Should Just Stop Counting...

So... I've decided to just stop counting for now... stop counting the number of empty Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes that are leaving my doorstep and going to the homes of families from my kids' school community!  I stopped counting at 350 shoeboxes and 195 families.

In exactly two weeks from today... all the shoeboxes will be coming back filled!  That's when I will count them!!!

In the meantime, we have started folding shoeboxes in preparation for the Shoebox Packing Party that is happening here at our house with three other families!!!  Together, we are aiming to pack 70 shoeboxes that day!







My son and I went shopping last night for things to fill the shoeboxes. The excitement is building! It was our first of what will be... maybe three or four shopping trips!!!

Finally... here's a video clip from Operation Christmas Child Canada.  What an amazing story!!!  This is why our family packs shoeboxes each and every year!  Over the last 17 years, it has become one of our best loved family traditions!



Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend...

It is already Monday night and the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend is almost over.  For my Facebook status today, I wrote: I am thankful for "beauty instead of ashes" and for the simple graces that my God gives! Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends!!!

Our weekend was jam-packed with activity... so much excitement and so much action!  We have sooooo much to be thankful for... words aren't adequate enough to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for His bountiful blessings.

Here are a few highlights from our weekend...

~ 3 more Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes were requested by a family from my kids' school over the weekend taking the total up to 346 boxes!  God just keeps adding to the total --- He has definitely successfully blown my socks off on this one!

~ On Saturday, our family and 15 of our family and friends went to the Daily Bread Food Bank and volunteered to sort food.  This is in celebration of hubby's 45th birthday!  We are so thankful that many of our family and friends who came to help also brought along food to donate.  Others who couldn't join us donated food as well.  It was a very fun afternoon celebrating and fighting hunger both at the same time.  To top it all off... we even made the news --- both in print and on air!  Of the many, many people there volunteering, we are still wondering why the news reporter would pick our group to interview.  God must've wanted our story to be heard by many more!  Very humbling thought.

~ After volunteering, we had Thanksgiving dinner here at home with the family of hubby's sister.  Great times!  I successfully made too much food yet again.  Burp!

~ Sunday, we took my sister's kids to a local petting zoo.  It's been a while since we've been there and it was so much fun!

Here are my kids with their little cousins posing with the pony.  

And here I am overcoming my *dislike* of animals and leading the pony on which my nephew is riding on. I'm always amazed at what we, adults, would do for cute little children!!!

~ Today, we went on a nature hike in the woods to soak in the wonderful Autumn colours!  The trees are ablaze with God's artistry... so captivating!!!  We took along our camera and tripod... and took a few family pictures.  We got quite a few good ones that we plan to include in our year end family newsletter.  Here's a sneak peek:



Well, another Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone... but, the thankfulness will definitely be staying!  As it says in James 1:17 (NIV) --- "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  So thankful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!! 
 

I Spoke Too Soon...

So... it appears that I spoke too soon this morning!  My children just stepped in the door... home from school... with more request slips for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!!!

The new total is now at 343 shoeboxes and 190 families participating!!!

When I look at those numbers, I must admit that I can hardly believe it.

OK... here comes the confession.  When my kids initially thought of the idea of introducing this project to their school, I was skeptical.  First of all, I didn't think that their principal would even go for it. It is a public school after all and with all the political correctness going on these day... I thought the chances are slim that he would embrace a Christian organization like Samaritan's Purse.  God quickly proved me wrong... the principal approved the project even before my kids could really explain to him what it was all about!  He, apparently, already knew about Operation Christmas Child and had packed shoeboxes before.  :-)

Then, my kids went on to set a goal of 200 shoeboxes!  My skepticism got the best of me once again.  In my mind... I had set an "attainable goal" of 50 shoeboxes.  I know, I know... I should be ashamed of myself for my lack of faith!!!  I feel like Peter when he walked on water.  What did Jesus say to him again?  Oh yeah... Jesus said:

“You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

---Matthew 14:31 (NLT)

I went along with my kids' goal... and silently prayed that God would not disappoint them!  Well... you all know the rest of the story.  God proved me wrong once again... we are now having to go back to the Collection Centre once again to get more shoeboxes!

343 shoeboxes.  190 families.  Beauty from ashes.  A lesson in faith.  God is sooooo good!

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Do It Anyway...

I saw this poem in my blog roll this morning... it is definitely worth a re-post, so here it is!  It is Mother Teresa's version of The Paradoxical Commandments by Dr. Kent M. Keith.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

Great reminder... Here I am.  Lord, send me!

305 Shoeboxes!!!

Can you believe it!?! My kids' school community has together requested 305 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes as of this very moment. I just came home from dropping off the shoeboxes at the school. They are going home to the families today!!! Plus, a few more requests are expected to trickle in today and throughout next week... this is sooooo exciting.  I am beyond excited!

Let me just say that I am sooooo proud of my kids! From two children to a community of over 165 families coming together to pack shoeboxes for children living in poverty. What a God-thing!!! I count it a blessing, an awesome privilege, that my children can be Jesus' hands and feet in this way. Words aren't adequate enough to express what my heart is feeling right now... I thank you, Heavenly Father, for beauty from ashes moments! This is truly one of them.

Brian Littrell's song In Christ Alone comes to mind right now... (It is on the Playlist on the sidebar of this blog if you want to listen to it.)

♪ ♫ In every victory, let it be said of me.
My source of strength, my source of hope is Christ alone. ♫ ♪

This is the lesson that I want my children to learn from all of this... that their source of strength and their source of hope is Christ alone... that their every victory is for the glory of God alone!

Here I am. Lord, send me!

