It's been a while

It has been a while since I really have written anything of substance on my blog. I can't say I will be any time soon either.

I just have been going about my day and reevaluating many things and keeping my thoughts to myself.  I think sometimes when I let my thoughts go public too much, I try to cater them to what I think they should be and I think so much about what I am thinking, that I sometimes stop my own growth.

One thing I have pondered much lately is my love of autumn and in all the beauty of seasons in general.  For me, the change of seasons always signals a change in me - a change in activities, a change in pace, a change in perspective.  I am so thankful for this time of change, so thankful that I live in a place that has 4 beautifully distinct seasons.  I have been planning on getting some leaves and laminating them for Elias and Xiomara, because they have never seen leaves that have changed colors.  Can you imagine not getting to see the majestic beauty of trees that look like they are glowing with reds, oranges, and golds?  But the changing leaves remind me of how fast the seasons of our lives go.  If we don't catch the beauty of it when it is at its peak, we can never really get it back again.

I need to live this season, love this season, and learn from this season. I need to do what I feel God is prompting my heart to do in the moments he asks me to do them before those moments slip away.

Whenever I think of the colors of fall, it reminds me of a song that a dear friend and our pastor used to sing together.  It is by the group Acappella and Petra remade it, but I think Donny and Michael sang it better.   I couldn't find the Acappella version online, but I did find the Petra version.  The video is cheesy, but the lyrics are below, so you can just read them hear, while listening!

Hope you enjoy it and all the colors that God has given to us!

Coloring Song

Red is the color of the blood that flows
Down the face of one who loves us so
He's the perfect man, He's the Lord's own son
He's the Lamb of God; He's the only one
That can give us life, that can make us grow
That can make the love between us flow 

Blue is the color of a heart so cold
That it will not bend when the story's told
Of the love of God for a sinful race
Of the blood that flowed down Jesus' face
That can give us life, that can make us grow
That can keep our hearts from growing cold

Gold is the color of the morning sun
That shines so freely on everyone
It's the sun above that keeps us warm
It's the Son of love who can calm the storm
He can give us life, that can make us grow
That can turn our mornings into gold (gold, gold)

Brown is the color of the autumn leaves
When the winter comes to the barren trees
There is birth, there is death, yes there is a plan
And there's just one God and there's just one Man
 
That can give us life, that can make us grow
That can make our sins as white as snow
That can turn our mornings into gold
That can keep our hearts from growing cold
That can make the love between us flow
Red is the color of the blood that flows

All I have to do today

Every day when start my day, I think, "Today will be the day that I feel caught up".  And then something breaks, I get put on hold too long, a child gets sick, and all my thoughts of finally feeling like I have accomplished enough to feel caught up vanish like a mist.
What is really necessary?  What is really beneficial? What does God want?  - Then Bella calls me from downstairs and says, "Mommy, can you come read to me?". Or as I grab a glass of tea, I catch sight of Elias and Xiomara smiling back at me from their pictures on the door and I remember kissing their soft cheeks and being in their world. Or I realize that I haven't really even looked at Josh all evening, as he walks into the bathroom to brush his teeth while I wash my face. Or I get a call from a friend who is really hurting and she could care less about the to do list for the day, because the crisis we all hope will never happen to us has truly struck her. I realize that most of the stuff that fills my day clutters not just my time, but my heart.  How do I reconcile the things that I jot down with a pen in my planner with the realization that it takes so much - so much time, so much of me, so much of life.  But even as I type this, I know that this is life and I want to live to my fullest and not leave myself wishing if only I had...
So today, I will do what I can and leave what I can't and love every person that I can along the way.  Because that is really all I have to do today.

Letters to unsponsored children

When I visited Peru, we often asked if the children had sponsors and if they received letters from them.  Even before the words came out of their mouths, I could almost always tell who received letters and who did not by the children's facial expressions.  If they received letters, their faces would light up, as if remembering all the words from their sponsors.  If they didn't have sponsors or didn't receive letters, their faces would instantly look a little sad and they would often drop their heads a few inches before they responded that they did not receive letters. 

