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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Won't You Help Me--Have Compassion

This week's post for Compassion is to write a letter from the view point of a sponsored child. Honestly I'm afraid I won't do this assignment justice but I will try. As of the writing of this post only 266 children need to be sponsored before the end of Sunday to meet the goal of 3,108.

We have sponsored a little boy named Raul from Dominic Republic in honor of Mollie's little friend with the same name. It happens that our sponsored child shares my birthday. I hope the following letter will convince you to go here Compassion and sponsor a child.

My name is Michelle. Thank you for being my sponsor. I liked the letter and picture you sent me. My parents don't live together anymore. They are divorced. I live with my Mom and siblings. My Mom works as a housekeeper when she can find a job. She doesn't make very much money. We live on about $150.00 a month. Although I'm not very old, I run the errands for my Mom. She trust me and she loves me.

 Our house is made of wood walls and roof and concrete floors. We do not have running water or electricity. We get our water from the local watering source and carry it home. We use it to drink, cook with and take baths. The weather is hot all year round. We get a lot of rain.

My favorite foods are bananas, chicken, plantains and rice. I like to play with my baby doll it's the only toy I have. She's pretty dirty and her hair is missing, but I love her so much. Sometimes I play ball with the other kids in town. I like to go to school. I couldn't go to school before because we didn't have the money for paper and pencils and school things. But I have a special friend who gave me my school stuff. She says that you gave money so that she could give me school supplies. I hope she brings me a new doll one day.

Mom says it's really nice that someone we don't know wants to help me. It makes Mom sad when we don't have enough money for food or school stuff. She gets really sad when we are sick and can't go to the doctor. Maybe next time we can go to the doctor because of you.

Thank you for helping me and making my Mom happy. She's says that it's because you love the man the lady talks about named Jesus. I like to hear her stories about Jesus. I think one day I want to love Jesus too.

I can't wait for another letter from you. They make me happy too.

I love you,
Michelle




Alright, I hope that letter tugged at your heartstrings. Go here NOW Compassion and sponsor a child so they don't have to worry to much about getting better, or eating, or going to school. Don't eat out this week, give it to a child who won't eat at all.







Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Please, Please, Please Pray for Jordan

I'm being very selfish right now. I'm asking that you stop whatever you are doing and pray for this special young man. This is my dear friend, Jordan. He is 23 years old. His sweet wife of 9 months and his family are sitting by his beside in ICU waiting for God to show them and the doctors what they need to know.

 I took him at the age of 13 to see Chicken Run and he kept asking me what was so funny, I just kept saying I'll tell you when you're older, I still feel a little guilty for the possible corruption of his adolescent brain.

Jordan is a wonderful, Christian guy, who answered the call to ministry many years ago. He knows that his life belongs to the Lord. Jordan's health is failing and he, his family and doctors need all the prayers they can get right now.

So I'm begging you to stop and pray that the Lord's will be done in Jordan's life.

Father God,
I come before you begging, pleading that you will wrap your arms around Jordan and heal him. Lord, I know it's a selfish prayer and that I should truly ask that Your will be done. Lord you know every little detail, you know the why. Lord, I don't need any details or an answer to my why. I just want to plead and beg you to heal Jordan, my kids "Gordon Franken". Lord, be with Audrey, Trina and Scott, Josh and his Audrey and the kids, be with their entire family. Give the doctors the knowledge they need to help him. And Lord just help him to know you are there. Thank you Lord for Jordan and what he means to our family.

In Jesus Name I Pray,
Amen

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Lord God, Help Us Choose Your Child

Father God,

Thank you for your love, for the many things you have blessed me with. Thank you for a loving, Christian husband, four wonderful, Christian children, a roof over our heads, a place to lay our weary bodies, food to fill our bellies and clean water to drink.

Lord, As we search through the pictures of the hundreds of children who need to be sponsored through Compassion, open our eyes and hearts to the one you have chosen for us. Lord God, you know our financial needs and the everyday needs of each of those children. You know were the monthly commitment will come from. You have always provided for us and even more so when we use what you have blessed our family with to bless someone else.

It isn't easy for us to choose. We've looked through the pictures several times. We've searched by each child's birthday and each one has chosen an area of the world they would like to help. Lord, as we search one more time this weekend please let "our" child tug our hearts so we know he or she is the one.

Lord forgive me for not taking better care of your children all over the world and help us as we help your children.

Thank you again for your many blessings and guide us in our search.

In Jesus Precious Name I Pray,

Amen


My assignment as a Compassion blogger this week was to write a prayer. We have sponsored children in the past, but currently aren't. We have been searching to find the child that God wants us to sponsor. So I'm challenging you as we make our decision this weekend, to make yours. Will you sponsor a child? Use this link Compassion in purple to be taken to the website where you can search for children who need you. I'll let you know soon who we have "adopted" as our sponsored child.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Please Excuse Michael from School --Wordless Wednesday

In case you can't read it.

