a hand full of hair and a heart full of lessons
I sit. Hands in lap, chin up, heart churning. My hair, wet and combed, is held at the nape of my neck by a band securely holding the 12 inches of length grown out over the last several years. These inches were with me when I cradled my son Sawyer for the last time. They graced my neck as we anticipated Quinten’s arival
Hunger (hands response)
If your heart has been stirred by this topic of hunger than I hope that the ideas on how to help the hunger (both locally and internationally) mentioned below will help motivate your family into action. I realize this list is limited so I would encourage and ask you to leave a comment if you know of other great resources or opportunities.
Hunger (heart response)
Yesterday’s post was pretty heavy. The statistics of the hunger needs are very discouraging and can leave us feeling overwhelmed. However, I don’t believe we are expect to solve the problem. We are told in the Bible that the poor will always be with us (Matthew 26:11). What we are told to do however is to stand up for the poor (Psalm 146:7) and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30). I realize that if ANY of us had neighbors dying at the rate of 4 kids a minute we would be overwhelmed with urgency to help. This week I realized that if these foreign families lived here in the United States under the same conditions they are in now (no clean water, no healthy food, sleeping on the ground. . .) CPS woud swiftly come in and take the children away. These families may live far away, but they are still our neighbors. I urge us to respond in love rather than to walk away in dispair. Below I have outlined some starting points for your heart.
Hunger (head knowledge)
Yesterday I shared my experience in Costco that almost brought me to tears and my heart on the topic of hunger. Today I want to share with you the first of three posts that will give you a starting point for how to begin to understand the hunger need (Head), some ideas on ways to guide your family to an internal response (Heart) and practical suggestions on how to respond outwardly (Hands).
Because I believe that you cannot fully address a situation until you understand it, lets begin by immersing ourselves in some facts/statistics and videos that will help us get a better understanding of the Hunger needs both domestically as well as internationally.
Be love and other lessons learned in Costco
I almost cried in Costco today. It took me by surprise and brought me to a new level of thanksgiving.
Actually, allow me to back up and tell it from the beginning: I was in Costco today, list in hand (or actually in phone) and two kids in toe. I am not pressed for time, so we browse the Christmas isle admiring the beautiful decorations and large Nativity Scenes. I take note as Ashlyn points out EVERY SINGLE princess themed item on display noting what was to go on her Christmas list. Rounding the corner I spot a familiar sight: several women standing, hair in nets, ready to offer samples of food.
The trickle affect
Every action has a reaction and every choice creates a consequence. These are lessons we are teaching our kids and it is true for us adults well. I received this email last week from Mom 4 Life blog reader Michelle and was really encouraged by her words as it reminded me how we are all learning from and encouraging each other when we make positive choices.
The gratitude project (debrief)
Thank you for all the wonderful comments that were made on our facebook page and blog posts this week in response to our Gratitude Project for making our family more aware of the need for clean water. I got some wonderful ideas from you on how some of you are working with your family on [...]
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The gratitude project: Water (our response)
I have been so blessed to see the developing hearts of compassion in our children through this process of educating them on the needs of others while empowering them to make a difference. As I mentioned yesterday, only minutes after watching the videos about the water crisis, they were compiling ideas on how they could be a part of the solution. We brainstormed several ideas and once we developed our plan, they continued to talk about it throughout the day fine-tuning the details while dreaming and smiling as they envisioned the community that would be impacted by our gift. I heard, “I am so excited about our plan!” more than once along with “How do they build the pump?” “How many people do you think it will help?” “Mom, I am worried what they will do for water in the winter, will the pump still work?” Their young minds were working hard and their hearts were growing with compassion!
The gratitude project: Water
Yesterday I shared my heart on the topic of gratitude and my desire to help our children gain a greater sense of appreciation for the many ways that they are blessed and provide opportunities for them to bless others.
My plan is to intentionally focus our attention as a family to areas of our life that we can appreciate and ways that we can reach out to help those who are in need. What better place to begin than with one of life’s most basic needs: water.
Is our family rich?
There are a host of things that I want my children to learn before they leave our nest. Among them is the attitude of gratitude.
I believe that being thankful is among the most important things we can master and pass on to our children. I believe that a thankful heart can bring light to any dark place. I believe that being thankful helps to ward off feelings of entitlement, greed, selfishness and pride. I believe that we all can nourish our spirit with feasting on gratitude.