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Category Archives: Missions
S.W.A.G, Easter, and New Friends
S.W.A.G……Speakers With Amazing Grace; this is the name of our ICC chapter. Communicators for Christ. Showing the love of Jesus
It is amazing when the church – not the building; the body of Christ – comes together to do the work that Jesus commanded. Children serving children – in the name of Jesus.
Bound together by the desire to make His Name known….
Our missionary friends from Georgetown Apts – surrounded by many of the volunteers that spent the day serving the community.
Games….Pictures…..Crafts……Lunch…..Easter Egg hunt. Each person using his or her gifts to the love.
If you’ve looked at any of our Ecuador pictures, you might have noticed some similarities between the Christmas parties in Quito and this event (just on a much, much smaller level) 
We learned some much on that trip – click here and here and here and here to see our Ecuadorian adventure. Extreme Response International - money changes situations, relationships change lives
Most importantly, the kids got to share the wonderful news and the real reason for Easter. A celebration of an empty tomb…
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1 John 5:11
Teresa Walker Kight, Ron Townsend, Melissa Myers Herring liked this post
Posted in Families, God is good, homeschooling, Love 'em like Jesus, Missions
Tagged 1 John 5:11, Easter Outreach
1 Comment
When you just need to stop and listen….
Listening – it isn’t something that most of us do very well. We don’t often stop; breath in; and listen to the soft, still voice that speaks to our hearts. But when we do listen and recognize that voice, we hear amazing things and are blessed beyond measure.
A coin was given to us; to listen to God and follow His directions. He would reveal the one. One coin for one person that we could help. People flowed past. Photos were taken quickly. Papa Noel got and received many hugs.
She smiled at me. I smiled back. Her little girl jumped on Papa Noel’s lap. The photo was taken. Give her the coin! Is that me wanting to give the coin away or is she really the one? The crowd moves on. She is gone. Did I miss my chance?
Later, she appears again. In the line to receive her meal and Navidad bag. Feliz Navidad! Should I give it to her? She keeps moving; waves goodbye as she continues through the line.
Later, I wonder….Did I miss my chance? Did God speak and I was too busy, too unsure, to listen and be obedient.
The very next day….another party. A sweet, older lady sitting in her wheelchair. In the corner. She smiles her toothless smile; holds my hand. Give her the coin! There it is again. I sit with her; learning her name – Maria. Again…Give her the coin! Reaching into my pocket, I handle the coin and continue talking. Me trying to understand her; her trying to understand me. Allowing God to speak….
Dios te bendiga….I gently place the coin in her hand; closely her hand gently around it. She glances at it, tear overflow from her cloudy eyes. Listening to the quiet, still voice. It leads to a chance, a chance to make a difference in the life of one person. Yet, He said that when you do for the least of these, you do for me.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:34-40
Today….thankful for the chance to listen. Thankful that, even though I might have missed the first chance to listen, I was able to listen again. And that listening led to obedience. And that obedience leads to a chance to pray – again and again and again – for Maria.
Have you been listening? Is God speaking? Take just a moment and watch the video. Stay until the end and you will be blessed with the greatest gift this world has even known.
a life of gratitude (1062- 1083)
Times when God’s love completely overwhelms. Why am I surprised when He does actually what He says He will do? Why do I try to take control when letting Him have complete control is so much better?
We prayed about it. It is time to move – put feet to the ground and be His hands and feet. We prayed. Introduce the girls to international missions. But how we will ever come up with the money for five people to travel to another country. We prayed again.
He provided – our Jehovah Jireh. He isn’t finished yet. We continue to wait for Him to complete it. And we know He will. He overwhelms.
1062. pants that no longer fit (too big)
1063. crock pot dinners
1064. this blog post from a friend that spoke to my heart
1065. a great friend who is willing to spend her afternoon sorting through donated yard sale items
1066. leftovers – yum!
