Third Time Is A Charm
This is the third Monday Rosely has been on this site. Just in case you’re addition deficient, that’s over 7 months that Rosely has sat without a sponsor. She needs you.
Now called M.A.D Monday or Make A Difference Monday we highlight a child from Compassion International who has been waiting to be adopted for over 6 months.
Sponsor Me Monday is my day of the week to highlight a Compassion International
child who has been waiting to be adopted for over six months. We now have the entire week covered: You can also check out CrucialEncounter on Tuesdays, CaffeinatedFaith on Wednesdays, ShawnW on Thursdays and ShalomExistence on Friday. Amazing group of bloggers, here to make a difference.
Today we’re going to get this cutie, Rosely, adopted. Rosely is five years old and from the Dominican Republic.
Rosely makes her home with her stepfather and her mother. Making beds is her household duty. Her stepfather is employed as a laborer and her mother maintains the home. There are 3 children in the family.
Rosely is not presently attending school. Rolling a hoop and listening to music are her favorite activities. She also attends church activities and Bible class regularly.
Go ahead and jump in. Do something out of the ordinary today. Click Rosely’s picture and that will take you to her adoption page. The rest is smooth sailing. Your heart and her life will have been drastically changed.
If you would like to choose another child from Compassion, click the box to the right or the banner at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, when you adopt Rosely, leave me a comment or shoot me an email and let me know you have.
We Rock!
RagamuffinTop Challenge
I’m kinda in a rush to get out of here, so the video says it all. If you’re new to this, click the RagamuffinTop banner in this post to find out what it’s all about. As a part of the RagamuffinTop Challenge, we call this Saturday Success!
Buying new scales today. I hope the old one hasn’t been wrong in the wrong direction :-).
Hey Fat Boy!
First of all, a big THANK YOU to Kris for the new header image up top. She also made the new Testimony Tuesday banners. I’ve never met her in person, but she is obviously a talented individual with a good heart. Go visit her blog and tell her so.
Today, with Friday Reflections, I would like to reflect upon another side of my childhood. Actually, to say I would like to is a lie, but I feel the need to share a “not-so-pleasant” part of my life.
My name is Toby. Most of my childhood I can remember wishing my name was Steve, Jimmy or any name that would not bring on a fat joke. I was a fat kid, and therefore the subject of some cruel jokes and name-calling. Let’s see…there was Tubby, Toby the tuba, Toby Toby 2 by 4, which I believe was followed by…couldn’t fit through the bathroom door. Yeah, there were some talented 
poets who made use of their talents to make me feel less than them. I can remember their names and I can see their faces. Isn’t that sad? Somewhere between 20 and 30 years has passed and I can see those kids like it was yesterday. I’d like to think I have been through the forgiveness stages and have put that all behind me, but I think I will always carry a part of that.
It was always words. I never was beat up…probably because the kids that were the name callers, were also those who would have cowered in a corner if the same treatment, or any kind of confrontation came their way. I had a friend and his name was Tony. He, fittingly enough, was a fat kid too. There was one kid who, I think, planned his day around making us miserable. He was good at it too and all the kids liked him, so he was never alone. His name was Darren. I remember Darren very well. It was third grade and Darren is just about all I remember about it. We lived in a small town in Illinois, but my Mom was being transferred to Indiana. I recall Tony and I putting up with Darren for a long time and then, right before we moved, Tony and I got some redemption. I’m not sure what got into us, but I can still feel the feeling I had as Tony and I knocked Darren to the ground and hit and kicked him while he was down. I can remember the shocked look on his face. I can remember turning around to walk back inside and seeing the looks on all the kids faces. I moved, so Darren obviously never bothered me again, but I will venture a guess and say he never bothered Tony again either.
Well, kids grow up and out of the making fun stage, right? You might think that, but I would like to invite you to a place I call reality. This went on well into junior high school. I remember being in 7th grade and getting the same treatment, just by a different set of kids. Brian was the bain of my existence then. Several years later Brian, like Darren, stopped making fun of me. Only this time I was alone, but I still recall, very vividly, having Brian in a headlock, punching him in the head. I didn’t get off so easy that time though. I also have clear memories of those 5 swats with a paddle and the 5 days of detention that came with that.
I remember in 8th grade being asked out on a date by Cindy. Cindy was freakin gorgeous and I was on cloud nine. I remember Mom dropping me off at the movies where Cindy and I were gonna go. Mom left, but Cindy never showed. Instead, on Monday, Cindy and all her friends greeted me with laughter as it was all a setup. In all of what I must have been thinking, I remember Cindy’s friends laughing much harder than she was. I can still see Cindy’s face. She felt bad, as she should have, but Cindy was a good girl who gave into the pressures of some mean people. I imagine that’s why I fell for it so hard. I may have thought Cindy was out of my league, but to me, she was nice and wouldn’t do that.
You would think a pattern is being set here. Kids make fun of me and I take it until I just can’t take it anymore, but my fight with Brian in 7th grade was the last fight I have been in since then. Well, I was in one other, but I was paid to be in that one and it only lasted about a minute cuz I was gettin my butt whooped…that’s a story for another day.
