One of the first scriptures I memorized as a little girl was Psalm 40:1

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

I can specifically remember turning in my Bible to that passage and then loving to read the rest of the chapter–especially verse 2:

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;

I thought the picture of a slimy pit in the Bible was hilarious (maybe because I was a child of Double Dare?!).

Now as an adult I can see the beauty of the rest of this verse and the whole chapter:

he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand…Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

As a Christian, I know how Jesus has pulled me out of slime and mud. I have a firm place to stand in my life because of Him. Not because of anything I’ve done. I’m the one that was been poor and needy. Jesus has been my help and my deliverer.

This morning as I was thinking about our Shoes2Share challenge and the many scriptures that involve feet (really, hundreds!!) Psalm 40 is the one that first came to mind. And I think it’s such a beautiful picture of what God let us be a part of.

There are thousands of poor and needy people. So needy they can’t provide shoes for themselves. And they need some help. They are patiently waiting and we’ve been given the opportunity to provide shoes to them. We’ve been given the chance to help them stand on firm ground. And with each pair of shoes, we’re coupling the message (via Shoes 2 Share) that Jesus loves them. That Jesus is their ultimate deliverer. He’s the one who is waiting for an invitation to pull them out of a spiritual slime and place them on a solid foundation for the rest of their lives.

I pray that the shoes we’ve collected brings this realization to hundreds of people. I pray my children see the connection between providing shoes and sharing Jesus.

I hope you took this same opportunity to reach out to others and to begin a lifestyle of giving with your children. If you did participate in our Shoes2Share challenge, we want to see what you did!

If you have a blog, please post about your experience and leave the link to your individual Shoes2Share post in the linky below. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to post a link to a picture on your facebook, flickr, photobucket or other photo sharing site. If you don’t do any of those, please leave us a comment, we’d love to see what you’ve done!

I’ll go first…

{feed readers & email subscribers, you’ll have to click over to join in!}

Oh my goodness. I didn’t know that this would be my favorite season of life so far. No one let me in on the best-kept secret of life. No, it’s not my high school years or even my twenties. And it sure doesn’t have to do with my age which is sliding up pretty high all of the sudden! This special season has to do with some little bitty babies, growing up into toddler years, preschool and older. They’re not even my own children and yet they cause me such joy and excitement. I’m smiling broadly as I even type these words because I’m thinking of the little people I could spend every available moment with (maybe excluding 6:30-7:30 a.m. if possible!) Who are these delightful little creatures? Why, grand-children, of course! They’re the ones who put “grand” into the phase after that deplorable sounding one: “empty-nest.” Not my fave so far– but what came after empty-nest would have helped me sail right through the afore-mentioned phase if someone had just told me about the frosting these grandkids would apply to my “life cake.”

One of the most fun, highly anticipated events planned by PaPa and Grandmama (that’s my husband and me– we’ll stoop to any syllables strung together by these precious things called grandchildren just to hear them say our names!) for our grandchildren is our annual event called Camp Primo. This is our camp with the tag: where cousins put Jesus first.

Camp Primo 2010

We began with two little female campers, amazingly only 18 months and 3 years old at our first camp. They seemed grown up at the time, but when we think back about it, that seems pretty little to be going to a 3 day, 2 night camp– even with your grandparents!

We structure our “camp” to seem like we are at a real camp. We have a theme song, camp t-shirts and a daily schedule that includes Bible Time, Activity Awards, Cabin Time, Kick Back Time and more. Our campers receive a packing list and registration form which they must bring back, signed in their own hand. They also wear their camp t-shirts upon arrival at Grandmama’s and Papa’s.

