Another Great Quote

"You know what happens when a portrait that has been painted on a panel becomes obliterated through external stains? The artist does not throw away the panel, but the subject of the portrait has to come and sit for it again, and then the likeness is re-drawn on the same material. Even so was it with the All-holy Son of God. He, the Image of the Father, came and dwelt in our midst, in order that He might renew mankind made after Himself, and seek out His lost sheep, even as He says in the Gospel: 'I came to seek and to save that which was lost.'"
~Athanasius from "On the Incarnation"

When someone relates things to a painting, it sticks in my head way better!!!

A Quote by Ignatius

"My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be found written on every piece."
~Ignatius

Can I just say, "WOW." People just don't talk like that anymore.

Sending You A Hug

There's a place far, far away where a sweet little girl lives. Her favorite color is yellow and she loves dolls. Jonah and the Big Fish is her most favorite Bible story, and she dreams of being a mommy. She draws cactus plants like a pro and she always includes the dirt beneath the flowers in her pictures.

 

She turned 5 yesterday.

 

I was driving home from worship practice yesterday, on my birthday, thinking about my day, excited for my friends to come over, looking forward to eating my favorite foods and suddenly her face popped into my head. Her deep, dark eyes were staring at me and for the first time in my entire life I realized that September 14th is not MY birthday, but hers.

She was turning 5.

 I remember turning 5. I was so thrilled. It seemed like such a big number. I wonder if she was excited? Did she have a special day?

 

And as I drove thinking about her my heart began to ache. I would have paid anything to have been able to go and give her a big birthday hug at that moment. I wanted so badly to hold her small frame and tell her that I loved her and that I think about her everyday. Never did I think that I could become so attached to a little girl I have never even met. She's like my little sister.

We may not be related and we may be separated by miles, but in my heart I love her to bits and pieces.

 

So I am sending her a hug.

Perhaps someday I will be able to go and give her a real, physical hug, but for the moment I will just have to close my eyes and send her a hug from my heart.

 

I love you Florinda. I pray God watches over you and keeps you in the shadow of His wings.

He is Hope

Hope is a powerful thing. I absolutely love Webster's 1828 definition of the word because it really, truly shows what hope is to an individual.



 "Hope: A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety." ~Webster's 1828 dictionary

Many children around the world live lives void of hope. Many live in poverty stricken places where their only hope is the possibility of survival, but even then, where will that lead them with no education, so resources, and no purpose in life. The power of hope in a child's life can change everything. The beautiful part is, we are each given the chance to bring that hope into their lives.

Love brings hope.
Children need to be loved. Simple as that. Without love children grow up to be hard, bitter people. When a child has someone that loves them, they have something to cling to each day. They know that someone, somewhere cares for them and is praying for them. Without my family's love I would never have accomplished most of what I have done in my life because without having someone to believe in me and push me on, I would have had no reason to try. Love gives us hope; hope that our dreams can become realities, hope that there is something better than any sorrows we presently face, and hope that we can overcome the obstacle's of life.

Having a future brings hope.
When a child knows that there is nothing for them in the future, then there is no reason to learn, or work, or try to overcome the obstacles. Without a future, why bother? However, when they know that they have a future, that they can make a difference or change the world, then suddenly life matters. Many, many children around the world will never have the opportunity to even receive an education. These are fully capable, amazing children, made in the image of God that will never have a chance to read or write or do math and science. That is wrong. But we can change that. We can bring hope into their lives by giving them the chance to learn.

 

However, the most important thing is that Jesus Christ brings hope.

In all reality, He is the only one who brings true hope into any persons life.  Being loved or having a future bring only a slight shimmer compared to the glorious hope that comes in knowing Jesus Christ! He loves greater than any human being. He is the Author and Creator of the world who holds the future in His own hands! What these children need, what the whole world needs, is to know Jesus as Lord. In Him there is hope because He died on Calvary to pay the way for salvation.

 

In Him there is hope.



 

Through sponsoring a child, you are given the chance to bring hope into a child's life. Not only can you love them and help provide a future for them, but you can help teach them about Jesus Christ.  This may sound like a commercial add, but the truth is that these children need our help. They need love. They need a future. But most of all they need Jesus Christ.

He is their only hope.

 

He is our only hope.

 

 

What I Fail to Recognize

"If we stumble in a safe country, how will we follow Him into the thickets....?"

"If we are not prepared to make the sacrifices that come with following Him in life, I doubt very much that we will follow Him in death."

"You will respond to persecution the same way you respond to temptation."

~Glenn Penner

 

"Wrists that become accustomed to wearing gold chains, never willingly embrace those made of iron."

