Thank you for visiting this little writing space of mine. These days, I'm not actively blogging on here anymore. Instead, I am writing shorter thoughts and reflections over on Instagram. I hope to see you over there!
However, please do feel free to look around and read my words. They are from a while back, but I do hope they still bring inspiration. My apologies for broken links that you may encounter. I did a bit of cleanup work recently, but may have missed removing or updating some broken links!
I started this blog in July 2007 and have written extensively on here about my faith, my family and my favourite things! I hope you enjoy your visit. You can learn more about me by visiting the "About Me" page.
This Christmas, I've been particularly struck by the fact that God was silent for 400 years before that very first Christmas. 400 years sure is a long time for humanity not to hear from God.
But was He silent?
You see, I've also been struck by the fact that our concept of time isn't at all in sync with God's, for in Galatians 4:4 it says, "When the set time had fully come, God sent His Son..."
And, struck by the fact that, when He was seemingly silent, He was orchestrating the details of a life-changing story and actively working everything out for good.
Isn't it comforting to know that God's timing is always perfect and that He is always actively pursuing us, even when He is seemingly silent?
When God chose to finally reveal himself to humanity again, He did so first to one of the most unlikely people, a young woman—Mary. He asked her to be the vessel, to bring Emmanuel into this world. And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
Because of Mary's yes, the silence was broken by a baby's cry that very first Christmas, the singular event that would change the course of history and afford us the freedom we now enjoy as Jesus people!
What then does this all mean for us, 2000+ years later? As Jesus people, we now have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
As we continue to live in this broken world as people belonging to the New Covenant, we find ourselves also waiting, just like the people of the Old Covenant—waiting for that day when Jesus will once again make all things new.
Similarly, Jesus invites us just as He invited Mary, into a partnership with Him. Like Mary, we may not feel the most qualified or think we're the most likely candidate—yet we are to be like Mary and assume this posture, "Let it be to me according to your word."
We are to be a people who do not wait passively. As Jesus’ disciples, a people who know this Eternal Hope, we are to wait actively—working hard to see His Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.
This is the true meaning of Advent.
This is the posture our family continually wants to hold: May we be vessels for Emmanuel to come into the lives of those who are broken and longing to be whole—that Good News to the poor, that freedom for the captives, that sight for the blind, that liberty for the oppressed, just as Jesus outlined in Luke 4:18.
2018 family highlights {the top 10, in no particular order}:
1. In January, Jon attached his name to the official North American Record single time for the 3x3x3 one-handed speedcubing event with a 7.57-second solve! Not only is it #1 in North America, it is also #2 in the world, just one under the World Record. You can watch that solve here.
2. In February, I had the privilege of co-leading my very first official Pastors' Vision Trip with Compassion. We headed to Nicaragua. You can get a glimpse into this trip via my posts on Instagram tagged #PastorsTripNicaragua2018. Soon after we left the country, violent protests started and it's still ongoing to some extent. The beautiful people of Nicaragua have been on my heart and in my prayers!
3. Speaking of the beautiful people of Nicaragua, we now have a special connection to one of them—our newest Compassion child, Luis! I met Luis while in Nicaragua and couldn't help but fall in love with this witty and smart boy!
4. Alyssa turns 22 in the New Year... she is currently on her placement year as part of the International Development Studies program at the University of Toronto. She had initially planned to do her placement year in Rwanda, but things took an unexpected turn. She writes about that journey here. As a result, she is doing her placement right here at home with Compassion Canada, as Writer and Communicator. I might be biased, but she is an absolutely stellar co-worker! This year, she's travelled the country and the world, speaking and writing—lending her voice to those who don't have one. I can't be more proud of how she's stewarded this God-given platform, grateful for God's grace manifesting itself so beautifully in her life!
5. In June, Floyd and I celebrated 24 years of marriage. Him and me, we’ve been through a lot of life together now. He truly has been my stego, described so eloquently by these words penned by Ann Voskamp: "Love bears all things like a roof bears the wind and the rain, like a roof that bears the burden of lashing storms, brutal heat. Real love is a roof. Real love makes you into a shelter, real love makes you into a safe place. Real love makes you safe. Stego. There is always a way forward that finds a way to love. We could be the ones who know that "the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Galatians 5:6)."
