Last night my son showed me a picture in a world vision pamphlet and asked me what it was - "mummy it looks like he's in jail".... sudden heartbreak ....
Here is a photo of a child about the same age as my son, behind barbed wire, looking out, lost.
What do you say?
Suddenly my heart is torn, firstly for my son, I didn't want him exposed to this, I don't want to give him a truthful answer, I don't want him to be sad or feel hopeless, he's only 5. But suddenly mummy needs to talk to him, in a moment when his heart is vulnerable and soft, and help him to understand his feelings, help him to understand the fate of a child in slavery, nurture his compassion, and give him hope.
And all at once, the millions of children in slavery are my children, and I want to save every one of them.
I want to say "la-di-da, thats a funny picture, they must be playing a game" and protect him from the pain of knowing that children just like him are in prison, and that little is being done to help them.
So often we say "la-di-da" to ourselves and block our ears, giving the token offering that we can, or saying a token prayer.
But if we are to truly live a life of love, we need to open our hearts bigger. And if we truly want our children to really live in life and to really love, to grow up with open and big generous hearts, then they need to be exposed to pain and reality. But only if we have faith and hope to offer to them.
We can't afford to say "oh well, thats life, thats the way things are, theres not much you can do about it". That would kill the love and compassion in them for others. Children have a great capacity for love, compassion, sympathy. They know that they are loved and cared for, so they have moments where they would be happy to give everything away for someone in need. And we can't afford to take them from them.
If our children are going to be world changers, then they need to know about the world, they need to be given hope for the world, and we need to nurture their love and compassion.
When I speak to my children about the things that are happening in the world, it makes me accountable to them. I can't ignore the problems any longer, I am responsible to show them the way. I need to teach him to give, to give his love, to work hard, to give his money and most importantly to give his prayer. Because in prayer we find hope, and we remember that these children are God's children, that he loves them more than anyone does, and that he hears their prayers as they cry out for help. It keeps us honest and filled with faith that if we submit our hearts to God that he will find a way for us to help them.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
children are a treasure
I heard Melanie Stockstill speak on Monday morning. She is a beautiful woman who has raised 6 children, home schooled all of them! Now that is amazing.
What she had to share was like water to my soul, so I thought I would share some of the nuggets of gold on my blog....
Children are a treasure and a gift from the Lord.
Imagine God himself gave you a little baby, all snuggled up in a blanket and warm. And He said to you, I'm giving you this child as a gift, he's my special treasure, and I entrust him to you for a season. And I entrust to you to raise him to serve me, and for you to give him back to me when he is 18 to serve my kingdom. Wouldn't you feel like God had given you a special treasure and gift, and also a charge? How privileged would you feel? Wouldn't you need to ask for wisdom regularly on how to raise this child of God's?
Well, that is our children. God has a plan for each child, their future is special to him, their hearts are precious to him, and we are to raise them for that great future in God's plan.
We love them, not because they are perfect, but because they are God's precious treasure.
Psalm 127:3 "...children are a gift of the LORD"
DISCIPLINE
This is my favourite proverb on discipline...
Proverbs 29:13 "Discipline your children; you'll be glad you did—they'll turn out delightful to live with."
Discipline is about raising godly children without rebellion in their hearts.
The thing about helping your children to be disciplined, is that we have to be disciplined first. We all know that children will do what they see done not what they are told to do.
We need to firstly have self-control ourselves, to be consistent in following through on consequences, to be consistent in loving and having grace and to not discipline out of anger.
I've seen this happen for us, when the kids know that mum and dad are serious, that if you break that rule there are consequences and we will follow through, and that we won't get all angry (showing self-control ourselves), that the kids do learn the boundary.
Melanie talked about being humble. We all know that we did the same things or worse.
She talked about the biblical way to raise children. That when Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eve, God set clear boundaries for them and clear consequences. And though God was loving and gracious to cover their sin, he never reneged on the consequences. He never asked why they did something, but just asked for a confession.
We want our kids to take responsibility, to make a quick confession, and that we always follow through on the already stated consequence. This helps them to grow up into adults who are quick to recognise and admit their mistakes, taking responsibility, and also acknowledging that doing the wrong thing in life has consequences.
And God always comforts after discipline if there is clear repentance. We should do the same.
FAITH
No one believes in their kids as much as you do! Melanie talked about having faith for our children. Believing great things for them, and preparing them for great things in life.