So this Christmas, we all have an opportunity to give some of these children who do not receive letters a  chance to get a little bit extra joy - a letter from you. 

Below, I have copied and pasted Julie's blog.  She is an advocate who was with me on my trip to Peru.  Her blog gives instructions on how you can be part of this wonderful gift to unsponsored children.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last year the girls and I wrote letters to unsponsored children for Christmas. We wrote about 5 different letters and then photocopied each one 10 times. Then we mailed them off to Compassion with a note explaining that these were for unsponsored children...it's the only time of year you get to do this, and after meeting many unsponsored children in Peru, I know the kids who receive them must feel the love of Christ through the letters.

I just found out we can do this again! I would encourage you to do the same. It's an easy, easy way to touch the lives of children in other countries for very little cost.

Here are the guidelines:

1. Write a letter or card that would be received by boy or girl, young or old.

2. Include a cover letter explaining that the letters are for unsponsored children.

3. If you wish, specify which country you want your letters delivered to.

4. Mail the letters to

Atten: Laverne, Sponsor Correspondence Team

Compassion International

Colorado Springs, CO 80997

***Cards must be received by 11/30/2010, so mail them soon! ***
I'm so thankful for opportunities like this and hope you'll join me in blessing some kids.

I've just gotta ask...

Annet Ikoju is almost 7 years old and is from central Uganda. Her birthday is on November 22, & it would be an awesome birthday gift to get a sponsor by then! If you would like to start a relationship with Annet or would like more information about her, about sponsorship, or Compassion in general, please send me an email message or post a comment. When you sponsor Annet, for $38 a month, you are caring for her education and health care, as well as giving her a Christian community to have healthy social interaction and to learn about God.  As her sponsor, you can write letters, send pictures, provide her with gifts for her birthday and Christmas, and show her that she can be more than her environment tells her she can be.  I have shared a lot about sponsorship before, but if you would like more information, please feel free to ask.  Our scanner if not working, so I am unable to give you a picture of her on my blog, but if you would like to see her picture, I have one.

I also have child survival packets for a program located in Lima, the city where I spent most of my time while I was visiting Peru. Child survival sponsorship only costs $20 a month.  It is not  a one-on-one relationship, so sponsors do not have to write letters, but sponsors are sent periodic letters from mothers who are in the program, with pictures of them and their babies, and from the pastor of the church where the program is located.  Child survival provides mothers and children with health care, counseling, nutrition, and Christian fellowship within their community and much more.

Since Child Survival is fairly new to many people who may already be familiar with Compassion, I have included pictures from one of the child survival programs we visited while in Lima.

This class occurs at the church during the week.  Mothers bring their children and sit in with them to learn the information that they are to go home and review with their children on the days they are not at the program.  This gives them fundamental learning experiences and age-appropriate social interaction.

This is Julie and Gabriel, a mother and baby who are in the program.  We met them during one of the CSP home visits, which is a regular part of the child survival program.

These are materials that have been provided to the families from the CSP.  The mothers are required to put these in an area of their home where they provide interaction and stimulation for their babies.

More materials.  This is to encourage the families to "make space" for their children to develop, even in their very tight quarters.

This is Julie's front room and where she and her husband and baby sleep.  I am in the corner of the room.

This is their backyard, where Julie's nephew, who also lives with Julie with his mom, plays.

The view from Julie's house.

The classroom at the church.

These little ones who are part of the child survival program dressed in costumes to represent their traditional dress.

Since this little girl is part of the CSP, she will have a better chance to stay healthy and get a great start.  And she will be able to enter the traditional child sponsorship program when she is old enough.

