I Challenge You…

    Wow, where do I begin? I have just spent some time reading different blog posts from the Compassion bloggers who are currently in the Philippines. I have been touched and challenged in so many ways. I read about a girl named Denise and her family in a post found here: http://simplemom.net/the-opulent-ability-to-give/#more-13598 and I read about how Compassion uses the money from sponsors and how they keep track of EVERY penny here: http://shaungroves.com/2011/05/a-magic-trick-for-kristen/ and I also read about the child survival program and how it helps mothers and their babies start a new life here: http://jonesbones5.com/2011/05/31/the-prayer-of-a-mother/ 

I just love learning more about compassion and what they are doing in the world. I’m so glad that I am able to be a part of it, even if my part is small. If you have ever thought about sponsoring a child, but it all sounded a bit sceptical check out these 2 posts by Shaun Groves http://shaungroves.com/2011/05/a-magic-trick-for-kristen/ & http://shaungroves.com/2011/05/what-exactly-is-compassion-international/  He words things so clearly, he makes it very easy to understand what the organization does and why their different from the rest. So I challenge everyone to go to the compassion website www.compassion.ca and look into it. If you decide to sponsor a child, why not pick one that has been waiting a while? It would be a wonderful gift to a family in need and it will change your life as well.

I would love for you to share your sponsorship story with me! Leave me a comment or email me: candle_andrea@hotmail.com

God Bless!!

Andrea

Domestic Engineers

        Lately, I’ve been in a bit of a slump. You see, I’m just a stay-at-home mom and sometimes I just don’t feel that my job is all that important (at least according to what other women do for a living). But God has been reminding me how very important my job really is. So, I thought I’d share a bit of encouragement for those of you who are in the same spot as me.       

The other day I received a phone call from a telemarketer. When he asked what I did for a living I told him that I was a homemaker. He was from the United States and he said that down there they call them ‘Domestic Engineers’. I like the sound of that. In reality we don’t just ‘keep the home’, we keep our families.  Keeping the family is a big job and it’s not for the faint at heart. We are called to be teachers, nurses, housekeepers, head chefs, bakers, sales people, exterminators, gardeners, accountants, etc. We get to do, not just one specific job, but every job. We need to meet every need our homes and families have. It’s not an easy task, but God has made it so that it’s not too hard either. I love to read Proverbs 31:10-31. That is such an inspiring and encouraging passage, it really shows how much we women do for our families, and how important we are to our household. It also shows how our hard work pays off. We may sometimes feel that it goes unnoticed, but there is one who always knows how hard we work for our families and he will reward our hard work. Maybe not in this lifetime, but definitely in the next! 

So, lets remember that the work that we do is very important. Who knows, maybe your raising the next prime minister?

Proverbs 31:10 “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies”

Have a Wonderful Day!!

 Andrea

Reminders…

Today as I was absently staring out my patio door (as I often do!), I watched the umbrella on my patio table blow wildly in the wind.

And I couldn’t help but notice that my mosquito coil holder (the orange circle at the base of the pole) did not move ( it’s quite light so I expected it to slide all over the table). Seeing that reminded me of the song “ I will not be shaken” and I was gently reminded (yet again) that we should not allow the conditions in our lives or of the world, to move us or shift us from our focus on Christ. Let the wind blow all around us cause “WE WILL NOT BE SHAKEN, WE WILL NOT BE MOVED!"

Just a thought that I wanted to share.

Have a great day!

Andrea

Not Perfect (not even close)

     Do you ever get tired of feeling like you never say or do the right thing at the right time? I sure do! I always think about what I should have said or done long after the moment is passed. The more I think about it the dumber I feel. “Why can’t I just ‘be’ like the other godly women I know?” “Why do I constantly mess up?” These are questions that battle my mind quite often. I just don’t ever feel like I have it together. Take Sunday morning for instance: my husband was ushering so I was in charge of both of our kids for the first little bit of church. No big deal right? It should be easy. I have 2 kids not 8, so there should be no worries. WRONG! My kids sure know how to pick the days that they are not gonna behave and Sunday was one of them. Here’s just a bit of my Sunday morning: as soon as I sat down my son started to whine (he has a whine like no one else, as my sister so lovingly put it) and he would not stop whining. His nose was running also, so I took him to the bathroom 3 or 4 times just to blow his nose. So my son is whining/crying and I’m trying to get him to quiet down and then my daughter (who’s wearing a dress), decides that church pews are not for sitting on (that’s optional) and she’s all over everything, not even close to sitting like a lady. So here I am trying to keep my cool (which has been tested a lot by now), and be a good mom and look like I have it all under control. Meanwhile, underneath my (hopefully) controlled expression I just want to break down and cry. I love my kids very, very much but sometimes they are too much to handle by myself. So needless to say, I’m sure that I lost my cool (I know I did, just a little) and looked a little less than close to godly. But, I have to remember and keep reminding myself; it’s not about me, it’s all about him.

Matthew 19:26 “ With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So, remembering that, it’s easy to deal with my imperfections because it’s impossible for me to be as perfect a mom as I would like to be. I will never be ‘put together’ as long as my kids are small that’s for sure! But as long as I keep remembering why I’m here and who I serve, it gives my life meaning.

