Christmas Decorations with a Purpose

Yesterday I shared an article that changed the way I looked at Christmas decorations.  Our family has decided from now on to only buy locally made or fair trade Christmas decor to make sure our Christmas joy isn't at the expense of someone else.  If you are envisioning ugly, creepy and cheap looking ornaments and decorations, you couldn't be more wrong!  I found some absolutely gorgeous pieces with wonderful stories you can feel great about purchasing and placing in your home or giving as gifts.
 
What is this Fair Trade thing anyway?
But first, I wanted to go back a little bit.  I've been buying fair trade coffee for over a year after hearing what the working conditions are like at may of the coffee plantations.  I'm privileged to work with a group that offers employment to artisans around the world and helps pull them out of poverty.  So to me, switching to fair trade Christmas ornaments isn't too surprising to those who know me well.  But I was sharing my new found knowledge with someone and they said "what is fair trade?  I still don't understand". 
 
Let me back up for a minute and explain what fair trade is.  Some of you reading this may be way more knowledgeable about this subject than I am, so feel free to scroll down to the fun stuff below, but for those thinking "I'm so glad someone asked!",  keep reading.  Noonday, the company I work with I mentioned above, has a great list of fair trade standards here .  The short version is this: when you buy a fair trade item, you know the person who made it was paid fairly and they work in a safe environment.  No child labor or slavery here!  You may be thinking, "is this seriously a problem still?  Slavery?  That's been over forever!"  This short article from UNICEF written last year shares a little about modern day child trafficking and slavery.
 
Ten Thousand Villages
On to the fun stuff!  My first fair trade ornament I ever purchased was from Ten Thousand Villages.  It is so beautiful I keep it up year round.  They have been selling fair trade items since 1946.  And I love every single thing they sell.  Here are a couple photos of some of the Christmas decorations they sell.

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/sheltering-cave-nativity

 

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/golden-star-ornament

 

NOVICA
Another great company I have purchased items from is NOVICA.  Besides ornaments, they have gorgeous stockings and tree skirts, candles, Nativity sets, wrapping paper and cards, and even Holiday table settings.  It is all amazing.  Here are a couple of my favorites:



http://www.novica.com/itemdetail/index.cfm?pid=168322
 
 



http://www.novica.com/itemdetail/index.cfm?pid=61308&rectype=2


SERRV
Another company I found and will soon be purchasing from is Serrv.  Wow.  Gorgeous!  They have beautiful Christmas decorations, some of which are now on my wish list.  Here are a couple of my new favorites:

 

http://www.serrv.org/product/applique-ornament-set/ornaments

 

http://www.serrv.org/product/small-hagnaya-cone-tree/holiday-decor

I will most more tomorrow, but in the meantime, happy shopping with a purpose!

A Fair Trade Christmas Tree

Christmas in our house is a magical time.  My children painstakingly select the perfect tree from a farm that gives a portion of the sale back to the African Children's Choir so we can make sure we are doing some good with our purchase.  We all love pulling out our tubs of ornaments and carefully placing each one on the tree.  We know when we received each ornament, and they all hold a special significance to us. 

I was forwarded an link today that changed the way I look at Christmas ornaments entirely.  It didn't make the front pages of the newspaper or even the headlines on the evening news.  A horrific, terrifying video and article about child slave labor and our beloved Christmas decorations.  Take a couple of minutes to watch the video and see why we must do better. 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsmakers/enslaved-children-freed-after-being-forced-to-make-christmas-decorations-potentially-headed-for-us-194625049.html

Thinking that my beautiful ornaments may have been made by exploited children, by slave labor in horrific conditions, is just more than I can think about.  So what do you do?  Throw them all out and start over?  We can't change what we have done in the past.  But we can use our new knowledge to change what we do in the future.  And I will still love my beautiful ornaments.  Many of them were gifts and hold significance because of the gift giver.  Some of the gift givers aren't with us anymore, so these ornaments will continue to be special to me.  I will, however, never look at them the same.  And with my new knowledge, I will only add fair trade or locally handcrafted items to my Christmas decorations.   We have purchased several locally made and fair trade ornaments over the years because of their beauty and their stories, but they have now moved to my favorite list. 