I got made fun of until I lost weight. I have no doubts that had I not lost 70 pounds between 9th and 10th grade, they’d still be making fun of me. But moving to high school was the beginning of new opportunities for me. I had lost weight, looked good and I knew it. I wanted everyone else to know it also. This started a chain of events that would shape many years to come. Instead of being picked on and laughed at by all of the girls, I was dating them. Looking back, I was so overwhelmed by this new life, I didn’t know what to do with myself. My first “real” girlfriend, Stacy…Man, I remember Stacy. Her step Dad sure didn’t like me much :-). I put Stacy through some stuff and I won’t go into all of it here, but she was just the first of many, many women I began to abuse. No, not physically, but I was an emotional murderer. I was making up for lost time. There wasn’t anyone making fun of me anymore.
Rather than turn this into a biography, just know that being a fat kid impacted my life in more ways than even I can imagine. There are parts of that fat kid still existing today.
- Sometimes my heart is hard, cuz I don’t want it bruised and it takes me forever to truly trust anyone. Most of the time it takes too long. Most of the time people have moved on while I’m still trying to figure it out.
- Sometimes my heart is weak. I hurt so many people in retaliation that I will probably spend the rest of my life feeling their pain. I cry at the drop of a hat. I’m crying now. Some may consider this my punishment or my debt for the sins I have committed.
I don’t see it like that. I am forgiven for all of those sins. Two years ago I welcomed Jesus into my heart and the fat kid died….The mean and hurtful kid and adult died. I went into the water a sinful and corrupt man, but came up clean. Why do I still carry those memories? Those memories are my passion; they are my compassion; it’s what drives me to ensure my kids don’t go through what I went through; what drives me to make sure they don’t treat people like I was treated or like I later treated others. They are gifts that God has given me to positively impact the lives of others and to shine His light on the lost. The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted and they will be humbled…Isaiah 2:12
I’ll end with this, as it represents how I feel for each one of you:
Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Filling Out The Week—With a cause
It’s taken some time, but I have now completed the week of blogs with Thursday Throw-In. Every other day there are specific causes or interests and I needed a day where I can post random stuff that’s either on my mind or that I find interesting. Check out “Daily Interests” to the left for the weekly run down, make a few clicks and get involved.
For the first Thursday Throw-In, we’re going to try and help Andy find his Dad. His story says it all. If you can help or know someone who knows someone who can, email one of us. Here ya go:
So. Here I am again. Embarking on a seemingly impossible journey to pursue the whereabouts of my “Bio-Dad”.
I was doing some writing today, and realized that this is a pretty huge turning point in my life. I know he hasn’t been here for 25 years, but I know people have flaws. I know people have stories. I know people have circumstances. I know people need forgiveness. Who knows if what my mother told me was true, but the fact is, I constantly wonder. What is he like? Does he miss me? Does he have health issues I need to know about for my own well-being? Is he really where I get my temper? Is he really as good looking as my mother told me he was? Did he really leave because he didn’t want a second child? Is he married? Has he started a new family?
I don’t know. Maybe I am setting myself up for a disaster. But, I feel like I would rather have a beautiful disaster than constantly wondering, pittering around the Earth with bitter feelings that I do not even know are justified. The opportunities are endless.
What I know:
I know my “Bio-Dad’s” name is Donald Francis. (His middle name might be Andrew)
I know my “Bio-Dad” is probably 46 or 47 years old.
I know he rides, or used to ride Motorcycles.
I know he had a father who was an amazing pointalism artist, also named Donald. (I believe)
I know he has brown eyes.
I know the last time my mother saw him, was in Dallas Texas, or somewhere near there.
If he’s anything like me, he is stunningly good looking with a great sense of humor. If he’s anything like me, he thinks about me, at least once a day, just like I think about him. If he’s anything like me, he’s hot headed, but also a friggin genius.
If anyone knows anyone who knows anyone who might be able to hunt this guy down, or help me out, that would be great. We could launch a full forced internet force team if anyone wants to get on board.
I have prayed and prayed about it, and I feel like I at least need some closure. Maybe he does too? Heck, I’ll take the chance. Who knows, maybe he turned his life around like I did. Maybe he is a completely awesome dude now, and wants to teach me how to ride a motorcycle? I don’t know.
Comments? Suggestions?
iphone HERE I COME
I have had several rants about how I chuckle when I see that someone has paid $600 for a phone. I just can’t imagine EVER doing that. But I also understand there are people out there that have busy enough lives to make it worth the money. I just don’t have that much going on :-).
I was searching Ebay, trying to find an ipod touch, when I noticed an extreme advantage of living in Germany. Take a look:
That’s right, it says 1 euro…that’s about $1.60. No hidden fees….i still pay 39 euro a month, but get unlimited internet use and now have the equivalent to the ipod touch. Plus, if I had anyone to call, which I do NOT :-), I could call them. The way I see it, I’m saving $800 ($600 for the phone and $200 for the ipod). I know, that’s a stretch, but it makes me feel good. Pretty sweet deal, huh?
Wednesday Worship
Continuing Wednesday Worship with a powerful song and video. Enjoy!
Attempting to inspire and motivate each day of the week.
Testimony Tuesday–Andy McMahon
Today we start Testimony Tuesday. I apologize in advance for the lag at the beginning and end, but what’s important is in the middle :-). We start with an amazing testimony of how Christ works in the lives of the lost from Andy McMahon. You can find more about Andy at www.crucialencounter.com. Thanks Andy for sharing your story!!