1067. some AMAZING items donated to the yard sale
1068. talking with a friend in Montana – knowing that if we go years without talking that we will be able to pick up like we spoke yesterday. Love her!!!
1069. being able to turn the air conditioner off for a few days
1070. watching the Man lead Bible studies
1071. hearing a friend’s comment – “Wow, your girls are really hard workers. It is nice to see young people with a good work ethic.”
1072. setting up the garage sale with more stuff than we could ever imagine
1073. people showing up at first light to examine the things that others want to get rid of
1074. being part of a community that is international – families from Haiti, Honduras, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic showed up to buy stuff; and that was just the ones I talked to
1075. sharing our mission trip with a lady and learning that she has friends who were church planters in Quito – learning that their church is right beside the Extreme Response headquarters; it’s a small world after all!
1076. our Jehovah Jireh and His many provisions
1077. baptisms of new brothers and sisters in Christ
1078. an entire family (father, mother, and two daughters) turning their hearts over to the Lord
1079. sisters walking and talking about the verses read in Proverbs
1080. old television shows on NetFlix that the Man loves showing the girls - ”now that’s some good tv”
1081. girls singing in the back seat
1082. reading words that pierce the heart and are remembered at exactly the moment of frustration when I need it the most
1083. dirty, bare feet that come along with an active girl who loves to be outside
Linked in community with….
Teresa Walker Kight liked this post
the week of the yard sale….
In my life this week…
Having an official high schooler this year was very intimidating. When I started homeschooling three years ago, I really didn’t think that we would get to this point. Yet here we are – loving every minute of it.
I have really been focused on other things (non-school related) this week – attempting to make life-long learners and incorporate some of these non-school related activities into school time.
Yard sale = economics!
Cooking and baking = math, science, and home ec
After all – you don’t always need books to learn. Learning life with day-to-day activities!
In our homeschool this week…
Monday - A “I really don’t want to get out from under these covers” kind of day. The weather has been great. Windows opened with cool breezes coming in. Well, it got a little cool, and it was really hard to get out from under the cover. We did finally get to moving about mid-morning – had brunch – then it was time for co-op classes. Government, PE, and choir. And violin lessons.
Today was Day #1 of 30 Days of Prayer for our Nation! Not too late for you to join us in praying for our nation – just get the prayer guide and get started!
Tuesday - This year I decided that we were going to do some read aloud and get some classical books read. We just finished Pride and Prejudice – which I have to admit I didn’t finish. The girls did so shhhhhh don’t tell them that Mom didn’t read the entire book. Waiting for some friends to get back in town so that we can have a tea and watch the movie I took a vote to decide what to read next. Today we started Little Woman – maybe I can actually finish this with them!
We also worked on our Ecuador/Spanish unit study. We are slowly researching Ecuador and using Rosetta Stone to learn some Spanish. all in preparation for our mission trip after Thanksgiving.
I spent the afternoon sorting through yard sale donations. Completely overwhelmed at the amount of donations and the types of donations given by friends and church family. Even had a friend donate an Ipad that we were able to sale to a lady who needed it to help with therapy for her autistic son – a blessing for us and for them!
Wednesday – Crazy busy day with extracurricular activities. Latin 3, Biology lab, and public speaking. Love that the girls have such great classes with our co-op! Here is the girls that are taking Latin 3 – along with their video “teacher,” Kirby . Loving these high schoolers and soon-to-be high schoolers
Thursday – We watched the Vice Presidential debate and then discussed some of the issues. Big Sis and Middle Sis have to write a paper for their government co-op class – pick three issues, the candidates arguments, and what they (the girls) believe about that issue. So thankful to have someone who enjoys and has worked in the political arena to help us teach this topic. All I can say is that it is time for us to pray, pray, pray, and pray some more!!!
Friday – Spent the afternoon organizing the yard sale. We had economics (pricing items), home ec (organizing), art (creating signs), and just good fun. I can’t wait to see how God uses this to provide for our mission trip.