6. During the latter half of the summer, our church's 2nd Syrian newcomer family completed their one year of life in Toronto! It’s been one of our family’s greatest joys to have walked this journey that’s so much outside of comfort zone, and one of my greatest privileges to lead this refugee sponsorship committee over these past three years! This family has grown wings to fly. We are extremely happy for them!
7. Jon turned 18 this year... time truly flows like a relentless river. This is the first Christmas that both our kids are adults! Talk about feeling old! Jon graduated from high school this year, top of his class! We are so incredibly proud of him!
8. Speaking of being proud of Jon, just before I left for my Nicaragua trip, this boy received an early offer of acceptance to study Engineering Science at the University Of Toronto, admittedly one of the toughest undergraduate programs in the country. As I tap out this Christmas update, he is on his way to write one of his final exams. By the end of this week, he will have successfully completed 1/8 of his degree! Have I already said that we are so incredibly proud of him?!?
9. This summer, our travels brought us to Northern Thailand and Taipei (Taiwan). Our trip is well documented on Instagram as #Esparaz2Asia. We were in Taipei for Jon to compete in the 2018 Asian Championship speedcubing competition. We then side-tripped to Northern Thailand in order to spend a week with our three Compassion children there—Eakkawin, Taeng-Mo and Lili. It was such an amazing and inspiring experience, one that has ignited our family's passion anew to see exponentially more children released from poverty in Jesus' name via Compassion's ministry.
10. Speaking of Compassion, we are celebrating with our global Compassion family for the milestone of now having TWO MILLION children registered in our programs!!! This is only possible because of our partnership with the 7,000 frontline church partners across 25 field countries, as we saw anew firsthand this summer in Northern Thailand! As a family, we count it a blessing and a privilege to serve God via this wonderful ministry.
As this year comes to a close, we are celebrating 1200+ Compassion children connected with loving sponsors this year here in the Greater Toronto Area through various events and church services! We are deeply grateful for the dedicated and committed volunteers who so faithfully serve with us to grow Compassion's ministry in this region of Canada. I am personally grateful for the trust afforded to me by Pastors and church leaders across this region, as they continually open their doors to embrace Compassion's ministry and partner to see children's lives holistically changed! My family and I are truly overwhelmed and incredibly humbled… we truly serve a good, good Father.
~ :: ~
As the calendar turns to 2019, may we continue to live out the true meaning of Advent as we wait. May we be vessels for Emmanuel to come into the unexpected places—God incarnate, here to dwell.
What hope we hold this starlit night | A King is born in Bethlehem | Our journey long, we seek the light | That leads to the hallowed manger ground.
Emmanuel, Emmanuel | God incarnate, here to dwell | Emmanuel, Emmanuel | Praise His name Emmanuel.
The son of God, here born to bleed | A crown of thorns would pierce His brow | And we beheld this offering | Exalted now the King of kings | Praise God for the hallowed manger ground.
From our family to yours... Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Five days ago my baby boy walked across that stage and literally, just like they said it would be—like a blink of an eye, he's graduated from high-school.
I don't think I was quite prepared for the emotions that would flood this mama-heart of mine, because I literally had to compose myself to stop a tsunami of tears from streaming down my face!
I guess there's something milestone-ish about the youngest child finishing high-school, isn't there?
It felt like one phase of life is ending.
Like the page is flipping to a new chapter.
With a bright future about to unfold.
One that is much more vast than this mama can enfold in her arms.
I guess that's why the mama-tears wanted to flow.
Where exactly has all that time gone to anyway?
Don't blink. Parents of littles, don't blink—because time waits for no one. It truly flows like a relentless river.
I am incredibly proud to be known as this amazing young man's mama. I am truly blessed beyond measure. I have recently started using the hashtag #MotherhoodIsSanctifying on my social media posts, because motherhood truly is that!
Sanctifying.
Our gracious Heavenly Father has used my motherhood journey to sanctify me. To remake me into this better version of myself.
He walked across that stage multiple times and I beamed with so much pride and joy each time, as he shook his Principal's hand and she handed him multiple awards in recognition of his leadership, dedication and hard work...
The Lillian Evelyn Bloom Award—awarded to graduates who have demonstrated academic excellence and dedicated involvement in school activities.
The Ontario Principal's Council Award—awarded to a graduate who has demonstrated academic excellence and involvement in co-curricular and community activities.
And this one, reserved only for the top graduate—the Governor General's Academic Medal and Dunbarton Scholarship—awarded to the graduating student with the highest average in his/her senior years of high-school.
To God be the glory, great things He has done! This Fall, this boy is headed to the University of Toronto, Canada's top university, to study Engineering Science, one of the most selective and advanced engineering programs offered in the world.
These are undoubtedly incredible achievements and his dad and I are extremely proud of this young man.
Many have congratulated us on a parenting job well done and this is what I have to say in response: There is this quote by C.S. Lewis that has always informed and guided my motherhood journey, and it has proven to be true time and time again. It says: “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”
You see, the goal was never medals, awards or academic achievements.
The goal was always this, and this alone—a man after God's own heart. Of course, there is no magic parenting formula, but there are these words, from Matthew 6:33, that are strongly worth considering and taking to heart—"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
As much as this mama-heart swelled with so much pride and joy seeing how much this boy has accomplished in his young life, it overflows and bursts with even more pride and joy knowing how much he seeks for God's grace to be at work and manifested in his life.
Such as when he chooses to spend his day-off like this...
Or when he foregoes a significant Rubik's Cube competition which could improve his standings, so that he can do this instead—in order to see over 150 Compassion children released from poverty in Jesus' name...
One merely has to scroll through social media or watch TV or glance at the headlines blaring from the newspaper stands to know that our world is becoming an increasingly dark place. Wars, natural disasters, political unrest, injustice, poverty, deep fissures in faith communities, racial tensions, gender-based violence... and the list goes on and on.
These were the realities of 2017.
As Christ-followers, more so than ever, we urgently need to be "a wick to light hope in the dark."
You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. - Matthew 5:14-16, NLT.
As Ann Voskamp writes in The Greatest Gift, "When you are a wick to light hope in the dark, then you believe in Christmas. When you really believe in Christmas, you believe there is really hope for everyone."
In our own small way, our family desires to be this Jesus-light to our dark world.
2017 highlights {the top 10, in no particular order}:
1. This year, we saw a couple of our Compassion kids leave the program because their parents are in better positions to support the families. As a result, we've welcomed two new kids to replace them: Taeng-Mo from Thailand and Justine from the Philippines (who is Alyssa's sponsor child). We've also added three children to our Compassion family: Hannah, Krevin and Jethro, who are all from the same Compassion implementing church partner located in my dad's hometown in the Philippines!
2. In the summer, Jon's speed-cubing "career" brought us all the way to London, England and Paris, France! What a treat! Our trip was well documented on Instagram under the hashtag #Esparaz2Europe!
4. Jon turned 17 this year... just where does the time go?!? He is currently buried deep in university and scholarship applications. He is hoping to go into either engineering or statistics.
5. During the latter half of the summer, we welcomed our church's 2nd Syrian newcomer family to Toronto! It has been such a gift to lead our church's refugee sponsorship committee and to walk alongside this precious family as they navigate the complexities of resettlement to a new country.
6. Alyssa is half-way through her 3rd year of International Development Studies at the University of Toronto. She is currently exploring placement opportunities as she will be embarking on an 8-12 month placement in a developing country next year.
7. In addition to being a full-time student, Alyssa manages to work part-time as Compassion Canada's Advocacy Associate. This year, she worked on the Eyes To See project which was released in September. She is also co-chair of the International Development Conference at her school. As if that's not already a full schedule, she also managed to do 25 speaking engagements over the course of this year!
8. Alyssa turns 21 in the New Year... just where does the time go?!? To celebrate this milestone birthday, she has set this audacious, bold and BIG goal—to see 21 Compassion children connected with sponsors! Family and friends, will you sponsor one of these children? Also, I'm going to be missing Alyssa's birthday this year—first time ever that I'll be missing her birthday—because I will be co-leading a Compassion Canada Pastors' Vision Trip to Nicaragua in February. So, if you choose a child from Nicaragua to sponsor, I'll be more than happy to bring them a gift from YOU! So... what are you waiting for? Click here now and help Alyssa meet her audacious, bold and BIG 21st birthday goal!!!
9. Speaking of Compassion, our family is celebrating 1150 Compassion children connected with loving sponsors here in the Greater Toronto Area in 2017 through various events and church services! We are deeply grateful for the dedicated and committed volunteers who so faithfully serve with us to grow Compassion's ministry here in the GTA. We are truly overwhelmed and incredibly humbled… we truly serve a good, good Father.
