The Meaning of Love

As most of you know, Annie is in the third grade at the Environmental Charter School at Frick Park. All of the education there is infused with teaching the students to care for , respect and preserve our environment. It is located in regent square and Frick Park is their outdoor classroom. Right now it is only grades K-3 and it will add a grade each year until it is K-8. All of the classes go outdoors many times throughout the week for Environmental Science. They walk through the park and observe it's ecosystem and how the living and non-living things interact.

One day in December Annie's class was out on a hike and they came upon a homeless man laying on the ground. Anyone who knows Annie knows she is quite a sensitive little girl who loves people. When Alex was working in Oakland we would often meet him for lunch or dinner. If we ran into homeless people we would give them our leftovers or gift certificates for food...so Annie was familiar with the issue of homelessness and sensitive to it. But out on a hike with 20 third graders - it isn't smart to approach a stranger so the teacher wisely moved the class along. Annie came home that day absolutely broken hearted. She was just despairing over this man and that she hadn't been able to talk to him or help in some way. She just kept saying "mommy he must be so cold".

I started telling her about homeless shelters and the good work people in Pittsburgh are doing with the homeless. I told her to think and pray about what she could do to help. A few weeks later she came up with the idea of holding a blanket drive at her school to benefit the homeless. So with the full blessing of the principal at school Annie got up in front of the whole school and explained her idea. Since it was in February she called it the Have A Heart Blanket Drive. In just 10 days her classmates donated close to 50 blankets! On Valentine's day our family went down to Family Links' homeless shelter for youth in the lower Hill District and gave them the blankets.

It was amazing and Annie is already talking about expanding the drive next year to involve more schools. She is hoping to be able to donate more than 200 blankets next year. I'm attaching some pictures of Annie donating the blankets. Isn't she just amazing!

The Dream Lives On

Two years ago, Alex made this video to show at youth group. It is powerful and moving. I hope you'll take the time to watch it. How great that Inauguration Day is tomorrow - the day after we remember Dr. King and his legacy.

Alternative Holidays

Alex and I have been doing some talking lately about how, as our kids grow up we want to impart some different values about Christmas to them. Thankfully, we are living in a time where lots of resources exist to help us out. I thought I'd share some of them with you.

For a different take on Advent, check out Advent Conspiracy. It's chock full of ideas for how to spend the time leading up to Christmas focusing on the gift of Jesus rather than material gifts. It's is definitely suited for older kids but can still offer good ideas for families with younger ones.

For some alternative Christmas gifts, head on over to one of the following:

The Heifer Project

World Vision

Trees For Life

Church World Service

Changing The Present

Well that should get us started! It can be hard to turn the tide, I know that all too well. But it is a worthy endeavor and one that I believe honors the birth of Christ in a very authentic way.

Peace friends.

Get Smart and End Hunger

Here is a link to a site that will test your vocabulary knowledge and for every time you click they donate 10 grains of rice through the United Nations to end world hunger. Ten grains may not seem like a lot but the game is very quick and you could click many many times in a relatively short period. It's kind of addicting too...but I rationalized it by telling my self that it was for a good cause!!!

CLICK HERE

Two Words: A Mazing!

I had an experience with my children this week that blew me away. On Monday Alex and some of the students from church participated in The 30 Hour Famine After sleeping over at the church Monday night they went to the World Vision Distribution Center just outside Pittsburgh to pack clothing to be sent all over the world to people in need. Alex and I decided this might be a good way for us ti introduce the idea of serving in a more global sense to our own children. It was for a short period of time and we are familiar with the setting, so we knew they would be safe.

So Tuesday morning we met up with the group at church and headed out. When we arrived and got oriented we began the process of unpacking, checking, recounting and repacking boxes of clothes to send out. We didn't assign tasks to our kids we let them check everything out and figure out where they fit best. Here are some pictures of the results.

They all found a niche and worked their hearts out. Annie put together almost all of the boxes we packed. She had the volunteer coordinator show her how to do it once and she was off. Lucy lent a hand wherever she was needed, most often cleaning up trash or breaking down boxes for recycling. And then there was Jack...he sat on the table we were all standing around and took shirts out of their bags and ripped their tags off, which had to be done before they could be repackaged. His diligence and concentration amazed me...he is 3!!! There was no complaining, there was no whining. They even pushed the rest of us to get back to work after our break time. They worked hard for three hours and had a great time doing it.

It has long been a desire of mine and Alex's to involve our children in meaningful service from a young age...I admit I didn't think that would happen for another few years. I am glad that I was wrong. We are hoping to make volunteering at World Visions Distribution Center a regular part of our lives and we're also hoping that it opens all of our eyes to the very great needs that exist all around the globe.

True Confessions

I've been telling myself for years now that, politically speaking, I am a moderate. I have known for a long time that the word Republican found on my voter ID card no longer fits me. I'm not ashamed of that word or of many of the positions I used to hold...I view my life as a journey and a process and my personal political awakening has been an important part of that. While I do think that both mainstream parties in America have good things to say, I have to admit I'm no longer a moderate. I'm a democrat - tried and true. That isn't to say I agree with everything in the Democratic party's platform - there are several areas where the platform and I diverge...but I can no longer ruin and hide from the fact that I'm much more liberal than conservative in a political sense. If you want the specifics of how that plays out for me on the issues then feel free to ask.