Camp Primo 2010

Our first year when the campers were so young, we cleared out our living room, set up a tent and had Camp Primo’s home base at home! We went on field trips and did lots of activities, but it was still easy to take naps, go potty, change diapers and not get too over-extended. However, after that first year, we began searching out new and interesting places. We desire to give our campers opportunities to explore God’s world with each other and with Grandmama and Papa. We are intentionally creating memories that only Camp Primo “campers” and “directors” will have together. We’ve tent-camped at Stone Mountain Park, stayed in a KOA Kamping Kabin in North Georgia and rented a two-bedroom cottage at Amicolala Falls State Park. This year, we welcomed our newest camper– and he’s a boy! And he was only 21 months old! He added lots of fun and excitement as our camp increased in size.

Camp Primo 2008

Here are some of the kinds of activities we do:
Bible time– we choose a Bible story and Scripture verse to focus on that we can utilize during our regular activities as well. This year our theme Scripture was Proverbs 6: 6  You people who don’t want to work, think about the ant!  Consider its ways and be wise! We played a Memory Verse game in which “ants” had laid down a trail of words that campers had to find. We learned motions to the verse so we could begin to hide it in our hearts. We played table games with our verse, we looked at pictures of ants to see how hard they work, we stayed up late and watched A Bug’s Life, we went on a scavenger hunt for ant hills and we were excited every time we saw an ant! Not only did we reinforce the Bible truths we learned about working hard like the ant, but we helped to cast out fear and trepidation about ants and other bugs and insects. We want our grandchildren to love God’s creation and not fear it.

Camp Primo 2008

Cabin Time is a “free time” for our campers to play with a toy or game they brought from home. This is just usually once during the day and usually just during the time that it takes both Grandmama and Papa to cook, clean or set up the next activity. We also involve the kids in those chores– but you know there is that point when the kids just aren’t being that helpful and spending a few minutes in free play is a pretty good idea. The kids love Cabin Time.

Camp Primo “Kick Back” 2010

Kick Back Time is our favorite– even for the campers. This is the proverbial “rest hour” only we all do it together. The campers, the directors and the toddler camper all kick back at the same time, in the same room if possible. We start with reading stories or quiet talking and giggling. Soon, the activities of the day start to creep over us and we are all asleep. We have never had a problem getting our campers involved in Kick Back– and it is a needed part of the camp schedule for campers and directors alike (whew…Grandmama could definitely tell her need for Kick Back time with 3 campers!)

Our Activity Awards have included:
~Pet Care- we brought our dog last year and the campers had to feed her, walk her, brush her and more. They were not too happy when they found out Charmin would not be an honorary camper this summer!
~Hiking- we made walking sticks and went on different kinds of hikes around the campsite as we learned hiking safety
~Crafts– we love to make crafts of any kind and make a variety of them every year!
~Nature Scavenger Hunt– this year it was all about the ants!
~Creek Stomping– this was a new one due to our cottage backing up to a creek. We explored, collected flat rocks to skip, saw a snake, took pictures of flowers, got glass bowls and explored the bottom of the creek, we shampooed our hair and played for hours.

Camp Primo Mascot, Charmin 2009

We plan our activities according to our site so there is no end of possibilities.

At the end of camp, our campers are awarded badges for the Bible and Award Activities. They are presented at our Parent Program when moms and dads pick up their campers at Grandmama’s and Papa’s house. Our campers put on a program which includes fun features such as:
~singing our camp theme song
~presenting our parents with a gift. This year we decorated pots and planted flowers. We used sticks we had collected to add a creative touch to the planting.
~a slide show to give parents a peek into our camp fun

Camp Primo 2010

Of course, “camp” and “badges” and “theme songs” and Camp Primo itself is just a tool in the means to an end. The tool is a fun, exclusive experience that our grandchildren can only have with this exact set of grandparents and cousins. We covet the gift that God has given us in our grandchildren **tears in my eyes** and are grateful that our children and their spouses give us such access to their children. We are now beginning to tell our older granddaughters (ages 4 and 6) that when they get big and are moms, we will probably be taking them to Camp Primo on an airplane! I don’t even really know what I am talking about, but the point is, we are creating a special space in their lives that will not end just because they have graduated from high school or have gotten married. We hope with God’s help that we will be able to speak into their lives, supporting their parents’ philosophy and desires in raising their children as we strengthen the bond and love between us and our grandchildren. We see our three little ones as a precious gift from God who elevate us to the title of “grand” whenever they call our names, run to give us hugs or kisses or just by the expression of excitement on their faces when they see us.