10. After more than a year of looking, researching and shopping, Floyd finally found the perfect one—a new-to-us Subaru Forester to replace our 14-year-old family van which gifted us with 307,000+ kilometres of memories starting from when Jon was only 3 years old!
As we look towards 2018, our family will seek to continue lighting this dark world and the unexpected places with a brave flame of joy; warming the cold, hopeless places with the daring joy that God is with us, God is for us, God is in us.
Because we believe in Christmas.
From our family to yours... Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
After a long hiatus from writing, it took this #Esparaz2Europe trip to break the silence on this blog.
As I tap out these words on my iPad keyboard, we are speeding across The Channel Tunnel, a.k.a. The Chunnel, towards Paris. The Chunnel is considered one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the longest undersea tunnel on the globe.
In store for us in Paris are another four days of being tourists and four days of my boy competing in the 2017 World Rubik's Cube Championship.
My boy often says, "Speed-cubing is a privileged activity." I would agree with him 100% and I'm grateful that he recognizes this fact. Our privilege and wealth is certainly not lost on me, especially during this trip.
This is the first time, in many years, that we are not spending our summer vacation in a developing country visiting one of our Compassion sponsor children and immersing ourselves in their culture and way of life. These summer trips to the developing world have become a sacred form of pilgrimage for our family.
I thought twice about embarking on this trip to London and Paris.
Why? You might ask...
You see, I worried that my fickle heart would revert back into loving and craving these luxurious, self-pacifying vacations. I worried that our now beloved family tradition of summer pilgrimages to the developing world might somehow pale in comparison to this experience.
Yet, I recognize that God uses all our experiences for His glory, if only we let Him.
Before leaving home, I had a little chat with God. I asked Him to use this trip to continually open my eyes to the brokenness of this world, even in world-class cities like London and Paris.
We arrived in London last week late at night, after the long flight to Paris across the Atlantic and a lengthy delay with the Paris-London train.
When hubby googled how to take the "tube" to our hotel, he asked me: "Did you know that our hotel is right beside a mosque?" No, I didn't. We later find out that this mosque is one of the largest mosques in all of Europe!
We arrived at Whitechapel Station and proceeded to walk towards the hotel, luggages and backpacks in tow. We were definitely quite the sight... tourists! At the first stop light, while waiting to cross the street, a woman standing nearby proceeds to collapse to the ground... either drunk or high on drugs.
Upon arriving at our hotel, I spotted the mosque right away. I also noticed a facility across the street called Booth House, eerily similar in feel to Maxwell Meighen Centre back home. In fact, that entire walk from the tube station to the hotel felt eerily similar to walking along Sherbourne Street, where we do sandwich runs for the homeless back in Toronto.
With Google to the rescue again, I quickly learned that Booth House is one of the largest centres working with homeless men in London and is the largest Salvation Army centre in the entire country. I knew it, I was right about it feeling eerily similar to Maxwell Meighen Centre!
Furthermore, Google said not to walk lengthy distances in this neighbourhood at night. Google can really scare the daylights out of you sometimes...
My mama-bear instincts kicked into high gear. In hindsight, I must confess that it was paranoia more than anything else. I hastily called a family meeting. I said: "We need to find another hotel. I don't care if we lose the money we already paid for this 6-night stay. This is not a safe neighbourhood with a homeless shelter across the street. And with the recent terror activities in London, the last place we want to be sleeping at is right beside a mosque!"
My rant was met with three bewildered stares and three logically wise minds.
I really do thank Jesus for keeping my family's logic intact during my wildly illogical panicky moments. ;)
They gently explained to me that the touristy places we will be visiting the next day are more of a target for terror attacks than the mosque itself. If we aren't avoiding the touristy areas, why should this be a problem? As for the homeless shelter, well... as I pointed out myself, it feels no different from Maxwell Meighen Centre back home... so why would it suddenly be scary, just because it's in London?
Gotta love my family! I quickly came to my senses and realized that I was acting like a paranoid woman.
Don't get me wrong. We did take precautions and found a better tube station to depart from/arrive at the hotel... and we took an Uber when we were returning late in the night.
