Texas Hill Country Bluebonnets

Hi there.  Long time no see.

Have you ever felt uninspired?  Overwhelmed?  Maybe (slightly) depressed?  Listening to God's nudges, winks, suggestions, and when He yells in your heart, but choosing to ignore Him?  Yeah, me too.  Hence the month hiatus from this blog.

And to tell the truth I don't have much to contribute now, either.  At least not in the way I should, which is to share the suggestions I have for serving your fellow man, woman and child.  Oh I still have the suggestions.  Just not in the mood to share much.  Am I being led in another direction? 
Huuummmm..........   Something to consider.

Give me some time and I'll be doing more.  Of whatever I'll be told to do by The Big Guy.

Maybe you can pay attention and do more of whatever it is you're supposed to be doing, too.

I'll give you some more time.

Serving Those Who Served Us

Lil – Mother – Camper 9 years old  

(Father, Air National Guard, Disabled)      

Thank you Camp Corral! Our daughter attended the Nova-4H Camp Corral last week. She really struggled with anxiety last year at school due to her dad’s injuries, and being with other kids who understand exactly how she feels without having to talk about it was HUGE for her! She’s already looking forward to next year!

I am a very big fan of summer camp for kids, especially kids that usually have no means to travel away from home, or children that are ill or have  other  difficult circumstances in their lives.

Camp Corral is a 501c(3) organization founded by the Golden Corral restaurant chain as an extension of their long history of support to veterans and their families.  In 2011 they launched their first camp to offer children of veterans and a life-changing week away.  It is a free summer camp for children of service members, with emphasis on children of parents that are wounded, injured, disabled or fallen military veterans. These camps are possible due to the restaurant corporation and to the generosity of donors that contribute to fund raising activities sponsored by the restaurants during April and May.

There are 21 locations across the U.S. holding camp sessions during summer 2016.  Camp offers opportunities for children to do things many have never done before.  Communing with nature and making new friends is only a part of it.  Military kids have the opportunity to share with and build relationships with other kids experiencing the same type of stress at home.

At Camp Corral children can participate in a wide variety of activities such as archery, fishing, ropes courses, swimming and horse back riding.  

The camp headquarters are in Raleigh, NC, but the activities are held at host camps owned by other organizations, such as the YMCA as well as church-based facilities.  Each camp site is accredited by the American Camp Association and has been selected to provide campers with a caring, nurturing and safe environment.  Staff is highly trained at each individual site.  

Volunteers and financial donations to the camps are very welcome.  The Camp Corral website has great information about their organization and how to choose a good camp for children.   www.campcorral.org

We're all a bunch of whiners.

"Let us not grow weary in doing good"  

  Galatians 6:9

A few of you that read this regularly might notice I haven't posted in a couple of weeks.  
I just haven't felt like it. 
I usually get a strong nudge in the direction I'm supposed to write .  Not this time.

Today I was thinking about why I haven't been writing.  I've had a lot going on.  I'm busy and distracted.  A weekend trip to stay with our godsons.  I broke my toe while I was there.  Our newly adopted Dachsund sisters need a lot of daily attention and I am still adjusting to that.  Then I messed up my knee and had to add chiropractic and massage to help me not hobble quite so much.  Several friends have lost family members which added to my already lengthy prayer list.  Close family members are having some struggles that need our attention.  My husband and I are trying to find a house to renovate and we have a major yard renovation project pending.  Church and social events.  Errands to run. This morning at 7:45 we had to rush one of the Dachsunds to the ER because she was having a seizure.  And on and on and on.  Blah blah blah. Bottom Line:
** That's my privileged life.**

I'm a whiner.

Sound like your life?  Are you like me and have absolutely no reason to complain?  I have a loving family, a marriage others aspire to, a beautiful home and expensive car, an embarrassingly full closet, and plenty to eat and water to drink every day.  If you're reading this you probably not only have enough to eat but a pantry and refrigerator full of stuff that you've already forgotten you bought.

Since this is Lent the focus at church has been being more like Jesus.  The topic yesterday was on compassion.  It was a great reminder that there is always, always someone with a worse story than yours.  You have the power to rewrite their stories in your head into something positive, which could change your thoughts from anger to compassion.

