Homegrown Thoughts

If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you’ll know that we are now sponsoring a little Tanzanian girl through Compassion International. My desire to do this was brought to a head as I read the blog posts from a group of bloggers who recently went to Uganda on a Compassion trip. One of those bloggers was BooMama. She has now brought to my attention an initiative by Compassion to provide mosquito nets for families in malaria-prone areas, such as Uganda and Tanzania. If you feel that you want to help the children of Africa but can’t currently commit to a monthly sponsorship, read on. You can easily have a huge impact on a family with a small one time donation. From BooMama’s blog:

“I sat next to one of the hospital’s doctors, and after a few minutes of pleasantries, I asked him if it was frustrating to be a physician in Uganda. Much to my surprise, his eyes filled with tears. And he nodded.

“It’s tough,” he said, “because our children die from preventable diseases. AIDS is preventable. Malaria is preventable. But our people don’t have access to medicine. They don’t have access to mosquito nets. Mosquito nets are so inexpensive, and they can save children’s lives. But there aren’t enough to go around.”

Today, April 25th, is World Malaria Day. And through the Bite Back campaign, you can give a one-time donation of $10 and provide a mosquito net for a child - or a family, if they’re all sleeping in the same place - who otherwise would have no protection from this completely preventable disease. That $10 will also provide education and treatment for people who are already sick with malaria.

Click here to donate $10 that will provide a mosquito net for a child (you can donate more than that if you feel led and can still donate after today). Each net lasts three years, so for $3.33 a year - less than a penny a day - you can save a child’s life.

Please prayerfully consider donating to this cause if you are able.  And if you just can’t spare $10 right now but still want to help, then link to BooMama’s post from your blog. Help to get the word out and encourage your readers to give.

I came across this prayer card that I received at a homeschool meeting awhile back. I thought I’d share it here for others that might find it beneficial. The idea is to pray for each virtue according to the day of the month.

I found the original article online here, if you’d like to read the full text. Below is the prayer list. I believe the Bible translation used is “The Message”, except where noted.

1. Salvation. “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Is. 45:8, 2 Tim. 2:10).
2. Growth in grace. “I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).
3. Love. “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Gal. 5:25, Eph. 5:2).
4. Honesty and integrity. “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Ps. 25:21).
5. Self-control. “Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do” (1 Thess. 5:6).
6. Love for God’s Word. “May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb” (Ps. 19:10).
7. Justice. “God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do” (Ps. 11:7, Mic. 6:8).
8. Mercy. “May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36).
9. Respect (for self, others, authority). “Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands” (1 Pet. 2:17).
10. Biblical self-esteem. “Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10).
11. Faithfulness. “Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts” (Prov. 3:3).
12. Courage. “May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions” (Dt. 31:6).
13. Purity. “Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions” (Ps. 51:10).
14. Kindness. “Lord, may my children always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (1 Thess. 5:15).
15. Generosity. “Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age” (1 Tim. 6:18–19).
16. Peace-loving. “Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace” (Rom. 14:19).
17. Joy. “May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6).
18. Perseverance. “Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them” (Heb. 12:1).
19. Humility. “God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all” (Titus 3:2).
20. Compassion. “Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion” (Col. 3:12).
21. Responsibility. “Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load” (Gal. 6:5).
22. Contentment. “Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength” (Phil. 4:12–13).
23. Faith. “I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them” (Lk. 17:5–6, Heb. 11:1–40).
24. A servant’s heart. “God, please help my children develop servants’ hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men” (Eph. 6:7).
25. Hope. “May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Ro. 15:13).
26. Willingness and ability to work. “Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23).
27. Passion for God. “Lord, please instill in my children a soul that ‘followeth hard after thee’ (Ps. 63:8, KJV), one that clings passionately to you.”
28. Self-discipline. “Father, I pray that my children may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair” (Prov. 1:3).
29. Prayerfulness. “Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph. 6:18).
30. Gratitude. “Help my children to live lives that are always overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20, Col. 2:7).
31. A heart for missions. “Lord, please help my children to develop a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Ps. 96:3).

I hope you find this list helpful as you pray your kids through life!

