Thanksgiving mishaps...

I thought it would be fun for people to share some of their horror stories from Thanksgiving's past... not like the time your dog died Thanksgiving morning, that's a little too horrific, I mean like the time you cooked your first turkey... Martha style! And decorated it with crab apples and rosemary and your sweet Mom carried it to the table on a plastic platter, and this happened....

I mean that kind of horror story.... hope you'll share, that way I won't feel as bad about mine...

By the way, we did eat it. I know, I know, but what are you supposed to do!

So the following is a public service announcement: "Ahemm.... when cooking a gorgeous, perfectly golden turkey for your adoring family this Thanksgiving don't place the hot turkey on a plastic platter, in fact just don't use plastic anyways, it's ugly and poisons you :)"
Just doing my part to ensure a really thankful Thanksgiving!

Give more presence this year!

I love how in life you go through seasons, and you don't have to be stuck with those feathered bangs or shoulder pads for the rest of your life! Thank God for that! Or roller blades, seriously, remember how crazy people were over those things! OK and remember finger watches! What the heck! There's a huge list of less than meaningful crapola that we've all purchased, so I won't beat you up with it (treasure trolls) here... but I will say that I'm super thankful that in this season of my life I'm so over being a consumer. Maybe it took the economy taking a turn for the worse, or maybe it was my Cute Kiwi saying to me (way before the recession hit), " you never really need anything, you just want something new." Oh man, was he so right! Or maybe it was God graciously showing me my pile of "good intended for others" next to my pile of "what you ended up spending on yourself." Not sure if you got the picture, but the later pile was huge in comparison... woops...

I'm sure there's a ton of you out there that are actually way more anti-consumerism than I am and could kick my well meaning little butt, but you gotta start somewhere and I'm gonna try to remove the woops from my spending vocabulary. I think I'm finally where it's not all about what I should do to be a good girl, it's actually what I wanna do, I'm growing up I guess. I'm enjoying so much what God has done for me in my life and the life of my family, that I don't wanna focus on myself as much, the things Jesus has asked me to do in His word I want to do because His love compels me! I guess the simple equation for me is "less time spending = more presence I can give" And no that is not a typo, the older I get the more I realize my possessions can be a burden, and it's not more stuff that we need. We being those in the western world wealthy enough to have a computer and Internet subscriptions to read this by... but what we need to give is time spent, being present in others lives, or it's actually giving to someone who is poor and in need. That's the stuff that's gonna last a lot longer than that laser pointer you just had to have!
So as you watch this video, which I hope you do, I hope it won't spark condemnation, but true gratitude for what He has given, and I hope you'll find joy in giving presence this Christmas season!

If you're looking for any ideas on way's you can give presence this year go to http://www.rethinkingchristmas.com and check out some of their great ideas!
And I hope it's clear I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty for spending money! Cuz let's face it, a coupon for a massage for Aunty Mable just wont cut it. But I do want to encourage everyone to think about stepping outside of consumerism, to be thoughtful about different meaningful ways you can give and bottom line: to enjoy doing it!

bye for now

Water for Christmas

Did you know... 1 in 6 people don't have access to clean water! That's 1.1 billion people... and we can do something about it!

I'm so thankful to have learned about this grass roots movement Charity: Water they are a group of selfless and committed people who haven't settled for just lamenting over the heartbreak and suffering in the world, they are doing something about it! and I want to share their wonderful mission with you and encourage you to make your first gift this Christmas to someone who actually needs it, unlike your cousin's boyfriends dog... just saying....

Water for Christmas is a movement bringing both awareness and real "on the ground" change to Africa's water crisis.

They see no reason for 4500 mothers to bury children every day! for lack of clean water. And in most places, clean water flows just below the surface. With a little help, local African communities can tap into safe, clean water. Helping provide clean water and basic sanitation is thus one of the first and simplest steps to ending water-borne diseases and their accompanying cycle of poverty in the world.

All money donated goes directly to charity: water who in turn uses 100% of their donations to drill for fresh water. They'd love for you to partner with them by making donations directly to charity: water, which you can do here.
All donations are tax-deductible.

