How do you define LOVE?

This is a question that seems totally easy to answer. What is love? We all have talked about love, shared love, given love since we were babies. Yet, it remains one of the things in life we take for granted. We seem to hurt most the ones we hold most dearly in our lives. Right now, William and I have a wonderful family friend who is in hospice. We had the privilege of visiting with our friend a month or so ago. Although frail, and tired, our friend still had am amazing, warm, TANGIBLE love about her. She gave her love so freely that it made us free to RECEIVE love. We (all of us) are not good at receiving things, particularly me. I can give much easier. A new friend is teaching me how much freer one can be when receiving love as well. We are beloved....these two amazing people I have talked with in the last month are so FREE...free to love others, to be exposed, to be open, to receive love, to have JOY. It is a tangible fruit that I want to know and share every day. Ask yourselves,"What is love?"
From 1 Corinthians 13:
"If I speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries ad all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, en as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. "

Praying for our sweet friend in hospice ,who is so loving.

Love,
Eve

New Year, Time for Decisions....How can you make a difference?

Since it is the beginning of 2009, it is a perfect time to sit down with your children and "brainstorm" about how your family can make a difference this year. We all talk about it, and it always sounds good, but then life gets busy, kids get sick, and there you go...all done. I have found that my kids are sometimes more persistent than I am. They constantly ask when we can have the lemonade stand, the bake sale, the garage sale, to raise money for their chosen cause. I really like the way Shaohannah's Hope received donations from a precious little girl this past year (check out www.shaohannahshope.org to read the details). She saved "change" in a bucket, did different jobs, cooked items all to raise money. When I shared her story with my boys, they decided that they would like to do something like this. So, we got a bucket or 2, and have one at home and one at church. Anyone who comes over is "told" about the bucket and what the boys are doing, and the one at church is just out. I like this because it not only raises money, but it also raises awareness of the needs for orphans to be adopted....my boys want to start odd jobs for neighbors in the spring like dog-sitting, yard work, etc to add to it. Our first six weeks of just TALKING about the bucket and what is was for with family and friends over the holidays led to a total of $81.15 (plus some of the kids money that they have been saving). Since the Shaohannah's Hope is in the same town, we were able to GO there and let the boys walk the check up to them, and personally hand it over. This is another great way so the kids actually see where their money and work and love go. It teaches them that they CAN make a difference. God calls us in Deuteronomy 24:19,"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back and get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands." As Americans, sometimes this is difficult for us...sometimes we don't see the desperate needs of others before us. It is a distant article in the paper, or story on the news. With the economy taking its downward spiral, I suspect more of us will see need around us in the upcoming months. We need to leave the sheaf behind for those who most need it. The least of these, the forgotten, the "unlovable," the hungry. I am adding a short and by no means extensive list of ideas for your kids to think about. Please add in the comments any other ways we can serve others by leaving our sheaf behind.

• Collect change and donate to a local charity
• Have a garage sale where the kids help
• Work a lemonade stand
• Post signs for yard work, car washing, house keeping
• Collect old towels, blankets for the Humane Society
• For birthday parties, instead of gifts---Have guests bring diapers to donate to foster care, or bring gently worn school uniforms to donate to foster care, or dog food/cat food to give to the Humane Society, or donations for orphans via Shaohannah's Hope or the Starfish Foster Home (you can pay for a surgery, part of an adoption, or even sponsor a child!), have donations for your local library, or have a coat drive to donate to those needing coats
• For teen parties, invite teens to volunteer at an animal shelter, or to work a day for Habitat for Humanity, or to help with a car wash to raise money for your chosen charity, then take them out to eat/celebrate afterwards
• Plant a tree in honor of a special day/event---let your child choose the tree
• Send cards to those in need---a church member in a nursing home, for instance
• Commit to praying for families who are adopting
• Be creative--there are so many things we can do that would make such a difference in the life of one other person
• For orphans, in particular, look up Shaohannah's Hope, Starfish Foster Home (see the blog there as well), Love Without Boundaries, Half the Sky Foundation, call your church's orphan ministry or your local Department of Children's Services to see what needs foster care has in YOUR community
• PLEASE PRAY about how you can CHANGE the world in 2009, led by God and your children to leave that sheaf behind!

Love,
Eve

New Year's Resolutions

Sponsor a child in a foster home


Save change for a worthy cause

Donate old towels, etc to the Humane Society

Happy New Year!

2009??? Are you kidding? Where does time go? I am so excited for the new year and what it will bring. But, it is hard to believe I have not done a post since September! One of my recent devotionals was on the parable of the seed and where it reaps a harvest....not on rocks, not in thorns, but on soil that is fertile, i.e. that is receptive, and truly hearing and seeing. How many of us crave to have this seed planted in our hearts (soil)---we read the word, attend church, pray. Then, something happens in life, and there is a slow, almost imperceptible wilting of the growing plant. Our thorns of laundry, chores, and other day to day activities slowly overgrow the seed before we even notice. For me, this blog is one way to keep my plant growing. It forces me to pause and to redirect my focus back on God because I put thoughts into words. But, how can we really make our seed turn into a thriving plant? What words do we need? "I trust you, Jesus." It sounds so simple, yet if we said them aloud throughout the day, when the morning is rough, when the traffic is bad, when the kids are sick, what would this do to those thorns? Saying "I trust you Jesus" invited His presence into our daily lives...not just for Sunday, but for everyday, every minute. It keeps the soil fertile. It allows the seed to grow. Try it. I trust you Jesus.

There will be more soon, but Our Covenant's Call ministry is working on starting "Safe Rooms" for children in our county who come into DCS custody, and we are really excited about this potential! We are also working on a medical mission trip to China, to visit Amanda at Starfish!
Happy New year...
Love,
Eve