20 Best Tips

The Ability to Hope

This past weekend I had the opportunity to share a little bit about my trip to Africa with Compassion International. {If you didn’t know about that trip,  click here to learn more.} It was the first time I stood up in front of our church body to share and quite truthfully, I was rather nervous.

There was a short window to share my heart. The only thing I could do was pray that those that needed to hear and see what was being said would be impacted. Because in Africa, God broke my heart for so many things, but above all He showed me hope.

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Hope for a future. Hope in the littlest details of life. Hope is such a small word but filled with such amazing potential.

It’s been over a year, but through sharing on Sunday so many things have been brought to the forefront of my heart, and I wanted to make sure too that YOU all know about Compassion and the work they do around the world.

Would you take 2 minutes to watch the video below? Because it sums up the word ‘hope’ so wonderfully.

 

Email subscribers can view the video here.

Sponsoring through Compassion has been one of the best decisions that we’ve made as a family. Developing relationships with the children, praying for them, and encouraging them in their studies and dreams – God has used these opportunities to continue to speak to our hearts as well those that we sponsor.

Will you help change the story of one child in poverty?

Sponsor a Child in Jesus Name with Compassion

Compassion ministers to children in twenty-six countries around the world ~ meeting their physical, social and emotional, cognitive and spiritual needs.

While there is a hope for a child’s physical future in the first three, the last one provides an eternal hope that cannot be matched ~ please sponsor a child today.

#CompassionBloggers Twitter Party – 8/13/13 9p ET

If you’ve been around my blog long enough, you might know that one of my favorite organizations is Compassion International. Our family has sponsored children for the past twenty years. We truly love the work they do and the impact they are having across the world.

Starting this week, your family is going to be able to do even MORE – and I cannot wait for you all to hear more about it.

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Would you join us for a #CompassionBloggers Twitter party TONIGHT? Set your alerts and phone timers now, so you don’t forget!

Here are the full details so you can follow along and be the first to hear about the surprise {and psst…there will be prizes too!}. You do not need to be a Compassion Blogger to participate!

 

When: Tuesday, 8-13-2013 from 9-10p ET

Follow: @StorySoc and @Compassion and #CompassionBloggers

Quick view of Twitter stream here: http://twubs.com/CompassionBloggers

In the meantime, can I ask you to help spread the word? Please Tweet, Pin, and Share the Twitter party news with all your friends – THANK YOU!! AND if you’d like to make a difference in the life of a child, you can sponsor a child today!

 

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Links from Nicaragua #CompassionBloggers

This week I’ve been traveling virtually to Nicaragua with the Compassion bloggers. Some of you may know that I traveled to Tanzania with Compassion International last May and it is an organization that is near and dear to our family’s heart.

 

This week, several bloggers have been writing about their trip to Nicaragua and their experiences and I would love to invite you to take a little trip with them and see things through their powerful words. You can find links to all of their posts here: http://compassionbloggers.com/trips/nicaragua-2013/.

Read the Words of the #CompassionBloggers

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Kelli from Faithful Provisions Too Much to Tell, A Hope for the Future, and Marcos’ Story – meeting Marco and his grandmother, who cares for 9 of her grandchildren – it’s an amazing story to hear.

Edie has been sharing her stories at Life in Grace ~ A Good Place to Start, When a Father Loves His Daughters, Open My Eyes {What Famine Really Looks Like}, and that last post really struck something in me. I would really encourage you to click over and read it {grins}.

Traci from Beneath My Heart  met her sponsored child, Cesar, and has MUCH to share in her posts The Body of Christ, Things are Changing, and True Beauty. It is SO wonderful to read about her family’s decision to sponsor another child – even though they were convinced they couldn’t afford it.

The ‘Me-ism Never Satisfies’ post from Christy at Southern Plate – well, you’ll have to read that one as well. She also shares more of her heart in There are No Impenetrable Walls and Meeting the Child I Sponsor.  Oh, the joy and smiles on that little face…

There will be a few more posts coming still from the bloggers, so bookmark their pages. Just be sure to take a little time this weekend and go on a virtual trip to Nicaragua – you’ll be glad you did!

Have you been following along this week? Is there a post that has really resonated with you?

 

{all photos courtesy of Compassion International}

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Did You Realize It’s February Already??

The last week {ok, really the last month} has been a bit crazy in our house. We were able to stay on track with all of our homeschool projects, but there were quite a few additional things going on for me in preparation for the BEECH Retreat.

In short, speaking at BEECH was wonderful, I met some fabulous ladies and spent much time laughing, learning, and seeing the servant heart of my husband shine like never before. More than anything, I am SO very grateful to have an amazing man that loves me like no other and is encouraging in all things. He is typically the quiet rock behind our family and all that I do online here, but this past week allowed me to see him in a different light – and I so appreciate him.

