Eighteen Candles!

18! 十八! Napulo ug walo! Dieciocho! Dix-huit!
That's right, e-i-g-h-t-e-e-n. My baby girl, this child who made me a mama, celebrates her eighteenth birthday today!!! Just where has all that time gone to and why has it flown by this swiftly?

Time truly flows like a relentless river... I am very much undeserving of such wild grace, this immensely beautiful gift and sacred privilege of being mama to this amazing and beautiful young lady... and for this, I am humbled... and deeply grateful to my Heavenly Father for His extravagant love and unending grace. He truly gives beautiful gifts.

Every good gift bestowed, every perfect gift received comes to us from above, courtesy of the Father of lights. ~ James 1:17

Hubby and I found out we were expecting just mere days before I graduated from the University of Toronto's School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (now Daniels Faculty). I had my eyes set on a career as an Urban Planner, motherhood far from my mind. I was surprised by this gift... surprised by motherhood!

As my belly started to swell and stretch and this life started to visibly grow within that hollow space inside of me, I marvelled at the miracle of life. I was surprised by this gift... surprised by motherhood!

On that cold and wintry February day, when my body signalled to me that the time had arrived for us to meet this baby face to face... and when after twenty-six hours of intense labour, this loud yet breathtakingly beautiful baby girl joined our family, I fell in love in a way that I didn't know I could. I was surprised by this gift... surprised by motherhood!

When my eyes gazed upon the face of this sweet cherubic little human and I knew right then and there that the only way to spend my days is to raise her up to be truly great... and when, right at that very moment, becoming an Urban Planner suddenly no longer seemed important to me... and when, right at that moment, I set my heart on being at home and chose to become a full-time mama, my heart skipped a beat. I was surprised by this gift... surprised by motherhood!

Side Note: Here are two of my all-time favourite quotes on what it means to raise truly great kids, not as the world would define greatness to be, but what being great for God's Kingdom looks like...

True greatness is a passionate love for God that demonstrates itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others. ~ Dr. Tim Kimmel, Raising Kids for True Greatness.

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. ~ C.S. Lewis.

Even though I eventually started working from home soon after my son was born, I've cherished this gift of being able, all these years, to work yet be at home both at the same time... being the first to kiss boo-boos, the first to see first steps, the first to hear first words, the first to be happy and to be sad with them... and many, many, many countless other firsts. I was surprised by this gift... surprised by motherhood!

From late-night feedings to early-morning wake-ups, from diapers to potty-training, from sleep-training to tummy-time, from mushy cereals to table foods...

From bedtime stories to good-morning cuddles, from ballet lessons to piano lessons, from meal-time struggles to bath-time giggles, from tangled hair to braided hair...

From disappointing basketball try-outs to celebrating straight-A report cards, from the first day of Kindergarten to the last day of elementary school, from the first day of high school to choosing universities...

From cheering loudly at basketball games to applauding proudly at concerts and recitals, from the first loose tooth to wearing braces, from a trike to a bike, from triple-jumps at track and field days to roller-blading down the neighbourhood sidewalks...

From a provincial writing award to a regional humanitarian award, from doing the hard thing to grappling with brokenness, from an adorable baby girl to a super-talkative toddler, from a strong-willed little girl to a determined young woman who is beautiful both inside and out...

From holding her hand to releasing her to fly... through it all, this mama has been utterly surprised by this gift... surprised by motherhood!

My prayer for this girl since the day she was born has been the verses from Isaiah 61:1-3... that, as an image-bearer of her Heavenly Father, she will be Jesus' hands and feet... to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release prisoners from darkness, to comfort all who mourn... that she will be an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour.

These eighteen years have been pure gift, wild grace... a blessing! Motherhood has been the single hardest, yet most fulfilling, thing I have ever done. I wouldn't trade it for anything else...

Bend the knee and be small and let God give what God chooses to give because He only gives love, and whisper surprised thanks. This is the fuel for joy's flame.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!
I am forever grateful and count it as pure joy that God gave you to me, a daughter... a precious gift! You continually inspire me as you courageously and humbly live each day as an "oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour."

I love you very much... more than words can ever express {whether in person or right here on this blog}! 

I can't wait to see the brave and beautifully radical God-things waiting for you as you embark on pursuing an education, and eventually a career, in International Development {entering the University of Toronto as a President's Scholar of Excellence this Fall, at my alma mater no less! #proudmama :)}, to live out your passion to speak out for those who are denied a voice.

every good and perfect gift is from above ;

A photo posted by alyssa (@_godsgal4ever) on Feb 16, 2015 at 7:24pm PST

When your daddy and I first gazed upon your beautiful face in those small hours before that dawn of day 18 years ago, we wouldn't have dared to imagine that this is what your life's work and passion would shape into. Yet seeing all that God has accomplished in your life so far, I am in awe realizing that this is the path that your Heavenly Daddy has prepared in advance for you to walk... because He is One who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago. - Ephesians 2:10

My beloved daughter...
As you step into adulthood, your mama can't help but beam with pride... deeply grateful for God's grace at work in your life. As you pursue God's calling and continue to embrace all that He has in store for you... may this be always true of you:

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~ Galatians 6:14

{Please pause the playlist on the sidebar of this blog as you watch this video.}

"The words leave my lips: 'When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace. For I am Yours, and You are mine.' I'm painfully aware of what I'm saying." ~ Alyssa. {Video background music: "Oceans" from Brad Guldemond's "Lord I Need You EP"}

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

On This Path Towards Counter-Cultural Living

What does it look like anyway?
Yes, this path towards counter-cultural living, the Jesus-way --- what *does* it look like? This thought has hugely been on my heart and mind since our return from the Philippines this past summer.

With our Compassion child, JD and his family. It's so cute that JD would only hold my boy's hand. ♥

"When the worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world."
~ Shane Claiborne.

Yet, there are days, like this past Sunday at church, when I could hardly sing these words as they flashed on the screen because the sheer intensity of their meaning almost consumed me...

Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use every power as You choose.
Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine.

Then, Author and Professor Mark Buchanan, the guest teacher at church this past Sunday, started teaching on these verses from Romans 12:1-2:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Yes, those verses. In fact, the entire twelfth chapter of Romans is pretty counter-cultural. Well, the entire Gospel is pretty counter-cultural! But let's just start with reading Romans 12 today, shall we?

You see, this is the thing --- the beautiful thing about this whole counter-cultural way of life is this... 

Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.

Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Mark Buchanan pointed out to us that, as Christ-followers, we are called to be radically generous, to be radically hospitable and to be radically kind.

He said...

Radical generosity is... going further than just giving our stuff, our money and our time. It is making our life the very gift.

Radical hospitality is... going further than just inviting people over. It is inviting people to share in our very lives.

Radical kindness is... going further than just practising charity. It is overcoming evil by the good that we do.

We get to say an unconditional YES to God, because He said an unconditional YES to us.

We get to see the world through the heart of Jesus.

This is the thing that got me... the utterly beautiful thing that gripped me to the core: We get to do this. We get to live this. We get to say YES to God. This *is* the counter-cultural way of life!

In the days after the calendar turned to the New Year...
Our family has had a few opportunities to literally live this out. I can honestly tell you that, when push came to shove, it certainly did not come naturally nor was it easy... but one thing is sure and true: Obeying God and walking the Jesus-way is always life-giving and joy-inducing!

For how can it not be life-giving and joy-inducing when this mama sees her girl obey Jesus and follow Him right into a certain community where oceans rise {though it was intensely heart-wrenching to release her to fly}... and we end up welcoming this little boy from that very same community into our lives on the first week of this New Year, into our Compassion family?

For how can it not be life-giving and joy-inducing when both my kids earmark all of the money they received as gifts at Christmas towards sponsoring this little guy and two others in our Compassion family?