I've found a supplier

I only have two of my Twinings Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Black Tea bags left.  If you weren't reading my blog way back when, to say that this is my all time favorite tea is an understatement.  This tea is so great, that when I heard that it was being discontinued (Twinings - WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!), I went onto Amazon and quickly bought a case of it while I was still able.  But now my supply has ran out.
I went on the internet in search of a tea that may be similar and like strands of light through the clouds, I say a picture on Amazon of the very box of tea that has been a part of my days for so long!  The joy I felt at actually having access to it was so great that I didn't even blink an eye at the price, which was twice what I normally paid.  I was willing to do what I had to do to restore order in my life!  So I proceeded to checkout, excited and expectant.  Then I saw the final cost and my jaw and heart fell at the same moment.  The mean-hearted, opportunistic supplier who had purposely bought out the rest of the supply to take advantage of poor saps like me who just WANT THE TEA BAD was charging $4.95 per box for shipping and handling.  This box weighs less than 2 ounces. 

So would anyone be willing to help me hunt "jdbot" down and do some Soprano-type negotiation?

*Disclaimer: Though the supplier is indeed being opportunistic, I may be a little overboard by actually calling he or she mean-hearted.  But if they really knew how much this tea meant to me, they would surely give it to me free, right?  So, if jdbot is out there, please have some love and let a person have some tea.

Summary of my day

So, I was thinking about how to jump back into this blogging thing again and I decided the best thing to do would just tell you about my day.

If I had to summarize it in one word, I would use the word cozy.

I woke up and knew today was going to be a cozy sort of day.  I normally can tell in the first 2-3 minutes after I wake up how my day will go and, sad-but-true, it often has more to do with my mood than what is happening around me.  Now, there are days that start off great and end lousy and vice versa, but for the majority, those first few minutes are a determining factor.

But instead of going play-by-play throughout my day, I will just highlight the aspects that made it cozy.
1. I listened to my kids talking before I got out of bed and realized how this sound, even the bickering, is part of our healthy, happy family.
2. I ate cocoa wheats for breakfast.  - Some of you may be saying, "What in the heck are cocoa wheats?" and others may be saying, "Why would anyone voluntarily eat that stuff?", but they have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  I don't eat them much as an adult, but as a child, they were a regular on our breakfast table - with a good dose of sugar, of course!  They not only warm my belly when I eat them, but they sort of warm my heart as well.
3. I put on a hooded sweatshirt and thick socks and enjoyed the smell of the rain.
4. I held Bella and smelled her hair and felt her fingers curl around mine and thought about what a beautiful girl God made and dreamed of the woman she would one day become.
5. I had to punish Bella for throwing a tantrum after school and I felt complete calm during her bad behavior and as I sat with her and explained why she had to be sent to her room.  It not only didn't stress me out, I was thankful to be able to have the time today to confront the situation effectively, since I am fairly sure it is coming from her mixed emotions about school & growing up (She's told me multiple times lately that she is not a baby anymore.).
6. Elias and Bella were playing on the computer, while I made chicken and dumplings for dinner. What could be more cozy than chicken and dumplings? - Hearing Elias' comment about something Bella said about the game - "That person can't be a daddy.  Daddy's aren't lazy, because they are always playing with their kids!". It is such a blessing to hear their thoughts about things when they aren't even being asked!
7. Elias and I worked on his homework and it was fun to see him know things he didn't know just one month ago and to see how empowered he feels by it.
8. I sat and read a book under a blanket, while Josh and Elias were making miniature ramps for miniature skateboards and Bella was playing school.
9. During devotions Elias said, "When I meet someone new, I ask them if they go to church anywhere and if they say no, I tell them a little bit about God and stuff."

When I think about all that I wanted my life to be when I was a kid, about the home I wanted to raise a family in, this is it.  Everything wrapped up into one makes me realize how blessed I am, but most of the blessing is in being able to realize it in the moment. 

So, that is what being unplugged has taught me...

Going Unplugged

I just wanted to check in and let anyone who may be wondering that I am still alive and kicking. After I went away to Michigan for a weekend and had some very nice hours "unplugged", I decided that I needed to do more of it.  So I took a week off of facebook and spent very little time on the computer otherwise.  The week off facebook ended Monday, but I enjoyed it, so I have not been getting onto the computer as much.  It is nice living in my own space, instead of cyberspace, for a while.