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Friday, January 29, 2010

Lyric Friday

I'M LETTING GO - LYRICS
Francesca Battistelli

My heart beats, standing on the edge
But my feet have finally left the ledge

Like an acrobat
There’s no turning back

(Chorus)
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
I’m losing control
Of my destiny
It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go

This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone

(Chorus)

Giving in to your gravity
Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid

(Chorus)

Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
Feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me

So much of this song has encouraged me over the last few days as I think about going to Uganda.

Especially the part that says:

"This is a giant leap of faith

Trusting and trying to embrace

The fear of the unknown

Beyond my comfort zone"

Because that is exactly how it will be for me, but then I hear this part:

"Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid"

"So I’m letting go"!!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

4 Months From Today....

I wanted to announce a very exciting opportunity that has come up for me to go to AFRICA!! Not too long ago a friend of mine invited me to go on a missions trip with an organization she has started called Etaala International (please check out the website). Etaala is partenering with another organization called Safewater Nexus (you can click on this link also). Together they have organized a trip to UGANDA from May 26th to June 10th 2010. During our time there we will be volunteering at a children’s village (a village made up of orphan homes), holding precious babies, serving at a local church to put on a VBS for the local children, possibly digging a well, and getting to know some amazing people. I can not begin to tell you how excited I am about this! This will be my first missions trip and my first time out of the country!!

I have always loved children and have always wanted to work with them in some way. I now have an awareness of children all over the world who have no one to love and care for them, no hope for an education, and no family at all. My hope is to begin working with these children, who are, by no fault of their own, orphans. On this trip I will have the opportunity to do just that, and much more.


I also just started a new blog, here is the link: http://journey2uganda.wordpress.com/

Monday, January 25, 2010

Friday, January 22, 2010

Lyric Friday

What Are You Waiting For lyrics
By Natalie Grant

Sometimes I get that overwhelmin' feelin'
So sad the faces on TV
If I try to make a difference, would it help anyway?
But then I stop and to myself, I say

So you wanna change the world
What are you waiting for?
Say, you're gonna start right now
What are you waiting for?

Now, it only takes one voice
So come on now and shout it out
Give a little more
What are you waiting for?

Sometimes I feel a little helpless
Seems like I can't do a thing
But anything is possible just you wait and see
Good things happen if you just believe

So you wanna change the world
What are you waiting for?
Say, you're gonna start right now
What are you waiting for?

It only takes one voice
So come on now and shout it out
Give a little more
What are you waiting for?

Someday, somehow you're gonna take that step
'Cause time is ticking away
Right here, right now, before it's too late
Gonna face tomorrow today, yeah, yeah, alright yeah, oh yeah

So you wanna change the world
What are you waiting for?
Say, you're gonna start right now
What are you waiting for?

It only takes one voice
So come on now and shout it out
Give a little more
What are you waiting for?

So you wanna change the world
What are you waiting for?
Say, you're gonna start right now
What are you waiting for?

It only takes one voice
So come on now and shout it out
Give a little more
What are you waiting for?

Ooh, yeah, what are you waiting for?
What are you waiting, what are you waiting
What are you waiting for?



© BLOTTER MUSIC; G MATT MUSIC; FRIENDS OF SEAGULLS MUSIC; MUSIC OF WINDSWEPT; BOOKERMAN MUSIC; WB MUSIC CORP.;


Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Post Number 101!


Well as you might have guessed from the title, I have officially posted more than 100 times on this blog. Yah!! I wanted to make this post for the 100th, but I lost track. Oh well! :)

Friday, January 15, 2010

Shirts for Shoes

Simply Love has partnered with Children's Hope Chest to
bring "Shirst for Shoes".

If you buy a shirt from Simply Love you will not only be
getting a shirt, but will also be giving a shirt
and pair of shoes to an orphan in Ethiopia.

Here are some sample pictures of the shirts:


Check out the link to Tom Davis's blog for more info:



Lyric Friday



"I Will Go"

By Starfield

To the desperate eyes and reaching hands
To the suffering and the lean
To the ones the world has cast aside
Where you want me I will be

[Chorus:]
I will go, I will go
I will go, Lord send me
To the world, To the lost
To the poor and hungry
Take everything I am
I'm clay within your hands
I will go, I will go, send me

Let me not be blind with privilege
Give me eyes to see the pain
Let the blessing You've poured out on me
Not be spent on me in vain
Let this life be used for change

[Chorus]

I wanna live for you
Go where you lead me
I wanna follow you
[Repeat 3x]

[Chorus]

Send me! [4x]

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Shepherd's Field Video

Here is a video about the Vocational Center at Shepherd's Field Children Village.

Monday, January 11, 2010

New Pic

I just love new pictures!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Lyric Friday



"My Future Decided"

HILLSONG UNITED

You hold the future in your hands
You know my dreams and you have a plan
And as you light my way, I'll follow you

My eyes on all of the above
My soul secure in all you've done
My minds made up
And you are the only one for me

Jesus, savior, in my life you are everything
My future decided, I will praise your name
And I know that I am, I am yours
Yeah, I know that I am, I am yours

You hold the earth in your command
You are the rock on which I stand
And as I live each day, I'll follow you

My eyes on all of the above
My soul secure in all you've done
My minds made up
And you are the only one for me

Jesus, savior, in my life you are everything
My future decided, I will praise your name
And I know that I am, I am yours
Yeah, I know that I am, I am yours

Aren't afraid, aren't ashamed Lord we
know who we are
We are your people and we won't be silent
Unified hear us cry at the top of our lungs
You our God and we will not be shaken

Aren't afraid, aren't ashamed Lord we
know who we are
We are your people and we won't be silent
Unified hear us cry at the top of our lungs
You our God and we will not be shaken

