On Giving

First of all, let me give you a preview of what's coming up soon:

• 1 exciting project centering on beauty and what makes women beautiful (complete with a super special photo-shoot I'm in the process of planning)
• 2 new allergy-friendly recipes (along with a brief synopsis of my recent food-sensitivity saga and how it's led me to better eating)
• 3 awesome holiday book reviews to get you in the spirit of the season
• 4 product reviews (and a couple giveaways as well!)

I hope you're as excited as I am - I'm busy getting these posts scheduled!

Now for the meat of what I wanted to talk about today. 

We all hear that the true spirit of Christmas is giving - so often that it's become a cliché.  And I've always been the sort who was more excited to watch my family members open the presents I'd carefully selected for them than I was to open the gifts they'd bought me.  But it's only been the last few years that I've really started to grasp a wider vision of what "giving" really means. 

One of my favorite Bible passages is Mark 12:44 about the widow who, though she only gave 2 coins, made the biggest contribution of all because she gave all she had.  From this passage I take two things:

1) I don't know the meaning of 'give till it hurts' - I've never in my life gone without so that I could give to someone else.  If I gave abundantly it was because I was abundantly rich.  If I felt that money was tight, I wouldn't give.  I find myself becoming a little more generous at the holidays, but nevertheless, however much I give, we still always have plenty of food on the table, heat in the house, clothes on our backs, and funds leftover for treats.  I have never given so much that I had to rely on God to cover the next week for me. 

2) Any amount of giving can have an enormous impact.  Right now Momastery has once again facilitated the annual Holiday Hands drive.  500 posts asking for donations are accepted and then fulfilled by generous souls around the country.  Some people are able to donate extravagantly - covering $1000 ultility bills, buying special-needs children new ipads, or sending large gift cards so a family can afford gifts.  Others can only spare a few dollars or the time it takes to hand-knit a warm hat for a cold baby.  But you know what?  The responses from the people who have been helped are equally effusive whether they've received a second-hand sweater or a full reprieve from debt.  It's absolutely true that every little bit helps.

So what have I learned about giving this holiday season? 

1) Giving more feels good!  We are preparing to move in a couple of months and I finally went through my closet and weeded out some of the old clothing that I hadn't worn in ages.  Some of it was a remainder of my eating-disorder years - clothes I really shouldn't ever fit into again, but for some reason hadn't been able to part with.  I halfheartedly bagged up a few of my least favorite items and put out an ad on Craigslist in their free section to see if any slender ladies might like a few gently worn pieces of clothing.  Let me tell you all - my inbox was flooded!  I had a response from a man who was out of work and couldn't afford to buy his wife new clothes.  He lamented that she was so thin that Good Will didn't even carry her size.  I had an email from a mother whose family had recently lost everything in a fire.  I had a reply from a man who 'knew a tiny lady who works really hard and could sure use some new things.'  Good heavens - how I could I say no to any of these people!

My closet is now much more sparse than it was last week.  But my heart is so much fuller.  One woman remarked that it "felt just like Christmas" when she opened her bag of clothes.  And you know what?  I don't miss a single thing I donated.  In fact, I can barely even remember what all I cleaned out. 

2) One woman's clutter is another family's treasure.  Now I'm searching through my whole house to see what else we can donate.  Surely my 2 year old doesn't need a whole closet full of clothes.  And no one has played with those baby toys in months.  I even had a woman who was thrilled to receive a $10 necklace from my shop because she didn't own a single piece of jewelry!  Granted, we have a lot of used items in our home that really are better suited for the trash.  But I'm frequently surprised by what people are grateful to have.  At our garage sale this summer a man was thrilled to come across a pile of stained and threadbare t-shirts in our 'free' box - he was a painter and hated to buy new t-shirts only to cover them in paint. 

I've still got a lot to learn about giving and generosity.  My greed glands often win out even when my rational mind tries to remind me that I could feed several starving children for the price of those new leopard print heels.  And I constantly struggle to remember that giving is important 365 days of the year - not just at the holidays when reminders are everywhere.  If anyone knows of a site like Holiday Hands where needs can be matched with donors - please let us know!

I want to challenge you to join me in my journey to greater giving.  Below please find some of the resources I've found most helpful in seeking to be charitable.  Please feel free to comment and let us know about your favorite charities or causes, too!  And remember - some of the greatest gifts - a smile, a 'thank-you,' a hug - are totally free!