Johnrel from the Philippines, my girl's 2nd Compassion child.

For how can it not be life-giving and joy-inducing when, after writing to this boy for almost one whole year, he becomes available for sponsorship... and even though it means tweaking our family budget once again, we welcome yet another child into our growing Compassion family... for how can we not embrace him and call him our very own?

Patrick from Rwanda, our newest Compassion child.

For how can it not be life-giving and joy-inducing when hubby and I take our kids to drop by Matthew House, a home for refugee youth, because they would like to give away the movie gift card they received at Christmas so that these refugee youth can have a fun afternoon out together... something they rarely have?

Near where the Matthew House youth home is located.

For how can it not be life-giving and joy-inducing when our family can spend the first Sunday of the New Year volunteering at a Compassion Sunday event, even though it meant missing worship with our own church family... and as a result, seeing 55 children released from poverty?

The drive to the Compassion Sunday event.

For how can it not be life-giving and joy-inducing when we get to share in the lives of our Compassion children through the letters they write to us and we get to spend a Friday night writing letters back to them?

Letters from our Compassion children!

For how can it not be life-giving and joy-inducing when my kids choose to spend their Saturday afternoon at Matthew House with their youth leaders to learn more about the youth's stories and to befriend them?

Matthew House's youth home.

Life-giving and joy-inducing... for how can it not be?

For this is what it means to be a Christ-follower... it is to offer our very lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

For it is living, in pure grace, and embracing that what God does for us is the best thing we can do for Him --- it is the way to worship Him. 

For it is the only way to live as Christ-followers, not because of obligation or duty, but because... it is the only way we can live out that freedom for which Jesus sacrificed His very life for. It is saying YES to living this counter-cultural and radical way of life and saying NO to the patterns of this world.

Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil this gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love. For the whole law comes down to this one instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself..." - Galatians 5:13-14.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Hello there, 2015!

10 days into this brand new year...
And I'm just logging into this space for the very first time. Well, Happy New Year, friends! I hope you all had a great Christmas, one full of hope and meaning and joy and peace.

Just the other day, we were reflecting on our Christmas and the whole family whole-heartedly agreed that it was one of the best ones we've had in recent memory! Not only were we able to have a quiet and restful couple of weeks, we were also blessed to have been able to celebrate it in an others-centred and counter-cultural way!

And, in case you missed it... here is our family's year-end newsletter.

New Year's Eve family selfie.

On this Saturday after the first week back to school and work...
I am sitting here at almost two o'clock in the afternoon not wanting to get out of my pajamas! I guess I am missing the relaxed pace that we had over the Christmas holidays and I'm wanting to recreate and relive it. :)

The quiet and rest during the Christmas break also afforded me much time to think and to reflect... it was a balm to the soul for this introvert mama! I used much of that time reflecting on Bible verses to find one that would serve as a guide for me in this New Year... where a One Word can be found which would give this New Year a name.

You see, for the past few years...
I've chosen to focus on a One Word at the start of each new year and God has used each year's One Word to guide and steer me... for which I am truly grateful!

My One Word for 2012 was soar...

Soaring birds. Downtown Toronto, Summer 2011.

For 2013, it was surrender... 

In a reflective mood and deep in thought. ~ Cape Cod, Summer 2012.

And it was still for 2014...

By the Christina River, Wilmington (Delaware). Summer 2013.
Being still and capturing the beauty of God's creation on camera.

This year, it is once again an "S" word... 
I am starting to wonder what my fascination is with words starting with the letter S?!? :)

SEEK...

In my quiet reflection, I felt God saying to me, "When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me." --- from the verses found in Jeremiah 29:13-14.

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, Montreal. Thanksgiving Weekend, 2014.

But this time, my One Word didn't just get highlighted in one verse during my reflections. The word seek jumped out at me in Matthew 6:33 too, where it says --- "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

And in Matthew 7:7 where it is written --- "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Seek... seek... seek... 

