These past months I’ve read a lot and learned about different people, and their ministries. It has been a time of refreshment and challenge, especially in the area of parenting the precious children in my home. Seeing how the love, compassion, joy and discipleship that starts at home, and springs out from there..

One of the books I’ve read is  Too Small to Ignore, Why Children are the Next Big Thing, by Dr. Wess Stafford, with Dean Merrill.

In this book, Dr Staffords tells of his childhood in West Africa, from the nurturing African village where his parents served as missionaries, to the horrors of the Missionary Kids boarding school  he was sent to at the young age of 6. 

It is so hard to understand why God allows children to suffer such wicked things, but I am thankful for what HE has produced in Dr Stafford through that suffering, a compassionate heart towards the smallest, the weakest, and those broken.

I loved reading how Dr Stafford’s heart has been moved on the behalf of the smallest of humankind, and was very encouraged that he clearly stated that compassion for the least of these starts in our homes, with our own God given children.  If you are interested in learning more about the heart of the man who leads Compassion International, I encourage you to read this book, or listen to the audio recording which is available at iTunes.