Day 11: Leftover Rice

I've really been slacking in the creativity department.  Please have mercy on me.  I'm taking a turn for the worse today.

So here's what I'm going to talk about today:

One of my Lenten studies is a calendar from ELCA World Hunger and it's 40 days of thinking, praying and doing.  I really like it.  Today was a "tell" day.

ELCA Global Barnyard is like Heifer International in that a certain donation can buy a certain farm animal to help a family in need.  $10 buys 10 chicks that will help a family survive.

So the question today was:

What can you buy with $10?

I was thinking about it and I found a few thing online too.

I can buy a bottle of wine for $10.

Raspberries at my grocery store, at the moment are $3.99 a pint.  I could buy 2 pints and have a few cents left over.

I love mangoes.  Mangoes are 99 cents at our grocery store right now.  I could buy 9 mangoes and still have money left over.

 

I could even buy a pair of shoes!  And in this case, I could buy TWO pairs!

But then here's what else I could buy with $10.

$10 could feed 40 children.
$10 could ship quilts or health kits to a family of five who lost everything in an earthquake or flood.
$10 could provide a small grove of trees to protect the soil from erosion in Zambia.
$10 could provide enough maize, bean, and groundnut seeds for a Mozambiquan family to replant after floods.

I really enjoyed the reading for today too - 2 Corinthians 9:6-15:

Generosity Encouraged

 ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written:    “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
   their righteousness endures forever.”^[a]
 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
 ¹² This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³ Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

_________________________________________________________________________________

I got an e-mail in my inbox today that said:

Dine at Thalassa & Fight Hunger

10% of your bill will be donated to the NYC Food Bank!

Anyone here live in or around NYC?  If so, here's where it is:  179 Franklin Street in Tribeca

And then here's the website: http://www.thalassanyc.com/

Maybe It's Best I'm Taking A Break...

I don't know how many of you have read about the Times Square Bomber or about the SUV that they found at 45th and 7th in Times Square. I've been reading a lot about it...

Yet again, it WAS parked beside my building.

Yeah...that car bomb was at an exit to my building. How insane is THAT?! There was actually a shoot out not that long ago on that side of the building.

I SWEAR NYC isn't that dangerous!!

Here's a comment by MSNBC:
The location of the bomb suggests a number of possible targets. The SUV was parked near offices of Viacom Inc., which owns Comedy Central. The network recently aired an episode of the animated show "South Park" that the group Revolution Muslim had complained insulted the Prophet Muhammad by depicting him in a bear costume.

Maybe it's for the best that I'm taking a few weeks off starting this Saturday...

How are your weeks going? I'm sorry I've been absent a lot lately. Work has been so SO busy. :) Have you been busy?

Hi Guys!

My neice. ISN'T SHE ADORABLE?!

I just wanted to stop by and say hello!

I leave tonight with my husband to our last wedding of the year! So I'm very excited. It'll be nice to see some friends and such.

I'm looking for some advice. I'm trying to help raise money for Project O's school. There are two South African restaurants that I've found in NYC. Braii and Xai Xai and they're both owned by the same people. Should I go out on a limb and see if they'd be willing to hold an event?! I could possibly partner with my friends who started the organization History Starts Now that deals in ending human trafficking. I've been feeling very apprehensive about these things, but I think that I could do it, especially with some help.

I was in Ohio last weekend too and there was a sign that say, 'God's work never lacks God's supplies.' I liked it.

Is there something that you've been nervous to do, but just need that little edge?

I hope you have a great weekend! I might be scarce next week a bit too. It's the Video Music Awards on Sunday and I don't think I'm sleeping until Monday night!!

Friend-Makin' Mondays!

Woot! I'm back from California and trying to cope. :)

Friend-Makin' Mondays is a time I fully enjoy. If you'd like to participate, go here.


1) TRAVELING. I love to travel and the summer typically means now that I get to go see my family. This summer, we're going to South Korea as long as North Korea does not declare war.

2) NEW YORK CITY. Manhattan has some of the COOLEST free things for you to do over the summer. Next weekend, we're going to Shakespeare in the Park. Sure, it's getting up at 3am to get free tickets at 1pm, but we're making it a summer tradition. But I do NOT like the smells and the ridiculous amount of people. New York City stews in its own juices.

3) LESS WORK. I get summer Fridays! I get to leave work around 2-3pm and I LOVE it.

4) FRESH FRUIT. I love fruit. So very much. And the summer is good for it. It's definitely less expensive then.

5) FRIENDS. This time of year typically brings people to NYC. We don't get to see the people we love enough, that's for sure.

6) ROAD TRIPS. Steve and I can take a roadtrip or two during this time of year and I love it. We find as many ridiculous things to see as we can and GO FOR IT.

7) ICE CREAM. Steve and I go for Red Mango and Pinkberry now and I have a feeling we'll be eating lots and lots of it.


Hmm...is it sad that I may only have 7? We don't have air-conditioning, so we're always super hot. I pass out in the subways because they're so hot. It smells and is putrefyingly hot. But that's okay. I still like the summer.

My Happiness

It's been awhile! I was actually at a wedding. I should put some pictures up. It was beautiful! I loved it.

I've had some happiness and I thought I'd share it! Feel free to share your happiness too.

1) I thought that I had really let down a friend. I felt like I hadn't been there for her. But she showed me true love and really, how cool God is. How big He is.

2) I've been doing lots of voice-overs lately, which is awesome, because (almost) all my voice-over money goes to our travel fund. I'm hoping that 1) we can get to South Africa and 2) we could go on a safari and bring some kids with or something :-D

3) I can't even begin to tell you how kind everyone was at this wedding this past weekend. I had booked the flight in September and they were giving me hotel info. They asked if my husband was coming (we decided to split up to save a bit) and when I said no, the bride's parents let me stay at their house AND they had someone pick me up from the airport. So instead of spending almost $400 (like I thought I was going to), I only spent cab money to and from the airport in NYC. God at work :)

4) Had a progressive dinner with some church people on Sunday. I think they're all very nice, very fun, and will be a great community. I'm glad we found this church and that we're joining the membership on Sunday.

My job is NOT included in my happiness. But that's okay. Steve had his LAST CPA exam on Saturday and we're hoping that he can get a job that's a bit more ethical once he's a certified CPA (certified public accountant). And if it's still a job in NYC, I hope that I can find something to do that I enjoy.

Are you happy today? Or maybe not so happy? Either way, God is with you all the way :)

Thankful Thursday

My friend Vashti always does this and I think it's great. Thank you, Sonya for Thankful Thursdays! (But that doesn't count for my list!!)

1) I went to the doctor today and, from what they could see on the ultrasound, I have no fibroids!! Which is very exciting for me. I was getting a bit upset about it.

2) This will be silly, but I got an upgrade on my flight from St. Louis to NYC on Sunday after my friend Laurie's wedding. I was giggling like a small school kid when I got the e-mail.

3) My husband was so sweet and bought me a mini tartlet pan (I want to make tarte aux pommes for our church luncheon coming up) and it's not big enough. :( But he let me buy a bigger one! So now I need to return the mini tartlets, but I'll have the bigger pan for next week!

4) I am thankful for my friend Sam in Ohio. She has been so sweet and so willing to listen to my stupidity and help me with my faith journey.

5) I am thankful for people I have never met. You blog people are some of the most caring people I have never met and I wish I could meet all of you!! I'm not even joking!! A special thank you to Vashti. You really mean a lot to me.

Even with as bad as this week has been (especially work-wise), God has been so good to me. I think it's just nice to write it down so you can remember it. Not every day will shine bright, but every day has its sunny moments.