Over the next few days I will share some fair trade websites where you can purchase gorgeous Christmas ornaments and Christmas decorations that you can know with confidence are made with fair trade practices by artisans that will be paid fairly for their work and make their crafts in good working conditions.  Next year, I am going to add a tree to my house that is exclusively decorated with fair trade ornaments.  If you were planning on purchasing ornaments or decorations for you home or as gifts, please consider buying them from companies that are making a stand against child labor and slavery.  Our purchases really do make a difference.  We can choose to ignore our new knowledge and keep buying the way we have, or we can buy from companies who are helping to end poverty one person at a time by using fair trade practices.  As a family, we are choosing to do more and buy smarter. 

The Great Back to School Breakfast Extravaganza

We have been busy little bees around here lately getting ready for back to school for the kids and back to work for me.  Planning, organizing, and now the fun part.... cooking!  I wanted to pick a morning where I could do a month's worth of healthy breakfast cooking that I could freeze for those super busy mornings.  My 10 year old son is at "Mom Camp" this week, so we picked three recipes we could crank out pretty quickly. 

The first recipe we tackled was for Egg, Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches.  Think the sandwich you pick up from a certain fast food restaurant that is coated with grease.  Tastes great, not great for you.  We made our own healthier version with whole grain English muffins, organic cheddar cheese, local farm eggs and turkey sausage. Our goal was to cook up 24 of these tasty sandwiches we could freeze and cook later, but you can obviously cut the recipe down to a smaller size.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients:

24 Whole Grain English Muffins

24 Large Brown Eggs

24 Turkey Sausage Patties (2-16 oz tubes made exactly 24 sausage patties)

Shredded Organic Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

1) Oil muffin tins and crack an egg in each tin

2) Bake eggs in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes

3) Cook sausage patties 

4) Toast English muffins, opened, in the oven while the eggs are cooking

5) Add cooked egg and sausage patty to each English muffin.

6) Sprinkle with cheese

7) Leave sandwiches open faced and place in the freezer for one hour.  Once frozen, remove sandwiches from freezer and place them in plastic wrap, tin foil or use a vacuum sealer.  I placed them in packs of 4 and used the vacuum sealer to make them last longer when frozen.  

8) When it is time to serve them, just remove frozen sandwiches from plastic or foil, microwave for 1-1 1/2 minutes, or place in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Yum!  24 breakfast sandwiches, done!

While the eggs and sausages were cooking, we started making the batter for the pancakes and heated the griddle.  These are not your typical pancakes, y'all!  They are packed full of healthy goodness and taste pretty darn awesome.  Just ask my helper.  He ate about half of them.  This recipe makes about 48 pancakes, so even if you eat lots of them, you will still have plenty to freeze.  I sealed them in packets of 8 to make them convenient to reheat in the toaster on busy mornings.

Banana Oat, Almond and Quinoa Flour Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups Oat Flour

1 cup Quinoa Flour

1 cup Almond Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Vanilla

1/3 cup Oil

1/3 cup Apple Sauce

2 Tbsp Honey

2 cups Milk (can use soy, rice, almond, etc.)

1 1/2 cups Water

2 Bananas, mashed

5-10 Strawberries, mashed

1-2 cups Blueberries

Directions:

Add all ingredients except water and fruit.  Mix together.  Add bananas and water.  Continue mixing.  When finished, hand mix strawberries and blueberries in batter.  Y'all know how to cook pancakes, so I'm going to just let you do your thing here.  I of course had to sample one and they are great just plain.  My helper decided they are also great with a little organic maple syrup.  They would also be delish with homemade jam (we have both strawberry and blackberry waiting to top these yummy creations).

Don't you love the action shot?  He is the master of flipping some pancakes!

