Sharing Her Heart

This has been a very difficult year for me. I turned 35 this year and I feel like I'm in the middle of a mid-life crisis. I have been trying to 'find' myself again. For the last 12 years I have pretty much had things figured out but this year when my youngest started grade 2, it felt like my whole life tipped over. Now, there wasn't any outward tragedy that I went through, no, it was more of an emotional, internal struggle that has been taking place. Realizing that my family doesn't need me the same way, but they still need me. Having a lot more free time and not knowing how to fill it, actually, to say that I didn't want to do my domestic chores to fill my time would be more accurate. So many decisions were suddenly available to me, decisions I hadn't considered in years. "Do I get a job? Full or part time? What kind of job? Do I go to school - just take some courses or get a degree? What kind of courses/degree? Do we have the money for me to go t...

As most of you know, we sponsor 1 child financially and we correspond with 2 more. This has been such a blessing for us. This has really opened our eyes to  what life is like in other countries and also to how much love we can feel for someone we have never met. These 3 boys are so special to us and it will be a sad time when our correspondence will have to end. But this is not the only way to love on others. This is only one of the few. It could be helping the homeless, either by serving at your local soup kitchen or even as simple as dropping a few groceries into the helping hands bin at your grocery store. It may seem like a very small act to you but it could be life changing for someone else. or it could be as simple as a… It could even be as easy as letting someone cut in front of you, either in the store line or in your car on the road. Loving on others is so easy that most of us seldom realize how many opportunities we have each and every day to do so! What ki...

2 Christmases ago, one of the older (NOT old!) women in my life gave me this little spiral bound book with a few scripture verses in it. This book has become very dear to me. I take it with me to many places. I have filled it all the way through one sided now I’m working on the other side. Whenever I’m reading in my Bible, I usually have this beside me so that when I find a verse that impacts me, I can quickly jot it down. That way I have it in a place that I will be able to easily find the verse next time I need it, instead of just having a list of scripture references. A list of references is also great, as it helps you to learn your Bible better but it’s just not the best way for me. This way is much more convenient… … between the tomatoes and the garlic!    (don’t mind the view of my neighbours garage, just imagine the ocean instead!) This little book really has been a lifesaver! There have been many times where I just need to find a specific verse, and ...

I have realized in this last year or so that my gift is most definitely NOT writing. It doesn’t matter how badly I would love to be a writer, It’s just not the gift that God has blessed me with and It’s time that I be content with that. So, I will give this blog thing another shot but with a different viewpoint. Instead of trying to sound like a writer, I’m just gonna write like me. My punctuation will be off and some of my sentences won’t make sense, but I hope that you will get the overall point that I’m trying to achieve. And now, onto my new beginning… Since I have written to you last, we have gotten a new member to our family. I’m proud to introduce to you… Ginger! She is such a sweet dog and we love her to bits. She also keeps her big sis Maggie on her toes, and they love to cuddle! My kids are also crazy about her, she really does fit into our family perfectly. But she is also a baby and so we are teaching and potty training all over again! Other than that, we have had ...

Anyone who knows me personally can agree when I say that my favourite room in my house is my kitchen.                     Not because it’s fancy, which, it’s not.    Not because it’s clean & tidy, which it most often, is not.  Most definitely not because of the great view out my window, which is my neighbours garage. But because that’s the place where I get to create! That is the place where all the ‘magic’ happens. That’s the place where I go from ‘mom’ to ‘magician’ and I can just let my imagination run free! I LOVE,LOVE, LOVE to bake (this is not an exaggeration).  What I also love, is a baking challenge. I have a few friends with restricted diets and I have had the opportunity to bake for them. I have friends that can’t have sugar or dairy and only certain kinds of flour.  This was quite a challenge for me in the beginning, but I have done a lot o...

I hope that your week has gone great for you. My week has been very busy once again so I haven’t had much time to think, never mind write a post! However, I have found something for this week’s “words for your weekend” post. ‘Diligence – a persistent and hard-working effort in doing something.’                                             ‘The Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to keep pressing on even when things get tough. We are called to not let anything get in the way of our spiritual development.’ Philippians 2:13-13 “ Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose .” Being a Christian is not easy. Jesus never said it would be. So, we need to continue to p...

Hello everyone, I hope you all have had a really good week so far! Mine has been on the busy side, so I haven’t gotten to posting as much as I would have liked to. This morning, however, I’m taking some time to get this  post up! This week’s ‘words for your weekend’ post is from the book “Lord, I want to know you” by Kay Arthur. I’m currently doing this study with some friends of mine and this book is a gold mine! There is so much ‘meaty’ stuff in here, I just can’t get enough! I’m going to share with you a few excerpts from Chapter 12  “The Lord Who Sanctifies You.”   "’You can tell by what is foremost in your life, by what you give yourself to! How important is God’s Word? How devoted are you to really learning it so that you can live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3)? Are you spoon-fed, or are you learning to feed yourself? Do you flirt with Christianity, or do you love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength? ’ ...