/sēk/
verb
- attempt to find (something).
- attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something).
- ask for (something) from someone.

Yes, upon reflecting on the meaning of my new One Word... I've come to realize that it truly is what my heart and soul is craving to do this year.

2014 had been a year of many revelations, awakenings and changes...

- Work, for both hubby and me, has taken on new normals... new normals that we are still trying to embrace and understand.

- My girl is finishing high school, has started driving and will to go university this September. My boy started high school and is now quite an independent young man. My days as a work-from-home and stay-at-home-mama looks vastly different these days.

- God continued to write our family's story in ways that are vastly higher than our own... leading us to places where we wouldn't dare go ourselves.

- With our beloved Papa's home-going to heaven, we've been reflecting on the brevity of life... even when one departs this life having lived 85 beautiful years!

- God continually challenged us to keep our eyes open and to be brave... and He went on to show us more brokenness and more beautiful things and what our role in all of this should be!

- And He continued to write some more of our story and used it in a way that blew us away... such wild grace!

... and I have suddenly found myself, at the start of this New Year, in a place of seeking what God's next steps are for us this year and for the longer term.

And so, I will seek... because...

"When you seek Me in prayer and worship, you will find Me available to you. If you seek Me with all your heart and soul, I will make Myself available to you," says the Lord.    

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Our Annual Family Christmas Letter... {and the decision to still publish it}!

Merry Christmas!
It's just a few more days before Christmas now. It has truly been a beautiful season of Advent as our family read together from Ann Voskamp's new book, Unwrapping The Greatest Gift.

It has helped us to slow down each day, even just for a few minutes, in order to think about and reflect on Christmas and its true meaning.

This year, I had decided early on that I would not send out our annual Christmas letter. I would still write one for my own purposes, but I was not going to send them out or publish it publicly.

Writing our Christmas letter is a Christmas tradition of sorts for me. It is something that I have done every single year since hubby and I got married. Recently though, I had started to wonder if anyone even reads it anymore or at all, hence the decision not to send out or publish one this year.

But something happened which made me change my mind...
As I wrote our letter yesterday, another letter arrived in our mailbox. Just as I was wrapping up our letter, I started to read this other letter that had just arrived.

With this letter came a cheque for a large sum of money... intended for my girl to use towards projects she is involved with to further the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, with a preference to put the money towards Compassion International's ministry. The donor chose to channel this money through my girl because of how she dedicates her time and passion for God's work.

This letter brought tears to this mama's eyes and immense joy to my heart! Isn't God's grace just the most extravagant of all?

Maybe it's through our telling of stories and the sharing of our lives on social media that this person came to choose my girl as an instrument of God's peace to a world in need. Maybe it's through the reading of our Christmas letters over the years... 

So, yes... yes, yes!
If our family's annual Christmas letter, our telling of stories and the sharing of our lives on social media causes just one more person to join the journey --- to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God, then I will continue to tell the story of God's grace at work in our family's life. Yes, I will!

Because...

Your calling is radically this: Gloriously hijack every darkness with grace. To love mercy and do justice and follow Christ means to be The Revolutionary Guerrillas of Grace — radically turning the fallen world Upside Down.

~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience.

Christmas... a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices!
Merry Christmas... my dear blog readers, family and friends! Because I want to be a revolutionary guerrilla of grace, radically turning the fallen world upside down, you can now find our 2014 Christmas letter published here or you can click on the image below to read it.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

On this first day of December...

December...
The month of December always seems to have a life of its own, doesn't it? Our calendars get booked up way too quickly and it seems like there just isn't enough time to accomplish everything that needs to be done.

We decorated our home over the weekend.

Everyone is hurried... lost in the hustle and the bustle of the season.

For several years now, our family has intentionally tried to do Christmas counter-culturally... the upside-side way! Doing so isn't always easy... but doing so has reinforced in our hearts and minds what Christmas is really all about.

