The Intentional Life

What would the world look like if each of us made it our responsibility to see one less orphan without an education... one less orphan without a growling hunger... or one less orphan without a bleak future of poverty? In the next 45 days, our goal is to find a sponsor for every single child who has yet to be sponsored at our school in Lifesong Ethiopia . (Gulp! That's a tall order! See below how YOU can help.) We are asking for an investment of just $19/month that will result in a future leader for the renewal of Africa from the inside out. Invest in a life of a child. Invest in self-sufficiency. Invest in bringing hope to one more orphan. Together we can get EVERY child sponsored! Will you help us? How can YOU help each child find a sponsor: PRAY: Join us in praying for the 587 children who are unsponsored in Ethiopia. Pray for the thousands that will be given the opportunity to sponsor--that hearts would be open to helping a child in need. Pray that God will r...

Today Hannah is 5. As I feel on every one of our kids' birthdays, I can hardly believe how the time has flown. And now, here she is on the brink of Kindergarten.  She is so ready to go. Sniff. Hannah is our artistic soul.  In song, in decorating, in drawing, in creating. And she loves to give it all away.  As her grandparents can attest to the many letters they have received in the mail and the gifts they get just about every time they see Hannah.  And little Noah in Africa, the boy that Hannah's preschool sponsors, would be getting gifts weekly if it weren't for the outrageous postage. Hannah goes through life singing and skipping.  Literally. She enjoys Hello Kitty, spaghetti, picking out multicolored outfits, painting and coloring, and Jesus.  She is always testifying at dinner devotions about Jesus living in her heart. Love. Hannah, Happy 5th Birthday!  May you grow up into the young lady that God desires you to be, and th...

This Life is so fleeting.  And only what we do for Christ will last. This I've known for quite some time that I am introvert.  But for as long as I know, I have felt bad about it.  This book has been very inciteful, and has helped me realize that not all of us can be extroverts...and that is OK.   This Things I Don't Do by Shauna Niequist One of my core fears is that someone would think I can’t handle as much as the next person. It’s fundamental to my understanding of myself for me to be the strong one, the capable one, the busy one, the one who can bail you out, not make a fuss, bring a meal, add a few more things to the list.  For me, everything becomes a lifestyle. Everything is an addiction. And then better. Better is a seductress. It’s so delicious to run after better, better, better. Better is what keeps some women decorating and redecorating the same house for years on end, because by the time you get the last detai...

The Forgotten Initiative (TFI), foster care ministry of Lifesong for Orphans, is bringing joy and purpose to the foster care community by LEARNING the needs, SHARING the needs and EQUIPPING the local church to meet those needs.  Check out what TFI is doing to serve the foster care community... PROJECT SUNSHINE: FOSTER HOME EDITION Project Sunshine: Foster Home Edition is a fundraiser & service project all in one! After foster children are removed from their homes, they often wait for hours in agency rooms. These same rooms are also used for weekly visitation between the birth parents and their children while they are in care. Project Sunshine was birthed out of a desire to create friendly spaces for kids during this dark time in their lives. Project Sunshine: Foster Home Edition simply takes the Project Sunshine concept and applies it to a foster parent's home and at the same time raises funds for The Forgotten Initiative ! Check out this video to meet the families ...

A phone call from the detention center A letter from a treatment facility A hard face on the 11 o'clock news This week was full of reminders of the past. Unfortunately they all brought the news that some kids aren't doing all that well. Poor choices.  Wrong environment.  Rotten pasts. The thing is, all three of these kids did well while here.  The GOT it.  They showed us that they knew the right choice, could even MAKE the right choice. But somewhere between there and now, a wrong choice (or choices) was made.  And the consequences followed. I don't know how to change it.  The world just needs Jesus. It gets heart-heavy when I take it on myself and think that it is my job to make sure these kids succeed once they leave our home. I pray those seeds that were planted, though they may lay dormant for a time, will eventually grow into something worth a heaven-harvest. I've wrote before of this heartache I feel heartache over these kid...

 Haven't done it in quite awhile. But today I did and it was so sweet. Kinda lifts the spirits and relaxes the soul. What is it about flying kites that does that to me? Maybe it had something to do with the first in-the-60's degree day that we have had this Spring.  Or the little peek of sunshine through the clouds.  Or the joy of family visiting.  Or the stretching the legs out on the grass and enjoying the fresh air. Could be a combo of those things.  But there is something about sitting and watching a kite flutter it the air.  That little thrill in the chest as the kites lifts out of someone's hands and takes to flight. I think we can all relate to that a bit. It looks like freedom.  Soaring through the air, gliding on the breeze. But only so far.  Because it has a sting. An anchor. We can flutter in the different gusts and breezes of this life.  It can try to toss us this way and that. But we have the chance to...

 March was a month where we eagerly awaited Spring, and it's warmer temperatures, but barely got a glimpse.  So, instead we worked with what we had.  And finished out the month with the greatest holiday of all.  Shoveling sidewalks and building snow forts.  Coming back in to warm up with hot chocolate...and a photo op  Having friends over to made Pla-doh cakes and forts  Celebrating March and April birthdays  Recovering from a sprained ankle thanks to a basketball game (this only shows about half the damage)  Reading some Bears on Wheels  Craft time  Taking naps in random places  Hunting for polar bears (I think they found them in the sand box)  Only way we get a picture is if we take it ourselves...  Up bright and early for Sunrise Service on Easter And finish it out with an Easter feast (next year I am getting a spiral...

Two eggs, an English muffin, bacon, coffee, and Cap'n Crunch with Peanuts (thanks Owen) made for me by Paul breakfast while I slept in. 3 handmade birthday cards and a love letter A phone call from mom Texts from dad and siblings A surprise coffee and gift from a friend A chance to read in the quiet (for 15 minutes, but I'll take it!) A round of Yahtzee with Owen A handmade gift and card from a friend Chicken curry for dinner No back talking, all compliant teenagers for one day Sweatin to the Oldies with Maria, Hannah, and three 13-year-olds Peanut Butter Cheesecake A cup of tea to end the evening Not a bad way to spend a birthday. So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.   Psalm 90:12