Weekend Recap...

Busy weekend... amazingly FUN and MEANINGFUL!

On Saturday, we got together with three other families (my two sisters and one of our adopted sisters!) and we had a Packing Party to pack Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. We were aiming to pack 70 shoeboxes in total... but, by the end of the evening, we had 106!!! How cool is that?!? God is sooooo good!

Here are our children (minus the littlest one) with the initial 85 shoeboxes...

And here we are... the mommies!

We had a GREAT time... instilling in our children the meaning of giving to others... an awesome family tradition... and, making lasting memories!

At church today, the guest speaker was Brett Ullman.  He spoke on "Media, Faith, Culture" and how it relates to our families and especially to our young people.  Amazing message!

He ended with a four-fold blessing which really resonated with me.  Here it is:

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

May that be true of our family, I pray... Here I am.  Lord, send me!

High School

Am I ready for this?  For high school?  Reality sunk in for me today.  My daughter's class visited the local high school today.  Wow!  My baby girl will be a high school student VERY soon!  Where exactly did the time go?!?  Would time please slow down for me?!?

High school.  Outside the safety of our immediate neighbourhood.  Public transit.  Walking a fair distance home.  Growing up.

Deep breath.  Me... must learn to let go.  It's almost time for my baby girl to spread her wings... to fly... to soar!  Wasn't she just born yesterday?  How is it that she's now, seemingly in just a blink of an eye, a young lady... all grown up?!?  Sniff... sniff...

As I drove up to the high school this afternoon and saw my daughter standing by the front doors... I knew that time wouldn't slow down for me.  But I also realized one thing... no, two things --- that she'll do great at high school and that my mommy heart will be alright!  All because my baby girl is known to all as "God's Gal!"  :-)

My prayer for her is that she will ask this of God...  Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Trick-or-Canning

Here we are: myself (the Hippie), my son (the Jedi), my daughter (the Cowgirl) and their cousin (the Clown) all dressed up and ready for Halloween!

They chose to go Trick-or-Canning this year (instead of Trick-or-Treating) and collected food to donate to the local Food Bank.  Here's a photo of them and the "loot" they collected.  I'm sooooo proud of them...

And here's hubby (the Pirate) and me... we stayed home and handed out candies!!!

It was a fun night for all! Memories made...

Shoeboxes Collected!

Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes have been collected at my children's school!  Here they are posing with the "Collection Crew" in front of the wall of shoeboxes... 298 shoeboxes have come in so far.  More are going to be trickling in this week as at least 350 gift-filled shoeboxes are expected in total!!!

This makes me smile... I am one proud mama!  This picture truly says it all... children can make a difference!!!  This is much more a faith lesson for me than for anyone else... you can read the story here.  My God is truly good!

I am looking forward to the Shoebox Packing Party this coming Saturday here at our house.  We will be getting together with family and friends to pack another 70 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  It will be lots and lots of fun!  

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

So Much Beauty...!

Overwhelmed.  Speechless.  Awed.  That's how I am feeling this morning.  There are so many "beauty instead of ashes" moments happening all around me... I don't even know where to start writing!  I can most definitely say this though --- my God is indeed an awesome God!!!

So, where do I begin?  How about starting with... "There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10 (ESV).  Remember the lady (Ms. X) who ended up in the hospital whom I blogged about last week?  Well, my sister and I continued to visit her a few more times over this past week.  Yesterday, as I prepared to leave my house to head to the hospital... the Holy Spirit nudged me to bring along a Bible for Ms. X.  So I did.

I would say that Ms. X was the most spiritually hungry yesterday ever since we first met her over a week ago.  She indicated that she wants to have a relationship with God... she specifically asked how she can talk to God everyday!  That provided my sister and me with an opportunity to pray and read the Bible with her!  She prayed along and read the Bible too!

My sister talked to her this morning and Ms. X informed her that the Bible is now her most favourite book... along with the Our Daily Bread devotional that I brought her last week!  Please continue to pray for Ms. X as there is still no clear diagnosis... and she is facing the possibility of dialysis!  It is understandably a scary time for her... without any family or friends around... but she now has peace knowing that God will always be with her!!!

A seed planted.  A new creation.  A new daughter of God.  Truly beauty instead of ashes!

Next story... if you have been following my blog you'd know that God has recently led our family to become involved with a ministry to under privileged children living in the Jane/Finch area of our city.  It has been a blast... we are sooooo humbled that God would use us in this way! 

Well, this morning, I met a friend for coffee.  I don't even remember how we got to this topic but she ended up telling me that, as a teenager, she spent a considerable amount of time in Jane/Finch!  I had no idea that was her past!!!  Well, I said: "Funny you mentioned Jane/Finch... I have to tell you something!"

So, I started to tell her how God brought our family to become involved with UrbanPromise and how they are doing great things in the Jane/Finch neighbourhoods!  One of the neighbourhoods they work in, Driftwood, is exactly where my friend used to hang out at.  Coincidence?  I think not.

