O Little One
Pain without measure
Hurt never earned
These questions why, fill my mind
Burdens beyond reason
Scars not justified
These questions why, fill my mind
O Little One, O Little One
Please know that He loves you
O Little One, O Little One
Please know that He adores you
He sprinkled the stars in the sky
Just to see them reflect in your eyes
O Little One, O Little One
Joy beyond measure
Smiles that radiate
These questions why, fill my mind
Hope surpassing reason
Love lavished without contain
These precious lives, fill me with new life
O Little One, O Little One
Please know that He loves you
O Little One, O Little One
Please know that He adores you
He sprinkled the stars in the sky
Just to see them reflect in your eyes
O Little One, O Little One
Jesus loves you, this I know
Because He told me so
O Little One, O Little One
To Him you belong
When you are weak
Know He is strong, He is strong
O Little One, O Little One
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(O Little One -- Video)
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OK, so I'm on a fundraising rampage! After God shook me up on Friday night and showed me, yet again, how He works the impossible to make it possible, I have a renewed passion to do everything I can to raise the money for the trip to Swaziland, Africa in May. I have to just keep doing whatever I can to give Him space to step in on my behalf. So this blog is another attempt to do so. Above are the lyrics to the song I wrote after I returned from my trip to Swaziland last year. It speaks all about what God revealed to me while I was there, and how the precious lives of these orphans impacted me immensely! It was actually really amazing how the song was written. When I got back to the States, I had major jet-lag & suffered a bit from culture-shock. I stayed in my room for about four days, excluding a few times I HAD to go somewhere. During this time I just was processing everything & I was journaling a lot. I think it was the second night of attempting to sleep, that I actually feel asleep. But, at 5am I was awoken with a lyric in my head. It was, "He sprinkled the stars in the sky, just to see them reflect in your eyes." I quickly grabbed my journal, grabbed my guitar, and within an hour had the complete song written. I knew it was a "God-song." I felt like He was revealing His heart to me for those children I met while I was there. (At the end of this blog I'll include a copy of the blog I wrote upon returning, as well. I think it just shows a more in depth look at everything I experienced.)
So...
I want to, I NEED to take this opportunity given to me to go back! I feel like God has sooo much more in store, and I have sooo much more to give! But I need your help, seriously.
I created a cause on facebook called: "Lindsey's Swaziland Send-Off." You can search for it & check it out for yourself. I created a PayPal account for everyone to use to DONATE to my trip. It makes it super easy & convenient for you. All donations are tax-deductible, and if an address is provided, a contribution statement will be mailed to you at the end of the year.
Please join with me in this cause! I will most definitely keep everyone in the loop on how it is going & will even send out an update when I get back from Swaziland in June of 2009.
Thank You!
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It Defined Me:
How do you explain something that is unexplainable? How do you describe something that is indescribable? Well this is my attempt to do just that.
My trip to Swaziland was far beyond anything I’d ever thought I’d experience in my life. Prior to the trip I tried to clear my mind of any expectations. I wanted to allow everything that happened to really soak in and not have to be compared to any pre-conceived ideas. From the very first day I could see how God was using this trip to completely blow my mind. I saw so many things that most people will never see; I experienced so many things that most people will never experience. And through it all I discovered the true definition of words we use so flippantly but don’t fully understand.
Beauty. Oh how I was overwhelmed by beauty; it swept me off my feet. The mountains, the waterfalls, the creatures, the sky, the stars, God’s creation couldn’t help but radiate His matchless splendor. We had a chance to go hiking one day up a mountain and gaze out at the scenery. Once we reached the top I found myself needing to seclude myself. I sat down and looked out at everything. It was breathtaking, and couldn’t help but sing praises to my Creator.
Joy. In the face of death, sickness, and extreme poverty I saw kids that were exuding a light that contradicted their circumstances. I had never seen such pure joy before. To me it seemed like that they lacked so much, but still they sang at the top of their lungs and they danced with such enthusiasm. Delight was in their eyes, and I was in awe at what I saw.
