Somewhere to give

Remember the black fly in Alanis' Chardonnay?  I don't really think any of this is irony or coincidence, but Ms. Morissette's words seem to pop up in my head and scream out of my mouth a lot lately.

It's been interesting.  It seems like since I started the "Somewhere to give" thing on this here blog, I have been attacked in every way possible...

I have never been so stressed about my job and what will happen with it

My long time friends have lost interest in keeping in touch

I have never stressed so much about the year to come

And for the most part I want to say that God has helped me handle what comes my way, but Saturday it all sort of piled up.

And then I had a completely unattractive freak out melt down just like Kstan said I would.  And my unreal husband had multitudes of patience with me...like I can't even imagine being able to be so patient and kind to someone who is being a complete freako.

Saturday D and I headed out for our long run.  And my knee wouldn't have it.

Do you understand that I have been running a lot of mileage since May and I have never, NEVER, had knee problems?  I've had breathing, cramping, gastro, toe, blue hands, foot cramp, migraine problems from running, but never knee problems.

When your knees don't really work, it's sort of hard to run.  Newsflash.

We pushed it up a big hill, and that's when I thought it might give.

I only made it 5.25 miles.

I have 7 weeks until I have to run 26.2 miles.

So, perhaps you see where a freak out would come in?

In looking at my running coach's recommended sports medicine website, I think they get me.  "There is no greater frustration than to have the desire and fortitude to perform, but not be able to because of pain or an injury".

I am frustrated.
I am anxious.  Anxious that I have to take time off of running with only 7 weeks to finish training.
I am mad.  Mad that I ever tried to train for a marathon.

I'm just being honest.  I think I can do that on my own blog?

And so, in honor of my pity party, we will give to others.

You guys have been FANTASTIC!  I have gotten donations to Lifehouse, I have heard about you people sponsoring kiddos through Compassion and other organizations.  I am so happy.

And so if you haven't found something that melts your heart, maybe one of these is for you.

OneHope sells wine.  The wine you choose determines which charity the money will go to from childrens hospitals to breast cancer to autism.  I happen to know for. a. fact. that a lot of my readers are wine drinkers.

The Houston Food Bank (or your local food bank) will take the cans of food you bought and never used, they'll take your time as a volunteer, and they will feed millions of people in the city.  I think the letter we got from our food bank said $1.34 can feed a person a meal on Christmas.  Scrounge up some change and help end hunger!

For my active readers- we worry so much about the details of our shoes- stability, arch support, flexibility, weight.  But there are millions of people who go without shoes every day.  More like 12 million, which is how many pair of shoes Soles 4 Souls has given away since 2005.  They will take your new or gently used (read those shoes you bought to run in and hated them after 3 runs) and donate them to people who don't normally get to wear shoes.

Casa de Esperanza de los Niños—the House of Hope for Children—is a safe place for children in crisis due to abuse, neglect or the effects of HIV.  As most of you know, kids are expensive.  They have a lot of needs, and the House of Hope for Children can use all of our help.  You can find a list of things that they need here from car seats to diapers.

You rock.

Somewhere to give

This weekend Devin and I made some breakfast and coffee, had some friends over early Saturday morning, packed them into 2 cars, and went to do some work at Lifehouse Houston.

Lifehouse Houston is an organization I've talked about a lot.  It's a home for girls ages 12-24 who are pregnant with no place to go.  They can live at Lifehouse throughout their entire pregnancy and up to 3 months after they have their baby.

I wish I had pictures, but I didn't feel right about walking around snapping shots of those sweet girls and their baby bellies.  Most of them aren't exactly thrilled with the situation they are in. 

Which is heart breaking. 

Because when I think about the time when I am pregnant with our kiddo (in eleventy billion years), I see it as a really sweet and exciting time.  I think about my mom and Devin's mom teaching me lots of things about it, our families being really really thrilled.

I can't imagine it being anything other than that.

I can't imagine being kicked out of the house by the very people I would hope to be the most excited.

But these girls are living that situation.  And they move in with 2 house parents they don't know, into a room with 3 other girls, into a house full of rules they're not used to.

I'm positive that it's a very lonely feeling.

But Lifehouse also teaches them about God's love, about their options, and helps them make a plan.

