Little by little, I have been expanding our "Purpose Driven Life" nights to include whatever else I run across and feel laid upon my heart. It has been a huge blessing for me to be able to share things with my children that I know they are not getting anywhere else. I am constantly reminded that it takes only a mustard seed planting to grow into something huge. For the longest time, I thought I had plenty of time to share with my kids.... hoping one day they would seek out their very own relationship with Christ. Since my Dad's untimely death, it has been pressed upon my heart that there is no time like the present....... why wait? One of my biggest regrets thus far has been downplaying the importance of accepting Christ right now. Just bringing up Jesus is hard enough---- so I made up for the uncomfortable situation I was in by adding that it was perfectly fine to take as much time as they needed to before accepting Christ.
I never before relayed a sense of urgency-- not that it would have changed the outcome anyway... but it might have.
I am continually reminded of God's timing. For seven plus years, John has been involved with Bible Study Fellowship. For seven plus years he has been encouraging me to go.... praying that I would find as much joy in learning God's Word as he has. Only this year, did I finally decide to go. And I must tell you...... IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE. BSF is just the Word-- no frills, no spin based on someone else's interpretation, and no wrong answers. BSF goes deeper into the Word than I ever thought possible---- and it has caused me to fall in love with Christ all over again.
And now our whole family is doing it.
Why?
Because there is an urgency.
Moving on-- I didn't mean for this to be a BSF commercial, but I do encourage you look into classes near you----- you will not be sorry.
As I watched a video someone shared with me, I found this one, and felt so moved by it that I had to share it. It is of a Russian orphan girl's testimony of how her life changed because of a shoebox she received from Operation Christmas Child. This year-- instead of being the receiver of one of the boxes, she got to hand them out to orphaned children. Watch and be blessed with her testimony.
15 inspiring thoughts:
so, so sweet
Christine,
I am so proud of you. I hear your urgency. Carsen and Caleb have accepted Christ, but we are working on Curtis. I know it's going to take a lot longer than the older two and we are OK with that. I am so glad that you are spending the time with your precious ones like you do. I, again, have started to pray, and sing and read the Bible at night with my three. It's so vital. BSF is awesome, but with me homeschooling it's a bit tough to get there. I am praying for you and love you.
I agree, Christine. BSF is life-changing. It's like a real tough work-out. It's hard while you're doing it, but the results are so worth it. I really wish I could be doing it now, but apparently this is not the season...
Christine, you've shared so much more than a blog post and a video...you've shared Christ through a child's eyes and heart...what a powerful way to reach out. Blessings
Thanks for sharing that video. You are right, there is no time like the present to share Christ's love.
Thank you for sharing that video. I have heard about that project before but haven't participated. I think the Family Christian store by me hands out boxes...I'm going to stop by this week :).
I recently watched another OCC video that inspired me to go out once again and fill a box or two for one of God's special children. I've lost track of how many boxes and how many years we have done this.
You are very much in my thoughts and prayers. We are hurting with you in your loss. How wonderful that we have a God who knows each heart and judges each one fairly. We can trust him with those we love and be certain He never makes a mistake. And he will dry you tears, as the waves wash over, He will be there to hold you. He is our strength.
Sending my love to you and yours.
Thank you for sharing that inspiring video....
: )
That was a great a video.... thanks for sharing:) I will call you back maybe later today ~
You know Christine, Catholics are Christened as infants so we are raised to feel Jesus has always been in our lives.
(That is why if you ask a Catholic if they have been saved, have you accepted Jesus into your life,- they will say "of course". For our way of thinking if you are a Christian your in.)
Just a thought :)
The shoebox gift is just like the shoeboxes me and my family make every year. It's a great tradition, for me the Christmas kind of starts there, when we're making these boxes for children that we know don't have anything to call their own. Here in Iceland, the boxes are sent to Ukraine, you can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOIc-hdtNbY&feature=related
It's a wonderful feeling to watch these children open their boxes and see their faces literally light up! For me, that's when I feel the true Christmas spirit!
I’m holding a $1 challenge over at www.findingkirilsfamily.blogspot.com, on the countdown to Christmas. Kiril is a little boy with significant special needs who has been waiting on Reece’s Rainbow for a long time, and has been bedridden in an institution for over 6 months now. My goal is to get as many people as possible to come and donate just ONE dollar to Kiril’s RR grant, and then pass this message on to just ONE other person of their choice.
Apart from people I know well, I’m contacting 50 people whose circumstances I’m not as familiar with - so if you’re in the middle of an adoption etc, I obviously don’t expect you to donate. But *please* pass along this message, whether you can give yourself or not.
Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Where are you at in PDL? We have about five weeks to go. We took the summer off so no one would miss several chapters. I told them we'd have an open note final and then all go to Chilis--they do not have to do though.
I loved this video and will show it to my kids. They each do a shoe box every year and always wonder about the children who receive them. What a wonderful story!
I'm glad that you have been so blessed by BSF. I believe our family did it for 17 years. We moved to an island this year, and don't have BSF out here, but always encourage others to make the time for a study such as BSF. It is life-changing.
My young adult children have an amazing understanding of the Bible (and beautiful relationships with the Lord), much of which came through their years in BSF.
mama of many
Post a Comment