Monday, February 04, 2008

More Thinking Outside the Box

I am contiually reminded of the importance of developing empathy in my children. I so desire for them to grow up to be compassionate and unselfish, seeking to serve others--with Christ as our ultimate example. He reached out to the poor and forgotten. In our society, we get so caught up in the beautiful and successful--those who have it "together."

One of the best ways to do this, I believe, is teaching my kids about other cultures and those who are less fortunate. When we learn about other people and pray for them, I believe it helps us be less focused on "self." I wrote a post called Thinking Outside the Box that talks about a couple of books we have used. Another book we have started using is Window to the World--excellent resource to teach about countries and encourage areas to pray for. It was the winner of the Gold Medallion in 2002 for Elementary Age children.

Another way to build empathy and awareness for other cultures and peoples is through mission trips. If you ever have a chance to go or take your family--do it! This could even be helping with a Habitat for Humanity house or traveling to help hurricane victims for the weekend. It is wonderful to go on trips oversees, but there are needs all around us.

Below are some pictures of a mission trip my husband took to Kenya last year. A picture truly is worth a thousand words! Hope it inspires you to "think outside your box."

















Kelly

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Window on the World! The kids and I read that with our geography lessons. I also use Operation World as a prayer resource for myself. It's an excellent book to keep up with what God is doing around the world.

Kimberly said...

What a beautiful post. It really does make me stop and think about what I am doing to encourage my own children to have hearts filled with compasssion and love for others. I need to do so much more.
Thank you for sharing your heart.
Blessings,
Kimberly

Natalie said...

Thank you for the reminder to pray for those less fortunante. Often times we get complacent and need to be reminded of the needs of others.

Cyndi said...

Oh how I loved this post! I am so thankful that God, by His grace, has helped us to begin to think outside the box and beyond our walls. I loved lingering over these pictures, too. SO, so beautiful. Kenya is really on my heart right now.

Denise C said...

What a beautiful post...from your beautiful heart! You truly have such a precious heart, Kelly! You and your family are a prefect example of being Jesus' hands and feet!!!
Many blessings to you my friend!

Kim said...

How are you? I read about the storm hitting Union... is everybody there okay! Praying for you guys now!

Kim

Susie said...

These books are going at the top of my list. I need to pass this knowledge on to my kids too! I loved looking at the pictures which could have easily made it to National Geographic. They are really good!

Shari said...

I love meeting other moms who think this is important for children to learn. When I was 18, I went on a mission trip. It changed my self centered teen-aged thinking more than anything else. So, I can't wait to send off each of my kids on their own mission trip experience. I can honestly say that it is still impacting me 20 years later. My heart for missions keeps growing and growing, because I got to go see some of the needs out there in the world.