I will gladly admit that I have been frustrated by the delays with the house. Much of it is just the fact that we are up in the air so much right now (delays being one thing, uncertainty another), but I am very grateful that one of these days we will get to move in, and until then we have this comfortable place to call home.
Reading the stories of the bloggers who have been traveling with Compassion this week makes it so very clear that these bumps, while frustrating, are definitely just minor inconveniences.
Very thankful for my blessings and for those who are reaching out to those who are in need around the world.
I love Advent. The candles, the music, the preparations for Christmas. This week is the week of Hope. I am hoping, that as the children are getting older, that they understand there is so much more than the gimmes. It's hard when everyone and their brother is asking them, "What are you asking for from Santa?"
I have decided that each Sunday in Advent we will do something for someone else. These might be tasks I would have normally undertaken, but we will be more intentional in sharing the responsibility with our children this year. Plus, they see all of these activities as fun, which is wonderful.
I had three activities already planned: making goody bags for Justin's co-workers, baking for our neighbors, and Christmas caroling for some shut-ins, but I had one week open.
I asked Kate who she thought we should do something for. After the thoughtful, but prohibitive answer, "Do something for someone who is hurt in the hospital," (I don't happen to know anyone to visit, and with patient confidentiality an issue, I suspect we can't just call the hospital at random.) she came up with Yafrelis, the child we sponsor in The Dominican Republic.
We made a little folder out of some neat prismatic card stock weight paper I bought with the intention of using it for Yafrelis last month.
We made her a paper doll. I've been looking for some to send her for a few months, but didn't find any that are actually made of paper (instead of cardboard).
I sketched out the doll and then made a dress pattern, so we can make several dresses to fit her. Each of the girls decorated a pink construction paper dress.
We're also stocking the folder with a few odds and ends of paper goods (everything we send has to be flat and made of paper).
If you're interested in sponsoring a child through Compassion International, here is where you can get information.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
It seems kind of odd, but as much as I like crafts, I've not been wonderful about doing art projects with the kiddos. I've done some, but not like some moms out there. I'm sure that I'll never bee one of the project a day moms, but I've spent the last two days looking at a couple of blogs in particular trying to get some fun ideas for activities to do with the girls (sorry Nate, you just can't quite help yet!). I think I'm just going to have to get past the worry about messes. We can move the van out of the garage like we did for the pinata and just clean up later.
First there is Impress Your Kids. I love the Bible verse a week with the alphabet. I actually started 'A' with the girls this week (A gentle answer turns away anger. -Prov. 15:1). It's wonderfully convicting to teach your children to speak kindly. It definitely makes me consider how I speak to them! I also like her Impress Your Sponsered Kids. It's new so there is only one post so far, but it's great to have ideas of things to make for those kiddos that we get to help support--I'll definitely be back for more next month!
Next there is Whimsy. Nikki has some really creative ideas, some are just for grownups, but there are a lot of fun things for kids too. Like this. And this.
Do you have any great sites that you turn to for fun crafty ideas?
We are beyond blessed. We live in a country where almost all of us are safe, we have clean water to drink, food to eat, and at least basic medical care. The stories coming out of Haiti are heartbreaking. In a country where people already have so much less than we do, they are struggling with inoperable hospitals and chaos beyond our ability to comprehend.
There are many people in need of more assistance than we can imagine. Here are three ways to help.
It’s a trait we want to teach our children. To love others, to care about their plight, to actually get up and help. At their current ages these actions can be somewhat limited. It’s not the easiest task to get them in and out of the grocery store, so the idea of taking them to go volunteer somewhere is near ‘daunting’ in my book. I feel like I would be more of a hindrance than a help. I know that I couldn’t do the work sorting clothes that I had done at a pregnancy support center when I was first married. The laying tile I was doing when Justin and I first fell in love in Chicago is totally out of the question—sharp knives and two small children, no way. I’m not in a financial place that I have a lot of money to donate, not that my kids would learn a lot from that anyway.
I mentioned my quandary at a MOPS meeting and one of the other moms gave an example of something she did when she only had one child. They would go and visit an adult day care. It was her daughter that actually got to do the ministering. She was facilitating her young child as a light in these people’s lives. I have some thinking to do. I’m not sure if this will be the exact route we take, but it is food for thought.
I try to help my girls, especially Kate, since she’s old enough to start understanding, do some things that are for others. She helps me make food for Justin’s students and colleagues. We went Christmas caroling in December and other small things through out the year. We try to discuss these things and how they make people feel with her, but there’s a lack of the on going. I want the girls to always be on the look out for ways to do for those around them. I want compassion to be such a part of them that it’s always there.
I know that this unabashed compassion has repercussions. It can cause anguish. You can see every need around you, even those things you can do nothing about. It can cause you to be taken advantage of. But truly, if that is the worst, isn’t it more than worth the cost? If I am taken advantage of, am I truly the fool? I don’t think so.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)
We are to give what they ask for and even more. And there are, of course, the warnings that we may be “entertaining angels unawares” and Jesus’ story of the sheep and goats (Matthew 25:41-46). We never know whose needs we are meeting and the life effects that our kindness will have not only on others, but on ourselves as well.
Speaking of Compassion—here’s a place to get involved if you’re looking. You can sponsor a child, paying for their needs (such as educational costs, medical care, and the opportunity to learn about Jesus), writing to the child, and praying for him or her. It’s a great program.