Have a wonderful day!!

Andrea

Real Beauty

What makes a woman beautiful? Is it her hair? Her skin? Her clothes (or lack of)? Maybe it’s how much make up she has on that day. Or how much Jewellery she’s wearing?  Whatever the world thinks of beauty is the opposite of what God thinks. The world has made beauty out to be something totally fake. Plastic surgery, LOTS of cosmetics, extreme dieting, all those awful things that women do to themselves to be ‘perfect’(?). Really, what is perfection? There is nothing (and no one) on earth that is perfect. So we can stop trying. How about we just be Real instead? Let’s be ourselves, children of Christ, loving in our attitudes and actions and giving of our time to serving others in his name. In doing those things which he calls us to do, we will be Beautiful women, women with gentle and quiet spirits, blessings to our husbands and children, and a joy to meet. Let’s show this world exactly what the CREATOR defines beauty as. Purity, Gentleness, Self-control, Love, Patience, Kindness, Faithfulness, Joy, Goodness, just to name a few.  In 1 Peter 3 Beauty is defined by: “Beauty is something internal that can’t be destroyed. Beauty expresses itself in a gentle and quiet attitude which God considers precious (vs.4).” No where in that passage does it say anything about the physical appearance. Huh, just goes to show how very unimportant our looks are to the one who made us. So let’s show him how beautiful we really are on the inside.

I want to dedicate this post to all the women in my life. You all are very beautiful!

“Labels”

  OK, so with the beautiful sunny weather that we’ve been having, I’ve been outside a lot enjoying it. So as you may have noticed, I haven’t been posting as much.

   I have been thinking lately though about what kind of person I am. I’m trying to ‘label’(?) myself and I think I found the one that fits. I would label myself as a ‘servant’. The reason I give myself this label is because I’m happiest when I can serve someone. I just think about the jobs that I had in my past and I have the fondest memories of jobs where I could help others. I really enjoyed being a cashier, but I had even more fun when I got to help a customer find something. When the item was found, it was so exciting for me. Also as a hairstylist, I really enjoy cutting and coloring hair to help people feel better about their appearance. My current (and most important) job right now is mom & wife. I get to serve people all the time! Sometimes however, when it comes to every day household chores, I need to remember that this is another way to serve and not just ‘housework’. And I’m not serving only my family, I’m also serving God. Everything that we do for one another in Christ, we are doing for Christ.

What about you? What’s your ‘label’?

Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”

Have a great day!!

Sunshiny days are here again!!!

Summer is on it's way!! After our cloudy, rainy week last week it sure is good to see Mr. Sun again! We had a lot of nice weather last weekend so here's a couple of pictures to show you what we did!

The kids and I also went for a walk yesterday to watch my brother's baseball game. We only caught the last little bit, but it was a fun walk for us. I think we will probably walk to Arielle's baseball tonight as well.
  Also this weekend I sent letters to my 'boys' again. I was actually a week later than usual, so I made sure to have them in the mail by Friday. I'm still waiting for letters from my other two boys (Niyomugabo sent me 1 already!). I check my mailbox every day hoping for something!

Psalm 71:14 "But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more."

Are you hoping for a letter as well? How long has it been since you last received one?



Have a blessed day!!

* Andrea *

Our Safe Place

   Psalm 46:1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present

help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though it's waters roar and foam

 and the mountains quake with their surging."

This was my devotion passage this morning. I just love the way It's written. "Even if the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the sea, we will NOT fear!" That is so comforting if you really think about it. God wants us to be assured that he is always there for us, that he is our 'safe' place. The place of no fear. The place we can go when there is no where else, and no one else. He is always there patiently waiting for us to open the door and invite him in. There is no 'handle' on his side of the door, it's up to us to open it. Have you opened the door to him lately?



Just a thought...

* Andrea *

He is at Work

     What a great weekend we had! I was lucky to have my husband home on Friday for the day. So we were able to get some things done around the house and yard.
On Saturday, we had 'work day' at church. That was a lot of fun. It's nice to get together with other members of the church in a more casual setting and get to know them better. It's also nice to see what kinds of things the church needs to have done in order to keep it in good physical shape. I really enjoyed the morning that we spent helping.
On Sunday, it was Mother's day (of course, you all know). But more importantly, it was baptism day at our church. We had 5 young men profess their faith and get baptised, as well as 3 young ladies become members. It was so awesome to me to see 8 young adults on stage proclaiming their love for God. Their testimonies were very inspirational, how they shared what God has taken them from and how he is shaping and changing them. It is awesome that these young people are strong enough in their faith to recognize God at work in their lives. My prayer for them is that they will continue to seek him and continue to strengthen their faith and relationship with him. I am so excited to see how God is working in our church and how he is molding and shaping our body of believers.
  How about you? Are you constantly amazed at how God is working in your life? in your church? in other areas? I'd love to hear about it!


Have a great day!!

* Andrea *

My Baseball Girl

   What a week it's been! It's been really good but really busy. Wednesday Arielle had her first "Learn to play" baseball practice.

