I want to be a rock star...

Some of my favorite people are rock stars. I want to be a rock star, too.

Rock stars cook, teach, visit the home-bound, write lovely letters, challenge creativity, and love on and care for the needy.

They write the books that stir up love and good deeds, and they "like" and send hugs and kisses.

They sing, laugh, wipe dirty noses, craft quilts, speak to one or thousands, love the unlovely, kiss boo-boos and fevered brows, sponsor children, paint and capture beauty, and pray in secret.

They pull weeds, change dirty diapers, scrub toilets, crochet prayer shawls, knit socks, and encourage where ever they are.

And  they do it without a grumble.

They are rock stars - standing on the Rock to Shine like a Star - loving, giving, writing and speaking the words of life to which they hold.  

"Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life." ~ Philippians 2.14-15a NIV

As I count thanks with Ann in community today, I am grateful for..

...YOU - and all the ways you are a rock star, inspiring and encouraging your circle of influence 

...the good medicine of a cheerful heart and the friends who delivered with love and laughter

...a sweet morning with Addisyn

...a day trip with Louis and watching him play "Big Buck Hunter" with Mason and Austin {adorable haircuts}

...two Sunday mornings in a row for worship and fellowship {how I love the Body of Christ}

...answered prayers and meds that work {yes}

...music and those gifted to make it

...hot showers, clean sheets, soft pillows and heating pads

...bowls of fresh fruit on the kitchen counter

...the views out my windows

...a daughter still at home {truly a gift}

What gifts and rock stars are you counting with thanks today?

{Photos} from a morning to wander  

Beautiful hearts...

...that flame bush in the backyard




...that's supposed to be attracting hummingbirds




...but all I've seen




...are spiders and insects.

Taking a little break from watching the College World Series (It's Great. To Be. A Florida Gator) and working on a guest post for (in)courage. (I'll let y'all know next week when it's up.)

I do love those girls over at Dayspring's (in)courage, and I'm jumping-up-and-down thrilled to be able to write for them. If you're ever in need of a little encouragement from your sisters (which for me is daily), I highly recommend spending time reading and commenting and letting those beautiful sister hearts speak to yours.

Speaking of beautiful hearts, Shaun Groves new release 3rd World Symphony is ready to preview and pre-order, and I wasted no time doing both. I can't listen without thinking of my beautiful friend Ann and my family's adorable Compassion child, Diego, from Guatemala.

Third World Symphony by shaungroves

 Jeff Goins, Writer, is one of my favorite new reads. His blog is a wealth of information for writers, bloggers, and other creative thinkers, and the guest post on his blog today, The Clean Water Crisis, reveals his beautiful heart of compassion, as well.

The gift of compassion...

...for two little boys.

One for each of them:

Guatemala ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Guatemala - to read and learn about Diego's home

Window On The World - to know there are children like Diego all over the world who need prayer, who need Jesus, who need compassion

An inflatable globe - to trace the distance across the Gulf between us and Guatemala

A copy of Diego's first letter to us - colored drawings, slick with crayon wax, and a fingerprint we can touch

And the adorable Diego - the very same age as those two little boys - standing tall against the paint-pealed wall - his photo framed for each of them

The little boys will open their packages, inflate the globes and find the place Diego lives. We'll take a photo and print it off, draw pictures and send love in a letter - to Diego from Mason and Gavin and their papa and mimi.

And when grace and blessings are said over our food, and we light the last candle on our journey to Bethlehem, we'll pray all together for Diego and his family, grateful for the opportunity to nurture the gift of compassion in the hearts of those two little boys who call me mimi.

Child sponsorship, through various Christian organizations, has been a way of life for our family for over twenty years, but the inspiration for sponsoring a child as a Christmas gift for our grandchildren came as I traveled vicariously with Ann Voskamp to Guatemala with Compassion International  late this past summer.

If child sponsorship seems too overwhelming, there are still many other wonderful ways to give the "gift of compassion" to others this Christmas through the Gifts of Compassion Catalog - an on-line catalog of gift alternatives. No crowds, no lines, no stress, and no returns - just a gift that will help make a difference in the life of a child living in one of the poorest communities of the world. Gifts that help to provide clean drinking water, medical treatment, disaster relief, food supplies and much, much more for Compassion-assisted children and their families.

There is a gift and price-range for nearly every budget. Gifts include mosquito nets, soccer balls, chickens, goats, water filters, farm equipment, clean water and more, and range in prices from $10 to $5000.

Meet real needs and bring real joy with a Gift of Compassion to someone you love this Christmas.

Abounding in every good work...

Marketing is not my bent. I'd rather give you everything I own than try to sell you anything, but the opportunity to partner with World Vision was different. All that was asked of me was to host a party, share the blessings of child sponsorship and encourage others to sponsor one of five children. There'd be nothing in it for me (I decided from the beginning to give the hostess gifts away), but the joy of knowing it would all be for Him.

I thought it would be easy to find sponsors for children living in poverty, but only a few people were even willing or able to come.

I'll bring the party to you. I offered those who'd declined the original party invitation, and two of the children were finally chosen.

Emanuel from the Dominican Republic is adorable. He will be three years old on Christmas Day. We fell in love with him the minute we saw his picture and I was thrilled when he was the first to be sponsored. I dearly love the home that chose Emanuel. He will be prayed for and loved deeply for years to come.

Kaushal is a handsome twelve year old who lives in the slums of India. I could not be happier that he was next to be chosen. His sponsor is one of the sweetest friends we made after moving here over twenty years ago. She is a wonderful teacher who dearly loves children. She and Kaushal will be blessed.

For days after Emanuel and Kaushal were chosen, I grieved that there were three more children I'd been entrusted with that were still in need of a sponsor. How could I let them down?

I carried the burden of failure, wondering what I could have done to encourage others to sponsor - until I read this:

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

It wasn't my burden to carry - to move the hearts of God's people - for God loves a cheerful giver, not a manipulated, pressured giver.

Lord, you know whose heart has been tendered - who has decided in their heart to give, I prayed with the three children's pictures and folders on the table before me.




Later that week, I tucked the children's folders in my Bible before leaving for church. Maybe I could mention them in class, I thought.

As though the pastor and I had planned it that way, the message in church (before class) was on money and giving. I, of course, knew differently. It was clear to me that though I was timid about bringing up the subject of child sponsorship, I'd leave knowing I'd be disobedient to do otherwise.

Before class began and as people entered the room, I asked the teacher for permission. I took the folders out of my Bible and placed them on the empty chair next to me. Immediately one of my classmates picked up the one on the top. "God has been dealing with my heart about this for a while now," she spoke with a grin. "After Bob's sermon this morning, I know this is what I am supposed to do."

Six year old Keylin's folder was the one she had chosen. Keylin lives in Honduras in a poor rural community. We share the same birthday, Keylin and I, so I'd been praying extra hard for her. She is the same age with the very same birthday as her new sponsor's granddaughter, too. We rejoiced at the visible, providential hand of God that brought Keylin and her sponsor together.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, 

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-9 ESV



There are still two children I am praying for sponsors: Nine year old Amos in Malawi, and six year old Akudzwe in Zimbabwe. I'll be returning their folders to World Vision the end of this month if sponsors are not found for them soon.

I share that with you today, in case God has been speaking to your heart, too.