“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:27

I remember when I first read the above bible verse. It was as if the words jumped up from off the page and hit me in the face.

These words went deep into my heart, never to be forgotten.

My heart has always been for the children; the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the abused, the neglected and the orphans.

This was even before I had children of my own.

My husband remembered my sponsoring children from Compassion International when he first met me.

My desire has been and will always be to help in some small way and make a difference to children in need.

But honestly, I can’t do it alone. I realize that no matter how much I try to help, it isn’t enough.

Recently, a sweet sister in the Lord who lives in Pakistan reached out to me. She is a young girl who has dedicated her life to feed orphans in the town where she lives. The need is so great there and the money she receives unfortunately doesn’t suffice.

I am troubled by this. I am troubled by the fact there are children who are hungry and have no family.

I personally give to the capacity I am able, but again, it’s not enough.

This grieves me and I find myself crying out to God for help.

The burden is great.

Recently, I watched a movie by Tyler Perry called “Good Deeds”. I am happy it had a Hollywood ending, but the entire time I watched, I suffered. There was this one character who was a struggling single mother.  She was evicted from her apartment in the worst way. She became homeless overnight and had to live in her car with her young daughter. It was a sad situation and it broke my heart.

I know there are countless women in the USA alone in dire straits, trying to make ends meet to feed and care for their children or are homeless and living in shelters.

The needs are great.

Which is why I became a Compassion International blogger, because I want to make a difference somehow and in some way to help children around the world.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, my dream isn’t about me, my blog isn’t about me, my writing isn’t about me. It’s all about Jesus, His dream and His heart for His children throughout the world.

My life isn’t about me, it’s about Jesus. It’s about living His Word to the best of my ability. His Word is the rulebook for our life. As Christians, we need to follow what it says and not live our lives according to ourselves, our dreams, our motivations or our desires.

We are to live our lives helping and serving others, being the hands and feet for Jesus on earth.

This is why the above verse means so much to me, because I believe this is God’s heart and dream for mankind.

For those of us who say we love Jesus, we are to love what He loves and obey His Word by caring for the widows and orphans.

We must realize that God’s dream is much bigger than our own dreams. The gifts He gives us is not to be used for ourselves, for our gain or recognition, but for His cause and His cause alone.

We all can do our part and make a difference, even if it is just donating a dollar to help a hungry child. Any little bit would help.

Won’t you join Children International by helping them fulfill God’s commission here on earth by donating any amount or sponsoring a child today?