I must confess that it took a while for me to fall asleep that first night. I lay awake and sensed God gently reminding me of my little chat asking Him to use this trip to continually open my eyes to the brokenness of this world, even in world-class cities like London and Paris.
Yes, that little chat!
I had to chuckle upon realizing that this is God's way of answering my prayer. Really... what answer was I expecting after a prayer like that?!?
What better way to keep my eyes open to see the brokenness of this world than a daily reminder, with each 5-minute walk from the hotel to the tube station and back, of the life that street-involved people live and of a community of people facing harsh discrimination these days.
... with each day of being tourists and seeing posh London in all of its royalty, riches and glory, then returning to the broken and battered neighbourhood where our hotel is situated.
... with each end-of-the-day walking past the open doors of the mosque and seeing evening prayers happen and being reminded of the imminent arrival of our church's second sponsored Syrian refugee family. In fact, I received a pre-arrival email notice from the Government of Canada just yesterday!
... with each day of trekking over to luxurious Canary Wharf where the speed-cubing competition venue was, then returning back to our hotel at night. I kid you not, when the light rail train pulled into Heron Quays Station, I said to my kids: "This feels a lot like arriving in The Capitol in the Hunger Games movie!"
Furthermore, my girl had the privilege and joy to share about Compassion's work with a local Filipino congregation in east-side London and, as a result, saw 12 Compassion kids released from poverty in Jesus' name.
My girl's speaking engagement was, in hindsight, another way God was answering my prayer during this trip.
It was a reminder to me that, even during a time of vacation, God can and will continue to use us to be His hands and His feet, if only we let Him... to not only release Compassion children from poverty in Jesus' name, but also to release fellow first-world Christ-followers from the poverty of too much, in Jesus' name.
Needless to say, posh London is certainly a place where the poverty of too much is clearly evident.
It reminded me of this quote by Shane Claiborne:
When the worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world.
On our last night in London, we casually stroll along Whitechapel Road to a local Punjabi restaurant for dinner late that night. I realized that this neighbourhood has grown on me over these last five days.
In big and small ways. In expected and unexpected ways. In joy-filled and profoundly sad ways. In ways immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine...
Yet, in all of these different ways, one thing remained sure and certain in this hard year... and that is God showing up in ways immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!
In hindsight, I shouldn't have been surprised? After all, the One Word that God impressed upon my heart to focus on this year is: Brave.
When you are brave, you give yourself the gift of facing and touching the torn places. The places where we're torn to pieces can be thin places where we touch the peace of God." ~ Ann Voskamp, The Greatest Gift.
And all year, this has been my anthem: "You make me brave. You call me out beyond the shore into the waves. No fear can hinder now the promises You've made."
Through tears, both happy and sad ones, I've sung those words countless times.
And this is what I've come to realized: Through each hard thing, God's gifted us with this wild joy that surpasses all understanding.
And the realization that these words are truer than ever before:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
And with these realizations came the tenacity and resolve to keep doing the hard things — the important things, the things that stand for Hope:
Because when we’re unbending in what is important — endings aren’t the thing that is important.
Because if we don’t always fiercely stand for Hope, regardless of risk, cost, or ending — we steal all future Hope.
Because if Hope isn’t worth it, no matter how it turns out — then it turns out, that nothing is actually worth it.
Because when we say that one life has worth — we’re saying that all lives have worth.
And a life that believes in the worth of all lives — is the only kind of life that’s really worth living.
As we celebrate Christmas, it truly is with deep gratitude that I write this blog post and share our family's year-end newsletter which lists our Top Ten news and hightlights.
As we look to 2017, the words from Ephesians 3:14-21 form my prayer, not only for our family, but for all of you as well:
It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father, after whom all families in heaven above and on earth below receive their names, and pray:
Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings.
Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen.
Simmering on my stove top is a huge heavy pot of my grandma's signature dish, her braised pork hocks in soy-caramel sauce, which I am attempting to make for the first time today because my dad is missing his mama's home-cooked meals.
Holidays have their way of making one's heart miss departed loved ones. This weekend, it's Thanksgiving here in Canada.
Soon, my sisters and their families will arrive at my house with even more food... and we will gather around the table to feast.
So will many fellow Canadians throughout this entire weekend. We will eat and we will overeat and we will fill our stomachs... and come Tuesday, many of us will hit the gym to shed those excess calories gained over the weekend.
