Double Duty Holiday Gift Giving

gift giving

tree

The holiday shopping craziness is in full swing. ‘Tis the season to spend money, fa la la la la, la la ka-ching! As you’re battling crowds in the stores and scoping out the best deals online, here are a few ways that you can make holiday gift giving choices that double as world-changing donations.

  1. Amazon Smile: Amazon’s hot new program is in it’s second year, and so far so good. Visit Amazon via smile.amazon.com and all of your qualifying purchases provide a little something for the 501c3 non-profit of your choice. The products and deals are exactly the same as regular Amazon, as are the Prime membership benefits. All you have to do is log in and pick a charity!
  2. Give the gift of donation: Do you have someone on your holiday shopping list who has everything and then some? Want to teach your kids generosity? Give a charitable donation in place of a gift. I’ve done this as a stocking stuffer for my son and husband. I just made small donations to charities they appreciate, and made up a little certificate to stick in their stockings.
  3. Sevenly: Have I mentioned Sevenly before? This company makes t-shirts that benefit a different non-profit every week. The shirts themselves are soft, fair trade cotton tees, and the artwork is really on trend. Check them out at http://www.sevenly.org
  4. Multi-level-marketing: Is it ok to say MLM? Sometimes that seems like a bad word, but you and I both know that not all MLM reps are pushy and difficult. If you have a friend who sells a product you like, buy from him or her and watch the profit from your purchase stay in the family and support someone you love. My personal favs are Noonday Collection (fair trade jewelry and accessories), Pampered Chef, Jamberry nail wraps, and Mary Kay cosmetics.
  5. Shop small: just like MLM’s, small businesses benefit from your business in a local and personal way. Etsy is one place to find local artisans and craftspeople, but I’m guessing you know at least a few small business owners. One of my favorites is Live.Simple Soap (http://livesimplesoap.com/) from Ohio. My friend Emily makes soaps with clean, natural ingredients, scented with essential oils. My skin is super sensitive, so I love having a product that smells good and doesn’t irritate my skin, and I love that my purchase supports my friend.
  6. Buy Fair Trade: I’ve talked up Fair Trade before, I know, but keep it in mind when you’re holiday shopping. Your purchase can provide hope and opportunity to farmers and artisans around the world.

I know other bloggers and websites have hit on this topic before. I’m starting another page on my Pinterest site where I’ll put together a bunch of resources for double-duty shopping. If you know of another site or idea, leave a comment!

Book Review: Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

Book Review, Uncategorized,

barefoot.jpg

I’ve written before about Jen Hatmaker’s new book, For the Love, and the incredible community I found after getting rejected for her launch team. The surprises and blessings of this keep on coming. Recently Jen’s husband, Brandon Hatmaker, contacted the reject crew (AKA #the4500) and invited us to serve as the launch team for his second book, A Mile Wide, which is coming out in September 2016. This got me thinking that I should probably read his first book, Barefoot Church, which has been sitting on my Kindle forever. (Grad school kind of cramps my reading style…) I knew the only way I was getting through another book during the holiday season and end of the semester was to buy it on audiobook.

If you’re keeping score, I have now purchased this book twice. And after listening to it while I commute, I know I’m going to have to buy it again. I need a paper copy that I can reread, highlight, and mark with notes. Barefoot Church is so clear and practical, a how-to guide for pastors and lay leaders who want to make service not just a program, but an integral part of their lifestyle as individuals and as a church body. Hatmaker encourages us to overcome our own agendas and pitch in just to serve as Jesus commanded, not to build our attendance numbers or gain a reputation – or even to win people for Jesus. Of course we hope for open doors to share the gospel, but the church has gotten caught up in serving only so we can preach to those we help. We think of ourselves as better than the poor. We made better life choices and have it all figured out – in our own minds. The truth is that we don’t have all the answers, Jesus doesn’t call us to determine who deserves help, and we’ve done a lot of damage with these attitudes. He just calls us to help and serve in love. And that kind of selfless, compassionate service will open more doors to share the gospel than any “constructive criticism” or sermon can.

