reading this book... (I'm having my own little Priscilla marathon, aren't I?!) One in a Million is...awesome, of course. My favorite take away so far is, "Do we want the Promise Giver...or just the Promised Land?" Makes ME say, "ouch" because I know that is so true for me sometimes. Next, I am going to round off my Priscilla marathon with her new book... Can't wait! And...Priscilla gives Him all the glory!

Back to the Breathing and Back to the Blogosphere

2011-03-31T18:28:00.003-05:00

I hate that my life seems like such a cliche sometimes...but that's why cliches are called...well, cliches! I turned 40 last year and had myself quite a nice mid-life crisis:

I questioned why God allows tragic things happen to others (and to me! Hello God, it's me, Kristen.)

I wondered what in the world I was thinking when I went to law school. Why am I a lawyer exactly?

I was incredulous at the lack of boundaries I had in various important relationships in my life. Why was I running in circles chasing my tail?

Now I am 41 years wise...I am far from having everything figured out, but I am much more at peace and dare I say...content. Contentment has not been an easy "state of mind" and state of heart for me to reach, but I am here now.

Finally surrendering to God was the first step towards contentment for me. As I stated in my last post, finally allowing God to be in charge rocked my world in a very good way.

Last summer I was crying, "Why me, God?" Now I can see meaning. I will never understand why. I figure out that asking "why me" is the wrong question. Now I try to ask, "What does this mean for my life God? What can I use this for? How can this bring You glory, God?"

I will never know why I experienced all the highs and lows of my childhood:

Why was I sexually abused by an older child in my neighborhood? And yet I didn't feel the unconditional love and affection that I so desperately craved from my family?

Why was I able to have every material possession I could ever want? And yet felt like a shell of a person surrounded by stuff?

Why was I able to travel all over the globe and have such a fantastic education? And yet felt so broken, used, and worthless?

I will never know why these circumstances and events happened, but now I do know what to do with them. I can connect with other hurting people. I can share my Jesus with them. I can praise the God that was with me before, during, and after all of these things happened. He is still with me and I can feel Him closer to me than my own breath. And there is nothing that can compare to His love.

My face is radiant...no longer hanging in shame over my past. My life unfolded in just the way God intended to make me the person that I am today. I am able to comfort others who can identify with my story. What an amazing gift God gave me when He gave me all of my struggles and troubles! What an amazing missed opportunity would it be if I didn't use the gifts God has graciously given me.

Now, when I look at other people, sometimes I smile to myself because I imagine just how much God loves that person I am looking at. I wonder just how much Jesus wants to take that person into His arms and hug them. This is especially true when I encounter people in my work as a lawyer. Many people are mentally ill or have obvious and serious issues. Now when I interact with these people or their lawyers my heart hurts for them because I know how much Jesus' heart is breaking for them, especially if they do not know His love.

I have heard this said before: watch out when you pray, "Break my heart for what breaks His." This could not be more true in my case. Not only do I still have a heart for children, but now I feel I have a heart for everyone. My heart physically aches for people who don't know my Jesus.

I have started to understand that my pain (which is of course nothing like that of my Father's and Jesus' pain) is necessary for me to turn completely to God. I must depend completely on Him. I can use my pain and my experiences of redemption to bring glory to God. And that's what it is all about...God. Bring glory to God. It's not about me.

Now I sleep very well every single night knowing that God loves me no matter what stupid thing I did or thought that day. I sleep knowing that Jesus is taking my prayers straight to His Father even before I form my thoughts into words. I sleep knowing and the Holy Spirit indwells in me, guiding me and giving me strength when I need it most.

I am completely and totally at peace being a lawyer now. I have no more feelings of an identity crisis. I can be compassionate and hopefully shine a lamp for Christ while I practice law. (I am a prosecutor in my city.)

I am now able to set boundaries in my relationships because I now value myself. I value myself because I know that God loves me so completely. I know He loves each and every one of us.

No matter what we have ever done, said or thought...He knows and He still loves us. And He always will. Jesus wants a relationship with us that is as easy as breathing. Why not talk to Him about any worries you have? He already knows what you are thinking, so why not ask Him to help you find peace?

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD

2011-01-30T20:52:00.003-06:00

Last year was quite a year for me!

I started the year last January 2010 traveling to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International and meeting the little girl I sponsored there.

Spring came and with it an unexpected pregnancy, then joy...My participation in a mission trip to China was cancelled because I was so sick... and then joy turned into sorrow when I had a miscarriage in the Summer.

As Fall turned into Winter I clung desperately to the truth found in God's Word:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NASB)

I struggled with grief, anger, and depression. I struggled with work, struggled with my marriage, and with other relationships ...

And then the New Year came and I had sort of an epiphany...the result of reading and memorizing Scripture, working through Beth Moore's fantastic Breaking Free study, speaking with a wonderful counselor, reading some great books by Melody Beattie, and finally opening up to my close friends...

I have learned to love myself...I am learning to forgive myself...

I have to give myself a break. I need to step back and let God be who He is...God!

I am not responsible for anyone else's happiness except mine! I am powerless over almost everything. I can only control how I act and react and make choices.

God loves me and He knows what is best for me. He really wants me to choose His way, because obviously He knows best....but you know the great thing about God? Even when I mess up, even when I choose my own way and not His way (and my life is not perfect)? He still LOVES me so much!

It's okay for me to feel my feelings and to ask for what I need! God doesn't want any of us to "serve, serve, serve" so much that we end up an empty doormat...that false humility is a type of sinful pride. And oh, did I have that act down! I gave so much that I was about to "take to the bed." I was exhausted and miserable and I was making those that I love the very most unhappy.

Every single day I spend time with God in His word and I remember that He is in control...not me. I am learning to let go and take a deep breath. And it feels good!

Please Pray

2011-01-22T17:36:00.002-06:00

I know I haven't posted in FOUR MONTHS! Needless to say, I have been going through a lot and will post soon. In the meantime, please pray for this precious, beautiful 38 year mom and wife who had a massive stroke on January 11th. If you click on her picture it will take you to her blog. Here husband Toben is updating her blog so that we can all pray more specifically for her and her family.

Love y'all...K

Why Should I Help People Overseas When There are So Many Americans Who Need Help Here in the USA?

2010-09-25T13:02:00.007-05:00

This picture is of Elizabeth, a 15 year old I met in the Dominican Republic last January while I was on a trip with Compassion International.

I've heard this question or comment a lot lately: why should I help children or people outside the United States when there are so many people right here at home that need help? Well meaning Christians point out that because there are hungry children in the United States and because people are struggling and losing their homes here, they are not inclined to give their support to overseas endeavours.

I must admit I am always taken aback a little bit when I hear these comments about helping Americans and not helping people out in the world. I'm not sure how else to put this...we should help all people (not just Americans) because we are supposed to!!!

We should help people in other countries because we are God's witnesses to the ends of the earth and scripture mandates that we help the oppressed, the needy, the fatherless, the orphans, and the widows.

When Jesus tells us that we are to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth, He didn't mean that the end of the earth stopped at the end of your street! How can we be His witnesses and spread the gospel if we do not shine the light of Christ to the ends of the earth to those who are suffering and have never heard the name of Jesus?

We are all God's children and I dare say God loves the precious, starving dark-skinned baby dying in Sudan just as much as the pink-cheeked little one here in Alabama where I live...

Fortunately, for the pink-cheeked little one in Alabama, his mother has most likely heard the gospel. If his mother cannot afford food for him, all she has to do is complete some paperwork with government social workers and she and her baby will be fed. In addition, wonderful private charities will provide her with even more food from a food pantry and gently used baby clothes and furniture along with the love of Christ. She may benefit from a Christian-run Teen mom program that provides mentoring. She may even qualify for scholarships to go to college and free or reduced rate day care for her child while she is in school. Unfortunately, there is no hope for the dark-skinned baby in Sudan. If here mother survives systematic rape and starvation it will be nothing short of a miracle...and she has never heard the name Jesus.

Millions of people in many other countries simply do not have any of the same opportunities that we enjoy (by the grace of God) in the United States. I could write a book full of grim statistics to describe the state of the world, but I think in this day and age, we Americans seem immune to statistics. We are numb to the grim numbers. It seems even pictures of starving babies do not move many of us any longer. I think the better way to communicate the plight of the needy in the world is to tell their stories.

Elizabeth, who I met last January in the Dominican Republic, can stand in as a very unfortunate example of why we should help people in other countries. When I met Elizabeth, she was 15 years old and seven months pregnant. She was very afraid of the father of her child and was living with her elderly grandmother. Elizabeth's mother was very ill (most likely dying of AIDS) at another location and her father was nowhere to be found. She lived in a tiny concrete block house with a tin roof in the middle of a very dangerous and gang-ridden area near Santo Domingo. This little shack was about 20 feet from an open river full of sewer and garbage that smelled indescribable. The shack has no toilet and no running water. A sheet hung down the center of the shack to divide the home between the kitchen and living area and the sleeping area. Elizabeth, her grandmother, and three orphaned cousins lived in this shack. I would describe all of them as skinny. Looking out of Elizabeth's shack all that you can see is poverty, garbage, and despair in all directions as far as your eye can see.

Most likely, the only help that Elizabeth will receive is through a local church who has partnered with Compassion International, to help women and children in their community. Where does this local church receive its funding for this help? From us!

In contrast to Elizabeth and her situation, here in the United States, a pregnant 15 year old has the following options and protections: if the man who made her pregnant raped her, he will be prosecuted; if the man who pregnant is hurting her or threatening her, he can be prosecuted and she will be protected to some extent by the police. If she is hungry and in need of prenatal care, she will be fed by our government and private charities and she will have free prenatal care provided by our government. Her grandmother, as the custodian of the fifteen year old and orphaned cousins, could receive many government benefits here in America including housing, food, and money. The fifteen year old and her grandmother in America certainly will not have any easy time of things, but they will survive. Here in the United States, we do not have a perfect system of government assistance (supported by many hard-working Americans and private charities), but it provides the ability to survive and provides opportunities that most people in the world simply do not have.

Little girls around the world are aborted or killed after they are born, simply because they are girls. Infanticide is still a common practice in many countries. There is a gap in the world population and it is estimated that there are 160 million females missing from the world population. Where did these 160 million girls go? They were killed before or right after they were born. Now there are not enough women for men to marry in many parts of the world.

If a little girl survives her birth, she may still be one of the 25,000 children under age 5 who die every single day from a preventable disease, like diarrhea. If she survives past age 5, there is a very good chance she will never go to school and she will never learn to read or write. In many places around the world, girls are either banned from school, do not attend because they have to work, or cannot attend because their family cannot pay for a uniform or school fees.

The little girl who never learns to read or write, will grow up more likely to have more children, spaced more closely together, who are more likely to die of preventable disease.

Here in the United States, public health programs, education of parents, and access to modern health care has eliminated many of the kinds of deaths these 25,000 children a day suffer every, single day. Here in the United States, children must attend school. ..and it is free! Children in America can be fed two free meals a day at school, where millions of children around the world are lucky if they are eating one meal every day.

Children overseas, especially girls, are often sold as domestic servants to other families in their community or "married" off at very young age (under 13 years of age). Often the parents sell their child believing that there child will have a better life as a family's slave or as an older man's wife because then at least the child won't starve to death.

If any child complains about being married at age 10 or tries to escape slavery, there is often no help from anyone for that child. The government often does not offer any assistance, and may actually imprison the child and punish them for running away or refusing a marriage. Families often kill young daughters who have refused marriage because that behavior is considered to have dishonored the family. Other girls are raped by the groom as a way to force the marriage.

Here in the United States, if anyone of us were approached by a ten year old girl who told us that her family was forcing her to marry a 40 year old man, here is what would happen: the girl would be protected by us and our government, her parents and the man would be prosecuted and punished for their behavior, and the story would be broadcast on CNN with all of us clucking our tongues at the television. Unfortunately, this same scenario with a ten year old girl happens all over the world every single day! In most of the world, there would be no help at all for this girl. No cameras from CNN show up for millions of little girls who are forced to marry at ages that are too young.

The bottom line is this: in America, we have opportunities. For millions of people around the world, there are very few opportunities. The United States is far from perfect. Yes, we have many hurting and hungry people here. But all of the people here have opportunities. They can get help here. We are free to share our faith in Jesus Christ. In India, in Africa, in Asia, even in South America...there is no help coming---except you! Sharing about Jesus may be outlawed and punished by imprisonment and death. How will local Christians share the good new of Christ without our support?

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

I encourage you to help people here in America...and to help people to the ends of the earth. Be the light of Christ in countries where there may only be darkness.

Message from Emmanuel?

2010-08-29T17:18:00.003-05:00

One of the children that I sponsor through Compassion International is a seven year old boy in Ghana named Emmanuel.

I signed up to sponsor him without seeing a picture of him and when I got the picture and stared into his eyes I wept. I could see that he had the eyes of an adult and the look on his face told me that he had seen much more than a child should see.

Sweet Emmanuel has written me several letters since I started sponsoring him this Spring. In his last letter, Emmanuel told me, "God will replace everything that you have lost." I received this letter in the mail the same day that I was told I'd had a miscarriage. What timing. Coincidence? Did Emmanuel know what was happening in my life? Neither the timing nor the message was any mistake. I truly believe that God used my precious little boy Emmanuel to remind me once again that He loved me, He cared for me, and that He felt my suffering. God used Emmanuel to remind me that everything I ever need can be found in Him- in God.

Our God is an amazing God and sometimes I am so wrapped up in all the details of my life that I feel are so important that I forget just how amazing God is. This letter was yet another reminder from God that He has such compassion for us- His children.

The Ultimate Mystery

2010-08-25T14:13:00.008-05:00

I am making progress...I am doing so much better and my heart is really on the mend now after my miscarriage. However, now that my heart is getting better, my mind is having to play catch-up. There has now been enough time and emotional distance for me to start asking questions.

It all still boils down to the first question that one asks when there is a tragedy...why?

Do we expect God to swoop in to fix things, to save people, to prevent disaster?

Just as the disciples expected Jesus to deliver them from the Romans (God had a bigger plan), we expect God to appear and "fix" things for us. Yet, most of the time He does not do that.

God does not heal every innocent young child who develops cancer. God does not provide food for every starving baby on this earth. God doesn't save Christian medical workers killed while trying to help people in far off lands. How is this "just" or "fair?"

Maybe God does not fix everything because He expects us to fix these things? Maybe He expects us to develop cures for cancer or He expects us to share our resources and compassion and feed everyone? Maybe He expects us to have spread His teaching about tolerance or compassion by now?

Yes, I know that God saves us from all sorts of disaster that we did not even realize was coming. I also believe that God heals people. I believe in miracles.

I was sent this link to a blog post. The author, Laryn Kragt Bakker, reflects on the loss of his unborn daughter after his wife's miscarriage. Like the author Bakker, I feel that when you experience your own tragedy it is much harder to swallow the comments, "It was God's will" or "It was God's plan." Why would it be God's will or plan for my unborn baby to die inside me and never have a shot at life? I will probably never know or understand while I am here on earth. My baby was so wanted and loved. I am forty years old. It is not as easy as "you can try again."

Is it ever God's will or plan for tragedy? Is it God's plan for tens of thousands of children to die each and every day of preventable diseases or starvation? Is it God's plan for a young child to be brutalized and murdered? I really don't see how. Tell that to the child's mother. This is the greatest mystery about God: why do people experience suffering like this?

With all of that said, like the author Bakker, my greatest comfort was that while I suffered I felt God with me. I am still grieving and I truly feel God with me. I have never, ever felt without the presence of God during this time.

I also understand there is much greater and graver suffering than mine in the world. This breaks my heart. I wonder, are those suffering also experiencing the presence of God? My greatest hope is that they are...and that they feel God's love.

God is still the ultimate mystery.

Why I Support Compassion International

2010-08-19T10:31:00.005-05:00

The story of this young man, Gezahegn in Ethiopia, reminds me of the college students that I met in the Dominican Republic in January. All of them have overcome desperate backgrounds, rife with poverty and heartbreak, and have gone on to become amazing young adults. Through Christ, help from Compassion International and sponsors like you and I...beauty from ashes!

Persevering for a Purpose
by Tigist Gizachew, Ethiopia Field Communication Specialist and Leura Jones, Contributing Writer
April 5, 2010
Young boy turns to Compassion for help after being abandoned by his abusive relatives.
As an 8-year-old orphan, Gezahegn moved in with an uncle who couldn't even support his own family. Still, his uncle managed to send the boy to kindergarten for the first time. Though grateful for his uncle's effort, Gezahegn suffered at the hand of his aunt. "Weary and sad, I would walk to school every day," he says today, at the age of 21. "I [didn't] take lunch to school like my friends, and I had to isolate myself in order to avoid [their] questions."

Life became a little brighter when his uncle heard about the Compassion-assisted child development center in Ethiopia's capital city. Gezahegn was soon registered, and after seeing the boy's potential, the center director helped him get promoted from kindergarten to third grade, where he became first in his class.

A Sudden Change
Sadly, this relatively comfortable life ended when his uncle moved to another city, leaving Gezahegn under the care of another relative.

