Sleepover Shy

Sleepover Shy

Sleepover-cake
My daughter had her first sleepover birthday party last night. I didn't make this cake, but I wish I had. How cute is this?

While we didn't have cake, we did have one girl who struggled. As I lay awake after returning her to her mother in the middle of the night, I thought about how Christians are sleepover shy, too.

I'm hungry. That was one of the shy girl's complaints that I can relate to. Though she had a healthy-sized bowl of popcorn late in the evening, she longed for more. Like her, I've enjoyed so much in life, yet I'm not fully satisfied. No matter how many blessings we experience in this life, we all continue to be hungry.

I'm scared. That was another of her issues with the sleepover. I get that. My house was a dark strange place to her. This world is scary to us as believers, too. The Bible gives us enough "Don't be afraid"s to last us a year, and yet we're still not comfortable with this dark world. Maybe we're not supposed to be.

I wanna go home. The sleepover shy girl missed her mom and dad. Why wouldn't she? There's nothing like being near the one you've always known, the one who loves you unconditionally. While this sleepover we call life can be great fun and we enjoy the people we're with, we wanna go home, too. Our Father is waiting for us with open arms. That image makes the long night a little easier to get through, doesn't it?

Good-night, friend. See you in the morning.

Psalm 4:8
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

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What I Want for My Birthday

What I Want for My Birthday

DebandAbigail
Today is my birthday and I don't mind telling you that I'm 44. In fact, I'm excited that I'm only 44, because I had it in my head that I was 45. So I have a bonus year now! 🙂

Because of a disappointing birthday or two, I am now very vocal about my birthday, often giving people weeks of warning and being very specific with my family about what I want! So because I consider you all my family, too, I am going to be very bold in telling you what I want for my birthday this year.

Last Sunday, some of our church members shared about their recent mission trip to Haiti. One woman told us that a six-year-old girl came up to her at church before the trip and slapped a ten dollar bill into her palm. The woman was confused until she was told that the little girl had asked for money for her birthday to give to poor people. I was honestly taken aback. That little girl, whoever she is, can't possibly have all that I have. I'm so blessed with material things that people have no idea what to get me for my birthday.

So if you'd like to give me something for my birthday (and seriously, why wouldn't you??), this is what I want. Consider sponsoring a child through World Vision. My dear friend, Deb, is in Bolivia, South America (I add the continent in case you're as geographically challenged as I am) with World Vision to see and write about the amazing work that ministry is doing there. For a little more than a dollar a day, you can change a child's life forever. Now you might be thinking that I'm not worth $35 a month, but certainly you have to agree that those children are!

I know some of you who are reading honestly cannot afford such an extravagant gift for me. Could you join with other friends and family members? If seven of you spent just $5 a month, you could adopt a child through World Vision and you'd really make my day! If you can't spend anything on a gift, then please honor me with the gift of prayer. Pray that God would raise up sponsors for the children of Bolivia and follow Deb's journey through Counting My Blessings. If you CAN sponsor a child, please click through the link on Deb's blog.

Thank you for reading! That's a wonderful birthday gift, too.

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