Although we were busy throughout the month, I was still busy reading at night and creating too – both things that I enjoy. Here’s the progress on some of my goals this year:

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Just a Minute by the CEO of Compassion and my new handy iPad bag from Borsa Bella

Some Fabulous Companies to Thank

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Real Refreshment Retreats will affirm, energize, and inspire you as you join with other moms like you to celebrate the homeschool journey together. Whatever difficulties and opportunities you’re facing at home, you will find you’re not alone.

Time4Learning – Perfect for homeschool, afterschool, and summer skill sharpening, Time4Learning’s award-winning prek to eighth grade curriculum combines the technology kids love with the education they need to make learning fun!

Apologia Educational Ministries ~ producing resources to help homeschool families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.

Maestro Classics ~ introduce great music and classics stories to children with this classical music series. Don’t miss their newly released Carnival of Animals that you will want to check out!

The Messiah Mystery from Family Life – a six session study for families to use during the Lent season in the weeks leading up to Easter.

Plans for the Month of February

My website has been really glitchy over the last few months, but the last three weeks have seen NO down time. That alone has taken a huge stress off me and given me extra time to work on other things – instead of being on the phone with my hosting company. Yay!! I truly appreciate all of your patience during the process. {grins}

As for the upcoming month of February, I have more books in my stack to read, a few additional printables that I am working on, some great giveaways coming up for you all, and getting ready to attend the Real Refreshment Retreat in Baltimore at the start of March.

What do you have planned for the month of February?

 

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Maestro Classics ~ introduce great music and classics stories to children with this classical music series. Check out their FREE homeschool music curriculum guides!

Compassion Bloggers Traveling to Peru

Compassion Bloggers Peru Trip 2012

Last May I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Tanzania as a Compassion blogger. From November 13th-17th, there will be a group of bloggers traveling to Peru to see firsthand the ministry of Compassion in action and share their stories with their blog readers.

Can I encourage you all to follow along with them? The comments, prayers, and encouragement from readers during our trip were so amazingly wonderful ~ and I know that you will be impacted as well through their stories each day.

Follow along with those traveling on their blogs here:

You can also sponsor a child through Compassion at ANY time. Compassion ministers to children in twenty-six countries around the world ~ meeting their physical, social and emotional, cognitive and spiritual needs. While there is a hope for a child’s physical future in the first three, the last one provides an eternal hope that cannot be matched ~ please sponsor a child today!

Sponsor a Child in Jesus Name with Compassion

 

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Apologia Educational Ministries ~ producing resources to help homeschool families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.
Grapevine Studies ~ effective, easy-to-teach Bible curriculum to disciple students ages five to adult.

Sending Fun Birthday Cards to Sponsored Children

When walking through Target one day {and attempting to pull my children out of the greeting card aisle}, one cute card caught my eye. A cute little ‘make your own airplane’ craft inside a card.

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The kids and I all stopped and took fifteen minutes to find some really fun cards that we could send to each one of our sponsored children ~ something fun {but cool} for the 17 year girl in Tanzania, the airplane craft for the six year old boy in Tanzania, and a few more for the other children we sponsor {we even found a fun ‘musical’ monkey one for our youngest sponsored child!}.

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Our own kids are always excited when they receive fun cards in the mail from grandparents or friends. After personally seeing how children sponsored through Compassion International cherish the letters and cards they are sent, we are SO excited to send these to them and pray they bring a smile to their faces and remind them often that we are praying for them from far away!

To send special cards to children you sponsor through Compassion International, be sure to remember the following {full details here}:

  • Include your sponsored child’s information on the back of the card {i.e. your sponsor number and the child’s reference number  – both of these can be found in your online account or on any correspondence from your child}.
  • Be sure the card is within the 8.5” x 11” guidelines {click here for things that can be included in your card/package}
  • Mail it in advance!! Correspondence can take several months as it travels to the different offices in the States and in your child’s home country, so be sure to give your gift a few months buffer to arrive around your child’s birthday.
  • Mailing address – Attn: Child Correspondence
    Compassion International
    Colorado Springs, CO 80997-0004

You can check out the full list of Gift Giving FAQ’s on the Compassion website.

Have you sent any fun things to your sponsored children? We’ll be sharing more of what we’re doing each month, but I’d love to hear ideas from you all as well. What gifts have you sent to put a smile on your sponsored child’s face?

 

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Not a sponsor of a child through Compassion International? I cannot even begin to describe the impact that your $38/month will have for one child and their family ~ please sponsor a child today!

Sponsor a Child in Jesus Name with Compassion