So… my mind is already swirling about next year’s Camp Primo– but first, Camp Primo, the Winter Wonderland Retreat. We can’t wait a whole year!

Yesterday was the weekly Focus on the Family webcast—and I was a special guest! Well, that might be an exaggeration. I was just a tiny interview at the very end of the show. But it was a really cool honor for me because Focus on the Family was significant for me (through Clubhouse Magazine, Brio Magazine, Adventures in Odyssey and more) as a kid. I got to talk about what Lydia and I did for the Shoes2Share challenge.

The first 45 minutes was full of fun experiments and toys you can make with your kids (I’m going to do some tutorials on some of these activities soon, because they were pretty cool!). Then the founders of Shoes2Share were interviewed along with the editor of Clubhouse Jr…and ME!

If you have just a few minutes, scroll ahead to about minute 45 or so to see our segment. If you have a whole hour to spend, the beginning was really fun and you’ll enjoy all the stuff that was made!

And thanks to everyone who facebooked and tweeted me that they were watching! It was so sweet to know you were “there” with me!

(Click the picture above to be connected to the webcast)

PS: Part 4 of Have a New Kid By Friday will be up soon! Catch up on the first 3 days if you need to!

We did it! A few weeks ago we decided to partner with Shoes2Share and Clubhouse Jr to collect shoes for needy people in Haiti. We asked our neighborhood to help us by collecting all their shoes and leaving them by their mailbox after our neighborhood yard sale. I figured everyone would be cleaning out their closets anyway, so might as well give their shoes to us!

To get the word out, I emailed our homeowners association and they sent out an email to everyone in our neighborhood with a link to my original Shoes2Share post. Then I made a little flier to deliver to our neighbors. We printed them on colorful paper and Lydia folded a large trash bag up inside the flier and stapled it closed. I bought 100 bags and printed 100 flyers. I have to admit she only did about 20 of them. But as any mom of a 4 year old knows, this was like doing 100 of them herself! She worked so hard on it and didn’t complain once.

We really only have 2 streets in our neighborhood, both with about 40 houses on it. So, early one morning while I was walking, I put a flier/trash bag on every mailbox. Then a few days later, Lydia loaded up her bag with fliers and we walked down the other street.

We walked in the blazing hot sun for over 30 minutes while Lydia put the fliers and trash bags on every mailbox. Yeah, it took her a long time. Yeah, we had to talk about not bending the flags or scratching the mailboxes. And yeah, I could have done it 40x faster than her. But I restrained myself and let her do it. And she did!

During the yard sale, about 2 or 3 neighbors dropped off shoes to us. We were so excited! Later, I had to run to the store and saw about 5 bags at different mailboxes. I literally got tears in my eyes! That night, after we packed all our JUNK up and got it off to Goodwill, we drove through our neighborhood to pick up the shoes.

Lydia was beside herself with excitement. My husband drove behind us and Lydia and I picked up every bag. OK, she didn’t really throw them in the back of the truck, but she wanted to!

Soon, the back of the truck was full. We collected 35 bags of shoes! THIRTY FIVE! We were shocked! Even some of the people on the other side of our neighborhood (who I didn’t deliver a flier or bag to) left shoes out for us!

Then it was time to sort the shoes. We started opening bags and rubberbanding them together. Lydia loved matching them and looking at what she considered beautiful or unusual shoes. (Her fave? A pair of wooden flip flops!)

This took us two different days. I felt like the shoes were just multiplying! Lydia did a good bit by herself but some of those big shoes were just too unwieldy to actually connect together. Finally, they were done! Ahhh!

