Actions Have Consequences
Our ability to take ownership of our actions is a necessary skill in escaping any strain of poverty – physical, emotional or spiritual. Actions have consequences. It’s something God tried to show us through Adam and Eve.
How Is My Money Used Each Month?
$38 a month. That’s how much it costs to sponsor a child through Compassion, which is more than the price of sponsorship at other organizations. The difference sometimes leads to questions such as: What does my child get each month for $38?” (i.e., how are our programs run and what do we deliver), and “Where…
Let Go Already
Every “thing” I have and everything I am is a gift from my Father. God gave me my home, my car, my job, my wife, etc. Nothing is mine. I believe a lie when I think or act otherwise.
God gave me breath, and God gave me time. I did nothing to get them. I just…
How we go about fighting extreme poverty contrasts with how other organizations work toward the same goal. We fight poverty personally; whereas, many organizations fight communally.
I don’t mean that other organizations aren’t personally invested or committed to eliminating extreme poverty. I mean that a child focused, child development approach to fighting poverty is distinctly…
If you find yourself calling Compassion a child sponsorship organization I have news for you. We are not a child sponsorship organization. We are a child development organization.
And child development isn’t just child sponsorship.
Who Cares About the Poor?
If I cared, I’d be more like Bono or Mother Teresa or even Wess Stafford — someone with influence and name recognition, someone with a story. If I cared, I’d do more, right? If I cared, I’d dedicate my life to serving the poor — as their champion, as their savior.
I’m a cynic. And I’m a contrarian. When the pop-culture collective is doing something, I usually don’t want any part of it. By staying aloof, I nourish my emotionally wounded soul on a diet rich in the fat of condescension. That’s how I feed my deflated sense of self. That’s how I roll.
Although I’m…
Being a Sponsor is Not Easy
Dreams are made with sweat and discomfort, effort and uncertainty and moments of success and failure. They’re kneaded together with sacrifice and generosity and held together with drive, perseverance and surrender.
Relationships are like that too. And so is sponsorship.
The poverty in my life is emotional and spiritual. The poverty in the lives of the kids you sponsor and the kids we’re meeting here in Kenya is that and more.
What Does God Want From Me?
Jesus is traveling with a crowd, teaching as He walks. A blind man sitting by the road hears the passing commotion and asks what is going on. When he learns that Jesus of Nazareth is near, he calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Several times the man calls out, even…
Because we want you to have the best relationship possible with your sponsored child, and your questions are reasonable ones, we are currently considering a few technology-driven options to help you connect more directly with your child.
Do you talk with God? Or do you talk at Him or to Him? How much of your prayer life, your conversations with God, is about you? You talking. What you want or need. What you think should happen. When you’re listening, are you interested in what’s on God’s mind? Or are you really just…
Does My Sponsored Child Really Need My Help?
In all the time and through all the experiences you’ve had with Compassion, have you ever questioned whether the child you sponsor really needs your help?
Have you ever seen a photo of a Compassion-assisted child and thought, “That kid doesn’t look poor. Does he really need Compassion?”
If so, you’re not alone. Those thoughts even…
From the Outside Looking In
Back in May I published this photo and asked you to give it a caption — Photo Caption Wanted. I also included a little context from the photographer.
“Along the wall outside the Compassion project, many children watched and waited while the other children played and sang. With hundreds and thousands of children needing…
It’s Personal
Social media is my job. I manage this blog. I send out the tweets for @compassion. I create the photo sets in Flickr, upload videos to YouTube, update our Facebook status, etc.
I have a good job. I like it a lot. I don’t want to do anything else. My fellow webbies are great peeps.…
Jesus Laughing – Poverty Transformed
The first time I ever saw this picture of Jesus laughing, I was transfixed.
There’s life in it.
And even now, I still respond to His expressive joy. I laugh. He laughs. He knows how I feel!
This idea that Jesus knows us isn’t just a concept; it’s actually for real (Whoa!), which…
Sponsor Letter Photos (Part II)
It’s been eight months since my last sponsor letter photos post, so I felt it was high time to raid our digital library again and round up another batch of photos showing sponsored children reading letters from their sponsors.
Photo Caption Wanted
This photo was taken in Burkina Faso by scfish7 at one of our child development centers. He uploaded it to our Flickr group a while back.
Got a caption for it?
“Along the wall outside the Compassion project, many children watched and waited while the other children played and sang. With hundreds and thousands of…
Rwandan Genocide: Where Was God?
Africa is the world’s second-largest continent, and it used to exist on the fringe of my consciousness. I knew about the Sahara, the 1985 Live Aid concert and the third season of Survivor, which demonstrates that I judged Africa to be inconsequential – although I did recognize apartheid as “something” significant. Ashamedly, the latter…
Drinking Bottled Water is Not a Sin
Take a swig of this.
I drink bottled water because I like the convenience and because I like the taste. I LIKE … and every bottle I choose demonstrates what I value most. I value myself.
Drinking bottled water is not a sin, and this post isn’t about guilt, but they are both about perspective. And…
Word of Thanks
A word of thanks to everyone who shared their one word for 2009.
A copy of the 2009 Compassion calendar is being sent to:
Daryl G. Short, whose word for 2009 is innocence.
Jolanda, whose word is action.
Holly Spiotti, who received the word Emmanuel.
Evelyn, who had on her heart the word nurture.
Gin, who chose dedication.
Outliers Need Opportunity to Succeed
Malcom Gladwell’s latest book, Outliers, doesn’t mention Compassion once. But it’s still about what Compassion does: We transform lives by giving children in poverty opportunities to succeed.
Recent Comments