Posts tagged as:

children

Motherhood is a risk {repost}

by Jessica on January 20, 2011

As I’m settling into mothering two…

{a repost from the archives}

I hate when I hear people ask a pregnant women, “Are you excited about becoming a mother?”

A pregnant woman is not waiting to become a mother…she already is. Motherhood, like life, begins at conception. As soon as that child is conceived the mother’s body begins to cultivate and protect that child. Motherhood doesn’t begin when you first hold your baby in your arms. The investment, emotion, and risk begin long before the first wail.

You don’t wait to love your child until they enter the world. You love with the shades of double pink lines, with the loud oceany heartbeat, and the first picture…even if your baby does resemble an alien. You love.

And anytime you love, you risk.

Motherhood is a risk, because there is no guarantee.

There’s no guarantee that your child will be obedient, quiet, a lover of Jesus. There’s no guarantee that they’ll sleep through the night or respect you when you say “no.” There’s no guarantee that they’ll escape the terrible twos or stereotypical teenage years. There’s no guarantee that your child will be successful, smart, or well-mannered. There’s no guarantee that your child will always be safe, always be well. There’s no guarantee that your child will live longer than you. There’s no guarantee that your child will make it out of the womb alive.

And yet you love.

Motherhood is a risk, because there is so much to lose.

I have loved and I have lost and I have gained and loved again. And this I know for sure…God is good all the time.

Tagged as: children, motherhood

{ 5 comments }

Compassion

by Jessica on September 13, 2010

in Living Intentionally

There was so much goodness coming out of Guatemala this last week…it was crazy! God is definitely moving in big ways through the ministry Compassion does.

Just in case you don’t know,

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.

Founded by the Rev. Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care, as well as Christian training.

Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 26 countries. (from their About page)

Compassion took a group of bloggers to Guatemala to “experience the ministry of Compassion International among the poor of Guatemala” and brought us along for the ride through the posts, tweets, and pictures. It was humbling and amazing.

Let me back up a second…the main way Compassion’s ministry works is through pairing up sponsors (like me or these bloggers and many more) with children who live in desperate poverty in 26 different countries. A sponsor pledges $38 a month, which

connects your child with a loving, church-based child sponsorship program that provides:

Food and clean water

Medical care

Educational opportunities

Important life-skills training

Most important of all, your sponsored child will hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God. (Read more)

But the great part is that you don’t only get to support a child with your money, but with your time, energy, and love through letters. And as I learned this week…a sponsors letters to a child mean more than we can ever know.

I wanted to share with you some of the posts from the Guatemala Compassion bloggers that moved, inspired, and set a fire under me. Honestly, they’re all worth checking out.

Lame Sponsors of the World Unite! (by Lisa-Jo of The Gypsy Mama) If you’ve been a sponsor for any length of time or struggle with connecting to your child through letter writing, then this post is for you! Definitely take the time to read why these letters mean so much!

The One Question You’ve Got to Look in the Mirror & Really Ask (by Ann Voskamp of A Holy Experience) Ann is one of those writers that reaches in and pulls your insides out in the gentlest of ways. Read it. Weep. Go do something.

“How does my faith in a land of iphones and ipods and ipads respond to a whole city of people in ramshackled tin and relentless rain washing them away?

Because whether consciously or not, intentionally or not — faith is always responding. Either with indifference or with intercession, either with apathy or aid.

Faith cannot have a non-response.”

Pastor Manuel’s 3 Point Sermon to American Pastors (by Shaun Groves) It’s simple…really simple. But do we do it?

If You Like Your Dreams & Miracles Explained (another by the lovely Ann) This is really why being an active and involved sponsor is so important. {my eyes are being opened}

Joy (by Amanda of Baby Bangs) This one had me crying and hoping for a day I can meet Pamela. Just look at the beauty and hope in these faces.

Would you consider sponsoring a child? Being a part of their dream? Helping to give them a hope, a future, and a picture of a very real and redeeming God?

Help a Child

Tagged as: children, Compassion, missions, Purposeful Living

{ 3 comments }

Wordless Wednesday: Oh boy, oh boy!

by Jessica on June 1, 2010

in pictures

The last week has definitely been a MOB Society* week. To be a mom you definitely have to have a sense of humor!

This was supposed to be naptime. I kept hearing the little pitter-patter of feet and would tell Joey to go back to bed from my room. After hearing quite of few more of that pitter-patter I went out to find him. Here he is on the couch with his pillow, 2 cups, every stuff animal, and most of his books.

Yep…that’s blue paint on his shirt, fingers, and yep…his mouth.

Someone figured out how to take the lid of his milk, but he didn’t enjoy standing in it.

A straw and a broom—what else do you need?

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom’s Wordless Wednesday.

*If you’re a mom of a boy(s) you should definitely check out the MOB Society website. It’s a website for mom’s of boys by mom’s of boys. It’s a great team!