Love. God is Love. I thought I understood what love was, but a whole new dimension of this word was revealed to me during this trip and as a result, a whole new dimension of who God is. I experienced the selfless love that these missionaries from Children’s Cup had for these kids. It was so evident by their commitment and willingness to serve and do whatever was needed to help these kids. I experienced the love that each child was so eager to give away. They didn’t judge anyone; they just loved and embraced you without any agenda. It was so precious and refreshing. I also experienced real love between brothers and sisters in Christ. There was a group of interns from a church in Zimbabwe that came and met up with us halfway through the trip. We became one working body the instant we all met. It was a seamless unity the entire time and we each genuinely loved one another. It was as if we had known each other our entire lives. This was an amazing image God had given each of us from this experience—a small glimpse of what eternity in heaven will be like with one another.
Hope. In what seems to be a hopeless situation—a country with the highest percentage of AIDS, a generation of parentless children, and a people lacking basic needs to survive—I learned what hope was. When we rise up and begin to act, when we become Jesus’ hands and feet, when we stand in the gap no matter what the sacrifice, that is where hope is birthed. Children’s Cup has been the pioneer for standing in the gap to bring hope to this desperate generation, and they propelled me to do the same.
Before this trip I had never felt so satisfied before. Through everything I did, learned, and experienced, I was being used. I was answering my commission and from that came such an abundant amount of contentment. I found beauty, joy, love, and hope, but ultimately I found myself in all of it. It defined me.
My trip to Swaziland was far beyond anything I’d ever thought I’d experience in my life. Prior to the trip I tried to clear my mind of any expectations. I wanted to allow everything that happened to really soak in and not have to be compared to any pre-conceived ideas. From the very first day I could see how God was using this trip to completely blow my mind. I saw so many things that most people will never see; I experienced so many things that most people will never experience. And through it all I discovered the true definition of words we use so flippantly but don’t fully understand.
Beauty. Oh how I was overwhelmed by beauty; it swept me off my feet. The mountains, the waterfalls, the creatures, the sky, the stars, God’s creation couldn’t help but radiate His matchless splendor. We had a chance to go hiking one day up a mountain and gaze out at the scenery. Once we reached the top I found myself needing to seclude myself. I sat down and looked out at everything. It was breathtaking, and couldn’t help but sing praises to my Creator.
Joy. In the face of death, sickness, and extreme poverty I saw kids that were exuding a light that contradicted their circumstances. I had never seen such pure joy before. To me it seemed like that they lacked so much, but still they sang at the top of their lungs and they danced with such enthusiasm. Delight was in their eyes, and I was in awe at what I saw.
Love. God is Love. I thought I understood what love was, but a whole new dimension of this word was revealed to me during this trip and as a result, a whole new dimension of who God is. I experienced the selfless love that these missionaries from Children’s Cup had for these kids. It was so evident by their commitment and willingness to serve and do whatever was needed to help these kids. I experienced the love that each child was so eager to give away. They didn’t judge anyone; they just loved and embraced you without any agenda. It was so precious and refreshing. I also experienced real love between brothers and sisters in Christ. There was a group of interns from a church in Zimbabwe that came and met up with us halfway through the trip. We became one working body the instant we all met. It was a seamless unity the entire time and we each genuinely loved one another. It was as if we had known each other our entire lives. This was an amazing image God had given each of us from this experience—a small glimpse of what eternity in heaven will be like with one another.
Hope. In what seems to be a hopeless situation—a country with the highest percentage of AIDS, a generation of parentless children, and a people lacking basic needs to survive—I learned what hope was. When we rise up and begin to act, when we become Jesus’ hands and feet, when we stand in the gap no matter what the sacrifice, that is where hope is birthed. Children’s Cup has been the pioneer for standing in the gap to bring hope to this desperate generation, and they propelled me to do the same.
Before this trip I had never felt so satisfied before. Through everything I did, learned, and experienced, I was being used. I was answering my commission and from that came such an abundant amount of contentment. I found beauty, joy, love, and hope, but ultimately I found myself in all of it. It defined me.
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