And when things aren't going so great, still believing for them, and praying for them.
She spoke about when one of her children went quite wayward as an adult and how she would fear for his life each night. But God put a verse in her heart, that her son would love God with all his heart, mind and strength. She began to pray and speak this verse over his life in her prayertime, and soon she began to believe that this was his future. Instead of being fearful for her son's future, she began to have faith for his future. And it wasn't long before her prayers were answered.
We can choose to fear for our children or we can choose to have faith for them and believe great things for them.
Lastly Melanie spoke about leaving an inheritance for our children, not a monetary one or a physical one, but leaving them an inheritance of faith filled, love filled, godly parents who love each other and their children, and inheritance of parents who love God's word and doing good.
Earthly riches may last a few days, but heavenly riches last for eternity.
Well, I hope you enjoyed those insights from Melanie Stockstill. I know that we can change the world, if we raise our children with love, discipline and faith.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
mums
We went to a park yesterday where there were heaps of mums with kids. At first I thought it must be a play group, because all the kids looked about the same age. But then I realised that with all these mums standing near their kids, that none of them were actually talking to each other!
I really miss what it must have been like in the old days, when towns were small and everyone knew everyone in the community, neighbors helped each other out, everyone knew everyone's business, and you always had someone to have a natter with.
You find the same situation when you go to kids sports, like kindergym, where my little girl goes, that most parents talk only to their children and not to each other.
I think mums really crave community and friendships, but are too shy, don't know how or have given up on the idea.
I love talking to other mums and making new friends. Sometimes the greatest need that people have is friendship.
I want to be bolder when I meet people and really go out of my way to show kindness, interest and investment into friendships. Who knows that it could be exactly what that mum really needs and is hoping for?
I know that I've always been really blessed when someone has gone out of their way to start a friendship with me.
I really miss what it must have been like in the old days, when towns were small and everyone knew everyone in the community, neighbors helped each other out, everyone knew everyone's business, and you always had someone to have a natter with.
You find the same situation when you go to kids sports, like kindergym, where my little girl goes, that most parents talk only to their children and not to each other.
I think mums really crave community and friendships, but are too shy, don't know how or have given up on the idea.
I love talking to other mums and making new friends. Sometimes the greatest need that people have is friendship.
I want to be bolder when I meet people and really go out of my way to show kindness, interest and investment into friendships. Who knows that it could be exactly what that mum really needs and is hoping for?
I know that I've always been really blessed when someone has gone out of their way to start a friendship with me.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Prakash
A few years ago our church started supporting a slum transformation project in Jaipur India, and we were given a photo of Prakash - he is one of the students at the new school with now over 300 students, who without support would be unable to have an education. He is quite a cute little boy!
We wanted to include him in our family, so that the kids can connect with what and who we are giving to.
So we started to pray for him each night when we pray before dinner. We'd pray that he'd have enough food to eat, and that his family would, and that he would enjoy school and be healthy.
Then last year Mark and some teachers from school went to visit the Jaipur school. Bob and Janine Mann run it and they have buses that take 300 students to a school just outside of the slum each day. Without this education, these children may always remain in the slum, with no other choice for work but to continue in the family line of business. In Jaipur, most of the people in the slum work in puppetry busking, it sounds creative and interesting, but does not provide an income that could take you out of the slum.
The team ran 3 days of workshops with the teachers and helped them to understand Christian education. They also helped them to understand grace in discipline, which is pretty important as most of the time they'd just hit kids on the head with a ruler when they were mucking up. After the team left, the teachers of the Jaipur school saw massive breakthrough with the students by using more gracious methods.
But, the really cool thing is that Mark got to meet Prakash, and to see the fruit of who we have been giving to. When he mentioned Prakash's name to Bob Mann, he knew exactly who he was talking about.
Bob had been helping Prakash's family out for the past few months. Prakash's father had developed a horrible disease in his arm and it was wasting away. He had no way to pay to go to a dr, he couldn't even afford a bandage. Because of the generous giving of many churches, Bob was able to help him out, to pay for him to see a doctor and to be treated weekly. This is the love of God in action.
That night Mark got to visit Prakash's family. Squatting in the small makeshift dwelling, made from bits of metal and timber, dark and smokey, Mark met Prakash's dad. When Mark told him that our family has a photo of his son at home and that we pray for him each day, Prakash's dad was overwhelmed with thankfulness. Mark prayed for him and was able to share the love of Jesus with him.
