Thanks and giving part 2

I have several friends who've posted each day in November a status update on Facebook that says something they are thankful for. I appreciate those friends who remind me how important gratefulness is in our daily lives. I know I overlook it often and tend to settle my thoughts on things I want to be different.
TI says at the beginning of Live Your Life -

You gotta be grateful for what you got / 

Stop lookin at what you aint got  / 

and start being thankful for what you do got /

So here are my 30 things to be thankful for in November*
*(although I do want to try to increase my own awareness of the blessings in my life more often than this one month of the year)

I am thankful for:

1. The use of my body in ways it was created - hands for helping others, mouth for speaking love and eyes for seeing others as unique individuals (Thanks Margot Starbuck for that reminder in Unsqueezed)
2. My new appreciation for beer so that occasionally I can buy it instead of the more expensive wine option.
3. Friends like Matt and Tara Brown who love me well, host great get togethers and are preparing to go to Burkina Faso to identify further ways to love people well. I'm so excited for them to go. 
4. Friends like Ryan and Erin Bennett who are faithfully preparing to serve God in France through church building. They are also just great people and I wish I saw them more often. 
5. The Kiva Loan program that provides micro-loans to people with business ideas in impoverished nations like Kenya.
6. Lazy Saturday mornings that allow for reflection, delicious food and quiet moments to simply 'be' (with a cup of hot coffee in hand)
7. Twin City Diner that I affectionately call "Cheers" because I want to have a "local hangout." Their food is always good.
8. The 2 pair of house slippers I got from my mom and sister when I moved into a house with hardwood floors. They make my house cozier :) 
9. My friend Lisa Tandan and her husband for wanting to get different furniture. I am satisfied with my couch and chair, all thanks to them! 
10. The beach, which I'll soon see again with my own eyes - yay for Thanksgiving with family
11. My family that lives on the beach - you chose well and I am grateful
12. Seeing Susannah at Elon. Such a blessing to see my former high schooler loving college life. 
13. Our farm share co-op that has made me healthier and more creative. I've also been forced to slow down and cook so as not to let anything go to waste. 
14. The Peace Sign magnet on my car. I got it to support the Hunger Site, but it also helps me quickly spot my car in parking lots.
15. My notebook I'm keeping lists like this in. 
16. A good pen 
17. The NCCDA conference I recently attended. It's always confirming that I'm in the right profession for me.
18. My roommate's family mountain house, Ben Haven. It's really a great place to get away.
19. CNN's breaking news Twitter feed, otherwise I might not know what's going on.
20. Children's books like Max Lucado's Wemmicks series. 
21. Freshly shaven legs.
22. Days like yesterday where it occurs to me that I love NC. The weather was positively splendid.
23. Visiting college campuses. This weekend I actually saw Elon, NC State and Meredith within 48 hours.
24. My lavender and chamomile neck warmer. It's wonderful after a long day. 
25. Salem Lake where I do my long runs. My soul finds peace there. 
26. First Pres and how every night in December they commit to volunteering at Samaritan Inn
27. Tent camping and how I got to do it twice this year :) 
28. Pumpkin muffins of only 2 ingredients - spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin
29. Walking across a college campus between classes. I love observing the life happening around me and feeling part of something much bigger than myself.
30. My advisory board of undergraduate students, Bryan Career Leaders. I'm enjoying having their insight and ideas to help all the business students. 

Hey that wasn't so hard! I could keep going. That's something else to be thankful for!
Do you have a list too?

Thanks and Giving

I saw eggnog at Harris Teeter the other day. I even saw eggnog creamer. I said to myself sarcastically "tis the season" and realized the season has already taken over. It's too bad that "the season" is not Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's Materialism and Consumerism in my mind. 

Recently I've been thinking about a lot. 

• I'm working on a list of 30 things to do before I'm 30 - and I have more than 1 year to work in them ;) 
• I'm making lists in this book covered in Peace Signs and thinking about my dreams.
• I've even signed up for a purpose and passion workshop at work in December. 

With all this renewed inspiration to conquer and pursue goals, I've also wanted to think about gift giving this Christmas to avoid such negative feelings about "the season." One thing that always comes to my mind is the Greater Good Network (which is a great name btw). They run the Hunger Site and provide ways for anyone to give to someone who really needs it, while purchasing items that are Fairly Traded and make thoughtful gifts to increase awareness of faraway places. Last year I bought a few items for my family and also provided food to people I've never met. 