“They will know we are Christians by our LOVE” (John 13:35)
When you don’t know what to do, says Hatmaker, choose love…

 – Can’t decide if you should give? Choose love.
     – Can’t seem to swallow your pride on a foolish matter? Choose love.
     – Having a hard time forgiving someone? Chose love.
     – Rather keep your time for yourself than help someone in need?
        Choose love.
     – What would Jesus really do? Choose love.
         One of the reasons I believe in a barefoot church is because I believe
     in the power of love. Not just as a feeling, but as an action. Jesus was
     clear that we are to serve the least, and he was clear that it should
     always be an act of compassion. Our love should extend toward one
     another as well. And through that love, people will see God, not us or
     our actions.

The Hatmakers planted a church based on the premise that the Church can both gather people together and send them out to be salt and light in the local community. I want my worship to be more than just holding down a pew with my lazy backside. I want to be the active, serving hands and feet of Jesus. If you and/or your ministry want to live that life, I highly recommend Barefoot Church as a guidebook on your journey.

The Syrian Refugee Crisis

Uncategorized,

Syria

Watching the news this week, I knew I had to drop everything and talk to you guys about the Syrian refugee crisis. I’ve seen strong opinions online and heard some pretty significant rhetoric come out of politicians and political candidates

Let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start…). Remember the “Arab Spring” of 2011, when people took to the streets in some Middle East/Northern African countries to protest the regimes that were ruling their countries? Syria was one of the countries; people protested the Assad regime. The regime responded harshly, and it turned into a civil war. War brings death to more than soldiers and destruction to more than battlefields. Millions of Syrian families found themselves homeless and in constant danger, and they began to walk to the country’s borders in search of security in neighboring nations.

Thousands have made the dangerous and desperate decision to cross the Mediterranean to get to Greece. Boats capsizing on that journey have provided some of the saddest pictures of the situation as drowned bodies, including those of young children, wash up on the beach. I’ve promised you no guilt and sad pictures, so that’s all I’m going to say. (You can find the pictures easily enough if you haven’t seen them and want to.)

So that’s the background. It has been four years now and the situation in Syria is no closer to a peaceful resolution. Death and destruction are mounting. People are desperate and running for their lives.

I think we’re hearing about this more now because there is an election coming up, and because of the Paris terror attacks. Many Americans are afraid for our safety, and fear that radical elements will slip into the United States by posing as refugees. Opponents of the refugees coming to America say that American poverty, homelessness, and mental healthcare should take priority over foreigners in need.

On one hand, all of this makes sense. As much as my heart breaks for the refugees, events like the Paris terror attacks makes us fear for our safety, and there are plenty of Americans who need government aid to survive or get back on their feet. But on the other hand, where are these Syrian refugees supposed to go?

We Americans have so much, and we waste so much. If we got real about our spending and consumption we could provide for our own here in America, including our veterans, the mentally ill, the physically disabled, people displaced by emergencies, and others. We can take care of our own, we just have to get our eyes off ourselves, and let’s face it, many of the people who argue against the refugees because of Americans in need are also the people who don’t want to see money spent on Americans in need.

And as to our national security, we need to understand that refugees and those seeking political asylum are different. Asylees can come to the United States and, if proven safe and truly in need of asylum, they are fast-tracked to permanent residency. The refugee setup is different. Refugees are not in the United States until they are vetted, a process that can take up to three years.

The American immigration system has an annual maximum number of refugees that are allowed in every year. That number is fixed with the fiscal year and cannot be changed until the next cycle. That number was 80,000 per year until the economy went downhill. Then the number was lowered to 75,000, and then 70,000. Now President Obama is suggesting that we should increase the number to 85,000 per year. This has caused an uproar among people who fear for our safety and/or resources.