It's all for good.

But that doesn't mean it's easy.

Our group split into guys and girls on Saturday.  The guys worked their hind quarters off in the yard.  With only 2 guys on the property (both house dads), that yard has to be overwhelming.  D guessed it's about 2 acres.  Raking, gutter cleaning, edging, weed whacking, weed killing.  It was a LOT of work.

The girls decorated both houses for Christmas.  Yesterday Lifehouse had an open house for board members, past residents and potential donors.  We helped get the homes ready for that.

That was really fun for me- talking to the residents while they cleaned (They have cleaning chores on Saturdays) and we decorated.  D and I are in a smaller space- we don't have room for a tree or many decorations for Christmas, so it was fun to have a place to decorate to the max.

This year, Devin and I sort of decided to wait to buy gifts for our Angel Tree kid to see if we could do anything for Lifehouse.

I asked one of the house dads how we can help the residents for Christmas.

He said they each have a sponsor who will get them a gift.

I was happy to hear that.  But I still have this pull in my heart to help them out with something. 

So we're going to give this a try and see what God does...

When the guys were working in the yard, they only had one small lawn mower (for 2 acres!).  Lucky for them, they had 5 guys working, but like I said- there are only 2 house dads living there and they have tons on their plate already.  Not a lot of time to do yard work.

One thing I would love to do for them is give them another / new lawnmower.  Maybe one that mows a little more at a time.  Ideally a riding lawn mower, but we'll see what we have to work with.  It's a lot of grass to cut. 

Another thing I heard them say is that they used to be able to do "family nights" where the house parents and residents would all go out and do something.  Specifically go out to eat or go to a movie.

And so if you would like to help with one or both of those things, I know they would be so so thankful.


The best way(s) I have seen this done - you can either email me (top left corner has a link) for my home address and send things like gift cards, etc. or you can donate to my paypal (email me for the account) and I can provide the gifts for Lifehouse, or if you have a lawnmower laying around I'll come get it.

I am sure all of you have a lawnmower laying around.

Unfortunately, I am not crafty, so I don't have anything you can buy to "donate" to this.


I don't have anything to give away for this if you donate.


It's just going to have to be a donation, and while I realize this is far fetched, I am just trusting that God will do what he wants with this.

Much love and Happy Monday!

Somewhere to give

Hey, you know that homeless guy on the corner next to where you work that you never give money to because you think he will spend it on beer and cigs?

I do.

I see lots and lots and lots of homeless guys working their corner.  The regulars on my commute

and I see lots of them wandering the Medical Center every day

and I see some with signs that say things like, 

"I don't want your money, I just want a job" 

or

"Lost my job, need $89 to make rent this month" and he marks it off and rewrites the amount with each donation

or

"Family taken by ninjas, need money for karate lessons"

I love their humor.  Would I be making jokes if I was humbling myself and begging for your pocket change while you look down at your cell phone pretending not to see me?

If you have a heart for those guys who have the humility to stand there and ask for your grace, this one is for you.

And it's cheap and easy and you can do it year round.

As of late, Devin and I have these in our cars

The ziploc ($2.00 for like 40) has a small bottle of water ($2.00ish for 12), PB crackers ($1.99 for 8), fruit snacks ($1.80ish for 10), and a little booklet from our church telling them about Jesus and how they can come to our church and find life.

I realize they are asking for money- most of them.  Some of them say anything will help.  Maybe this will.  Or maybe this will just give them a snack and something to read while they sit on their perch.

You can choose to put a few dollars in there if you want, too.  We're going to see how this goes first, but I love to give them money too.  If you are iffy about what they're using the money for, the great thing about these is they get whatever you are comfortable with putting in them.  Get creative.  If you have kids, this is a great way to show them how to love on other people.

So for about $8 you can feed 10 people.  Show some love.  Show that you see them.

Somewhere to Give

I think that everyone probably knows someone who knows someone who is going through a rough time this year.  Maybe?  Jobs are being cut left and right in all industries (including health care...which was supposed to be recession resistant) and parents are having a harder time putting toys under the tree.

