Missions Weeks | Page 2 | Minivans Are Hot

August 25, 2009 by Kelli

I was a little late in getting my requests out to the people I want to feature this week so I’m still gathering the information I need for the rest of the features. I was planning on this being my last post of the week, but I’ve decided to post it today in order to keep up the Missions Week flow.

Perhaps the most important mission any of us will ever experience is that of parenthood. Now, I realize that not everyone who reads this blog is a parent, but a majority of you are, or will be someday.

I am living my mission field every single day. And while I have deep desires to be more involved in missions outside of my home (and, truthfully, outside of my country) for now, this is where God has me.

Lee and I work really hard to support one another as the missionaries of our own little battlefield. And I call it that because every day we are waging a spiritual battle for our children. We are their intercessors at this point in their tiny lives.

Well, and also because, if you’ve spent any time with Sloan and Tia you know that it really can feel like an actual battlefield around here. They are the best of friends, but oooh m’goodness…

Each morning, before he leaves for work, Lee prays over our children. He speaks blessing over them. And he rarely forgets. Unless he has to leave the house before they wake up, he blesses them before walking out the door.

The kids have come to so expect and look forward to this that on the rare mornings when Lee forgets or is in a rush, they remind him to bless them before leaving.

It looks a little like this:

Summer '09 146

Summer '09 147

The reason I don’t have a shot of him praying over Sloan is because the day I took these, Sloan had already left for school.

Lee and I are working hard to establish in our children the idea that there really is no place like home. We want them to know that home is safe, home is a place where they will experience blessing and love. We want them to know that no matter what happens in life, they can always return to the comfort of home.

As Laura Ingalls said in the first episode of Little House on the Prairie, “Home is the nicest word there is.”

Season 1, Episode 1 – Harvest of Friends…Yes, I’m a geek, but didn’t that little bit of TV knowledge fit perfectly with what I’m trying to say today? You. are. welcome.

Aaaaanyhooo…

I’m so thankful for a husband who is willing to take his role as leader of our family seriously. Praying blessing over our children is not something that comes naturally to me. I have a hard time with it and so I am grateful for my husband, who so naturally speaks the blessings of God over our children.

His prayers over them usually go something like this:

Lord, I pray for Sloan today. I pray that you reign down your blessings upon him – that you go before him as he goes about his day. I pray that he would know how loved he is today, not just by his family, but by you, God. I pray that you would give him a spirit of peace and of obedience. I pray that he would be a leader in his class today. Lord, we thank you for Sloan and the blessing he is in our lives…

And that’s all there is to it. It takes less than a minute, but the impact is eternal.

I would encourage all of you to take the time in your days to speak blessings over your children. If, like me, it doesn’t come naturally, then I urge you to pray for them on your own. We are in a time and age when our children’s generation could potentially suffer greatly. We need to be paving the way ahead of them with our faithful prayers.

So today’s mission focus is the family. May you all be encouraged…

Compassion International

August 24, 2009 by Kelli

I’ve written about Compassion International before, and they are a large organization, so what I’m going to tell you may not be new information, but it is information that bears repeating.

I love this organization. They are well run, well led and are really making a huge impact worldwide in children’s lives.

I’ve been to areas of the world where poverty runs rampant. I’ve seen children living in conditions that are heart-wrenching, filthy and, seemingly, destitute. I’ve looked into the eyes of children who have nothing and I’ve listened to their sweet voices, all inflected with the same innocence that my own children possess. Here or there, rich or poor, children are still children and they need love, care and…well, compassion.

So what exactly does Compassion International do? I’m so glad you asked! Because that’s why I’m writing up this little feature. To tell you what they do…

The better question to ask, though, is probably what doesn’t Compassion International do? From their Child Survival Program, where they provide prenatal care to pregnant mothers and offer preventative medications to children to give them the healthiest life possible, to their Child Sponsorship Program, where they offer children the funds to receive educational, spiritual and vocational training so that those same children can grow into self-sustaining adults, to the Leadership Development Program, which allows those excelling in high school who have a desire to pursue post-secondary education the opportunity to do so through help in funding – through all of these amazing programs, Compassion is changing the world.

Have any of you ever looked into the eyes of someone who has lost hope? Have you ever seen the hollow chasm of a lost future? It’s so easy to forget that there is a world of desperation out there. But, through organizations like Compassion International (and another group that I’ll tell you about in a couple of days…oh, I can’t wait!) there are simple and easy ways that you and I can help be a part of this global impact.

Do you realize what I’m saying? With minimal effort, you can restore hope to a child who’s lost the spark? It takes a few short minutes to sign up and requires a fraction of a fraction of your monthly income. And just like that, a life is changed.

The Stuart family have been a child sponsor for a couple of months now and I will testify to the fact that it is immensely fulfilling to know that 6-year-old Jonri in Indonesia now has opportunity that he did not have before. I love hearing our kids pray for him at dinner time. I don’t love them fighting over who gets to sit “next” to him (his picture is on the fridge) but I’ll take it because it means they’ve embraced the concept. It’s very sweet to watch them get the idea of blessing others out of the abundance with which we ourselves have been blessed.

Another thing about Compassion that has impressed me is their spectacular use of social media. The internet is used to bring so much pain, so much destruction, so much hurt to the world. But Compassion is using the internet to the glory of God.

Through their Compassion International Bloggers, Compassion is reaching a whole new world and generation with their mission for changing children’s lives. They are using new media brilliantly and with great intention. And, by doing so, they have expanded their message tenfold. And I believe God is blessing the ministry because of their faithful obedience to Him.

To get more information about Compassion International and child sponsorship, visit their website. You can also follow them on Twitter at @compassion or follow Shaun Groves (@theshaungroves), who is their Blogger Relationship Manager and fields the blogger trips to compassion sponsored areas. The next trip they will take is to El Salvador and two of the bloggers going on that trip are Kelly and Dana, two fantastic bloggy ladies who will do a spectacular job of spreading Compassion’s message even further.

(Incidentally, Shaun and I are both graduates of Baylor where we both participated in Baylor Religious Hour Choir. Shaun graduated a few years before me, so we never met, but this practically makes us related, so I feel like I can write about him as though he’s my BFF – even though he doesn’t know me from Adam. Is that kind of creepy? No? It’s fine you say? Great – so go visit my BFF, Shaun’s site, and learn more about him and about Compassion!)

Compassion International is a great organization to be involved in, if you are looking for a way to live out your faith tangibly. If you’re still not sure, jump over to their site (I’ve left you about a thousand links in this post so you should be able to find your way over there for more information).

Or you can keep checking back all week this week to find other people and organizations that you can be involved in. But, no matter what, may you all leave your computers encouraged to know that there are ways that you, too, can make an impact on the kingdom of heaven – both great and small!

May you have a blessed day…