~Tertullian

4am. my morning starts. Bible, journal, pen. I read and write; verses, thoughts, events...whatever comes to mind flows out on paper. Computer on. vomclassroom.com typed in. My lecture for the day is 39 minutes long. It's a leftover I never finished from yesterday's class. Headphones in, volume up. I listen, only halfway at first. My mind is elsewhere. It's in another place. A place even I'm not sure of. All I know is it's somewhere, and I must go there. 

Words sound in my ears. Words that pierce my heart. "What?" I rewind and listen again. My mind freezes. It shuffles the meaning of the words around. It drops the words to my heart. A heavy blanket covers my soul.

How can I daydream of going there, to share the gospel, to spread His name, to suffer for His sake, when I struggle simply to say "No," to temptation? How can I, who purposefully tries to accustom myself to the gold chains, ever be willing to wear ones made of iron? How can I, who am unwilling to impart my own plans, ever be willing to follow His plan?

I ask myself why I'm not doing more and I fail to recognize that it's because my heart is still not in the right place. My heart is still hard and rocky in spots. Part of it is becoming moldable, but so much is still rock solid. I fail to recognize that I am here because I would not be faithful if I were there. I fail to recognize that the little sacrifices that I daily, am unwilling to give up, prove that I am not ready to sacrifice it all for the sake of the gospel. Daily I blame God, because I fail to recognize that it is my own sinful heart that stops me from doing more for His glory.

But today, in this dark, cool morning, I recognize it. I see it plain as daylight. Following Christ is not a one time commitment. It is an everyday re-evaluation of my life and recommitment of those parts that are drifting from Him. It is trusting Him to guide every move. It is a willingness to give it all up for Him and Him alone.

So now that I recognize it once again, I supposed I need to change myself. Scratch that. I need to be willing to be changed by Him.

Dear Little Me

September is Blog Month for Compassion International and they have a goal to get 3,160 children sponsored before 11:59pm on September 30th.  Compassion bloggers are given a writing topic to blog about with the goal of getting children sponsored. The first writing topic is: What Would You Say to Your Childhood Self? It took me a couple days to figure out what I truly would want to say to a younger me, but I think I finally figured it out.

I close my eyes and travel back in time. I'm still quite young, so I only have to go back a little ways before my eyes open and I see a little, smiling girl before me.  She is rushing through the house in search of her mommy, face beaming, and excitement permeating her entire self. Mommy is fixing her hair in front of the bathroom mirror when the little girl finds her.

 

"Mommy, mommy! Can I ask you a question?" without waiting for an answer she rushes into her question. "Does God tell you things in dreams? He told Joseph things in dreams. Do you think He would tell me things in dreams."

 

Mommy smiles at her daughter as she puts down her curling iron. "Usually when we sleep, we dream about the things we are thinking about, but every once in a great while God tells people things in dreams. Why? Did God tell you something in your dream?"

 

The little girl nods, "I think so mommy. I had a dream about a whole bunch of little orphan children. They had no one with them. I think God wants me to go to their country and teach them about Jesus."

 

"Well, it will probably be a long time before we know for sure, but I think the important thing is for you to pray about it and to pray for those little children you dreamed about."

 

The little girl nods her head. She runs to her room, kneels by her bed, bows her head and silently prays. Her faith is childlike, but strong. Her trust is simple, but steadfast. She has no doubt that God will show her the way. He is in fact her Father, her Creator. He has never let her down. She prays with passion and earnestness. Then she gets up, satisfied with her prayers and confident in her Savior, but wishing with everything in her that she could just grow up a little quicker.

 

To that little girl I would say,

 



"Dear Little Me,
Don't grow up too fast.

Don't waste away your life wishing for the next thing.

What you are here and now is precious in God's sight. He can use your little life right now, just the way you are.

Your gifts are just like the little boy's loaves and fish that Jesus used to feed 5 thousand. He can take your dreams and hopes, and can turn them into beautiful things for His glory.

Don't every forget that!

You are beautiful in His sight because you are His. You do not have to be someone else for God to use your life.

As you grow, don't ever stop being who God made you to be.

 Others will try to change you.

Circumstance will threaten to shatter your dreams, but don't ever stop being the joyful, trusting, faithful girl God made you.

He will never let you down.

He is faithful through all the ages."

 

 

 

Even though it really wasn't that long ago, it seems like ages since I was that little girl. I could not wait to grow up, but now I look back and strive to have the childlike faith I had back then. God used my life then and He is using my life now. Through Compassion I am able to help other young children that otherwise might not have the opportunity to be taken care of, but more importantly, to be taught about God's great love for them. God can use each of their precious lives in ways that we can't even imagine!

 

 

 

 



 

Andrew the Newsboy

My Mom, neighbor and I are doing a photo challenge together and today's topic was "news."

Instantly a picture of a 1930's newspaper boy popped into my mind and so Andrew became my little prop. I put them all in sepia because I thought it gave them a fun vintage look.

 

 

The true Andrew comes forth.

 

I could kiss that little face over and over!