Helping the Homeless

A few weeks ago my husband and I went to Los Angeles, CA to visit our son Ben who attends UCLA.  I was amazed at all the homeless people on the streets in the affluent area of Westwood; right around UCLA.  On almost every street there were two or three homeless people carrying with them all their earthly belongings in a cart.  Some held signs, some begged or called out as we passed by.  It always breaks my heart to see these people standing in the streets or by the roadside and I am moved to do something for them.  It troubles me that they are somehow not being helped by agencies set up to do so or they have no one to help them get the help they need.  I am not sure I understand or can understand their plight, but I continue to be burdened about it in my soul.  Many times I have wanted to hand them some money but feel reluctant to do so because I don't know if they will spend it on food or needed items instead of on cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.

An incident in LA happened one morning on our way to breakfast.  A homeless man called out to us for a cigarette.  We told him we didn't have a cigarette.  That seemed to be all he wanted because he stopped asking.  We went to the restaurant and ate our breakfast as we saw the man across the street continue to ask others for a cigarette.  Before we left the restaurant, we bought him a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee and went across the street to give it to him.  Again, he asked us for a cigarette.  We told him we didn't have that but we had brought him breakfast and some coffee.  He got the biggest grin on his face and thanked us profusely.  We told him God loved him.  That was a very small act of kindness but if everyone did that, maybe it would make a difference in these people's lives.

I came back home and wanted to do something so that I would be ready to help when I see these people on the streets or by the roadways.  I purchased some items from the Dollar Store and put them in gallon ziplock bags.  You could use quart bags and put in fewer items.  Keep a bag or two in the car with you or take them along on trips where you know you will encounter homeless people such as in bigger cities.  The items I put in my bags were:

• Socks
• Wet Wipes
• Comb
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Gum 
• Cough Drops
• Deodorant
• Nail Clipper
• Razor
• Chapstick
• Tylenol
• Soap
• Kleenex
• Granola Bar
• Gospel Tract

I tried to think of items that were practical and useful and would meet immediate needs they might have.  Hygiene items, small food items or snacks, small clothing items such as hats, mittens or gloves would all be things that will fit in a ziplock bag and be useful to the person.  I also included a gospel tract because ultimately they need the Lord; as we all do!  

I hope this inspires you to be ready to help the homeless in your area when you are out and about. We are to be Jesus hands and feet and what more practical way than blessing one less fortunate than we are.

Pink Bag! - Encouraging a Friend with Breast Cancer

My husband came home this week from work and shared the news with me that a co-worker of his was just diagnosed with breast cancer and was going to have to get a double mastectomy soon.  My heart was burdened immediately for this fairly young, single mom.  I have had other friends with breast cancer and it is so very hard to deal with; especially as a single mom.  I don't know this lady very well but I wanted to do something to show her we cared and would be praying for her as she fought her battle with cancer.

I have seen those boxes on Pinterest that are called "Sunshine Boxes".  They are filled with all things yellow and are meant to bring sunshine into someone's day.  That gave me the idea to give this particular lady a "Pink Bag", since a pink ribbon is the symbol for breast cancer.  I headed to the Dollar Store and began to look for "pink" things that would be appropriate to give to encourage this lady.  I immediately spotted a pink tote bag that would be perfect to put everything into.  It could also be re-used to carry other things at another time.

The other items I found to include at the Dollar Store and Walmart were:

• Pink Hairbrush
• Giant Crosswords Book
• Bigelow Pink Iced Tea Lemonade Mix
• Pink Fuzzy Spa Socks
• Ghirardelli Dark & Raspberry Chocolate Squares
• Starburst Fave Reds
• Bath & Shower Body Wash, Lotion, and Shampoo
• Pink Massager
• Pink Promise Sally Hansen Nail Polish
• Eos Strawberry Sorbet Lip Balm

 I then made a homemade card to put with the gift.  I bought some pink rhinestone stickers to add a breast cancer ribbon to my card.

The inside sentiment was" Our thoughts and prayers are with you".  Pictured is the finished gift.

Keep your eyes and ears open to how the Lord might want you to encourage someone today!

Encouragement Jar-Friendship Series #2

I often try and think of ideas to encourage my friends. One of my friends just had a birthday and I wanted to give her a special gift to encourage her, not only on her birthday, but whenever she might need it.  This particular friend is in a hard job situation right now and anyone who has been in this situation before, knows that it can be a real struggle to be positive everyday when there is continual negativity all around you.  It can be a challenge to go into this situation every day.  I decided to give my friend an "Encouragement Jar".  I told her that whenever she needs encouragement, she should go to this jar and pick out one envelope of encouragement.  Each envelope is filled with a candy bar and an encouraging verse from the Bible.  Here are the steps to making an encouragement jar.

1.  I went to the Dollar store and found a glass jar that would fit several small envelopes.  You might find a jar at home or an old candy jar or mason jar that you could recycle for this purpose.