They grow up too fast! This girl is hanging her "Baby's First Christmas" ornament up.
This will be her last Christmas as a child... as she turns 18 shortly after the New Year!

To continue reading, please join me today over at the blog Compassion Family... I would love to see you over there!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Memories of Christmases Long Ago...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...
I learned this well-known Christmas tune when I was just a child. Yet, I always wondered what the words meant. White Christmas? Just like the ones I used to know? Tree tops glisten? Sleigh bells in the snow?

Hmmm... what might those words mean? I didn't know! Because... you see, I grew up in the Philippines and all our Christmases were green, sunny and warm!

Christmas Paróls. Photo Credit: Wikipedia. 

Christmas meant decorating our home with these colourful star-shaped paper lanterns, called paról, which we bought from vendors who came knocking at the gate of our house.

Christmas also meant carolers frequenting our house to sing Christmas tunes right outside our gate... many of them children who live in poverty, in hand are their makeshift instruments made from aluminum bottle caps strung on a wire, looking to make a few extra pesos during the Christmas season.

Christmas also meant parties... with special yummy food reserved only for occasions such as birthdays and Christmases. Foods like the famous lechón (roast pig) of Cebu; like the delicious dessert known as food for the gods; and of course, the Filipino-style Christmas ham!

Thinking back...
My most favourite Christmas memory hands-down, more than the decorations and the carolers and the food, would be helping my mom shop for and wrap Christmas presents! 

My sister and me, a 70s Christmas!

You see, my parents owned a factory back then and there were hundreds of people who worked for them. Each and every one of them were on my mom's Christmas list! 

Come Christmas-time, my mom became Santa! She made sure to start her list early and checked it twice... and oftentimes, I was her trusty elf... er, I mean assistant! :)

After the shopping was all done, she and I would stay up late for at least a week and wrap presents. I remember taking the time to wrap each present nicely, making each one special with a bow and hand-labeling each card.

As a young child, to me Christmas became all about giving... and not at all about getting.

Every Christmas, I looked forward to the big Christmas party where all of our factory workers and their families were invited to! My favourite memory of those parties is when I got to help hand out the Christmas presents!

When I was a teenager...
My parents moved our family to Canada... right before the Christmas of 1988. That was when I experienced my first white Christmas... when I finally knew what glistening tree tops look like and what sleigh bells sound like!

My two younger sisters and I. Our first white Christmas!

That was also when Christmas became all about getting.

It was so easy to get sucked into the commercialization of Christmas that this first-world society so readily promotes.

The flyers. The sales. The promos.

The crowds. The hustle. The bustle.

And Boxing Day. Yes, that! Upon arriving in this country a mere few days before Christmas, we were quickly schooled about Boxing Day... not about its true origin and meaning, but about its commercialization and how we are to participate in it!

It's The Day everyone goes shopping, we were told. Bargains and amazing deals will be hard to resist, we were told. You have to beat the crowds and head to the mall early, we were told.

And that we did. We did what we were told. We didn't question one bit where the true meaning of Christmas disappeared to...

Even after hubby and I got married... after our girl came along... even after our boy joined our family, we did Christmas no differently. We were totally sucked into the whole commercialization of Christmas!

Oh yes, all those years we packed Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes and volunteered at dinners for the homeless... but at the same time, we also used Christmas as an excuse to lavish extravagant gifts upon ourselves.

We weren't celebrating Christmas meaningfully and we weren't giving generously. Sadly, Christ wasn't at the centre of our Christmas. 

But God's grace...
It relentlessly pursued us and slowly changed our hearts. Today, Christmas for our family looks much different than the Christmases of long ago. It has done a total about face. We now celebrate an upside-down Christmas...

Be brave enough to return the fake CHRISTmases and only bring home the real one that has CHRIST at the center of it.

Be brave enough to return any Christmas too small for the size of your soul — and only wear a Christmas large enough for real joy.

Be brave enough to turn Christmas upside down because this coming Christ ushered in the Upside Down Kingdom where

less is more and

weak is strong and

least is greatest and

consumers can get consumed and

giving is greater than getting.

~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience.

The true meaning of Christmas...

It has come to stay at our house... and we are grateful that it has! It is upside-down, it is counter-cultural, it is cross-shaped. It is how Christ-followers are designed to celebrate Christmas!

It is looking more like the Christmases from my childhood days... where consumers aren't consumed and giving is greater than getting; where doing justice and loving mercy is at its core and where walking humbly with God is key.

Friends, will you join us? 

In making Christmas an upside-down one this year? Here are a few ideas...

:: The story of our upside-down Christmas last year.

:: Buy a Gift of Compassion and give it as a Christmas gift. {Hint: this is a great teacher gift!}

:: Check out Advent Conspiracy... because Christmas can still change the world.

:: Give the Gift of Mentorship... a gift for our friends at UrbanPromise, a gift that will keep on giving!

Because... one of the above idea just might transform someone's dark Christmas into one that is merry and bright... in turn making your Christmas truly merry and bright!

Because...

Your calling is radically this: Gloriously hijack every darkness with grace.

To love mercy and do justice and follow Christ means to be The Revolutionary Guerrillas of Grace — radically turning the fallen world Upside Down.

~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Celebrating A Birthday...

Today...
We are celebrating a very special man's birthday! It's just another ordinary Thursday for our family... both kids are in school, he's gone to work at a client's location and I'm about to start my work day... but trust me, this man is no ordinary man!

There are a few stories about him that I would have liked to publish on the blog today... in celebration of his birthday, but it's been a busy season and blogging has taken somewhat of a backseat here.

So... I am thinking back instead to this story that I wrote about him, in celebration of his birthday last year... and I think it is worth re-publishing today... because this very much describes just how special of a man my hubby is! He truly is a keeper!

It was Friday afternoon...
He walked in the door at the end of a hard work day, at the end of a stressful work week, which must have felt longer than five days to him... and he greets me with the brightest smile he's had in days.

Coaching basketball in an inner-city neighbourhood with Ephraim's Place.

Serving lunch at a Compassion project in the Philippines.

I knew right then, even without him uttering a word, that something beautiful had happened in his day.

Then, he told me the story...
On his way to a client's place earlier that day, he saw a homeless man as he exited the highway. The man was standing to one side at the end of the exit ramp, begging. The traffic lights worked beautifully in a way that hubby was stopped right beside this homeless man.

He rolled down his window and struck up a conversation. He learned that the homeless man's name is Bruce. Bruce has been homeless for five years... since his wife passed away. He sleeps under a bridge every night, the one right by Pharmacy Avenue just down the road. Most days, he stands at this exit ramp until 6pm... getting enough money to buy dinner.

Then, the traffic lights changed. It was time to keep moving.

Hubby went about his work day and finished the job at his client's place just before 5pm. As he drove past that same exit ramp to get onto the on-ramp across the street to come home, he saw Bruce still standing there.

Instead of coming home, he drives past the on-ramp and goes to a Mr. Sub restaurant. With a foot-long sub and orange juice in hand, he gets on the on-ramp and drives towards home. He takes the first exit, turns around and enters the highway again going the opposite direction... to get to the off-ramp where Bruce was standing.

He handed Bruce the foot-long sub and orange juice. Bruce was surprised to see him, in awe that he would actually come back and bring him dinner. After a handshake, my man drives off. Exiting the highway and turning around one more time to get onto the on-ramp towards home.

As he approached the on-ramp to come home, he saw his new-found friend, Bruce... dinner in hand, walking towards home earlier than the anticipated 6pm, to his home under the bridge, the one right by Pharmacy Avenue just down the road.

And my man comes home with the brightest smile he's had in days.

He's a keeper, isn't he?
He could have driven straight home and not bother to check if Bruce was still there. After all, it's been a stressful work week and a long hard day. He's entitled to come home and relax. Besides, it's too much work to go the opposite direction on the highway, just to get to where Bruce was standing. Plus, he'd have to stop and buy the food still!

