I want to take you on a little journey to Africa today. . .

Specifically, to a region in east Africa. . .

To visit the Vizunda people.

“The Vidunda people’s ancestral land lies in the foothills between two mountains of Tanzania. On the north, Mikumi National Park borders their homeland. In the past, sugar planters gradually usurped the plains, forcing the Vidunda people into the mountains. During WWII, enemy soldiers massacred large numbers of Vidunda speakers who were hiding in a cave. In recent years, government officials have forbidden farming on top of the mountain. This history of exploitation and abuse has made the Vidunda people very wary of outsiders.

In this language group, more than 60 percent affiliate with Christianity. However, most still fear witchcraft and engage in many kinds of animistic rituals along with their non-believing neighbors. Many Christians still hang amulets on their children to protect them from evil spirits and curses. Because they’ve been hearing Scripture in a language foreign to them, most Vidunda people have little idea what it actually teaches.

The majority of Vidunda speakers still live in fear of spirits rather than experiencing the redemption and freedom they could know in Christ. Non-Christians can’t see much victory or joy in the lives of believers. The Scriptures in their mother tongue will offer believers tools for deliverance from the bondage of fear. It will also support personal spiritual growth and provide a solid foundation from which to reach out to others.” – OneVerse

The Vidunda people are part of 340 million people who cannot read the Bible in their own language. They continue to live in constant fear of spirits, practice rituals, and are fearful of the evils of witchcraft. While many are professing Christians, the living breath of Scripture, the food that grows us and matures us in Christ, is not available to them.

“for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:13-14

In America, where Bibles pepper our homes and are easily found in the pews in front of us every Sunday, we cannot understand the richness we have at our fingertips. But 340 million people yearn for the Bible in the language they speak, yet they cannot because there is no such thing.

I am NOT okay with that.

Are you?

You may be familiar with my children’s allegory about the Ocean Dwellers. The focus of that story was to introduce my children to the realization that not all people on Earth are able to read the Bible in their own tongue. At the same time, I wanted to bring into focus to my readers and visitors the necessity of partnering with other Christians to make Bible translation happen for our siblings in Christ around the world.

I have partnered with OneVerse because I am passionate about being used by God to bring His word to peoples all over the world. This year, specifically, my fellow OneVerse bloggers and I will be using our blogs to work towards raising money for the Vidunda people to gain even more scriptures in their language. So. What does this mean for you?

First, you will be hearing a lot more from me about OneVerse and the Vidunda people. Daily I am praying that those who visit Wisdom Begun will be touched and moved. Second, I want to challenge you to make a monthly donation towards supporting Bible translation for the Vidunda people. Look at these pictures, see the faces of your fellow Christian brethren, and pray to see if this is something you should be a part of.

Friends, I am so excited that I am a part of this. I cannot go to every country to minister to each and every person, but I can use the money God has given me to give back to giving a priceless gift to my brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is amazing! Isn’t it?!

Make sure to head over to the OneVerse Blog to read more about the OneVerse Bloggers team and to read from my fellow team members why this project is so important to them.

Friends, do you remember how the Ocean Dwellers were so happy to finally have the gift of a Bible translation they could understand? Sure, it was just a story, an allegory to teach my children, but it tells of a very real problem. Did you know that:

“Today, nearly one-third of the world’s language groups representing 340 million people are still waiting for God’s Word in a language that they can understand clearly.”

The Christmas season is here. Most of us are in the gift-buying mode and I know that we would rather give our friends and family truly meaningful gifts. What if you could do one better than just meaningful and give a gift that also brought the Word of God to peoples who do not have a Bible translation in their own language?

You can.

OneVerse is offering a very easy way to help you give this year. Their Gift-A-Verse program allows you to donate towards Bible translation in the name of your loved ones. For $26, you will receive in the mail one Gift-A-Verse card that you can take the time to write a special note in before mailing to your recipient. Each card represents 1 verse to be translated. It really is easy and you have four great designs to choose from.

Let me encourage you to really, truly, give from the heart this season. What better way to celebrate the gift of the birth of The Word than to give the Word to our brothers and sisters far away?

If you decide to participate in OneVerse’s Gift-A-Verse program this Christmas, please let me know in the comments section.

Mothers, how many of you can remember your first ideas, dreams, and goals of what motherhood would be about? Can you catch those faint memories of what you imagined being a parent would be like? Some look back fondly and laugh a little, knowing their ideals were not realistic at all. Myself? I will be honest with you, those ideals from the past weigh me down and feed guilt into my heart.

The me of the past thought: My kids will never fight. Never watch tv. And will always say “yes ma’am” with big smiles and cheerful attitudes.

The me of the present knows: My kids DO fight, DO watch tv, and forget to say “yes ma’am” at times. Many times they have cheerful attitudes but sometimes they have downright rotten attitudes.

The me of the past thought: I will always keep a clean house. I will be the perfect homeschooling mother. And I will never raise my voice to my children.

The me of the present knows: The usual state of my house is messy. I struggle with homeschooling and there are times when I just don’t like it. And I raise my voice.

Maybe you can relate. Your ideals may have been drastically different than the ones I listed here but you had ideals nonetheless. Did you find that your goals flew out the window when real life hit?