His new guardian was a drunkard who mistreated him, says Gezahegn, and most often their arguments were focused on the boy's Christian faith.

"I tolerated the insults and the emotional abuse because I knew I had nowhere else to go," says Gezahegn, fighting back tears. "He was totally against my Christianity. For me, my Christianity was the only good thing in my life."

One night, the inevitable happened: Gezahegn was thrown out into the street with only pocket change to live on. But determined and strong spirited, he went straight back to school the next day. Though the center staff tried to make peace between the boy and his relative, they were unsuccessful. Gezahegn ended up living in the church compound and sleeping on the benches in one of the Sunday school classes.

"I felt hopeless and rejected. I cried before God for all the suffering I was going through," he says. "I had no one to take me, and that was not a good feeling. I lost all confidence. But deep down, I knew one thing — God will never leave me or reject me."

Not Left Unnoticed
After living there for two months, the center staff rented a small room for Gezahegn and provided him with cooking utensils and a small mattress. The young boy started taking care of himself — cooking, cleaning, and washing his own clothes. "It was not easy to come home from school and cook for myself. There were times where I had nothing to eat because what the program gave me for the whole month would be gone within 15 to 20 days," he recalls. "I got tired after cooking and washing my clothes and had a hard time to even do my homework. But since I knew education was the only way out, I kept up with my schooling."

Through years of hardship, Gezahegn's commitment to God did not falter. He served the Lord as a choir member and led a peer-educators group at Compassion's child development center. Eventually, he was even entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of another orphan boy, Getasew, who moved in with him.

"My involvement in the center gradually increased my self-confidence," he says. And though taking care of someone else was a huge responsibility, he says, "I no more felt lonely."

The Provision of Unfailing Love
After completing high school, Gezahegn was accepted into Compassion Ethiopia's Leadership Development Program (LDP). Now a construction-engineering student in his second year of university, he says, "I praised the Lord for His unfailing love and provision. I believe that He prepared LDP for me so that I can be equipped for the purpose He had in mind when He created me."

In addition to leading his church's youth choir and teaching Sunday school, Gezahegn leads a small ministry called Service of Love. Through it, he and some church friends cover the school expenses of two little children. They hope to be able to add more children in the near future.

"I believe that God has been leading me through all the ups and downs of my life to prepare me for the greater purpose ahead," says Gezahegn. "There were times I wanted to just quit, but God has been my strength, and He gave me people who love and support me. My life is a miracle, and I praise God for all His provisions through Compassion."

For more information about becoming a sponsor with Compassion International, click here.

Trusting that God is BIG Enough

2010-08-16T15:01:00.003-05:00

Is God big enough?

Can I trust God enough to give Him all of my worries and sorrows and hopes and dreams? I mean really, really, give Him everything? Not hold anything back. Even my worries that I consider selfish and trivial? Too small for God to care about?

It seems ridiculous and contradictory for me to believe all of the miracles God has performed...in the Bible, in my life, and my friends lives, but then to keep all of my problems to myself and not give them to God. Do I not trust Him to handle my problems? Do I not trust Him to listen to my prayers?

Oh my...what a summer I have had. I can honestly say that this has been the toughest couple months of my life so far. Tougher than divorce...tougher than being a single mom for almost six years.

When my surprise of expecting a baby at age 40 turned into grief after my miscarriage...I was really thrown for a loop. I think I truly understand what a "midlife crisis" is now. I just could not wrap my mind around what happened. I had a few moments of wonderful expectation and then I felt like it was snatched away.

I thank God that in my grief, I never felt alone. I always knew God was with me. I have never studied the Bible or prayed so much in my life. However, I didn't feel like I could turn all of my worries over to Him...truly relying on God. I was holding a few of my worries back for myself and not asking God to help.

Last night, a dear friend spoke some truth into my life (appropriately she is named Angel). She reminded me, "Do you know how BIG our God is?" Her words were like a refreshing splash of cold water to the face. Did I not realize that our God is BIG enough to handle it all?

I've had no problem praying for other people, but I had not prayed for myself in the areas that I was most concerned about. I was keeping my biggest worries to myself...I guess believing that I could ultimately control and maybe even "fix" these things...God wouldn't be able to help me. Who was I kidding?!

I can't help but feel that I am not alone, that maybe you too are keeping your worries, hopes, or fears to yourself also. Do you think that God is too busy to deal with you? I know that is how I felt.

God is not too busy. He knows every hair on our heads! He wants us to rely on Him for everything. This is written all over His word.

Trust that God is BIG enough...

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. Psalm 55:22

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

Back to Life

2010-07-11T21:46:00.003-05:00

I am trying *real hard* to get back to life and back to my "usual self." (Notice that I did not say "normal self" because if you know me...I'm not normal. Ha.)

Before my miscarriage I spent a lot of time being blissfully happy. I smiled a lot. I hummed. I said hi to strangers. I was one of those people that makes you want to vomit because they are always so darn happy. I am ready to get back to that girl! But not yet. I need to take my time.

In the mean time, I have to share a fantastic book that I read:

The book is Radical, by David Platt. It is not an easy message to digest, because it hits so close to home. But that's why it is such a great book. It's something we don't particularly want to hear, but we need to hear. It's not torture to read or anything- it is actually an easy read. It will really challenge you to look inside yourself. It challenged me as a believer: do I really follow Christ? I encourage you to check it out.

Like a Broken Record

2010-07-10T21:30:00.002-05:00

I know that I sound like a broken record.

I'm still grieving my miscarriage. I am very impatient with myself. It has been 30 days and I'm still a basket case.

I go to work...I go to lunch with friends...I spend time with Carter and Dave...I go to church. But I feel like I am just going through the motions.

This is the hardest thing I have ever dealt with. I guess I am surprised how sad
I am still. I've tried so hard to distract myself. Nothing has worked.

I still burst into tears randomly. I try to wait until I am in my car by myself. I feel like other people don't understand why I am still upset...but I still am.

Do I Belong? And other lies...

2010-07-03T17:40:00.006-05:00

Do I Belong? And other lies...

I'm divorced and remarried...am I still accepted as a Christian? Can I still attend my church with my head held high? Can I still hold a prayer meeting in my home? Can I still share Jesus? Can I still go on a mission trip?

I suffer from depression that comes and goes...shouldn't someone of faith be able to control that? Do I not have enough faith? Do I not trust God?

I am a follower of Christ, but my husband is not a believer...can I still share Jesus with others? If I can't "convert" my husband, what right do I have to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world?

I've put on a few pounds over the last couple years. I'm not obese, but I don't have great self-discipline when it comes to food or exercise...should I be able to minister to other women if I can't even control my eating?

I'm a mom and I work outside the home...(as a lawyer!)...can I give any advice on parenting?

I'm a girl...who will listen to me when it comes to sharing my faith in God and my relationship with Jesus Christ?

These are all the lies that run through my head at least once every couple of weeks. Embarrassing? Yes! However, I think it is important for me to share these lies that I tell myself and that the enemy whispers into my ear. When I bring these lies out of the shadows and into the light, I can more easily defeat them.

The grace that came with Jesus Christ slays all of these lies...and I am grateful for it.

I am no theologian, but I do not believe Jesus put any restrictions on followers when it comes to sharing Him. Instead of restricting who is "allowed" to share Him, Jesus actually commanded us to share Him...and share Him with everyone:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

There is no footnote that reads, "Kristen, that does not apply to you because you messed up." Therefore, I will continue to share my beloved Jesus who saved me and who has brought me such healing and hope. I do belong. I belong to Him. He is a jealous God...and He loves me.

This is me on a trip to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International. Successfully sharing the love of Christ...the love that saved and rescued me. Even though I've messed up...and continue to mess up. And even though I am a girl. :-)

Will My Miscarriage Steal My Joy?

2010-07-01T15:55:00.002-05:00

I've started praying about this...a lot. Will my miscarriage steal the joy that I feel being around babies, children, and families?

Will I always flinch every time I see a baby or even a picture of a baby?

I love, love, love babies and children. Two couples I know had their babies within the last week. Other friends have had babies in the last few months and still more are expecting them soon. I also have several friends that are adopting.

So am I going to be able to stand this? My miscarriage was just over three weeks ago and the pain is still fresh.

However, I refuse to let this loss steal my joy. I'm going to continue to pray about this.

Anyone who has been in my shoes (and I know there are MANY of you)...what are your thoughts or suggestions?

My Tween: Tales from "Tweendom"

2010-06-27T09:03:00.003-05:00

In case you don't know what on earth a "tween" is...

I define a tween as a person between the ages of nine and fourteen. They are not a "little kid" anymore, but they are not quite a full-blown teenager either; hence, the term "tween" as in "between."

My son Carter just had his tenth birthday. As he said, "Double digits!" He was so excited. Partly in celebration of this momentous double-digits birthday (but mostly because our lower floor flooded and all our flooring was torn up), we converted our family room (den if you are down here in the South) into the "Tween Den."

We tiled the whole kitchen and the tween den in lovely new ceramic tile to withstand lots of tween boys (and our four dogs). We put away the "baby toys." We put a newer TV and all of the various game systems (XBOX Wii etc.) in the tween den. Eventually, Carter's computer will go in there too.

This downstairs location of the tween den is central to the whole house. We enter from the garage or the back yard into the tween den. It is connected to the kitchen (essential for tween boys who NEVER stop eating-they grow two inches every night.) Best of all, there is no way for the tweens to have any privacy in that room, so we always know exactly what they are up to, what they are talking about, what game they are playing on XXBOX live, and what they are looking at on the computer.

I expect to thrill you with nuggets of wisdom coming from the tween den soon! Carter LOVES his new room. He and his friend Trevor (aka "The Trevinator") are having quite the time in there right now. If they let me, I may sneak a picture or two.

From On Fire to Crash and Burn

2010-06-25T12:00:00.002-05:00

Yeah, so all that being super busy stuff didn't really work.

Why did I think that would help me get over my miscarriage? Wishful thinking and stupidity.

I am still sad. I still can't believe that I was pregnant and now I'm not. I'm still angry that it happened. I was so happy and then it all was taken away.

I also still know:
1. God loves me and didn't cause all of this to be a sadistic jerk.
2. My Jesus is still the same as before all of this happened.
3. There is a purpose to all of this.
4. I have never been closer to God.
5. I have never prayed more.
6. I have never read the Bible more.

Maybe there is enough of a reason this happened when I look at numbers 4, 5, and 6.

On Fire

2010-06-23T22:01:00.002-05:00

I am so on fire tonight! It is 10:00 p.m. I am have been going non-stop since 6:00 a.m. this morning.

It was quite a full day...
mommydom...getting Carter all set for Golf Camp...
acting like a real lawyer and being in Court all day (or more accurately waiting around in Court all day to speak for a total of ten minutes)...
fitting in my post-op check-up at the obstetrician (my d and c after my miscarriage was two weeks ago today)...
Bible study at a friend's church...Beth Moore
then, going over to my church to catch the tail end of a great friend's testimony...
feeding Carter and his friend that came home with us from church lots of food so they can grow another two inches overnight...
and now catching up with you and myself! Whew!

I am EXHAUSTED. But it is a good exhausted. The Lord is still up to great things in me and all around me. He really is my help and my deliverer. He has held me under his wing. I will never tire of thanking the Lord for Him just being Him!!!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6

Prayer Meeting

2010-06-21T19:29:00.003-05:00

Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. John 16:23

I finally got the guts to have a ladies prayer meeting at my house this Sunday! I am so excited- whether four girls show up or forty I know that the Lord will be glorified.

My home is certainly not the largest, fanciest, or the cleanest- but I have felt led to do this. I invited friends from work, church, and life in general.

I know the power of prayer. I have heard all of the stories and now I have one of my own. When I had my miscarriage and surgery ten days ago I felt absolutely covered in prayer. I was so at peace the day of my surgery and I know it was my sweet Jesus comforting me and all the prayers of my precious friends.

I am not the most eloquent or polished person when praying in front of a group, but I know that doesn't matter to God.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

Father's Day!

2010-06-19T09:46:00.003-05:00

I hope that everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

This post is dedicated to my husband, Dave. Again. Can you tell how much I love and respect him? He is a great daddy to our son Carter and we love and appreciate him so much!

One of my favorite quotes from our son Carter happened about five years ago. Before Dave and I were married, we were riding down the road in the car and Carter piped up from the backseat and said, "Dave, without you...there would be no us."

Out of the mouths of babes. Can you believe it? Carter is full of some humdingers. Since that time in the car, Dave and I were married, Dave adopted Carter, and Carter now calls him Daddy.

There really are happy endings people.

New Prayer Blog: Jesus Is Listening!

2010-06-18T22:06:00.003-05:00

I have set up a new blog designed specifically for prayer requests. To visit, click here. Or, go to: www.jesusislistening.blogspot.com.

New Blog Dedicated to Prayer

2010-06-18T16:06:00.002-05:00

I have been so incredibly blessed by the prayers of others lately. My experience (and I think God) has led me to start a new blog dedicated to prayer.

My brief and tumultuous pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage were so hard to deal with. I cried out to God...and to all my friends. I boldly asked for prayer. I was in such distress that I was not shy about it at all.

I cannot tell you what a feeling of peace I had on the day I went into surgery. I know that it was my sweet Jesus comforting me and I felt absolutely covered up in prayer. I have never felt such peace...and I felt it during the worst time I have ever experienced in my life.

I will be working on this new prayer blog over the weekend. What are your thoughts?

To Love My Husband...

2010-06-15T08:28:00.003-05:00

This is my husband Dave on his new horse, Zoe. This picture is just perfect for this post because it reminds me of a knight in shining armor on a horse. Dave really has been my knight in shining armor.

Last week we found out I had a miscarriage and I had to have minor surgery. Dave has taken care of everything...taken care of our ten year old son, our four dogs, our house, everything! Before we found out we lost the baby I was so sick and the main floor of our house was flooded by a broken pipe, so Dave's been taking care of everything for a while. I have never seen him clean the kitchen and vacuum so much in my life.

I could not love my husband more than I do right now. He has been my knight in shining armor. Thank you, Dave...I love you!

God Gives Me His Spare Change

2010-06-13T15:22:00.006-05:00

In my last post I wrote about how I kept seeing pennies everywhere throughout my recent pregnancy . I was so upset during the last four weeks of my pregnancy. There was bad news upon bad news, but every time I came across one of these shiny pennies I knew it was God telling me to lighten up, that He loved me, and that I needed to trust Him.

I found pennies all over...and always at a moment that I was upset or begging God for some good news. I work in my town's city hall and I found pennies almost everyday inside our building during my pregnancy. This itself is a miracle because our cleaning ladies keep our city hall SPOTLESS! Just the fact that there was a penny left sitting on the ground for a few minutes is amazing.

Every time I went to my doctor's office I came across a penny at their office, until the last ultrasound when I was told there was no hope for the baby. After that office visit, I stopped finding pennies.

Yesterday afternoon I was crying while I was doing the laundry. I was asking God, "Why did I have a miscarriage?" Didn't God know how much I wanted my baby? Did He not know how broken I was? Could God not show me something...some sign to let me know that He understood? I begged God to show me some sign that He knew how much I was hurting. I could not stand the silent treatment that I felt I was getting from God.

I went into our bedroom to put some clean laundry away and there on the floor in front of my husband's closet door there was a...nickel. Not just a penny. I smiled. I knew this was God because my dear husband has been cleaning house like a madman the last couple of weeks trying to help me out. My husband has been vacuuming at least once or twice a day everyday (Trust me, this is unusual. I think his way of coping with losing the baby was to do nice things for me by keeping the house picked up.) I took this nickel as a sign. God knew.

I stayed up very late last night reading and writing and crying. I read Angie's story again. Angie lost a baby much later into her pregnancy than I did. God has used Angie and her experience and transformed it into a ministry. You can read her story at her blog Bring the Rain by clicking here.

Reading Angie's story again was cathartic. As I was getting ready to go to bed, I was getting angry thinking about what happened in Angie's life, about my miscarriage, about all the other women's sad experiences I have been hearing about during the last couple of weeks.

I stormed into my bedroom, walked past my husband's closet and stopped and looked down. There was...a dime. Very near the same spot I found the nickel a few hours earlier. I know it wasn't there when I found the nickel. This time I not only smiled, I laughed out loud. I get it God. You know how much I hurt. You love me. You bind up my wounds.

P.S. Just a few minutes after I posted this, we attended a pool party with our church small group. My son Carter came out of the pool and handed me a penny saying, "I found this on the bottom of the pool, Mom. It's for you." I took the penny and held onto it for dear life. I hadn't said anything to Carter about the pennies. God is so amazing.

Why? I Want to Understand Why...

2010-06-12T19:36:00.007-05:00

I had a miscarriage and I am devastated and broken-hearted. I do not understand why this happened. I accept that I lost the baby. I am not mad at God.

I just want to know why. Why did this happen? I want to be able to understand.

I know that God didn't do this or allow this to hurt me. I do not believe that God gave me something I wanted and then took it away to punish me. I do not believe God operates that way. I know that God loves me...He loves all his children.

