BOOK MEME

I found this on Rebecca's blog..looks like fun...

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open it to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

The sentence I had was "May I have this dance?" he would ask, offering my mother his outstreached hand.

from the book SAVING ERASMUS by Steven Cleaver, which i didn't finish reading b/c it got a little wierd and i was starting to get a tad bored with it.

durn, no special meanings in that one, to apply to my life, not like yours Rebecca.


I tag;
Heidi and Korinne

What are you??

Here's a quick fun test you can take to see what your personality is like: are you a lion, a golden retriever, an otter, or a beaver? Do it with your other half to see what they are like. Ken and I had a great discussion after doing the test.

I am a golden retriever apparently and Ken is a beaver and a golden retriever, which explains why neither of us are great at making decisions. not ideal, i know!!!

I would be really interested to find out what you are, if you do the test.

post number two: Oh how I hate Halloween

Okay, I was just reading Heidi's blog (and yay, i finally figured out how to do the links) about how she hates Halloween and it reminded me of my trip to the mall yesterday, so I just wanted to share my feelings with you, unburden myself so to speak...

oh how i hate Halloween!!!!! i'll say it again, just in case you weren't clear the first time...I hate!NO...... I loath Halloween!!! I don't actually remembering hating it until the last couple of years! Before it was always about getting candy and the gruesome decorations didn't really bother me all that much, although i'm not sure they used to be as gruesome as they are now. So, I don't know if it's having a child that's made me more sensitive or if it's age or what. But I do know that when I walked into the mall yesterday, I just wanted to walk right back out and I would have if I hadn't needed to get a present for my sister, whose birthday happens to be on Halloween. Seriously, i think the way this particular mall decorates for Halloween is reprehensible. I mean do these people not realize that a lot of young kids will be in the mall with their moms?? What young kid is not going to be scared by vampires and bodies in coffins and life size grim reapers and scary looking witches and blood. I mean these are images that can stick in their heads and give them nightmares. And i even wonder what it can do to them on the spirtual level. Anyway, I figure if it gives me the willies and I just feel heavy and blah and depressed when i'm in this mall then what must it do to the kids. Since being there yesterday, I have been toying with writing a letter to mall managment, because it really, really does bother me.

Why do we do this as a culture? What is fun about being surrounded by all these portraits of evil and death once a year? More and more I just don't get it.

Next year could we please just skip October and go right to November!!!

Humbled

I was humbled today upon receiving a letter from my sponsor child in which she wrote we "sometimes go to help a needy person in their villages," when telling me some of the things she does. I was humbled because here is a child who already has so little, yet she, is reaching out to those who are needy. She herself is needy! Yet she is learning to give in spite of her need. Wow, what a lesson to be learned. I often look to have my needs met first, before then reaching out to others. Or I feel that I can't because I too am broken. But, I think what I am learning is that Jesus can use me all the more when I am broken, because when I am broken I lean on him, and he makes me whole and therefore I can reach out b/c he can. I just need to be willing. And what about with money, especially with all this talk about a financial crisis. If I have only a little, do I wait until I have more to give or do I give with the little I have trusting that God will meet the needs I have? I think I know the answer to that, but it's not always so easy to walk out and I'm seeing more and more how really tight fisted I am.

To conclude, I came across this post on a compassion blog, which also humbled me!

One Million Prayers
Written by: Amber Van Schooneveld
Whenever we pay attention to just the news and not God’s Word, it can get depressing, can’t it?! Headlines with doom-filled words like depression and recession and deflation are daunting.
But I recently got an e-mail from our senior vice president of international program, and he included this verse, which helped me take a long deep breath. (I hold my breath when I get stressed. Bad habit.)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
The peace of God. Exhale.
Which transcends all understanding (even that of economic forecasters). Inhale.
Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Exhale.
We are guarded, we are protected by God. We don’t know what will happen in this world or with this economy, but we do know that God has us in his hands. And as David Dahlin reminded us, we have the prayers of a million children surrounding us. All our church partners around the world and all Compassion-assisted children have been asked to pray. To pray for God’s peace, provision, security, direction and wisdom for us. Can you imagine? I’m humbled right down to my marrow.
A colleague from Kenya, Barrack, shared this message recently:
Throughout the chaos of our economic situation, we should not worry because Compassion will be protected. Although Compassion is accustomed to helping the children, during this season it will be the prayers and the tears of the children that will protect Compassion.
Wow. Talk about a cloud of witnesses surrounding us. I can think of no better prayer partner. With these little brothers and sisters, let us throw off everything that hinders us and, holding their small hands, run with perseverance, our eyes fixed on Jesus.

And here is what love is

I have recently seen love in action. I have seen a community of believers rise up and surround my sister with love and practical care in her time of need.

I saw a friend stay tirelessly by her side while she was in the hospital, using her knowledge as a nurse to help her with the physical aspects of her illness coupled with her c-section and assisting in the adjustment of taking care of two babies.

And now that she is back home there is an army of people assigned to bring meals, to clean, to do laundry, to do night feedings. This, to me, is a shining example of what the body of christ can be like.

It is acts like these that restores my faith in my faith, if that makes any sense at all. It is really inspiring to see people moved to action on the behalf of another. I only hope to see more of this occur and I only hope that I myself will rise to the challenge that this presents to me. To walk out my faith in such a manner as this. To reach out when i see a need, to not just ignore and walk by. To pray with fervor, not as if I'm filling out a shopping list. To love, even though it may hurt me in the end.

My new nephews

My two new nephews:) So very cute! Pretty good sizes for twins. One was 7pounds 11oz and the other was 6pounds 9oz. They are healthy and well. My sister on the other hand did not fair so well and ended up with a very rare condition called Hellp syndrome. She did pull through and after a week in the hospital is back home, but it was a little scary for awhile. I attribute her recovery to all the prayers sent up on her behalf.

Anyway, so i'm very excited to have two new nephews. I'm sure Joshua will be too, once they get older:) And I might be doing night duty with them Saturday night, so I'll get to remember what it's like to have a newborn:) Can't wait:)

Abortion

I've written before on my feelings around abortion and I recently took a course through crisis pregnancy centre's where i'm hoping to volunteer in some capacity. Anyhow, this course got me spending some more time researching abortion and I came to a site that had a list of quotes from doctors who had performed abortions and every single one of these doctors admitted that they participated in killing a baby, a life---very interesting, also very hard reading because it's very descriptive. http://www.abortionfacts.com/providers/quotes.asp (in case you are interested in reading it for yourself). I read these quotes and I felt such pain for the poor, helpless, babies, for the deceived women, for society as a whole that allows this kind of thing to go on. And i feel a very real anger at the people who continually proclaim that this is harmless, that it doesn't hurt women, that a baby is not a life and is not worth anything, is not valuable (how can something so miraculous, so precious, be not valuable. why are our adult lives deemed so much more valuable?), that it doesn't feel pain(which is not true and according to a doctor who spoke with us at the training center it is actually possible that the babies feel more pain the younger they are--i can't remember why that is though--sorry). I also feel so helpless and that makes me feel angry too. For there seems to be so little that we can do . The help that is provided for women in tough situations seems so little, the voices against abortion so weak, and the oppostion to life so strong.