The Desires of Our Heart

I love how God cares about the "little details" of our lives!  He recently demonstrated His love in a very special way for me in child sponsorship.

Next year I have the opportunity to go on an all expenses paid missions trip to either Mexico or Guatemala, and when I go, I wanted to have a sponsored or correspondent child to visit.  Since I didn't have children from either of those countries yet, and since I didn't know which country to choose, I contacted Compassion and requested another correspondent child from one of those two countries, and left it up to the Lord to direct my way.

Meanwhile, I headed over to Compassion's website to look over the kids who needed sponsors and read their stories. I couldn't afford to take on another financial sponsorship, but was just interested in seeing the children from those countries.  As I browsed through the pages, one girl jumped off the site at me, and I longed to be able to sponsor her.  I kept going back to her profile, but knew that I simply could not sponsor her... it was a closed door, and I just had to be content with the children that I already have, and content with the child that the Lord would give me for my new correspondence sponsorship.

And so I waited. A week passed.  And one evening after getting out of my last class for the day, I happened to log onto my account, and there was my new child...  a beautiful girl from Guatemala!  I loved her immediately, and now I knew which country I wanted to choose for the missions trip.

I shared my good news with some other sponsor friends, and when one of them remarked, "I saw her on the website a few weeks ago!"  I suddenly REMEMBERED!!!  This was the same girl that God highlighted to me when I was looking at all the children from Guatemala and Mexico!!!!!  Oh. My. Goodness.  What are the odds of THAT happening!!!  The kindness and love of the Lord to care about even these little details just blew me away, and still bring tears to my eyes.  He cares about the desires of our heart! 

So now, I am looking forward to establishing a relationship with this precious, 16 year old girl, Jhenifer, before I get to see her next year...

Easter Letter - The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for His Sheep

Resurrection Sunday is coming!  For my Easter letter to my kids this year, I'm sharing my testimony of receiving Jesus as my Savoir.  I used a sheep theme for my stationery, and wrote about Jesus being the good Shepherd to rescue His sheep.

I love sharing beautiful art with my kids, so here is the shepherd picture I included with this letter... I love the vivid imagery.  I love also how it depicts the rescue in progress... there's nothing passive about this!

"I am the good Shepherd;

I know My sheep,

and My sheep

know Me—

just as the Father

knows Me

and I know the Father—

and I lay My life down

for the sheep."

John 10:14-15

I was only 5 years old, but I still can vividly remember that night after Bible time when mom shared the salvation message with me from John 3:16... "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."  There by my bed, I prayed to invite Jesus into my heart.  I was ridiculously annoyed right afterwards at my 3 year old brother "Stevie," because he "copied" my prayer... lol... annoyed as only a 5 year old child can be. My mom calmed my protests and reassured me that it was fine for Stevie to copy my prayer and invite Jesus to be his Savior too.  Each of my siblings and my kids prayed this when they were only 3-5 years old... that's not too young!

I also shared about when I was baptized as a 9 year old child, and also shared a few family baptism stories as well.  My husband became a Christian as a young adult, and was baptized in a frog pond!  But I especially loved recounting the miracle story of my grandmother's baptism.

Babushka grew up in Russia, and when she understood the gospel and accepted Jesus as her Savior, she wanted to be baptized. In spite of the icy winter weather, she and the others from her church walked through the snow to the nearby river, broke the ice and were baptized!! I love the determination and boldness that was shown in following Christ... they didn't want to wait till it was "comfortable" to do so!  The miracle happened as they walked back to the church... God enveloped each of them in His Presence, keeping them warm and protected from the cold while they were soaking wet. I still remember the way Babushka's eyes lit up as she recounted the treasured memory to me, holding her arms as if she could still feel God's Presence wrapped around her like a cloak.  It was such a testimony to her and the others of God's loving care and protection for them personally, and of course, there's nothing like experiencing God's Presence personally.

I included these photos of Babushka... the one above was of her as a young woman with little children.  My mom is the youngest of the girls in the picture.  :o)  This other picture is of me with Babushka the last time I saw her before she died.  My mom and I flew down to California to help take care of Babushka for a week there in her cabin home in the mountains before she died several weeks later.  It's hard to believe that it's been about 17 years already that she has been home in heaven! 

Here is a wonderful coloring page of the shepherd rescuing the sheep   that I included...

I also asked my kids if they have asked Jesus to be their Savior yet, and said that I would love to hear their story. 

"I have other sheep

that are not of this sheep pen.

I must bring them also.

They too will listen to My voice,

and there shall be one flock

and one shepherd.

The reason my Father loves Me

is that I lay down My life—

only to take it up again.

No one takes it from Me,

but I lay it down of My own accord.

I have authority to lay it down

and authority to take it up again.

This command I received from my Father.” 

John 10:16-18

If you haven't written your Easter letter to your sponsored child yet, consider doing so this weekend, and be encouraged to share your testimony!  Let's pray for salvation for all our "little lambs."

Little Winter Birds

 
I love finding other uses for all these gorgeous Christmas cards that are on sale!  Last year I did a winter letter for my sponsored kids on snowflakes, sharing with them how God has made them specially unique and  amazing, just like each snowflake He designs.  When I found this delightful winter robin card on clearance last year, I started planning to do a special "God Cares for the Little Birds & He Cares for You" themed letter this winter, picking up on the truths Jesus expressed in the Gospels when He talked about the little birds that God cares for so faithfully:

Behold the birds of the air; 

they neither sow nor reap 

nor gather into barns, 

and yet God in heaven feeds them. 

Are you not of more value than they? 

And can any of you by worrying 

add a single hour to your span of life?  

Matthew 6:26 

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? 

And not one of them falls to the ground 

apart from your Father's will.  

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 

 Do not fear therefore; 

you are of more value than many sparrows. 

Matthew 10:29-31

Now that Christmas is past and I have a few days before school starts back up, it's time to put this letter all together and off in the mail! The good news is that this card is available again this year through Family Christian Bookstores.  :o)  I used my set of mini alphabet stamps to emboss "God cares for _______" with the child's name on each card, and in their language whenever possible, and the child's small photo covers up the greeting on the outside of the card.  These child photos shown here are about half the size of a wallet photo... I put 4 of them on a 4x6 size canvas in Photoshop, and saved the whole thing as a single photo to print off at Costco.  If you have your own printer and can do photo prints, then that's all the better.

The inside of the card is beautifully designed too, and I will write the verses and greeting on the inside top flap.  I'm using a photo to cover up the Christmas greeting on the bottom half of the card... and yes, I specially wore the wintry red sweater and posed in front of the red twig dogwood on purpose for this card.  :o)  The envelope is also so beautiful, that I'm going to use it for the kids to store some special bird printables that I will show you in a second.

I received so many new correspondent children this fall and winter (YAY!!!) that I needed to get a second box of cards.  :o)   I found this equally wonderful Christmas bird card at Family Christian Bookstores... and the extra special part about this card is the cut out window that frames a wallet sized photo perfectly! So there you have it... at least two beautiful Christmas cards with bird designs to choose from for your winter bird themed letter.  I don't know which I like better, because they are both so incredibly beautiful.

I've found a number of very special paper printables to go along with this letter.  For starters, loonapix has a wonderful winter bird photo frame for making up a special photo print.  You can print these out as a mini poster on 8.5 x 11' paper, and write on it, "God cares for you, and so do I" or some similar sentiment.

Here's the link: Loonapix Winter Bird

Here are the loveliest paper bird designs for ornaments, tags, mobiles, or swags that I've ever seen.  There are three pages total, making a dozen different birds.  Print these on a nice card stock, and if you want them to be printed on both sides, then print each page twice, one time flipping it in reverse, and then you can cut them out and glue them back to back for your child. Many thanks to Rebecca for sharing her delightfully wonderful artwork with us!!

Watercolor Winter Birds

 

 

Here are some other lovely printable birds...

  

Winter Birds

 The Toymaker's Bluebirds of Happiness

 

The Toymaker's Little Redbirds

Okay, here's even a little bird airplane for your little boys...

 Little Bird Airplanes 

  

Friends Across America has beautiful realistic coloring pages of each of the state birds.  I discovered that several states claim the same bird!  While the scenes are not winter scenes, I still love these coloring pages.  Follow this link, and on the lower right hand corner you will find links for each state.  Choose your own state bird, as well as other birds that you get to see... and maybe throw in a few that you wish you could see where you live.  For me, it's the cardinal...  I've never seen one here in Washington state.   http://www.friendsacrossamerica.com/colorpagesamerica.html

And here's a different wintry robin coloring page that I liked.  Winter Robin Coloring Page

Don't forget posters!  Here are some free pdf files to download and print out.  This one offers both eastern and western birds of North America.  Free Printable Bird Posters

 

Or there is this free one of winter birds to print out...  Free Printable Poster of Winter Birds









And finally, puzzles.  :o)  At the Dollar Tree, I found this lovely puzzle of winter birds at a bird feeder that I'm sending to the children.  I'm thinking of writing about the birds that I see in my yard in the winter, and that not only are they delightful to watch, but they also offer a blessing by eating lots of harmful bugs.  Ask your child what birds they see... maybe they see the same ones you do at a different time of year.  You might enjoy looking up to see where your favorite birds migrate, and find a couple of interesting facts to share about these beautiful creatures that God has made for our benefit.

 

Well, this is what I'll be working on this week... enjoy the ideas for putting together your own winter bird themed letter, and if you find any special printable bird treasures, activities or thoughts to suggest, please leave your ideas in the comments!  I would love to hear them.  :o)   Above all, let your sponsored child know what a treasure they are to God... that just as one single bird doesn't fall to the ground with His knowledge or permission, so each child is known and cared for by God.

Blessings,

Friend of the Poor

Four years ago while waiting to make some purchases for Christmas gifts at Family Bookstores, I glanced down at the table next to me of World Vision children's packets waiting for sponsors... and the first child I looked at had my birthday.  I always wanted to sponsor a child, and while I wasn't sure this was the one for me, it definitely grabbed hold of my heart to do something about it... now.  After some discussion with the gal at the counter, she logged me onto the website for me to search for a child... and the second child that came up on the screen was Dora.

And I instantly knew. 

Even now, four years later, this picture brings tears to my eyes, leaves me breathless with a sweet tenderness, and makes my heart sing.  There's nothing quite like that amazing surge of love that God gives for a new sponsored child!  I felt like heaven just open up and poured down love all over me for this precious sweetie.  I could hardly wait for her to show up on my account so that I could email her...  her birthday, and mine! were just days away, and I was sure that the staff at the other end would hurry to print out that letter and dash it off to her in time.  LOL... little did I know the patience I would have to grow in for dealing with communication to a child in a third world country.  But that's a story for another time.

I've had nearly 4 years of growing in a relationship with Dora.  While the letters took an exasperatingly slow time to arrive because of her remote location, I cherish her letters.  Since that first photo of the little 9 year old girl, she has grown into a lovely young teen.

I'm sitting here with a stack of her letters and photos from over the years, thumbing through them, reading again my glimpse into this dear girl's world and the changes that have occurred.  Her heart has been knit to mine from her first letter where she introduced herself to me, "My name is Dora, and I'm very beautiful..."  :o)  to one of her most recent, "You are a gift from God to me as my loving sponsor... thanks for giving me your unconditional love.  You are very important for me, and you make me feel like a very special girl. Thank you for making me part of your family like you have been part of ours.  I will always pray for you.  I love you very much!" 

It's an incredibly bittersweet time for me right now, because her project is now closing... the goals have been accomplished for this community to be on their feet and supporting themselves.  So that's a good thing.  Dora has written several times now of her interest in school government, which World Vision helped to facilitate, and she has written of changes in her community...  "Now we have dignified households, and we are healthier and have a better hygiene.  We go to school, and thanks to God for people like you, we are thriving."  Those words warm my heart knowing that she is being so blessed.

What's hard is knowing that the time for our relationship has ended.  I wrote my final letter to Dora this last week, and sent off all the final gift packages for Christmas, her birthday, and end-of-sponsorship gifts.  And I still felt a little lost... she's still in my prayers, and always will be, but well, I do miss having the privilege of communicating with her. Another child was suggested for me to take Dora's place, but after consideration and prayer, I was directed to a Compassion child from Dora's country.  Welcome with me this precious sweet girl, Daniela...  

Daniela's father has died, and her mother tries to provide for her two daughters by washing clothes for others.  We really don't have much to complain about, do we?!  Tears spring to my eyes all over again as I look at the picture of this precious child, and she too leaves me breathless with a sweet tenderness and makes my heart sing.  I've already written her three letters...  ;o)  and am quickly putting together some little gifts that will be hand-delivered by another sponsor who will be visiting her country in a few weeks.

