Rice and Beans- Blogger challenge

Wanna know what breaks my heart just as much as this?
It's this...

Here in America we do not often see a child dying of starvation… but we have all witnessed a child who has been raised as selfish and spoiled- being taught the world is revolving around them. I cannot tell you how often I have had people say to me “I don't know how you can handle SEVEN kids- I can’t even stand the two I’ve got!" And that is what breaks my heart.

Our children are our greatest treasures- I promise you God didn’t give them to you and I so that ‘we wouldn’t be able to stand being around them”. We, as a spoiled society, does that to them. I think many times, we as parents, don’t even realize what we are doing.

We are tricked into thinking that we are good parents when we give them everything-because by giving them things we are proving their worth. (and we forget that worth is not found in things).

We look at our beautiful little cherubs and want to give them the world- and we believe we can.

We think by lavishing them with gifts, signing them up for every lesson from violin to soccer-we are proving how talented they (so in essence WE) are.

We teach them that they are better than everyone else and that they need to look out for #1.

But really- by doing those things, we are stealing from them.

We are stealing the joy that comes from reaching out to someone else. We are stealing the love that they could experience by truly being able to caring about someone else. And ultimately, we are stealing Christ from them -because they simply cannot understand why they would need Him- when they are conditioned to be 'good enough’ to do it all on their own.

For the month of September our family has committed to eating beans and rice every night for dinner. We are doing this in order to save money on our grocery bill and then to be able to give that money to the Pass It Forward Adoption Fund- for someone elses adoption. Because we know our children are a result of what we teach them- we want our children to know that it is okay to live less extravagantly so that we can give to someone else. We are not rich- but together we can work to accomplish big things through Christ. Each and every dollar counts- each and every dollar does make a difference.

By teaching our children to serve and to put others needs first-we are giving them the tools of success- as parents, as spouses, as citizens and as employees. Yet even more importantly- we are teaching our children to appreciate what they have instead of constantly longing for more. Children who are starving in 3^rd world countries would consider themselves blessed to be served a warm diet of beans and rice daily- and these children are just as important to God as we are. There are so many ways we can teach our children to give of themselves- and to make this world a better place because they are in it.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

So I'd like to start a blogger challenge. Talk to your children, pray with them, work together, and then commit to give something up so that you can give to someone else. It doesn’t have to be rice and beans for dinner for a month- it can whatever you decide. Let them get creative- you may be surprised as how much they truly want to be a part of something more. Let them pray and let them seek God and see where He leads them. I promise you will be blessed.

He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.
- Author Unknown