GratiTuesday - Setting Giant-Sized Goals

*This post contains affiliate links for a company whose products I have used and loved.  I recommend them because they are high quality.  If you choose to click on these links, you'll be supporting our homeschooling efforts - and we thank you.

Over the past few months I've gotten to work with the elementary-aged youth at our church.  We used the fabulous curriculum that came with Tales of the Not Forgotten  by Beth Guckenberger.  (You can read my review of that book here.)

The conversations that we had sparked something in my Big Helper - something new and special.  She decided to raise money for the Hands and Feet Project's orphans' home in Haiti - and then, upon learning that it was possible to go there on mission, she set that as her goal.

Now, I think this is a wonderful thing.  As hard as it will be to let her go, and even harder if she's heading off to our continental American shores, she's only eight.

Fortunately for me, Hands and Feet requires that you be thirteen years old before going there to do mission work, but my Big Helper is not letting that stop her.

Last month she decided that it was time to plan her annual lemonade stand, and about a week before setting up, her face lit up.  She looked at me and announced, "Mommy, this year I want the money to go towards my Haiti trip!"

I wasn't sure what to say to that.  Does she realize that this trip is five years away - minimum?  Does she realize how much it's going to cost to get her - and her daddy - and the four other people they require all the way there?

No, she doesn't.  She wasn't counting the cost - she was just stepping out in faith.

And then she decided to expand upon last year's lemonade stand and sell orangeades - and art.

She was so pleased with her debut piece of oil pastel artwork that she decided to add art to her lemonade stand.

As word spread about what she was trying to do, the demand for her artwork far surpassed what she was able to create in the few days' time prior to her sale.  In fact, she's still trying to catch up.

But she's happy.  

Her lemonade stand efforts went so well - and people were so generous when they learned what she wants to do - that she raised many times over what she's ever made before.

So much so that a few days later we visited the bank, where she opened a new account to keep her Haiti money safe.

Life has slowed down since her lemonade stand supplies were packed up for this year, but her dreams haven't.  She's dreaming as big as ever - with a giant-sized goal heaped upon lots of faith and sweetened with lemonade and sugar.

If you came by My Big Helper's lemonade stand and supported her efforts to go to Haiti, we thank you.  If you're one of the people waiting in line for her original artwork, we thank you, too - you're both increasing her faith and her confidence.  To Beth Guckenberger and the See the Light Crew - only God could have mashed together my Big Helper, oily sunflowers, and Haitian orphans with your outstanding lessons to get a goal this beautiful.  Thank you.

For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers.

Want to know more about how she began her own "art business?"  Check it out here!

GratiTuesday -Getting Down to Brass Tacks

In many ways it feels as if this has been a hard one for our family.

My husband has changed jobs.  Our schedule has turned itself upside down because of this.  Our car just had major problems.  Last year's tornado peppered our aging roof with holes.  Our house is old, and it has many energy-deficient issues.  Including the aging A/C system, which really does not like these super hot and humid days.

Sometimes thinking about all of the craziness going on is discouraging.

Then a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to listen to one of our church's teens talk about a mission trip he took to Africa last year.

Walker spent nine days in Malawi, where he took people's vital signs and interacted with the natives.

During his presentation, he showed us pictures of the food, their houses, their clothing, and even the kids' toys.

Each picture broke my heart just a little bit more - and made me feel ashamed for ever being unsatisfied with the state of our stuff.

Many people in this tiny village lived in shacks made of mud bricks. I use the term 'shack' loosely, because often there was no roof, no windows, and walls that appeared to be only waist high.

Then we viewed the mansions of the village - and these looked like the poorest of our poor neighborhoods' garages.  These mud-bricked structures were bigger than the others, had roofs, and had big open spaces for windows.  It still left much to be desired.

The bathroom was a communal one - a hole dug in the ground inside a fence made of straw.  Leaves sprinkled on top of the hole after each use helped to contain the smell, and one's left hand took the place of toilet paper - literally.  Stepping back too far while using the hole left one with dirty feet.

The 'toys' were pieces of string or vegetation rolled around and around, over and over, to make a ball.  Soccer rules in this village, and everyone loves to play, despite the total lack of shoes.

Africa is not entirely like this, of course; there are wealthier and more urban areas, but many places like this exist, too, and these people are content in their lot - even joyful.  They are not upset at what they don't have, but determinedly work to survive and share what they do have.  

My windows may be less fancy than some, but they exist, which is more than many have.  Our A/C system may not be icy, but it does cool the house.  My children may be messy at times, but they have many toys which spark their imaginations and help them learn about the kinds of adults they want to be.  Our schedule may be packed, but it's full of good things we can do together, with our family and friends.

I generally think that comparisons are a bad thing, as we often compare ourselves poorly with those around us.  

Sometimes, however, they can put things back into perspective.

For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers.