God is Good

I can't help but marvel at God's goodness!! FEET for the FEAT of ORPHANS is God's race, not mine. It's intended for God's glory to build His Kingdom. It's meant to exalt His Name. But, in the process, I am certainly being built up too! I am amazed at how He is orchestrating the details and how there's no denying His presence in the situation. I am humbled by the support and encouraging words from friends and family. Several people have told me how my story has been an answer to their prayer! How cool is that! It had nothing to do with the race, but they were seeking God, and through my experiences, He has graciously answered them. I am simply being brought to my knees in awe. As I have used my hands and feet to serve Him, my heart has drawn so much from Him...there's an inexpressible joy in my spirit!!

Many people are asking how they can help. First, PRAY! As I mentioned, this race is God's race. Pray that as I seek God in the details, that I don't miss his leading...that I have great discernment. Also, pray how you might be able to help. Maybe you can volunteer at the race, maybe you'll run or walk in the race, or maybe you can make a donation. Pray how YOUR feet might make a lasting imprint in the lives of orphans. Second, help spread the word...tell your friends, neighbors, colleagues, Sunday School Class, etc. Save the date - July 30th! Third, I'm looking for sponsors to help execute the race. If you know of someone who might want to be a sponsor, please let me know.

Stay tuned for more details....

"What'cha Gonna Do...?"

Did you know 22,000 children die EACH DAY due to poverty? When we read these statistics, it's startling...it can seem overwhelming... and it can also seem "cold" unless we begin to see the faces that play into that cold, hard reality. Think of it this way, according to a 2009 census, there are approximately 49,000 children under the age of 18 living in our beautiful county. If you put OUR children into that statistic, then almost HALF of the children in our county would die tomorrow and within less than 2 1/2 days, ALL of our precious children would be dead (from something that can be prevented!!). Your beautiful children, my children, the children living next door to you, friends' children...gone! Seriously, can you imagine? Doesn't that just pierce your heart thinking of those precious faces? It's certainly not something I want to think about and it's sometimes hard to see how we can make a difference in this huge statistic. BUT, we CAN and we WILL.

I love the song "Change" by Carrie Underwood (you can listen to it on my playlist on the blog, track #4). Part of it goes like this, "Oh the smallest thing can make all the difference. Love is alive, don't listen to them when they say, You're just a fool to believe you can change the world." Each of us, doing a small part, can truly make a difference. With God on our side, NOTHING is impossible! Your life, your actions, your response, can impact another person's life...WE can transform these children's lives for eternity even while we meet their earthy needs! "Love is alive...", sings Carrie Underwood in her song....That love is the love of Jesus flowing out of us and pouring into someone else. You can help make a difference in the lives of God's children. By participating in FEET for the FEAT of ORPHANS, by donating, by giving a little bit of your time, you will be helping 10-12 children live with adequate shelter, receive adequate food and nutritional needs, provide clothing, experience God's love, and much more.

The link to register and/or donate to the race will be up soon. In the meantime, start spreading the word about the race to your friends, your colleagues, your neighbors, your Sunday School class....Consider forming a team for the race. Prayerfully consider how YOU can make a difference.

"What'cha Gonna Do....?"

Romans 10:15 "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring The Good News."

On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!!

It's OFFICIAL!! The Race is ON! I received approval by the City of Brentwood Parks Board to host FEET for the FEAT of ORPHANS on July 30th. And this is such an exciting part and yet another sign of God's goodness - I was told at the board meeting that normally all 5 special event requests (City of Brentwood Parks Dept. ONLY allows 5 special events to be held in their parks per year) are filled on the spot at the January meeting of each year. BUT, this year "is unusual" they said, that we had this 5th spot open until now. I KNEW IMMEDIATELY that God held that 5th spot for FEET for the FEAT of ORPHANS! When God calls his people to do his will, his hand will be on each and every detail.

More details will be posted later, but save the date, July 30th, and let your feet make a lasting imprint in the lives of orphans!