Yet, my man chose compassion over comfort... choosing to demonstrate a cross-shaped love, a Jesus-shaped love.

You have no idea how much this makes my heart smile happy and overflow with thanksgiving.

More than when he buys me flowers. More than when he washes the dishes. More than when he takes the trash out. More than when he makes sure my car's gas tank is always at least half-full.

I am truly blessed beyond measure.

Because a man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments (Psalm 112:1); a man who chooses compassion over comfort, choosing to love with a Jesus-shaped love, he's a gem. He's a keeper!

In an endless cycle of grace, He gives us gifts to serve the world. This is how to make a life great and eucharisteo embarks us on the path: "Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave" (Matthew 20:26-27).

It's the fundamental, lavish, radical nature of the upside-down economy of God. 

Empty to fill.

Here I can become the blessing, a little life that multiplies joy, making the larger world a better place.

God can enter into me, even me, and use these hands, these feet, to be His love, a love that goes on and on and on forever, endless cycle of grace.

~ Excerpts from Chapter 10, One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

And, it's a wrap!

Hello, Monday!
I am having a slow start to this work week as I sit here and reflect on the weekend that just passed. It was full of action. It was a lot of fun. It was very exciting!

You see... the filming team from Compassion Canada was here with us from Friday morning to Sunday night to film the Toronto segment of the youth curriculum that they are producing which my girl is hosting for them... and at about 9pm last night, the last item on the shot list was filmed and then, it was a wrap!

They filmed the Philippine segment of this project last month... you know, that time when I wrote about releasing my girl to fly.

And fly she did... spending 10 days with this same filming team, in the Philippines, a Compassion International field country which also happens to be the country of hubby's and my births! 

She soared... on wings like eagles, drawing strength from our Heavenly Father... even when her eye migraines flared up.

It is such wild grace to see God answering this long-time prayer that I've had for my girl, literally since the day she was born... that she will live life as "a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour."

Being the face and voice of this curriculum series is truly one way I see God using her for the display of His splendour! Not only that, it is also a way that God is fulfilling her desire to speak out "for those who are denied a voice."

I am blown away... 

... by God's relentless love, His constant goodness and His amazing grace. 

As we sat at church on Sunday with the video camera rolling and filming us as we worshiped in songs... I couldn't help but reflect and give thanks and be in awe:

Because... God continuing to use a family as broken as ours for Kingdom purposes blows me away.

Because... God using unqualified ordinary people such as us to create something beautiful and radical blows me away.

Because... God choosing to use our family's story to inspire others to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him utterly. blows. me. away! 

Friends... 

Here are some Instagram photos... some ours and others from several members of the filming team, to give you a glimpse of this journey, both on the Philippine segment and also from the Toronto segment this past weekend.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying alongside with us this past month and a bit... your prayer support was truly what kept us going!

This weekend... 

I saw first-hand just how much work it takes to film curriculum like this!

I am blown away by the dedication of the entire filming team... their passion inspires me! Even though they are "doing their job" as staff members of Compassion Canada and as a Video Production Professional, it is very evident that it is more than just a job to them... I can see that they really are passionate about their faith in God and about releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name and that is what drives and motivates them!

I am deeply thankful that God has blessed our family with this privilege of working with such a passionate and dedicated team! I am very excited to see the final product and even more excited to see how God will use it!

In these next few weeks, please be in prayer for the creative team and for the video production team as they start to put everything together. Their hard work is just starting!

In these next few months, please be in prayer for the churches who are considering how this curriculum will fit into their youth programming... that God will use this for His glory and for the advancement of Kingdom work.

We truly serve an awesome God!
To Him be all glory, honour and praise... He has done great things! And the beautiful thing is... He wants to partner with each one of us to make this world a better place. Let's join Him, friends... and leave a Jesus-mark in this world!

It doesn't matter who you are, how big your audience or your bank account, you can make a mark.

You can do it. Jesus did. He is the example, the eternal Truth we love because he loved us first. We serve because he served first.

~ Jeremy Cowart, What's Your Mark?

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Fourteen Today!

Time has its way...
... of flying by! It truly flows like a relentless river, doesn't it? Fourteen years. Fourteen! 

This boy turns f-o-u-r-t-e-e-n today!!! How is it even possible that my baby boy is now fourteen and in high-school?

Doing a Rubik's Cube demo and sharing his testimony and
talking about his advocacy of Compassion International earlier this summer
at the Canada Day celebrations in Cebu City, Philippines.

Off to his first day in high-school earlier this week!

This past year, this boy has not only rapidly grown in size... he is, at this moment, on the verge of surpassing me in height (gasp!), but has also, more importantly, grown in ways that only God can grow him in.

This mama is deeply thankful for God's grace that is clearly and very evidently at work in my baby boy's life.

He is kind-hearted. He is compassionate. He is passionate. He is generous.

He is a gift... true to the meaning of his name. Jonathan... gift from God!

This mama is blessed beyond measure because of this gift from God... this gift of a son. 

My baby boy!

As we celebrate fourteen candles today... 
This, as has always been since the day he was born, is my continued prayer for this boy of mine:

May you grow up to be... "a man whose heart beats to God's heart, a man who will do what God tells him." {Paraphrased from Acts 13:22, The Message.}

And I am deeply grateful that God is answering this prayer of mine in many ways... as I see tangible evidence that my boy's heart is beating to God's heart.

Such as what our Compassion LDP student Rechelle wrote to us about just yesterday, regarding our visit this summer... "You have been a great inspiration to our youth. They are sending their gratitude and prayers. I wish you can see just how God moved in their lives through your testimony. God has given us a generation of youth that has started to be active in God’s ministry. They have learned to be focused based on what Jon shared with them. They are quite eager to learn more from God."

Sharing his testimony with the youth at Rechelle's church,
using his gift of speed-cubing as a topic starter. 

Such as his taking over funding the sponsorship of our newest Compassion child, JD.

This is from our visit this summer. JD would only hold Jon's hand! So precious!

My mama-heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness...

Because of God's goodness and His faithfulness to my baby boy. As he grows into a young man, I will embrace turning this new page in the journey of motherhood... and I will not stop praying that his heart continues to beat to God's heart.

Because... there is no better way for a heart to beat than for it to be in sync with God's!

Because... "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:4, NIV)"

Happy Birthday, my son! I love you... so very much!

:: :: ::

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... these are the things I am thankful for... #3216 - #3226:

:: The gift of being a mama. 

:: This son of mine, truly a gift from God.

:: Both kids in high-school for just this one year... and being in the same school again, even for just this one year!

:: An eventful summer, truly a blessing... an unplanned three weeks in the Philippines and then my girl returning (again, not originally in our plans) with Compassion Canada just a month after.

:: Seeing the classrooms that Eucharisteo built! 

:: The many things which God allowed us to see... breaking our hearts even more for the things that break His.

:: Celebrating 20 years...

:: Countless everyday blessings... which I often post on Instagram.  

:: God's sustaining grace... when life seems hard and the road seems rough and the future seems uncertain.

:: Our ongoing advocacy of Compassion International's work and the gift of seeing it first-hand again in the Philippines this summer!

:: For the many opportunities to be still this year... not easy, deeply thankful that God's grace is sufficient.

In counting grace-gifts...
I am learning to let be and be still... and to pay more attention to my Jesus... and to be ready to act on the things that He has in store for me to do... because "all there is to see is Jesus."

All the world is window. People, circumstances, situations, relationships, no material is opaque. If we are willing to see, all is transparent. All of this globe is but glass to God. Eucharisteo washes the windows. Eucharisteo, wholesale worship, is redemptive work, wiping away the soot of days cindered.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!