Many governors have declared that they will not accept more refugees into their state, but that’s not how immigration works. Immigration is handled at the federal level, and once accepted, the refugees are as free to move about the country as anyone is.

So there will be no sudden influx of refugees; the government will only accept the fixed maximum. And they will not be random unvetted people; all refugees will have to go through the background check process before they can set foot in this country.

For many of us, the ultimate question is what the Bible says about our responsibility to people in need. I’ve covered this in another post.

This refugee crisis has been a divisive issue on social media and website comment pages. People have strong, passionate opinions. Both sides want what’s best for America; they just have different ideas about what that is. We must continue to consider all the sides of this issue and be wise and responsible with our nation as well as the equally valuable lives of the Syrians.

 

I used a number of sources to compile this information:
INS: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/refugees-fact-sheet
World Vision: http://www.worldvision.org/our-impact/syrian-refugees?campaign=10680859
Bearing Drift: http://bearingdrift.com/2015/11/18/myths-vs-facts-in-the-syrian-refugee-issue/

 

Let’s talk! Leave your thoughts in the comments, but please remain civil. Anyone attacking other commenters personally or spouting unsupported venom will be removed.

Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit…

Fundraiser, Service Projects,

beans

Happy Food Shelf Friday!

Last week I posted about Hope for Dinner, and this week I’m piggy backing on that post with some recipes and information to help us all prepare for next week’s rice and beans dinners.

Rice is the most universally known and consumed food in the world. It’s a grain, so a good source of cheap calories. It provides the body with carbohydrates and fiber. Brown rice is the same plant as white rice, just as wheat flour is the same plant as white flour, but the brown rice is less processed than the white and therefore retains more of the fiber you get from whole grains.

Beans are another of the world’s common staple foods. The name “beans” covers a whole bunch of different legumes. Beans are low in fat, high in fiber, and a good source of protein and minerals like iron and folate. Vegetarians and people who cannot afford much meat benefit greatly from beans because they provide those hard-to-find nutrients that most of us get from meat.

Rice and Beans, in one form or another, is a staple dish around the world. The varieties of beans and the seasonings may vary, but overall this dish is familiar and available in most of the world. It’s also cheap. Last year my family participated in Hope For Dinner, and we found Venture’s estimate that rice and beans will save $4 per person per meal to be pretty accurate. Our nutritional needs were met, we found some recipes that have become regulars on our menu, and we gained awareness (in a small way) of what it’s like for the poor of the world to eat the same thing day in and day out.

If you can’t stomach rice and beans, you can still participate!
– Swap your dinners for a week for Food Shelf Friday dinners
– Go meatless for the week
– Stay out of the grocery store for a week and eat only what you have on hand
– Pick another cheap meal, like meatless spaghetti, to eat all week
– Give up coffee shop treats or fast food

If you’re ready to join us for a week of rice, beans, awareness, and hope, check out my Hope for Dinner board on Pinterest. It’s full of rice and beans recipes you can try. Last year our menu included:
– 1 box of Zatarans Red Beans and Rice for the boys, and a Weight Watchers Smart One Santa Fe Rice and Beans meal for me on a day when I had to be at class after work.
– Cheesy Rice and Beans from the Cheese Pusher blog
– Best Ever Black Bean Soup with Cilantro Lime Rice from the Iowa Girl Eats blog
– Panda Express Copycat Fried Rice from Food.com

This year I have a bunch of recipes pinned, and I’ll be deciding on a menu this weekend. Additionally, I’m looking for hands-on things my family can do during this week of awareness to expand our impact. We might pack meals at Feed My Starving Children, drop off some food at a food shelf, help sort and organize at the church’s food shelf, plan a food drive at work, etc. There are lots of great ideas, I just have to juggle them with J’s schedule as he has started the ski season.

Lots of great things we can discuss in the comments: recipe links, hands-on involvement, alternatives to rice and beans, etc. Let’s have a conversation! Leave a comment!