The Hunger Site provides simple, effective, feel-good ways to address an urgent, specific humanitarian need: the eradication of world hunger. More info on who they give to is available here 

I encourage everyone to look at the site for gift ideas and look for ways to help. They partner with Breast Cancer, Literacy, Animals, Veterans, Autism, and Rainforest causes as well. An easy thing to do to help them right now is "like" the Hunger Site on Facebook. You can do "Free Clicks for Food" where each day you go to the site and click through some of their sponsors (you don't even have to purchase anything) and you're giving toward the cause to end world hunger. 

In addition to purchasing things in a more responsible and meaningful way this year, I'm also looking at purchasing less and making things :) I want to experience the heart of Christmas - claiming the joy in the birth of a Savior, not giving gifts as a cultural norm and buying into all the hype. I think the time I spend making something from my heart or purchasing a meaningful gift and food for someone in poverty will be much more of an investment in my faith and keep my center on the "reason for the season" (lol. I am aware of the cheesiness of that phrase). 

Consider Redefining Christmas. Let Harry Connick Jr. convince you :) 

Finding Hope

Proverbs 31:8: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

I ran across this verse this evening as I was further investigating organizations that already exist to fight human trafficking and pursue justice. When I re-read it, I was reminded of these women who have the opportunity to actively pursue justice around the world. Check out what they are up to!

Kate Hughes Around the world in 11 months
Jess Marchand Geneva Switzerland
Kristen Paulick Cambodia
Anna Linhart Uganda

Their stories inspire me. They are a sign of hope much like a flower pushing through the dirt.

I am full of earth
You are heaven’s worth
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity
You are everything that is bright and clean
The antonym of me
You are divinity
But a certain sign of grace is this
From the broken earth flowers come up
Pushing through the dirt

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy like You are

You are everything that is bright and clean
And You’re covering me with Your majesty
And the truest sign of grace was this
From wounded hands redemption fell down
Liberating man
But the harder I try the more clearly can I feel
The depth of our fall and the weight of it all
And so this might could be the most impossible thing
Your grandness in me making me clean 
-David Crowder Band "Wholly Yours"

my new thing

A brief timeline:

• June 2011 - Getting used to my job and remember the employee "perk" of up to 6 credit hours of class for free for employees. I look through the UNCG course bulletin. 
• August 2011 - I decide to enroll in Global Human Rights, an online graduate level course. Feeling good about my decision and excited to create time and space to look into this more fully.
• September 2011 - I get an email from some list serve and decide to read it. A concert invitation and someone is taking donations for Water Hope, a nonprofit that raises money to provide more people with access to clean drinking water. 
• October 8, 2011 - My friend MaryHil and I travel to Carborro to hear Boyce Avenue play at Cat's Cradle. The opening act is a stellar band called  Green River Ordinance (GRO). I hear a song they wrote for Water Hope and tear up a little. I speak with the lead singer afterwards and find out he simply met one of their people at a benefit and decided to collaborate in this artistic and awesome way. 
• October 17, 2011 - My online course begins and the professor doesn't assign reading. He just suggests using our graduate level brains to filter through 2 textbooks, numerous online resources, articles and PDFs of many pages, videos and government documents. I feel overwhelmed because, per usual, I also have something planned socially every night. 
• October 31, 2011 - I made it through the first 2 assignments and this week is all about human trafficking and the sex trade in Thailand. I have watched numerous videos and am starting to put some ideas together. I tear up at least once during each video. 
• November 2, 2011 - I sort through my old CDs to remember I purchased a "Freedom" CD to benefit International Justice Mission and it included a DVD documentary narrated by Danny Glover. I watch it for the first time. The end concludes with a song by GRO! I cry at the sadness of slavery, the realness of it...but also the hope for an end and a sense of responsibility. This is heavy stuff. 

Take Aways: 

1. I'll be sharing more about what I'm learning in this class. I've told friends, even before it started, "this class might change my life" 
2. Everyone should buy this song to support Water Hope: http://amzn.to/sbGLGq OR this CD to benefit International Justice Mission http://amzn.to/t0tkZl
3. I like finding patterns in my normal life. I want to change the world. 
4. The song from the DVD: