From Mother Teresa

A great example of service, love and selflessness, Mother Teresa went above and beyond her entire life.  If you haven't read anything by her or about her, you should.  When you talk about heros with your children, she is a good one.  Not all of us can go to the extremes that she did, but we can emulate many of her actions and attributes.  I especially loved that early on she served the population of India that everyone else wanted to pretend didn't exist.  She is one of my "heroes", one of the people that I look up to, someone whom I will teach my children about. 

So for your Sunday inspiration, here are a few of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa (I can't actually verify the accuracy of any of these, but they are attributed to her, so I'll go with that):

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief

A good reminder of whom we serve.  These words have been put to music, but I sometimes think we can better grasp the meaning if we read it and picture it in our minds.

 

A poor, wayfaring Man of grief
Hath often crossed me on my way,
Who sued so humbly for relief
That I could never answer nay.
I had not pow’r to ask his name,
Whereto he went, or whence he came;
Yet there was something in his eye
That won my love; I knew not why.

Once, when my scanty meal was spread,
He entered; not a word he spake,
Just perishing for want of bread.
I gave him all; he blessed it, brake,
And ate, but gave me part again.
Mine was an angel’s portion then,
For while I fed with eager haste,
The crust was manna to my taste.

I spied him where a fountain burst
Clear from the rock; his strength was gone.
The heedless water mocked his thirst;
He heard it, saw it hurrying on.
I ran and raised the suff’rer up;
Thrice from the stream he drained my cup,
Dipped and returned it running o’er;
I drank and never thirsted more.

’Twas night; the floods were out; it blew
A winter hurricane aloof.
I heard his voice abroad and flew
To bid him welcome to my roof.
I warmed and clothed and cheered my guest
And laid him on my couch to rest,
Then made the earth my bed and seemed
In Eden’s garden while I dreamed.

Stript, wounded, beaten nigh to death,
I found him by the highway side.
I roused his pulse, brought back his breath,
Revived his spirit, and supplied
Wine, oil, refreshment—he was healed.
I had myself a wound concealed,
But from that hour forgot the smart,
And peace bound up my broken heart.

In pris’n I saw him next, condemned
To meet a traitor’s doom at morn.
The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,
And honored him ’mid shame and scorn.
My friendship’s utmost zeal to try,
He asked if I for him would die.
The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill,
But my free spirit cried, “I will!”

Then in a moment to my view
The stranger started from disguise.
The tokens in his hands I knew;
The Savior stood before mine eyes.
He spake, and my poor name he named,
“Of me thou hast not been ashamed.
These deeds shall thy memorial be;
Fear not, thou didst them unto me.”

Text: James Montgomery, 1771–1854
Hymns, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, no. 29

Help Me Grow - Utah

Just wanted to point all my faithful followers to the guest post I did recently on the Help Me Grow blog.  It gives a quick overview of why we started doing our Summer of Service, our favorite projects from 2012 and some ideas for helping your family to get started serving.  Go check it out. And feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear from those I know!

Help Me Grow is a program of United Way designed to support parents by providing information and connecting them with helpful community resources.  You can call their hotline with questions by dialing 2-1-1 or you can find tons of useful tips, ideas and resources on their blog, helpmegrowutah.blogspot.com (where you will also find the afore mentioned guest post!).  They talk about everything from potty-training to fighting childhood obesity to ideas for summer camp.  Many of their articles are written by experts in the field, so you know that they are accurate and full of real facts - not just someone's opinion. 

So check them out.  Use their search tool - you will be surprised how much information is on there!  And maybe even become a follower, they consistently have pertinent and useful articles.  If you are a parent, it will be well worth your time!

Because I Have Been Given Much

This has always been one of my favorite hymns.  We serve to show our gratitude for all the He has blessed us with.  The more we have, the greater responsibility we have to give and share with others.  I truly believe that.

 

Because I have been given much, I too must give.

Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.

I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,

who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…

I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-

my glowing fire, my loaf of bread, my roof’s safe shelter over head,

that he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love dear Lord,

I’ll share thy love again according to thy word.

I shall give love to those in need. I’ll show that love by word and deed,

thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

 

Hymns, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, No. 319

What Now??

Our second Summer Of Service came to a successful conclusion without big fanfare, but it was amazing!  What great times we had.  We worked.  We learned.  We built traditions.  My children survived and thrived.  I have no doubt that we are creating a culture of service in our family, and I love it!