We’re going to sponsor a child through Compassion International!

I need to back up here a little bit and begin at the beginning. Ever since I was pretty young (late grade school, I’m guessing), I’ve wanted to sponsor a child through one of the charitable organizations out there. Now that’s been a lot of years that I’ve waited to do it! For one reason or another, it just never happened.

Fast forward to this last week, when I began reading about the trip some bloggers took to Uganda with Compassion. They rounded up a group of bloggers (some of whom I read somewhat regularly) and took them to see the work Compassion does in Africa. The bloggers posted about their experiences even as they were still in Uganda. I didn’t read these until after they were back (they went in February), but once I started I couldn’t stop! Some met the children they sponsor. There are blog entries, photos, videos… I almost feel like I was there with them - you know, other than the fact I was in my comfortable home surrounded by snow. I was really struck by the quality of the Compassion program and their commitment to transparency in their finances and showing these children the love of Jesus.

I’m convicted in a much stronger way than ever before that I NEED to do this! No more excuses, no more putting it off until I could think about it… I would have signed up right away if it were up to me, but there was a little hitch in that plan. I’m a married woman who needs to run these things by her husband first. A husband who does NOT make quick decisions. A husband who needs details and time to think and think and think…

So I gave him information to look at and tried to wait patiently. I tried very hard to only ask him about it once a day. I prayed about it. And I waited some more.

Today my husband asked me to print out information for several children and that we could pray together about it tonight. I am taking this to mean that we will decide *which* child we will sponsor, not *if* we will sponsor. And this will be a very difficult decision, one that will certainly require prayer. There are so many children in need, how do you pick just one? I’ve looked through the photos and stories of the available children for several days and have chosen 6 ‘finalists’ for us to choose from. How I wish we could sponsor them all!

So I’m rather excited! I’ll share our experiences with this here, for sure!

I urge you to prayerfully consider sponsoring a child. If you’d like to read and see some of the things I’ve been watching, visit Boomama’s blog and look in the left sidebar for the blue Blog Compassion Uganda box - click on the options there to see Uganda through these bloggers’ eyes. Your heart will break, but if you are like me, you will also be struck by the hope shining from these children’s eyes. A small sacrifice in your lifestyle can greatly improve the life of an impoverished child on the other side of the world - even into the realms of eternity. And I believe your life and heart will be richer for it.

Yes, it’s true. Officially, I will no longer be the Homeschoolblogger.com/Homesteadblogger.com tech support person after tomorrow, although I will be hanging around in the background a bit after that to continue training Eric and Paul, who are taking over those duties.

It feels really weird. I’ve been very involved with HSB off and on ever since it started, including the last year and a half as the main tech support contact. It’s been fun! I’ll miss my job of helping people with their blogs. However, it’s become very clear lately that it’s time for me to step back and refocus my priorities and my time more toward my family. I know this is not a profound discovery, but my children need their mom! We are also involved in more activities as my kids get older, so my time has become even more valuable than ever. There just isn’t enough of me to go around, no matter how thinly I try to stretch myself. And of course when I stretch too thin, I get stressed and nobody gets my very best, which just isn’t right.

So while I’m a bit sad leaving my post at HSB, I’m excited that I’ll have more time to concentrate on my kids, home and personal relationships. I’m looking forward to being more involved in our local homeschool group, where I serve as a coordinator this year and will probably move into a position with even more responsibility next year. My internet relationships have been awesome and I don’t intend to lose any of my online friends - but I also need to make an effort to build and strengthen my in-the-flesh relationships, too. I’m a bit of a social phobic, but the Lord is working in me and bringing me out of my shell. I’m in the midst of a personal transition which is both exciting and, I admit, sort of scary! My life seems to be moving toward a new season I haven’t seen thus far. I’m excited to see what God has in store for me as I’ve drawn closer to and am understanding His love and purpose for my life more than I ever have before!

I’m not saying good-bye by any means. I’ll still blog there (hopefully more frequently), but I will no longer be an employee of HSB. I’m sure Eric and Paul will be knowledgeable and helpful as they take over for me in the next couple of days. I leave the HSB tech support needs in their capable hands. :-)