"There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." (Denis Waitley)

Isaiah 58: 6-7: puts it this way- “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter? When you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Your $10 will buy clean water for one person for 10 years! 10 years people!! I can guarantee no one will be wearing that tie you bought them, or using those fuzzy slippers 10 years from now!

I've purchased my first Christmas gift today and I hope you'll do the same, in light of the economy these days, it seems many us have been awoken from our consumer induced coma and are seeing what is necessary and what is just plain ridiculous, I hope that we will all see how incredibly blessed and RICH we are, and that maybe the kind of fasting that God is asking of us is to not buy a latte today, or the 10th sweater to go with that pair of shoes you know you spent too much on, and do something with our money that counts!

Jesus said to love our neighbor as our selves... I'm pretty sure that if we didn't have clean water to put in our babies bottles or cook our pasta with we would do everything we could to get it flowing into our homes, lets be compassionate and do the same for precious people, created in the image of God who are suffering... remember it's not that we have to help, WE GET TO!

Now go and make me proud... after all who really needs another nose hair trimmer.

Confessions of a Bad Blogger Pt. 1

Last week, you remember... when I was grovelling , hoping someone was still reading, I said that I might tell you later why I had been such a bad blogger... so here it goes.

I guess you could say it all comes down to the fact that I starting praying for my block. Let me 'splain....
This summer our pastor and elders encouraged us to go for evening walks with our family and start praying for our neighbors, in an effort to really start loving our neighbors as our selves....
Well on my walks I really felt like I wanted to start setting aside a couple hours a week to make myself available to my neighbors if there was anything they needed prayer for or just anything in general, little did I know I wouldn't just be doing something a couple hours a week.

The very next week we got the news that my neighbor of 32 years, Frank was in the hospital with pretty serious cancer.
Frank was released a few days later and came home to no one. Frank was a very grumpy guy that had alienated everyone in his life, especially his family.
The first night Frank was home, he said he had never been so scared in his life, he said he had been bombed in WWII and never as scared as he was that night.
Our hearts went out to this man, who for most of my life had been mean, crotchety, vengeful and on rare occasions cordial...
Let me give you a little back round on the cordial part... haha
I remember about 12 years ago Frank yelling across the lawn to me, "Cynthia, you'd be a beautiful girl, if you just learned to push away from the table..."
Or there's the time I made him a pie for his birthday and he told me "Don't ever make me one of those again, I gained 2 pounds..."
So you get the idea.... but we offered to help get him sorted with getting his house clean, a live in care taker, meals on wheels, funeral arrangements... the list goes on... It ended up being much more than a few hours a week.
It was so amazing to see this man, who for most of my life, I had lived in fear of, linger when I hugged him or held his hand... or even tear up when he told me stories of some of his personal achievements or about the day his ashes would be scattered at sea.

I want to tell you more about my time with Frank before he died, but I'll leave it at that for today, but before I go I want to introduce you to a web site that is hosted by CATALYST an organization in IL that is trying to encourage people to actively engage in praying for their neighbors.
It's called Pray 4 Your Block, their aim is to encourage people to be actively praying for their neighbors and when you sign up a flag is raised on the map to encourage you and others of who is praying near you...
As you can see right now I'm the only one in CdM, actually maybe in Orange County, and I know there are many of you already praying so raise your flag!
This has been such an amazing season for our family, in actually doing what we believe and what Jesus asked us to, praying for our enemies, loving our neighbor as ourselves, we have been so blessed... but more on that to come....

Free Books Yippee!

So I told you a few months ago about a free book on Christian Audio.com called Crazy Love, and I have to say, and I know I'm no book critic, but it is one of thee best books on Christian living I've ever read. I was challenged to my core and so encouraged, but it's not free anymore, but whatever it cost, buy it, you'll thank me.

BUT there is another awesome book for free this month called Desiring God, Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper... Click Here to check it out, what do you have to lose... it's free and someone will read it to you! win, win!
Just doin' my part to get you cool free stuff... check ya later.