Freecycle.org - post items you no longer need but want to rescue from the trash
Craigslist.org - Use their Free section to post items you no longer need
World Vision - Provides poverty relief for children worldwide
End Child Hunger - Hunger relief for children in America
Samaratain's Purse - Poverty relief and sponsorship for children worldwide
Dress for Success - Donate gently used office clothes

The Good For The Best

I am a very busy person.  Not so much because I need to be, but because I choose to be.  Yes, I have three small children who really know how to keep me hopping.  But I'm pretty good at firing all my own guns to keep myself dancing.  The only problem is, more often than I'd like to admit, I wind up shooting myself in the foot.  

I was thinking today about potty training.  My almost-three-year-old can't start preschool this fall unless he's potty trained.  He can pee on the potty on command - but that's about as far as we've gotten.  He is, we all are, much too busy to remember to sit on the potty once an hour.  We're constantly on the go from one activity to the next, and since we simply don't have time to change his clothes or mop up messes, he's still in diapers.  But how will he ever learn if we don't take the time to teach him?  When big brother was potty training, we stayed home for several months while he ran around in undies and got used to how it feels when he has to go.  No such luxury here.  We have preschool drop off, Bible studies, Women's groups, playgroups, Kids' Day Out, swim lessons and parties.  I was hoping to make this a relaxed summer so we could hang around the house in our undies and really master things - but we're already signed up for a handful of enrichment activities and church-related events that will keep us on the go.  I would be absolutely heartbroken if my sweet boy who is SO excited to go to preschool had to miss out on the opportunity because we just didn't slow down to teach him this basic life skill.  But I also can't seem to bring myself to cut out all these activities that seem so edifying in and of themselves.  

This is a classic case of the "good" getting in the way of "the best."  All my life I've heard preachers and teachers reminding us that in life, many times, God will ask us to put aside the good so that He can bring us the best.  Not only does this apply to all the activity we seem to be finding to cram our schedules full - but I believe it also applies very strongly to my intentions.

I have a tender heart.  When someone hurts, I hurt with them.  When someone has a cause that important to them, I want to make it my cause, too.  I want to adopt all the babies confined to cribs in China.  I want to buy blankets and food (and furniture and clothes and...) for every family who lost a home in last weekend's tornado.  I want to feed every starving third-world child, build homes for all the homeless, fund research for terminal diseases and find a doula for all the struggling new moms.  Every single time I hear a need I want to rush right out and fill it - all by myself!  I have so many GOOD intentions.  

But God does not call me to fill all these needs by myself.  In fact, he doesn't call me to fill any of them myself.  What He wants me to remember is that HE is Lord of all His creation and He is in control.  He knows the number of hairs on each of our heads and He will provide.  That's not to say that He doesn't have a mission for me, or that I'm not called to be charitable.  I feel incredibly blessed that I am able to donate a small sum to many of the causes that come across my path.  I am able to be a shoulder to cry on now and then.  I can bring a meal or do a load of laundry for a new mother, or join in a home-build or service project now and then.  But what He doesn't want is for me to get so caught up in all the good I want to do, that I don't do my best for anyone.  Not every cause is really my cause.  I am to focus my efforts where I feel that I am being called, and to use the talents and opportunities I've been given to the best of my ability.  And I am to wait on Him to lead me.  

That being said, I have a couple of announcements.  

First, please be on the lookout for a new Operation Feed The Lambs post.  This is still my primary cause, and I have a challenge to issue to you all.  I'm hoping to get it up and running in the next couple of weeks.

Second, starting tomorrow, I am launching a new weekly post called Feature Friday.  Every cause can't be my cause, but that doesn't mean they aren't all important.  

Therefore, every Friday I will be promoting the things that are nearest and dearest to your hearts.  Whether you are a struggling blog or shop who just needs some promotion, or an established blogger or shop with a big event you want to share - or whether you have a charitable cause that you are passionate about and for which you want to spread the word - I want to use this blog to help you.  If you have something that you'd like to see on Feature Friday, please feel free to email me with your idea at stuffilove.and.mimibaby@gmail.com and I'll find you a spot on the calendar.  If it's important to you, it's important to me, and while I can't go rescue all the orphans, I can help promote someone's adoption fund.  I can't cure Fibromyalgia, but I can promote your fund-raiser for research.  I can't buy out all the items in your shop, but I can rave to everyone about how beautiful they are.

I am going to be doing some serious praying and thinking and reflecting on my life (and schedule) and making some tough decisions about what good I need to cut out in order to seek the very best for my family.  Please send good wishes and prayers my way - I've got babies to potty train and pre-schoolers to teach to read and three wild kiddos to discipline and I can't keep up this breakneck pace and accomplish that (not to mention finding plenty of time for snuggles and stories and picnics and pajama days).  I'll keep you posted on how it's going!  

In the meantime, stay in touch and let me know what I can do to help you find your best!  

Love!

