Tickets Available Now for Heaven Fest 2012

Tickets are now available for the massive Heaven Fest Christian music and worship festival, July 28th at The Ranch Events Complex, located in Loveland, Colorado. This years' concert theme is Adoption and Government; all proceeds from tickets sales will be donated to organizations that serve the poor, the exploited, the hungry, the thirsty, and the fatherless.

This will be our second year working the Heaven Fest event as Child Advocates for Compassion International. Along with the great music and food, many nonprofit and charitable organizations will be featured at Heaven Fest, making it a must-attend event if you are interested in learning how you can serve God through helping the "least of these".

We understand that water will be freely available at Heaven Fest, so be sure to remember to bring your water bottle. As it was a very warm and sunny day at last year's event, bring along plenty of sunscreen, a good shade hat and a rain poncho if afternoon showers enter the forecast.

We look forward to seeing and meeting you at this year's Heaven Fest!

Matthew Smith Concert Gains Sponsors for Compassion Children

Sunday evening, at the Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, Christian singer/songwriter Matthew Smith presented a free live concert sponsored by Compassion International.

The packed house enjoyed Matthew’s performance of his music, as he guided us through the nature of the songs and how they told of Christ’s love and glory.

Matthew told the success story of Michelle Tolentino, a former Compassion International sponsored child from the Philippines. Thanks to Matthew’s testimony, several children found new sponsors among congregants attending the concert, including a Priority child who had been waiting a long time for a new sponsor.

One hymn that Matthew performed, Goodnight, tells the story of dying well, as told from the perspective of a Christian on his death bed. Matthew’s performance of the song quickly captured my imagination, as I imagined one Christian’s perspective on death, dying, and inheriting life everlasting in God’s kingdom.

About Matthew Smith

Based in Nashville, Matthew Smith writes brand new music to centuries-old hymn texts. A founding member of the Indelible Grace community, Matthew’s work has drawn acclaim across denominational lines and is used by churches worldwide.

His re-imagined hymns have gained wide acceptance among both college students and churches at large, as they join people who desire to honor traditional hymns set to a modern musical approach.

Matthew's latest album, Watch The Rising Day, explores the tension of living in a broken world while awaiting Christ’s return and restoration of all things.

Matthew has graciously offered BearCares readers 15% off any purchase in his online store. Simply enter "BEARCARES" when completing your purchase (offer ends May 11th 2012).

OurCompassion: Christian Social Network for Child Sponsors

In the past year, we have met with hundreds of Compassion sponsors at sponsorship events and other Compassion functions. Much to our chagrin, we have discovered that many new and long-time child sponsors are not aware of the benefits of being a member of the free OurCompassion social network for Compassion Child Sponsors.

This video highlights a few of the many benefits you can enjoy as a member of the OurCompassion (OC) social network:

Becoming a member of OurCompassion.org will add a whole new dimension to your Compassion child sponsorship journey. You will be have access to a worldwide network (think Facebook) of thousands of Compassion child sponsors around the world (currently 26,605 sponsors are members of the OurCompassion social network). Make new friends and share your child sponsorship stories, photographs and letters with other sponsors, worldwide!

By "Friending" other OurCompassion child sponsors, you will have access to a wealth of information concerning most everything having to do with child sponsorship. You will have the opportunity to post journals about your child sponsorship experience and get feedback from other sponsors.

OurCompassion sponsors can share pictures of their sponsored children via their personal gallery.

OC'ers can also view letters and pictures from children that other sponsors have posted.

Best of all, you will have access to a wealth of information on where to get the best free online "mailables" that you can send to your Compassion kiddo along with your letter.

If you decide to join the thousands of Compassion sponsors worldwide as a member of OurCompassion, please search for us and "Friend" us, when you setup you new OurCompassion.org account. Have fun and hope you join us online at OurCompassion.org.

A Tale of Two Brains... and a Light Fixture

One thing that happily married couples understand is that men and women are fundamentally different. In the Tale of Two Brains, Mark Gungor provides a humorous look into how men and women are wired a bit differently. For many married couples, the realization that men and women are truly different is the first step toward understanding why your spouse behaves the way that they do.

Men truly do think differently as compared to women. Take for example, when Bear decided that it was time to change out some lighting fixtures. When she added "install new light fixture in guest bathroom and downstairs powder room) to my honey-do list, I was a bit puzzled. (Ladies, if you want to learn how to get your husband to do things around the house, click here.)

I hadn't noticed any problem with the lights. Was there some kind of electrical problem that was causing the light not to work? Were sparks flying? Is there a fire hazard? Maybe the switch failed? Was they recently damaged in a bathroom mishap? I tracked Bear down and asked her exactly why the lights needed to be replaced.

Recognizing that she was speaking to Jim the fix-it guy, she explained that the current fixtures were old and outdated (32 years isn't that old), as well as being a poor match for the current decor.

Oh.. now I got it. Looking at the light fixtures from her perspective, it now made sense to me why they needed to be replaced with the new ones that she had purchased. Years ago, however, I would have argued with her, saying nothing was wrong with the current light fixtures and that she was basically nuts to think so.

When I take the time to see and understand things from my wife's perspective, I gain a better understanding of her. As a result, I avoid unnessary conflicts with her and gain a greater understanding of how she sees the world and what is important to her.

When you are with your spouse, do you take pause and attempt to see things from your spouse's perspective? Do you really understand your spouse's nature and view of the world?

Many couples are surprised to learn that they really don't have a good understanding of their spouse's behavior and/or true nature. This can lead to many misunderstandings, conflicts and other issues that can cause many problems in a marriage.

In a future post, we'll take a look at some tools you can use to gain a better understanding of your spouse's behavior.

Easter 'The Thorn' Event: Nearly 1000 Children Sponsored

Another successful Compassion event occurred Easter Sunday at Denver University's Magness Arena, with the presenting of John Bolin's The Thorn.

Nearly 1000 children (!) were sponsored, thanks to the team efforts of Thorn Production and Compassion International staff and volunteers who planned and worked the event.

John Bolin introduced Compassion International's Child Sponsorship program, telling of the impact that Compassion's Childs Sponsorship program has had on child poverty in Africa.

Compassion Child Sponsorship Program graduate Jey Mbiro, spoke of his first-hand experience as a child living in poverty in the slums of Mathare, Kenya. Jay told a compelling story about how Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program enabled him to find and give his life to Christ. He successfully impressed upon the audience how important his Compassion Sponsor was in supporting him as he progressed through Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program. Jey is now a successful Christian Music D.J. and Speaker for Compassion International.

The Compassion team that woked The Thorn event were led by Event Producer, Singer/Songwriter Eli. As we all were basically "slammed" signing up new Compassion Child Sponsors during The Thorn event, I was only able to snap a single photograph. If you worked or attended the event and have photos of other Compassion team members working the event, we would love to hear from you.

Many children found new sponsors and now have a fighting chance to be released from poverty in Jesus's name. A glorious Easter celebration!