Jesus, savior, in my life you are everything
My future decided, I will praise your name
And I know that I am, I am yours
Yeah, I know that I am, I am yours

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Video

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I Am One




"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." ~ Helen Keller

Lucas at OneTrueMedia.com

Lucas

Lucas' cochlear implant
Lucas is a 3 ½ yr old orphan boy who is deaf. He is living in China at Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village. Lucas is a very happy little boy who has never had the simple gift of hearing that so many of us may take for granted. Wouldn’t it be great if you could play a part in granting this gift to sweet little Lucas, and changing his life forever? You can! All you have to do is send a donation of any amount to the Philip Hayden Foundation’s office in the US.
Philip Hayden Foundation
40335 Winchester Rd. #E-115,
Temecula, CA 92591 USA
*Make sure to specify “Lucas’ Cochlear Implant” somewhere on your donation.
The cost for his surgery will be 200,000rmb which is about $29,850usd.
It is very important that Lucas gets this surgery as soon as possible. Here in the US they are doing cochlear implants as early as 12 months of age. Lucas is 3 1/2 years old and will be 4 in May. It is crucial that he get this implant before he gets much older, because the chances of failure are much greater the older the child is. After surgery Lucas will have to have ongoing therapy in order for him to develop the skills he needs and to slowly adjust the implant, increasing the sounds he hears. The younger he is the easier it will be for him to learn these skills. It was initially hoped that Lucas would have been adopted before his surgery, but since that hasn’t happened as of yet, the need for his surgery is growing more and more every day.
So, please consider helping this sweet boy by a donation of any amount. Thank You!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

One Year Sponsorship Anniversary

One year ago today I started the journey of sponsorship. It has been an amazing experience for me and I have learned so much through it. First of all, I wanted to write how this journey began, and how I first came to know about the plight of orphans all around the world.
It all started in May of 2008, when I heard that Christian music singer, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family were going through a loss. It was the death of their 5 year old daughter, Maria Sue Chapman. I heard the news on the radio. I didn’t really know much about Steven Curtis Chapman at the time. I had only heard a few of his songs that played on the radio. As I started to think about how this family must be feeling after their loss, I started to look for more information. I found the blogs of Steven C. Chapman and his family members. I started reading through them and finding out more about this family. It took a very long time to read through all the blogs, but I enjoyed getting to know them through their posts. I thought it was really great that they had adopted 3 girls from China. I don’t think before that I had really been exposed to adoption, or orphans even. I had always loved children, though. And I thought their children were so adorable. After reading more about the Chapman family I noticed they were advocates for orphans and adoption. I found out about their organization that they started called “Show Hope”. Through their blogs I found more blogs of people who were also had an interest in the same things. Also I started reading books about adoption, orphans, and what our responsibility as Christian’s is to do for the poor, widows, strangers, and orphans. My heart started to break for the children in the world who had no one to love them. I took on more blogs and started to get to know many people through the internet. Through a blog called “Hope Now” by Annie I learned about a children’s village in China called Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village. I found out that Annie sponsored a little girl there, and I was interested in sponsoring as well. So I went to the website (chinaorphans.org) and looked through the children that needed sponsors. It was very hard to choose out of all the cute little faces. I went through all of them, and the very last picture was a little baby boy. His name was Tristan and I could see that he, at least, had a cleft lip and palate from the picture. The thought went through my head “I don’t want to choose him. I want a healthy little boy that doesn’t have any noticeable special needs.” After thinking that I knew it was totally wrong of me, and I regretted even thinking it. But that's just how I felt about special needs at the time. I wasn't really open to it, and I didn't accept it. Then, I just knew he was the one I was going to sponsor. I remember thinking “He needs me.” So I started sponsoring him in January 2009.
But really through this whole experience of sponsorship I have realized I needed him. Tristan has changed me in many ways. He has given me a better understanding of what many orphans have to go through, just to survive. He has helped me to understand that it doesn’t matter how you look or what special needs you have, you are important. God made everybody the way they are for a reason, He makes no mistakes. If a child is born with a special need it is for a reason. And I began to see God slowly opening my heart up for children with special needs. 
Tristan has gone through a lot in his little life. Surgeries, infections, many sicknesses, and not to even mention abandonment soon after birth. But because of a great organization called The Philip Hayden Foundation, he has hope. He has hope of proper medical care, loving people to care for him on a daily basis, and even hope of a forever family in the future.
So I put together this slideshow of sweet little Tristan. These are only a handful of the many pictures I have gathered over the year that I have been sponsoring him. They were all taken by incredible people that have gone to China and met Tristan themselves. So a big thank you to everyone who took these pictures, and allowed me to have a little glimpse into his life.


Friday, January 1, 2010

Lyric Friday

"SOMETHING BIG"
By JOHN WALLER
"I wanna see something I've not seen
Something so big
I wanna be a part of something great
Greater than me

It's time to dream big dreams
To see Your vision
Become reality
‘Cause it’s for You, by You, those who
Love You wanna do

Something so big
It’s destined to fail without You, Lord
It’s gonna fail without You, Lord
Something so great
It takes a miracle to do
We, Your children
Wanna do something big for You

We, yes, we are gonna sing a brand new song
Something so strong
We will be the sound that wakes the dawn
Something so loud

It’s time for breaking through
‘Cause there are no limits
For he who holds the truth
When it’s for You, and by You, and those who
Love You wanna do

Something bigger, something greater
For the glory of Your splendor
Something bigger, something greater
Tell the story of Your wondrous love
Your wondrous love
Those who love You wanna do

As long as we live, let us do something so big for You"

May this song be an encouragement to all who want to do something big for Him!

Happy New Year

It's a new year, 2010!!

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."
-Edith Lovejoy Pierce