Seeds to Sow for Feet to Grow

Hosea 10:12 "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you." Hosea is speaking of a plowed field, ground that is ready to receive seeds. The ground has been carefully prepared and it is available. This ground is our heart and our lives and how it is cultivated for God to work in our lives. I've been seeking God, asking Him to use me in a mighty way for His kingdom and for His glory. In turn, He has been "plowing" my heart, He has been breaking me, molding me, preparing me and equipping me for a calling He has on my life. God has burdened me with the blight of orphans and called me to help rebuild their lives - to build shelters for them as well as build hope through sharing the love of Jesus Christ. He has instructed me to partner with The Global Orphan Project, Inc. and to build a children's home and/or school in an orphanage (village) in Haiti. In seeking his guidance and how to do this, he placed on my heart to organize a 5K Run/Walk and to call it FEET for the FEAT of ORPHANS. The journey to this point has been awesome and there's no way I can begin to tell you all of the details in this post. God has shown up in remarkable ways and revealed himself in such mighty & powerful ways. To make a long story short, let me share with you some of the seeds God has been sowing in my life to prepare me for this journey:

• Seeds of LOVE: Luke 10:27 God commands us to LOVE - to worship and serve Him. Worship? That's easy for me. But, God has been wanting me to focus more on service - loving others.
• Seeds of AWARENESS: There are 147 + MILLION orphans in the world. Every 2.2 seconds, a child becomes an orphan. Of the 2.2 BILLION children in the world today, 1 BILLION live in poverty. Over 3 BILLION people (almost 1/2 of the world) lives on less than $2.50/day. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die EACH DAY due to poverty. 1 in 3 children live without adequate shelter. James 1: 27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
• Seeds of INSTRUCTION - In October, God instructed me to study Nehemiah. Just as he placed the burden on Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he burdened me to help rebuild Haiti. Nehemiah 2: 12, 17-18
• Seeds of REVELATION: In November, God spoke to me to build orphanages, schools, and hospitals and revealed to me that many children would depend on me. This was confirmation of the burden he had already placed on my heart to rebuild. Although I was excited, I had NO IDEA how this would happen. In December, Satan tried his hardest to keep me from going to a Wednesday night class at church. My daughters were tired, they were misbehaving, I was stressed (remember it's December, and I have LOTS to do), and I came so close to just staying home vs. going to church. Even as I was driving to church, I was tempted to turn around and go back home. I pressed on though and went to church. When I walked into class, the leader, who I had not met yet, was telling about her recent mission trip to Haiti! She had gone with her friend's church and they were working in the village (orphanage) that the church had just built by partnering with The Global Orphan Project, Inc. I knew IMMEDIATELY why Satan had not wanted me to go to class!! I knew IMMEDIATELY that I was supposed to be there to hear about this organization and what they do - they build children's homes, schools, medical clinics, etc. in villages for orphans!! THIS WAS HOW I WAS GOING TO ACCOMPLISH GOD'S SPOKEN WORD OVER ME!! In the months that have followed, God has continued to reveal this plan for me and told me to organize a 5K Run/Walk to raise funds, gave me the name of the 5K, FEET for the FEAT of ORPHANS, gave me the vision of the logo, etc.
• Seeds of CONFIRMATION: As I was still seeking God for direction and asking hard questions, he so sweetly and graciously continued to reveal himself in powerful ways through confirming this call through His Word and the sermon series at church. God gave me the scripture in Romans 10:15 "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring The Good News." Through the feet of the runners/walkers in the 5K, we will be bringing healing and hope (The Good News of Jesus Christ) to these precious children. There is so much to share here and I hope to share more of this at a later date.
• Seeds to ACT - God prompted me to Surrender to His will, take that step of faith and trust him with each and every step and to simply ACT. Ephesians 4:1 "...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path."

So, I've been given the SEEDS and now I'm trusting God in the sowing. I pray that the FEET of those who join with me in this journey will help GROW His Kingdom, help restore shelter, health and hope for the children, equip them and give them hope for the future, and help grow our faith and trust in Him.

Blessings,

Tara