Friends, this is okay. The truth of the whole matter is that we – you, your husband, and your children, as well as those around you – are all sinners. Those phony people you dreamt up previously? They were perfect people. Perfect people do not exist on this earth and there have never been any, save the Saviour.

There are two ways to deal with the crushing realization that life will not go the way you had planned. The first is how I have dealt with it in the past: let your seeming failures crush you into depression and a sense of giving up. The second is the way God would have you deal with it: run to the Saviour. Cling to Him and acknowledge that your job is working with imperfect, frustrating people in a world that is broken. Take all the burden of perfection off of your shoulders and place it where it rightly belongs: on the shoulders of the King of Kings.

This will free you. Freedom from unrealistic ideals. Freedom from following a pattern of hopes that will never work out because you do not have the ability to follow them. Freedom to allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify you in your imperfection.

“As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one. . . “ -Romans 3:10

Friends, bow the knee today. Acknowledge that your goals were unrealistic and not biblical. Look at your life now, as messy and dirty and unlikeable as it may seem, see the real, and go from there. Re-work your goals for you and your work so that they acknowledge the necessary saving work of the Savior.

Do you feel weighted down and burdened because your life has not turned out the way you thought it would? Do you desire to work God’s way through your imperfectness?

Photo credit: Custom0305

I published this over a year ago but I wanted to share with you one of the reasons why I will NOT be gardening this year. Head on over to visit my friend Connie at Smockity Frocks to see what she is doing in her garden.

Many of my readers and friends enjoy GA Henty books. Because of this, I wanted to make you aware that Amazon currently has many of these books available for free as Kindle Editions. You do not have to have a Kindle in order to view these. You can use a Kindle reader via your computer or iPhone to read them. The prices may change, so you may want to download as soon as you can in order to take advantage of this great price. Who can beat free?

Hope this helps someone!

Thanks to Money Saving Mom and 5 J’s for making me aware of this.

I am pleased to announce that A Full Table is up and running. (Remember that whole changing gears post?) So. While you will still find me posting here once in a blue moon, you’ll mostly find me over at my new food blog digs. See you there!

I realize I have already posted three reviews today – Sorry! – but I would appreciate it if my readers would help me by filling out this survey. The results of this survey will help me gauge whether or not the new deals blog I have in the works will be helpful to those who visit Wisdom Begun. Thank you so much for filling this out.

Time 4 Learning’s online Preschool program is an online area for your little ones who aren’t quite ready for the more advanced educational programs. By signing in with their own user names and passwords, your preK child can do various games and activities that give them more practice in the following areas:

• Rhyming
• Weather
• Feelings
• Human Body
• Space
• Days of the Week
• Manners
• Time
• Money
• Nature
• and more

Depending on the topic, your child may play or watch a Memory Match game, storybooks, short animated videos and other games and activities. This was definitely a fun program for my children and they could have spent a lot of time on the computer with them. The parent’s center provides Lesson plans and tests, a Getting Started Guide, worksheets, and other ways to help you be involved in this online learning experience.

I am not much of a fan of online programs, especially for the younger years. I believe that these young ones do better off the computer, using their five senses and time spent with Mom or Dad on specific learning tools. I would not spend money on a monthly subscription for Time 4 Learning, even though the program was fun. But for those who want to introduce their child to using the computer and Internet, or just want some fun games and activities to reinforce learning, then this may be perfect for you.

Time 4 Learning is currently priced at $19.95 a month for the first child in a family. Each additional child is $14.95/monthly. This price is a deal breaker for me, personally. I can’t imagine a family shelling out that much cash per month. I am rather frugal and if I were to spend this kind of money, I feel I would be better off using it towards books, supplies, or field trips for my kids.

Time 4 Learning’s website can be found here.

*I was given a 30 day subscription to this program as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. All opinions contained therein are my own.*

Coming soon – yay! – these kinds of posts will be moved over to my brand-spankin’ new deals blog. Until then, I thought I should share this information for others who are frugally minded. Count every penny, ladies (and gents!), because it all adds up. I will definitely be taking advantage of this deal. And if you keep reading, you just might find a giveaway at the end!

Until March 14, many of the favorite brands in American households are teaming up with Kroger to provide some really great deals. This event is called the Kroger Cart Buster Savings event and you can read more about it when you visit the Kroger homepage. (By the way, this includes ALL Kroger Family of Stores) Everything from Duracell batteries to Green Giant Frozen Vegetables to Yoplait yogurt to Pampers – etc., etc. – are being reduced. As you browse Kroger, be sure to look for the little yellow tags that will alert you to participating products. You can see a full listing here.

There are many brands participating so I encourage you to head on over to Kroger and see what kind of deals you find there. This might be an especially good time to stock up on items while they are on sale.

Now. If you would like to win a $25 Kroger gift card to use towards helping out in the mealtime budget, all you need to do is leave a comment. One comment per person! Giveaway ends March 17, 2010 at 11:59 pm.

*I was graciously provided the information on this event, as well as a $25 gift card to Kroger and a $25 Kroger gift card for one of my readers, by Kroger and General Mills through My Blog Spark.*