Now it was time to box them up, counting as we went. And how many shoes did we get? Well, SEVEN BOXES worth. A total of TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY THREE SHOES. 293!!! Here’s Lydia with her Clubhouse Jr magazine (showing DeeDee from Shoes2Share) and our SEVEN boxes of shoes!

We had to use my husband’s truck to get the boxes to the mailing & shipping store. Then use a handtruck to get them in the store! It was pretty exciting thinking about our little neighborhood joining with our little family to provide shoes for 293 people in Haiti!!

While we were standing in the shipping store, I could feel some of the other customer’s eyes on us. And I could imagine them saying, “What a waste. Just send that place some money. It’d be a lot easier and probably a better use of your money.” Well, that is possible. It cost a good bit to mail those boxes. And it took quite a bit of time for Lydia and me to make those fliers, staple them together, deliver them, pick up the shoes, sort them, count them and box them.

But do you know what happened besides shoes being delivered? Lydia got to understand what it means to be a part of something big. She got to see what it was to do something hard for God. She was able to catch a glimpse of what the body of Christ does. My four year old spent days doing hands on work for needy people in another country.

And I am praying it begins a way of life for her. That she will always look for hard things to do. I pray her first response is to work for God. To give to others in need. And to realize her time and her life should be spent focused not on herself or her desires, but on the needs and desires of others.

Now it’s YOUR turn! Will you get involved? What can you and your kids do for Shoes2Share? For people in Haiti? For God? How can you collect some shoes? Can you gather just 3 or 4 pairs? How about 10 or 20? Or 300? In not so many words I’m daring you to get involved. It will be an amazing exprience for you and your family!

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Talk to your kids about this challenge. Read the story from Clubhouse Jr about Shoes2Share.

2. Figure out a way you can collect some shoes together. Go door-to-door. Clean out your closets. Set up a box at the front of your local shoe store. Volunteer to clean out your friend’s house and snag all their shoes. Hit up the thrift stores on 50% off day and buy all the shoes. Ask stores to donate. Or come up with something even better!

3. Collect your shoes and follow the instructions from Clubhouse Jr to send your shoes to Shoes 2 Share.

4. Come back here August 1st and link up your Shoes2Share blog post, facebook update or just leave a comment about what you and your family did for Haiti–and for God! We’re going to have a mini-party and celebrate our kids and our experiences!

I cannot wait to see what you and your family are going to do! Don’t forget to grab the Shoes2Share button (—>it’s in the sidebar for all you email and feed readers) to post on your site or facebook. And if you are tweeting use the hashtag #shoes2share!

See you August 1st!

This weekend was our Yard Sale. It was hot, humid and verrry boring. But we had a GREAT response from our neighborhood to donate shoes for Shoes 2 Share. Here’s a preview of our day…

Lydia was all smiles as we collected the shoes and we praised her for working so hard for Jesus. It’s a beautiful example I want her to continue throughout her life.

I’ll give a full update on August 1st when our linky post goes live! You’ve still got time to think of a great way to get your kids involved in this amazing challenge. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

For more details see our original Shoes2Share Challenge post!

I just get so excited about summer because companies come out of the woodwork to do fun stuff for kids! Last week I told you about all the fun {free} Summer Reading Programs. Well, today, here are some free and almost free activities that stores, business and companies do for YOUR kids!

1. Lowes & Home Depot Workshops

Fun, free construction projects! We’ve made butterfly houses, basketball hoops and planters! You get a free apron, goggles, project, certificate of completion and a patch or pin to put on your apron. It is one of the most fun things ever! (Saturdays mornings, all year long.)

2. Vacation Bible School

You should be seeing the signs jumping up all over town soon. There will be a VBS on every corner! As a former Children’s Pastor, I can vouch for the high-quality VBS programs that Group produces—theirs this year is High Seas Expedition! (Here’s a post about last year’s VBS, Crococile Dock.) Most churches do VBS for free, but if there is any cost, it’s minimal. And hey–don’t be afraid to send your kid to more than one!

