Remember back in the day (What day? Not sure…a long time ago.) when you’d open your mouth really big and hold three fingers on each side of it, spelling W-O-W? Yeah, I’m thinking about bringing that back. This year is the year of wow, and today God wowed me again. At this point, I’m not even surprised…just really grateful to be part of His remarkable plan.
Okay, back story. Elliott has been going to weekly speech therapy for about six months after his dubious frenulectomy (It’s just fun to say.) . His speech is delayed, and he either has apraxia (some befuddled wiring of the brain) or he’s just stubborn. Could go either way…both screwy brains and stubbornness run in the family.
Last night, I read Tom Davis’ blog about raising money for kitchens in Ethiopia (see my post from yesterday). Alex and I didn’t really think much about it, we just had a twenty second chat, picked a number, and got on board. This morning at speech, Elliott’s pathologist, Jan Williams (LOVE HER!), said that she thinks we need to back off a bit and drop Elliott to every other week. Yeah, last night Alex and I started giving a monthly gift to Children’s HopeChest for kitchens in Ethiopia. This morning, by dropping from weekly to every other week speech therapy sessions, we are saving THE EXACT AMOUNT that we pledged last night. How cool is that? We stepped out to help, and God immediately opened up the funding.
Yeah, I’m not taking any credit for this. God’s like the cool kid in school and I’m just trying to hang out near Him, maybe try to imitate Him and wear what He’s wearing. I am having THE BEST TIME watching what He’s doing. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I mean, look at me. I’m writing in all caps. Sheesh. Very exciting.
It’s no secret. I love Ethiopia. God has filled my heart with this country, these people, and they are dying. We have to help!! The following post is from Tom Davis’ blog. Click the link below to read the whole thing.
Today’s news out of Ethiopia is not new. Millions starving. Millions without food or water. Millions trapped in extreme poverty.
Millions is a concept we’ve accepted in our news reporting. If everyone in Colorado Springs was starving, we wouldn’t quite get to “millions.” Hard to comprehend.
Here’s what I know. CHC’s kids don’t starve. They don’t drink dirty water. They are protected from abuse. They are sheltered from child labor. They are put through school to help develop their potential. Our kids are numbered in the thousands. And guess what? I’ve got 5,000 more who are waiting for a home.
This Christmas, CHC is going to launch a dynamic campaign to bring 5,000 new children into our CarePoint’s throughout Africa. But with today’s news of “millions” starving in Ethiopia, we’ve got to step up our plans a bit. I need to get the feeding centers up and running as soon as possible.
You are in your birth mother’s belly right now, but you are in my heart. I may not get to be with you in these first few months, but I am your mommy, and I am completely in love with you. I daydream about you and picture what you will look like. I picture your creamy mocha skin and warm dark eyes and springy curls. I know that you are beautiful. I pray for you every day, for you and for the precious woman carrying you inside of her. I pray that both of you would feel loved and supported, protected, and nourished. I pray that God would hug you both for me. Oh, my sweet baby, I can’t wait to hug you myself, to snuggle with you, and laugh with you, and nuzzle noses. I catch myself thinking of you throughout the day and my insides fill with joy at the thought of you. You are precious to me, a gift from a loving God.
If you were at Catalyst Conference 2009, then you witnessed a powerful moment when Jimmy Wambua met Mark, his Compassion Sponsor of 19 years, for the first time. There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole arena. It will blow you away.
Interested in sponsoring an orphan. Visit Children’s Hope Chest at www.hopechest.org.
I first saw this short film (The Select Fit) at a Damah Film Festival screening. It’s written and directed by Daniel Roemer, who is actually the guy who’s featured in the film. It is a very poignant reminder of how we manipulate the truth to fit our selfish desires. Even when the world screams at us to help, we simply change the channel or draft excuses. Roemer even takes it one step further by saying that we choose to hear what we want to satisfy our own ends — blocking everything else out. Watch it. You’ll be blown away.
