One More Whirlwind Day!

Wednesday will be my final day surfing the sale racks for the children at Ranch on Jesus. Its been wildly fun, but all good things must eventually come to an end. (We do have limited luggage space and funding after all!)

We've set a budget of $1000 for our 2009 Clothing Campaign. In the end, we hope this will clothe 100 children (at least). So far, I've spent about $677. That leaves $233 for my final purchases. I've gotten all the wee ones provided for, as well as the older lads. Now I need to concentrate on the young ladies. Ages 13 to 18.

This will honestly be my most challenging shopping endeavor. Women in Uganda traditionally wear dresses. Dresses and skirts are NOT easy to find in American department stores. I might find myself resorting to selecting nice blouses, hoping we can find a coordinating skirt in Uganda.

I'll probably wind up in the petite section as well. These young women are generally 5'1" to 5'4" max! It looks more than a little odd to see a 5'11" woman (myself) browsing the racks of a petite section. Oh well. It will be fun to see my girls styled in garments that fit their proportions well.

I wish I could attach pictures of ALL the fun clothes we've picked out for the children. Below are two examples. Pink summery dresses for the littlest of girls (5-11). Then also two outfits I am hoping will fit our twin boys Joel and Joshua. The tops say "soccer leader." Although soccer is known as football to Ugandans, I still think the boys will appreciate it.

We plan to take AMPLE photos of the children IN their new clothing once we hit the ground in Uganda. So stay tuned. We'll be there in a matter of weeks.

We've raised a little over a quarter or our $1000 budget for the children's wardrobe. $280 dollars! Woohoo! If you'd like to get in on the project send checks to:

100 Woodsdale Drive Peachtree City, GA 30269

Include "Clothing Campaign" on the memo of your check.

Or donate through our facebook cause at: https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?cause_id=13280&fundraiser_id=4158798&m=7289f020

Connect!

Have you seen us on Facebook? The Ranch on Jesus Orphanage Ministries Cause is just another way to keep up with the ministry in Uganda, receive updates, get involved in campaigns, and connect your friends with Ranch on Jesus. Learn more at:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/13280?m=a9fcb87b

Our latest Facebook campaign, Clothe a Child, is aiming to raise $1,000 toward new clothing for the children at Ranch on Jesus this spring. See the blogpost "Let Them Eat Cake" for more details on our shopping spree for the children.

$10 per child. 100 children. $1000 total!

Want to take part? http://apps.facebook.com/causes/cause_goals/13047?m=96a95689

Not a facebook user? No problem. Visit www.pearlministries.org for donation information.

Let Them Eat Cake

Three hours and 574 dollars later, Scott and I emerged from Belk with a dolly full of children's clothing. That's right-a dolly. Like one of those huge metal carts you use at a landscaping store to move around bags of mulch and fertilizer. We had to use the dolly because between Vivian in her stroller and our six LARGE bags of merchandise, we simply couldn't carry it all. We shopped til we dropped, grabbing dresses, sweaters, pants and shirts off of the ridiculously low priced clearance racks at Belk. And while the grand total was quite a chunk of change. The savings of 3,478 dollars made 574 feel like mere spending cash!

I am the first to preach about not spoiling my children. I am also the one most prone to spoil them. Can you blame me? Really, it isn't about the things. The children's primary need isn't for "stuff", though I'll say they have next to nothing materially. Each would struggle to fill even a backpack with their personal possessions.

Considering this it would make sense to say that children who are so poor would be appreciative for almost anything. Why spend so much money on brand new clothing for a bunch of orphans? We've had plenty of gracious offers of free used children's clothing and hand-me-downs from kind individuals. Hand-me-downs and used clothing are fantastic. They're functional and financially friendly. And after all, Jesus tells us not to be worried about what we will wear. The body is more important than clothes. (Matt. 6:25)

The thing is-I don't buy the children clothing to cover their bodies. I do it to bring gladness to their souls.

The King I work for happens to oversee a special Kingdom where the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Where orphans are princes and princesses given a first class treatment. For cast off, forgotten children who might think they are not worth very much I have a Father who sent His only Son, a Savior who gave His life, and a brand new dress wit hthe tag still on.

It is one thing to tell a child that they are worth something, but physically communicating this truth to them is essential. So I gift them to remind them that in God's Kingdom and in my world they are not second rate, second place, or second best. They are sons. They are daughters. They are loved. And not only do their needs matter, so do their wants.

This is the same "logic" we used when we decided to give a playground to the children for Christmas. The ministry was low on funds (as always!). The kids needed food. Teachers needed to be paid. How could we justify it? Yet Sarah and I made the executive decision to use 2,000 precious dollars, roughly 1/4 of Ranch on Jesus' monthly budgeted needs to install playgrounds at the Orphanage Home and Primary School. Did they need it? No. Could the money have been better spent? Not in my opinion.

Our Heavenly Father faithfully gives us our daily bread. He always gives us what we need. But just as a loving father would, there are times He gives us something extra. He gives us what we want. He gives us cake.

