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Thursday, December 31, 2015

Last Day to Bounce a Babe

 
THIS IS IT!!
 
 
 
The LAST DAY to help a babe over the wall on the Angel Tree!!
 

 
 
So for all of you who have been saying you were going to get around to bumping a babe over the $1,000 wall.....
 

 
TODAY IS THE DAY!!
 



Come on! Join in!
 

 
 
It's baby bouncing day!
 
 
I mean seriously... How can you resist all those sweet faces...
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Despair


We are in the final days of the Angel Tree.
 
Derek Micah (Asia)
 
Honestly, the tree looks pretty grim right now.  There are far too many babes sitting at the $500.00 mark and not enough babes over the $1,000.00 wall.
 
Georgia

Most importantly, from my perspective, the yelling and sharing for all the babes has just not been as spirited this year as in past years.
 
Cara-Asia
 
Last night one of the Angel Tree Warriors was sharing their sorrow that all their efforts to get their babe over the wall had fallen short.  Despair was taking over.
 
Despair.
 
Prudence Betsy
 
It's a slimy pit that is quick to drown us if we are not careful.
 
Despair.
 
We care so much.  We hurt so deeply.  We hope so hard.
 
Alaric #25-15
 
Just taking the time to scroll through all the faces on the Angel Tree is all it takes for the tentacles of despair to reach out and pull you in. Clicking further into the Reece's Rainbow website and realizing that only a tiny portion of the children on the website are on the Angel Tree is an even harder pill to swallow.
 
The need is so great.
 
The families seem so few.
 
Melvin
 
Despair.
 
Getting all the children over the $1,000 wall is a worthy goal.  It makes a statement to a future family that their child has value. Someone cared enough to sow some seed money into that child's life. 
 
Looking back, I love that both my children had people fighting for them.  Aaron had close to $1,000 in his grant account and John had over $3,000.
 
And both boys had people yelling for them.  Aaron had a yelling warrior whose shouts were so loud that we could hear them all the way to our little house in the woods.  She was just a college student with no money and no job. But she cared. Deeply.  She yelled. She blogged. She yelled some more. She was crazy yelling for a little boy who had been transferred to a mental institute.  And we heard.  God used her yelling to penetrate deep into our hearts.
 
John also had his yelling warriors. Families met him at his orphanage and they came out shouting. 
 
It wasn't just yelling though.
 
It was the prayers of the saints.
 
I can't tell you how many people shared with us after we committed to both Aaron and John that they had been praying for our boys. 
 
Prayer Warriors.
 
People saw their pictures and read their profiles and committed to praying for our boys.
 
Those prayers went straight to the throne of God and He heard and He moved in our hearts.
 
Both boys were covered, drenched in prayers.
 
The sweet, tender, loving prayers of the saints.
 
The Angel Tree ends on Thursday night.
 
Adelaide
 
On Friday we will begin a New Year and the 160+ babes on the tree will go back to just being another picture on the Reece's Rainbow website.  They will again be just one of many many many children longing for families.
 
Stanley (Asia)
 
Each of them have something special right now.  They are being seen across the country. They have people raising money for them.  They have people yelling for them. And most importantly, they have people praying for them.
 
 
 
On Friday, raising the money will most likely stop.  And the yelling will die down.  But the prayers. The prayers of the saints.
 
They cannot stop.
 
They cannot.
 
It is through prayer that hearts are touched.
 
I've seen it time and again.
 
Sealey (48)
 
I can't raise money for every child. I can't advocate for every family. Picking one child means ignoring hundreds more. Picking one family in process means ignoring the rest.
 
I could despair.
 
I could slip into a slimy pit of despair and throw in the towel believing that my pitiful attempts are not good enough.
 
It would be easy.
 
The need is too great and the families are not enough.
 
Or I could pray.
 
I could pray and I do pray because I know that prayer is the biggest heart mover of them all. 
 
I've witnessed the power of that prayer enough times in these last six years to believe that prayer is the mightiest weapon we have against despair.  It is powerful and penetrating and heart-changing.
 
Skippy
 
So these next three days and into the New Year I'm just going to continue to do what I have been doing for the last six years since stumbling upon Reece's Rainbow. I'm going to yell, raise money and pray.
 