Because that's how we are in the first world. We have way more than what we know what to do with.
The entire house is starting to smell delicious with the salty-sweet liquid slowly braising and the aroma of star anise and garlic fills our nostrils. I think I've successfully made my grandma's signature dish! Soon, we will be eating to our hearts' content.
Yet, somehow... eating and feasting is the last thing on my mind on this Thanksgiving weekend.
Because, YOU ARE. You see, just over a month ago... my family and I stood on your soil and found new friends. Today, my heart aches for them.
On this Thanksgiving weekend, news is just starting to trickle out about how you fared after Hurricane Matthew hit you with its full force earlier this week.
You... still recovering from the devastating 2010 earthquake... were the subject of Hurricane Matthew's wrath.
My heart aches as I await word on how our friends are, our family really: our Compassion sponsor children, Bradley and Linsey and their families; our host and translator Pastor Ephraim and his family.
How about George and Remy and Arnold who all live along the shoreline and peddle local crafts for a living? I wonder how they are?
On this Thanksgiving weekend, I am desperately wanting, more than ever, to turn my thanksgiving into thanks-living.
Thanksgiving for God’s love always seeks to become thanks-living – a living and giving of His love.
Christian hands never clasp and He doesn’t give gifts for gain because a gift can never stop being a gift — a gift is always meant to be given….
God calls me to do thanks. To give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received.
~ Ann Voskamp.
My dear Haiti, you see... those of us who live in this first world have been abundantly blessed with much materially. We have so much to be thankful for and it shouldn't, it cannot, end at merely mouthing our thanks.
If we call ourselves Christ-followers, the next step absolutely needs to be taken and that is the living out of this thanks...
Because living out a sacrificial life of grateful holiness is the only appropriate response to grace.
Go through His gates, giving thanks; walk through His courts, giving praise. Offer Him your gratitude and praise His holy name. Because the Eternal is good, His loyal love and mercy will never end, and His truth will last throughout all generations. ~ Psalm 100:4-5.
Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. ~ Romans 12:1.
I will not make an offering to the Eternal One, my True God, that has cost me nothing. ~ 2 Samuel 24:24.
My dear Haiti, on this Thanksgiving weekend... I am thankful for an organization called Compassion International, a ministry my family and I love. Compassion has been in Haiti since 1968. Today, they are partnering with more than 270 of your churches and together they take care of about 80,000 of your beautiful children and their families, including our Bradley and our Linsey!
They will rebuild Haiti again after Hurricane Matthew. I know they will.
My dear Haiti, on this Thanksgiving weekend... my prayer is that, as fellow Christ-followers in this vast country of ours sit down to feast on their Thanksgiving meals,you will be forefront in their minds.
Just like you are in mine.
As I sit down shortly to enjoy those slow-braised pork hocks with its mouth-watering soy-caramel sauce... please know that you will not be far from my heart, my dear Haiti.
On this Thanksgiving weekend, I am remembering you, my dear Haiti... because setting foot on your soil and finding friends there and seeing how beautiful you are in your brokennes has re-membered me in ways that are profound.
Because when we remember how He blesses and loves us, when we recollect His goodnesses to us — our broken places re-collect. We re-member. We heal. In the remembering to give thanks, our broken places are re-membered — made whole.
When I first became a mama, my greatest desire was to give my baby girl and her little brother the best that this world could offer.
Because I wanted the absolute best for them. Only the absolute best will do.
During the early years, hubby and I pursued this for our kids. Relentlessly and religiously pursued this. Because... only the best would do.
From babyGap clothes to StrideRite shoes. From Oxford Learning pre-school to Gymboree classes. From Disney vacations to Registered Education Savings Plans.
You get the picture. We're stellar parents raising stellar children! Or so we thought...
We entertained thoughts of moving from our nice neighbourhood into an even nicer neighbourhood with better schools, better than the already pretty awesome public school that's within walking distance from our more than adequate home.
We sought to top last summer's vacation with an even awesomer one next time.
We strove for more income because only then can we provide our kids with the absolute best.
It was the pursuit of more. But... although we considered ourselves Christ-followers, we weren't living a life of God-worship.
