Tag Archives: Compassion Bloggers

19Sep 2012

Blogging For Compassion: Pinterest Contest and Twitter Party!

Blogging for Compassion

Compassion is having a Pinterest Contest! You can find the details here, but basically, here’s the rundown:

Create a Pinterest board titled, “My Sponsored Child.”
On your board, go to this page, and pin the image there “My sponsored child”, making sure that the following link is associated with the pin: compassion.com/my-sponsored-child
Pin any one of the following, and tag the second pin with #mysponsoredchild.
1. A photo of you and your sponsored child together
2. A photo of you with a letter from your sponsored child.
3. A photo of you holding a photo of your sponsored child.
4. Pin anything else you want that is relevant to your sponsored child or Compassion.
5. Head back to this page, and fill out the form to enter the contest.

The Fine Print: You will receive one contest entry for every repin your “Pin It for My Sponsored Child” pin receives. You can also enter the contest by sponsoring a child via compassion.com/my-sponsored-child during the contest period. You will receive 30 contest entries for each child you sponsor.

All winners will be chosen randomly.

Ten separate sponsors will win a $25 gift for their sponsored child.
Five separate sponsors will win a $100 gift for their sponsored child’s family.

The contest runs from Sept. 17 to 23, 2012.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/my-sponsored-child-pinterest-contest/#ixzz270kgx6m4

Now for the Twitter Party (info taken from Compassion):

WHERE: Sign into Twitter to join the conversation. If you do not have a twitter account, you can create one.

WHEN: Thursday, September 20, 7:00PM Eastern

WHO: Tanzania Blogger Amy Lupold Bair (@ResourcefulMom) is hosting this event. She will be chatting with Shaun Groves (@shaungroves).

HOW: Follow the hashtag #CompassionBloggers on Twitter. TweetChat (http://tweetchat.com/) is also a great way to follow the conversation.
Everyone who participates by asking a question or making a comment with the hashtag #CompassionBloggers has the chance to win some great prizes.
For more information check out: resourcefulmommy.com.

10Sep 2012

A humble prayer

Crystal ⋅ Leave a Comment

Photo Credit

I told you last week that this is Compassion Blogging Month. The prompt this week was to write a letter to God. No other prompt or guidelines, so this is just me, freewriting. It’s not eloquent, but it’s what was on my heart today.

Dear Lord,

It’s not enough.

Even though we’re scrounging up the money in our meager budget to commit to a $38 sponsorship, I’m overwhelmed by the sad truth that it’s not enough.

The need is too great.

There is a multitude of starving, hurting people, and my meager offering doesn’t begin to matter in the face of it all.

I’m reminded of that little boy. When Jesus said, “What food do we have?”

He didn’t know it wasn’t enough. He just offered up what he had, in perfect innocence.

He didn’t know that his few loaves and fishes weren’t enough to feed the multitude.

No one told him that his meager offering wasn’t enough to make a difference, so he made it anyway.

And Jesus knew. Jesus knew that You could take that meager offering and feed the multitude.

I offer up my meager sacrifice. My money, my talents, my life.

In the scheme of things, it’s nothing. We have very limited resources. I have very few talents. But I have exactly what you equipped me with to make an offering.

I know that you love each and every child in need. Whether the need is in broken hearts, empty stomachs, or both. You know and love each child who has a beautiful home, and each child with no earthly advocates. Because even if no one else knows their name or story, you do.

I pray that you would take our meager sacrifice. Take our offering, bless it, and feed the multitude as only you can. I pray that you will multiply the gift.

04Sep 2012

Ways you can Help a Child through Compassion

Crystal ⋅ 11 Comments

As I sadly confessed, we were forced to temporarily suspend our monthly support of a child through World Vision. This is a decision that has weighed heavily on my heart.

So, I was quite thrilled to join the large network of bloggers who are Blogging for Compassion. September is Compassion Blogging Month, and the goal is sponsorship for 3,108 children. Three thousand little faces, not so very different from my boys. We are fortunate to live in a country full of resources. If our family ended up in poverty, I would have comfort in knowing that there are resources for my babies. The families served by Compassion International don’t have that assurance. There are no resources available to them. Mothers are forced to watch as their babies starve.

This is not a worst case scenario. This is their truth.

But we can help. We, who spend more money on clothing than they make in a year. We, who spend more on a nice meal out than they make in a month. We, who spend as much on Satellite or Cable as they make in 2 months.

Don’t tune out on me! It is so easy to turn a blind eye to the need, when we’re sitting in comfort. Or even when we’re stressed about finances ourselves. But don’t do it! I pray that if my babies were in a life or death situation, someone would step up to help them, and I know you’d want the same. Jesus calls us to treat others as we’d want to be treated, and so many things in life come back to that.

Do you want to help? You can. Even if you don’t have an extra $30/month to sponsor a child, you can still help.

1. Sponsor a Child.
Okay, so I said you can help without sponsoring a child (and you can), but this is still the best way. It’s $38/month. (Ways to cut back $38/month—skip a nice meal out for the family, drop cable/satellite or lower your package, skip a few extras: clothing, cd’s videos, toys, etc.). They make it easy, and fun. You can choose which child to sponsor, and form a relationship with that child through regular communication.

2. Pray for the children.
Go to this page, and click on search more children. Tweek the age ranges to that of your own children. It puts it in perspective when your mother’s heart can see that. Pray for them. Pray for those children, who are just as deserving of life and food and necessities as our own children.

3. Teach your children.
Go to this page with your children. Teach them about children in other parts of the world. Teach them about how God’s word calls us to help one another. Teach them that those children are just like them, with real emotions and lives.

4. Pray that God will make a way for sponsorship
Go to the sponsor a child page, and pray. If you can’t find a way to spare that $38, pray that God will make a way. Pray that God will put it on someone else’s heart to sponsor a child. Pray that God will reveal His will. If it’s His will for you to sponsor a child, He will help you make it happen.

5. Share with your friends.
Even if you don’t feel led to sponsor a child, maybe one of your friends does. A quick post to share this link on facebook or twitter, might be the push someone needs to follow God’s prompting. Will you share the opportunity today?

6. Make a Donation.
Do you have a heart to help, but aren’t sure about a monthly commitment? Make a one-time donation. You can even allocate where your money goes, so if you have a special heart for disaster relief or unsponsored children, you can donate to that.

7. Get Involved.
You can raise awareness through your business, church, or community. Check it out here.

8. Join the network
If you’re a blogger, join Compassion Bloggers network, with a commitment to share the need with others.

I have had tears flowing today. The need breaks my heart, so if this post seems forceful, it’s really just that pain coming through I pray that some of you can help, through financial sponsorship or at least through a commitment to pray.