My friend continues on to tell me that she's had this feeling of being unfulfilled in terms of the way she is currently serving God.  She wants to do more.  She's always wondered about going back to Jane/Finch and making a difference... but she's never known how or where to start!  She had tears in her eyes... she's wondering if... through our involvement with UrbanPromise is the way God is bringing her back to Jane/Finch!

Awesome God-appointed coffee date.  Exciting possibilities.  A life going full circle.  Again, beauty instead of ashes!

So... as you can see, it's been an exciting couple of days around here!  Tomorrow is another exciting day coming up --- Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes are being collected at my kids' school!  Can't wait...

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

What If...

What if we all just give Christmas away?  I'm still singing the song Give This Christmas Away... and thinking... what if we all did that?  The world would indeed be a more beautiful place!

God has sooooo encouraged me this week.  Upon taking on the project to buy Christmas presents and to provide the cost of busing to a Christmas Party for a group of under privileged children who live in one of the toughest neighbourhoods in our city... I silently wondered if our family could do this well enough on our own.  Little did I know, God was already one step ahead of me.  He just wanted our family to say "YES" by faith first... then He'd show us His plan after that!  

So... after saying "YES" to what seemed like a huge project (both financially and time-wise) to me, God provides!  I mentioned the project to my sister and, as a result, she has her whole Bible Study group taking part!!!  As I sit here writing this post, I am truly amazed!  If we are willing to obey, God will take care of the details.  A HUGE portion of the bus cost is now covered and eight (out of the 28) children now have gift sponsors!  God has, again, successfully blown my socks off!

Give This Christmas Away by Matthew West and Amy Grant: 

What if I told you... you have the power to give someone hope beyond their wildest dreams. What if I told you... it’s right there in your hands, in your hands.

It’s hard to imagine how something so small can make all the difference... tear down the tallest wall.  What if December looked different this year...

What if we all just give this Christmas away. If there’s love in your heart don’t let it stay there. Give this Christmas away and your life will be changed by the gifts you receive when you give this Christmas away.

It’s feeding the hungry, serving the poor.  It’s telling the orphan: "You’re not forgotten anymore." It’s doing what love does even when no one’s watching you.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so we could be His hands, His feet, His love. His love.

Give Christmas away. Give it away.

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Two Months Until Christmas...

Today, my thoughts are of Christmas!!!  It's not that far away, you know!  It is exactly two months away from today.  Why Christmas?  Well, it all started with our family writing Christmas cards to our Compassion children last night... because the cards still need to be translated, they need to be sent off early.  So, they are off --- on their way to India and Honduras!!!

This is also the week for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to come back to my kids' school.  350 shoeboxes!!!  I can't wait for Friday... my children are beyond excited as well.  It will be awesome to see their project "come to life" --- it will surely be a sight to see!!!

And... today, we finalized plans for our family to help get Christmas presents to 28 under privileged children who live in the Jane/Finch neighbourhood of our city and to be a part in the plans for these children and their families to have a Christmas Party!!!  This is through an organization called UrbanPromise where a friend of ours is the Site Supervisor.

So... as you can see, our household is abuzz with Christmas activity.  This is why Christmas has been on my mind!  I should say "giving Christmas away" has been on my mind!!!  I am very humbled, awed and grateful that God would so graciously allow our family to be a part of such amazing opportunities to be His hands and His feet.  It is truly a blessing!

I've been singing the song Give This Christmas Away by Matthew West and Amy Grant all day!  I thought I'd share it here so you'd be singing it too!  It's contagious, you know! ;-)

Please pause the Playlist on the sidebar of this blog as you watch this video.

Why don't you give this Christmas away too!  Here I am.  Lord, send me!    

Still Thinking About That Middle Ground...

Since my blog post last Friday about not becoming comfortable in the middle ground... I find myself still deep in thought about it all week long.  My thoughts dwell mostly on how to make sure we do not leave our children with a legacy of being comfortable in the middle ground.

One thought is truly bothering me and this is it: If the only thing our children are familiar with is the middle ground, then it is all they are going to live for and be passionate about.  This thought got illustrated very clearly to me one afternoon this week as my kids and I drove towards my sister's home.

The drive there is very scenic, a lot of nature, especially at this time of year when all the leaves are ablaze with their beautiful Autumn colours.  I remarked at how beautiful the sight is... and noticed that my children were not as captivated by the beauty as I was.  At first, their reaction (or the lack of it...) puzzled me, but then the truth hit me.

Here's the truth.  I grew up in a country where the seasons didn't change.  I had absolutely no idea that Autumn could be sooooo beautiful until I came to Canada at age 17.  But to my children, there really isn't anything that special about Autumn.  It's just plain old Autumn... it's always been the same way as far as they can remember.

Same thing with the middle ground... my children have only ever known North America, a culture where everyone strives to live in the middle ground!  To them, there is nothing wrong with the middle ground... it is the norm.  This truth moved me to tears... I had to stop driving and compose myself before continuing on to our destination.

The real question is... are we doing enough to make sure our children don't get sucked into the lifestyle of being comfortable in the middle ground?  That is precisely why our family intentionally gets involved with groups who minister to under privileged children locally, globally with Operation Christmas Child, feeding the homeless from downtown Toronto, sponsoring and writing to Compassion Canada children (in India and Honduras) and worthwhile causes like Habitat for Humanity.