I am just having a hard time accepting that may never know the reason why this happened until I get to heaven.

I do believe that I will meet my baby in heaven. This gives me amazing comfort.

A little background:

My husband Dave and I have been married about four and a half years. We're very happy, thank the Lord. We do not have the "perfect marriage." Yes, there are moments when we are very irritated with each other. We each think that the other has some very annoying habits. However, at the end of the day I know that we would absolutely do anything for the other one. We truly love one another.

My son Carter just turned ten. Dave adopted Carter after we married and Dave is the only father Carter has ever known, as his biological father and I divorced when Carter was an infant and he decided he didn't want a relationship with Carter. (Um, I know. How did this happen? That is a whole other story).

Before we were married, Dave and I established the following:

Dave did not really want to have any more children. (More meaning more besides Carter. Dave considers Carter his child. This fact I am very thankful for).
I really did want to have more children, but decided I could live with not having any more children for a multitude of reasons.

So we were married and happy. During the second year of our marriage I brought up the subject. You know... the subject of having a baby. Dave's feelings were unchanged. Dave explained that he loved Carter and Carter was enough for him. Dave said, "Carter is my son. I don't need another child."

You have to understand that throughout our marriage very well-meaning people have commented to both Dave and I that we should have another child so that Dave could have "his own child." This has always really bothered Dave. He always responds to these suggestions by emphatically saying that he already has his own child-Carter! Dave feels very strongly about this. I could not be more proud.

Fast-forward to this year. I am settled in and completely at peace about not having any more children. I turned forty in March. I spend all of my time and energy on Carter and Dave and the children I sponsor through Compassion International. I look at the kids that I sponsor as a way to spiritually mother other children. Although I was not having more biological children myself, sponsoring these children through Compassion was a way to hopefully make a very positive impact on another child's life...and most importantly to hopefully shine some of Jesus's love from me to them.

Then, I became pregnant. Wow, was I surprised. I had been feeling odd and dizzy. I thought maybe I was starting to go through menopause. One of my besties, Amye, actually knew I was pregnant before I did. We met another friend for lunch and I commented I felt strange. She knew I was pregnant.

And the roller coaster began...

Dave was in shock. Not necessarily happy either. Now before you hate him, remember that we have discussed this whole subject of babies in great detail...and, well, he is a man.

Dave was not mad...he specifically said that he was not mad at me and would never be mad at the baby. He was just...well...in shock!

The doctor appointments began and they were a little rocky from the start because my obstetrician was a tad negative about having babies at age forty. My doctor spent a little too much time for my taste telling me all the risks and odds about quite sad things happening, starting at the first appointment.

I completely embraced the pregnancy and loved the baby instantly. Dave got over his shock and was coming along. Carter was so excited that he was going to have a baby brother or sister. At church on a Wednesday night he told everyone he recognized coming in the doors to church that I was having a baby.

I was very emotional. I was crying a lot. Most of the tears were happy tears. I was so thankful that I was expecting and the the Lord had known the desires of my heart, to have another baby. But I was also worried. I was just overwhelmed with my feelings.

Then the bottom started to fall out. The ultrasounds showed a sac that maybe should be bigger. Then showed a sac that was bigger, but maybe should have had a baby that we could see. Then we saw a a baby but no heartbeat.

I begged God for mercy, for healing, for a healthy baby. I prayed so hard. I also told Jesus that even if something happened to the baby, I was so thankful that God allowed me to be pregnant again...even if it was just for a little while.

Then the next ultrasound showed a bigger baby, but still a baby with no heartbeat. Leaving the ultrasound room I saw a bright, shiny penny on the ground. I smiled. Throughout my pregnancy I had been coming across pennies everywhere. Pennies on the street, pennies in city hall where I worked, and pennies on the carpet in my doctor's office every time I came in. I felt like the pennies were God's way of reassuring me. The doctor had said he was concerned, but optimistic because the baby had grown.

I returned for the next ultrasound on a Friday. It showed a baby with no heartbeat that stopped growing. There were no pennies anywhere that day. I cried and cried. Sweet and dear friends prayed for a miracle for me. The doctor said come back Monday afternoon, but there was a one or two percent chance that anything would change.

Dave came with me to see that there was no change on Monday and I was scheduled for a "d and c" for Wednesday, June 9th. Thursday was Carter's tenth birthday.

During the forty day span of all these ultrasounds I was very sick. I was extremely nauseous, very dizzy and very tired. It was hard to believe the baby was not developing considering all of the symptoms I was having.

The outpouring of support I have received from my friends, co-workers, girlfriends and the women of my church has been incredible. I am grateful. We have been showered with love, prayers, food, food, food, and flowers. This is Dave's first experience with Southern folks during a time of grief.

I know that the grieving and healing will take time. I am just still having a hard time with the question of why...

Urgent Request for a Child

2010-06-11T19:44:00.005-05:00

There's a little boy here in America that sponsors a little boy in Africa through Compassion International. The African boy's name is Achille and he is very ill.

Achille needs heart surgery immediately and will have to travel from his home in Burkina Faso to India for the surgery. He is eight years old has lived in pain from his condition for the last five years.

Compassion International has provided medical care for Achille for the last two years at the National Teaching Hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo in Burkina Faso in western Africa. At this hospital they have been able to treat his condition up until now. Now Achille is in urgent need of surgery and they are out of treatment options in this very poor African nation.

Can you imagine? Can you imagine being eight years old and in pain knowing that you may die? Can you imagine being this little boy's mother and feeling helpless because you cannot fix it? Can you imagine being the doctor or nurse in Burkina Faso who has cared for this little boy for two years but now cannot do anything else for him? Can you imagine being the American little boy who sponsors Achille and wanting to help him so badly?

I cannot imagine. Please join me in praying for Achille, his family, and his doctors and nurses.

The cost of the surgery and related travel is estimated at $20,449 and Compassion International is asking for help by way of donations. Please click on the banner below to donate or go to http://compassion.com/Achile

As many of you know, I sponsor five children through Compassion International and went on a trip with Compassion to the Dominican Republic to visit Johanna that I sponsor there. I have seen first hand the amazing work that Compassion does.

If Compassion collects donations in excess of the costs of Achille's surgery, then Compassion will roll the excess funds into Compassion's Medical Assistance Fund to aid children in need of medical help in the future. To learn more about how Compassion helps children with heart conditions click here.

Please consider a donation to help Achille. Imagine if he were your child. I know that you would want this same help.

The M Word

2010-06-10T21:29:00.002-05:00

I lost my baby.

I had a miscarriage. The M word.

I am exhausted.

I am now a member of a club that I never wanted to belong to...that no woman would ever want to join: Women who have suffered a miscarriage. I know that there are lots of us. That doesn't make it any easier for any of us.

I know it happened for a reason. I know that I will see my sweet baby in heaven someday. But I am still brokenhearted.

Chai Ling

2010-05-01T18:14:00.003-05:00

When Chai Ling, was 23 years old and a top-ranking national honors student at "Bei Shi Da" Beijing Normal University, she became a galvanizing force in the Tiananmen Square Student Movement. Rallying thousands of hopeful students, she became a top leader of the protest movement. Following the bloody Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, 1989, Chai Ling skyrocketed to a place on the "21 most-wanted" students list in China for organizing the demonstration. With the help of Chinese Buddhists and Hong-Kong organizations, she escaped from China in 1990, eventually arriving in the United States.

This is her amazing testimony. It is long, but well worth the read:

Chai Ling’s Testimony
My name is Chai Ling; I was born into a Chinese Liberation Army Base at the beginning of China’s Cultural Revolution. We were stationed in a small fishing village, North East in China. Both my parents were medical doctors. They were often sent to the poor villages to care for the peasants and rescue the victims from earthquake and other disasters. Despite all the horrible things happened during Cultural Revolution, where millions of people were tortured and killed, our family was mostly shielded from the storm because Chairman Mao’s master plan was to keep the Army on his side. But what I remember of my childhood is a terrible sense of loneliness and separation. My parents were constantly sent out to help others in worse conditions than us.

So what I learned through this experience was to respect and believe in my parents’ work, as taught by Mao’s from his little red book: to love the people, love the country, to sacrifice our own needs and be ready to give up our lives for a greater good, and that greater good was our great leader of the country and the cause he defined. We did not know God, as we were not allowed to know God. “God” was deemed by the leaders as the evil things that the capitalists use to brainwash the people. It was a word that was forbidden in our society. As a result, God’s love was scare too. The society was filled with hatred, distrust and fear.

When Chairman Mao died the Cultural Revolution finally came to an end and the new leader encouraged education and reform. For a short period of history, the country was filled with hope and vitality. By then, my family’s emphasis on education and a lonely childhood had made me a good student, I was a typical type A, insecure overachiever. At age 17, I became one of the few national honor students in China and realized the fulfillment of my parents and ancestor’s dream, to enter China’s greatest university Beijing University, called Beida.

Meeting God at Bedia
At Beida, I discovered for the first time something about God from a graduate student, who had done a biking trip along China’s famous Yellow River. His report was spoken in a hushed and careful manner; it made a lasting impression on me.
In the middle of his journey, he entered a poor village so destitute that no woman had been married into the village for years; even the birds would not stop when flying over. A group of villagers ask him to do them a favor. It was a Sunday night, they gathered in a small shack that was made with hay and mud bricks, in the dim oil lantern light, they passed something that was
wrapped in a thick black rain cloth to prevent water and damage. He opened the cloth, layer by layer, at the end it was a copy of the Bible. The pages had turned yellow, and the edges had many wrinkles. It was the only copy that was left by a missionary, who was driven out of the country after the Communist’s revolution 40 years earlier. They kept it for all those years, risking their lives during all those movements. They had one problem. None of the villagers could read. So each time when they gathered together to worship, they passed the Bible around, touching the Bible by their hands to be connected with God’s spirit. So finally, this college kid who can read showed up. They were thrilled their prayer was answered. They begged him to read the words to them. He did. That night, he stood on a stood, read, read, and read, and read, the villagers looked at him, standing, hungry and thirsty for every word spoken from his lip; they stood without moving listening and listening, until dawn broke through the window. The villagers had to go back to work the fields. They left reluctantly. To thank my friend’s work to bring them God’s words, they gave him a big bag of sweet potatoes to bring home---the only gift they can find from their village. Our friend had to dump many things as his journey became long and tough, but he kept that bag of potatoes all the way to the end.

As a young college girl dashing around campus trying to do a million things at the same time, that story stopped my rush. I was touched by his witness and the spirit that attracts those villagers strongly attracted me. For we have grown up being to ask to worship the Communist leaders and Chairman Mao, all I saw was done out of fear and obedience, I had never seen such a public display of this genuine strong devotion and faith. And for reasons that I don’t even understand today, ever since that moment, my life was turned from one event to another, and went spinning out of control.

Tiananmen Square Movement 1989
I found myself ending up at Tiananmen Square in 1989, leading the student protest and hunger strike for a better, freer, and more loving China. Many called the 1989 Tiananmen movement a pro-democracy movement, some call it a revolution. They are all right, partially. For us, we wanted to know the truth about our country, our lives, and our beliefs. What is true and what is not true? For example, we were raised to love the police and the army, but when we demonstrate, they beat us up. We were raised to love the people, the country and the leaders, do they love us? In a more profound sense, the Tiananmen movement was a spiritual awakening movement.

For 50 days in the spring of 1989, the Tiananmen event grew and grew into a global event, in a society that allows no free media. It touched so many people, across so many cultures and continents (I am thinking about people like Mike here). It changed every one of our lives in such a profound way that none of us could ever image. The expression of love, started by a poor shy man who pushed a 5 RMB bill into my hands so I can buy my students some water to drink in a hot summer day, brought smiles and love out of each of our hearts, and that smile and love spread into more people, woke more neighbors out from hatred and distrust and soon the whole city, the whole country, and the whole world was touched by that energy of love, hope and that glorious dreams that we can be free. Free from hatred, free from violence, free from separation and free from fear. That moment, we learned the truth. We love the people and the people loved us back. We loved our country and our country and many countries loved us back. Even the thieves in Beijing called a strike and stop stealing to support the movement.

The Truth From the Leaders
So how about the leaders now? Will they understand? Will they let down their guard and embrace love and freedom? Will they free the students and the people so they will be set free too? Now we know they did not. So the last hour came, I was with my last 5000 students at the Square, where tanks and troops rolled in. The death toll and casualty numbers on the Long Peace Avenue were reported back to me. So the truth came from the leaders: when we offered them love and peace, they handed us death and massacre. None of us could believe it at first. How could I believe the People’s Liberation Army would kill its own people? I grew up with them. They were uncles and aunties to me. We love them and they love us. I remember when we had to abandon the commanding headquarter made by a tent, I raised my head to the sky and asked in silence, “Why? Why? Why? Why do they have to kill us for wanting to have a dialogue?”

Death Was Marching At Us
Despite our cry and disbelief, death was marching at us step by step. Those 50 days, I had to overcome so many new emotions and tests, from living a simple life of a graduate student to a Commander in Chief for a mass movement; from being young, care free with a love to dance to now taking a stand that would potentially lead to years of life in prison; from dreaming about studying in America and building a life of happiness and laughter to maybe just hoping to survive. And now, it is death. As a little lonely child grown up around the hospital, I was always so afraid of death. I had nightmares like sinking into a deep, endless and dark hole that simple would not end. Each time I screamed to awake. But this time, it was no longer a dream, even a bad dream. It was real, and this time we will not wake up from it. In the last hour, I was confronted the ultimate test and I was not sure how to overcome death. Many thoughts rushed through my mind. What would happen to my family thousands miles away, how will they go on if I am no longer there for them? I am their hope and their pride. How about all our dreams for a fulfilled life, with children and grandchildren…so many questions, so little time. So this is it! This night?!

As an individual student, I can dwell on my own thoughts. But as a leader, I have to tend to my troops. I and another leader took a walk around our students. They were sitting with each other, holding hands and sharing blankets, their eyes like lambs waited to be chopped, looked sadly into the darkness of the Square, where occasionally, gleams the guns and tanks, their faces showed the same kind of emotions I was going through: sadness, sorrow, anger, disbelief and helplessness. What kind of words I can say to comfort them?

I remembered a story I heard a few days ago. I told them a story of a community of ants that lived on a mountain. One day the mountain caught on fire and they had to get down to the bottom of the hill to survive. They roll into a ball, went through the fire, and the outside ants were burned, but the ant nation survived. So tonight, we are the ants on the frontier of our nation. In our demise, there will be born a free nation. Smiles and cheers came back to our students’ face, in those last minutes, we found our purpose. This shared purpose gave us courage to face the unbearable darkness and the unknown that comes from death. As I was standing there, I was overcome with such a strong feeling, when we were about to give our lives, our most precious gift we could give for the people, how strongly the love we felt for our people and our nation. As I was looking into the cold and dark tanks showed no emotion, I thought if only the leaders who ordered the massacre could have felt that love, that priceless gift! …

Miraculous Survival
For some miraculous reason, I survived. We led many of the last 5000 students out of the Square. And my life was thrown into another dangerous adventure, the underground. There, I was rescued by a group of devoted Buddhists, whose beliefs are: truth, kindness and endurance. They decided to risk their own lives to save me. When I was deeply troubled by the question, “Why I survived when so many others have died?” They told me, it was because my work of this life was not yet done. So with that clarity and relief, I endured 5 nights and 4 days of complete darkness and isolation in a wooden crate inside a boat when the trip suppose to be only 8 hours, with nothing but a simple faith, “my work is this life is not done yet.” I escape to freedom, first through Hong Kong, then Paris and finally to America.

Coming to America
Despite all the great things this country has to offer, a life as an immigrant in this country is not easy; a life as a refugee who did not speak much English who was supposed to work to free a nation that she could not even go back to was even harder. One may think once we achieved freedom we could live happily ever after. But bad things kept happening one after another. My first marriage to another Chinese Student leader fell apart. Then my dear mother passed away, then my grandmother passed away, then the job I loved did not want to risk their China business on me, then some vicious defamation and attack, each dark hour was darker than the first one. At one point, I looked up the sky and asked, “God, you’ve given me freedom, but nothing else has left.” Each time I relied on my own strength and many others kind help to overcome. I tried many things, a graduate degree from Princeton, a graduate degree from Harvard, working in NGOs, working in Government, and working in companies. At one point, China became such a painful issue I simply had to put it back out of my mind and my life. Somehow like Scarlet in Gone with the Wind, who refuse to ever go hungry again, I stumbled on this idea that if only I could become a very successful entrepreneur, like Bill Gates, I could make lots money and set up a giant foundation, then I could once for all overcome and free China. In the mean time, over a decade I built back my life with my wonderful new American husband, we had three children; I brought my extended family out of China, gave money to save orphans in China, and built a software company with over 280 employees. These tasks kept our minds and hands full as we were inching our way towards that illusive big and grand goal.

