Opportunity {Five Minute Friday}

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The total the cashier gave me at the register of Lowe’s made me gasp. Really? It didn’t seem like I had purchased that many flowers.

And then I realized there were bunches of window boxes still left to plant and fill. Yikes.

I stood at home a bit later and looked at the barren and pitiful looking boxes on my deck. Knowing how much it would cost to fill them made my heart hurt.

Especially after looking in the face of poverty, knowing the hope that a few dollars offers, and contemplating the true value of my money.

Yes, I want my home to look beautiful {and it’s ok to have it be pretty}. But this year {and maybe in years to come as well}, we’re going to take the opportunity to share the beauty with another family.

The flowers may not abound in the window boxes, but as I plant some herb seeds and leave one box barren, the new sprouts will be a daily be reminder of TRUE beauty and the opportunity to make an eternal difference in the life of a child.

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Five Minute Fridays is hosted by The Gypsy Mama and is a meme where we write for only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. Join in here…

{This} Close to Tanzania!

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The last step for my upcoming trip to Tanzania with Compassion International is in place. Today, my trip guide arrived, along with my passport and visa for Tanzania. My plane tickets are now officially packed and I am finishing up a few loose ends before the plane takes off on Friday ~ with me on it!

Each day that brings me closer to traveling makes it a little more ‘real’, but at the same time, almost surreal.

I am beyond excited to be a part of this blogging team with some other amazing people. Even if I don’t always externally show it, know that internally I am shouting.

Meanwhile, I am breaking in new shoes so that I don’t need to pack boxes of Band-Aids and the kids are drawing pictures to share with the little boy, David, that we now sponsor in Tanzania. I can hardly believe that at some point next week, I will be able to physically hold that little boy, play with him, hopefully meet his family, and SEE the difference that partnering with Compassion International can make.

THAT alone is just an overwhelming thought.

I’ll be sharing bits and pieces here and linking you to more pictures and my heart thoughts as I go along. Thank you all SO much for your encouragement and prayers. They are known and felt!!

And…if you don’t already, pray and consider sponsoring a child through Compassion {from Tanzania or anywhere!}.

 

Taking a Trip to Tanzania

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In my sidebar you may notice a new button that says I’m following Compassion Bloggers to Tanzania. The reality of it is, I will actually be one of the bloggers traveling to Tanzania in May of 2012.

I’ll be sharing more details about the trip soon with you all, but in the meantime can I ask for your prayers as the entire team prepares for the time overseas? Most of my personal trip will be blogged about at Homeschool Creations, but I will be including snippets of it here with links to the full posts.

You can follow along and ‘meet’ the other Compassion Bloggers on the Tanzinia trip and if you are on Twitter, also follow along with our Twitter stream. Thanks so much for all of your prayers!

Come Out to Support Compassion International

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Does your family sponsor a child through Compassion International? If you would like to learn more about the ministry of Compassion International, singer Shaun Groves will be in concert representing Compassion on the evening of Wednesday, February 15th at Eastern Mennonite University {Martin Chapel}.

Compassion's mission is releasing children from poverty across the world. Join Shaun for an evening of songs and stories inspired by his travels with Compassion. Although the concert is free, they are accepting the donations at the door. There will also be an opportunity to sponsor a child ~ something we as a family truly enjoy!

I would HIGHLY recommend attending and spreading the word to your friends and family that may be in the area. Not only is Shaun’s music wonderful, he will be sharing his heart {and humor} with everyone. It will be an evening that will bless you on so many levels, so be sure to mark your calendar to attend!