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matt 7:11

He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. Psalm 112:9

I've had the Lord give me plenty of cake over the course of my life. I am sure if you think for a moment you will remember a time when God seemed to go over and above all that you asked or imagined! He indulged you! He does it all the time. When we moved to Birmingham two years ago I prayed for "just one friend." God sent me that friend. He sent her straight off an airplane at her end of two years of missionary service in Uganda. There she was: sitting in my baby shower! I had been asking for just anyone to help me get by. My loving Father sent me a friend He had been saving for me better than I could have ever expected.

This is the generous nature of the God I know and love. So while I daily pray and ask for the basic materials to keep our little ones at Ranch on Jesus physically sustained, last night at Belk I walked out the door with 574 dollars worth of cake. And let me tell you, I felt pretty good about it.

I'll feel even better in seven weeks when I get to hand nine year old Gilbert a brand new outfit with the tags still on! He would have been sincerely appreciative for a used tshirt. But this year he will smile with a rare joy because someone loved him enough to buy something new for him. You can't put a price tag on that!

When I Grow Weary

"I see the Man of Sorrows and His long troubled road.

I see the load on His shoulders and my easy load."

Sara Groves

Busy. Busy. Busy. Those are three good words to describe my last three weeks. Speaking engagements, jewelry shows, mailings, and errands all while chasing a toddler. Hence my hiatus from blogging.


I enjoy the life and work my lord has called me to. But there are many times I get plain tuckered out, feeling much like a tiny bit of butter spread thin over bread. There are days I think I've spent all I've got in me. On those days I want nothing more than to pull my comforter up over my head and drown out the world. As I tell my husband often, I am not made of steel. And like any flesh and blood human, I grow weary.


I find weariness attacks on different fronts with varying scales. I grow weary of dirty dishes in my sink every night. I grow weary of having to take care of other people. And some weariness is simply too wide for words. The heavy, wearisome reality of living in a fallen world where things are just not the way they are supposed to be.


When many forms of weariness come colliding all at once a girl can find herself weak in the knees. These are the days where we discover the end of our rope.


But reading in Galatians 6 I hear the Lord say this to me: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."



In my personal striving to do good I hear myself telling the Lord: There is never enough money. There is never enough time. I do not have the emotional stamina. There is not enough support. This does not feel very rewarding. I am lonely. I am misunderstood. I am only one woman. I am weary.


Still, His Word prompts me to not become weary in doing good. Is this even possible? If His word commends me to not grow weary, then surely He has provided an antidote?


My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. Psalm 119:28


I, of course, am not the first to run this course we call the Christian Life. Nor am I the first to face the physical, emotional, and mental strain that accompanies those fully engaged in ministry. And after reading Hebrews 11 the trials I endure seem quite minor to those of Abraham, Noah, and Joseph. Abraham left his home and culture behind in blind pursuit of a promise. Noah looked like a raving lunatic building a giant boat amid wicked taunters, then faced the overwhelming call to begin mankind again. Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery and sat in jail for years for a crime he did not commit.


And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Hebrews 11:31-38


That testimony of faithfulness is stunning. Especially when we consider that these godly, persevering saints did not even have the life of Christ or the power of the Holy Spirit. They were simply looking to the promise in store for them. We have so much more. We have Jesus.


Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so you do not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:3

Consider Him. Consider Him. Consider HIM. These are words I repeat in my mind when I begin to grow weary and lose heart. When things aren't going right. When I am persecuted. When I am weak, afraid, and unsure I consider Him.


He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3


Jesus lead a long, troubled life. He set aside His glory to tabernacle with men. He made Himself poor so that many might become rich. Rejected by the people He made and called. Even rejected by His own family. Denied and abandoned by His closest friends in His hour of need. Persecuted by wicked men, yet the Maker of the Universe kept silent. Completely poured out, he spent His life, down to the last breath for us.


Praise Him that we "do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:5


This is why we can trust Him when He says:

Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28

When we take the yoke of Jesus upon us He will make it light. His path is narrow, and we must carry our cross. But He does provide REST for our weary souls when we draw near to Him.

Not only is there rest offered to us for our present weariness, but there is a future reward and great REST waiting for us.

Like our predecessors in Hebrews 11 we must not long for that country we left behind. We long for a better country-a heavenly one. When we reach that shore with weariness and the world behind us, we will stand at His feet and hopefully hear the words that we have longed for throughout our years of service, "Well done good and faithful servant."

This life that seemed in the midst of it so troublesome and hard will in His presence be little more than a blip. On that day could we possibly be filled with regret for pouring ourselves out and striving for good?


I look forward to standing humbly before Jesus and saying, "Here I am and the children you have given me." When I fix my eyes on that scene the daily trials, woes, and exhaustions of life in ministry feel very very light.


Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17


The prospect of a pity party under my comforter seems quite dim compared to that glorious banquet hosted by the King of kings and Lord of lords. And He is not callous to my weariness or pain, or the struggles of all those I seek to do good to. All my tears, all their tears, noticed, remembered and then wiped kindly away by the Man of Sorrows who is well acquainted with grief. He is gentle and humble in spirit, and does provide rest for our souls.


So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18


Oh friends, there are times where I grow so so weary. But safe in the arms of Jesus in the stadium of saints I fix my eyes forward and dwell on what lies in store. Finding these words to be true:

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.


Isaiah 40:29-31