Update: Shaun Groves has set up a place to leave your Compassion stories and share them with everyone in blogland. Read the stories and/or share your own by going here.

My heart has been touched, squeezed, wrung out, and forever changed over the past several days.

I put that Compassion button over in my sidebar the day Sophie and Shannon headed out to Uganda, and I have prayed diligently from the first moment they shared of their opportunity to go on this life-changing adventure.

My heart has ached and the tears have flowed freely as I have watched, read, prayed, and searched my own mind for the response God has for me. He has done a work that will not soon fade from view.

For several years now I have prayed for another child, a child God has placed on my heart. I know that child will not be born from my womb, and I am pretty sure she will not come from this country.

In His timing, God has not seen fit to allow our family to pursue adoption yet. He hasn't told me "No." He has gently been whispering, "Not yet."

Until then, I must be satisfied with the dreams I have of her and with the hope that one day He will bring her home to rest in my arms. So I thought.

However, on Friday, a new little girl was added to our family in a matter of minutes. We went to the Compassion site and chose to sponsor Juana from Guatemala. She is 5 and was born on my birthday.

Now, I may not shelter this precious one in my own home. I may never actually hold her in my arms like this, but I can be a significant part of her life by the giving of my money, my time, and my prayers to make sure she has every opportunity to grow into the young woman God has created her to be. I can, through my gifts, make a change in her family that will endure through future generations.

If you don't already sponsor a child, I would heartily encourage you to embrace the motto of Compassion and begin the process of "releasing a child from poverty in Jesus' name." All you need to do is click here. Let you heart lead you. God will do the rest.

I know the bloggers are headed home, due to return to US soil today. Yet it is not too late to do something life-changing. Only you know how that looks for you.

I don't know when God will move in the arena of adoption for our family. I do know my heart is still wide open for Him to do whatever He will.

All I can tell you right now is that He soothed my aching mama soul just a little bit when I looked into Juana's face and knew that I could help make a difference for her. God can do the same with you. Go check it out now!

Labels: adoption, beginnings, childhood, compassion, faith, giving

Good Morning!

Welcome to the first Thanks Tank of 2008!!

Considering the week I've had, this could be a long one, but I'll try to just hit the highlights. Here's how God is filling my tank this week:

1. Public School: For a variety of reasons we have chosen to send our children back into this environment, and so far I have seen God's hand at every juncture.

2. Christian Teachers: The school our children attend is full of them, and each one of my sweeties is blessed with one. How cool is that!

3. Excited Children: Though they have cried this week that they miss me, my children are excited about learning and filled with joy at all the new experiences they are facing each day.

4. Bus Service: I didn't think I'd be willing to send my children on the bus, but it is the last stop on the way to school and the first drop off at the end of the day -- making their time on the bus a mere 5 minutes or so.

5. Domestic Victories: After reading about Barb's success here, I decided to try to overcome 14 years of miserable chocolate chip cookie failure. DP's favorite is chocolate chip, and I can never make a decent one. No more!! Here are the results:


All cookies shown above have been pronounced terrific by the beloved in my household and JD Green even had to make a huge announcement when DP bit into his first delectable morsel,

"Dad, these are not store bought ones! She made these from scratch at our house!!" So, thank you, Barb, and thanks, too, to the Butler and the Butler's Wife whose recipe I used. Our family pays homage to you.

6. Quiet: I have not known what that is for a very long time, but I am thankful for the quiet moments that allow me to begin to choose how I want to spend/invest my time. I heard this song this morning on the way home from taking DP to work. I so needed to hear it for the reminder it shares to be quiet before the Lord.

7. Choir: How I love the heart of our worship pastor! The way he shepherds our choir is amazing, and I am so blessed to be part of this ministry. I went home last night having worshipped and full from the way God met me in the midst of it. Thanks, Josh!

8. Caller ID: I love the way I can choose whether I want to answer the phone or not. I do not avoid calls from friends, but I do choose not to pick up those calls from the innumerable telemarketers that dial my number. What a blessing and timesaver!

9. Exercise: Ah! The tinge of pain to confirm the fact that under the squishy is muscle . . . unused muscle, but muscle nonetheless. Tony worked me over yesterday, but it is refreshing to have a reminder of those muscles I've left dormant for months. I'm headed back to deal with him again today, after this post is finished. "Downward Dog", here I come!

10. Relief: The knowledge that I am exactly where God wants me right now is beginning to set my soul at rest. The anxiety will dissipate and the knot in my stomach will go away, and all that will be left is relief and peace only my Savior can provide.

So, I managed to condense the bounty of blessings into something readable and manageable in one sitting. Please, feel free to join in and let us all know how God is filling your tank!!

Leave a comment here or take the button and make your own list like these lovely ladies have.

Have a thanks-filled day!!

On His Adventure~

Pam

Labels: beginnings, blessings, cool things, gratitude, joy, thanks tank

Somehow the beginning of a school year ushers in new beginnings to all walks of life. In our little Peachy Keen Homeschool Academy school doesn't ever really end, so school is not "officially" beginning this week.

Yet, my DP is on his way out the door even as I type. Teachers report today. Students report to the new beginning Friday. There is a freshness, an anticipation that hangs in the very air around us.

Advertisements all around us proclaim the "BIGGEST Back -to-School" sales of the season!! New binders, folders, pencils, pens, and glue sticks are being purchased by the gross. Whether excitement or dread be the order of the day . . . a new beginning is upon us. We can't deny it any more than we can avoid January 1st on each year's calendar.

The new beginning around here is multi-fold. See, as well as embarking on a new school year, we are also in the midst of a time of changes for our church. We had an inspiring message from our interim pastor yesterday that left me with hope for my future as well as for the future of this church body. (I'm not just sayin' that because he now reads this little blog o' mine)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Again, in my time with my Lord this morning, I was reminded He has plans for me. He made me specifically for a relationship with Him. Stasi and John Eldredge put it this way in Captivating:

"Our God is a tenderhearted God who yearns for relationship with us. If you have any doubt about that, simply look at the message He sent us in Woman.

Amazing. Not only does God long for us, but He longs to be loved by us . . . He wants us to love Him. To seek Him with all our hearts."

So, today, as much as I am capable, I plan to seek Him with all my heart. I purpose to adore Him, to desire a relationship with Him and with those He's put in my path.

Today, that begins with my children, and they are calling . . . even as I type. I'm off!

Have a great day seeking relationship with Him! He longs to be loved by you, too!!

Labels: beginnings, blessings, God's Word, relationship