Twenty Years Later
Until last spring, approaching the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen movement, I was surprised by a visit from my Tiananmen colleague Fang Zheng. I did not know him in person during the time, I later learned when we left the Square on the June 4th morning, I was leading the team marching in the front, and he was at the end. The tanks came from behind with such a high speed, when Fang Zheng instantly saved the young lady next to him by pushing her to safety, he lost the precious few seconds to save himself. Both of his legs were crushed by the tank. Several others were completely crushed. So 20 years later, I met him in his wheelchair. While I listened to his story after Tiananmen, I could not stop thinking that his life could be mine, he could be me if the tanks came from the front of the line instead of the back. Hearing that as the days go on, more and more people are benefitting from the economic development in China and more and more forget about the sacrifices. The victims of Tiananmen have become forgotten. They struggle in China on a daily basis. I could no longer go back to my grand plan to wait until my business was big enough to change China. I have to give now, as much as I can, to give them hope and sustain them in a time of this prolonged darkness. So I made a pledge to donate a large amount for next five years to help sustain hope.

As a result of my commitment, the following summer became another dark moment of my life. This time, the Chinese government agents ask my family member directly to bring me a message, that my continued work will bring no good consequences for me and my family. In the mean time, while living in the free land of America, I felt this dark cloud descended on me. It surrounded me everywhere. From the surface, I live this perfect American Dream life: lovely children and husband, home, company, private schools, vacation, but I felt I was being watched and followed, my phone was listened to, our computer was hacked, some mysterious fatal car accidents that end the lives of several over dissidents surfaced. So what else they are doing? What are they going to do next? In the land of free and home of the brave, I did not feel safe, or free. But this time, it is worse. I have a responsibility for these young and innocent children and my dear and loving husband, who is a happy go lucky American from the heart land, completely innocent and ignorant of the cruelty and consequences of a dark regime, whose favorite pastime is watching Red Sox, Patriots and other sports he can find time for. After losing many of my beloved ones to the cause, this time, the thoughts of losing the new family was simply unbearable. Yet, my life was supposed to have a purpose, my work was not done yet. For all I knew, the only reason I survived was may be because my work was not done yet. How could I not continue the work to bring freedom to China? I was stuck!

The Truth About Me
But despite my reservations, I went ahead for the cause because it was the right thing to do. Just like the night of the June 3rd when we faced with death, we did not overcome it in peace, but we stood up to it and dealt with the consequences. On the plane to DC to join Fang Zheng to celebrate his first dance with his wife, after he was being generously outfitted with state of art prosthetic legs, I encountered a terrible attack. Half dozing off, I was awakened to a sensation of losing breath and dizziness, a feeling of dying and out of controlness. It was a panic attack. An experience I never even had when I was at the Square. But this time, I was stuck between the past and the future, I lost all the purpose and clarity, I lost all my strength. Now the truth about me finally emerged. For all those battles and triumphs, I realized, how small I actually am, when confronted with the force of an entire regime. How could I, a humble individual, go against an entire regimewho has enormous resources and networks? How could I join a battle that could not be won, and in the process, committing the sacrifice of my most precious beloved ones?

Confronting Christ
Over the years, many have sowed the seeds about Christ. A dear friend Jariy Hunter who leads a faith based college in South Carolina and a Methodist Minister on Cape Cod Rev. Holt have helped me to open my eyes for Christ. That night I met a new friend named Reggie LittleJohn. She is a devoted Christian and believes she is being called to expose the brutality of China’s forced abortion practice. She talked about how she thought she knew God and realized that she did not really know God until she went through a life threatening illness, and how through that experience she has been transformed from a litigator into a human rights activist and film producer and now is devoting her time to serve the Lord. I asked her had she seen God? She said she had not, but others have. She sent me a book “The Heavenly Man.” It was a story of how a young Chinese peasant boy was enlightened by God through the miracles God performed on his dying father. Then he became a minister and was sent to jail so many times because of his work of bringing the gospel to China. At one time, they broke his legs, but with God’s help, he walked out the jail cell in front of their very eyes, and did not realize that his legs were already healed by the Lord. At the end of his book, he asked, “So are you ready to walk with Christ?”

I closed the book and picked up the phone, “Reggie, if you think anyone would become Christian after reading this book, you must be crazy.” I was only half joking. For me, committing to Christ became equivalent to going back to those persecutions. I just finished digging myself out of there after 20 years. In the mean time, Reggie also sent me the movie of the Gospel of John, each time when I watched the movie and heard the words of Christ, it brought an unexplainable sense of peace and calm into my burning heart. Later on a few weeks, one thing led to another, the drama only intensified. Reggie and I went to the U.S. Congress’s human right committee’s testimony on China’s forced abortion practice. I thought I knew China until I heard Wujian’s story.

The Lord is Calling
Wujian was pregnant before she received a “birth permit” to have a child, she has to hide her pregnancy in hopes to escape the fate of giving up her baby. The family planning officials beat and tortured her father, forcing her to choose one life, her father’s or her baby’s. Her father did not reveal anything, but the Family Planning Officials still managed to find her in the hiding place. She was dragged into a forced abortion hospital. After two shots, her baby stopped moving, but still miraculously remained inside her. At that point, the young helpless mother Wujian was so proud of her baby and cheering the baby on: “My baby is so strong, maybe my baby will survive the toxic shots and live.” But on the third day, before Wujian realized what was going on, she was dragged into the operating room and scissors were inserted into her body, cutting her baby into many pieces. In her helpless tears and cries, all she could hear was the sounds of the scissors. At last, the doctor pulled out a small baby foot, with five little toes fully formed in the size of corn kernels. That picture was forever seared into Wujian’s mind. At the moment of the baby’s death, part of Wujian’s life was gone forever. When she reached this point in her testimony, the entire hearing room was filled with nothing but tears and cries, Wujian’s and ours. Our hearts were broken with pain and sadness, for Wujian and her helpless child, and for every mother in China and their unborn babies. That moment brought back all the memories of helplessness and pain we experienced on the night of the June 4 massacre in 1989. That night was so brutal, yet we had no strength to stop it, and the rest of the world could not stop it, either.

Wujian’s story is just one of the 10,000 cases that occurred in that single county in China in 2005. In the past three decades, an estimated 400 million lives have been brutally taken by abortion in China; many were in this form of cruel and inhumane operations, which not only ended the babies’ lives, but also deeply traumatized and endangered the surviving mothers. After her forced abortion experience, Wujian struggled on the edge of life and death. She blamed herself for not being able to protect her child. She was only saved through finding her faith in Christ. Others have been less fortunate. Each day in China, 500 women commit suicide. Very few news outlets report on their untimely deaths.

To my horror, I realized what was happening. No one could ever forget the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre even though it has now been over twenty years. Yet very few of us realized that the three words “One Child Policy” would be a marching order for brutality hundreds times more to the Tiananmen Massacre to happen in the day light, to be repeated each and every day. In Wujian’s own tearful words, “Who could help them? Who could save them? The ‘One Child Policy’ and forced abortion policy have killed millions of innocent lives in China. How could this inhumane crime be stopped? When could this inhuman crime be stopped?”

Saved By Faith
Wujian’s cry struck me to the core. If there is any one could stop this brutality, it has to be God, and it could only be God. Because I have tried and God knows how hard I have tried, and we did not succeed. Once again, I found myself pondering back and forth at the gate of God’s kingdom, wanting to believe but hindered by many questions. Big questions: “How about Buddhism? Would my new Christian faith mean betrayal to those who so bravely saved my life?”
My dear husband answered my question, “No.”
“When I invited Christ to be my Savior and be on the throne in my life, will my life be out of control? Will I become this part of back to Jerusalem movement? I knew nothing about the Middle East and I am not sure my children will like their food?”
“No, the Lord will use what he has prepared us in the past to complete, a task that he had designed just for each of us. Without our work, God’s plan will not be done.” Reggie was helping me along the last steps to the finishing line.
“Then what is God’s plan for me?” I asked, this question I have been bothering me for the past 20 years to the point now I am totally at a loss.
“God definitely has a special job for you, because you grew up in China, had excellent education, and ended up in Tiananmen and came here, married an American husband and started your business, very few have achieved the level of experiences and understandings as you have in so many unique areas…” Reggie continued, using how the Lord has prepared her past accomplishments and skill sets to the job he had designed for her to illustrate me.

As she was speaking, I started gaining some clarity, my heart was filled with a warm desire, as I blurred out: “If only I could bring God’s love to China, how all the tragedy could come to an end and what a wonderful place the world can be…”
“That’s it, write it done.” Reggie stopped me, “Bring God’s love to China---that’s the Lord’s plan for you. A job he had prepared you for and only you can do accomplish it in a way no one else can.”

“Wow, that’s a huge job. Where do I even begin?” As I remembered the moment I committed to the Tiananmen movement and all the pains and sacrifice I soon endured, “Will I have to endure all those pains of losing loved ones again?”
“The Lord will put us in tasks that we can handle. Like Corey ten Boom, she lost so many beloved ones for protecting the Jewish people, and then when she realized she could not do the rescue again, the Lord gave her an equally important job of reconciliation.”

By that time, I almost felt the Lord was speaking through the words of Reggie, “The Lord is a very loving Lord, and he leads those with young gently. For example, even Jesus Christ did not start his ministry until his younger siblings were older and grown.”

“How about the persecutions, will I endure all those suffering again?”
At this time, Reggie’s response became soft and tender, “Chai Ling, because what you went through, the pain you have endured, the Lord will know how seriously you have taken this commitment and what you are prepared to do for him, the Lord will cherish your coming to him dearly…”

Inviting Jesus Into My Heart
At that moment, sitting in my office on a Friday afternoon, tears started pouring down my face. I became speechless and hung up the phone with Reggie before she realized I was crying. I went to the corner of the office, and kneeled down, and I prayed, “Dear Lord, Jesus Christ, I now accept you as my savior and my only God. Please forgive all my sins, known or unknown, please come into my heart and guide my life.” Then I looked around, making sure no one busted my office door to see me on the floor. I waited, to see what might happen, I was expecting some serious fireworks, loud music, like “da da da da…” or some serious disasters, like the water tank will bust again. What I got was an amazing sense of peace. It was Friday December 4th, I felt so shy about it I waited several hours after diner to share the news with my husband. He was so overjoyed for me and our family. He has been a devoted Christian and had been taking me to church from time to time ever since we started dating 12 years ago, and his love was very patient and complete. Now he was so happy. We shared a nice weekend together and watched more movies, King of Kings and several others. It was a first weekend from a long time I felt a complete sense of peace. Finally God is in charge!

Reunited with Fellowships
I waited until a Monday and shared the news briefly with another Tiananmen friend, Feng Suo, who had attended a long pray service with me on the 20th anniversary and had offered my soul on the altar for the Lord to enlighten. Five months later, I came to Christ and he became overjoyed to hear it. He has a unique story and I would like to share it. He was at Tiananmen with us and was on the most wanted list as I was. Unfortunately, he was handed over by his family member and spent several years in jail. 10 years ago he came to America and was feeling equally devastated. The oversea democracy movement was not successful and his heart was filled with revenge and frustration. That was the moment he came to Christ and released the burden to the Lord and found renewed peace and strength. It was his bringing Fang Zheng out of China and introducing me to his testimony about Christ that started the chain events that transformed my life.

Bob Fu, another friend who is leading China’s family church movement heard the news and sent me a warm welcoming message. Boli, who was our deputy commander at Tiananmen and spent two years in underground and found Christ during his journey and is now a minster in America also welcomed me. Another friend Xiong Yan who was also a leader at Tiananmen, he spent several years in jail and is now a minster serving in the US Army as a Chaplin and came back from Iraq also send me a nice note. In a matter of few days, my long lost friends have been reunited with me through the event of my coming to Christ. This time, our bundling and trust are further strengthened by our shared faith.

The last one was Reggie, the dear sister who led me through the finishing line to Christ. She screamed for Joy when I told her. After she calmed down, Reggie sent me more books and CDs to continue my walk learning about Christ. And she suggested from her home out West that I come to Park Street Church and find a Bible study mentor. That was how we are here today; we met Park Street’s wonderful senior minister Gordon, our new friend the Rev. John Chung, and that spiritual Bible mentor I prayed to find sweet Tammy who is standing with me here today.

Finding Park Street, Experiencing Transformation
Even though it has only been 4 months, I can’t begin to list up all the amazing transformations God has done to us and through us. First, upon my conversation, God performed a miracle reunion through a work we supported on finding trafficked children in China, a young girl was lost at age 7 was reunited with her family 25 years later. He prevented my father from dying of a sudden heart attack by letting him discover he has leukemia, and through prayer on Christmas Eve we learned that God had made sure his leukemia was the least fatal type that he has a chance of full recovery with medication. God started healing my long neglected health, I even started losing that stubborn baby fat. God brought my children to him and now I felt a great sense of peace that our Lord will be watching over them and bring the best for their lives---the best gift parents could give to their children. Our marriage blossomed as we never knew with more intimacy; joy and love after the Lord drew both of us closer to Him. Our careers, well, is changing too, interestingly, we feel an even greater sense of purpose and peace as we move ahead with our work. A book, a longer version of our journey is being finished in recorded time and I believe only the Lord can get it done that fast, and I am embraced with a new community of faithful people like Tammy, who is a great spiritual teacher and mentor. She is generously committing her time to do a weekly Bible study with me going through the four basic steps of what to do when you became a new Christian. All my life, I have been struggling and fighting on my own, I never felt so completely welcomed, coached and embraced. I am home, at last.

As I look into China, my whole life finally made sense. It was the underground family church movement led me to Tiananmen when that older graduate student shared their story and inspired me to action, and it was the Tiananmen massacre that exposed the truth about the Communist regime. In the past 20 years, as China lost its belief in Communism, God replaced it with new true one: today, over 100 million Christians have emerged in China. If you add those devoted and brave Buddhists---in my book, they are Christians by their Fruits, even though they may not know it yet. That number of people embracing God’s spirit is even greater. God has used his mighty power to bring the good news to the most populous nation on earth. As he had delivered the Israel out of Egypt, God is delivering China from the grips of Communism---where they had stolen some of the good doctrines of Christianity, but used it not to serve God, but to worship man.

The Lord and China
It gave me so much faith to see God is such a loving and kind God, despite all the evil things the country of China has done to Him and his followers, such as killing missionaries and Chinese Christians in early 19 century, he has never forsaken China. Even though as I grew up we were not allowed to know God, but God was in every part of our lives: how he answered my pray even I did not know how to do a perfect prayer and made me into an outstanding student able to escape that small fishing village; how he unleashed such a powerful movement of love and peace to move the world to help collapsed the communist regimes as the Berlin Wall came down; how we were given a Bible at the beginning of my escape from Tiananmen but we were too foolish saying “What good is a Bible going to do to help me hide?” He even transformed those brave Buddhists to protect us. And how in each of the trials and tribulations, God did not stop the bad things from happening, but made sure an Angel will be with me through the rough journey. When we thought we were starting a democracy movement, and shouted out all man are born equal. Now I know I can speak it in confidence because God had created equal in the image of him?

God’s love is so immense. Today, I truly understand the tremendous love God and Christ had for us when Christ was being nailed to the cross, as we have felt on the night of June 3rd, as we were facing the last hour to give up the most precious life and love we had, Christ sacrificed himself so we can be reunited with the God, and be given eternal life in heaven with Him vs. face the eternal darkness alone. On that night, Christ was sacrificed like the many ants burned to death in my story, so a new nation could be reborn to be God’s children.

God’s forgiveness is so complete, even one of the two criminals, who was crucified with Him, when he repentant for his sins, Christ promise to bring him to heaven. If only, the leaders of China could have heard, no matter what they have done and have committed, if only they repentant, they can receive the same kind of love and forgiveness we all receive. What a great gift they will receive? Freedom for themselves and for China, at last!

God’s power is so mighty and his victory is so definite. That’s the meaning of the resurrection---the part I did not understand as well as I did about him parting the red sea and delivered Israel. So in all trials and tribulations, God’s plan will succeed is not a question of “If” but when and how he has decided to do to accomplish his masterful plan. God is victory!

Praised be to the Lord, I believe that day when my Chinese sisters and brothers will be free to worship Jesus Christ the Lord without fear is coming. With that, the United States and the Free world will continue to stay free.
The Lord is Risen! Freedom at last!

My Story

2010-04-30T22:02:00.004-05:00

I grew up in a family that did not go to church. When I was eight years old, a friend invited me to visit her church. I was a visitor and therefore I was able to pick a prize. I picked this tiny, plastic framed picture of Jesus.

I was so drawn to this picture of Jesus and I know now that the Lord was drawing me to Him…through a picture of His son Jesus. I remember standing in the sunny church that morning and feeling so happy and so loved.

After this, whenever I was upset, I looked at my picture of Jesus because this made me feel loved and peaceful. I cherished my little plastic picture of Jesus and kept it in my bedroom growing up.

As I grew older, it seemed nothing that I achieved pleased my parents or got their attention. My parents did not express love for me: my mother never told me she loved me, my parents never hugged me, and they never kissed me. Although my family lived in a beautiful house, took family vacations all over the world, and I had every material thing a child could ever dream of and was an academic over-achiever, I did not have the one thing that I longed for: love. So that is how I grew up: I grew up a poor, rich girl.