Here is a story that I really would like to share with you all. Especially those of you who sponsor a child. When I first read this story, it really impacted me and I decided right then, that I was going to make the effort to write to my child and remind them how very much they are loved.   I feel that everyone should read this story, to get a glimpse of what it is like for those on the other side of our letters.   The Delivery By Caitlin Sanders On the day the delivery truck comes, the children watch closely, following it, prancing around with glee. Some of the children’s eyes light up, knowing that something good is happening today. They press in close to the truck, even reaching out to touch it as it ambles forward. Other children cling to the edges of the fray. Their eyes are not quite lit up, not with the same blazing fire at least. Their eyes light with embers of their daring to hope, but a little afraid to do so, in fear of being disappointed. All of the children,...

I have been hearing this song a lot lately, so I thought that I would share it with you all this weekend. I watched a few different versions of this video before deciding on this one. I love how it so clearly shows that every small thing that we do in the name of Christ really does make a difference. Matt hew 25:40 says ”The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me .” Every Christian has a choice to make. What will yours be?   Have a Great Weekend! Andrea

There’s been a lot of talk about New years resolutions lately, so I thought I’d join in and write about it as well.  However, I don’t make resolutions, because frankly, I don’t/can’t/won’t keep them. I’m just not good at that. There are people who are, and to you I give lots of credit! This year, though, I plan to work on and change some things in my life. I’ll share them with you: - Study God’s word more in depth . I read my Bible twice a day, but I don’t take the extra time and really study it. I’d like to dig deeper and learn more, sometimes I feel like I’m still ‘hungry’ after reading and I want to take the time to learn how to get ‘full’. - Spend more time ‘watching’ my kids . I don’t mean caring for them, I do that all the time. What I mean is I want to actually sit back and watch them at play. Get to know their personalities better. What better way to do that than to watch them in action? - Be a better example . I’m really starting to see how much my kids learn from me....

We have been trying to find time the last few days to make valentines cards to send to our ‘boys’. In between getting sick and having extra kids in the house, it has been a little difficult. However, yesterday I enlisted the help of the kindergarten girl that I baby sit and we finished everything up!   We made them some cards and decorated some brown paper bags, which we put some goodies into. We put in some extra valentines to give to their friends, some stickers, and to my older boys I put in some basketball trading cards as well. I also, wrote a short letter briefly describing what valentines day is and why we celebrate it. I put this verse in my note as well : 1 John 4:7 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” They won’t get these letters before Valentines day, but hopefully close to it! Have you sent some Valentines things to your sponsor child? What kinds of things did you send? Have a grea...

I’m going to start a new series. Every Friday, I will have some encouraging words for you to take with you for the weekend. They will be a variety of sayings/passages from various places, but all centered on one theme: living a life for Christ. On to today’s edition of “words for your weekend!”   Boldness – being willing and eager to face hardship with a sense of confidence and fearlessness . Being a Christian doesn’t make a person popular with the world. God gives all that we need to stand up and be counted for Him even if those around us don’t get it or even oppose us. Psalm 128:3 – When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. (NIV) “Lord, give me opportunities today that will require boldness on my part- and then give me the boldness to respond to whatever opportunities come my way.” - This was taken from a day planner made by Bible League of Canada. You can visit their website at www.bibleleague.ca - I hope that this encourages you to b...

  This is what the weather looks like in Southern Manitoba. Today it is 0 degrees and sunny, so the little bit of snow that we do have is almost gone. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be + 7! This is NOT normal at all for us! We are used to Large snow drifts and – 40 wind chills. So for me, to have spring in January is kinda depressing. But, when I went to the mail today, I had a wonderful surprise! First of all, there were no bills! That is awesome and amazing in itself. Second of all, I had a sweet letter from my little Alejandro in Honduras waiting for me! Here is a bit of what he said: “Hello dear Andrea and Timothy Sawatzky, how are you? I hope that you are doing very well and I hope that God pours a lot of blessings are you and you are. It is a great joy for me to write you. I take this pen and paper to tell you that he (Alejandro) is doing very well at kindergarten. He says that he likes to go to the child development centre because he learns a lot of biblical verses. He than...

Lately, I have not been able to write up a good post for you to read. It's not for lack of things to say, more so, it's choosing the right words. You see, I have this little problem of not thinking before I speak (or type sometimes) and I have gotten myself into trouble. I have said things that others have found offensive without intending to offend anyone. I have good intentions and it sounds really good in my head, but it comes out all wrong. So, I'm going through a time of learning right now. Learning how to speak, and most importantly, how to listen. I need to start listening to people more, and It's a hard thing to learn when you've always been the first one to speak. I have always been so quick to tell others what I'm feeling or thinking, that I haven't taken the time to show them my love, by listening. I have also been praying lately for a 'heart change'. Just like the outside of my body got a makeover, my heart needs one too. There is al...

