What if, we were born in a place without clean water. Limited options. Dirt floors. Would we still be able to do as the song says and throw cares away this Christmas season? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I know that many of us, myself included, sometimes need to stop and reevaluate our cares. Maybe we need to throw away our petty cares and cling to what Christ told us to care about. It’s our call to care for one another and there should never be fear of going without access to food, water, shelter, and some kind of opportunity. That’s what Compassion has made sure happens for children around the globe. They took a need and have literally made a difference around the world by simply doing what we’re called to do. Maybe you do this everyday or maybe you give locally. But this Christmas season please pray and consider sponsoring a child, please consider Teh.

Personal and Family Information:
Teh lives with his father and his mother. His duties at home include carrying water, washing clothes and running errands. There are 2 children in the family. His father is sometimes employed as a laborer and his mother is sometimes employed as a laborer.

Soccer, singing and walking are Teh’s favorite activities. In middle school his performance is average and he also regularly attends Bible class and camp.

Your love and support will help Teh to receive the assistance he needs to develop his potential. Please pray for him. Click HERE if you would like to sponsor Teh.

IMPORTANT: A CREDIT CARD IS REQUIRED as payment because this child has been classified “HIGH PRIORITY”. This child has been waiting more than 6 months for a sponsor. Help make a difference in the life of this child, who is anxiously waiting for a sponsor.

Please take a moment to check out Christian. Christian is 10 years old, from Guatemala, and could use your sponsorship to help enrich his life.

Think about it, pray for Christian, and put his heart and the hearts of all the children who might need a little compassion on your heart.

Personal and Family Information:
Christian lives with his father and his mother. At home, duties include gathering firewood, running errands and cleaning. His father is sometimes employed as a farmer and his mother maintains the home. There are 4 children in the family.

Playing with cars, playing with marbles and playing ball games are Christian’s favorite activities. In primary school his performance is average and he also regularly attends church activities and Bible class.

Because of your sponsorship, Christian will have new opportunities to learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. Thank you for your concern and prayers.

Gifty is not presently attending school. Singing and playing house are her favorite activities. She also attends church activities and Bible class regularly.

Your love and support will help Gifty to receive the assistance she needs to develop her potential. Please pray for her. Click HERE if you are interested in sponsoring Gifty.

This child lives in an AIDS affected area. In Africa, the disease has impacted the entire continent, creating a generation of orphans and vulnerable children. God can use you to help ease the pain of a child in desperate need.

IMPORTANT: A CREDIT CARD IS REQUIRED as payment because this child has been classified “HIGH PRIORITY”. This child has been waiting more than 6 months for a sponsor. Help make a difference in the life of this child, who is anxiously waiting for a sponsor.

Personal and Family Information:
In his home, Brian helps by carrying water. He lives with his father and his mother. His father is sometimes employed as a farmer and his mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. There are 7 children in the family.

For fun, Brian enjoys soccer and singing. He attends church activities regularly and is in kindergarten where his performance is average.

Because of your sponsorship, Brian will have new opportunities to learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. Thank you for your concern and prayers.

This child lives in an AIDS affected area. In Africa, the disease has impacted the entire continent, creating a generation of orphans and vulnerable children. God can use you to help ease the pain of a child in desperate need.

To Sponsor another child with Compassion International, Click Here

With that said, meet Andrea. (fitting huh?)  Andrea is 3 Years Old and needs our help.

Personal and Family Information:
In her home, Andrea helps by gathering firewood, running errands and cleaning. She lives with her father and her mother. Her father is sometimes employed as a laborer and her mother is sometimes employed as a laborer.

Andrea is not attending school because she is too young. Playing with dolls, hide-and-seek and playing group games are her favorite activities. She also attends Bible class regularly.

Please remember Andrea in your prayers. Your love and support will help her to receive the assistance she needs to grow and develop.

To give Andrea the help she needs and deserves, click her picture and welcome her to your family.  If you would like to browse other Compassion children, CLICK HERE.

After you sponsor Andrea, let me know in the comment section or shoot me an E-mail.

Whatever you decide, pray for Andrea, will ya?  Pray for her, spread this message around on your social network sites, send it in an email, etc.  Get involved and let us, together, improve the lives of deserving children…..One child at  a time.