3. Free Museums

Target has a great free museum days program. One special day a month you can get into a select local museum for FREE! Bank of America also has a similar program where if you show your ATM or credit card, you can go to a museum for free on the first weekend of every month. (Year round. Days vary.)

4. Kids Bowl Free.com

This actually is a good deal. You sign up your kids for two FREE games per day at a local bowling alley. That’s it!

You do have the option, of course, for adding a family pass for $26.95 and up to 4 adult family members (or baby-sitters…) can bowl for free, too! We did this last year and it really was worth it! But even if you don’t buy the Family Pass, your kids can bowl free! (All summer long!)

5. Michael’s Weekly Crafts

Each week Michael’s has craft time—some are free while others are the cost of materials. June is full of Father’s Day crafts and July has some Independence Day crafts! (Times vary, year round.)

6. Free Movies!

Most movie theaters do free or super-cheap kids’ movies during the summer months. Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival is every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am. Cinemark, AMC and Rave and Carmike are all offering movie deals, too. My favorite part is the kids’ popcorn is cheap, too!

(Honestly, after reading through the movies, we’ll probably only see 1 or 2. Kids movies are not as…kid-friendly as they used to be…)

7. Storytime

If you are a parent and have not experienced “storytime” well, you are missing out! Most libraries, local bookstores, big chain bookstores and even non-bookstores like Pottery Barn Kids host a weekly storytime. You come with your kids, sit down and have someone read you a story! Sometimes there is singing, a short cartoon or a craft.

8. Geek Camp

Do you have an Apple store near you? Well, this summer the Apple store is hosting Apple Camp. Kids get to come to the store and learn all sorts of geeky computer stuff. I am so jealous and totally want to go to the camp myself! It’s for kids 8-12 and I think it would be SO cool. It also got me thinking that there must be other stores or factories or companies that do this same type of thing! I’m going to keep my ears open and see what might be going on in my area.

9. Release Parties

Lots of bookstores and movie stores and even regular old Wal-Marts do release parties for new books or movies. I noticed my local Borders is doing a Toy Story 3 release party with crafts and storytime and a giveaway. I have even been to a ::whisper:: Harry Potter release party at a bookstore.

10. Festivals

Spring and summer are the time for festivals. Here in Atlanta we have the Dogwood Festival and the Yellow Daisy Festival! But all over the country are fun festivals with crafts, food, kids’ programming and more. You need to find the good website or magazine in your area that highlights these events—and then go to all of them! In Georgia, I like Atlanta Parent and Georgia.com. Festivals.com also has listsings for events across the country!

for more fun top ten lists visit ohAmanda & Top Ten {Tuesday}!

We just got our new Clubhouse Jr magazine in the mail. I flipped through it while the kids were playing to see if there was a fun craft or story. A story about a little girl named DeeDee stopped me. DeeDee and her brother were adopted from Haiti 6 years ago. When their adoptive parents came to Haiti, they brought a suitcase full of extra shoes to give to people that might need them. The next time they came to Haiti, those same people were at the airport waiting for them to bring more shoes!

This inspired them to begin a ministry called Shoes 2 Share. They collect shoes and ship them all over the world to give to those in need! Clubhouse, Jr. is partnering with Shoes 2 Share and is challenging kids to donate 2000 pairs of shoes!

I read DeeDee’s story to Lydia today and had to hold back tears. Not so much about the shoes…it’s not a new thing or even a “big” thing to donate shoes. But to think about little kids getting involved and making things happen around the world got me excited. Doing small things to make a big difference is something I want my kids to understand!

My family is going to join this challenge. Here’s what we are going to do:

Our neighborhood is having a Yard Sale the second weekend of June. I’m going to make a flyer/poster and deliver it to everyone in our neighborhood. This flyer will give a little info about the Shoes 2 Share Challenge. Then I’m going to ask them to do 1 of 3 things:

1. Donate their shoes to our collection. (I’ll probably give everyone a bag.)

2. Make sure they put shoes in their yard sale with a flyer that says “Buy these shoes and donate them to Shoes 2 Share”. The customers can buy the shoes and leave them in a specially marked bag.

