"Cool" Resume...

Compassion has pushed me way out of my comfort zone. I wasn't always, but now...

I am a public speaker.

A guitar player.

A foreign traveler.

A slum and batey frequenter.

A thin paper item hoarder.

A multi-correspondent.

A discipler and encourager.

A concert attender and backstage worker.

An event planner.

A hostess for foreign students.

A blogger.

A social networker?

Yikes. That's a pretty cool resume for a thirty year-old white woman.

It's funny how becoming a sponsor and advocate through Compassion International has made me a much more interesting person. Not only did many of these things seem improbable for me at one point, many of them sounded downright ridiculous...and I must admit, it is still sometimes hard to believe.

For me, stepping out of my comfort zone to serve God has taken on a new meaning. It has meant stepping out of the mold I had pretty much made for myself and out into the liberty, the sweet release of all the wonderful things that God says I can be. In the past, I limited myself; there were just certain things that were outside of what I could or would ever do.

I'm awfully glad that God threw that nonsense out the window.

I will admit that I have done all of this kicking and screaming...which is probably why the change has taken place gradually over the course of seven years. Yes, I became a Compassion Sponsor in October of 2005...we're coming up on seven years with our dear Jeffry. However, many of the changes have taken place in the last year following my sponsor tour to the Dominican Republic in November 2011. That trip signaled the beginning of an inward renessaince of sorts...an awakening of my mind to see that God was not satusfied with my ordinary service. He has called me to be remarkable, extraordinary...a reflection of who He is.

So what is He?

Surprising? Yep.

Boring? No.

All this to say that this afternoon I had a bit of a meltdown.

Which resulted in the consumption of several packs of white-chocolate Reese's cups.

I finally gave in to Facebook a few years back. I now enjoy it a lot. A few months back, I started Tweeting (much to the consternation of my 16 year-old niece). Apparently, I was just trying to be cool. Just this month, I took up blogging. I was starting to feel comfortable with my social-networking triumphs. But God had to stretch me a little further.

Pinterest. Pinterest?

I recieved my assignment for Compassion's blog month today: to create a pinboard for my sponsored children. When I first read it, I put down my iPod and basically decided that I wasn't going to participate. I had figured out enough social media. The more I thought of it, the more the prize weighed in my mind...

If I create a pinboard, and you guys repin it, I can win up to $100 for my sponsored child. Not for me, you understand, but for one of them. I started thinking about how long it would take one of their families to come up with $100. I have three sponsored kids right now that could use a bed and one of them lives in a tent in Haiti.

I am pleased to announce that after several botched attempts, I have successfully created my first Pinterest pinboard.

My "cool" resume now includes:

I am a pinner.

Will you visit my Pinterest page? I'm sorry that you won't find anything especially cool there. You'll find my cool sponsored kids and this really cool pin that if you repin, will help send a prize to one of my sponsored children. Here is my link: Kim's Pinterest page . For every repin, I'll be entered with another chance to win. The picture says "Pin it for my sponsored child."

In I Corinthians 9:22, Paul said he would become all things to all people so that he might win some. So I'm trying to become "all things" to raise awareness of what God is doing through Compassion. I'm not comfortable with all this. I'm telling you, it is pushing my boundaries.

But I'm willing to bend. I'm willing to break. I'll let Him be the potter and I'll be the clay. He may have to drag me kicking and screaming, but I want to do my best to go where He leads in trust.