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Guest Blog: My Defining Moment

May 6, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Street, Across Our Table, Mom Matters with 4 Comments

I did not grow up in a Christian family.

Actually we really weren’t much of a family at all.

We were individuals simply co-existing because our culture mandates it. Like every child, I longed for acceptance & unconditional love, but I never felt a lasting sense of belonging & being wanted. Emotionally I felt like an orphan. For as long as I can remember I have had an “orphan spirit”. No matter who was around me I always felt completely and utterly alone.

The summer after I graduated from high school, I found out I was pregnant and the reality of just how alone I was took on new meaning.  My parents wanted NOTHING to do with another “kid” so I was told to either I terminate the pregnancy or I had to get out.

To say I was terrified would be an understatement.

Feeling alone in a place you call home is one thing, having NO home is another thing entirely.

Not knowing where to turn, I found myself downtown at a clinic, prepared to terminate the pregnancy.  Unlike now, when you can simply schedule the procedure and have it done within a matter of hours, back then it was a two-day process.  The first day you came in and talked to the medical staff, watched a video and the next day you came back in to have the “procedure”.  As I sat in that office watching the video, silent tears streamed down my face.

The nurse came in and sat with me quietly for a few minutes.  And then she said the magic words…”you know that you DO have another option.”  It was exactly what I needed to hear. In that moment, it was as if I was given permission to say yes to continuing that life inside of me.

Baby Bethany

That one conversation forever altered the course of my life.

I gave birth to my daughter, Bethany, on October 3, 1990.

What an amazing gift becoming a mother is.

Being able to pour into my child all of the love, compassion and nurturing that was withheld from me was a defining moment that redefined how I viewed myself and the world around me.

Barriers that I had built around my heart to protect myself were no longer necessary.

It’s impossible to find the right words to do it justice.  All I can tell you is that in the months…and eventually years that followed her arrival into my life, the holes that existed began to fill up and the deep ache from my family wounds began to fade. As a mother, I learned how to give and receive unconditional love through the gift of my daughter’s life.

Very soon my Bethany will finish her sophomore year at Northwestern and will be getting married to an amazing young man.  Although our journey had many peaks and valleys, everything has had a purpose and is just how God divinely planned it to be.

Not long ago, I was introduced to a book by Richard Rohr called Everything Belongs. You can find the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Belongs-Gift-Contemplative-Prayer/dp/0824519957 The poignancy of the title struck me the moment I heard it.  In much the same way, the realization that everything in my life up until this moment has been in preparation for the work I am doing at Southside.

Kimberly & Bethany

Today, I am the Executive Director of a non-profit organization,

Southside Life Care Center in South Minneapolis.

Simply put, our mission is to serve

women and children in crisis.

I love the simplicity of that definition, because it leaves a lot of room for us to really build a program around each woman who walks through our doors that is specific to her needs, to her circumstances.  Among many other things, we help women facing unplanned or crisis pregnancies, like I myself faced many years ago.  But we don’t believe in the idea of a one size fits all program.   Our goal is to have a lasting impact in their lives and to do that, we really have to have a solid understanding of what brought her to us in the first place.  Everything we do is about building relationships.   And every once in a while, we are in the right place at the right time, and another young woman receives the gift of “permission” she was longing for and the comfort of knowing she is not alone.

Southside Life Care Center Staff

But there is so much more to the story!

We are so much more than a free pregnancy test and a 30 minute counseling appointment.

We are in the business of providing tangible solutions to young women so that they CAN choose life.  We work hard to break down barriers and create opportunities that many of the women we serve wouldn’t find anywhere else.  This is not about coercing or bullying women into continuing a pregnancy, it’s about giving them the resources, the support system and the tools they’ll need to be successful whether they parent or make an adoption plan.

Do you know a young woman in need of resources?

For more information about Southside watch our YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQOfOsc3r_M

Or visit our website at www.southsidelifecare.org

Are you inspired to make a difference?

Here are the top 3 ways you can help Southside further the mission of helping women and children in crisis:

1. Pray & Spread the word that there is HELP at Southside - forward this link to your friends & family, asking them to spread the word as well.

2. Donations - financial support as well as baby items are needed.

3. Volunteers to work either behind the scenes or as mentors with the women in our programs.

Please contact us via the website or by telephone: 612.823.0301

One of the questions I’m asked most often is “What was it that made the difference for you?” I guess the short answer is that along the way, I had people who saw my potential when I couldn’t.  Who loved me when I couldn’t even love myself yet.  Who were willing to invest in me and believe in me.

In the end, that is really what this is all about.  Paying it forward.

Creating the same opportunities for success in the lives of these women and their children

that were created for me 20 years ago.

The Rynders Family

***

Kimberly Rynders is married and has 5 children, ages ranging from 20 years old down to a 1-year-old. For nearly four years, she has been the Executive Director of Southside Life Care Center, a non-profit organization located in South Minneapolis that is committed to helping women & children in crisis.


Note from Danielle to Moms4Change Readers: I just want to congratulate Kimberly for sharing her inspiring story. I am blessed by her honesty & willingness to share in this post.  She is a perfect example of a Mom making a difference Across Her Heart, Across Her Table & Across the Street. I pray she inspires you, as she has so many others. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions!


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7 Sure-Fire Ways to Rescue Yourself from the Dinner Desert

May 5, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Table, Mom Matters with 0 Comments

The Dinner Desert

7 Sure-Fire Ways to Rescue Yourself from the Dinner Desert

As Moms4Change, we’re supposed to be reaching Across our Table. Here are some practical ideas for blessing your family’s mealtime! I’d love to hear how you make meal planning or the lack thereof, work in your house!

I confess I’m currently wandering in the Dinner Desert. And it’s hotter than the Sahara itself. Haven’t heard of it? Oh, trust me you have. It’s just that no one has named it until now. Let’s dig our way out of it together.

The Dinner Desert. It’s a dry, sun-scorched, lonely place. We’ve all been there at one point or another. Oh sure, I find my way out every now & then, but eventually I wake up one day and think, “How the heck did I get here? I was kicking serious mommy booty! My family was actually eating something besides cereal or ramen noodles every night! Ugh!”

Okay, so enough of the analogy. You get it! :)

Let’s return to the Land of Plenty where there is plenty of love, plenty of joy

and plenty of food for another meal!

Really, I’ll stop this time.

Here are 7 Sure-Fire Way to Rescue Yourself from the Dinner Desert:

1. Send out an SOS – yes, cry for help! Admit you’re burned out! Admit that you have a problem! As we know, that’s the first step to solving anything!

2. Stop doing it on your own (or trying to do it!) I will never for the life of me understand why family & friends don’t share meal-planning ideas more often. Realize you’re not alone. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are great resources from women who’ve been where you are! Here are some online.

  • http://lds.about.com/od/visualmusicalaids/a/meal_planning.htm – Rachel Bruner shares pdf files of two-week meal planning calendars. You’ll see that she has a meal idea list, as I describe below.
  • http://www.5dollardinners.com/category/meal-planning – Erin Chase, a missionary mom decided to share her ideas on how to cook for her family of 4 every night for under $5. Not only has she done it, she’s got a business & book deal out of it! She has the recipes on her website as well as other resourceful dinner planning ideas such as couponing & freezing meals to use later on. I’ve used her recipes and man, she can cook, and cook cheap!
  • http://30daycafe.com/ - This is a really fun, informative website for meal planning. I’m the type that gets overwhelmed with cooking 30 days ahead, but for some of you, this is just what you’ll need. The website offers specific details on how to do everything from shopping frugally, to freezing & thawing correctly, to eating healthy.

3.  Get a calendar. No seriously, go get a calendar. Either online or on paper, you need to write it down! Personally I use Google Calendar.  http://www.google.com/googlecalendar/about.html It’s amazing (when I use it!) because you can set reminder emails to be sent to you the day before so you know what meal is coming up without having to look. And even better, Google Calendar can be set to REPEAT! You heard right! We all repeat our meals, don’t we? Why not do it on purpose?! Within minutes you can have an entire year’s worth of meals planned out ON PURPOSE! I set repeats for all our favorite meals. For example, my kids love lasagna, so its on the calendar, set to repeat once a month or until the kids get tired of it!