And I'm going to believe that my efforts - no matter how small and insignificant - they matter.
 
Join me. Please.
 
Yell for the babes over the next few days. Share them on your blogs.  Put them on your Facebook pages.  E-mail their pictures to your friends and neighbors.  You never know who is going to be touched by the simple act of sharing. Who knows.  It might even be you.
 
Give to them so that the financial burden for their forever families is eased a bit. Don't despair at the enormity of the need. If everyone gave a little then we could chip away at the mountain and move more children over the wall.
 
Most importantly... PRAY FOR THEM. Pick a child. Put their picture on your fridge. Use it as a bookmark in your Bible.  Put it on the background of your desktop. Each time you see it pray.  Pray some more.
 
Yell. Give. Pray.
 
A simple formula to ward off despair.
 
Tallulah
 
 
 
 
 
 
There are currently 135 babes under $1,000 on the Angel Tree.
 
I'm excited to see how many babes jump the wall by Thursday night.
 
Each one over is a VICTORY! Each time one jumps their Warrior will be shouting Hurrah! 
 
And the rest of us will be cheering right beside them!
 
 
Yell. Give. Pray.
 
Simple.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, December 24, 2015

His First Christmas

It will be his first Christmas.
 
 
 
His first time helping his granddad put the train around the tree.
 


 
His first time hanging decorations.
 
 
 
His first time baking cookies.


 
His first time learning that the cookie dough is really quite good.
 
 
His first time decorating the cookies he made.
 


His first Christmas stocking.
 

 
His first presents.
 
His first time hearing Papa read the Christmas story.
 
His first time singing carols surrounded by brothers and cousins and uncles and aunts and grandparents.
 
His first Christmas.
 
 
And the most poignant part of it all will be when he pulls his Angel Tree dollars out of his stocking and gives the money to an angel on the tree.
 
Last year he was just a picture.
 
Ian
 
Just another orphan among hundreds of other orphans.
 
This year.
 
 
 
He gets to be under the tree.  Opening presents.  Experiencing the wonder.  The joy.  The reason for it all.
 
 
 
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
 
Please help an orphan find a family this Christmas.
 
Maybe next year that orphan will be under the tree too.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

$10,000 Fun!!

 
A few days ago I was playing the "I wish" I had $10,000 to give to the Angel Tree game...
 
 ClarabelleLeena
 
I was thinking about how I would disperse that $10,000 for maximum gain.  I sat there with my calculator and tried to figure out how I could make the greatest impact with that money.
 
Maisie EE-4 Betsy
 
My plan.  Take that $10,000 and help the babes at the very bottom of the tree move up. 
 
I was having fun counting up how many babes I could help with $10,000.00. 
 
Adelaide Gertie
 
Yes.
 
I am weird that way.
 
Spring
 
 
I can't help it. Most of the children on the Angel Tree have Down Syndrome. Many of them were discarded at birth by their families. Throw away babes.
 
Felicity
 
I know what happens to these throw away babes.
 
If my yelling and advocating can help one or two or five or ten and keep them from ending up where I know they are headed then it is worth it to me to yell and advocate.
 
Prudence
 
So I sit around and dream and consider...
 
I don't have 10,000 to give.
 
Samantha
 
I wish.
 
But someone else did.
 
Rebecca (2003)
 
Someone else had $10,000 and they are doing exactly what I wanted to do.
 
They even took my idea...
 
With a twist.
 
An if ... then ... twist.
 
If we bump a babe over the $500.00 wall...
 
Tarsha Graciella
 
Then they will bump another babe at the very bottom of the tree over the $500.00 wall.
 
And this will happen again and again and again until the $10,000 runs out. 
 
That is a LOT of money which means a LOT of babes are going to bump up the tree!!
 
How's that for fun????
 
Of course if we don't bump anyone over the $500.00 wall then the bottom babes are not going to get bumped.
 
HELP!!!!
 
Hannah (S.E. Asia)
 
Will you help bump one of the girls on THE ANGEL TREE over the $500.00 wall????

Or how about one of the many many boys???
 
Nolan (EE-4)
 
 $10,000 dollars is out there waiting to bless a whole bunch of babes...
 
 
WE NEED YOU!!!!!