Remember those who have Less

           Every year I try to set aside a percentage of my income as a "tithe". I have been doing this since before I can remember. Truly, my parents felt very strongly about tithing to the church. Whatever I made, 10% went to the church. There were so many times where I thought of the things I'd rather do with that money. Despite that, I have always tithed. Currently I do not attend a church, but I still tithe. I simply choose a few charities each year to which I donate. I view the tithe as very important. I have a job and income. I have been very blessed in my life and thus should do what I can to help others.
           Here are a few charities that I think are really wonderful.

          The Festival of Sharing takes place the third Saturday of October in Sedalia Missouri. The group I went with worked as a distribution team. Meaning, cars would pull up to the loading docks and give us a list of what kits they were to get. We would collect the kits and load the vehicles. All different denominations of churches and organizations come together to raise money for kits. There are baby bundles, prison kits, school kits, and so forth. These kits are sent to women's shelters, schools, anywhere that needs them. It was always a satisfying but exhausting time. One year it rained the whole time. One time we PACKED this little car to the seams (were weren't sure we'd manage it but we did) with all sorts of kits, right after that this big bus pulled up and got one box of beans. Anyway, it was a really awesome experience.
Find more information at www.umocm.org
 
          Heifer, as the name implies, is an international organization that helps poor communities to gain a means of income. They also help provide schooling, women's empowerment, clean water, and so much more. They don't just give money. You can buy an animal (seriously, how cool is it you say you bought a water buffalo?), that animal is then sent to a particular community and they are taught how to care for that animal and how to use it to create income. They can sell milk, or use the wool for weaving, honey from the bees, and so on. It's great because they don't just give handouts. They are really trying to get these people to be self-sufficient and create businesses.
Visit their website at www.heifer.org

          Rainbow House is a crisis shelter for children and teens. That pretty much says it all. I believe there are some that might be closer, but I give to the one in Columbia, MO.
www.rainbowhousecolumbia.org

          I also like to support local food banks. The Mid-Missouri Food Bank and now that I'm in KC, Harvesters. These groups are always struggling and need as much support as they can get. No one deserves to go hungry. Other groups I like to support are local animal shelters. We always had strays or shelter pets. Jesse and I got our dog from a state park. She is a wonderful creature. I just can't understand people who can throw them away.

          So those are some of the organizations I support. I feel it's important to help local and if you can, those in other countries. We tend to get so wrapped up in Christmas and finding the "perfect" gift. Helping those who have less and are in need is a wonderful gift.

Reconnecting with Creativity

It has been quite a while since I've done any work with paints. We had this old, slightly unattractive white dresser we were using to store Wii and Gamecube controllers. It's not very big and I decided I wanted to decorate it in some fashion. At first I thought I might do something with origami paper but I couldn't figure out a design that I liked enough. Then I thought maybe I could do something with cranes or flowers. Again I decided against those as I'm not super talented with figures. So I just painted it white figuring it needed a base coat. Then my husband was wasting time on imgur and found a post where someone had painted an old table like a nebula. I figured I could try that out. I found some wonderful water soluble oil paints. They still blend really well and take a while to dry but are so much easier to clean up (just a little dab of dish soap!). 

This is what I wound up with. 

I rather like it.

It felt really good to get back into something I used to love doing. I really like pastels but those don't really mix with having a white-ish carpet. I am not a tidy artist. During the process of painting the dresser I painted myself almost as much! So pastel use might have to wait till warmer weather when I can just go outside :-).

Joy and sometimes frustration in the little things

There are times where it seems an uphill battle not to cave under the pressure of ever day life. Sometimes the little things just feel like too much. You find yourself becoming frustrated by small setbacks or the little idiosyncrasies of your family. The daily search (at least in my case) for your car keys is almost as insurmountable as solving a problem in quantum physics. There are days where you just feel like you have no energy.
So what do you do?
Well for me, this last two days has been such a time. I have been discovering the joys of setting up a website. Thankfully I have friends and a husband that can help me. But sometimes the only option is to just step away and do something else. Go outside, read, or even just lean back and close your eyes. Allow your mind to dwell on something else for a bit.
It may not always help you solve the problem, but I find I usually handle it better than if I allow the frustration to mount.
So that is what I'm doing right now. I'm taking a break from the website to rant a little and then I'm going to make some tea or something. So my words of wisdom (which aren't really mine but anyone's with common sense) are: If you feel frustrated, step back, do something you enjoy and then deal with the less pleasant part of things.

Unplugged

          So it is quite obvious that I don't often post here. One reason being is that I don't feel like I have much to say. The other is that I tend to forget I even have a blog... ahem. So I would like to focus a little on how good it can be to unplug once in a while.
          A trait that has become more and more prevalent in our society is that of always being connected. We are constantly being bombarded with emails, texts, videos, facebook, and so on. I don't consider it a bad thing to be able to stay in contact with friends, or have information easily accessible. However, I think there is a certain amount of damage this influx of stimulus has caused. We have become creatures of instant gratification. We want everything now, right this second as I'm asking for it. We become frustrated when our internet connection is slow, or feel as if the world will end if the network crashes. I admit to feeling this way. However, there was a day a few weeks ago where I forgot my phone at home. At first I kinda freaked. But I just realized the worst that would happen is I'd miss a call and have to call someone back. It really felt nice to not being so easily reached. I felt like I could actually relax a little.
           I'm no doctor or someone with a PhD who can tell you how this constant flow of info affects people's brain waves. But I do know how frustrating it is when a person's cell goes off during a session and they want to answer it. I actually gave a chair massage to someone who spent the whole time texting. I just don't see how it can be good for us to be so bound up in technology. Another side effect I've seen is how people are forgetting how to interact with others. I've seen couples at dinner sitting across the table from each other totally ignoring each other because they are on their phones.
            I'm not anti-technology, not even close. I'm not saying everyone is plugged in 24-7. I actually have several friends who really dislike cellphones or laptops. But I am saying that in general, we can't seem to function without some device or other strapped to our ear. So to anyone who reads this I offer a challenge. Pick ONE day in the next week. Or if that's just not possible (I know job requirements and needing to be able to be reached by family etc), start with one hour. No phone and no computer. Find something else to do with your time. You might just find you enjoy time without updates and tweets.
There is a really beautiful world out there. We should enjoy it a little more.