2.  I used a Sizzix die with my Big Shot to make 15 small envelopes, big enough to hold a piece of candy and a Bible verse.  You can purchase small envelopes for this purpose or use the Envelope Punch Board from my last post to make your envelopes.

3.  I typed different encouraging Bible verses and then printed them out.  I cut them apart and folded each one separately to put with my candy.

4.  I purchased Andes mints and Dove Dark Chocolate for this gift but you can use whatever candy you want or find out your friends' favorite candy to use.

5.  I then decorated the jar with a ribbon that matched my paper envelopes and made an accordion flower for the top.  To make this I measured the top of my jar. My jar lid was 4", so I cut a strip of paper, 2"x12".  I made score lines every 1/4" with my scoreboard and then folded the paper back and forth like an accordion.  Glue the ends together and then flatten to form the flower.  Glue a 1" circle to the back to hold it and also one in the front.  I then added a matching button with a glue dot on top. You could also purchase a fake flower for the top of the jar and glue to on.

Here are the pictures of the finished encouragement jar:

My friend already texted me that after a bad day at work, she was going home to pick an encouragement out of her jar. Hope you liked this idea.  Go encourage your own friend today!

A Friend Loves at All Times-Friendship Series #1

Friends.  Most of us have a variety of friends.  Some are acquaintances, some we have fun with, and then there are the true friends that you can totally be yourself with, and they love you unconditionally. This is the kind of friend the Bible talks about when it says, "Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel."  There is nothing better than a talk with your friend about the things that are closest to your heart.  Your cares, concerns, joys and sorrows.

I really value friends.  We have moved so many times in our married life that I am super aware of the importance of having friends and the emptiness when you leave friends behind and have to start over. I have been able to keep up with some close friends but it takes time and effort to do that.  I could not have made it through all these moves without my friends.  The Lord has been faithful in bringing me friends everywhere we have moved.  It has been hard; very hard.  But, when I look back, I realize that I would not have known these dear sisters in Christ if we had not lived so many places, I am thankful that I had the opportunity to know these wonderful women; even for a short time.

This brings me to the many ways we can creatively encourage our friends.  We don't know how long we will have them and we need to tell them how much they mean to us today.  I like to surprise my friends periodically with a small gift of appreciation.  It doesn't have to be elaborate or fancy; just something to let them know you are glad they are in your life.

IDEA #1:  Envelope Punch Board Dove Chocolate Treat Box

I happen to own the We R Memories Envelope Punch Board pictured here.  You can purchase it at most craft stores.  It makes many different size envelopes and is a very handy tool to make other things as well, such as bows and boxes.  You can find oodles of ideas on Pinterest.  I used the smallest envelope measurement which uses a 5x5" paper and the envelope measures 2x3 1/2".  I used plain cardstock for the envelope and a coordinating patterned paper for the belly band.  The belly band measures 1 1/4" x 6".  I then used a stamp and coordinating ink color that matched my paper and stamped a message to add to the belly band with a dimensional foam dot to make it stand out.  If you don't have a punch board, you can easily use a small purchased envelope and make a colorful paper band to go around it.  You can find a friend stamp in the dollar section at a craft store and purchase a small ink pad.  I then put my Dove chocolates, three different kinds of dark chocolates (my favorites), inside, glued it together and it made a cute gift to encourage and surprise a friend.  Pictures of my project are below:

Go, encourage a friend today!

New Place, New Adventure, New Ideas

My husband and I moved last October to the city of Kirksville, MO.  This is the tenth major move of our 31 year marriage!  Now I'm not counting the moves we made within the same city to a different house!  If you count those the total goes up to fourteen moves.  MOVE has become a four-letter word, if you know what I mean!

Consequently, along with those moves comes much adjustment.  New neighborhood, new church, new friends, new dentist, new doctor, new stores, new city to find your way around....  This last move has been especially hard on us because it was the fourth major move in six years.  That is a lot of change.  This is a good job change for my husband, however.  He is at a place that is challenging, has a good work environment and good people to work with.  He plans to stay until he retires.  Which brings me to me.

Moving here to a small town from Kansas City where I loved and where most of our family lives is proving to be a hard adjustment.  I should be used to it, shouldn't I, considering all the moves we have made? After much prayer and contemplation, I decided that I would stay at home and not work outside the home.  It gives me a lot of flexibility to help my husband out by caring for his needs, caring for our home and allowing me to travel with him periodically.  But it also gives me a lot of time to fill.  I don't have kids at home anymore and with just the two of us and a cat, our house doesn't get that dirty.

So, I am asking the Lord to show me what He has for me to do here in the next 7-8 years while my husband finishes up his career.  I want to creatively minister to those around me with the gifts He has given me.  This blog will be a journal of the ideas the Lord gives me to minister to His people and hopefully will be a help to you as you creatively minister in your realm.  I hope some ideas that I have will spur you to reach out and consider how you might minister to those around you.  There is not a shortage of need out there.  We just have to take our eyes off ourselves, put them on the Lord and ask Him to open our eyes to the need around us.  I'm excited to start this journey with you.

Creative ideas coming soon!