Even though our whole family couldn't go to visit Prakash that time, we feel so blessed that we can be a part of their lives in our giving and praying, and that we can share that with our children.
We wanted to include him in our family, so that the kids can connect with what and who we are giving to.
So we started to pray for him each night when we pray before dinner. We'd pray that he'd have enough food to eat, and that his family would, and that he would enjoy school and be healthy.
Then last year Mark and some teachers from school went to visit the Jaipur school. Bob and Janine Mann run it and they have buses that take 300 students to a school just outside of the slum each day. Without this education, these children may always remain in the slum, with no other choice for work but to continue in the family line of business. In Jaipur, most of the people in the slum work in puppetry busking, it sounds creative and interesting, but does not provide an income that could take you out of the slum.
The team ran 3 days of workshops with the teachers and helped them to understand Christian education. They also helped them to understand grace in discipline, which is pretty important as most of the time they'd just hit kids on the head with a ruler when they were mucking up. After the team left, the teachers of the Jaipur school saw massive breakthrough with the students by using more gracious methods.
But, the really cool thing is that Mark got to meet Prakash, and to see the fruit of who we have been giving to. When he mentioned Prakash's name to Bob Mann, he knew exactly who he was talking about.
Bob had been helping Prakash's family out for the past few months. Prakash's father had developed a horrible disease in his arm and it was wasting away. He had no way to pay to go to a dr, he couldn't even afford a bandage. Because of the generous giving of many churches, Bob was able to help him out, to pay for him to see a doctor and to be treated weekly. This is the love of God in action.
That night Mark got to visit Prakash's family. Squatting in the small makeshift dwelling, made from bits of metal and timber, dark and smokey, Mark met Prakash's dad. When Mark told him that our family has a photo of his son at home and that we pray for him each day, Prakash's dad was overwhelmed with thankfulness. Mark prayed for him and was able to share the love of Jesus with him.
Even though our whole family couldn't go to visit Prakash that time, we feel so blessed that we can be a part of their lives in our giving and praying, and that we can share that with our children.
Friday, February 12, 2010
the small things
I've just been sitting here typing up a bunch of lunch orders into a spreadsheet for the missions week canteen at Mark's school.
It probably seems like such a small thing for kids to order pizza, hot dogs and sausage sandwiches to raise money for missions. If they order lunch every day that week, its only $20. But altogether so far, its adding up to a few thousand dollars, with still more orders to come in!
Each year group in the school has a different project to raise money for. Last year they did all sorts of creative things to raise money - crazy hair days, selling cans and junk food, collecting spare coins. I love that the kids can engage in something, and feel like they are doing something together - not just learning about the world, but actually giving their creativity and time too.
Last year the school kids raised over $12,000 for a slum transformation project in India; Mercy Homes in Mumbai - rescuing trafficked women from sex-slavery; orphanages; church planting; and lots of other projects.
But its not about the money, or the projects, but that the kids were actively engaged in changing someone's world. I'm pretty proud that our boy's first kindy lunch order is going to be helping feed or educate kids across the world. I love being able to teach him about why we give, that he knows he is helping another child across the world to go to school or that he is helping to feed their family this week. To us its just a small thing, but I'm sure it's not to them.
It probably seems like such a small thing for kids to order pizza, hot dogs and sausage sandwiches to raise money for missions. If they order lunch every day that week, its only $20. But altogether so far, its adding up to a few thousand dollars, with still more orders to come in!
Each year group in the school has a different project to raise money for. Last year they did all sorts of creative things to raise money - crazy hair days, selling cans and junk food, collecting spare coins. I love that the kids can engage in something, and feel like they are doing something together - not just learning about the world, but actually giving their creativity and time too.
Last year the school kids raised over $12,000 for a slum transformation project in India; Mercy Homes in Mumbai - rescuing trafficked women from sex-slavery; orphanages; church planting; and lots of other projects.
But its not about the money, or the projects, but that the kids were actively engaged in changing someone's world. I'm pretty proud that our boy's first kindy lunch order is going to be helping feed or educate kids across the world. I love being able to teach him about why we give, that he knows he is helping another child across the world to go to school or that he is helping to feed their family this week. To us its just a small thing, but I'm sure it's not to them.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
the beginning
This blog is about bringing the reality of changing the world into our families. Its a journey of our family and our dream to change the world and to bring that dream to life for our kids. I hope that you follow along, join in, bring ideas and that together us 'supermums' raise a generation of creative, daring, adventurous, compassionate world changing kids!