4.  Make a Meal List. Before adding meals to a calendar, write down all the meals you make that your family enjoys. Just one big list. Once you get the list, start adding them to the calendar. Keep this list for future reference and add to it as you find yummy new recipes.

5.  Pick 30 minutes of ONE day out of the week that you plan your meals. For me, it’s Sunday afternoon. Then it’s time for grocery shopping with my list in hand!!!! Leave the kids at home if at all possible! Because we know grocery shopping & kids don’t mix!

6.  Start in the morning. What? But breakfast is in the morning! Yep, but before you head out the door, pull out the marinade and throw that bird in the fridge. It’ll be thawed & flavorful by the time you get home & you’ll have just decreased your dinnertime stress by half.

7.  Headline your meals. By this I mean choose meal categories. For example, Sunday night is Pizza Night. Monday night is Crock Pot Night. Tuesday is Breakfast Night. Wednesday is Buffet Night (I refuse to call it leftovers, but essential that’s what it is. Everyone gets to choose what they want that night from the 3 previous nights). Thursday is Mexican or Seafood. Friday is Dinner Out. Saturday is Italian (pasta dishes). The kids love this, by the way. They look especially look forward to Breakfast Night!

The Land of Plenty

The Rewards:

  1. Renewed Self-confidence – don’t you love that feeling when you know you’re serving your family the best of yourself? Me too.
  2. Spend less Moola – because you’re not out buying last-minute fast food meals.
  3. Save more Moola – consider using the money you save to sponsor an orphan through Children’s Hopechest www.hopechest.org OR save for vacation!
  4. Your family is fed & you’ve just created a perfect atmosphere for family talk time WITHOUT exhausting yourself!

In the interest of honesty, I want to be clear that I don’t always live by these tips myself. But when I do this Momma is much happier & healthier, and as a result the whole family is happier & healthier as well.

Now let’s hear what’s working for you? What’s not working for you? And how you get yourself out of the Dinner Desert into the Land of Plenty?!

Let’s network, Moms!!!!!


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5 Reasons You Need Your Local Food Shelf

April 28, 2010 in Across Our Street, Across Our Table with 4 Comments

and…

5 Reasons Your Local Food Shelf Needs Your Time!

1. Get OUT of your comfort zone – Some of us are extroverts (Holla!) and some aren’t. That being said, the food shelf is a place of service and anyone can serve, even if you are uncomfortable around strangers. They won’t be strangers for long if you get in there and give it your all. Plus, it’s good for ALL of us to be out of our comfort zones on a regular basis!

Over 2800 items were donated by KIDS in ONE MONTH!

2. Get an honest perspective on your local community’s needs – Your local food shelf is on the front line in fighting hunger & poverty in your community. It separates the gap between ‘us & them’. You realize there is no ‘us & them’ at all. Everyone’s been lying to you.

Truth: there are literally people living in your community who are going hungry. People that need support at the Food Shelf are not free loaders. Oh sure you get the occasional guy sneaking three snacks instead of the standard two, but that is rare.

They are genuine people who are down on their luck. Many are well-spoken & hard workers. And as you may have guessed in today’s economy there are many who are down on their luck that may have been living the American Dream just a few short years ago.

Imagine yourself in that predicament.

3. Giving your time can make a difference - Want to brighten someone’s day? You can. Some days when I go into the Food Shelf I can see the shame on people’s faces as they sit in the waiting area. I imagine what they are thinking, “This is so humiliating. I shouldn’t have come.”

A volunteer can be the difference by simply smiling at them and genuinely honoring them by serving. I even try to throw in a few jokes every once in a while to tear down any barriers of shame. Most of the time it works, even if the jokes are lame. Yeah I may look a little foolish, but I don’t mind so much.

4. You’ll be an example to your kids – Not all food shelves allow it, but on occasion I’ve had to bring my six-year-old in with me. Even his time has made a difference in the life of those needing food. He has helped bag the groceries & then replenish the shelves as well. When he comes, it’s been so fun to watch the joy on my little man’s face that he’s helping!

Some of the hard working Student Govt. girls at the Food Shelf delivering what was collected!

5. It’s not about YOU, and that’s why it’s so rewarding!!! - Volunteering is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. No, I don’t recommend volunteering at the food shelf just so you can feel good. But it does get you ‘outside’ yourself for a bit. Our world is so focused on our own entertainment.

Volunteering is sacrificial & yet so rewarding. Yeah, there are days that I think, man I could/should really be doing my laundry (which is usually last on my list!) or studying how to have a kick-butt blog or sitting at B&N drinking a vanilla latte. But never once have I regretted sticking to my commitment of serving.

It has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done.

Don’t know where to begin? Here’s a few links that will help you find your local Food Shelf or Food Pantry.

Hunger Solutions, MN

Food Pantries Across America

In my little town of 600 people our Food Shelf serves appx. 30-40 families monthly, but this also includes several other small towns around us. There is a need.

I dare you to step up.

I double dog dare you.

(Now you just have to, right?)

Keep Lovin’ Moms!

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Idol Gives Back…Can I Get a Refund?

April 22, 2010 in Across Our Table, Mom Matters with 1 Comment

Idol Gives Back… but some of what they gave me tonight I want to return.

Does an ‘Idol’ really give back? No. However,  the machine of American Idol is using its platform of mega-proportions to do some good in the world.

I only watched bits & pieces of AI last night in between cleaning up from a frozen pizza dinner, chatting with my SILs, and putting the kids to bed. And I even folded a load of laundry during the show so I wouldn’t feel too guilty about sitting still.

I saw two parts that impacted me.

I’ll share the first one today. The second, more positive one, I’ll share tomorrow.

Low Point: The Black Eyes Peas  performance

I saw all of three seconds of it. Unfortunately my 8-year-old son, Bernie, saw more than I did. The TV was on in the sunroom and when I walked in, he was sitting 2 feet from the screen, with a shocked look on his face. I walked in & saw what he saw.

He saw Fergie shakin’ what her momma gave her for all the world to see. No she wasn’t naked, but she was dressed provocatively… on purpose. {Let me just say that those four words “dressed provocatively on purpose” have never been written about me and never will be! LOL}

But I’m not slamming Fergie. I actually enjoy some of her music. And when I do get around to it, the music has a great beat for working out. Not a lot of lyrical quality, but hey. The beat. It’s all about the beat. I won’t, however, be shakin’ what my momma gave me for the world to see. ‘Cuz I think my momma gave me a little too much for shakin’!

Last night I saw BEP’s music in a whole other light…. through my son’s eyes. My innocent, vulnerable, impressionable 8 year old’s eyes. And I was embarrassed for him. I get that Bernie & his little brother Benny are gonna see ‘things’ as they are growing up, because society practically throws it in your face.

But you better believe I’m gonna limit the exposure as much as possible as LONG as I can. At least that’s what I thought before last night. Well, I still believe that, but I wasn’t prepared to explain why women put themselves on display sometimes. Heck, I’m not even sure I know the answer. What do you think?

I want my boys to grow up respecting women. And women, let’s respect ourselves.

You may call me an overprotective mom. {no, seriously, go ahead call me that} If my husband & I don’t protect them, who will?

Thank you!

Tomorrow I’ll share how one segment of Idol Gives Back truly touched me & blessed me. Can anybody guess which part???

Keep Lovin’ Moms!

ps. No, their names are not Bernie & Benny.

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Across Our Table

April 21, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Table, Mom Matters with 0 Comments

Photo Courtesy of All of Olive

I think this book will be WELL worth the read for us Moms, looking to raise balanced, well-adjusted, compassionate, visionary kids, much like the one in this picture! :) Follow the link to download the PDF file of Chapter One, to read at your leisure.   Let me know what you think. The “Orange Parent” scenario is hilarious and so relatable!!!!

Link to Chapter One of Parenting Beyond Your Capacity

ParentingBeyondYourCapacityChapterOne

It’s set to release in June 2010.

Keep Lovin’ Moms!

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An Orphan Spirit, Part Two

April 16, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Table, Across Our World, Swaziland with 0 Comments

If you haven’t read my last post, please do so. It is Part One of the story.

For those that have them, this is a typical Swazi home

Redemption. Deliverance. Rescue. Don’t we long for it? God brought redemption to me, a little girl missing her Daddy, in a form I didn’t expect.