I am grateful that God, in His infinite grace, found us early on in our parenting journey and removed the blinders from our eyes. He opened our hearts' eyes to see that the goal isn't to raise stellar human beings, but truly great children... ones whose lives exude Kingdom greatness and ones whose hearts break for the things that break God's.
He impressed upon our hearts that the way to true greatness isn't via wanting what the world dictates is the absolute best for our children...
... because in giving of the world's best to our children, we are in fact giving them a whole lot of the detrimental gift of entitlement and afflicting them with affluence.
Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or —worse!— stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. ~ Matthew 6:19-21, The Message.
We grappled with questions such as...
How is true greatness defined after all?
What do great kids look like?
How do we make sure we are raising our kids to be great?!?
In 2003, George Barna wrote in his research that a child's moral development is set by the age of nine. He wrote, "Habits related to the practice of one’s faith develop when one is young and change surprisingly little over time. The older a child gets, the more distracted and vulnerable he or she becomes to nonfamily influences."
Barna found that children who accepted Christ before their teen years are more likely to remain "absolutely committed" to Christianity. He stated, "It is during those pre-teen years that people develop their frames of reference for the remainder of their life." Source: Wikipedia.
Over the years, since our family started answering God with this wild nod of a yes to live a life of God-worship, it is changing many things. In fact, it is changing everything.... from how we celebrate Christmas and birthdays, to how we view corporate worship; from how we buy clothing and food, to the decisions we make when buying bigger tickets items such as vehicles; from the way we save money for the future, to the way we give.
I have come to love this quote by C.S. Lewis...
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them. ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
And also this quote by Joshua Becker...
Excessive consumption leads to bigger houses, faster cars, trendier clothes, fancier technology, and overfilled drawers. It promises happiness, but never delivers. Instead, it results in a desire for more… a desire which is promoted by the world around us. And it slowly begins robbing us of life. It redirects our God-given passions to things that can never fulfill. It consumes our limited resources. And it is time that we escape the vicious cycle. ~ Joshua Becker, 10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism.
Among other things, this decision to live a life of God-worship has changed the way we spend our vacation time... that's for sure!
As Jennie Allen so eloquently wrote in a guest post on Ann Voskamp's blog:
... something is happening — not a feeling or love of adventure or desire for glory but something within us that is from God, a call to more: to die — to live. My heart is bleeding and I can’t make it stop. So we are praying and willing and dreaming of living for heaven instead of the American dream, and it is changing everything. And I am strangely okay with that.
Yes, I am indeed strangely okay... strangely okay with this.
My baby boy, now a young man and almost a whole head taller than me, said to me the other day that he is grateful we chose to raise him and his sister in this way, to live a life of God-worship...
... because if not, he doesn't know if he would come to the point of choosing it for himself.
Profoundly thought-provoking statement which made this mama's heart swell with joy! I am deeply grateful and deeply glad.
Just last week, my kids and I spent a few days soaking up the Inspire Hope Conference at Muskoka Bible Centre. Compassion Canada's President/CEO, Barry Slauenwhite, said this during one of his teaching sessions:
Children are either afflicted by poverty or afflicted by affluence.
Ah, yes! This statement is profoundly true.
Being afflicted by affluence, the poverty of having too much, is what God saved both our children from when His grace found us during those early years of our parenting journey and I will forever be grateful.
Turns out, my kids did get what's absolutely best for them. The absolute best thing... lives exuding Kingdom greatness and hearts broken for the things that break God's.
A photo posted by Aimee Esparaz (@mama2greatkids) on
I'll be honest... some days, this journey is hard. Many days, the struggle is real and the sacrifices tough to swallow.
Yet, I will not have it any other way. Because this abundant life in Christ is worth the hard days and the struggles and the sacrifices.
I would not exchange this deep gladness with anything else.
As we prepare to travel to Haiti for yet another one of our family's summer pilgrimages, these song lyrics have been constant in my heart and mind...
You live among the least of these | The weary and the weak | And it would be a tragedy | For me to turn away | All my needs You have supplied | When I was dead You gave me life | So how could I not give it away so freely?
And I'll | Follow You into the homes of the broken | Follow You into the world | Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God | Follow You into the world
Use my hands and use my feet | To make Your kingdom come | To the corners of the earth | Until Your work is done | Faith without works is dead | On the cross Your blood was shed | So how could we not give it away so freely?
And I give all myself | I give all myself | I give all myself to You