The next step would perhaps be a mission trip to countries like Haiti or Guatemala... or a trip back to the Philippines... to places where my children can see people who do not have the luxury to live in the middle ground.  It is only when one has seen with their own eyes that a response can ensue.  Our prayer and our hope is that... for our children, their response will not be a non-response.  Instead, it will be a resounding... 

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Hanes It Is! :-)

A very cool God-thing happened today... and I'm going to attempt to tell the story here.  Although I don't think that I can accurately capture the amazement I felt (still feeling!) in words, I will try my best...

On Thursday of last week, a woman (let's call her X) was found passed out in her apartment here in Toronto.  She ended up in the hospital with what she later finds out to be partial kidney failure.  She lives alone and keeps to herself.  She has no family nearby.  Her closest relative is a sister who lives in California.

On Saturday, I went to Wal-Mart to buy underwear.  I grabbed two packs --- a total of 13 pieces of underwear.  At the checkout, the cashier told me that underwear are final sale items.  No returns.  After paying for them, I thought to myself... I think I *might have* bought a little too many!?!  Oh well... too late.  Final sale, remember?

Yesterday, X's sister who lives in California is frantically looking for someone here in Toronto who could visit and help X at the hospital.  She tells a friend, who in turn tells another friend, who emails a guy who attends my sister's church.  This guy then forwards the email to my sister... thinking she'd be the best person to visit X at the hospital.  Very quickly, by the end of the day, my sister was in contact with X's sister in California!

At around lunch time today, my sister decides to call me.  She didn't want to go to the hospital alone and was wondering if I would like to go as well.  So... off we went... to visit a stranger at the hospital!  Bizzare, but true!

We had a good visit.  X was moved to tears... she was thrilled to know we speak the same Chinese dialect as her!  When we were about to leave, she told us that she is very happy we went.  We left her our phone numbers and promised to be back again tomorrow.

When I got home, in my inbox was an email correspondence between my sister and X's sister.  She was wondering if we would be so kind to bring X a pair of slippers and some underwear tomorrow when we go back.  X was taken to the hospital so quickly last week that she didn't bring anything with her!  She specified that the underwear needs to be size 8 Hanes.

I emailed my sister back... I told her this may sound weird... but, I happen to have some new size 8 underwear sitting in my closet drawers... you know the "might-have-bought-a-little-too-many" ones!  I also have a pair of slippers I received as a gift last Christmas that I never used.  I told her I would just bring them tomorrow...

So, I head over to my closet drawers to take the underwear out.  I could not believe my eyes!  At Wal-Mart, I had just mindlessly grabbed two packs of my size without looking at the brand.  This afternoon, I paid attention to the brand for the very first time... and they are... you guessed it... Hanes!!!

Unbelievable!!!  Hanes it is!!!  Size 8 Hanes!!!

This is yet another one of those beauty instead of ashes encounters that God has been graciously allowing me to experience these past few weeks.  You see, I know without a doubt that if hubby and I were still busy with our previous ministry involvement, my answer to my sister's request to accompany her to the hospital would have been: "Sorry, I'm too busy. I can't spare any time!  Find someone else to go with you."

Instead, today... I had the time... and, in turn, I was able to be a part of an amazing God-thing!

Please pray for X.  The doctors don't have a diagnosis for her yet... and it's been almost a week since she was found passed out in her apartment.  X is not a believer.  Her sister in California is and her wish is for X to open her heart to Jesus as her personal Saviour.  Please pray that X will see Jesus in my sister and me as we continue to be His hands and His feet!

This is a story I will remember for a very long time... it has truly been one amazing day!!!

Here I am.  Lord, send me!

Thinking Deeply...

I read a blog post by Ann Voskamp yesterday and I haven't stopped thinking deeply...

The blog post really was just a continuation of my thoughts... I've been thinking the same thread of thoughts for weeks now... since experiencing beauty instead of ashes!

Here are questions I ask myself: How do I fight the middle ground?  What is my response because a non-response is a response just the same?  Am I losing this fight?  Will I become too comfortable living in the middle?

The world, your community... even your family — they are going to try to push you back to the middle. North America feels pretty comfortable in the middle. Balance, everyone says. I don’t know what Jesus is going to say to you... How He might direct your life now… just don’t assume He wants you to live in the middle. Be open to the possibility… Of something radically different.

Powerful words... reaching down into the depths of my soul.

I grew up in a third world country... I've seen with my own eyes what it means to have nothing.  Then my parents moved us to Canada... ranked as one of the top ten best places to live in the world!  It is in living here for the past 22 years and raising a North American family of my own that has me thinking I have become comfortable with the middle ground... 

Last night... I asked hubby what our family's response should be... how are we distributing God's wealth to those who have less... how do we make sure we don't pass down to our children a legacy of being comfortable in the middle ground.  

It was an interesting discussion.  Lots to think about.  Hoping for action to follow.

Here I am.  Lord, send me!