Last week I was also blessed with a part-time job at Family Bookstores, the same one where I first sponsored Dora.  I am just so overwhelmed with the favor and kindness of the Lord in providing this for me so I can fulfill my part to provide for these sweeties.  As an incredible bonus, I get to advocate for children in poverty right on my job!  Each employee also chooses one or more of the children's packets to pray for these children and their future sponsors... I just am so incredibly blessed to be part of a company that has such a heart for the widow, the orphan, and the poor!!!

I am praying, hoping, and planning to go on a Compassion sponsor tour next summer to visit Daniela, and Lord willing, I will still be able to visit Dora even though her project is closing.  In one of Dora's letters from this summer, she wrote,  "I pray every day to God for the opportunity He gives us both to stay in touch through letters, and maybe one day we can talk together and you could come to my country."  I'm coming just as quickly as I can, and can hardly wait to hug both of these dear sweethearts.

I recently found this clip of another sponsor's visit to her child in Latin America, with the song, "Friend of the Poor."  I invite you to watch this, and listen to this moving song over again as you read on here to the rest of this blog post.

It is such a privilege not only to personally sponsor children in poverty and help to change their story, but to also advocate for others.  Would you consider being a "friend of the poor" to one of these children?

Prajakta

Little Prajakta is turning 5 years old this Saturday, November 10, and I think receiving a sponsor would be an incredible birthday gift for her and her family!  Try to imagine the setting for this little girl who loves to play with dolls... homes have cow dung floors, plastic sheet walls, and hay roofs. Well, I can't imagine having to raise a child in these conditions, or having to live in them myself either, for that matter!  Prajakta lives in India with both her parents and one sibling, and her father is sometimes employed as a laborer, earning the equivalent of $35/month.  Remember, for that $35/month that the daddy is able to earn, they get a home with cow dung floors, plastic walls, and a hay roof.  But the good news is that for a little over $1/day, you can sponsor Prajakta, and you can change her story. Her project is IN267, and I have her packet until 12/7/12.

Ariyando

Ariyando is 7 years old, his birthday is May 2, 2005, and he lives in Indonesia with both his parents and two other siblings.  His father is employed as a farmer, and Ariyando helps at home by caring for animals, running errands and cleaning.  He enjoys playing with cars, listening to music, and playing group games.  Typical homes have dirt floors, brick walls, and thatched roofs, and the average wage for the subsistence farmers in his community is $32/month.  His project is IO669, and I have his packet until 11/16/12.  Will you be a friend to this one who is poor?

Mangesh

I've saved a very special boy for last... and one hard part about being an advocate is that there's so many that I want to sponsor myself!  Many Compassion sponsors have a huge heart for some very needy projects in India, specifically IN860 and IN864.  This boy's project is IN864...  and I have his packet until 12/7/12.  Mangesh  just had his 8th birthday this week, (11/2/04), and he has been waiting over 7 months for a sponsor... that is a very long time for a young child to wait!  Mangesh lives with both his parents and two other siblings, and he helps by carrying water.  He enjoys playing hide-and-seek and other group games...  kind of sounds like there isn't much in the way of actual toys to play with, does it?  His father is sometimes employed as a laborer earning the equivalent of $70/month.  Typical homes are made of dirt or cement floors, tin, bamboo or cardboard walls, and tin, plastic sheet or cadboard roofs.  This is poverty that most of us here in the US will never face let alone even see. Will you be the one to extend hands of blessing in the name of Jesus to this boy and his family? 

I speak blessing over you as you minister to others in Jesus' name, and change their story, one by one.

With blessings,

Autumn Leaves

It's that beautiful time of year again when the leaves are turning brilliant hues of reds, oranges, golds, and russets...  I love it!  This week I've been eying the glorious beauty from individual leaves to entire tree-lined streets that have burst into flaming colors.  And like last year, I've been thinking of what special projects to do with these beauties for writing to my sponsored kids... that is, after I finish getting all my Christmas packages off in the mail!  But while the leaves are beautiful, now is the time to go collecting some and pressing them for future projects.