I was angry with God as a young adult. Even though I attended worship services at churches for periods of time, I secretly thought I had everything under control and I thought I did not need God. I felt that God had forgotten about me and the God did not care about me. This led to many years of sadness, depression, and searching for love in all of the wrong places.

Unfortunately, I had built a wall around my heart and I refused to let God into my heart. Even when my ex-husband divorced me and left me all alone to raise our infant son, I still did not give my heart totally to God.

For the next six years, I was in robot-mode and just surviving each day as a single mommy. It was a bittersweet time because I loved and enjoyed my son so much, but I did not have anyone to share him with.

Then I married my husband Dave and he adopted my son, Carter. We were a happy family and I thought I finally had everything I had ever wanted and I felt loved. Often, though, I would feel a pull on my heart and I knew down deep inside that there was something missing. There was a God-sized hole in my heart.

Early last year, I fell off of my horse and broke my back: I was in pain; I was humiliated by having to wear a big, ugly back brace; and I had to spend hours and hours laying flat on my back. During this time, I realized that I desperately loved and needed God. I discovered that God loved me, that He had never forgotten about me and that He had a plan for my life. I was precious to God!

I realized that neither my parents nor my husband could ever fulfill all my needs, only God could do that. Only my one, true heavenly Father, God, could break through the wall that I had built around me and only God could fill the hole in my heart.

Jesus was waiting for me and offering me love and eternal life; all that I had to do was knock at Jesus’ door!

That picture of Jesus I had as a little girl was not just a picture after all. It was a living, loving, savior God. Who sent His only son for me!

In the Bible, which is the Word of God, Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

I knocked and Jesus opened the door for me to begin a personal relationship with Him. Now I walk with Jesus every single day. I worship God, I praise Him, and I talk to Him in prayer. Jesus is always with me. I have now decided to live my life for Jesus and to truly follow Him!

I am now filled with love, peace, and joy and I no longer feel a hole in my heart. I also realize now that because God is the ultimate Father who longed for me, I also filled a hole that was in His heart, too.

Singing a New Song

2010-04-29T21:14:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to share a new favorite song. Have a happy Friday!!!

My Own "Once Upon a Time" in Egypt

2010-04-13T19:40:00.004-05:00

Once upon a time, when I was seventeen, I traveled to Egypt. I got there via four African countries, but eventually ended up on the Nile.

Egypt was breathtaking and heartbreaking all at the same time. There were beautiful wonders of the world to tour via streets lined with begging children selling cloth dolls stuffed with sawdust.

One of the places I stayed was at a hotel that was made up of little villas sprinkled on the edges of the Nile River in Luxor. Outside my hotel room one night, a little dark-headed boy toddled toward the little villa I was staying in. There were paths wandering the grounds and they were very near the water.

It was dark and I was shocked to see him by himself. I looked up the path, but nobody else was there. He was Egyptian with a head of dark, curly hair and looked to be about two years old. I scooped him up the path and walked toward the main hotel building where the lobby was located.

As we walked I talked to him in a low, soft voice. He looked up at me with sweet, brown eyes. We made our way to the desk and I told the male, Egyptian desk clerks about finding him. When I started to lift him over the counter to the clerks, the little boy wailed and clung to me. I stopped and soothed him and then handed him over.

At that moment, such a waive of love and concern swept over me and I started to tear up. The young male clerk who spoke just a little English told me that I was "very gentle."

Almost immediately, the little boy's mother, covered in a black abaya (but without a face veil) came to the desk and retrieved her little son. She was surrounded by other children and family members. I watched as the mother and son walked away and wondered at my own wave of emotions and at the different world from which they came.

I wonder if that is how God feels when He lets us go? He placed Man upon the earth and gave us free will. Did a wave of anguish, love, and concern come over God when He watched Adam and Eve fall? Does God flinch or cringe as we make choices? I do not know, but I think that He does. I know that He also rejoices when we do things that glorify Him.

I know that God loves me and loves you...and He wants the best for us. Even though we make mistakes again and again, we can never be separated from the love of God. We can wander down the wrong path, but God will always be there to scoop us up into His loving arms!

Easter Prayer for Brothers and Sisters Around the World

2010-04-03T13:03:00.004-05:00

This Easter, it has been laid upon my heart to pray about two things:

First, I am praying for my brothers and sisters in Christ who are not able to follow Jesus freely.

Maybe they live in a country like North Korea where practicing ANY religion is forbidden. Maybe they live in a country like the Maldives where everyone must be a member of the state religion; Islam. Maybe they live in a country where they are supposedly allowed to be Christian, but they practice their faith under great persecution and expose themselves to great danger.

I pray that my brothers and sisters in Christ will feel the love, support, and prayers coming from their fellow Christians around the world. I pray that they feel surrounded by love and that they will not feel isolated. I pray that they feel safe and not terrorized. I pray that they feel alive in Christ and not trapped in darkness.

Second, I am praying for all my brothers and sisters who are not followers of Jesus. I pray that they would allow Christians in their countries and communities to freely practice their religion. I pray that their hearts would soften for their Christian brothers and sisters and they would show compassion, allowing followers of Jesus to be free and equal members of their communities.

Would you please join me in praying? Please pray especially for our brothers and sisters living in the following countries:

NORTH KOREA
IRAN
SAUDI ARABIA
SOMALIA
MALDIVES
AFGHANISTAN
YEMEN
MAURITANIA
LAOS
UZBEKISTAN
ERITREA
BHUTAN
CHINA
PAKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
COMOROS
IRAQ
QATAR
CHECHNYA
EGYPT
VIETNAM
LIBYA
BURMA/MYANMAR
AZERBAIJAN
ALGERIA
INDIA
NIGERIA
OMAN
BRUNEI
SUDAN
KUWAIT
TAJ IKISTAN
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
ZANZIBAR ISLANDS
TURKEY
DJIBOUTI
MOROCCO
CUBA
JORDAN
SRI LANKA
SYRIA
BELARUS
TUNISIA
ETHIOPIA
BANGLADESH
PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
BAHRAIN
INDONESIA
KYRGYZSTAN
KENYA

For more information, visit http://www.opendoorsusa.org/

Child-like Faith

2010-03-29T18:39:00.004-05:00

I met with a dear friend of mine today at lunch today. She is helping me with a very special writing project.

I told her my first memory of church and my first encounter with Jesus.

While I did not grow up in a church-going family, I did visit church with friends when I spent the night and I was invited to vacation bible school several times.

My first memory of church is going to my neighborhood friend Krista's church. I must have spent the night with her and I think I was around eight years old. I was a visitor and I got to pick a prize. I picked this tiny, plastic framed picture of Jesus.

I cherished my little plastic picture of Jesus. I kept it in my bedroom growing up and I looked at it often. Whenever I was upset, looking at that picture and thinking about Jesus made me feel peaceful. I loved Jesus...

Little did I know back then, Jesus was with me the whole time.

Jesus has called us all to have child-like faith..."Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4 (NASB)

YOU can make an Eternal Impact!

2010-03-27T10:56:00.002-05:00

This video features adults who were sponsored children through Compassion International. They all grew up and became leaders...all attending Moody Bible Institute so that they could return to their countries and make a difference for their communities.

God is truly awesome.

Please, please consider sponsoring a child today. You can truly make an eternal impact. Click here to sponsor a child.

The Great Escape

2010-03-23T21:17:00.002-05:00

*This post comes from Compassion International's website, you can see it, and others here.

The Great Escape

by Adele Marie Berg in Peru with Brianne Mullins , August 6, 2009

LDP Student Overcomes Poverty and Abandonment

Isaura grew up in a small shack in a desert-like area outside of Lima, Peru. Walls of matting surrounded a dirt floor and supported a plastic roof. The little home had neither electricity nor any sort of sanitary services.

Isaura's family has always struggled financially. After graduating from high school she found her dreams of the future limited by her lack of resources.

"I didn't have big plans for the future, I only wanted to earn money so that I could support myself and help out with finances at home to alleviate the financial stress that I have experienced for as long as I can remember," said Isaura.

Despite her expectations, Isaura, age 23, now finds herself nearly finished completing a degree in sociology at a public university.

A Journey Marked with Struggle

Isaura is the second of four children. Her father, who now has 10 children, left the family many years ago to live with another woman.

After her father left, Isaura, her three siblings and their mother moved to the little shack that became their home. Living only a block away from a church with a Compassion-assisted child development center, Isaura and her brother were soon registered in the program.

Though only two of the siblings were part of the program, all four of the children spent three afternoons a week at the center.

"Before being registered at Compassion, my mom used to lock us inside our precarious house on the weekends before going to work as a maid. She did this to keep us out of any trouble we may have gotten into by playing out in the streets. Also, this way the house was much more secure from theft," says Isaura.

"One day, as usual, my brother and I locked our two youngest siblings [in the house] and went to school," Isaura recalls. "When we came back we were shocked to find that our house had been mostly destroyed by a fire.

"My younger brother had turned on the kerosene stove to fry eggs and the strong fire reached the oil in the frying pan and then grew up through the dry matting walls and plastic roof. Most of our belongings had been destroyed by the fire. It was so shocking -- I will never forget that day."

The neighbors had noticed smoke coming from the house and ran to break down the door and save the two children trapped inside. Because of a lack of water, they used sand to put out the fire. When Isaura's mother arrived home late that night, everyone was gathered around the destroyed house.

"I still remember my mother crying loudly after arriving at our house. All of a sudden my father appeared on the scene and my mother approached him and began yelling at him for being so irresponsible with his children," says Isaura.

The Limitations of Poverty

After that incident the younger children stayed with a kind neighbor while the older siblings were at school.
Isaura struggled in her studies throughout grade school. She ended up missing school for two years in order to help out with household chores and take care of her younger siblings. Once she began high school, things were different.

Isaura became an active leader at her local church and the local Compassion-assisted child development center that she was a part of. She graduated near the top of her class. The center's director and facilitator decided to help her further her education by paying the three-month tuition at a pre-university academy.

"At first I found that it was quite difficult for me to keep up with my studies at the academy. Most of my classmates had been studying there for some time. Also, because I continued helping with the work at the child development center I did not have much time to study. So I studied at night and used to go to sleep at three in the morning only to wake up two hours later in order to get ready for classes," says Isaura.

Pursuing Success

After one month, she decided to quit serving at the child development center in order to better keep up with her studies. After the three-month classes came to an end, she continued studying alone at home for two months. Compassion staff suggested that Isaura take the admissions exams for the public university.

"Our project facilitator and the project director encouraged me to take the admission exams at a public university. I decided to accept the challenge," said Isaura.

"The day after the admission tests were taken I was quite nervous, so I went early to the university campus to find out the results, and found my name on the admission list. I was overwhelmed."

Now studying sociology, Isaura is supported through Compassion's Leadership Development Program (LDP), which helps her cover tuition fees and other educational expenses.

Through the program, she also has the opportunity to take different courses on varied topics relating to leadership. Her local child development center also supplies her with a quiet place to study when her little house becomes noisy with her brother and his friends.

"It has been a real blessing that Compassion decided to invest in me by paying for the three-month pre-university classes that got me started as a university student. Now I am nearly finished becoming a sociologist".

Compelled by Love

Someday Isaura hopes to acquire a master's degree in sociology, a topic which she has always enjoyed. Ever since she was a sponsored child she has dreamed of one day working in or opening her own Non-governmental organization.

"I was the first one in my neighborhood to attend university. All of my close neighbors congratulated me on the day that I was admitted into the university. My mom is really proud of me, and because of this my heart will always be thankful to the Lord and to Compassion for having encouraged me to continue forward," says Isaura with a wide smile on her face.

Isaura's mother now works as a maid for a Christian family in a residential district in Lima City.

Her siblings are all working on completing their educations, and her father, who began visiting the family again, received Christ when Isaura brought him to church one week.

"I wonder what my life would be like now if I did not have Compassion and my sponsors supporting me. When I look back I can see that I have changed in my ways of thinking. My life has also changed quite a lot. My sponsor's letters are quite encouraging and always arrive at a time when I need a word of encouragement. I thank this couple for being so generous to me and always giving me wise advice through their precious letters," says Isaura.

To sponsor a child and help them to make their "great escape" from poverty, go to www.compassion.com

Psalm 147

2010-03-19T21:04:00.003-05:00

It's a nice, quiet night at my home and I found myself returning to read some of my favorite passages in the Bible. (With the sound of the dryer down the hall going-I love white noise!)

I love this Psalm:

Psalm 147

1 Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

6 The LORD sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;

11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion,

13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your people within you.

14 He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

15 He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.

16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.

17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?

18 He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his laws and decrees to Israel.

20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the LORD.

Springtime

2010-03-17T18:51:00.004-05:00

Springtime is in the air here in Alabama. The Bradford Pear trees are blossoming and the birds are singing. The warm sunshine hasn't shown up yet, but I am sure it is on its way. My son's out of school this week for Spring Break and the college students in this college town are wearing shorts and flip-flops.

Springtime for me is about new beginnings...and reawakening. I turned forty years old yesterday, so this feeling of the new beginnings is even more poignant for me this year.

I want to start fresh with my attitude and, I am going to:

Learn to be still and listen to God...
Learn to be still and pray...
Hand my worries over to God and finally, finally trust Him.

Happy Spring!

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19

Why sponsor a child through Compassion? Watch this video and you will understand.

2010-03-07T13:39:00.001-06:00

Please sponsor a child today...visit www.Compassion.com

Compassion International in Kenya

2010-03-06T16:28:00.002-06:00

You can follow a group visiting Compassion's awesome programs in Kenya by clicking on the box above...or here...you will be glad that you did.

This group includes six "bloggers," a photographer extraordinaire (Keely Scott) click here for her blog, group leaders from Compassion and Shaun Groves who tirelessly promotes and blogs for Compassion (and is just an all-around awesome guy, click here for more details.)

The pictures of these precious children, their families, and teachers are amazing...and even better are the stories shared.

Emmanuel!

2010-03-01T19:10:00.003-06:00

I received a picture of my newest "baby" Emmanuel in Ghana. I am sponsoring him through Compassion International. He is my fifth child that I am sponsoring. You can see my other kids here.

Emmanuel is almost seven and lives with his aunt. He is precious, but I noticed his shoes in the picture...I couldn't figure out why they were like they were for a minute. He has on boots, but the toe area is cut open.

Then I figured it out- he has outgrown the boots and his toes are sticking out over the edge a little bit at the front of his boots. I just about lost it, because I know that they have the kids wear their best clothes for the pictures.

My heart breaks for the children that I sponsor sometimes, but I also know how much Compassion's programs are helping them and their families. I love being a sponsor and I love praying for my children.

This is one of my favorite prayers:

A Mother's Prayer

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray,
For life's been anything but calm,
Since you called me to be a mom-
Running errands, matching socks,
Building dreams with building blocks,
Cooking, cleaning, finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose,
Fitting lids on bottled bugs,
Wiping tears and giving hugs,
A stack of last week's mail to read-
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet, when I steal a moment, Lord,
Just at the sink or ironing board,
To ask the blessing of Your grace,
I see then, in my small one's face,
That You have blessed me all the while-
And I stoop to kiss that precious smile.

A Song for Everyone! Educate Girls in Africa

2010-02-26T19:49:00.011-06:00

Purchase a "A Song For Everyone" for only 99 cents and and support education for girls in Africa!!! 100% goes to educating these precious girls...

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Grammy award-winning musician Angelique Kidjo and musician Peter Buffet have teamed up to release "A Song For Everyone."

This beautiful song, with lyrics in both English and Yoruba, speaks to the power of educating girls and the effect it can have on communities, countries and the world.

100% of proceeds from the sale of the song will benefit Angelique's organization, the Batonga Foundation, whose mission is to give girls a secondary school and higher education so they can take leadership roles in Africa.

They are doing this by granting scholarships, building secondary schools, increasing enrollment, improving teaching standards, providing school supplies, supporting mentor programs, exploring alternative education models, and advocating for community awareness of the value of education for girls by addressing gender prejudice.

Click here to hear the song and/or to purchase it.

You can help in their mission by purchasing the song, sending it as a gift, or donating directly to the organization (click here for this option).

Every download counts!

2 downloads buys a girl a math set
3 downloads buys a girl lunch during the school day
5 downloads buys a girl a textbook
10 downloads buys a girl a school bag or uniform
1,000 downloads pays school fees for an entire classroom of 45 girls to go to school for a year

Look at all of these beautiful faces...eager to learn and give back to their communities!!!

All images courtesy of The Batonga Foundation.

Help Haiti Live Concert to Benefit Compassion International's Earthquake Relief!

2010-02-26T18:45:00.002-06:00

Inspiration

2010-02-18T18:16:00.005-06:00

My trip to to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International has INSPIRED me so much and I am a changed person.

As one of my trip leaders Becca said, it is one thing to see a heartbreaking picture of a child in poverty...but it is quite another experience to actually stand where that little child is and see the world from their vantage point...through their eyes.

Standing in a child's shoes, surrounded 360 degrees by poverty, is quite an overwhelming experience. The smells alone are indescribable.