My Mom remarried an incredible man, whom I’ll refer to as Lee. Lee, I don’t think could’ve loved me more if I had been his biological daughter.

Seriously. He never once called me his step-daughter. I was his. He was mine. And nobody better say differently! His tender heart softened mine so that I let him into my world and heart. In fact, it was with Lee that I first saw the Save The Children Infomercials on Sunday afternoons.

I kid you not, every single week, every single show he could not keep from crying when he stared into those little black African eyes. His compassion astounded me. He made me realize these are REAL kids. They need food! They need parents! He & my mom gave their support to Save The Children whenever they could. Redemption.

So yeah, I identify with the Orphan Spirit, but even more so I identify with REDEMPTION. I’ve experienced both & I can tell you that through the years, my void of loneliness & fear was replaced by ONE man letting Jesus soften his heart to children – both to me and to children he’d never met.

I want to tell you that I did find & contact Steele when I was in my mid-twenties. Honestly, I can’t even remember how I found him. I wanted him to know I forgave him & I had lived a good life. Ultimately, there was no redemption for me personally. Hopefully there was for him.

It is because I identify with this Orphan Spirit and experienced redemption in my own life that I feel so passionately for the children in Swaziland whom I know have been abandoned and left to themselves. I sense a small measure of their heartache.

And I know there are other moms that can make a difference, whose hearts have been broken, who are willing to be the voice crying out on their behalf, who want to reach across our world to help a child in need of love.

These are  the children who have been orphaned because disease and famine have stolen their parents. Can you imagine being that parent, knowing you are dying, having to leave your little kids to fend for themselves? This happens everyday across our world. Swaziland’s population is currently around 900,000. Of that 900.000, over 150,000 are ORPHANS!

These kids in Swaziland need someone – a Mom – to give them some hope of being loved, adored & cared for. To let them know they ARE worth being loved & they do belong to someone who cares about them. We all may not be able to go to them physically but we can sponsor them, send notes of love and pray for them to know God’s love. One person choosing to love, made all the difference in my life.

God is in the redemption business… and so am I!!!!

Orphans being fed at one of the CarePoints

If you wish to find out more about sponsoring an orphaned child in Swaziland, please email me at danielle.moms4change@gmail.com, or leave me a comment saying you want to help and we’ll find a way!  I know specifically of 3 children who had previously had sponsors who now are in need again.

Keep lovin’ Moms!

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An Orphan Spirit, Part One

April 15, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Table, Mom Matters with 8 Comments

I’ll admit right off that this is a difficult post for me to write. I’m having to dig up some deep emotions

that took root in my heart when I was just a little girl.

What brought this to the forefront is a live streaming webcast of a Colorado Pastor’s sermon I listened to this past Sunday. The crux of his message was answering the question, “Why do people feel like they don’t belong?” This sermon could have went any number of ways and most of us would relate in some fashion or another. His first answer to that question hit me like a ton of bricks. The Orphan Spirit.

The Orphan Spirit is one of the leading reasons people feel like they don’t belong or  ’fit’. I don’t believe it’s literally a ‘spirit’, but a type of individual who struggles as if they were orphaned. There are kids that grew up literally without parents, and are the definition of orphan. Of course, we readily see why an orphan would feel haunted with the thought that they don’t belong or aren’t wanted, after facing the ultimate rejection by the very people who birthed them.

But there’s another kind of orphan, those with the Orphan Spirit. These kids may have had parents physically present at one point, but absent emotionally, never really connecting with their kids. I think it would shock us all if we knew how many kids’ parents never said “I love you”.

I can imagine both sides of this Orphan Spirit. One I don’t have to imagine.

You see, when I was 5 or 6 (details aren’t clear), my birth father (whom I’ll refer to as Steele) & mother divorced because of their volatile and violent relationship. My mother did her best to take care of me and my older brother, while trying to keep food on the table, after Steele left. He left her and us with nothing. He took everything, including the heart of his little girl who could not figure out why on earth Daddy would forget all about her. He never called. He never contacted me. All the birthdays & holidays came & went without anything. Honestly, as far as I knew, he could be dead. And to help myself cope with it, I often pretended he was dead.

Most of what I knew of him could be found on my birth certificate.