For my birthday gift, my 2 great sisters took me out and made me over from head to toe! It was a really wonderful gift and a great experience so I thought I'd share my day with you. 6:15 am - Alarm goes off (not that I was sleeping anyway) and I get up and get ready. 7:00 am - Sister T comes to pick me up. We stop at the gas station for gas and then go to Mc Donald's for a coffee & muffin. Then it's off to Winnipeg to pick up sister A! 8:00 am - Arrive at sister A's house. We are very early. We go inside and finish our coffee's while we wait for her to finish getting ready.   My before picture 8:45 am - Off to the Hair Salon! 8:54 am - Arrive at Hair Salon. Go inside. Male assistant takes me in to "get me ready for my color".  He leads me to a dressing/bathroom and asks me to change into a cape (this is done to protect my clothing from any color getting on it). He gets me a coffee and seats me in the color chair. Stylist a...

Some of you may be wondering where I have been lately. There have been a few things keeping me busy, one of which was my birthday. We have also had some amazing fall weather, which has kept us outside a lot more as well. A week ago today, I turned the big 3.0.  At the beginning of the year, I was not looking forward to my birthday but then my aunt gave me a different perspective, and after that I was REALLY looking forward to it! I was also looking forward to Saturday, because I was getting a makeover! My sisters took me out and totally made me over as a birthday gift to me. Man, am I glad they did. With me being a stay-at-home mom, I really didn’t do much with my appearance. I just didn’t see the need, but now I see what was missing. I will share more about my girls day out, once I have the before and after pictures to show you. God also has been teaching me, so I’ve taken this week to continue to get to know Him better and learn what He wants to teach me. On a different note,...

Test everything. These 2 words have played over and over in my mind lately. I knew that there is a verse that says this, but I didn’t remember where to find it, so last night I asked my husband. He, for some reason can find everything for me. He found it in 1Thessalonians 5:21 “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” What exactly does that mean? What I have found lately, is that this applies to ALL things in All areas. Especially those concerning Christianity and the Truth. These days, you can’t just walk into a church and assume that what you hear the pastor say is true. To do that can be very dangerous.  What I understand from this verse is that we are supposed to test everything against the Word of God and hold on to the Truth only. Take your Bible to church with you, check what the pastor is speaking against the Word. We need to make sure that what we are being taught is God’s truth. Everything that your church practices and teaches should be in your Bible. I’m so very thankf...

I am currently studying the book “Lord, I want to know you” By Kay Arthur with 2 of my friends. This morning as I was studying it, a passage really struck me and I want to share it with you. “…you have been created for His glory, for His pleasure. Your life is to be lived in such a way as to reflect Him , to show the world the character of God- His love, His peace, His mercy, His gentleness. You are to live for Him , to accomplish His will. To miss this purpose is to miss fulfillment. It is to have existed rather than to have lived.” Did you notice that the words “me” and “you” are not in that passage? It’s not about us, it never was. It always has and always will be, about Him. Something that our world today has forgotten. We are only here because of Him. We were created for His glory (Isaiah 43:1,3-4,7). I hope that passage affects you as strongly as it does me. Have you studied this book before? How did it affect you?   *Andrea*

Well, today I want to give my basement a big clean-up so I don’t have time to write you a long post. I do, however, want to share with you a website that I came across recently. I was looking for women’s devotions for my ladies coffee time on Wednesday mornings. So, like most of us, I just googled it and I found this site called “Girlfriends In God.” What a great site! These 3 women have so many wonderful devotions that speak directly to us women. I really think you should check it out. www.girlfriendsingod.com   If you do check it out, I would love to know what you think! *Andrea*

Lately, I have taken on a few more ‘jobs’ than I’m used to. On top of being a wife, mom, hairdresser, childcare provider, and all the tasks that come with, I also co-teach Sunday school and now I also co-ordinate “Ladies Coffee Time” on Wednesday mornings at my Church. I LOVE everything that I do. I’m so thankful that I am able to do it. I love being able to serve in my church and out. I have to wonder though, how to create balance. I still need to make time for my husband and my children. I can’t forget to see my friends.       Lastly, I can’t forget to connect with you, my faithful readers. So, this is the next challenge in my life. Making time and spending my time, where it is needed the most, with those that need me the most. On those trips to the grocery store I won’t be alone anymore. That is valuable time I can spend with my daughter. Teaching her about purchasing the right food for our style of cooking/eating, and teaching her about money as ...