4 posts tagged “community”

It's 10:45 p.m. Friday evening, and Matt and I are getting ready to go to bed, but I've had this idea for the past couple of days and I just gotta get it posted!  I'm too tired right now to go into a whole lot of elaborate explanation as to why I believe this is important or give any further disclaimers, so if you have any questions about this, please let me know. 

I have a number of friends overseas and Stateside who are followers of Jesus, who are giving their lives to help others know who Jesus is and to share His love with them.  Sometimes they battle homesickness or culture shock.  Sometimes they are weary and have a lot on their heart.  Sometimes they are tired.  I emphasize sometimes, because they also get great joy in what they do!  But there are moments when they really appreciate some lovin', when they would really like to simply hear from a friend or a family member, just to hear that they're being thought of and that that they are cared about. 

If you have a friend or family member that is serving in ministry, can you take a moment to send them a quick email this weekend to let them know you're thinking of them and that you appreciate them?  You may not even agree with what they're doing or believe the same thing, but that's ok.  What's important is that they know someone is out there who is thinking of them and wanting to show them some love.  I would just ask that you consider reaching out to someone in ministry this weekend by sending them a note of encouragement or just to say, "Hi!".  I know they would be deeply grateful!  And if you don't know anyone in ministry, just pick one of your friends to send a note of appreciation to; I know they'd love that as well!

I will do this myself this weekend, but also want to write a prayer on Ink Pots to those of my friends who are in ministry who I know read this blog:

Lord, we entrust those who are dear to us, who are serving in Your Name, to Your never-failing care and love, knowing that you are doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for.  Defend them from all dangers of soul and body, and help them to draw near to You.  May they be bound together in Your love.  And may they be assured that You are the God of peace, that in quietness and confidence is their strength.  May their joy abound in You this day.  In Jesus' precious Name, Amen. 

Dear ones, you know who you are, and you are being thought of and prayed for this weekend!  Much, much love!

Darren Rowse, of ProBlogger.net, declared April 14th Blogger Appreciation Day, unofficially.  Who doesn't like a bit of appreciation here and there?  The more I research blogging, the more I discover that there are millions of blogs out there, about all sorts of topics.  Even my personal list of blogs I read on Google Reader has gotten considerably longer just over the past few weeks.  Vox.com has received my feedback on a number of items that I think would enhance their product, one of which is to be able to add more links in the side bar for my Blog Roll (it's on the left side of Ink Pots).  There are currently five blogs listed, and Vox definitely needs to make room for my expanding list of favorite blogs I browse. 

So in the spirit of Blogger Appreciation Day, I would like to highlight a few of those blogs I read regularly, that sadly, I am not able to put on my Blog Roll on Ink Pots, but that have become a significant part of my everyday life.  They cover a broad spectrum of topics.  They challenge and encourage me, make me shed good tears, and also laugh a lot.  Each of the writing styles draw me in, and in many ways, they are an inspirational source for content and creativity.  Also, they keep me patient in this hope-to-be-more-than-just-a-hobby area of blogging as some of them have developed into much more than just a hobby through years of perseverance and determination.  None of them are written by people whom I have personally met, but I would love the opportunity to meet them one day.  From what I know of them through their blogs, I like to think that if I were to meet them, we'd become very good friends (hope that doesn't weird them out).  So a special thank you goes out to these bloggers, who don't know much about me, but have insightfully let me get a glimpse of their lives, and I appreciate them very much!

1)  Baby Bangs...and other phenomena of motherhood:  written by a minister's wife and stay-at-home mom, I eagerly await for Amanda to submit a post!  This is the first blog I started reading faithfully of someone I didn't know.  She expresses things very well, she's funny, and I appreciate her balance of vulnerability and wisdom in knowing when and how to share things on the internet, something I'm still trying to attain.

2 & 3)  Big Mama and BooMama:  I stumbled across these two different blogs recently from someone else's Blog Roll, and I'm hooked!  As I've contemplated where to take this blog in the future, I've hit their sites a number of times to study aspects of what I hope this blog to be one day (trying to dream!).  I love their creativity.

4)  Kelly's Korner:  I don't recall how I came across Kelly's blog, but I was immediately taken by her "About Me" section that says, "We have one furry child, Dawson, that we love more than two people should."  Really people, it doesn't take much more than that to make me cry out with a sigh of relief and joy knowing that someone else understands my love for Molly!  Kelly is a sweetheart, and I can relate to a lot that she shares.

Happy Blogger Appreciation Day!

Hi, everyone!  I first mentioned Nate and Tricia here, and I've kept up with their story.  This morning, they received the miraculous news that the transplant team was looking at a pair of lungs that were available through a donor to see if they would be a good match for Tricia, and THEY WERE!!  She is currently in surgery, which generally lasts 7-9 hours.  I am asking you to please take a moment and pray for Tricia and Nate!  You can click here to read Nate's latest post entitled "IN THE OR" or go to http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ for updates he publishes regularly.  Thanks, everyone!

First let me say, "Happy New Year!"  Oddly enough, it doesn't seem right starting a new blog entry, the first one of 2008, without expressing those common words that leave our mouths and ring through our ears during this season.

After all our guests left, Matt and I had the pleasure of spending time together, just the two of us here in Austin.  We slept in, watched movies, took long walks with Molly and played basketball with her, and we even went out on a couple of dates.  It wouldn't be a complete break, however, especially since we were home, without some "honey-do" lists that I prepared for us to tackle in order to start the New Year as completely organized as possible.  There really isn't anything like the feeling of scratching off something from a list!  Hopefully Matt will agree that it was a well-balanced break. 

January/February 2008 "Cooking Light"

One leisurely thing I did was read through the January/February 2008 issue of Cooking Light.  It had an article about "Dinner Day", started by Jeffrey and Barbara Smith, a family in Pennsylvania a few years ago.  The Smiths, after watching the way 9/11 was an impetus to bring together Americans nation-wide as well as local neighbors within their community, wanted to do something to help continue the bond between neighbors that was incited by 9/11.  So they created "Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day", where for one day out of the year, people invite neighbors they do not normally have over for dinner (i.e. neighbors they've never spoken to or only waved at) to strengthen the community.  "Dinner Day" spread to neighboring communities and counties, and eventually, it became Pennsylvania's House Resolution No. 723, declaring the second Saturday of January as "Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day", with the logo, "Building Bridges, Not Fences".

This year, "Dinner Day" is on Saturday, January 12th.  I was stirred by the article, knowing that there are a number of neighbors I've briefly spoken to, but don't really have any interaction with.  I admit, sometimes I'd rather keep to myself, content with the neighbors I know who are already our friends.  There are other neighbors, who we know only a little bit, and we keep telling each other that we should "get together", "let's plan on doing something", but for one reason or another, it has never happened...and it's been more than a year!  So we certainly have a handful, if not more, neighbors to choose from who we could invite to "Dinner Day"!  After reading the article, I felt challenged to get to know our neighbors better, to reach out to those we don't know.  And I was also excited at the fun opportunity to have a new guest in our home, even more motivated that it may be something people participate in nation-wide on January 12th! 

So Matt and I chose to invite one of the neighbors that it took us over a year to actually follow through with having in our home.  His name is Steve, and he was actually our realtor and sold us our home.  He's a very kind man, with an adorable Golden Retriever named Dexter.  We've waved at him on the few occasions we see him drive by while we walk Molly.  Right before Christmas we stopped by his home to say, "hi", and Molly and Dexter ran around Steve's living room together playing while Molly tried to steal Dexter's bone.  And once again, we said, "We really need to get together and have you over for dinner."  So Steve will be our welcomed and honored guest on "Dinner Day"!  If you could invite a neighbor over for "Dinner Day", who would it be and why?