One thing I can say without reservation is that I am one million percent against the war in Iraq. Before I go any further I want to be sure you understand that I support the people who are fighting this war...I support the troops and their families. I also love the USA and am tremendously grateful to live here and have the freedom my citizenship affords me. However, this war is based on lies and deception and has been from the beginning. I feel crushed under the weight of the reports of our soldiers and innocent Iraqis being killed every single day. I am grieved to see and hear the parents, wives and children of our fallen heroes as they wonder why. I wonder why as well. Why are we there? Why are people dying? Why aren't we getting Osama Bin Laden?

This is no longer about 9/11/2001. We aren't supposed to be the world's police force. We have become the bully on the grade school playground. In the next election please don't let yourself be swayed by pictures of 9/11. They will pull on all of our heartstrings...that was a terrible day and the people who orchestrated it should be hunted down and held responsible. But that is not what is happening in Iraq. I hated Saddam Hussein...and I am glad he is no longer in power. But I am not sure his capture and death was worth the devastation we have wrought in that country.

Here is a song by Pink called Dear Mr. President. It is harsh in some places - harsher than I would be...but there are some though provoking and meaningful sentiments in it as well. Please listen and don't allow your ideology to get in the way.

And please pray for peace.

A Little Perspective

I saw this link on another blog I read (ysmarko.com) and it blew me away. When you click on the link you are prompted to enter your yearly income and then it tells you where you rank in comparison to the world's population in terms of income. I was shocked. Suffice to say that I was in the top 2% and I don't think we make a lot of money. Here is the link, please try it out Global Rich List.

It is very eye opening to see how we rank alongside of the rest of the people on the planet. It is some much needed perspective especially during this season of buying and spending. I'm feeling humbled and so very blessed.

Escaping the Holiday Labryinth

With the holidays being jammed down our throats earlier and earlier each year I find myself more and more stressed about getting everything done in order to "enjoy" the season. Cards (which I missed last year), gifts, baking, decorating...it gets to be a bit overwhelming. I start out in the right frame of mind; thinking what gets done, gets done and what doesn't, doesn't. But before long I fall into that familiar trap of being too busy and pushed to enjoy anything I'm doing.

Well, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf this year. I'm trying to look at the holidays as THE gift and trying to escape the maze. Have you ever seen those experiments where they put mice in one end of a maze and cheese at the other? The poor little mouse can smell the cheese but has to figure out how to navigate through the maze to get to it. The helpless creature is constantly banging into walls and retracing its' steps to get it right. All for some lame piece of cheese it is almost too exhausted to eat at the finish line.

I am that mouse. And coming off as the quintessential wife, mom, friend, daughter, sister, aunt, hostess, communicator, gift giver, and cook is the cheese. So I work myself into a frenzy trying to transform my mouse into a super-model and I keep banging my heads against walls and never get to enjoy the real spirit of the season.

The only part of my identity that REALLY matters is that of Beth, the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ...child of the one true God. My worth and comfort have to come from that or else they really don't exist. I can pretty the house up, bake yummy cookies, write the best Christmas letter ever, buy everyone on my list the perfect gift and still miss the mark by a long shot.

On a day in Bethlehem long ago when a baby breathed it's first breath in the cool night air, everything changed. This year, I want to remember that. I want to remember the sacrifice that we celebrate at Christmas. And one of the ways I intend to do that is by giving some Alternative Christmas Gifts . This link will take you to World Vision's gift catalog page where you can be a part of something way bigger that the 10th anniversary of Tickle Me Elmo. You can (for not too much money) buy a share in a well that will bring clean drinking water to an entire village. You can buy a share of cattle that will provide a family with a way to make money. You can provide medication for a child orphaned by AIDS...and on and on.

Please consider doing this for at least one gift on your list this year. The big corporate toy makers won't really miss your money that much and the difference you can make in the lives of people around the world is immeasurable.

Peace.

A wanna curl up and sleep all day kind of day...

It is raining today...and it is a chilly 50 degrees. This is the kind of day I want to curl up in my down comforter and sleep as much as possible. Think my kids would go for spending the day in bed? HA!

Instead I have to clean out a closet, clean out some shelves, and do laundry. Ah laundry, the bane of my existence on this earth. 5 people make for a lot of laundry. I can remember growing up we had a laundry chute...and my mom must have hated laundry as much as I do because that sucker used to get backed up from the basement to the second floor!!! Maybe a laundry aversion is genetic? I'll go with that.

Maybe the girls and I will bake cookies later...I love for the house to smell good and those "air fresheners" are soooo nasty smelling. Nothing smells as good as either bread baking or chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

I find myself thinking more and more about people without homes as the weather gets colder and wetter. I think I can soothe myself in thinking that the homeless can manage better in the warmer months...when in reality homelessness in July is really no better than it is in January. But I am thinking more about these issues and praying for the people who are on the front lines dealing with these issues. It is so hard to just be one person sometimes. I wish I had more of me to go around so that I could have a greater influence in so many of the things that are on my heart. It is a hard lesson to learn that we are limited in our abilities...and yet not allow that to become an excuse for inaction. It is easy to become overwhelmed and then to assume that there are others who can take care of all of the problems. But we can't pass the buck eternally.

I think that it is wise to sit down and determine how much time you have to give...and be realistic. Right now, with my kids the ages they are, I don't have as much time as I might in a few more years. But determine how much time you have and where your priorities lie and then DO SOMETHING! Have influence in your sphere of life...let your voice be heard...get your hands dirty...invest in people and organizations that are doing the work you are committed to.

And for the love of all that is good, don't just write a check. I mean financial giving is needed and we should all give of our monetary resources...but too often writing a check becomes a substitution for getting personally involved. Giving money doesn't absolve us of our responsibility to participate tangibly in making the world a better place to live. So give and give generously of your money and time...it will never be a bad investment of either. Peace.