Have a Little Compassion

Last night, for the very first time, McCarthy had a concert! It was amazing! The night kicked off with Somewhere South of Perfect and ended with for King and Country.

Let me tell you...the music was amazing! The guys from the bands were super nice, but that wasn't really the only thing that made my night.

My husband, Jimmy, was the one who organized this whole concert so we were at the church all day getting ready. When I was helping the Compassion International Volunteers get their table set up I felt like one of those kids reached right out of their folder and grabbed me! Her name is Ela.

I don't know if you know this but when I was in college I majored in Intercultural Studies. As a part of that program they paired us up with another student (yeah, Alisha!) and they sent us out to live in another country for six months. During that time we lived with an indigenous family, learned as much of their language as we could, studied their ethnic group, and worked to give back and be a blessing.

Now you may be asking yourself how this all relates so let me get to that...

Ela lives in the same country--even the same "city" as Alisha and I lived. She shares the same family name as our family and she speaks the same language. Not only that but she also has the same birthday month as me, my husband, and one of our American friends we met while living there. Needless to say, I felt very connected at her. The more I learned about her the more I just wanted to cry. That's about the time that Jimmy walked up.

As I told Jimmy about this girl, he understood. Jimmy had been on the receiving end of all my emails during the six months that I lived in West Africa. He knew as much about my family as he possibly could, and without hesitation he decided that we HAD to sponsor Ela. So I am happy to tell you that Ela came home with us last night!

If you are interested in learning more about sponsoring a child, visit Compassion Internationals Website. There are children all over the world who really need your help! Don't miss your opportunity to be a blessing in their lives.

 

What I Learned from My New Job

Today I left Wal-Mart behind and I started a new job. It's always exciting and a little nerve wracking the first day at your new place. You don't quite feel fully comfortable and there are so many things that you couldn't possibly know that you feel overwhelmed. If you are anything like me you are probably worried about whether or not you dressed up enough or your co-workers will like you or possibly even if you will be able to actually do this job once you get into it. However, once you get in there and things get started you find out that you are doing good. Then it hits...

Information overload! You have met tons of people and "learned" lots of names. You have filled out about a billion tax and benefits forms. You have gotten your new name tag/ID badge. You have taken a tour of the building and you might even have gone through orientation. Just when you think your brain is mush and it can't possibly hold another fact--your boss either sits down with you or pairs you with someone to show you the ropes and they begin to ply you with even more information!

There are studies out there that say humans only retain about 30% of what they learn by hearing it alone. I don't know if those numbers are accurate or not but after starting a new learning experience today I could easily believe it. When my brain stopped hurting, I started thinking...

It's no wonder that God communicates with us in small, bite sized pieces. It should also come as no surprise that He often makes us wait for an answer instead of revealing His whole plan to us at once. If He did we would simply get the worst possible case of information overload in the whole world and on top of that we wouldn't even retain all of the plan! So maybe next time instead of complaining that God isn't giving me information fast enough I should stop and be thankful that He IS giving it to me in doses that I can handle.

I would love to hear your thoughts...

We All Need a Little Dirt

This year I feel like Spring Fever has really hit me! Never before in my adult life have I lived in an actual house and had space to do a lot of grown up things such as--mowing the yard OR starting a garden. HOWEVER, this year I DO LIVE IN A HOUSE!!! We are renting here in Saint Joseph but I was SO excited when I talked to the property manager and they said that we could have a small garden as long as we replant the grass again when we move.

Let me tell you...I'm excited! I went out and bought a seed starter just like the one above, and all my seeds and came home feeling like a real gardener. Well as my hubby would tell you my tiny garden starter didn't look like much. Even after I had expanded all the little soil pellets and planted my seeds it still looked pretty brown and dead but to me it was full of POTENTIAL.

Now that it has been a few days, I am beginning to see little baby seedlings sticking their heads out of the dirt. The planter still doesn't look like much but you can now tell that it is full of life. It reminds me about my own life. Sometimes things seem like a brown wasteland without much going on. It's during those times that I need to stop and realize that I am full of potential. I am empty and awaiting God--the gardener--to come and fill me up with life giving seeds of hope and joy and peace and to water it all down with His grace and mercy. Then in HIS time I will see new growth. It will start small but it's there nonetheless.

I look forward to sharing more pictures from my garden with you as it grows and changes. Maybe it will be a blessing to you too.