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Be thankful for other moms/dads/friends/etc who have more knowledge on a subject and/or enjoy teaching subjects that you aren’t comfortable with. Get involved in a good co-op if there is one close to you.
I’m grateful for…
Church family who have helped organize our yard sale and who have donated items for the yard sale. AMAZED at the incredible support!!
I’m praying for…
Our nation and the upcoming elections; the yard sale on Saturday that will help support our international mission trip to Ecuador
Linked in community with…
The week that I got it together….
So we started school in August. However, this is my first post of the 2012-2013 school year. We have had an interesting journey over the last few months. And I finally feel like I have it together enough to get back to posting.
You just never know the direction that the Lord is going to take your journey. Ours has involved a summer filled with camps and family fun, a week at the beach with family, a discovery that the MAN can be finished with school in May, a decision about an international family mission trip, a hurrication to Georgia, an unexpected move to another apartment on campus because of Hurricane Isaac, the turmoil of deciding that more family time was more important that the income, raising support for the before mentioned family mission trip, attempting to get settled into the new apartment, applying for passports….. and the list goes on and on and on and on!
This year, we have a 9th, 8th, and 5th grader. I can’t believe the Big Sis is a high schooler. Still trying to figure out how and when that happened!
In my life this week…
…almost close to normal. Or, at least, as close as we ever get We have dealt with no water two afternoon this week as the city water department attempts to repair a fire hydrant down the street (that has been gushing water for two weeks). I was caught by surprise on day one and day two. I will not be surprised when/if it goes out today. Bathtubs are filled with water, water pitchers are filled in the frig!
In our homeschool this week…
Because we went a few weeks without a dependable computer, I am trying to get everything caught up. We had to go back to our old paper schedules for a while
Ideally, I would be a little ahead of the game, but, for now, I will be happy with caught up. And I think that we are finally there. Caught up and headed in the right direction. All our work at home is moving along and all our extra-curricular activities are in place.
We have started biology lab. Love watching the wonder when they actually find a “little creature” under the microscope.
Our Institute for Cultural Communicators (public speaking) chapter has started. We have a great young student that is helping the students get started. The girls had to create a box with all of their fears about public speaking…then we destroyed the box (and their fears). Middle Sis and Lil Sis used fire to destroy their boxes. Big Sis ran over hers with the car. Yes, call us crazy, we let her behind the wheel of a car
We have also started government, PE, choir, violin, piano, flute, drama, and guitar. The craziness of the school year has started with a bang.
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
I have probably mentioned this a thousand times in past blogs but….be flexible. The last two months have taught me that the best thing (beside the love of Christ) that we can teach our kids is to be flexible. Life isn’t always smooth sailing. It doesn’t always go the way we planned. But we have to let go and let Him show us the way…and His way often involved flexibility
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We had the incredible opportunity to see the performance of an international Korean children’s choir. They were amazing. The travel around the US with Pastor Billy Kim (who translated for Billy Graham) and are part of the Far East Broadcasting Company. If they come to your area, you should see them. You will be so blessed.
My favorite thing this week was…
Getting it together enough to sit down and write this blog
I’m reading…
We just finished Pride and Prejudice. Wow! I didn’t think that we would ever finish. Now we get to watch the movie
I am getting ready to start “30 Days of Prayer for our Nation.” Get the prayer guide and join us in praying for our nation and the upcoming election for the next 30 days. It is a great way to teach your children the importance and the scriptural command to pray for those in authority.
I’m praying for…
So many things at this moment. Here is just a few….
Our nation and the upcoming election!!
Support for our international mission trip. Check out the great t-shirts we have for sale. I would love to ship one to you! The back has Romans 10: 15 “How beautiful are the feet that bring the good news of the gospel.” Email me at byhisdesign5@cox.net if you would like one or five or ten or…….
Linked in community with…
Laura Riley, Angie McFarren liked this post