How To Behold Beauty

I see beauty in the colours of Autumn --- my favourite season!  This photo shows the maple leaves just starting to change into their attractive Fall colours... a sight that I will not get tired of beholding each time the month of October rolls around!  I snapped this picture during a hike through a conservation area near our home this past weekend with my family.   

Speaking of seeing beauty, in my blog roll this morning are these words from Ann Voskamp...

We see God when we let go. When we let go of the visible, papery skin that surrounds our moments, then we see the sacred jewel gleaming just underneath everything.

When we cup the thinning, fragile places, the places worn right through, the dying and flaking away and hardly-holding-together-places, this is when we see the amber of Holiness.

Stripping away the sheath of self, this is how we see God. In a lace of brokenness, light dances with shadows.

Indeed... this is how I can see God... this is how I can behold beauty!

God is teaching me many things these few months.  Lessons that guide my todays and will shape my tomorrows.  Hard lessons but essential ones.  Molding me closer to becoming the masterpiece that HE designed and purposed me to be.

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

24 More and Other Exciting Things...

Twenty four more shoeboxes have been requested by my kids' school community for Operation Christmas Child bringing the total to 272!  We have run out of shoeboxes and I am having to go get more at the Collection Centre tonight.  I think I will get 75 more just to be on the safe side. :-)  Words can not express the excitement that this household is feeling!  God is truly gracious to us... this is truly beauty from ashes!

Speaking of which... plans are starting to take shape on how our family can tangibly get involved with the ministry for under privileged children at Jane/Finch.  This is an after-school ministry where 25-30 children return everyday for Bible study + worship, homework help, snacks and just to hang out.  God loving, Christian leaders reach these children with the goal in mind to raise a leader in order to restore their community!  I received an email last night from our friend who is the Site Supervisor there... again, exciting opportunities to impact the lives of those who are truly needy!  One item on his list of things that we can be involved in excites me the most... and that is to get Christmas presents for these children!!!  You can be sure that our family will start working on that project right away once we are finished with Operation Christmas Child.

Another beauty from ashes item worth mentioning is happening this weekend --- Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  Our family will be going to the Food Bank and volunteer to sort food this coming Saturday.  This is to celebrate hubby's 45th birthday!  Well, get this --- we invited family and friends to join us and 15 of them said YES!!!  I am sooooo thrilled and sooooo excited.  Among these 15 people are 3 ladies from my workplace... God truly is turning people's hearts towards the things that matter most to Him!   

God is truly taking our family to heights we've not seen before and places we've not been before!  I am in awe... we are truly humbled that God is gracious enough to allow us to be a part of these beautiful God-moments!

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

248!!!

TWO HUNDRED FORTY EIGHT!  We just finished tallying all the request forms that came home from my kids' school today --- 248 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes in total have been requested by families in our school community!  Plus, more request forms are expected in the next couple of days...

248 more children who live in poverty will receive a Christmas present this year because of this endeavour.  This year, the majority of these shoeboxes will be heading to Haiti!

My kids are beyond excited.  They surpassed their goal of 200 shoeboxes!  Wow!  So humbling.  So exciting.  So cool!!!

I am one proud mama!  My heart is happy and I know that God is smiling!  Truly beauty from ashes...  I couldn't have asked for a better outcome!  God is good.

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Just One More...

Just one more blog post on this truly very exciting day... I love the verses from Lamentations 4:21-24 (NLT) which say:

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

My God truly is faithful!  After posting the previous blog post this morning, our snail mail arrived.  In the pile of letters is one from the Founding Director of the Jane/Finch ministry that I wrote about in my previous blog post.  In the letter he shares about one of the Site Supervisors having to choose between feeding the children or taking them on a fun trip.  Of course, making sure the children aren't hungry is the choice that was made!  The fun trips did not happen...

The letter is yet another confirmation from God letting us know where He would like us to get involved at this time... where we should be giving our time, effort and resources!  One of the topics we discussed this morning with our friend was precisely what the letter outlined... how we can help to make the extras like fun trips, better quality snack items, tutoring help happen in this ministry.

You see, God is clearly speaking to our family.  We must follow!  There is no other way.   

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Hello There, October!

Well, wouldn't you know it?!?  It's October already.  I welcome your arrival, October... I am actually quite excited to see you.  It's only the very first morning of October and it's been an exciting one already to say the least... before I start writing, let me contain my excitement and compose myself first as I try to catch up to God's speed here!  :-)

Okay.  Deep Breath.  Big Grin.  I think I'm all caught up now! 

You see... yesterday was the official ending of our involvement with a ministry that was near and dear to our hearts... one that our family nurtured like a newborn baby!  Sometimes in life, we encounter disappointments... things just don't turn out the way we expect them to.  The thing is... how things turn out is exactly how God intended it to be all along.  We are puzzle pieces that He is putting into places of His choice in order to complete HIS BIG PICTURE.

So... today marks a new month, a new start, a new beginning.  Best of all, God's steadfast love and new mercies accompany these new things!  One ministry assignment ends for us yesterday and a new one sprouts up today... how much more exciting can it be!  Truly beauty from ashes!

If you're a regular on here, you know that over the summer months God led us to be involved with a ministry for under privileged children in the Jane/Finch area.  That experience has opened our eyes to who the truly needy are in our society!  How can we sit back in our comfortable suburban settings and lifestyles when these needs are calling out to us?

Well... this morning, God arranged for hubby and me to meet up with our friend who is the Site Supervisor of the ministry at Jane/Finch.  We chatted and encouraged each other.  He helped us see where we can fit in to help and serve in this ministry!

Exciting.  Humbling.  Amazing.  God is good... HE has successfully knocked our socks off once again!!!

Our family is very much looking forward to this new leg of the journey.  Life is full of surprises... God is full of surprises... that is what makes life exciting!

Here I am.  Lord, send me!