Cool Ways to Help :)

Just thought I would share these websites in case anyone is looking for great ways to give. :)

 

#1. Kiva

Kiva is so cool!! Basically, you lend money (INTEREST FREE) to people in 3rd world countries who are trying to start/run their own businesses and/or establish their homes. Kiva has pictures and individual stories for each person or group that is looking to receive the loan. Chris and I saw a newscast based on this website and they talked with some of the people who are seeking the loans. They all said that while they do want help - they want to be able to pay helpers back for the aide they receive. They said that it's so much better than getting a hand out because they can work for it and feel like they have earned what they receive and not like they are a burden to others.

You don't even have to give a lot - there are multiple lenders helping each person/group so even $20 goes a long way - especially considering that some of the loans are only for a few hundred dollars total.

I just think this is the coolest. Not only do you get to give to others but you get to help encourage a business or personal dream! :) Great idea!

Since it is a loan, you do get your investment back eventually, so if you want - you can keep turning right around and putting it back into the Kiva program.

#2. Compassion International

Most people have heard of Compassion International, but just in case you haven't... ;)

Through CI you can "sponser" individual children with a monthly fee. It's $32 a month and SO worth it. You get to write letters back and forth with your child and its so sweet! Chris and I sponser Gorle from India. He is 7 and he writes us letters and draws us the cutest pictures. Compassion provides you with information about the child and their family and you can also give monetary gifts to the family a couple of times a year around holidays or birthdays, etc. (They ask that you not do it too often because other sponsored children don't always receive them.)

Here's a tip - if you decide to sponser a child - there is a list of children who have been waiting for 6 months or more for a sponsor...START THERE!!! You couldn't possibly look at one of them and NOT sponsor one!

 #3. Heifer International

This is another really cool opportunity. My grandma does this in the names of each of her grandchildren every christmas. H.I. has lots of different outlets but the basic idea is that you purchase animals, etc. that will help families in need to survive continually. You can give from a big list ranging from chicks to sheep to bees to water buffalos and even trees and plants.

The coolest part: The families who receive a gift agree to donate offspring/seeds from their livestock/plants to other families who need help! So your gift keeps on giving and giving!! :)

Some of these animals are more expensive but you can also choose to pay a "share" of the cost of each gift.

#4. Universal Giving

Universal Giving is a really cool site. They exist to simplify giving. :) They provide information on lots and lots of charities and help connect you with whatever type of giving you are interested in AND - they don't even take a cut from your gift, it ALL goes to the charity of your choice! Pretty cool!

These opportunities are all so great and unique. They make me excited. :) Hopefully some of them were new to you guys and maybe something you would be interested in being involved in.

I Want to Be Like Her

Mrs. Joann McKinney is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever known.

Mrs. McKinney goes to our church. I have known her for most of my life. Aside from being one of my best friends grandmother, she was my sunday school teacher in middle school. She has taught and loved more people than I could even number. Isn't that perfect?! Everytime she sees Chris or me at church she smiles so big and gives us sweet hugs. She also invites us over for dinner every now and then.

This is one of my favorite things for 2 reasons.

#1 She can cook!! (and always has dessert)

#2 Basically the whole time we are there we hear countless stories of children and teens that Mrs. Mckinney has taught over the years. Chris and I know many of those students, but even if we don't, we get to hear about them. But the thing is, Mrs Mckinney isn't just telling a story about a person. The reason we love hearing her stories is because of what they tell us about HER. Man, she LOVES every last person she tells us about and it is so clear in each story. I am convinced that she prays for each one by name...in fact I know she does.

We have had so many encouraging conversations with Mrs. Mckinney. She is SO supportive of Chris's ministry at our church. Chris - knowing she would be the perfect person for the job - recently asked her to commit to praying for the families and children we would come into contact with through the Upward Basketball & Cheerleading program. He also asked her to try to find 10 others to pray as well. ....she found over 30. :) AND asked how much her sunday school class could give to help pay for children who couldn't afford to play. (Fortunately we have never had or been willing to turn anyone away).

One time, mrs. Mckinney told me and Chris that she just didn't understand why some people get so "set in their ways" when they get older. She said that she didn't see any reason to get so upset about what songs we sing in church or how we sing them - the important thing was that we were worshipping Jesus and reaching out to others! She said that if you spend all of your time pushing your feet down into the ground and get bitter just to stay where you are on things that don't matter in eternity - you will get left behind...and she wasn't planning on doing that. Wow! (She meant left behind in your ability to be a light to others and remain an active part of your church - not Left Behind as in the book series). :)

Mrs. Mckinney is everyone's encourager. I have learned so much from her and I hope that when I grow up ;) I can be as loving and prayerful and encouraging as she is. Everyone should know a Mrs. Mckinney...

Who He Is

I think that its hard for us to comprehend holiness most of the time (or maybe its just me and I should feel dumb right now). But there are a few things that have recently been on my mind on the topic.

In Isaiah 6 - the prophet Isaiah sees God on his throne and angels are around Him singing "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty"

...God IS holy.

I have tried to think to myself what that really means. The first image that comes to my head (probably because of the Isaiah 6 reference) is the image of everyone in heaven singing praises around the throne forever. Thats something that people in churches talk about often.

(I'm going to throw out there that when I was younger....ok maybe even now, I didn't really like that discussion. It might sound sac-religious to you, but to me it just sounded boring...and I didn't really think that heaven would/should be boring.)

So I started to think through this a little...

 I asked myself what I am passionate about. When I think about the things that "get to me", things that make my heart go crazy, I think of seeing people turn their lives around for the good and hearing children sing to Jesus and having a deep honest conversation with someone and making a positive difference in someones life and laughing and watching children light up when they are shown love and seeing teenagers choose a better path for their futures and being able to let people know that they are SIGNIFICANT and WORTHY of love and SO much more. Those aren't just words I am writing-  whether or not I am doing those things well, they are what I WANT and HOPE for - they are what "get to me". They are the deep desires inside me.

And do you know who has shown me those things? My Savior! He wants all of those things and ya know what....He actually CREATED all of those desires. WOW!

So lets go back to the throne again....can you even imagine being in the same room as the one who literally created us all? I think about how much I want all of those things I listed above and then I think of how much God must want those things...SOO much more than I ever could....and He wants them perfectly, without any selfishness. He is the one who is able to actually make them happen. He is the reason I can have the desire for good in my heart because he IS good - he defines good! 

God is in that passion that I feel inside of me, and when I think about standing before his throne with that perspective....how could I do anything but love and praise him continually?? Everything that I want in this world, He stands for, He IS!

Unless you can really try to wrap your mind around what it would be like to be in the presence of the creator and beginner of our passion for good, this might seem like a bunch of crazy ranting. ;)

I'm not saying that all we will do in heaven is stand around and sing praise songs, I'm just saying that no matter what we do....we will be with Perfect Love....and I can't think of anything better when I try to take that into the little perspective I might have.