It is so easy to get hyped up on your feelings, your way, your belief.

But listen to what Proverbs 14 says,

He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.

I think that sometimes we don’t think of our quick tongues or attitudes being antithetical to compassion, but they are, because in that moment, you’re first, no one else’s feelings or past or issues matter. And sometimes just taking that step back and giving someone a chance, to be human, or make a mistake, or just disagree with you, is an act of compassion.

Now I need to turn around and take a long glance in the mirror (as always).

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is now considered the world’s worst dictator. From most accounts he has completely turned his back on the practices going on in his country. Frequent rapings and pillaging of women have left some too scared to talk to anyone. Once the government is spoken out against, it is almost certain someone will come looking for them. This has happened in the Congo. I am sure it has happened around the world where people know the world won’t come running. It seems there is so much red tape all around. Would it be this way if those atrocities were being performed right in the good ol’ US of A. I would like to think not. But even more than that I know not. And I wonder why that is. Why did our founders put certain faith and understanding in human life that others around the world have not? And why is it our job to stick our noses into terrorism that only affects us if we really believe this to be true. I would like to think of ourselves as leaders, but I am forced into thinking of our country as more of posers.  We strike the pose that we believe in the value of human life, yet only this week was Omar al-Bashir brought up on any charges concerning the situation that has happened and is happening in Sudan. How long has it gone on? Years and years, and only now is the world beginning to acknowledge it in any way that can bring justice. This must change.

I think women must stand together and speak out against these atrocities. I think that women must decide our own fates, where we may, and they must be wrapped up and soaked in helping others. This is a belief I have that is all at once entangled in my faith and not, because I know who we are meant to be and what we are worth in Jesus, but I also know the worth of a human life. And although the two might be mutually exclusive I understand the world’s religious system that makes it not so and hard to say. So that chance has to be given and we have to be grabbing our opportunities by the horns as they say. Mine is only beginning. I don’t know quite who I am or where I am going to be but it’s not a scary place that I have been imagining. It is a place of hope and freedom and the giving of mercy that Christ so readily gave to me.

I know this is a jumbled mess of emotions, but I feel that we have to get the word out. If you don’t know about Zimbabwe, the Congo, or Sudan, please do some reading, and share with others. Then maybe together we can figure out a way to help and continue speaking out, although we are far away.

Not really.

Yesterday I read her Ted Haggard post and I was like well I guess my post is gone. If only I had posted earlier. Argh!
I am only joking.

I just wanted to go ahead and write what I noted, because like Anne, Ted’s story saddened me on Wednesday. I saw his wife and children with him on Oprah and their support was amazing. But what struck me most about the whole conversation, what knocked the breath out of me because I have been a part of a pastor’s family my whole life, and at that a pastor who had problems that were kept hidden, was when he said “I kept trying to work it out in spiritual circles and I couldn’t.”

He admits that he would start to share, only to be shut down.

How can we as Christians ”shut down” and then say we believe everyone to be worthy of salvation? How can we work so hard to keep some out and some in?

I am faced now with my own prejudices and the dark glasses I have worn in regards to some problems and not others. But to paraphrase another thing Ted said, never have I realized more how in need we all are for God’s redemption and salvation. And he does accept anyone. And on top of that, he loves us.

So I’m not upset that a few people have the same blog topic. For once I’m excited. I think it is a message we all need to be waking up to. 

So today, have a little (spritual) compassion.

If you would like to sponsor a child, here is your chance! This is Eliana.

Personal and Family Information:
Eliana lives with her father and her mother. Her duties at home include washing clothes, making beds and cleaning. There are 2 children in the family. Her father is sometimes employed and her mother maintains the home.

Bicycling, hide-and-seek and playing group games are Eliana’s favorite activities. In primary school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities and Bible class.

Because of your sponsorship, Eliana will have new opportunities to learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. Thank you for your concern and prayers. Please click HERE if you would like to sponsor Eliana.

IMPORTANT: A CREDIT CARD IS REQUIRED as payment because this child has been classified “HIGH PRIORITY”. This child has been waiting more than 6 months for a sponsor. Help make a difference in the life of this child, who is anxiously waiting for a sponsor.