Confession time: I cheated with the waffles.  I bought a package of Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix to make my waffles.  But I added stuff to them, so that makes it a little better.  The directions call for 1 cup of mix, 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of oil.  I doubled the recipe and added some of my own stuff.

10 Grain Waffles

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix

4 Eggs

2 Tablespoons of Oil

2 Tablespoons of Organic, Unsweetened Apple Sauce

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Honey

1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups of Water 

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except water.  Add water until you reach desired consistency. Grease your waffle iron well.  A little tip: don't open your waffle iron until it lets you know it is time.  Even if your helper is very anxious to see how they turn out.  Cause it will result in a mega waffle disaster.  Just trust me here.  Stick a pancake in his mouth and make him wait.  When the waffle iron indicates they are ready, open to a beautiful and tasty breakfast treat!  This made 6 mega waffles.  With my tribe, 2 big waffles will be a breakfast, so I froze them in packs of 2.  Will be great topped with fresh fruit, maple syrup or fruit preserves.  

That's it!  It took about 2 hours start to finish (including prep and cleaning time) and we ended up with 24 breakfast sandwiches, 48 pancakes and 6 mega waffles.  All I will have to do is give them a big old glass of milk and either fresh fruit or a fruit smoothie to go along with their reheated breakfast treats.  When I'm feeling ambitious, or at least awake, I might also add scrabled eggs or turkey sausage to the pancakes or waffles, but the advantage of using the almond and quinoa flour is they are already full of healthy, filling goodness.

Coming soon.....

The Great Back to School Breakfast Extravaganza, Take 2!  Next we will be making healthy muffins galore to freeze, and individual packets of oats with dried fruit we can grab and heat in the mornings to make much better for you instant oatmeal. 

Proverbs 31 Woman & A Giveaway!!!!

Over the past few months, I have had the privilege of joining a group of amazing women to study the extraordinary Proverbs 31 woman of the Bible.  It has been a time full of laughter, amazement at the skills and talents of the women in the group, learning, growing and stretching. 

The topic this week was the Proverbs 31 woman’s industry.  Before this study, I never really thought of the Proverbs 31 women being a business woman.  I knew she took care of her family, was a great mother and wife and was someone to be admired, but an industrious business woman never came to my mind.  

Through a long, laborious process this Proverbs 31 woman hand-spun thread and painstakingly wove beautiful garments and sashes for her family to wear and to sell to provide for her family.  Through my study this week, I had faces that kept coming to mind as I thought of this Proverbs 31 woman.  I thought of the artisans I am privileged to support through Noonday Collection.   In my mind, I kept seeing the beautiful Guatemalan artisans sitting at their looms weaving beautiful scarves as they have for generation after generation.  I saw the lovely HIV positive women stringing beads created from melted down artillery shells into stunning pieces of jewelry.  I saw the cheery Indian women sitting in their brightly colored clothing, happily creating wearable art.  I saw the gorgeous Ugandan women delicately crafting paper beads.  These Ugandan artisans pray blessings over the lives of the women who will one day wear their handiwork.  As we are told the Proverbs 31 woman does, these artisans work with eager hands, thrilled to be able to provide a way out of the debilitating poverty that surrounds them.

In honor of these remarkable Proverbs 31 women I am offering a giveaway of a $50 gift card to Noonday Collection.  Go online to view the gorgeous items and see some of the artisans stunning faces.  The fair trade pieces they sell offer them hope for their future and for the future of their children.  If you win, you can select your favorite item from an artisan whose story touches your heart.  By supporting these women, you are yourself becoming a Proverbs 31 woman. “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hand to the needy” Proverbs 31:20

How to Enter:

1)      Like my Noonday Collection Facebook Page here

2)      Share this blog post on your own Facebook Page

I will draw the winner on Saturday, March 17^th at 8pm EST and 

announce it on my Noonday Collection Facebook page.

More About Noonday Collection….