That person that scowled at you this morning?  Rewrite your story about them.  Instead of taking it personally and yelling at them, you could say "She might be worried about her teenager that didn't come home last night."  The funniest suggestion made was rewriting the story of the person on the freeway that screams past you, swerving in and out of traffic putting everyone in danger.  Instead of cussing and screaming, rewrite the story that he must really have a bad case of diarrhea and need to get home to the bathroom.

I realized that what I am supposed to share is the wake up call that I had.  We have so much to give.  Even if you have very little money to share, you do have your compassion.  As you've heard many times, we are the richest nation on the planet.  And even if you don't have much by comparison to your neighbor across town, you have infinitely more than those that are homeless, the children that only eat what is provided at school Monday through Friday, or those that live in the poorest countries of the world that are slowly dying of malnutrition.

Show compassion and love in whatever way you can. 

 That will go a long way toward making the world better, stronger.

Don't be a whiner.

A new life of love at New Life Children's Home

New Life Children's Home International - Guatemala

Continuing to share information about children, 

but expanding from children 

with ideas to serve others.....

 to others with great ideas to serve children.

I have several friends in Lubbock, Texas that are preparing for their annual one week trip to Guatemala to work for New Life Children's Home in Villa Nueva, near Guatemala City.  NLCH falls under the umbrella of an oversight organization based in Houston.  New Life Advance International is a faith based interdenominational international mission organization that equips leaders to work in ministry and to serve children in crisis.  Their tag line is "Advancing the Kingdom of God through New Life in Christ".  For information about all the organizations and missionaries they support, go to:
www.nlai.org

When I was on staff as the mission coordinator at our church I learned a lot about NLCH and other organizations that are dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults that live in deplorable conditions.  In May of last year I wrote in this blog about Servant's Hearts Ministries which is another favorite ministry of mine that also lives and works in Guatemala.www.servantsheartsministries.com

There are orphanages and children's schools all over Guatemala (an unfortunate need) but I am very proud to know the NLCH directors and some of their missionaries.  They are from the Texas South Plains area.  You will be hard pressed to find a more passionate group of people dedicated to caring for and educating children.  

There is an amazing amount of poverty in Guatemala. Children come to NLCH for a number of reasons, but often it boils down to parents not being able to properly care for their children because of poverty and lack of education.  New Life Children's Home literally offers these children a new life ....always plenty of food, clean clothing, private and Christian education, fun and friends, and most importantly, constant love.
From their site:NEW LIFE CHILDREN'S HOME

Orphaned, abandoned, and abused children have found a refuge and safe haven at New Life Children's Home in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. NLCH is truly a “home” where the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of children are addressed.  

Special attention is given to introducing them to Jesus Christ, nurturing and discipling them in a relationship with Him, and providing each child with a sound academic Christian education.

Since 1976, NLCH has been blessed with the opportunity to help turn children in crisis to children in Christ!

God is in his holy Temple. 

He is a father to orphans.
He defends the widows.
God gives the lonely a home.
-Ps. 68:5-6a (Intl Children’s Bible)

The school not only educates the 55 children from the children's home, but because of the excellent quality of instruction 400 children of all ages from the local community attend the school.

Mission teams from around the U.S. visit during the year and help with general maintenance of the facilities and small project construction.  Medical care is provided to the children, and a dentist and assistants from Lubbock provide much-needed dental care for the children and staff.  A highlight of all the trips is interacting with the children at evening meals.

A small part of their Statement of Faith is to work for social justice and relieve human suffering. 

"Our ends:

Children at risk will be rescued,

Leaders will be equipped,

Communities will be transformed...."

Bee a Sweetie

I heard about this little girl in Austin, Tx that fascinates me.  Her name is Mikaela and at the age of four she was encouraged by her family to get involved in Lemonade Day. 

Lemonade Day is an annual event held in many cities that empowers youth to become tomorrow's entrepreneurs by teaching them how to start, own and operate their own businesses using a lemonade stand.  They learn the fundamentals of operating a business as well as lessons in success. 

As the web site says, two major things happened to Mikaela during this process:  She was stung by a bee, twice, and her Great Granny Helen in South Carolina sent the family a 1940's-era cookbook with a special recipe for flaxseed lemonade, sweetened with honey instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners.

She became fascinated with bees and learned how important they are to our ecosystem. BeeSweet Lemonade was born when she realized a great lemonade recipe could help the bees she has come to love.  It's sweetened with local honey and her mantra is "Buy a Bottle, Save a Bee".
www.beesweetlemonade.com

Every year Mikaela's honey-sweetened lemonade sells out during youth entrepreneurial events where a portion of sales is donated to organizations fighting to save honeybees.  Mikaela is 10 years old now, and besides selling her lemonade she leads workshops on the plight of honeybees and educates others, especially children, of their importance.

