Schooled by a Four Year Old

"What I love about the ministry of Jesus is that he identified the poor as blessed and the rich as needy... and then he went and ministered to them both. This, I think, is the difference between charity and justice. Justice means moving beyond the dichotomy between those who need and those who supply and confronting the frightening and beautiful reality that we desperately need one another." - Rachel Held Evans

Every single Sunday, I and the family that I sit with at church are given presents by a homeless gentleman who attends our church. I'll call him Todd for the sake of this story. Without fail, he has a gift for us every. single. week. Sometimes it's clothes. A lot of times it's food. One time it was a tv. I sometimes keep the presents that I receive, but mostly I put them in the donation pile for when I take things to Goodwill. I don't need the presents he gives me, but that's never stopped him. I'm a giver of gifts and receiving gifts (even from family) makes me really uncomfortable. It embarrasses me to get gifts from a homeless person. They are usually dirty. They smell funny. It feels weird to be handed presents in crumpled up bags when I walk into church every single week. 

This past Sunday, MM, the daughter of my friends, looked at me and said "where is your cousin?" I, of course, have never brought any of my cousins to church, so I was confused. I told her I didn't know who she was talking about. Exasperated, she said "Todd...your cousin...where is he?" She hadn't seen him in the back of the church and was concerned as to where he was. And apparently, she thinks he is my cousin. I pointed him out to her and after we took communion she ran to the back of the church and gave him a hug.

And I've been thinking about that interaction since Sunday morning. MM gets gifts from Todd every Sunday too. And she receives them with joy. She actively looks forward to the presents that he brings. She doesn't need any of the gifts that he brings her, and most of them aren't age appropriate for a four year old. But she gets excited. And her excitement of receiving the gifts ministers to Todd. He has nothing and yet he goes out of his way to give us things. I've been schooled in humility by a four year old. She identified Todd as family...my family. And I'm embarrassed by him.

That same Sunday, an elderly lady in front of me, turned to suggest that I join the choir since I sing so well (I cannot confirm that I sing well, I thought my singing was awful). When she turned back around, MM wanted to know her name. When I told her, she asked, "is she your sister?" I told the lady that MM wanted to know if we were sisters. She got quite the kick out of that and responded, "well, I guess we are sisters in Christ." And isn't that true? We are all family. And we all need each other. And I need to climb down off my high horse. I'm not so wealthy that I can't also receive gifts, even from a homeless person, with joy.

The Next Forty-Six Days

Oh hey look, I actually came back to my blog. Last year when I ran the Peachtree, I injured myself. I was in a walking cast for a month and a half. Then once I started running again, I broke a bone in my foot, not a stress fracture, a complete, all the way through, break. I was in a walking cast again for three months. Plus, I had to take osteoporosis medicine for four months. And I've been in physical therapy since December. Basically, I spent the last quarter of 2013 in a funk and didn't even want to be in this space. But now I'm back at it.  Because hey, it's Lent!

I grew up Southern Baptist and didn't actually start observing Lent until joining the Methodist church. I love celebrating the holidays of the church and love the order that it brings to my life. I try to always give up something meaningful for Lent. This year, I'm giving up social media.

Gasp right? I mean I'm the Queen of Twitter (as per my husband). One of my friends even asked if Jeremy was taking bets on how quickly I'll fail. I love social media. As an introvert, it's really been one of the best things since sliced bread for me. I get to make friends on-line and then when I meet them in person, it's like we're old friends and it takes away all the trepidation of meeting new people. When I told our children's minister that I was giving up social media, she remarked that I was the only person that she knew who actually used social media to create community instead of just to observe community. So, yes, it's going to be hard.

So, why, if I love social media so much, am I giving it up for Lent? Well, that's the reason. I love it so much. It consumes an incredible amount of my time. It has basically turned into a stronghold in my life and what better time to break that stronghold than during Lent. When I wake up in the morning, I check Facebook and Twitter before I even get out of the bed. When I take breaks during the day, I check Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. When I get home from work, I spend the entire evening checking all three social media platforms over and over until I go to bed. I don't read my Bible or pray, I just piddle around on social media.

There's plenty to do in these next forty-six* days. I'm teaching a Lenten Sunday School class and working my way through Chris Seay's A Place at the Table. There is a stack of books taller than myself that I need to read. Our closets and the basement need to be organized and tons of things need to be donated to Goodwill. Our garden will need to be planted in April. Oh, and there are STILL Christmas presents that I need to finish.

So yes, lots is happening during those 46 days. I will be documenting a lot of it here. If you want to comment, please do so on the blog. I won't be checking Facebook or Twitter even though I have the blog set up to automatically post to FB and Twitter when I update it. If you have my phone number, please call me or text. If you have my email, by all means, send me an email. But even more importantly, if you live near me, let's see each other. Keep me accountable. I have ten books on my list to read in 46 days. Make sure I read them!