3. Leave all donated & leftover shoes by their mailbox after the yard sale and I’ll pick them up.

I think it might work!

Then I’ll box my shoes up and send them to Shoes 2 Share and Clubhouse Jr. But I don’t want to stop there–I want YOU and YOUR KIDS to join this challenge! Here’s what I’m asking YOU…

1. Talk to your kids about this challenge. Read the story about DeeDee and her family.

2. Figure out a way you can collect some shoes together. Go door-to-door. Clean out your closets. Set up a box at the front of your local shoe store. Volunteer to clean out your friend’s house and snag all their shoes. Hit up the thrift stores on 50% off day and buy all the shoes. Ask stores to donate. Or come up with something even better!

3. Collect your shoes and follow the instructions from Clubhouse Jr to send your shoes to Shoes 2 Share.

4. Blog or facebook about your adventure and leave a link on our Shoes 2 Share Challenge post on August 1, 2010. (Yeah, that’s 2 whole months!  I thought you might need a little time to figure out a good way to collect everything.)

I’m so excited about this! I can’t wait to see how it impacts our family…and yours! Just think–our kids will be doing something super small to make a big difference in the world!

I’ve made a button for you to put on your blog or facebook page. Even if you’re not 100% sure if you’re going to do it, please spread the word for us!

I am not remotely connected to Clubhouse Jr or Shoes 2 Share. They have no idea I posted this. I’m just excited about this challenge.

This post is linked to the amazing Kristen from We Are THAT Family and the “Mom, I’m Bored” Works For Me Wednesday. I don’t think your kids will be bored when they are collecting shoes for kids in Haiti!

photo by mcandrea

(my friend Jill from the Diaper Diaries holding a goat in the Dominican Republic)

Well, I didn’t really get my mom a goat, but I thought about it! See, when I got back from my trip with World Vision, my husband had not taken the prime opportunity of me being gone to buy Mother’s Day presents. So, on Saturday afternoon I headed to the grocery store to buy food for dinner with my mother-in-law, cards for all the moms in our family and a potted lily or two to boot.

In the middle of the store, right in front of the cards, Lydia decided to have a meltdown. There was foot stomping, screaming, crying and wailing. So, I left the food and the cards in the cart in the middle of the aisle and pulled my two kids out the front door.

Happy Mother’s Day to me!

Lydia went from bath to dinner to bed in the matter of 10 minutes and was asleep at 5:30pm. (In her defense, she had spent the last 2 nights away one of which was her first slumber party!) And as I contemplated what in the world I was going to do for my mom, my aunt, my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law for mother’s day I had a great idea!

WORLD VISION.

World Vision has a gift catalog. You browse through the catalog and can donate in someone’s honor. There are gifts of animals (like the aforementioned goat), fruit trees, seeds, HIV caregiver kit, soccer balls or a well! I chose a sewing machine for my crafty mother. In her name, a sewing machine was donated to an orphaned teen, single mother or HIV-positive woman so she can have begin earning an income as a seamstress. For my mother-in-law, we donated a new baby kit: a bassinet, diapers, blanket, container for clean water, soap and training for a new mama.

It was one of my most favorite gifts I’ve ever given! I know it’s because I was just immersed in World Vision and saw that they actually DO what they say they will and DO make a difference in the world. But really, what a great gift! Next time you need a gift (especially last-minute) for someone, consider donating to a family in need!

So, what did I get for Mother’s Day? A beautiful homemade card from my daughter. A fever of 102 from my son. A homecooked meal (homecooked because *I* made it). And a fun flower lapel pin (that is really a magnet!) from my aunt. Not a picture perfect Mother’s Day, but after a week of being away from my family it was beautiful!