I loved doing all kinds of fall leaf projects with my boys when they were children... leaf crowns, leaf rubbings, leaf prints, pressed leaves... and taking many autumn walks while singing special childhood autumn songs together, such as these two which were my favorites... 

"Many days are bright in October,

There is happiness in the air!

Red and yellow leaves from the autumn trees 

Are drifting everywhere..."

"Come little leaves said the Wind one day,

Come o'er the meadow with me and play.

Put on your dresses of red and gold,

For summer has past and the days grow cold.

Dancing and skipping the little leaves went..."

Last year after hearing of the leaf projects of some sponsor friends who were laminating leaves for their kids, I was once again inspired, and decided to make leaf cards for my sweeties.  One friend told how she went out into the yard (and into the neighbors' yards) in her pajamas hunting in the dark for for the perfect maple leaves that could be laminated and sent... I had to laugh, because I pretty much did the same thing... it was already pitch dark when I impulsively decided I wanted to do this project "now!", so I was out in the front yard, furtively trying to pick "good" leaves off my Sunset Maple tree and the Pin Oak trees along the driveway, waiting in-between cars going by so no one would see me!  

After pressing the leaves between pages of an extra telephone book for several days until dry, I glued the leaves directly onto the cards... but then I didn't know whether they would get buggy, moldy or ruined in time, especially considering that sponsored kids keep their letters "forever."  I ended up sending them to some good friends that I knew would enjoy them for the moment, but who weren't likely to hang onto them indefinitely... and saved one as an experiment to see how it held up after a year.  Well, I have good news!  It's still beautiful!!! 
It's pictured here on a placemat... though I would love a design like that for a border.  :o)

 
I ended up making this version that I actually sent to the kids...  I picked some more leaves to use fresh for making leaf prints.  It was a bit tricky, and not quite as simple as using a rubber stamp, but they still came out beautiful.  I sprinkled embossing powder on the wet ink and dried it with an embossing gun for the finishing touch... and also did the same for each child's name, using a miniature set of alphabet stamps that I bought at Michael's for $1.  I googled for other images to print out and add to my card... I especially love Beatrix Potter's squirrels and bunnies, so for these fall cards I added squirrels throughout the card/booklet.  

And when I received other correspondence children after I made my first batch of cards, I found some lovely leaf stickers to use with my leaf prints... here on this card, the leaves and letters of the child's name look like they are tumbling in the wind.

Several pages of cardstock were stapled inside the card to make it a booklet, since the information I received from Compassion is that staples are ok to use for attaching our own artwork... I hope that is still true!  Each page featured some of Beatrix's Potters squirrels, and I used a miniature paw print rubber stamp to create a trail wandering across all the pages as if squirrels had scampered there.

The center spread had a map with the child's photo and mine positioned approximately where we each live.  I couldn't find the exact maps that I used for these projects last year, but found two lovely old style ones that are free to use, and are high quality for printing... they are the last two maps posted on the link.  Here is one of them:

Old Style Maps

And then of course, I added in several photos of family and the autumn scenery for our neck of the woods, talked about walks I was taking and little forest animals I had seen, and wrote the words of one of those favorite autumn songs. And I shared with each child that watching the changing of the seasons reminds me again that God is always faithful to keep His promises:

“While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

winter and summer,

and day and night

shall not cease.”

Genesis 8:22

I found some lovely activity enclosures that went with my autumn theme...  woodland animal finger puppets for the little ones, and 3D critters for the older kids to assemble.

Forest Friends Finger Puppets

 

 

3D Chipmunk

3D Raccoon

And here are a few coloring pages of squirrels, some for the older kids, and others for the younger ones:

Texas Fox Squirrel

  Squirrel Coloring Page

Squirrel Family Coloring Page

Playful Squirrels Coloring Page
 

Here's one squirrel maze...
there's many more to choose from by googling!

Add caption

Acorn Maze 

Since I did this project last autumn for my kids, and did it again in the winter for three other new ones, I've received... hmmmm... it looks like EIGHT more new children!   So I want to do this again for all these new sweeties.  :o)  Be encouraged to try your own version of a special autumn card for your sponsored child...  whether you try pressing leaves, or take a photo of some beautiful ones, or color a leaf design of your own, your letter, card, booklet, or lapbook will be a cherished keepsake. :o)