*Lent technically is forty days as the Sunday's during Lent are Feast Days; however, I won't be participating in the Feast days.

Helping Others Helps You - UPDATED

Do you know what is awesome? Helping abused kids get the therapy they need. Do you know what's even more awesome? Winning a prize for helping kids who need help!!

After seeing several bloggers I read have raffles as an enticement for the charities for which they were raising money, I thought "hmm, I know some local businesses that might help me raise money for Murphy-Harpst, I know that so many people care about children, and it is a home for severely and abused children, surely folks would want to help." And I thought right!!

I reached out to some awesome local businesses and now I have FOUR prizes that four of you could win!

First, do you like amazing coffee and cupcakes that will make you sing praises? Then do I have the deal for you! Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters has donated a pound of coffee plus one of their amazing mugs. And Sweet n' Sinful Bakery has donated a half-dozen cupcakes to enjoy with your coffee. I won't even judge you if you eat the entire six cupcakes all by yourself. I could easily eat all six without even getting up! 

Second, do you like burgers? Do you like burgers even more when you know that the cows were fed only grass and raised in humane conditions? Then you'll love that Farm Burger has donated a $50 gift card for one lucky participant! Farm Burger has locations in Decatur, Buckhead, Dunwoody and now in Asheville, NC (my most favorite city in the southeast!). 

Third, do you remember me talking about the amazing food that we had at our wedding? Well, you can go eat some of Chef Terry's vittles too! Wrecking Bar Brewpub has donated a $45 gift card for another lucky participant. 

And last but not least, do you love bacon? Wait, why am I even asking that question, everyone loves bacon! Pine Street Market has donated a year. of. bacon (one pound each month for a year). And, in the event that anyone asks why you're smiling all the time, they are providing Pine Street Market t-shirt so that you can just point at the t-shirt because obviously you won't be able to talk because you're mouth will be full of delicious bacon!.

**UPDATED**
Today, I had to visit my chiropractor aka the best doctor in the whole world (and I've seen a lot of doctors, so I would know). I was telling him about my raffle and he said that he would participate too! So, Active Life and Health Center is donating an hour massage and an acupuncture session. 

How do you get in the running for one of these cool prizes? I'm so glad you asked! Just go here: http://www.crowdrise.com/Murphy-Harpst and donate. For every $5 donated your name will go in the hat. On July 1, I'll pull four names from said hat. Donate now so that you don't miss out on one of these amazing prizes!!

Book Giveaway!

When I put together my fundraising site for Murphy-Harpst, I reached out to Karen Spears Zacharias on Twitter to ask if she would please share the link. Well, being the awesome person that she is, she said that not only would she share it, but that she would send me an autographed book to raffle off as part of my fundraiser. So, the first person to donate $100 to Murphy-Harpst Children's Home, will receive a signed copy of her book A Silence of Mockingbirds.

Please give! There are children who need your help! Click here to go to the donation page!

Running for the Forgotten Among Us

Yesterday the running community took a giant blow to the gut. I was not in Boston, and I can't really speak on the pain that those associated with this tragedy are experiencing. But I do know that I will keep running, every single week, just like I always have, because I possess the same spirit that all my fellow runners possess...a spirit that is not afraid.

This year, I am running the Peachtree Road Race for the third time. The first year I ran the race, I was right in the middle of my divorce and I needed something to focus on that would keep me sane. Running was that something for me. Last year, Jeremy and I both ran the Peachtree, but I was near the middle and he was near the end. This year, we worked really hard and pushed ourselves in a qualifying race so that we could start together. We're pretty darn excited about it. However, this year, I'm not just running with someone, I'm running for someone (or something, since it is a not-for-profit). This year, I am running for the Murphy-Harpst Children's Home.  Murphy-Harpst is a children's home in Georgia that seeks to provide a safe and nurturing environment where severely abused and neglected children can thrive and heal. Severely abused and neglected children. Can you even wrap your head around that? Here are some statistics from Child Help:

• A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds
• *More than five children die every day as a result of child abuse.
• Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4. 
• It is estimated that between 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates. 
• More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way. 
• Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
• About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse. 
• About 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder. 
• The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2008 is $124 billion. 

Five children die every day from child abuse. Every. single. day. Murphy-Harpst is working to stop that. When I approached their giving department to make sure that I wasn't stepping on anyone's toes by making Murphy-Harpst my fundraiser, this is the reply I got from their VP of Development: Thank you for caring about children whom the rest of the world has not only abused, but often forgotten.  Our prayers will be with you.

Let's make this happen y'all. I've made my fundraising goal $5,000. I know it's lofty, but why aim low when there are so many children who can be helped. If you can help, please check out my fundraising page at http://www.crowdrise.com/Murphy-Harpst.

Thank you in advance. You are all beautiful people!