The brick wall of poverty staring a child and their family in the face everyday, all day long, is a mighty predicament to overcome. However, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

I have seen what a difference Compassion International makes in a child's life. For that child (and their whole family), just knowing that their sponsor loves them, cares for them, prays for them, and BELIEVES in them makes a huge difference.

Little by little, the child's self-worth is built up. With Jesus Christ, prayer, faith and trust in the Lord...these little children often lead the rest of their family to a better life. A better life because: the children show their families how to believe in themselves, the children lead their families to Christ, and the children's hope and faith is simply contagious! The children and their families know that people on the other side of the world love them and pray for them.

Please visit Compassion International's website (click here) to learn more and consider making a difference for a child today!

Esther Havens

2010-02-14T15:41:00.002-06:00

I started following Esther Havens on Twitter somehow.

She is a humanitarian photographer and she is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

She is in Haiti for the second time since the earthquake. She posts links to pictures she takes along the way. You can follow her on twitter at: EstherHavens.

These are some examples of her tweets today:

Just passed a huge crowd up people marching thru the streets in white clothes chanting,"Haiti for Peace, Haiti for peace."

http://twitpic.com/zh38x - True Meaning of Valentine's Day. Helping each love others out of sooo much pain & suffering

In the back of a truck bed heading to Leogane for the day. It was 90% destroyed in the earthquake.

http://twitpic.com/137y6o Everytime u smile at someone,it's an action of love,a gift to that person,a beautiful thing -Mother Teresa

Churches are overflowing with people to the streets this morning in Port-au-Prince. Incredible sight to see.

This is how she is described on her website:

"Esther Havens is a humanitarian documentary photographer who focuses on social-awareness campaigns with non-profits around the globe, capturing stories that transcend a person's circumstance that reveal the strength of an individual regardless of the situation in which they find themselves. Esther has traveled extensively to over 40 countries and seeks to open hearts and minds to see the third world conditions in a way that might challenge them to make a difference. Her photographs have been displayed in various exhibits across the country. She currently resides in Austin, Texas and New York City and continues to travel on assignment."

All that I can say is wow.

You can also check out her incredible photographs on her website and she has a blog and other media to check out.

She is a sweet soul with amazing talent to share.

Don't Forget About Haiti

2010-02-06T14:56:00.000-06:00

My Growing Family

2010-02-03T06:47:00.010-06:00

Growing up as a little girl in Seattle, I used to play teacher outside on the deck of our house. I would line up my students: teddy bears; dolls; and occasionally my younger brother (sorry Landon!). I would set up a blackboard and use books salvaged from my elementary school's dumpster.

I dreamed of all of the children that I would teach and all the babies that I would have once I grew up, got married, and became a teacher.

Well...I am now a lawyer and not a school teacher. I am married, but I have only one little boy, Carter.

You know what, though---God knew the desires of my heart and the dreams that I had. God keeps his promises and He has fulfilled my dreams!!! Things did not unfold exactly the way that I had planned, but that is because God is in control---not me!

Now I have five children!!! I have Carter, the son I gave birth to:
...and I have four other children:

Paola in the Dominican Republic...

Rabia in India...
Emma in Kenya...

and Yesu in India (image coming soon!)

I sponsor these children through Compassion Internationa l. I have such a heart for all children and I learn so much from them!

God is also fulfilling my desire to teach. Instead of teaching school children; now I am teaching everyone who will listen about Jesus, about God's love for all of us and about Compassion International.

Pictures from My Trip to the DR with Compassion International

2010-01-30T17:59:00.008-06:00

Here are some more pictures of my trip. I learned so much from these precious children...

My trip with Compassion International to the Dominican Republic was amazing! The Dominican people’s faith in God is like none that I have ever seen…they know what it is like to have nothing but their faith in God and the knowledge that Jesus is always with them.

Among my experiences were visits to three Child Development Centers (for school age children) in three towns and a Child Survival Program (for moms and babies up to age 3) in Santo Domingo.

Compassion’s work in communities all over the Dominican Republic really is making a difference!
Please Visit www.Compassion.com for more information about this amazing organization!

Me, my sponsored child Paola, and Enoli who is featured in Nooma film Corner 032

Natalia and her sponsor, Jordan

Paola and I at the beginning of our day together

Eager students from DR-800

At Child Survival program DR126 in Santo Domingo- it just started two months ago and already had 75 moms with babies participating!

Beautiful family

Boys coming home from school in Barahona

My girls at DR800

Precious smiles

He enjoyed the cake!

Soccer balls donated by Jeremy Williams and Xara Soccer

Enjoying breakfast at a Child Development Center

Brandon and some sweet babies

Kids filled with joy

Mike praying with his two sponsored girls, family, friends, and translators

Outside Elizabeth's home, she is in the Child Survival Program at DR-126. She is 15 and pregnant. She lives with her elderly grandmother and 3 orphaned younger cousins with next to an open sewer.

Elizabeth's home

My buddy Adonis from DR-126

Playing a beautiful song about Jesus

Me with Odwila, her five sons, and a naked neighbor baby :-)

Pure joy in the middle of the slums of Santo Domingo

Jordan, Elizabeth, Zeal and I

The Dominican Republic and Haiti make up the island of Hispaniola. Approximately 49% of the island’s population is children under the age of 19. Half of the Dominican’s Republic’s population of 10 million lives in the capitol, Santo Domingo.

Parents and children were so eager to learn to help themselves…the staff of Compassion in the DR are all Dominicans who are giving back to their communities.

Compassion’s child development program is designed to empower children and their parents to see beyond the brick wall of poverty that towers right in front of their eyes.

Although all of the children I met would be considered “poor” to us, they showed such love for God and for one another!

There was so much joy and affection shown to me. The kids were “rich” in the Lord. I will treasure my time learning from these children!

My Trip to the Dominican Republic

2010-01-25T20:40:00.003-06:00

I am still sorting through all of my experiences of traveling with Compassion International to the Dominican Republic.

It was such an overwhelming experience...it is hard to know where to start.

I prayed before I left that my heart would be open to everyone and everything I experienced...I wanted my heart to break for what breaks God's heart. Maybe I shouldn't have prayed so hard!

I am transformed...

By the children who are so thirsty for more of God;

By the kids so determined to go to school, get an education, and give back to their community; and

By the faith of young people that was much deeper than my faith, because they had been alone with nothing but God.

Joel amazed me. He and his two brothers were abandoned by their parents when Joel was 10 years old and his brothers were 13 and 15. The three of them were alone in their Batey.

A Batey is a sugar-worker's town in the Dominican Republic where Haitians often settled. The Haitian immigrants often paid large amounts to middlemen for "work permits" to come accross the border to work on the sugar plantations. However, they often found when they arrived at the Batey, they were not free to leave and were indentured servants working in deplorable conditions. Their children do not have legal identities (birth certificates) and are often denied an education because of their lack of "papers."

So Joel is alone in the Batey with his brothers. Joel said he thanked God the most for the fact that he never had to steal to survive. When Joel started talking about this period in his life he had to sit down. He started to get very emotional. Somehow, Joel ended up in a Compassion program during this time. He was curious about computers and learned so much that they made him a computer instructor at age 12.

At age 13 Joel says he found Jesus. Joel said that now he knows how he survived those years- Jesus was always with him!

Now Joel is 17 and in college studying computer science. Oh, and he started a political watchdog group that tracks politician's promises that are made to the people who live in the Bateys. The politicians campaign in the Bateys and make promises to get votes, but then leave and never fulfill their promises. In his spare time, (ha!), Joel is a youth pastor at his church and coordinates teachers at a Compassion project during his summer break.

Here's a picture of me, Sylvia (a medical student with an amazing story like Joel's) and Joel, who has much greater faith than I. I learned so much from him. I thank God I met Joel.

For even more to chew on, watch this...

Compassion International trip to the Dominican Republic

2010-01-17T18:19:00.003-06:00

I am home from my trip and very tired, but I will post my first attempt at explaining what I saw and experienced on my trip with Compassion International to the Dominican Republic.

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and consider donating to Compassion's Disaster Fund. Compassion has a well established presence and Haiti and you can be assured your donations will help children and their families IMMEDIATELY in Haiti.

Blessings to all of you...

Peace

2010-01-07T16:43:00.005-06:00

I feel very at peace today.

I leave with Compassion International in just over 36 hours to visit a few of their programs in the Dominican Republic. I was a little nervous earlier this week and sad about leaving my nine-year old son and the rest of my family for a week, but now I am totally at peace. I know that taking this trip is what I am supposed to do.

On my trip, I will visit a child survival program, school programs for children, and see just how Compassion makes difference in the lives of children, their parents, and their communities as a whole. Compassion provides many programs and services to whole communities, not just sponsored children. There are desperately poor people in the Dominican Republic and I know that Compassion's programs help to empower them. I am looking forward to seeing the Compassion programs in action!

I want all of the children, parents, and people that I meet to know that God desperately LOVES them. I want them to know the feeling that I have today...PEACE.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

Countdown to my trip with Compassion International

2010-01-01T15:29:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year! One week from tomorrow I leave on my trip with Compassion International! I am so excited to visit some of Compassion's programs, to work with the kids, and to meet the little girl that I sponsor. What a way for me to start 2010! I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for me on this trip and for the entire year.

Compassion International is a Christian humanitarian organization focuses on providing food, shelter, medical care and education to children in developing countries.

Compassion is ranked third in a list of the ten most fiscally responsible charities in the United States, click here to see the entire article. "Of the 5,500 charities rated by Charity Navigator, less than 50 have earned eight consecutive four-star ratings; this group is one of them". Evaluating more than 5,400 charities each year, Charity Navigator is the largest independent evaluator of charities in the nation.

Not only is Compassion a great steward of their donations, Compassion's model to help end the cycle of poverty is incredible. To see Compassion's Holistic Child Development Model click here.

I encourage you to visit Compassion's web site and considering donating to one of their many programs or to sponsor a child.

A Celebration!

2009-12-25T21:33:00.004-06:00

Wow...what a Christmas day! This morning, before we all tore into our presents, my family celebrated the birth of Jesus with a giant birthday cupcake just for Him...we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and my son blew out the candle.

Now it is cold and quiet and I have time to reflect... "in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB).

Another quiet Christmas night is here for my family and once again I have been blessed beyond measure. Everyone is happy and healthy and we had more than enough food and gifts to go around.

I am so grateful to God that he sent his son Jesus to conquer death...allowing all of us to live our short, precious lives here on earth looking forward to spending eternity with the God who loves us so much.

Merry Christmas!!!

The Purpose of Christmas

2009-12-21T19:19:00.004-06:00

At this time of year, we often think of Jesus like this...

a sweet baby swaddled in a manger.

We forget that Jesus did not stay in that crib. Jesus has become the most influential force in the history of man...

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 (NIV)

Jesus is God's ultimate gift TO ALL OF US. God came down to us...to our level...through his Son Jesus.

I am in the middle of Christmas shopping, parties, cooking and stress...however, I am keeping my eyes set upon the true purpose of Christmas this year.

Celebrating the most important birthday of all times!

All I want for Christmas is a sponsor for my "Christmas Child"

2009-12-15T14:24:00.003-06:00

As many of you know, I sponsor two children with Compassion...a little boy in India named Yesu and a little girl in the Dominican Republic name Johanna. I am traveling with Compassion International in 24 days to visit Johanna in the Dominican Republic and visit some of Compassion's programs in that country. I cannot wait to work with the children! I am sure the trip will change my life forever!!!

But before I leave for my trip I need your help! I need to find a sponsor for the "Christmas Child" I was assigned. His name is Mordecai and he is 5 years old. He lives in Indonesia and is cute as a button. It costs $38.00 per month to sponsor him.

Click here for information about this awesome organization: Compassion International

Why sponsor a child through Compassion International? Sponsoring children in need is breaking the cycle of poverty!

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.Founded by the Rev. Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care, as well as Christian training. Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 25 countries.

Please let me know if you would like to sponsor Mordecai and start a life-long relationship with this precious child.

Humility

2009-11-15T16:24:00.003-06:00

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4 (NIV)

Josh Cribbs is a professional football player for the Cleveland Browns.

Mike Drake, who died of Lymphoma in 2005, recruited Josh Cribbs to Kent State and served as a father figure for the young football player during Cribbs time in playing college ball.

Mike Drake's son, Michael Drake, was about to walk onto the field last month on senior night at his school, Stow High School, when he got a big surprise...Josh Cribbs was there to accompany young Michael Drake onto the field.

''He said, 'Play your heart out. This is it. Give it your all. Don't ever stop on any play. Keep pushing,''' Michael said. ''I almost felt worried. I didn't want to look bad for him.''

This happened back on October 30th, but is just now being picked up by the media because Cribbs didn't feel the need to talk about it publicly. Similarly, Drake's mother is quoted as saying that Cribbs took great pains to underplay his presence at the game for fear of taking away the spotlight from Michael and the other seniors.

H-U-M-I-L-I-T-Y

My Friend Christie and Campus Crusade

2009-11-07T08:24:00.004-06:00

My friend, Christie Lehren, is on staff for Campus Crusade for Christ here at the University of Alabama. Campus Crusade's vision is to help build spiritual movements everywhere so everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus Christ.

On Alabama's campus Christie works with students. She demonstrates what God's love is all about. Christie hopes that the students will embrace the purpose, love and forgiveness that God offers them in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Whether she is meeting with students as part of Bama Crusade or helping International students to practice their English or sitting with a student at the hospital whose parents live out of state...Christie epitomizes the love of Jesus Christ.

You can check out her blog at: Christie on Paper and you can support her at: Give to Christie through Campus Crusade for Christ. She lives on the support she raises-so give generously so that she can stay on campus and continue her mission.

Beaned in the Head by the Beatitudes

2009-10-26T20:18:00.002-05:00

Everywhere I've gone the last couple of weeks it seems that the Beatitudes are following me around.

First, they swooshed by my head at Community Bible Study. Then, they careened past me on Sunday morning at church.

Later in the week they bounced off my noggin during my morning devotional. Finally, they reappeared on Sunday night during a message at a church I visited to see my friends Kim and her brother Chad Gentry sing.

Alright...I get it, Lord. I need to review and get them into my HEART, not just my head.

I chose the Beatitudes in the New International Version of Matthew):

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Matthew 5:1-12 NIV

I feel better now.

Beth Moore live in Memphis

2009-10-11T15:44:00.012-05:00

Some friends and I went on a road trip to Memphis to see Beth Moore Live. It was the first time I've seen her live and it was just as fantastic as I thought it would be. She is so incredibly gifted and so REAL. Travis Cottrell and his praise and worship team were incredible.

Just as meaningful was the time spent with my friends...sharing our hearts. Having friends that you can be yourself around- really be authentic- is so very important.

Here we are after "Afternoon Tea" at The Peabody Hotel...

Ally, Anne, Joan, Leisa, Kim, and Me

Joan and Leisa are Mother and Daughter...I thought it was so sweet they were going to Beth Moore together! While we were having our "Tea," Leisa's sister Starla was at the airport picking up her friend Donna who flew in.

I also heard my new favorite song, More Than You'll Ever know, by Watermark. it makes me think of all my great girlfriends that have prayed for me. Thank you, girls!!!

Here are the lyrics, written by Christy and Nathan Nockels:

Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been near God
And that's the way it ought to be...

'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken the Truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I'm hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
And that's the way it ought to be...

You have carried me
You have taken upon a burden that wasn't your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold, oh yeah...
A hundredfold, oh yeah...

Pray for Baby Katherine Joan

2009-10-09T06:03:00.002-05:00

I have a quick prayer request- for Baby Katherine Joan ("Kate") born this past Monday, October 5th. She is the daughter of my sweet friends Mary Katherine and Lance (click here to see post about them and their family).

Kate had a seizure and some respiratory problems on Tuesday and is now in the NICU. Please pray for this precious baby:

that she will experience supernatural healing and have no more seizures and will maintain normal respiratory function
that Baby Kate and her family will feel the comfort and love that can come only from God
that God will guide the actions of the doctors and nurses treating Baby Kate

Thank you so much! I know that Mary Katherine and Lance appreciate all of your prayers!

How He Loves Us

2009-10-04T20:31:00.002-05:00

I love this song. I also posted Kim Walker singing this song back in June: click here. I had to post the new David Crowder Band version can't help myself!

God's grace is amazing. Joy comes in the morning...

Child's Ten Commandments to Parents

2009-09-27T14:22:00.001-05:00

1. My hands are small; please don't expect perfection whenever I make a bed, draw a picture, or throw a ball. My legs are short; please slow down so that I can keep up with you.

2. My eyes have not seen the world as your have; please let me explore safely: don't restrict me unnecessarily.

3. Housework will always be there. I'm only little for a short time-please take time to explain things to me about this wonderful world, and do so willingly.

4. My feelings are tender; please be sensitive to me needs; don't nag me all day long. (You wouldn't want to be nagged for your inquisitiveness.) Treat me as you would want to be treated.

5. I am a special gift from God; please treasure me as God intended you to do, holding me accountable for my actions, giving me guidelines to live by, and disciplining me in a loving manner.

