Freedom of Religion

We live in a society today where people want what they can't have, hence why our country is so far in debt.  People swim in credit card debt because they give themselves the false idea that they have money when really all they have is a line of credit on a plastic card.  Some even more predominant things are illegal things. High schoolers think it's "cool" to smoke, especially before you turn 18.  Partying and getting drunk is also huge, especially when you are only 18 and not yet legally old enough to drink.  I guess some people get a rush when they are able to get around the law and do illegal things without getting caught.

What if we didn't have freedom of religion?  Would people find that same rush in meeting together and getting away with it?  What if the Bible was illegal?  Would we all just leave one of the many copies that we have on a shelf to collect dust, or would we diligently study it and put it to memory so that if it was ever taken away from us that we would still have God's word in our hearts?  Sometimes I feel guilty about going several days with not even opening my Bible, when there are people who would love to have even just one page of it.   Would we find every opportunity to meet together and study the Bible?  Would we say that we are having a "super bowl party" this upcoming Sunday night and really just study the Bible all night long because we find that to more fulfilling?

A year ago, in my Sunday School class on superbowl Sunday, our topic happened to be on idols. Our Sunday School teacher asked us if we could think of any idols that Americans worship. A man responded with "I think there's a big worship service for one tonight".  That one comment really stuck with me since he said that.  Not that I'm a big football fan, but why do we get more excited about worshipping a football game that nobody will remember in years to come than we do about worshipping our Lord?  If meeting together to worship was illegal, would we even care about the superbowl this Sunday night if it conflicted with a weekly underground worship service?  Let's not take our freedom of religion for granted and shove that freedom to the side when it comes to earthly idols.

Another pin checked off.

And this is what Caleb and I do on a Saturday night.  Take awkward pictures of each other and put them next to each other.

I wish I could claim this idea, but sadly I dont have an ounce of creativity without pinterest. 

Compassion International

Back when I was in high school I used to always go to Christian concerts where Compassion International would be promoting their sponsorship program.  I always wanted to sponsor a child, but with being in high school and unsure of what college life would bring, I always turned it down because  I didn’t want to give a child hope and then have to un-sponsor them due to lack of finances.  Since getting married, it’s always been at the back of my mind that I want to sponsor a child, but I just never did it. 

Last week, the Christian radio station djs went to Asia with Compassion International.  When they came back, they had a mission of finding all 2,000 children on the compassion website a sponsor.  Every morning on the way to work I would hear about this and it would tug on my heart.  Wednesday I texted Caleb about it and told him that it was something I wanted to do.  He told me that he had also been thinking about it!  I got online and found the ca-utest little four year old boy.  He was one of those boys that if I saw him on the street  I would tug on Caleb’s arm and say “aww, look at that little guy!”  I left his picture up while I was at work and kept thinking about him.  I was planning on sponsoring him when I got home from work, but later on in the day I pulled his picture up to look at it again and it was gone!  He had been sponsored!  I actually felt sad that I couldn’t be his sponsor, but I knew it just wasn’t meant to be.   

I looked at a lot of kids that day trying to find one that stood out to me.  I did a search of kids with my birthday and a few showed up.  I decided I would pick a kid later on.  That night on my way home from work, the radio djs were talking about how a lot of older kids don’t get sponsored because they aren’t the cute little ones who melt your heart.  A lot of them are ones who previously had sponsors and their sponsor had to drop out (exactly what I didn’t want to happen).  So then I decided that maybe an older kid would be better for us.  The next day at work (yesterday) I did a lot of searching, just trying to find “the one”.  Through several of my searches, this one girl kept coming up.  She’s 14 years old from India and she was also one of the ones who shared my birthday.  I decided that she was the one I wanted.  I sent her picture to Caleb and told him that I want her.  I kept thinking about her all day. I (again) planned on sponsoring her when I got home.  When I got home last night, we ended up going grocery shopping and went out to eat and I forgot about sponsoring her.   

This morning on my way to work they were having a record-breaking hour of how many children they could sponsor in one hour.  They sponsored 79 I believe.  Granted, this radio show is broadcasted several places around the United States, but it was still neat how fast this was all happening.  I was sitting in my car listening to this because I usually get to work pretty early in case of traffic jams, and traffic tends to be lighter the earlier I leave.  Then it hit me.  What if this girl was one of the many who were being sponsored so quickly?  I wanted her!  I got out of my car quickly and went in to work to get on my computer.  I did a search that I thought would pull her up and she didn’t show up.  I did a few more searches and  I finally found her.  I couldn’t get my wallet out fast enough.  I wasn’t letting this one slip away too.     

So…. 

Meet Bincy.

 

This is her Compassion International Biography: 

Bincy lives with her father and her mother. At home, duties include carrying water, helping in the kitchen and cleaning. Her father is sometimes employed as a laborer and her mother maintains the home. There are 3 children in the family.

As part of Compassion's ministry, Bincy participates in church activities, Bible class and Vacation Bible School. She is also in high school where her performance is average. Singing, walking and listening to music are her favorite activities.

Once I did finally hit the submit button, I was filled with this overwhelming joy and love for this girl.  I can’t stop thinking about her all day today.  I’ve been listening to the radio station most of the day to hear about more and more children being sponsored.  When they started on Tuesday, they had over 2,000 children needing sponsors.  As of right now they only have 831 left.  At lunch time they hit the 1200 sponsored since Tuesday mark.  The day isn’t over either!  I am so glad that I can be a part of this. 

I hesistated about blogging about this because I didn’t want this to come across as a “Hey look what a good thing I’m doing!” type of a thing, but I thought that maybe others could share in the same joy that I have today in rejoicing that so many more children have hope!  Also, I thought that many of you could join with me in praying for Bincy.  I can’t wait to get my welcome packet in the mail and find out how I can contact her so I can start writing her.