Today, as I’m writing this, is Steele’s birthday. It brought up some emotions in me that I thought I’d dealt with. The truth is at my core I’ve always had a fear that everyone else in my life that said they cared would eventually leave too – my mom, my husband, my friends. This has been the deep struggle of my life – that I’m not worth anyone’s time.

I know what it’s like to be rejected by a person that helped give you life. There are many children, like me, who’ve had one or more parents walk away and never look back. We spend our lives overcoming that “Orphan Spirit” of fear & abandonment. Moms ~ maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about. This could be your story. You now are a parent who feels so much love for your child you could never imagine doing to them what was done to you.

Yeah, I know that as a kid I couldn’t have seen all that was going on in my parent’s marriage or the real reason Steele left. But that’s just it, kids don’t know. So what do they do? They think it’s because they did something wrong. They weren’t good enough. They didn’t love Daddy/Mommy enough. They were in the way. They spend their life trying to measure up.

I like to end my posts on a positive note… and I will. This is Part One of the post. In Part Two I share the redemptive side of the story. No, Steele never came back to make our family complete. This redemption story is so much bigger than that…

An Orphan Spirit, Part Two

 

Keep lovin’ Moms!

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Repairer of the Broken Walls

April 13, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Street, Across Our Table, Across Our World, VIsion with 0 Comments

If you spend yourself on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed…..then the Lord will guide you always, and satisfy your needs…..You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, and Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 59: 10-12

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Jesus in Disguise

April 12, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Street, Across Our Table, Across Our World, Mom Matters with 8 Comments

Who do you surround yourself with?

Matthew 25:40 says, ‘And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Jesus surrounded Himself with ‘the least of these’. He gave them hope, He esteemed them highly, He even HUNG OUT with them – the beggars, the drunkards, the prostitutes, the tax collectors! But he didn’t just hang out with them, He served them!

Who is the ‘least of these’ in your life? He didn’t have to find out their life history to see if they deserved his time & efforts. No, he just served them as if they were kings.

So did Mother Teresa.

“The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved — they are Jesus in disguise… Through the poor people I have an opportunity to be 24 hours a day with Jesus. Every AIDS victim is Jesus in a pitiful disguise; Jesus is in everyone… [AIDS sufferers are] children of God [who] have been created for greater things.”

This was startling to me. What a revelation of truth.

That filthy mess of a man dressed in ragged clothing that stands on the side of the exit ramp, holding a sign “WILL WORK FOR FOOD”. He is Jesus in disguise.

That little 10-year-old Swazi girl who has lost her entire family to AIDS, who has no one to care for her, who has little hope of living past her 30th birthday, she is Jesus in disguise.

Let’s bring this closer to home.

Your beautiful newborn baby girl, fresh from heaven, is Jesus in disguise. Serve her with joy.

Your teenage son’s friend who hangs around WAY too much & could be a much better influence on your son, is Jesus in disguise. Serve him with kindness.

That little old lady, who can barely see over the steering wheel, driving 38 miles per hour in a 55mph speed zone, is Jesus in disguise. Serve her with patience.

Serve your baby girl, that teenage boy, that little old white-haired lady with fresh eyes today. They just might be – no – they ARE Jesus in disguise. Serve them with joy, patience, and love. Jesus will thank you!

Look for Jesus today. He’s all around you!

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Making a Difference

April 8, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our Street, Across Our Table, Across Our World, VIsion with 0 Comments

Needs.

Everywhere we look, both inward & outward, there are needs.

Answers.com has several definitons of the word ‘need’ that I’d like to share with you. Stay with me, I have a profound point!

  1. a condition or situation in which something is required or wanted: crops in need for affection.
  2. something required or wanted; a requisite: “Those of us who led the charge for these women’s issues… shared a common vision in the needs of women” (Olympia Snowe)
  3. Necessity; obligation: There is no need for you to go.
  4. A condition of poverty or misfortune: The family is in dire need.


To get to my point, the fourth definition is the need I’m referring to. While the first three are true, let’s discuss what I feel is the deepest definition of the word ‘need’.

For me, blogging is born out of need. My own, but more importantly my awareness of others’ needs. Do I need to make a difference? Not for my own self-righteousness. But do others need me to make a difference? Yes. Those that are in the condition of poverty or misfortune NEED someone to speak on their behalf. They NEED a voice to bring awareness to their NEED.