I don't know about you - but as a little girl I wanted to change the world, and I was brought up to think that I actually could, that anything was possible. The problem with growing up is that when you get old enough to actually be able to do something, you don't think you can anymore, or it all seems so complicated, where do you start?
I want my children to know that they can change the world... everyday, that life is more than just about themselves, that life is exciting, an adventure, one world-changing day after another. I dream of seeing the world a different place by the end of my lifetime, and especially by the end of their lives. I want to see them living with hope and abandonment to dreaming and stepping out in faith to see those dreams become a reality.
So how does your family become a world changing family?
... well, actually I don't know...! But here is our journey (each day - I'm going to try!) to becoming a world changing family.
So here I am 2:30am in the morning (procrastination always comes back to kick you at unreasonable hours), glass of soy milk in hand (32 weeks pregnant, indigestion, can't sleep... ohhh), feet up high in the seat (having recently acquired a cute little mouse friend, and my wonderful husband not having brought home the very mouse friendly trap - actually she's very cute, probably building a lovely little nest for her babies!!), starting our blog on being a world changing supermum.... mmm ... gosh, I just re-read my paragraph.... did I tell you we're going to change the world?!
.... so a few quick thoughts to start ....
Here are some great mums who have inspired me - well the first mention would have to be to Mother Theresa. I remember in primary school a little milk container going around the class with a picture of Mother Theresa on it, and we would all give our change to the milk container to help the poor. I remember thinking that I wanted to be like her. I wanted to be a nun, live with poor people, help poor people and give my life for others (on other days I wanted to be a princess, an astronaut or the first female prime minister).
And of course, the best mum in the world, always inspired me when I was a kid, to be creative and to learn. She introduced me to the paint brush, the giant encyclopedia, the world atlas and the dictionary, and would often sit with us at night helping us to research our assignments and find out all about the world. She showed us photos of when she went to Papua New Guinea as a young woman, posing with semi-naked people and she inspired me to want to be an adventurer, to be inquisitive and to be interested in the world outside of myself.
So supermum world changing idea for the day...
Idea #1 Be inspired.
Well, off to bed, baby number 3 needs his sleep.
Luv Sarah
I don't know about you - but as a little girl I wanted to change the world, and I was brought up to think that I actually could, that anything was possible. The problem with growing up is that when you get old enough to actually be able to do something, you don't think you can anymore, or it all seems so complicated, where do you start?
I want my children to know that they can change the world... everyday, that life is more than just about themselves, that life is exciting, an adventure, one world-changing day after another. I dream of seeing the world a different place by the end of my lifetime, and especially by the end of their lives. I want to see them living with hope and abandonment to dreaming and stepping out in faith to see those dreams become a reality.
So how does your family become a world changing family?
... well, actually I don't know...! But here is our journey (each day - I'm going to try!) to becoming a world changing family.
So here I am 2:30am in the morning (procrastination always comes back to kick you at unreasonable hours), glass of soy milk in hand (32 weeks pregnant, indigestion, can't sleep... ohhh), feet up high in the seat (having recently acquired a cute little mouse friend, and my wonderful husband not having brought home the very mouse friendly trap - actually she's very cute, probably building a lovely little nest for her babies!!), starting our blog on being a world changing supermum.... mmm ... gosh, I just re-read my paragraph.... did I tell you we're going to change the world?!
.... so a few quick thoughts to start ....
Here are some great mums who have inspired me - well the first mention would have to be to Mother Theresa. I remember in primary school a little milk container going around the class with a picture of Mother Theresa on it, and we would all give our change to the milk container to help the poor. I remember thinking that I wanted to be like her. I wanted to be a nun, live with poor people, help poor people and give my life for others (on other days I wanted to be a princess, an astronaut or the first female prime minister).
And of course, the best mum in the world, always inspired me when I was a kid, to be creative and to learn. She introduced me to the paint brush, the giant encyclopedia, the world atlas and the dictionary, and would often sit with us at night helping us to research our assignments and find out all about the world. She showed us photos of when she went to Papua New Guinea as a young woman, posing with semi-naked people and she inspired me to want to be an adventurer, to be inquisitive and to be interested in the world outside of myself.
So supermum world changing idea for the day...
Idea #1 Be inspired.
Well, off to bed, baby number 3 needs his sleep.
Luv Sarah
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