8 Years of Easters

Tomorrow morning we continue the tradition.  Happy Easter!

2005
Rachel would make her appearance about 2 months after this photo. :)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Loosen the grip

There are several things that I am passionate about in my life.  There are two organizations in particular that I have invested my time and energy in because I feel so strongly about their mission.  One is Operation Christmas Child.  The other is Compassion.  April 21st will be promoted as Compassion Sunday at our church.
 
Compassion is one of the highest rated charities around.  When you sponsor a child through Compassion not only does the child benefit through educational assistance, health and hygiene education, and supplemental nutritious food, but the relationship that is built through letters and correspondence is priceless for the child....and the sponsor.
 
  For years, child sponsorship was something that I thought would be a good idea, but there was always something causing me to wait.  Thinking we needed to have a little more income or thinking that there were other things that demanded my money and resources first caused me to delay making that decision.  In February 2008 I was following the stories of a group of bloggers who were in Uganda for Compassion.  Their compelling stories caused me to start thinking seriously about sponsorship.  God said to me that it was time to stop thinking and start doing!
 
 I've had such great joy watching Mwajuma grow from a little 9 year old into a beautiful 14 year old young lady.  Last year we added little Fai from Thailand to our sponsorship family. And just today, I was matched with Rosette from Uganda to serve as a corespondent sponsor.  Rosette is sponsored, but due to circumstances that I do not have the details for, she needed someone that would commit to write to her and encourage her on a regular basis. It is such an honor and privilege to invest my life into these 3 little girls from far places.
 
One of the things God has taught me through sponsorship is that when I loosen my grip on my money and resources my hands are open and in a far better position to receive the blessings that He so wants to give.  We don't need as much as we think we do.  When we treat our stuff like we should, as all belonging to God, it's far easier to give away. If you would like to know more about sponsoring a child through Compassion feel free to pop on over to a special page that I've set up for Compassion Sunday 2013.  Or you can go directly to the Compassion website by clicking here.

  Luke 12:48b "Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more."

Leprechaun Bombed!

I love my job!  Stuff like this happens....you've been leprechaun bombed!

Stupid Groundhog!

So the groundhog that predicted an early spring must just be blowing smoke.  Does this look like spring to you?!?!

Although you have to admit....it's a pretty snow.  No worries; we didn't have a delay with school and it's supposed to be up in the 50's by the weekend.  Yes, I live in Indiana. Yes, we get whiplash from the weather changes.  Yes, I have used my furnace and air conditioner in the same day!

In other happenings, I had the privilege of speaking at this year's Transformed Conference in Indianapolis.  I led a breakout session titled, "Is It Too Much?"  Here's the description of the session...

Have you ever stared at a bursting-full closet and thought, "I have nothing to wear!" or stood in a stocked kitchen and wondered "What on earth will I make for dinner?"  We live in the richest country in the world, but is our consumer-driven culture blinding us to God's true plan for our resources?  In this breakout we'll discuss how to live a life of Christ-led simplicity and use the abundance that God has given to truly reach "the least of these."

I have been doing a Bible study called "The 7 Experiment" by Jen Hatmaker with a group of friends for the past 8 weeks.  I highly recommend the book!  I've never had a study that challenged the way I think on so many different areas of life.  I must not be the only one struggling with these issues, because I got to speak to a lot of women and it seemed to resonate with them.  As part of my session I spoke about my experience sponsoring children through Compassion.  I had taken 15 sponsorship packets with me to the conference and all were taken for sponsorship!  That was such a blessing!  

I recently filled out paperwork to become a Compassion Advocate.  I had my orientation yesterday.  I'm excited about what lies ahead in this area.  Since I already promote the work of Compassion in my own life and areas of ministry that I'm involved in I thought it would be good to take steps to be better equipped to share about poverty and its effects on children throughout the world. 

Perhaps you are like me and thought about sponsorship for a long time as something that you would like to do "someday".  The Bible states that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  I recently read something that I've found to be true in my own life.  "If you want to have a heart for the poor or oppressed...then put some of your treasure there....your heart will follow."  Maybe you have questions about sponsorship.  Drop me a note...I'd love to talk to you.  hhackney@visithope.org  Or visit the Compassion website - www.compassion.com

As part of what we've been learning through our Bible study, I started a new blog.  It's still a work in process, but it's a place for discussion about the best use of our resources (money, time, homes, etc.)  It's a good place for all those things you just can't get to in a 45 minute conference presentation.  If you get a chance hop on over and see what you think. :)

FOR THIS DAY

Happy Snow Day!  Now where's that groundhog....I want a word with him!

Why I didn't buy my kids anything for Valentine's

Yes, you heard that right.  I did not buy my kids anything for Valentine's Day.  "How terrible" you might be thinking.  The bible study I'm currently in the middle of has really been challenging the way I look at a lot of areas of life.  One of them being just the vast excess we have in our country and our lives and how we casually spend money.  So to challenge my kids to think about ways to show love to others we did something totally out of the norm this year.  On Monday I gave Aaron & Rachel each $10, told them they couldn't spend it on anyone in the family.  I didn't tell them what to do with it, but wanted them to think about how to bless someone else.  I had a few suggestions ready for them however if they needed a little help.  So for this Valentine's Day we started out with our traditional heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's

The we loaded up and headed to Wal-mart.  Aaron & Rachel decided to spend their money on donations for two worthwhile organizations.  They bought baby supplies that we will donate to Lifecenters Indiana.

And we also bought household supplies that will be donated to Exodus Refugee services.  I recently learned that Indianapolis is home to one of the largest settlements of Burmese refugees in the nation.  Exodus sets up 5-10 apartments a week for incoming refugees.  They also help with transportation, English classes, job placement, and cultural acclimation among other things. 

Take these purchases along with 2 clearance hats for our Operation Christmas Child boxes and this is what their $20 bought.

We finished up the evening with carmel sundaes for everyone!

...including the teenager who seems to have developed a distaste for my camera!

Now lest you think my kids were somehow deprived, they received gifts from both sets of grandparents and come home from school with candy.  What we lost was another round of candy to add to the pile.  What we gained was an evening spent together thinking about how we can use the vast amount of resources that God has somehow seen fit to give us.  I'll take that trade-off any day    Happy Valentines!

What a difference a year makes!

Last year in February we began sponsoring Wannaporn from Thailand through Compassion International.  This was the photo that we received of Wannaporn or Fai as she is called.

We received an updated photograph of Fai recently.  I could not believe how much she has grown!

She will be 8 years old this May (Same birthday as Rachel)
Perhaps you've been thinking of sponsoring a child.  There's no better time than right now.  Visit www.compassion.com for more information about sponsorship or to search for a child.  As always, if you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message.

Artsy

Rachel and I had a fun girls morning out today.  I decided to surprise her with a fun activity.  First up however....a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts to get to morning going.

Then it was off to Pottery-By-You.  They have a Family Fun class once a month and this month it was using clay to make an owl.

It was a fun activity and easy to do.  We shaped up our clay and then decided on our colors.  We were also told we needed to name our owl so here is Rachel with Lillian the Owl. :)

And this is my creation....Brutus!  It will take 2 weeks for them to dry and be fired.  Can't wait to see what the finished product looks like! 

Lest you think Aaron got left out he did enjoy breakfast out with Dusty.  And then they went to the church to move the drum set off the stage for an event tonight and take out the recycling from the office.  I wonder why they didn't take pictures of it too?? :)