6. I need your encouragement, but not your praise, to grow. Please go easy on the criticism; remember, you can criticize the things I do without criticizing me.

7. Please give me the freedom to make decisions concerning myself. Permit me to fail, so that I can learn from my mistakes. Then someday I'll be prepared to make the kind of decisions life requires of me.

8. Please don't do things over for me. Somehow that makes me feel that my efforts didn't quite measure up to your expectations. I know it's hard, but please don't try to compare me with my brother or sister.

9. Please don't be afraid to leave for a weekend together. Kids needs vacations from their parents, just as parents need vacations from kids. Besides, it's a great way to show us kids that your marriage is very special.

10. Please take me to Sunday school and church regularly, setting a good example for me to follow. I enjoy learning more about God.

A Child's Ten Commandments to Parents
by Dr. Kevin Leman
You can find these in Dr. Kevin Leman's books:
Parenthood Without Hassles, Well Almost
published in 1979 by Harvest House Publishers and
First-Time Mom
published in 2004 by Tyndale

Letter to Carter

2009-09-26T20:03:00.004-05:00

Carter's First day of Fourth Grade, August 2009

Dear Carter,
I cannot believe that you are nine years old and in the fourth grade! The years since you were born have flown by...

Today you were playing football and catch with the baseball in the yard with your Daddy and Grampy. You are such a big boy- so big and strong. You weigh 80 pounds more today than you did when you were born!

You are also compassionate and thoughtful. You often think about other people and their feelings. You love our four dogs with reckless abandon.

You have all As and one B in school. You are bright and articulate. You love to talk and write stories (complete with illustrations).

You pray and talk about God. You have expressed to me several times how much you love the Lord.

I could not be any prouder of you if I tried!

Love,
Mama

Little Ones

2009-09-24T21:23:00.002-05:00

He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
Mark 9:36-37

Where Do We Find the Strength?

2009-09-23T19:54:00.006-05:00

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:18

Many times in my life I have uttered these words out loud, "God, where do I find the strength to go on?"

The first time I remember calling out to God, "where do I find the strength to go on?" was when my younger brother lay in the intensive care unit thirteen years ago.

He was burning up with a fever that was literally frying his brain. He was centimeters from death. He had mixed alcohol with prescription drugs while "partying" with friends at college. At age 22, he thought himself invincible.

I left my brother's glass cubicle in the ICU and slumped to the ground crying around the corner.

I knew that he was dying, but my parents were already falling apart- their only son and youngest child was laying in a coma. I knew that I had to stay strong to deal with the crisis.

I cried out to God and He gave me strength. It was if I could feel the Holy Spirit picking me up off of the ground in the ICU.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

I talked to the nurses and explained that the cooling blanket they had my brother laying on was not cutting it. His fever had been too high for too long. The nurses explained that they had been trying to get my brother's neurologist to call them back for a couple hours. Finally, they called another doctor who thankfully ordered the necessary drugs to be administered to my brother to save his life.

My brother suffered a traumatic injury from the ordeal and his life has never been the same. Neither has mine, nor my parents. However, that experience, when I felt God with me on the cold, hard, floor of the ICU, is something that has never left me.

My son Carter with his Uncle Landon last year, twelve years after his brain injury:

Food Crisis in Guatemala

2009-09-18T21:29:00.004-05:00

Guatemala has the highest rate of malnutrition in Latin America and the fourth highest in the world.

This video describes the current food crisis and Compassion International's work in Guatemala:

Click here to go to Compassion International's request for help.

He Fails Us Not

2009-09-16T20:22:00.004-05:00

He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:19 (NIV)

A few thoughts from my time at the Captivating retreat I attended...

The One being that can satisfy the ache of the human heart is Jesus.

Humans, long for "one-ness." We long to share our lives, our hearts, our souls.

As women, before we can experience love and one-ness with a man, we must first experience this with God.

We often look to our husbands or others to fill that space in out heart that only God can fill.

My husband Dave is a fantastic husband- but he cannot possibly fulfill my every need, calm my every fear, love me completely unconditionally. Only God can do those things.

This is not to say that I cannot have a deep, loving relationship with Dave...and be able to count on him. I do and I always will. However, Dave is a flawed human like myself...only God can ALWAYS be there for me.

What do you think about this? I would love to hear. Have a great rest of the week!

The Jesus Storybook Bible

2009-09-15T07:34:00.002-05:00

I finally purchased a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible. It was recommended to me by numerous friends.

Written for ages four and up, it is written the way kids speak. My son LOVES it.

I'm going to purchase a copy in Spanish and bring it with me on my mission trip to the Dominican Republic in January.

Check it out!

Nothing Makes Us So Lonely as Our Secrets

2009-09-13T21:14:00.004-05:00

"Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets." Paul Tournier

This quote appears at the beginning of Chapter Two of The Shack by William Paul Young.

I am reading The Shack (again) for a small group study. I read The Shack when it was first published, but I had no idea about the tragic suffering the author endured during his life.

The author, Young, was the son of missionaries in New Guinea. I just learned that Young was sexually abused starting at age four by the tribe his parents were working with. At age six he was sent to a boarding school where the sexual abuse continued. He described being terrorized and dehumanized as a child at boarding school.

Knowing about this amazing agony the author, Young, suffered, I feel I now understand his book The Shack better.

Young conveys the message that God never abandons us. We really can trust God with all of our secrets, our feelings, our anger, our triumphs, and our dreams.

The healing power of love and forgiveness, the miracle of God's grace, and God's ever-present love for us is amazing!

I don't want to give away the story of The Shack for those of you have not read it yet. For those of you that have read it, I urge you to read it again with the author's personal experience in mind. I believe it makes the power of this book all the greater.

I took the picture above while I was at Estes Park this summer. God's majesty is breathtaking...

2009-09-12T18:58:00.001-05:00

A friend sent me a link to this movie, Interview with God, about nine years ago.

Click inside the box with the graphic above to play it.

Have a great weekend!

New Beginnings

2009-09-04T09:44:00.003-05:00

These are my boys. I love them so much! They are two of the reasons for my new beginning.

I have FINALLY committed to wind down my private law practice and change careers. Yay!

After thirteen years in the trenches I am ready for a new beginning. It will take me at least six months to wind up all of my cases.

I have absolutely no idea what I will tackle next, but I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life! Maybe I will have more time to post on this blog?!

The Traveler's Gift

2009-08-29T18:03:00.002-05:00

I just read this book by Andy Andrews in one sitting. My son's precious teacher, Debbie Brinster, is reading The Young Traveler's Gift, a version of the same book for a younger audience to my son's fourth grade class.

The story in The Traveler's Gift is an allegorical tale of David Ponder, a man in complete despair. David ends up traveling through time and receives seven decisions for success from seven real-life heroes in history. This experience transforms David...and this book transformed me in my life.

You must read the book, but here are the seven decisions (with David's notes to himself after each decision):

1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.

2. I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.

3. I am a person of action. I seize the moment. I choose now.

4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.

5. Today I choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.

6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.

7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.

I have to order The Young Traveler's Gift...I cannot wait to read it with my son.

Some New Favorites

2009-08-26T18:08:00.008-05:00

I love both jewelry and books...both make me happy!

This week at work has been crazy, so I am doing this post to share some of my new favorite jewelry and books...By the way, I am NOT making any money or getting any discounts by posting these things.

1. My necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs...

I customized this design. On one side I put "only by his grace" and on the other the names of my family: Dave, Kristen, and Carter Love. She has all kinds of great designs that you can customize.

2. My child's fingerprint necklace from Robin Foley at Imprecious.com

This has a cast of my son's index fingerprint on one side of the necklace and his thumbprint on the other side. It's very tiny and delicate. Robin sends you a little kit with silly-putty type material to make the fingerprints and then you send everything back to her (in a prepaid addressed padded envelope...so easy for super-busy me!)

3. crazy love by Francis Chan

Wow, where do I start? Fantastic book! I'm still thinking about it everyday.

Chan challenges Christians to get out of their complacency and ACT! I love the question at the end of the book- it has really challenged me. (No, I am not telling you what the question is! Read the book!)

4. What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey

I loved the way Yancey uses real stories to explain concepts. I just got through reading this and now I'm reading another book written by Yancey.

Thanks for letting me share! I hope that everyone has a great weekend...

Love146.org

2009-08-23T19:38:00.002-05:00

Sarah Dawn brought this organization to my attention- WOW! They are awesome. Please check out their website Love146.org.

They are dedicated to the prevention and aftercare of child sex slavery.

Human Trafficking in the Dominican Republic

2009-08-22T16:51:00.006-05:00

As many of you know, I am traveling to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International in January 2010.

Human Trafficking is a world-wide problem. It even goes on right under our noses here in the U.S.A. It is also a problem in the Dominican Republic.

Human Trafficking is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time.

Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depriving people of their human rights and freedoms, risking global health, promoting social breakdown, inhibiting development by depriving countries of their human capital, and helping fuel the growth of organized crime.

The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; a large number of Dominican women are trafficked into prostitution and sexual exploitation in Western Europe, Australia, Central and South America, and Caribbean destinations; a significant number of women, boys, and girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude.

In 2008, for a second consecutive year, the Dominican Republic is on the U.S. State Department's Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of not adequately investigating and prosecuting public officials who may be complicit with trafficking activity, and inadequate government efforts to protect trafficking victims; the government has taken measures to reduce demand for commercial sex acts with children through criminal prosecutions. Source CIA World Fact Book 2008.

Can you imagine being a young girl in the Dominican Republic and being sold into the sexual tourism trade? I have a hard time even getting my mind to go there. Programs like Compassion International can really make a difference in children's lives and lower exponentially the probability that the children they are helping would be victims of Human Trafficking.

Captivating Retreat

2009-08-19T21:44:00.004-05:00

Gorgeous Aspen Trees...Majestic Skies...

I returned late Sunday night from the Captivating Retreat held in Fraser, Colorado. It is all still sinking in, so I will post more on it later after I have had a chance to let it all marinate in my brain!

The premise of the retreat is based on the book Captivating by Stasi and John Eldredge...all women have core desires- to be romance, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty. In the book and at the retreat we are taught to recover our feminine hearts, created in the image of an intimate and passionate God.

I can tell you that the teachings were spectacular beyond my expectations...Stasi and John Eldridge really have a gift for communicating. All of the others with Ransomed Heart Ministries that participated as presenters were great also- especially Lori McConnell who really touched my heart with her story.

I felt guided into a deeper and more intimate relationship with God...I really couldn't ask for anything more.

Messy Spirituality and Other Random Thoughts

2009-08-08T15:15:00.002-05:00

Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli...I'm reading this book for the second time. It's a fairly quick read the first time through, but I knew I had to go back and read it again to let it all sink in.

I love the back cover of the edition I have, it reads:

Do you feel like: I don't pray enough*I don't read my Bible enough* I don't share my faith enough*I don't love God enough*I'm not committed enough*I'm not spiritual enough?

Then this book is for you...Maybe true faith begins with admitting we will never have our act completely together? Maybe messy disciples are exactly the kind of people Jesus came to the earth for and whose company he actually enjoyed-and still enjoys...

I like the idea of "unpretending" in the book..refusal to pretend, to lie, or to allow others we are something that we are not. When we stop pretending to be these perfect Christian robots- we expose the pretending of everyone else. "The bubble of the perfect Christan life is burst, and we must all face the reality of our brokenness."

Love it...Anyway, I will not be posting for a week or so while I go to Colorado and the Captivating Retreat...Enjoy the rest of your weekend and the week ahead!

Encouragement Blog Hop

2009-08-03T22:07:00.005-05:00

Encouragement. Now this is a subject that I can really dig into!

It doesn't matter:

who we are or
what we look like or
how much money we have (or don't have) or
who we know or
how much we know...

We all face battles during our lives.

There may be small habits that we want to overcome or
everyday strongholds we struggle with or
life threatening battles we are struggling through...
we all face all kinds of challenges every single day.

I find my greatest encouragement and my greatest comfort in the Lord.

I know that no matter what I am facing- God will never leave me.

The LORD is my light and my salvation-
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life-
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1

Costa Rica September 2007

Compassion International

2009-08-01T10:01:00.005-05:00

Many of you know that I am traveling to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International in January 2010 (only five months away).

PLEASE take just a few minutes and watch these videos...you may decide to change the world by sponsoring a child! Yes, YOU can change the world by sponsoring just ONE child. This is because you will change that child's life...and that will change their family's life...and that will change how that family grows in their community.

By sponsoring just ONE chid YOU are empowering a future leader. By helping to keep your child alive and healthy, you are empowering them to become a teacher, a physician, or a business person that will give back to their community!

By sponsoring a child, you are beginning a ripple effect that will make a difference!!! You and I can change the world...just watch:

Thank You! Please visit Compassion International to learn more about all of the great work they do. Please consider sponsoring a child today.

My Seven Favorite Things about Summer

2009-07-29T20:39:00.003-05:00

Assignment from Mama's Losin It. Click here if you would like to join in!

My Seven Favorite Things about Summer:

1. Summer is an excuse for me to take time off from work to: go on vacation/go to the pool/take a day off to do something random and fun with my son.

2. My nine-year old son is out of school and gets to go to a day camp that is like one big gloriously long vacation bible school- complete with Bible lessons, crafts, games, swimming, field trips out of town on plush charter buses with Disney movies playing at all times (and bathrooms on the buses), trips to the movies, pizza, and corn dogs... every single week. (I kinda jealous because I want to go! )

3. Hearing the tree frogs and crickets at night.

4. Seeing fireflies.

5. I have an excuse to get more blond highlights in my hair that cover that certain unmentionable color my hair has turned.

6. Cool summer Bible studies with my Tuesday night girls, this year it is Chick Flicks. Click here to learn more.

7. Sno-Cones!

What are some of your favorite things about summer?

My Son

2009-07-28T20:57:00.004-05:00

My nine year old son started a conversation in the car with me last night as we drove home from his piano lesson:

"Mom, I can't wait to see what God looks like!"

Before I could say anything my son then said, "Oh yeah- He looks like Jesus because Jesus is God in the flesh!"

My son then gave me a re-cap of the Book of Revelation...ha!

He is so precious and he loves the Lord. I could not be any happier if I tried!

Messy Witnessing

2009-07-27T23:16:00.004-05:00

Well, I completely blew a perfectly good opportunity to share Christ last week with someone who I have known casually for several years.

I went on a walk tonight and realized that I was still beating myself up over it. It's been a week since then! (That is like a lifetime in my world). I was still rehashing all of the non-responsive and inane things I said.

Messy Witnessing!

What could I have said? How should I have responded to her question? (it was one of those attack my "Christian" motives kind of questions.)

I must admit that I was a little shocked by her atttack-style question. I decided that being shocked by a question about my faith was unacceptable. I was truly disappointed in myself.

I felt like I should have a well-thought response to every possible question about my relationship with Jesus Christ and Christianity in general. As you may have guessed by now, perfectionism as a debater of all things is one of my strongholds. (I AM a lawyer, after all.)

Finally, tonight, I have come to the realization that I am being ridiculously hard on myself. I have officially experienced "Messy Witnessing."

(I am completely ripping off the title from the GREAT book by Mike Yaconelli, "Messy Spirituality.") Click on the title to buy the book. It is awesome and I will have to post on it soon.

So, me and my Messy Witnessing. I am ready for the next episode! Bring it on...

And I will not be so hard on myself next time...because really, at least I am trying!

In my heart, I know that I want to share all the amazing things God has done in my life. I want to share what I know deep in my soul: that God loves us and that God has a plan for each one of us.

Questions About Forming a 501(c)(3) Corporation

2009-07-26T12:47:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone!

This post is a plea for help :-) Has anybody out there formed a 501(c)(3) corporation? I want to form one for my mission ministry, but I have no experience in this department.

I am a lawyer and can do all the corporation document drafting, but I have no experience with the IRS application for 501(c)(3) status?

Anyone want to offer any tips, advice, recommendations?

Thank you and God Bless You!

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

What Can I Do?

2009-07-25T21:55:00.003-05:00

God has placed a burden on my heart so heavy...I think about it and pray about it all of the time.
What can I do to help children living in poverty...living in war...living in hunger...living in fear?

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (NASB)

I don't pretend to have all of the answers. I don't pretend these problems are not overwhelming.
I just KNOW that I can move mountains when God is with me!!!

2009-07-23T19:25:00.002-05:00

Five things that I am thankful for this week:

1. I am so very thankful for all the support I have already received for my mission trip to the Dominican Republic in January. I am traveling with Compassion International and am raising funds to donate to Compassion's programs in the Dominican Republic and funds to buy art supplies to bring with me. I can't wait to meet all of the precious children and their families. Click here to learn more!

2. I am thankful for a great and loving God that pursues me relentlessly!

3. I am thankful for the passion I feel about sharing the love of Jesus Christ with children living in difficult conditions all around the world. Thank you God for putting this burden on my heart and for allowing me to realize it!

4. I am thankful for my sweet and precious son who has helped me with chores this week (and only answering "yes ma'am" when I ask him to do something!) He is only nine, but I have very high expectations and count on his great attitude continuing through his teen years into adulthood!

