***update*** It appears that in about 2 weeks we will know the exact projects we are going to in Calcutta and it may allow you to choose children for these specific projects. Thank you so much for all of the emails asking about this, and if I hear more, I will certainly keep you updated!!!!

This is a jam-packed post. That’s life right now I guess…

I continue to be in awe over the time you take to send me notes of encouragement.
To those of you who have chosen to share the dark corners of your life with a stranger, I am forever grateful.
That kind of made it sound like I’m shutting this baby down, didn’t it? Well I am NOT. In fact, we are just getting started. I just wanted you to know that even when I’m not writing, I am stil grateful:)
SO, here’s the deal.
I have asked the Lord for a certain number of you to sign up to sponsor Compassion kids (and no, I am not telling the number….it’s between me and the Big Guy, and I’m trusting Him for it!!!! But I do promise to ‘fess up when I get home:)). By the way, these suckers have a way of tracking what site you were using when you sponsored, so they will know you were on mine (isn’t that cool? I think it is. I am amazed by technology…..:))
You’ll notice the new Compassion Picture on the top left column of my blog, and once you click on it, you will be directed to a page where you can see all of the sweet faces of children waiting to be blessed by a giving family. If this is something you feel led to do, GO FOR IT!!!!!! And if you choose a child from India (I don’t know if they specify Calcutta or not), I will do my best to get a photo of myself with your sponsored child and send it to you!!!!!
I would like to say I am excited about this trip.
And I am.
But it also makes me want to throw up a little in my mouth.
The whole flying thing is DEFINITELY on the list of fears, but I just found out that they have very strict rules about stealing adopting children right on the spot, so there may be no need for me to book those 15 extra seats for my return flight.
I pray every day about what I am going to see there, and the Lord has gently whispered to me that there is no way to be prepared, and that I am only to remember that He walks with me, and it will be no different in Calcutta.
But I have (attempted) to watch a few videos and I have a sense of what I am in for. Sundays, I need your prayers.
And I know how hard things are economically right now (trust me, we are with you in the season of “Oh this is what it means to trust God….hmmm…..).
Many of you don’t know this about me because it’s a little awkward to mix it in with everything I talk about here, but I am a real estate agent here in Nashville. I don’t bring it up because I am trying to get business (in fact, that is why I haven’t really brought it up…) As is turns out, I’m pretty good at it, and it isn’t because I’m a killer business woman. It’s because I genuinely care and pray for every single one of my clients (and I keep in touch with all of them!!!!). I don’t do well because I’m a shark, but because people trust me, and there have been many, many times that I have taken the short end of the stick so someone else could prosper. I’m not trying to sound all humble here, I just do what I do because I love it (I mean, how fun is looking at houses with great people and then watching them fall in love with imagining their new life there?!?!?!). BUT, I’m not a “pusher.” So, the gist of this paragraph is that I’m not great at asking for money.
For myself.
When it comes to the poor, well, that’s a whole ‘nother (yeah, i know that’s not a word, I see the red squiggle under it…) story.
I’m not going to hammer it in to you all, but I want you to be a part of this. If you have kids, make them a part of it too. Let them look at these sweet faces and tell them what your money is doing for them every month. You might be surprised.
I know I was.
Yesterday Abby and Ellie brought me a dirty sack of change they had spent hours gathering from around the house and told me that they wanted to send it to the poor kids in India.
I praised them for their efforts with tears streaming down my face and then I took the bag and hightailed it to Starbucks for a Grande Mocha.
I really hope my sense of humor translates, because on occasion, it hasn’t. I received several (very sweet) emails informing me that there was no Biblical reason to believe that there are actual chairs in heaven. I do know that, and yet, will continue to contend that if there are, Beth Moore will have a good one. Did I mention that her daughter Melissa is going on the trip???? So excited to get to know her better.
I digress.
It’s GO time Sundays. Let’s do this together. And by all means, if you do sponsor a child, will you send me a picture of your child on the computer, or a photo of you with your chosen child? I am going to be doing something with them:)
And, as a sidebar, please pray for my writing. I have been largely absent from the blog because I have been so busy working on my book proposal. I am planning on turning it in to my agent tonight, and Todd prayed over me and then sent me out of the house to write. Please ask the Holy Spirit to do what I know I cannot. I will keep you all updated every step of the process because you are a HUGE part of why I have the courage and ability to write it. I will simply say that at this point there are several wonderful publishers who are interested in the manuscript, and I am asking the Lord to reveal His will to me. Once the proposal is sent out, we will hear back from whomever is interested and will then need to make a choice. I think this process takes several weeks, but I don’t really know. I just know I want to have total peace with who distributes this book. It isn’t “just a book” to me; it’s her voice and His story, and I want there to be healing brought by it. Will you pray the same?
I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be able to check in here and just ask you to “hold my arms up.” If you don’t know why I said that, flip yourself over to Exodus chapter 17, verse 12. In fact, if you haven’t read Exodus, just plop down and start from the beginning, because as Boomama says, “It is a GOOD WORD.”
Well Amen to that.
A