"Anxiously Engaged in a Good Cause"

I feel like I have neglected talking much about my challenge this month. 

Probably because I am striving to live it- there is not a lot of extra time! 

But I assure you I have been busy serving and doing what I can to get involved. 

THANK YOU to all of you who downloaded Bianca Merkley's Song and donated to the great cause.

If you still want to help- you can- we will make sure the money is put towards helping someone in need this Christmas.  

I did a How Does She post here on what we were doing for Hurricane Sandy- here are some of the images from Joshua Brown's video. 

What's my next project?

 Well, I have been busy these days planning and gathering things to take to two different orphanages in Thailand. I'll share more later next year.

 But for now I have to tell you that I have been inspired and corresponding with a woman named Allyson who has a family blog: http://www.carefreetimelessness.blogspot.com/ where she writes about her adventures traveling around different parts of the world, including Thailand, and serving for extended periods of time with her husband and FIVE kids! I loved going through her blog and reading about the experiences- it reminded me of visiting orphanages in Latin America with my family as a kid.

 If you get some time- go ahead and flip through some of her stories and images on what she has done... such a neat experience. How lucky are those kids to grow up with that experience?

In one of her first posts she writes about what she wants her children to learn. She writes:

I have been thinking a lot about what I want my kids to come away with from our home.  What ideas out of everything I teach them do I want to stand out?  Things that when they see, or feel or come across will be very familiar to them and the feelings in our home.  This is what I came up with.

To be anxiously engaged in a good cause.
To render simple acts of service
To be thoughtful and kind to the one- to love individually
To find the joy in all things
To be courageous in standing for truth and right

Isn't that awesome? I just may use some of this in our family mission statement!

Then she ends with this: 

So, with our whole theme of being deliberate, I am going to engage them in a good cause tonight.  We are going to rake leaves at an elderly lady's home that we have done the last couple of years-she has such a beautiful piece of property with an apple orchard as far as the eye can see.  So one experience after another it will help them see that that is what we do.  We help those in need.  And then when they are older and away from home they will naturally look for moments to serve...and their hearts will yearn for it because it will be a part of them.  I like how simple it is.  All it requires is an idea, some rakes, sweatshirts, and hot chocolate at the end.  Whalah! 

That is what this month's challenge is all about.

LIVING FOR OTHERS. 

May your holiday season be bright and shared with others you love.

xo,