5. I am thankful for my husband who has worked so hard this week building beautiful rock walls around the trees in our yard- it looks gorgeous! I will post a picture when we are done with our new landscaping!

Click on the Thankful Thursday box above if you would like to participate in Sonya's Thankful Thursday!

Word Filled Wednesday

2009-07-22T20:53:00.003-05:00

I am a complete and utter amateur at the this blogging thing, so I do not have scripture superimposed over a picture (I don't know how to do that yet! Will somebody tell me how? It is cool!)

Instead, I have my picture after the scripture. Enjoy!

Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
Psalm 40:5 (NIV)

Are We Fakes and Hypocrites?

2009-07-20T19:42:00.008-05:00

One huge reason that Christianity is so unattractive to non-believers is that they see Christians as fakes and hypocrites that don't follow their own "rules." This is because many Christians act as though they live under the law instead of under grace.

But acting as though we are required to live under "rules" is to act in complete and utter opposition to the message and the hope and the mercy Jesus Christ brings to all of us: we are saved only through the grace of God. We cannot earn our salvation.

Even if we try to follow all the rules we will never be perfect. That is why when non-believers see Christians (especially ones that act very self-righteous) break "the rules" the non-believers feel like all Christians are all fakes and hypocrites.

So we, as Christians, are doing great harm to the cause of spreading the good news of the love and mercy of Christ when we act like we are: "better people," "more pure," "following all of the rules."

This subject has come up in my pastor's series of messages on the book of Romans. Dan (my pastor) asks: How do you know if you live under the law or live under grace?

Here are some of the examples Dan gave:

Your are living under LAW if you:

Feel like you are not good enough.
Feel like you "have to"
Feel bad about what you don't do/feel like you are letting people down
Are disgusted with yourself
Follow rules
Ask "How far is too far?"
Are filled with fear- "what if?"
Are filled with pride, you have to boast, and feel you have to prove how much you deserve
Compare yourself with others
Are concerned with your outward appearance
Are vindictive
Are sin-conscious
Christianity is a chore
Treat time with God as something you have to "check off the list"

You are living under GRACE if you:

Feel accepted, no strings attached
Feel like you "get to"
Feel grateful for what you get to do
Have hope for yourself
Follow the Holy Spirit
Ask "how close can I get to God?"
Act unafraid (Jesus said perfect love casts out fear)
Display genuine humility
Appreciate others and act accordingly
Are concerned with your inward heart motive
Are merciful
Are cross-conscious
Feel that a relationship with God is a pleasure
Feel that time with God is like oxygen

Nothing we can do can cause us to lose our salvation. We cannot be "un-saved." So don't pretend otherwise- pretend like you have to keep up some fakey appearance as a "good Christian."

Non-believers will be more open to hear the message of Christ if you live under grace and keep it real!

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; an do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Luke 6:37 (NASB)

One Child

2009-07-16T21:14:00.002-05:00

One Child

I am so excited about going to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International in January. I received my first donation today! 100% of the donations will go towards Compassion's program in the Dominican Republic. I have gathered $2,500 of my own money to pay my way there and make a donation myself. Everything donated is very much appreciated!

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 22:16

Amazing People and Jumps4Joy

2009-07-15T06:09:00.004-05:00

Poking around in the "blogosphere," helped along by the blog hop yesterday, I came across so many amazing people! So many precious moms and their beautiful families, beautiful single girls and their spunky messages, and even a few guys thrown in for good measure.

So many beautiful Christians blogging to share the love of God they have experienced in their lives!

But one blog authored by a fifteen year old girl I just have to share! She shares the same heart as me- caring deeply about the children living in poverty. Her name is Lexi and her blog is Jumps4Joy. What a truly amazing girl. She describes herself this way:

"I am a 15 year old Jesus Freak who felt the call of God to make a difference after learning how many children die and are orphaned every day. I imagined myself in their shoes and even the thoughts burned my heart. But what could I do? I'm just a kid right? Or was it time to take a stand?

I couldn't ignore the facts anymore. I had to do something.

On July 8, 2009, I decided to jump-rope for every child orphaned each day and completed my goal of 6,100 jumps in 3 days!"

Lexi posted a video of her describing Jumps4Joy and posted statistics about HIV/AIDS, Water issues, and Education. Click here to see this amazing girl.

What an amazing heart for children Lexi has! Check it out!

Three Things You Didn't Know About Me

2009-07-12T20:19:00.023-05:00

I am participating in the McKLinky Blog Hop for the first time...here it goes...

The topic this week is "Three Things You Didn't Know About Me."

1. I have a horse.

Unfortunately I haven't done a lot of riding since I took a bad fall off her on New Year's Day this year. But hopefully that will change soon. I actually broke my back. It sounds bad...well, it was kinda bad. But now I am almost 100% back to normal. I just need to get back in shape and lose the weight I gained being "forced" to be sedentary. Ha, ha, ha! The doctor didn't have to tell me twice that I couldn't exercise for six months! Ha!

My horse's name is Koala and she is beautiful! My husband has been riding her and showing as a Hunter. The next show, he is showing her as a Jumper. Here she is...

2. My favorite city is Paris.

The last trip I took there was in February 2005. It is the first place my husband ever told me that he loved me...awww. Could that be more romantic? Here I am in Paris...

3. I went to nursing school.

I took some science classes during undergraduate school and I really like them and I did very well. This was a surprise to me at the time because I fancied my self more of a "reading and writing gal" than a "math and science gal".

Well, I took several more science classes and decided I was on to something. I took Human Anatomy and Physiology, Organic Chemistry, and some other real humdingers. I completed half of my clinicals (when you are in the hospital or clinics during school) and then I decided nursing was not for me. I saw the harsh reality of health care economics and the nursing shortage in big hospitals in Seattle. Nurses spent most of their time managing health care workers under them and playing catch-up with their patients all shift because there were not enough nurses.

So to all nurses out there: I appreciate what you do more than you could ever know!!!

No, I do not have a picture of me in a nurse's hat or anything cute like that, so you will have to settle for a picture of me and my hubby on our wedding day in Santa Barbara...

Indescribable

2009-07-11T15:59:00.004-05:00

Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before me.
Isaiah 49:16

I love this verse. It really struck a chord with me this week, so I decided to make it my scripture of the week and do a little research on it. And I do mean "a little!"

I turned to my copy of "The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament" (Walvoord) to read a bit on this verse specifically. This portion of Isaiah records a dialogue between the people of Israel and God (through the prophet Isaiah). The people of Israel felt that God had forgotten them and in this verse (as well as the verses before and after this one), God assures the people that He, the LORD, could never forget them.

We are written on the palms of God's hands.

Isn't that just like us, though? We doubt God and we wallow in our own self-pity. We lament that God has forgotten us? I know that I have done this! (And I am sure that I will do it again...)

Instead, what I really should ask myself is this: have I forgotten about God? Have I forgotten that God assures us again and again that He never leaves us. If I would only pursue Him more- I would be reassured again and again.

This verse reminds me a little of the song "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin. The lyrics are as follows:

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Here's a video...Enjoy!

Compassion International in the Dominican Republic

2009-07-08T12:56:00.003-05:00

Many of you know that I am going to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International in January. I am so very thankful I will have the opportunity to go meet the children and all the Compassion staff that are working with them!

I am grateful to God for revealing this opportunity to me... Please watch this video- the speech is not quite synced with video, but please watch it because it is so amazing!!!

My Happily Ever After

2009-07-06T21:30:00.006-05:00

I thought I would share a little about how I got from there (divorced single mommy) to here (happily married wife and mommy).

It has been a long road, and started out as a very painful one. Against my better judgment and huge red flags, I married someone who said he "had changed" and wanted to "start his life over again with me." He was thirteen years older than me (I was in my happy-go-lucky twenties.) He was middle-aged, divorced and had two daughters.

He admitted cheating on his first wife and ending his marriage with her. He poured out regret and what-ifs. He said he "missed living with this daughters" and he "wanted to do marriage right this time with me."

We went to church together every Sunday.

Unfortunately, he repeated this same pattern with me.

He cheated on me throughout our short marriage, including throughout my pregnancy (which should have been a joyous time!) up until I finally caught him one last time when my son was four months old. He had numerous affairs with numerous people.

Then, he decided it was better if he was not involved in my son's life- at all. At this time, I also thought that that was for the best. He was a very mixed-up man.

It was a very dark time in my life. I was divorced and completely alone with an infant working full-time as a lawyer. I was angry with God. I cried, "why me?" I agonized (truly, truly agonized) over what my decision marrying this man and having a child with him did to my son. How would my son grow up without a father? How did I screw all of this up so badly?

I prayed and prayed and cried out to God. I cried a lot. I was very angry with God.

I realized that I had ignored all the red-flags because I wanted a husband and children so badly- they (a husband and children) became idols I was striving for. I blindly pursued these idols, without any thought of how it all would affect the children I had with this man.

I stumbled through the next several years- always striving to be the best mommy to my son I could possibly be...I was all that he had! My parents lived in the same town as me and tried to help all that they could, but my brother has a traumatic brain injury and caring for him takes up much of their time.

Now, looking back, I know why all of this happened:
1. I made bad decisions.
2. I worshiped and strived for idols- a husband and children; instead of worshiping and striving for a relationship with God that would lead me to God's purpose for my life.
3. God meant for me to be a loving mommy to my beautiful son.

Over three years went by and I went out on a few dates. I dated one very nice man seriously for a while and even planned on remarrying- but the time and situation was not right and I listened to myself this time.

Then, I met my husband. My husband had known my father for over ten years when I met him. They had worked together on projects. I had met Dave once- a couple years before we ever started dating.

Dave moved to Tuscaloosa to work on another project for my father and he was stuck going out to lunch with me everyday because he didn't know very many people here. And...he liked me. I know that I liked him.

We went out to lunch almost everyday and talked and talked about life for four months before we ever went out on a date. Then, we started dating. We dated for a year before I ever involved my son.

Although Dave had never been married and had no children, he was wonderful with my son from the very beginning.

After we had dated a little over a year, Dave asked me to marry him. My son walked me down the aisle to marry Dave seven months later. Dave immediately wanted to adopt my son- and did.

We have been married three and a half years now. You would never guess that Dave and my son Carter haven't been together since the very beginning. Tears are streaming down my face now as I write about how beautiful Dave and Carter's relationship is. Dave is Daddy. They love each other very much.

I am on my knees quite often thanking the Lord for all of the blessings in my life.

Playing Catch-up!

2009-07-05T14:42:00.008-05:00

I finally read a book that came out seven years ago, in 2002: Prisoners of Hope by Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer (with Stacy Mattingly). The authors are the Christian humanitarian workers that were taken prisoner by the Taliban in Afghanistan for several months before, during, and after 9/11/2001.

During that same time period in my life (Fall of 2001) I was a single-mommy of an eighteen-month old little boy working full time as an Assistant Public Defender, having been divorced the Fall of 2000 when my son was a teeny-tiny infant. Sufficed to say, I did not get a lot of reading done during that period of my life! Or for several years thereafter...more on that later...back to the book...

Both Dayna Curry and Heather Mercy wanted to serve the poorest of the poor in hard to reach places of the world- and both felt drawn to Afghanistan. Both girls believed that while helping the people of Afghanistan, they could demonstrate God's love.

They said that God had utterly changed their lives and that He healed their broken hearts with His love; so then how could they not share God's love with others? How could they stand silent and not comfort others that are hurting? They wanted to share with others what they already knew: God loves them and He has a purpose for their life.

Their courage is so inspiring and I love some of the scripture that they relied upon while they were prisoners:

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes. Psalm 118:9 (NAS)

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 (NIV)

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, character. Romans 5:3-5

And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in the darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fall.
Isaiah 58:10, 11 (NASB)

And from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded... Luke 12:48 (NASB)

Prayer Request

2009-07-04T20:57:00.004-05:00

Please pray for this precious little girl, Kate, who was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor only five days ago. She has already had one surgery. Her mother took her to the hospital Monday after noticing tremors in Kate's hand. See her family's request for prayers at: http://www.youtube.com/v/ese3zYZ-NA4&hl=en&fs=1

See more about her story at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

Holiday Weekends and Sleepovers

2009-07-03T16:37:00.003-05:00

I am so happy that it is a three-day weekend I am almost beside myself. Today, we relaxed around our friend's pool and tonight Carter is having his friend Brayden spend the night. They made a "fort" out of Carter's bunk bed. Here are the cuties...

That is our yellow labrador Jackson sticking his head into the fort...I'm pretty sure Jackson thinks he is a human and wonders why he isn't allowed into the fort.

I hope that everyone has a SAFE and relaxing holiday weekend- including relaxing with family and friends and maybe building "forts" like us.

Happy First Birthday Gibbs!

2009-07-01T22:17:00.009-05:00

Tonight we attended Gibbs's first birthday party! His parents are our friends Mary Katherine and Lance. They so blessed and are expecting a baby girl in October to join their son Gibbs. They are a beautiful family who walks with the Lord...

What a cutie!

Gibbs had many guests...young and old...

These guests showed up in the same car seats...Gates (9 weeks old) is on the left and Jacob (9 days old) on the right...

Now for the older guests...

This is my 9 year old son, Carter (making a goofy face of course because he is a 9 year old boy-duh!) and me- his mama...

Happy Birthday Gibbs!

My Mission to the Dominican Republic

2009-06-30T11:08:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! Below is the letter I will be sending out in a couple weeks concerning my mission trip to the Dominican Republic. If you would like to be added to my mailing list so that you can get an "official" letter from me, just hit the "Contact Me' button to the right and e-mail me your mailing address.

Dear friends and family,

God has placed the huge, overwhelming, world-wide problem of child poverty on my heart. I refuse to throw my hands up in despair and give into thinking that this is too large a problem for me to solve. I believe that through Christ, all things are possible!

Can you envision a land where children work everyday? And they go home hungry and sick to a shack with no plumbing? This is a sad fact in the Dominican Republic. Over 40% of the population lives in abject poverty and the use of child labor is a huge problem. Children are sexually exploited; they work on farms and in markets or in domestic settings. Nearly one thousand of them are reported to work as "divers" scavenging at the Rafey garbage dump in Santo Domingo. Their hands are often burned and scarred from handling chemicals in the dump.

I want to share with you a challenging ministry opportunity God has presented to me. During January 9th through the 16th next year (less than five months away!), I will be going to the Dominican Republic with a team from Compassion International.

Compassion International is a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. Founded in 1952, today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 25 countries. If you would like to learn more about Compassion or to sponsor a child, please visit their website at http://www.compassion.com/.

When I visit the Dominican Republic I will be allowing God to work in my life through the personal enrichment that comes from this type of a mission trip- and:

1. I will visit Compassion’s Child Survival Program that assists expectant and new mothers.
2. I will work with children at Compassion’s child development centers.
3. I will visit homes and meet children and their families.
4. I will meet one of the children that I sponsor through Compassion. Her name is Johanna and she is eight years old. I cannot wait to meet her!

I'm excited about the opportunity and experiences that lie ahead. As you can imagine, a trip like this requires financial support from a number of people. If you can support me in a financial way, I would be very grateful. I will be paying $2,000 of my own way on the trip, but I am also raising funds to bring school supplies and make donations to Compassion’s programs in the DR.
If you would like to be part of this mission through your financial support, send a check made out to me. I opened a special account just for this mission trip. Envelopes are enclosed for your convenience.

While money is important, it comes in a distant second to my need for your prayer support. Since prayer support is so important to the success of this mission, I would like to know if I can count on you in that area. Enclosed is a business card with my name, email, and blog address so that you can put in your Bible, on your bathroom mirror, on the "fridge", or anywhere else you will see it at least once a day. I will be blogging about my experience, so make sure and visit my blog at www.loveshinesforall.blogspot.com and sign up as a follower so that I can keep you updated on this mission.

Compassion International in the Dominican Republic

2009-06-29T19:05:00.001-05:00

2009-06-29T17:53:00.003-05:00

I LOVE this video and song. It is amazing. Thought I would share!

Saw it last night on another great blog: http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/

Today was GREAT! Thanks for all of the prayers and happy thoughts friends. You are the best and I appreciate all of you more than you could ever know!!!

Have a great night...

He Will Quiet You with His Love

2009-06-28T20:26:00.004-05:00

I love the scripture of the week:

The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

This last week at work was very stressful for me. I tried really hard to turn it over to the Lord, to pray, and to be in the Word as much as possible.

I had kind of a meltdown on Wednesday morning during court- and I had two more full days of court to go. I had to leave what I was doing and take a break at an office down the hall from the courtroom I was in for about 30 minutes. Luckily, I used to work with the people down the hall, so they let me come in and use a whole box of their tissue. The cases with kids really, really get to me.

I am still tired- even after sleeping for 12 hours on both Friday and Saturday night.

However, I am so comforted knowing the the Lord is there for me through all of my stress- He NEVER leaves me. Just like this week's verse says, He quiets me with His Love.

I feel like this next week will be better- and even if it is not, I know that the Lord will be right there with me every step of the way. That makes me feel a whole lot better.