Abebech Gobena -Modern Day Mother Theresa

Psalm 82:3-4

“Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.”



This psalm is a perfect way to sum up the work that Abebech Gobena does everyday. She is a devout Christian and has been dubbed "Africa's Mother Theresa" due to her work with orphans. She knows firsthand what is it like to be fatherless as her own father died when she was only a month old.

In 1980, Gobena came across a child suckling at the breast of its dead mother. It changed her life forever. A man whose job was to collect the corpses in the war ravaged area told her "I am waiting for the child to die so I can pick up both bodies. I just can't bear to take the child as well while she is still alive." Can you imagine someone saying something like that?

Gobena promptly swaddled up the child and brought her to the countries capital. Thus began Gobena's work saving the lives of many starving orphans during Ethiopia's famine. She pressed on with her work even when everything around her was crashing down. Her family turned against her and gave her an ultimatum. They told her she had to choose the children or them. She chose the children. By the end of 1980, Gobena had taken in 21 children.

>>Fast forward to the present- Gobena is the founder of Ethiopia's oldest orphanage. In present day, it cares for over 700 children. She is an amazing warrior of God and I admire her for the work she does.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.


Source

In the beginning..

God made the seas
And the forrest filled with trees
And the mountains way up so high
And at the top He put the sky

I am trying to learn this song for the little kiddos I teach on Wednesday nightsat church. I am happy they are only 2 and 3 year old babies (or bebes as we say down here) so I will not be embarassed to sing in front of them. :) We are learning from each other. They are really helping me to learn more about patience and being organized. I am helping them to learn more about characters fom the Bible. The first of which was David. He had a meager beginning as a shepherd and later became a king. Rags to riches! Remember that God can use all of us in his Kingdom. We may not become queens but we are princesses because our Father truly is the King of Kings.

overwhelmed

If I Were Called

If I were called to teach,
I'd give it my best.

If I were called to preach,
I'd better pass the test.

If I were called to reach,
I'd do it with much zest.

If I were called to each,
I'd surely need some rest.

© by Joyce C. Lock

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Matthew 11:29

I am starting to teach a Bible class to 2 & 3 year olds in a few days.
I have so much going on I wondered if I should hand it over to my mom.
My preacher was very encouraging and hinted that maybe God is really calling me to do this.
I do feel like He is and I want to do more to benefit the kingdom. I feel like there are too many things
to do whereas some people cannot find any. I am not sure which way God is leading me at this point?
I am feeling drawn to the local Pregnancy Clinic that deters girls from abortions.
With work and everything else I am not sure how that will fit in. I will definitely be praying about it!!

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

Down and out Chick is hosting a giveaway. Check it out here:
http://downandoutchic.blogspot.com/2010/05/shabby-apple-dress-giveaway.html

a great little illustration

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.What food might this contain? The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:

There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, 'Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me.'' I cannot be bothered by it.'

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.

'Be assured you are in my prayers.'

The mouse turned to the cow and said 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose.'

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.
So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

-Not sure of the author

REMEMBER,,,,

EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY;

OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

Here is a Scripture I would like to end this with:

For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching;

he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:4-8

We are one body. Who would like to see a part of their body hurt or damaged willingly? Just a few things to think about.

rudder

Look at ships too: though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s impulse directs. James 3:4

James compares our tongues to rudders on ships. A rudder is very small but its positioning determines the direction of a ship. Would you steer your ship into a bunch of rocks? Another ship? I think the answer the claear answer is no. However, we seem to do this daily. We may gossip, lie, or respond quickly with anger. The Bible provides us with the tools to help us measure if what is coming out of our mouth's is good or bad. Ephesians 4:29 reads: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 5:4 reads: Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Matt. 12:34: You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

I really need to work on controlling my tongue. It is so easy to give into gossip and destroying others reputations when you are not surrounded by believers.

mother's day

Guess which day of the year has the highest call (telephone) volume?

Mother's Day!

Now this can be looked at in a positive and negative light.
Positive- many people are communicating with their mothers
Negative- many people they are reducing the day created to celebrate our mothers down to a simple phone call

Mother's Day (according to Wikipedia)

The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In the 1880s and 1890s there were several attempts to establish a Mother's Day, but they didn't succeed beyond the local level. The holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, in 1908 as a day to honor one's mother. Jarvis wanted to accomplish her mother's dream of making a celebration for all mothers, although the idea didn't take off until she enlisted the services of wealthy Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker. She kept promoting the holiday until President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in 1914. The holiday eventually became so highly commercialized that many, including its founder, Anna Jarvis, considered it a "Hallmark Holiday", i.e. one with an overwhelming commercial purpose. Jarvis eventually ended up opposing the holiday she had helped to create. She died in 1948, regretting what had become of her holiday. In the United States, Mother's Day remains one of the biggest days for sales of flowers, greeting cards, and the like; it is also the biggest holiday for long-distance telephone calls.

How can we bring it back to Anna Jarvis' original idea?
Create things!
What is your mom's [or as we say Momma :) ] favorite food? Get the ingredients and make it.
Take a nice photo of you and your siblings and frame it. Make a nice card. Cut some fresh flowers and make a bouquet. Volunteer to babysit so she can have some free time.