Noonday Collection is a company providing sustainable, fair trade, one of a kind items handcrafted by artisans around the world.  By purchasing their unique handiwork, you are helping provide them with a way out of poverty and hope for the future.  We sell the gorgeous items exclusively online and through super fun trunk shows.  Trunk shows are a great excuse to have a girl’s night in while trying on jewelry and learning about your purchasing power and the difference you can make in the world simply by purchasing a pair of fair trade earrings or a bracelet.  Noonday was started as an adoption fundraiser for the founder and is still a great and fun way to raise money for your own adoption.   

For more information or to book your trunk show, visit www.KristinHarvey.NoondayCollection.com or email me at lady_kris@hotmail.com

This One Is Going To Hurt

Most of the challenges we are taking on as a family are ways we can reach out to others in physical need and give, either with our time or with our money.  For February, we decided to try something different.  Something that is going to be painful.  Something that, honestly, I don't want to do.  But how can I teach my kids to be better people if I don't stretch myself and aim to become a better person? 

February is a month of LOVE.  It's a month of making Valentines for your sweetheart, a month of making heart shaped pancakes and sandwiches for your kids, and of saying I love you more.  A verse keeps coming back to me, as much as I want to ignore it.  Actually, it is found several times in the Bible.  "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."  Seriously God?  Do you know what they did to me?  Do you know what they said behind my back?  To my face?  How they hurt me? Yep, He does. 

So this month, we are going to pray for that person in our lives that persecuted us. We all have that person.  Maybe a person from work, from a church group, from school, a neighbor, maybe even a family member.  Someone who has said or done things to you that seriously hurt.  Maybe it just happened.  Maybe it happened years ago. For my kids, that will mean praying for a kid at school or on their sports team who hurt their feelings or did something mean to them.  For me, that will mean praying for someone in my life that, honestly, I just don't want to pray for.  Everyday this month I will pick a topic to pray for in that person's life.  At the end, I don't expect them to be changed (but then again, God can do anything!), but I pray that I will be changed.  I hope I will be a little more forgiving and a little more loving.

Matthew 5:44 (NIV)

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"

Almost

Orphans and orphan care has been on my heart for as long as I can remember.  When I was 16 I almost went to Hong Kong for a summer to help at an orphanage.  Almost.  

Foreign missions has always been a big part of my life and something I feel called to do at some point.  When I was a young adult I almost joined Mercy Ships (the Christian relief organization my parents joined when I was 13 and they served with for many years).  Almost.  There have been many great things I have almost done with my life.  

I'm fairly certain that when I stand before God when my time on this earth is through, He isn't going to say to me "look at the wonderful things you almost did and all the people you almost helped in My name.  Well done my good and faithful servant". I believe He puts causes on our minds and passions in our hearts for a reason.  He has put on my heart missions and orphan care.  What has He put on your heart?

As I raise my three children, I know this is not the time in my life where I can become a full time foreign missionary.  But there are many ways I can support missionaries and directly impact lives across the world.  We are not in a position where we currently feel led to adopt.  But there are many ways I can support orphan care and support families who are in the process of adopting.  I am done almost helping.  I am helping.  Now.  For me, this is being a Noonday Ambassador.  It is helping families raise money for their own adoptions while supporting artisans in foreign countries.  I'm helping orphans.  In a way, I am a missionary helping provide for the basic needs of families in Uganda.  In Ecuador.  In India.  In Ethiopia.  In Peru.  

The following passage in Matthew 25 speaks to me on the difference in serving and almost serving.  And I know which group I want to be in. 

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

   ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

   ⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

   ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ (NIV)

...Your Night Will Become Like the Noonday...

A little over a year ago I celebrated another birthday.  My birthday happens to be on Christmas day and my anniversary 10 days before Christmas, so the amount of gifts I receive in the month of December is always overwhelming.  As I sat with my lovely gifts I felt a huge sense of sadness.  I couldn't get my mind off the images I have seen firsthand in the world - hunger, poverty like the average American can't even imagine, disease, those without hope or a future.  My mind kept going back to faces of women and children I had seen in Africa during my teenage years when I was a Missionary kid.  Images of dirty lakes and ponds with kids bathing in them while women collected drinking water for their families just feet away.  Children with torn clothes and no shoes running through trash piles.  And the one that haunts me the most: a child dying in the arms of a friend sitting beside as we helped out in a medical clinic.  The young child died of an illness that could have been so easily prevented if they had received proper medical care in time.  I will never forget the sounds of the mother wailing at the loss of her child.  Never.  How could I sit there with my ridiculously large pile of gifts while this what I have seen in the world is the reality for so many?  

That day I promised myself and my family that for my following birthday I wanted to help others instead of receiving gifts.  We all know that when you tell a child you are going to do something, there is no turning back.  As my 8 year old son always says, "A promise is a promise."  I knew if I told them what I was planning on doing then they wouldn't let me forget or back out.  For most of the year I tried to find something I could invite my friends to for my December birthday that would get them involved.  Nothing I could find helped the people I wanted so desperately to help.  And then I found Noonday.

A friend with similar convictions had found about Noonday and had signed up to become an Ambassador.  As I researched the company, I realized they were doing exactly what I had felt the urge to do a year before.  Women who also had the burning desire to help women and children across the globe were telling their friends how they could have a super fun trunk show in their own homes and share the stories of the artisans that created the one of a kind pieces of jewelry, accessories, gorgeous home decor and more.  Each gorgeous item sold puts food on the table of a family that might other wise go without food.  It enables children to go to school.  It lets mothers to be able to put shoes on their children's feet.  It allows them to afford medical care they would otherwise never receive.  I was so excited that I immediately booked a trunk show in my home for my birthday and encouraged my friends to come to my birthday party, but instead of buying me another gift I didn't need, purchase one of the lovely fair trade items and made a real difference in the world and give it to someone else or keep it for themselves. 

Before I even had my birthday party, I knew just a party wasn't enough for me.  I agreed with the mission and purpose of Noonday so much that I signed up to become an Ambassador.  Personally, it lets me keep helping those across the globe that I wouldn't be able to otherwise while still raising my three children.  It allows me to meet amazing people that are answering the call they feel to adopt children both domestically and internationally and provide them with forever homes while using Noonday as a fundraiser to bring their children home.  It lets me give other like-minded women a fun experience with their friends of hosting a trunk show and spreading the mission of Noonday while buying gorgeous jewelry and other fair trade handcrafted items. It gives our family an opportunity to give more to causes we are passionate about (we are committed to giving 100% of our Noonday profits back to orphan care and other charities we believe in).  And mostly it just feels so good to find an answer to the "what can I do?" question that was weighing so heavily on my heart.  That heaviness is lifted and it is filled with an excitement and a passion knowing that I am really helping those I had such a desire to help but couldn't figure out how. 

I encourage you to go to my website and read some of the stories of the artists who are creating these amazing items and whose lives are being changed by each and every purchase made.   Why Work Matters: and Coral's Story are both very touching to me and give you a glimpse of why Noonday means so much to me.  I hope the stories inspire you, too.

www.KristinHarvey.NoondayCollection.com

"...when you satisfy the needs of the oppressed, your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:10

Do Less

A big part of our "Do More" challenge is doing more with our time.  When you sit down and look at how much time you spend on a daily basis doing absolutely nothing, or at least nothing that matters, it becomes pretty scary.  My challenge this week was to look at the things I spend my time doing and see if I could streamline them some.  Things I tackled in this challenge:

• Just Say No - I sat down and looked at my list of commitments and got rid of a few.  They were all worthwhile things, but some of the items on my responsibility list just didn't fit well into our current family goals.  Just because something is good and worthwhile doesn't mean I have to do it.  When I'm asked to be on a committee or help with a project, I always say yes.  I'm learning to say no.  This opens up my schedule to help with things that fit into our current priority list.   For me this week that meant I was able to volunteer at a local charity that has monthly missions sales and donates all the profits to orphan care.  More about this exciting group soon!
• Cleaning - I updated my cleaning chart and printed off a new, clean copy to put on my refrigerator.  Every day I have a few things I do to keep the house clean and organized without feeling overwhelmed.  It is amazing how much time that frees up and how less stressful it becomes!
• Cooking - I spend so much time each week trying to figure out what I am going to make for breakfast, what to pack in school lunches, and what to make for dinner.  It leaves me stressed and leaves hurried, thrown together meals for my family.  Not to mention all those trips to the grocery store because I didn't take out anything to thaw.  This week I finished a project I have been working on for an embarrassing length of time.  I now have updated my 12 weeks of full menus (breakfast, lunch and dinner).  I switch out the menu each week so each recipe only comes around once every 12 weeks.  When it is time to make my grocery list, I simply pull out the menu for the upcoming week, turn to each recipe (all recipes are numbered in a 2" binder, and each menu lists the page numbers of the recipe ), and write down my ingredients.  It takes just a few minutes to make the grocery list and since I'm planning ahead, only one trip to the store each week.  I cannot even tell you what a huge time saver and reduction of stress this is!
• Getting the kids organized - the kids all have cleaning and responsibility charts as well.  They are pretty, colorful and placed where they can see them on the refrigerator.  Each day they look at their chart and make sure they have done all their jobs around the house.  Not having to verbally go over the list (over and over and over again!) saves time and stress!  They know exactly what has to be done before they can go play outside.  

We have made other changes as well, but these few simple things have opened up our schedules to be able to volunteer more and do more that matters.  And I can't tell you how good that feels.  

The Giving Fund

The purpose of the Do More Challenge is very simple - find small, simple ways to make a difference in the world around you.  As my husband and I raise our three children ages 8-10, we found that it is very hard to teach selflessness when you aren't living it in your own life.  Of course they act like greedy little selfish creatures when we show them how.  Instead of telling them what kind of adults we wanted them to grow up to be, we decided to try to become those adults ourselves.

The first family challenge we made with our kids was not to buy them anything they wanted, only what they needed.  They will get a couple things they want for their birthday, but anything else they want throughout the year they will have to earn by doing select jobs around the house, in addition to the chores they do simply because they live here.  Of the money they earn, some goes to savings, some goes to tithe, some goes to a separate giving fund (more about this in a minute) and the rest goes to something they want that they are saving for.  This teaches them the value of money and helps them learn the difference between a want and a need.  My 8 year old son found the last part of that particularly challenging this week as we went to the craft store for a Cub Scout project and he found item after item he "needed".  Sticking to my guns, we left the store with only the items we came for (but trust me, I was stretched with my need vs. want list at my favorite craft store, too!).

The giving fund is the most exciting part of this new need vs. want earning plan for the kids.  This past Christmas we donated gifts for families supported by our local domestic violence shelter.  A friend and I went shopping and filled up the back of my minivan with amazing gifts for both mothers and children who left domestic violence situations.  As I dropped the gifts off at the shelter I was so full of happiness and excitement thinking of those who would be receiving these gifts.  I came home and told my children about the joy I felt.  I realized this wasn't something you can just tell others about.  The giving fund they are raising money for will grow throughout the year.  Next Christmas I will take my kids on their own shopping spree where they can pick out the gifts for children at the domestic violence shelter (and other organizations we decide to add to the list throughout the year).  While I'm certain there will be mixed emotions as they part with the gifts they purchase with their own money, I can't wait to see the joy in their faces as they see how they made a difference in the life of someone else.  They are already planning a lemonade sale to raise more money for their giving fund. 

One final comment... this is not a brag board or a "look at the awesome things we are doing" site.  This is a place where I hope you will freely share your giving ideas and find encouragement in others who share your convictions to do more.

Acts 20:35 (NIV)  "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”