 

Operation Feed The Lambs

I'm sure a lot of you saw this post from a couple weeks ago.  The post where I spoke about how much my heart grieves for all the children around the world who are facing malnutrition and starvation.  The post about how much my heart aches for the parents who have to live every day with the knowledge that they cannot provide for their own children. 

Every day I thank God that my kids can eat.  That we have so much food they take it for granted.  That they have the luxury of choosing what they eat, of longing for treats because they know what 'junk food' is.  That though they are thin, they are at no risk for poor health. 

According to this fact sheet, every year 15 million children die of starvation.  15 million precious lambs are dying every year because they cannot afford to eat!!  And yet here we sit worrying about becoming too fat from our blessings and overabundance.  I don't want to sit by anymore. 

But I can't do this on my own.  My scope is limited.  My time and funds are limited. And so I am starting Operation Feed The Lambs to encourage you to help.  Every little bit counts - so many of these families live on >$2/day.  Here's what you can do to take part:

1) Grab a button from my sidebar and help me advertise this project. If you need a button in a different size, let me know and I'll gladly make you one.

2) Start a Hunger Line in your etsy shop.  At my shop I have a line of bracelets (featured in the button pic) from which I donate 100% of the profits from sales to charities dedicated to ending child starvation.  You can do the same with an item from your shop.  Let's see how popular we can make the Hunger Line on etsy!

3) Organize a Run for Hunger.  Gather up a bunch of athletic (or just caring) friends, gather some donations, and go for a run. 

4) Get creative!  Set up change jars, host car washes, hold a progressive dinner with admission fees - just get moving. 

5) Spread the word.  Write up a post of your own about Operation Feed The Lambs.  Link it up around the internet.  Pin it to Pinterest.  Share this post on your social media feeds.  Put up fliers at the library.  Call your aunt.  Get the word out. 

6) Leave lots of comments here with ideas.  I've just started brainstorming. The more brains we involve, the bigger the storm.  I want to hear your thoughts! 

7) If you do decide to participate, keep a good record of the money you've raised.  It would be fun to post collective totals now and then to encourage us to keep going.  

Thanks so much for helping me with this project!  Lets work together to bring food to the precious lambs so no more parents have to sit helplessly by and watch their children suffer from malnutrition. 

Will you join the Operation?

The Hunger Line

As a mom in the first-world, it seems a little ridiculous that I've ever been worried about my children being "too thin."

Yes, when my first son was born, we had some feeding issues, and he looked like this for a couple of weeks:

And my second son wasn't even on the weight charts until he was 2 (he's a whopping 2% right now and the velcro on his size 3 diapers overlaps when fastened).  But my kids are healthy.  They have the option to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day.  They get plenty of nutrients.  They're just skinny because they inherited their metabolisms from their daddy who can eat 4000 cal a day and never gain a pound.

Then I came across pictures like this:

source

And my heart broke.  My heart broke for these poor malnourished children who make my bottom-of-the-weight-chart kids look like little chunks.  My heart broke for their mothers and fathers who are powerless to help them.  I think about how much worrying I did for my kids who had every opportunity to eat as much as they want.  I cannot even fathom knowing that my children faced starvation and being unable to provide.

My heart has been heavy for these children for a long while now, but I wasn't quite sure how best to help.  I've donated to various charities when I've had some extra funds, but it just didn't feel like enough.  Then one night when I couldn't sleep, I was struck by the idea of using my shops to help these babies.  So I've created The Hunger Line - a new line of products in each of my shops dedicated to chipping away at the huge hunger epidemic.

100% of profits from all items in the Hunger Line will go toward charities (like Feed the Children, World Vision, Food for Africa or The Hunger Site) dedicated to feeding children around the world who are at risk of starvation.

So, what's in the lines?  Here's what you can look for:

At my shop Mimi Baby Boutique, you'll find gorgeous glass bead bracelets emblazoned with the word "Hunger" on them.  Right now I'm offering white lettering, but will be adding gold and silver letter beads soon.

At Big Red Kite I have a line of Hunger Bears.  These soft plush bears use upcycled materials and come in three sizes - Bitty, Medium and Large.  The medium and large bears are also embroidered with the slogan "Hunger."

Will you help me in my fight to feed the children?  Keep an eye out at the shops as new items will be added frequently.  And if you are willing to help me get the word out, would you share this post on your social media or add this button to your blog?

Thanks you so much for helping me to take action on what's been weighing on my heart for so long.  Appreciate you all!

<br><a href="http://babystuffilove.blogspot.com/2012/01/as-mom-in-first-world-it-seems-little.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="The Hunger Line" src="http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/mrscat206/EndHungerbutton-1.jpg"></a> <br /> <br> /></a>