Christmas giving, to me, isn't just about the ones who are living in crazy poverty year round, even though they hurt my heart so much.  To me, Christmas giving can be for the families whose parents sacrifice their needs daily if it means meeting their kids' small wants, who are just making it- living paycheck to paycheck- but making it, but they just can't do Christmas presents this year.  I love to give to them, too.

There is an organization called My Two Front Teeth who provides kids with a gift on their list- list meaning they probably only want one or two things.  Most gifts are under $25 and it's super convenient- you can pay for it online and they'll get the gift, wrap it, and deliver it.  It's sort of like the Salvation Army Angel Tree, but they do all of the work for you.

A little more about the Salvation Army Angel Tree.  This is the tree you see in the mall with the angel ornaments on it.  You pick an age, a girl or boy, and you get to go shop for the items listed (usually something like Barbie, clothes size 6x, books), then you bring your things back to the table at that tree and they deliver the gifts to the kiddos.  My family has always done this, and Devin and I adopted the tradition as our own too.  It makes for a fun date- pick your angel in the morning, go shop for them together, deliver your toys, get some coffee, drive around and look at Christmas lights, and talk about how full your hearts are.  Just an suggesh.

If you are more the type of person (does that make sense?) who likes to be right in the middle of the giving- doing the work, buying the needed items, and delivering them, and even if you want to be sure of where your items are going, the KSBJ Giving Tree is for you.  This is for Houston/College Station residents for the most part I think.  The way the tree works- people can nominate someone they know who is having a rough time and needs some help this Christmas.  Then, people (like you) can browse through the needs and find one that fits.  The person who nominated the family will coordinate everything and if you want, you can deliver your items to the family with the coordinator.  

You will find everything from needs like this:

My best friend was recently let go of her duties in the army. So at this point she is struggling to provide a beautiful Christmas for her two precious boys.It would be greatly appreciated if you could help this family and her youngest celebrate his first Christmas.

To this:

She is a single mom of 4 that works full time and goes to school full time. she works very hard and is still struggling.

To this:

Shes a 83 year old woman that helps 3 homeless men and is a really nice person.  Her daughter that lives with her has cancer and she takes care of her 10 year old grand daughter.  

Check out the KSBJ giving tree and find someone that really hits your heart where it hurts.  

Hoping everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving!
 

Somewhere to give

My favorite piece of mail comes in a cream colored envelope with blue print that shouts:

A LETTER FROM YOUR CHILD!

Yep.  This is my favorite kind of mail.  It is filled with colorful pictures our kiddo drew, ideas and questions from them, and most importantly, it lets us know that they are still around.

Devin and I sponsor 4 beebs through Compassion International.

From left to right is Lisa (6), Navina (11), Nepal (8), and Budra (7).  Nepal is a writer to the max.  We get more letters from him than any of them and he is a master flower artist.  The girls love when I send them sheets of stickers.  Budra is the sweetest face you will ever set your eyes on.  This morning, when Devin took this picture, I made him kiss them all before he left for work.  

We love them.  I hope to meet all 4 of them someday.

Although they don't all live in the same villages, they are all from India where poverty, hunger, and disease run rampant.  All 4 of their fathers only get to work sometimes and most of their mothers do not work.  They live on about $1.50 a day.

My straight black coffee costs more than that.

You can choose your child, or choose a country and Compassion will select one for you.  You get to write them letters, send small gifts, send them Christmas and Birthday gifts through the organization, and Compassion makes it all super convenient.

You can go here to see how your money will be put to use.

When we got married, we decided that this would be a way we would use some of the money God gives us every month.  I don't know if it is for everyone, but I think if children and culture and communication speak to your heart, sponsoring a child might be for you. 

But if it seems a bit too long term for you, and you still want to help, Compassion has plenty of options for you:

-You can donate as little as $10 to help their pig income project in Rwanda

- You can help improve classrooms in Bolivia

- You can help to build a kitchen in India

- You can help to build proper bathrooms for Kenya

- And another one that gets me.  You can donate to give a woman proper prenatal care and counseling, a safe birth (most of these women give birth in unsafe places resulting in multiple baby deaths), and care for children up to 3 years of age.

If you decide Compassion is right for you and have any questions, please please please email me (link on the left sidebar).  I would love to hear about it.