What did you do for Mother’s Day? Tell us about your special day in our community! (I’m closing the comments so you can respond over there…don’t worry, it’s not more clicks, just more fun!)

linked to 5minutesformom’s Mother’s Day link up!

Usually when you think of child sponsorship you think of the faces of children. We are moved as mothers to see these children because we know how much we love our own children. We know how we would move heaven and earth to provide and nurture our children.

Well, what about their mothers? What about the women who cannot provide food for their kids? What about the mom who can’t afford a school uniform for their child so they can’t go to school? What about the mother who is HIV positive and wonders what will happen to her children if she dies? What about the mother who has no husband and no job and cannot pick up food stamps or stop by a women’s shelter?

This week I have been stunned by the mothers. Stunned that I have never considered them before. They are just like me. I am just like them. I feel their mother-lion protection and their fierce desire to provide. But they do not have the resources I have. They do not have the support or information I can get a hold of.

This week I have been so encouraged and impressed with the life-change that can come to these MOTHERS through child sponsorship. This time I’m going to show you the faces not of the sponsored children, but of the mothers.

Maria. Single mother to 3 boys. (Read Jessica’s post about meeting Maria.)

Me, Mari Luz and her mother Maria. (See my vlog about Mari Luz.)

Mothers (and fathers) in an HIV support group. Their children attend a support group the day before.

Mothers at a local Mom’s Group. They learn proper hygiene and support one another.

Momprenuers learning to sew so they can provide for their families.

Please consider sponsoring a child with World Vision. You’ll be supporting a Mother. What a perfect gift for Mother’s Day!

I know I’ve told you how much of an impact it has made on our family to sponsor two children through Compassion International. My daughter has a small inkling of a bigger world and responsibility to care and give because of our kids who live in Burkina Faso.

I announced a few weeks ago in our forums that I am going a step further with this by traveling with another child sponsorship organization, World Vision to the Dominican Republic. I’ve been asked to be a part of a blogger’s team that will live blog our experience and the work of World Vision in the area.

I’m so excited. Today I was posting on my personal blog about the trip and then ran over here to tell you guys, too. And suddenly I realized I couldn’t tell you about sponsoring a kid in the Dominican Republic when I had not yet done it myself.

I sat at the dining room table and looked through the faces of the kids on the World Vision website. I wrestled with myself—“if I get an older kid, I’ll only have to sponsor her for a few years. If I get a young one, I’ll have to do it their whole life. But if I get a younger one, they won’t care if I come to visit them. An older one will appreciate it more.” And then I felt sick at myself. Good grief! We’re talking about a child who needs clothes, food and shelter. A child who may not get to go to school if it wasn’t for my $35! It doesn’t matter which one I pick–God already knows them. And he’ll use my dollars to impact their life for eternity!

So, I just clicked on the next child. Her name is Mari. She’s 12 years old. She seems old and strong and happy. I hope she’ll be excited when she finds out I’m sponsoring her. I hope she’ll enjoy it when I come to visit her. I hope she likes the necklace I bring her.

Necklace?

Yes, necklace. Lisa Leonard (you do know Lisa Leonard, don’t you?) has designed a special necklace for our trip.

Isn’t it beautiful? She’s giving us 100  necklaces to give to the children, parents and people we meet in the Dominican Republic. I’ll get to place this beautiful necklace on Mari’s sweet neck. She’ll see the one I wear around my neck and I pray she’ll feel the faith, hope and love that God has for her.

Now, here’s the cool part. You can get your own Faith, Hope, Amor necklace. How? By sponsoring a child. Lisa Leonard is donating a necklace to everyone who sponsors a child through World Vision via our blogs. {quantities limited} What a great reminder to pray for and write to your child.

Please look at their faces of the children. See who pricks your heart or just click the first child you see. God will use your money to make a difference in their lives AND in yours.

If you already sponsor a child (especially from the Dominican Republic) OR if you choose to sponsor one today, please leave me a comment! {This will also ensure you get your necklace!}