"We had to take Michael to the hospital he had a fever over 100 it was 100 and 4 point 6."

Mollie

This is the note he is taking to school today for his excuse. With his ER release of course! So glad I didn't have to write it. 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

9-11-01

I originally posted this last year, September 11, 2011, on the ten year anniversary. I read back through it and cried. Even now eleven years later it still has an impact on us all.

When you marry someone in the military it doesn't matter if they are active duty, guard or reserves, their job is your life. As the wife of a full-time Air National Guardsman, I never imagined that something that happened in New York City, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania one day would change my life for years to come.

I had just celebrated my 25th birthday and was eight weeks pregnant with our oldest child. Mikie and I were helping keep the children of a friend who was on a prayer walking trip in Africa with other ladies from our church. That week Amy stayed with us, she was in high school then.

Mikie went to work at 4:30 that morning and I had dropped off Amy and went to school. After my fifth graders left my class, another teacher came to my room and told me, "A plane has crashed into the twin towers in New York. Don't say anything to the kids, no one knows what's going on." By the time I could turn the tv on it was lunch. I was in shock. I tried to call Mikie and no one answered. Sometime before school was out he left a message in the school office that he didn't know when he would be home.

Honestly, the next week was a blur. Amy was so scared, her Mom was in Africa with no way home, Mikie wasn't home and we didn't have any idea what might happen next. That night she crawled in bed with me and we prayed. She wanted to watch the news reports. We watched for a few minutes and cut it off.

Mikie called late that night. I don't think he was supposed to call. He suddenly had went from being an aircraft mechanic with the Air National Guard to sitting on a fence with a machine gun. He came by school the next afternoon for a minute. He was home long enough to shower, change uniforms and pack a bag to go back to the air base. I don't remember how long he was gone before he got to come home again.

Amy's Mom was gone an extra long time, I don't remember how long, 7-10 days I think. Cody called sometime that week and wanted to come stay with us so he could be with his sister instead of with a friend. Church was packed both morning services, just like every other church in America that following Sunday.  Life would never be the same.

As I began writing this we were watching the documentary about 9/11. Our kids were asking questions, Mikie and I are experiencing some of the same feelings we did that day. This morning in church, Pastor Bob asked all those who are in law enforcement, fire department, first responders and others in those service jobs to stand. I looked behind me to see our friends Clark and Teresa standing in uniform, their seven year old grandson's face buried in Papaw's leg. Ty, like my kids, doesn't understand. The girls kept asking me why I was crying. Now they know. Michael, whose six, told us, "I wish Adam and Eve hadn't ate from the tree of good and evil cause then there wouldn't be no bad guys."

The past 10 years have been full of deployments, children added to our family, new jobs on base and those typical life changing experiences. I pray my children never face a day like that one. My day wasn't as memorable as others but it has still impacted who I am today.







Saturday, September 8, 2012

Caring for the Children--Help Compassion

This month over at Compassion there is opportunity for you to open your heart and sponsor a child. As Compassion Bloggers we are working toward sponsorships and prayers for 3,108 children during the month of September.

Rosemary shares my birthday!
I know that you can sponsor anytime throughout the year, but this month is special. One because it's my birthday month and two because this is Blog Month at Compassion.

By sponsoring a child through Compassion you are providing food, clean water, medical care, schooling, life-skills training, but most importantly you provide an opportunity for that child to hear about Jesus Christ and develop a lifelong relationship with Him.

Your monthly sponsorship connects you with your child through photos, letters and their personal story. Your family can write letters and send pictures to your sponsoring child and don't forget about birthdays and Christmas.

Head on over to the Compassion page and search for a child for your family to sponsor. There are several ways to search for the perfect child for your family, by gender, by age, by birthday.

If you don't feel that you can sponsor a child right now, please pray. Go on over to the Compassion page and search for a child. You can click through and learn more about that child and then pray for them. Pray for sponsorship, for them to come to know Jesus Christ, and for protection.

Show your children and talk about how so many children all over the world don't have the luxuries that we have here in the United States. Help them to pray for a child with the same birthday as them.

Can you spare some time to care and pray for a child that you may never meet? You can make a difference in their lives.

After going to Compassion come back over here and comment below and let me know about the child you have decided to sponsor or pray for. I don't have to know which you are doing. Just let me know you visited the Compassion page.

Now for a little begging. I am a Compassion Blogger and since this is Blog Month there are some great prizes, from books, to money, to my favorite an all expense paid trip with Compassion. Please use one of the highlighted links in this post to visit the Compassion page and help me to earn entries.

But most importantly help Compassion help God's children!