To all of you who donated, sponsored and supported, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
We did it!
*The Sunflower Effect supports the work of The Mercy House Kenya and Kristen Welch (wearethatfamily.com)
How tiny is this seed..
..it is maybe half a centremeter long..
..but look what it created in my garden, when I planted it and watered it:
Just because seeds are small isn’t reason enough to keep them hidden away, unplanted.
It’s exactly the same with our lives; changing other’s lives. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the problems of this world. Our minds become crowded with thoughts like, “I can only give a little bit.. I may as well not even bother.. What difference will it make anyway?” These thoughts are definitely not from God. In fact, I truly believe that the little seeds of ideas you’ve been mulling over for a while, the ones which would help you raise a few dollars for a charity, or the little things you could do to help a friend – they’re probably from God. God doesn’t immediately give us a massive, fully grown tree – He gives us a seed. And if we plant and water it, we’ll see what it can grow into.
That’s how I feel about $10. It’s not a huge amount of money but it’s a seed. As a challenge to myself, I want to aim to raise and/or donate $10 every week to Mercy House. I’ll have to get creative because I don’t have truckloads of time during the day. I’m going to have to be smart, work hard and be dilligent with the little seeds I have.. the list of ideas and opportunities is growing and I’m working on a plan so that none are wasted. I figure, if God gives me a seed, I really don’t want to waste it. What’s more, if He has given it to me, that means He’ll help me plant and water it, He’ll work my day so I have plenty of time, energy and inspiration. He’s there every step of the way when we plant and water the seeds He has given us.
It is impossible to see what can become of a seed until it has been planted and watered. Why not plant your seed and see what God can do with it?
What seeds, ideas, thoughts, projects have you been mulling over? Do you think it’s time to plant?
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Joni x
*The Sunflower Effect supports the work of The Mercy House Kenya and Kristen Welch (wearethatfamily.com)
Sometimes we hear of tragic things happening and we want to help – but often we feel helpless and give up before we’ve even started. The problems of this world are huge – too much for one person to solve.
But they were never meant to be solved by one person. Continue reading
I wrote this post about a month ago, when I was working my little toosh off, getting everything ready to launch The Sunflower Effect (if you don’t know what The Sunflower Effect is, click here for info). I thought you might like to read it.
Be encouraged 🙂
Frustration has been dogging me all day. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of the gnawing feeling in my gut. I did some housework, wrote a list, watched some Gilmore Girls but none of it worked (that’s how bad I was feeling – even Gilmore Girls didn’t work!!)
So finally I sat down and had a chat with God.. which should really be the first thing I do but it usually isn’t (note to self: change this habit!)
I told God how frustrated I was, about the fact that I really want to make a difference in this world but that it just all seems too hard. I told him that I felt like I had hit a wall. How on earth could I do anything which would change the lives of those dying from normal, everyday things like being pregnant and having a baby? Continue reading
“My twins were born alive; I held them in my arms and it was beautiful. I tried desperately to feed them, but my body was too weak to produce the breast milk they needed. I did everything I could to source nourishment for my babies; I fed them water every day. And yet sat by helplessly as I watched my precious children die one after the other.”
These are the words which broke my heart. The words which started The Sunflower Effect. The words of a heartbroken mother. One who lost six babies – babies who should all be alive today, but aren’t. Simply because there was no help.
This beautiful mother – Hadija is her name – recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Moses. Moses is healthy and alive. Why? Because there was help. The Compassion Child Survival Program stepped in and saved Moses and changed Hadija’s life forever. Continue reading
Every (1) Matters 