They had to have it in the arena because it had been raining off and on all day, and was supposed to rain some more. They had cancelled Monday's practice due to weather so I'm really glad that they didn't cancel Wednesday's. It was so cute watching all those little kids running back and forth! Those little minds were hanging onto every word the coach said. So eager to learn! They also had so much energy!!
But of course, nothing is ever complete without a meltdown by one of the kids! Well, this time it was mine! Everything seemed fine and then all of a sudden she turns and looks at me and there are tears streaming down her face. So, of course I go to her and this is what she says "that ball was mine!" Apparently some kid took the ball that she had thrown (they all look the same, so I'm not sure how she could tell), and she was not impressed. This boy gave her the ball back and she was still upset. She finally cheered up after daddy talked to her. Then all was good again. I don't know what he said, but it worked! She had a really great time and is looking forward to her next 'practice'.
    Today, the sun is shining and it is beautiful outside. So I'm not gonna sit here and write any longer. I'm off to enjoy God's gift to us today!

Have a great day!!

* Andrea *

Oh Happy Day!!!

    After a lot of waiting and God given patience, it finally arrived!!! My very first letter from one of my boys!!! You cannot imagine (OK, so you probably can) the excitement and joy I felt when I opened my mail box yesterday and saw this:

Oh I was so excited! I could hardly wait to get home so I could find out who it was from and read what he had to say. I was so convinced that it was from Alejandro because we sponsored him first, but much to my surprise, it was from Niyomugabo. 



This is what he said: "Dear Andrea & Timothy Sawatzky, Niyomugabo Gakwavu greets you in Jesus name. Gakwavu and his family are fine and sending their greetings. They are all happy for you agreed to sponsor him (I'm doing everything but the financial part, so I guess this is right), that they will be praying for you, and may God bless you abundantly. Gakwavu enjoys to play football (I think that means soccer) and he is studying very well. He is asking "What do you like?", "What do you do?". He is kindly asking you to reply and he will send you a photo of him and his family (Yay! I can hardly wait to get it). He is wishing you peace through this year 2011."

This was a very exciting letter for me to get because now it feels a lot more like I'm writing to someone. The wait has been a long one, but it has been worth it! I'm really hoping that I will get the letters from my other 2 boys soon. Maybe this week??? That would be such a blessing to get letters from all 3 boys the same week. It would be like Christmas for me!!!

That was a really nice start to my week. Now hopefully the rest of my week will go just as nicely.

Have you received a letter from your sponsor child lately? I would love to hear about it!!

Have a Wonderful Day!!!

* Andrea *

Why do you...?

   I've had a lot of things going on in my head lately. Sometimes it's so 'LOUD' in there that it's hard to stay focused (is that a problem for you too?). One big thought lately has been, why do we sponsor children? I mean what is your reason? Mine is to make a difference in someones life, and that is one way that I can. I used to think that we couldn't afford to, but yet once we worked out our finances, we were able to tithe to the church. So then I got to thinking, we give to God every payday but do we have to give all the money to church? If we sponsor a child, we are still giving to God but just in a different way.
So that was the thought that started our decision to sponsor. I started to read different blog posts written by Compassion Advocates and learnt a lot about how very important it is to write to your child/ren. It was through reading these posts that I decided to become a compassion correspondent and write to more children. Imagine my surprise when I was given two 18 year old boys to write to! What do I say to them? I am a stay-at-home-mom of a 4 year old and a 1 year old! I have nothing exciting to say to an 18 year old! But God knew (like always), and he has given me a wealth of loving words to write to these young men. It has amazed me how many words it takes to describe something that's so ordinary for us. Take hockey for example, I assumed that they knew nothing about hockey so I wrote it out in detail. It almost took up half a page! Single spaced! So anyone can write to their sponsor child. If your drawing a blank, remember that their world is very different than ours. Talk about ordinary everyday things to us like, gardening, knitting, sports, things that you are familiar with but they probably are not.
A really big reason for us to sponsor (and correspond) is to help someone. I love knowing that Alejandro and his family all benefit from our financial sponsorship. Not only does he get food, and medical check-ups, he also gets a solid teaching about Christ. His family also gets taught as well. His parents learn how to better provide for their children and how to raise them in a Christ centered home. So now, with his physical needs being met, it's up to me to help with his emotional needs. I'm (in a sense) another mom for him. So I take that responsibility very seriously, and send him my love and encouragement as often as possible. I feel that way about all of my 'boys'. I love them so much, and I want them to feel loved, so that's why I write them so often. I can't see them every day, nor can I phone them, so I write.
Maybe you haven't written to your child in a while, today is a good day for writing. Everyday is a good day for writing. You don't even need paper, just go to the website of the organization that you sponsor through (most of them have email), and send your letter of love. It does not need to be long, just send some love!


If you've sent a letter to your child recently and you want to share, I'd love to hear about it!

* Andrea *

Spring Snow...

  Remember the nice weather we had last week? This is what it looks outside my window today...

Anything can happen on the prairies!!



* Andrea *