Even the business experts on the TV show Shark Tank recognized Mikaela's potential with SweetBee Lemonade. Daymond John invested $60,000 to help her take the business to the next level.

The original flavor BeeSweet Lemonade with Mint is sold at Whole Foods Market, an Austin-based natural and organic foods vendor, as well as at a number of other retail businesses and restaurants, food trailers and other healthy food locations all over Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.  Her product line also includes other varieties: Lemonade with Ginger, Lemonade with Iced Tea, and Lemonade with Prickly Pear.

The BeeSweet site states that this young business person is "Mikaela Ulmer: A social entrepreneur, bee ambassador, educator and student."  There's a video where Mikaela talks about the importance of being passionate about what you believe in.  We could all learn this lesson from 10-year-olds, I think. 

God has given each of us a gift that can be used to serve.  The gifts he gives aren't necessarily a passion to go to the food bank and work; it may be the passion and skills to start a business that repairs tires, provides legal advice, design couture clothing, or save honey bees.  He gives talents for a bigger purpose that all fit into his plan.  

He just asks us to follow him. 

 And be passionate.

Origami is paper but is it also water?

Paper for Water

Bringing water and the Word to the thirsty

 one piece of paper at a time.

I'm continuing my theme of miracle-working children that raise awareness and money for the betterment of the world.

According to their web site Katherine and Isabelle were 5 and 8 when in 2011 they raised their first $10,000 to fund a water well in Ethiopia.  They took donations for hand crafted origami.  Since then over $700,000 has been raised with help from a volunteer force.

Over 90 wells have been funded and are providing clean water in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, India, Mexico, Uganda,  Peru, and Zimbabwe.  They partner with other organizations such as faith-based nonprofit Living Water International www.water.cc and the Presbyterian Church to accomplish their goals.  In the U.S. they have joined the organization Dig Deep in digging wells on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico. www.digdeep.org

From their site: www.paperforwater.org

"The mission was born out of the desire that two little girls had to help other girls in 3rd world countries who do not get to go to school because they spend their days hauling water.  Isabelle and Katherine also learned that a child dies every 20 seconds from unclean water and they wanted to make a change."

The parent organization of this 501(c)3 is Keiki International Foundation based in Dallas, Texas.  Other projects include educating others, especially children, about the world water crisis and helps children in developing countries gain access to clean water and sanitation.

From Presbyterians Today's January/February 2016 issue,  Isabelle says: 

"Jesus was right.  If you ask it will be given to you. 

 We just need to ask with a sincere heart."

Brae's Brown Bags

I am honestly blown away by the number of organizations that have formed around people's desire to help others.  Many of them by young people, which is even more interesting.  I've written about others in previous posts. 

There's a thirteen year old boy named Braeden Mannering that lives in Delaware.  His "Brae's Brown Bags" foundation (3B) has given over 4,600 sacks of food to the homeless since 2013.  Braeden is the CEO of this nonprofit, and his mother Christy is the COO.
www.braedenquinn.com

Braeden won the 2013 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge www.letsmove.govand was invited to the White House for the Kid's State Dinner.  First Lady Michelle Obama asked him how he would pay his experience forward to benefit others.  He came up with the idea for Brae's Brown Bags.  As Braeden says on his web site:

"Our mission is to provide healthy snacks to homeless and low-income individuals.  Every bag includes a letter from Braeden, contact information for additional services who can provide further assistance.  Three healthy snacks (each one is below 180 calories) and a bottle of water.  Our belief is that every person regardless of their financial situation deserves to have access to healthy food. This helps to balance the paradox between obesity and food insecurity."

As his work continues, he and his mom have expanded into different directions, with specialty food bags, Brae giving educational talks, especially to youth, about food insecurity and raising money for 3B as well as other hunger relief organizations.

 You may have seen him on TV recently because Michelle Obama was so intrigued with the work he does for the homeless that she invited him to be a guest at President Obama's January 2016 State of the Union address.

If a 13-year-old child can accomplish this much in such a short time, what can us adults do with 

just a little bit of ambition?

Next week watch for a post about Paper for Water, "Bringing water and the Word to the Thirsty one piece of paper at a time."