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Tanara McCauley

~ Love Knows Color

Tanara McCauley

Tag Archives: poverty

Compassionate Hearts on Compassion Sunday

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by tanaramccauley in Faith, Relationships, and Other Topics

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charity, child sponsorship, children, Compassion International, Compassion Sunday, hope, Jesus Christ, letters, ministry, philanthropy, poverty, relationships, relief, salvation

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Compassion Sunday is a nationwide event during which churches reach out to fellow Christians and encourage them to sponsor children who live in extreme poverty all over the world.

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These sponsorships, which provide education in a loving environment, meals, medical care and more, give children opportunities in life and in their communities that they may not have been given otherwise.

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Most importantly, children learn that they are loved and cherished by their sponsors who write and send pictures, and by Jesus who works in the hearts of others to provide for these children and confirm that they are valuable.

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I have witnessed the three children my family sponsors through Compassion blossom and thrive. Since our sponsorship, one learned to read and write at the age of ten, another’s family was able to buy a cow through a family gift, and still another found purpose and self-worth through the youth activities offered at the center. Each of them have become loved and treasured members of our extended family; and recipients of the love, grace, and salvation of Jesus Christ.

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It gives me great joy to announce that this Compassion Sunday nine more children were paired with sponsors through my small town local church! I am excited both for the sponsors and the children who will benefit from their love and generosity. And while grateful for such a response, I am bold enough to ask for still more sponsorships. If you have never before sponsored a child, or if you currently sponsor a child but have room for more, visit the Compassion website and sponsor a child today.

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Touching Lives With Distant Hands

14 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by tanaramccauley in Faith, Relationships, and Other Topics

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blessings, changing lives, child sponsorship, children, Christian, Compassion International, Compassion Sunday, give to the poor, hunger, Jesus Christ, lends to the Lord, parenthood, poverty, proverbs, relationships, touching lives

Compassion Sunday is almost here. April 21, 2013 is a day of hope for thousands of children who live in impoverished conditions around the world. It’s also a day of opportunity for the rest of us–an opportunity to share our blessings and touch the lives of these children by sponsoring a child.

Proverbs 19:17 reads, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.”

My family and I sponsor three children through Compassion in the countries of Bolivia, Rwanda, and the Philippines. Building relationships through letters, hearing from them how our support has impacted their lives and the lives of their families, and developing deep love for these children who I long to see face-to-face one day have all been part of the ultimate payback for us.

There is no blanket solution to ending worldwide poverty, but you can be the solution to ending it for one child. Visit Compassion.com and sponsor a child today.

Then come back next week on Compassion Sunday and sponsor another one! (Though I’m joking, by all means go right ahead if you feel led to :-))

And may the LORD take what you have lent to Him and do wonders with it.

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From My Heart to God’s Ear…In a Letter

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by tanaramccauley in Faith, Relationships, and Other Topics

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author, blessings, bond, child sponsorship, compassion, faith, Father, God, heart, Jesus, letter, poor, poverty, praise, prayer, relationship, rich, writer, writing

Heavenly Father,

I want to praise You and give You thanks for who You are and all that You do.

As I think about child sponsorship and what it has become for me, I really want to just thank You for using such a ministry to bless my family when we thought it would be us being used to bless others. I know through Your Word that You have a heart for the poor and that You have made them rich in faith. That You would use me and take my intention to help with their physical needs, then turn it into love and feelings I never thought I could feel for someone I’ve never seen, I’m amazed.

I’m blessed by every letter, truly Father. Knowing that these precious children pray for us, it humbles me and makes me want to cry sometimes. To have one mother write to tell me she’d make sure her son wouldn’t waste the opportunity sponsorship has given him, You know what that did to me.

Parent to parent I know her heart, and it touched mine. I want to be able to do more, and I pray if it’s Your will, You’ll enable us to. Let it be lavish, LORD! And thank you again for the many letters we get. Please keep them coming. And help me to write each child regularly also. Speak to my heart specific things to pray for them. May they know You, love You, and grow strong in You as they mature. And Father, if You are willing, I pray that we get to meet them all one day. I would love so dearly to hold them close.

For the children who have yet to be sponsored, especially those who have waited for months, move someone’s heart to sponsor a child today. Even if it’s just one, Lord. You pick the person, and match them with the child You’ve intended, and let Your blessing fall down on that relationship and flow through it.

Your ways are perfect, even when we don’t understand them. And I praise You for pairing the poor in flesh but rich in faith, to the poor in faith but rich in flesh, and then revealing Yourself through these bonds You’ve built. You are wonderful and worthy of praise. And I ask, in the name of Jesus, that You would match a child with their sponsor today. I love You, and I thank You for it.

In Jesus’ name…Amen.

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Have Compassion…Sponsor a Child

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by tanaramccauley in Faith, Relationships, and Other Topics

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author, blessing, compassion, love, poverty, sponsor a child, writing

Have you never had the urge to Sponsor a Child? I won’t pretend to know why the average person is turned off by the countless child sponsorship advertisements. It could be the depressing feeling one gets when they see such poverty and despair. Or the assumption that their efforts will most likely not make a difference.

It might even be the flies.

I can’t stand flies, even if they’re swarming around some other person on my television. So the desire to focus one’s attention in a more positive, fly-free direction is understandable.

But there’s another side to it. Though the hunger and poverty are real, I want to focus today on the positive aspects of sponsoring a child. Simply put–the children!

My family and I sponsor three children in three different countries. Because we have two daughters and one son in our home, we sponsor two boys and one girl to even up the playing team. And I can tell you from experience, our lives are better for it.

Our sponsor son in Rwanda is a mellow, direct little fellow. He writes what he means for you to hear. No fluff. Good stuff.

Our sponsor daughter in Bolivia is mature and soft-hearted. Her sweetness is felt in every letter we get from her. And over the years my heart aches more and more to just squeeze some of this love into that girl one day.

Our sponsor son in the Philippines is a happy, energetic, bold, charismatic, HANDFUL! Every picture has a different pose which says “It’s me again!” and “How you like me now?” He keeps us the busiest, since he once wrote to us that he “checks every day to see if he has any letters.” He also has burrowed his way deep into our hearts. There’s nothing like having a little boy who’s never seen you tell you “I miss you” in a letter.

Our sponsor children exist beyond the pictures and have become an important part of our extended family. We love them. And love beyond the boundaries that were drawn in your natural family is nothing short of a blessing.

Better still is the knowledge that your sponsorship drastically improves their quality of life and their ability to enjoy it as children.

I challenge you to look beyond whatever preconceived notions you have about child sponsorship, and just experience the adventure of sponsoring a child. Write the letters, let them know you’re interested in them–what they like, what they care about, what they do; and they’ll quickly pop up out of their shy little boxes to show you how much more they’re interested in you.

Then watch a love unfold and grow that you never knew was possible.

Visit the Compassion website and Sponsor a Child today.

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