Ultimately I believe this is why Jesus came, because He knew we NEEDed a Savior to bridge the deep cavern that separated us from God. He sacrificed His own desires, His own needs of comfort, His own needs of security and well being to meet the NEEDS of the poor & brokenhearted that have no hope.

I really don’t want to over spiritualize this, but I do think it’s worth stating that Jesus is still meeting the needs of the poor & destitute. How is He doing this? Through us. Through people willing to tell the truth of what is happening to others in our world. Awareness is my goal. I believe awareness is the conduit towards change & fulfillment of needs.

I want (and dare say I have a need!) to be the change & inspire change in four main areas.

Across my Heart

Some days, I’ll be honest, I feel as though I’m just taking up space, just the shadow that follows my family around cleaning up after them & getting them to school on time. Do you ever feel that way? I keep thinking, wasn’t I created for more than this? Of course being a Mom is my highest calling & I’ll never want otherwise. I’m just saying that I can do more locally & globally to make an impact. Not only can I DO more, I can BE more. I want my heart & my children’s hearts not only to feel sympathy for those in need, but to break, to truly empathize with such active compassion that no amount of self-interest will stop us from helping them. My heart longs to bless & pour hope into the world - my world. I encourage you to keep serving your family, and perhaps serve them even more diligently by showing them a greater world with needs that we can meet. When we leave this world, let’s pass the legacy torch of pro-active, joy-filled servitude to our children’s generation.

Across our Table

As a Mom, I am keenly aware of my boys need for a mom to take care of them. Not just their physical needs like cooking & cleaning & clothing, but also their need to be nurtured. I’ll admit that it feels like 95% of my time is spent on their physical needs being met, but this doesn’t make their need for love & acceptance any less important. God has put an innate desire in children to be loved & nurtured, to be wanted. I’m so glad I’m a Mom!

Have you ever had the thought or even said, “If my kids only knew how good they have it…” I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve said that to my boys, “You do NOT know how good you have it!” If that is the case, then let’s show them what to do with all that good they have! Let’s teach our kids to be GIVERS!!!! Yeah, kids are selfish by nature, but they have tender hearts (somewhere along the road to adulthood, our hearts can lose their tenderness, if not cultivated). Yes, let US cultivate our children’s hearts by showing them that there are needs all around us & all over the world. Let’s bring them on this journey with us, allowing other people to speak into their lives, let them SEE the needs & BE APART of serving the needs.

Across our Street

Do your kids know that there are very likely students in their class that go to bed without dinner on a regular basis, simply because their parents can not afford it? Do they also know that they can make a difference & bring about change for that classmate? One great way to do this I believe is to inspire the older kids, junior & senior high to help out in their local elementary schools. And once you see these pre-teens & teens in action, you can’t help but be inspired yourself. In February, our local 5th graders put together a Food Drive for the entire Elementary School. They worked so hard & inspired over 1,700 pounds of food to be donated by CHILDREN for our local Food Shelf. Amazing! Let’s find out the needs in our neighborhoods, our kids schools & inspire our kids to bring about change across the street & in our community.

Across our World

I’ll say it again. God has put an innate desire in children to be loved & nurtured, to be wanted. This statement rings just as true when it comes to children that you & I have never met who live several thousand miles away from us. These children are in the condition of poverty & misfortune. They have physical needs that I want to bring awareness to, but also need to be loved, to know someone cares about them. As a Mom, I’m sure your heart aches to know any child is alone in this world. Many have lost both parents and siblings to AIDS and other preventable diseases. What are these kids to do when there is no one to take care of them, to show them how to survive, to provide food and clothing, to hug & kiss them? They still need MOMMIES!!! Fortunately there are ministries in Africa who are working day & night to meet the needs of these children, some with whom I’ll be connecting with on my blog. But more Moms Making a Difference are needed, more funding is needed, more awareness NEEDs to be brought. So lets start to do our part!

Passion ignites passion. I’m determined to make a passionate difference in the world & inspire Moms who read this blog to make a passionate difference in the lives you touch as well. Moms – I’m sounding a Call to Active Compassion! Let’s begin the journey!

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