But now that summer is over, we are back to the grind.  Back to early mornings, homework, and trying to fit it all in.  Back to tight schedules and too many responsibilites. 

So what about service? 

As far as projects go, I am shooting for one family project or service activity a month.  As far as this blog goes, I will be revamping, updating, adding, and making it a better place for you to find ideas and to get inspired.  I will be posting book reviews of some great resources I have found that are non-digital.  ;)  I will also be posting about some of the volunteer work that I do on a regular basis, about some international organizations I admire, and about the humanitarian trip my 10 yr old and I are planning.

So stay tuned, there are good things to come!

Book Review: 52 Weeks of Fun Family Service by Merilee Boyack

I am always looking for new ideas and this book fit the bill perfectly!  I loved it and I am quite certain that I will be referring to it as we plan more  and more projects.

This book has a simple, easy-to-read format.  The first section is a couple chapters of why and how.  The second section has 52 projects laid out in 2-3 pages with what the project is, how to adapt it for littles and for teens, what to discuss to make it more meaningful, and ideas if you want to make it an LDS "Family Home Evening".  I liked how easy it was to quickly flip through and see what projects might be good for my family before I read from cover to cover.  I really liked the questions to discuss with your kids, because I think for kids to really understandwhat they are doing, this is such a huge part of any project!  I also liked that each project starts with a relevant quote.  Some that were new to me are now included in my favorite quotes:

 

          "Charity should begin at home, but it should not stay there." - Phillips Brooks, Episcopal Bishop

 

          "Make it a rule . . . never, if possible, to lie down at night without being able to say, 'I have made one human being at least a little wiser, a little happier or a little better this day'." - Charles Kingsley, novelist

 

          "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." -Mother Teresa

 

Many of the outcomes of service that she describes in this book are things that I have already discovered as we have served, but I really liked a few things that she points out:

• Family service will increase family unity and identity.
• Family service is an opportunity for family members to develop new skills and talents.
• It gives parents an opportunity to teach about family values first hand.
• Family members can feel proud of who they are and how they've helped.

A couple of our Summer of Service projects came directly from this book (for example, click here or here) and others have been adaptations of some of her ideas.  But there are plenty more that I can't wait to do . .

o   Placemats for Seniors

o   Service Scavenger Hunt

o   Librarian Appreciation Day

o   Trick or Treat for UNICEF

o   Help a Primary around the World

o   Rock Art Sale

If you want to take a peak inside the book, you can check out this link. And while you're there, I highly recommend buying the book. It will be a great resource for doing service with your family!

Buried in Books

For our last Summer of Service project (sniff, sniff), we enlisted the help of friends and neighbors (both real and virtual).

In case you can't read it...

We set about the neighborhood armed with these bags to collect books for a new library in a new assisted living and memory care facility.

We also posted on our neighborhood Facebook page and announced it to our church congregation.  We collected all sorts of books - fiction, non-fiction, coffee-table books and lots children's books(since the residents will have visitors, too).  I was pleasantly surprised at the generosity of everyone who donated.  We got new books, big hardback books and even nice leather-bound sets of books.

In the end, we ended up with over 250 books which filled the shelves in the small, neatly decorated library room at the Seasons of Santaquin (which, by the way, I will totally be living at when I am old - it was SO nice!).  I wish I had taken a picture with all of our books, but we had a great time delivering them and filling the shelves. 

 

This was a great project for my kiddos because (1) they know and love books, (2) they could actively participate in all aspects of the project, and (3) because they could see the end results of what we were doing.  (And they made us fresh baked cookies to say thank you!)

When there's a death

So although my husband and I did work with Habitat for Humanity this past week, our family service project got postponed on account of mom being . . . emotionally overwhelmed.  My dear, sweet neighbor passed away on Sunday leaving her husband and five kids ages 8-17.  I don't need to go into details here, but I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of God's plan for us and for the comforting power of Christ's atonement. 

Needless to say, there have been lots of opportunities for service.  And it brings into question, what DO you do when someone passes away?   How can you help their loved ones?  How can you be sensitive, yet help them with the practicalities of life?  What can you do to help them through this time, both emotionally and physically?  This post is not really meant for things spiritual (although I think that always relates to serving others), so I will mention some of the practical things that I think helped this family survive the first week without their mom.

Meals: probably a given, but it sure helps to not have to think about fixing food for your kids when its hard enough just to breathe. Our church congregation leaders helped organiza this, but if you don't have something like this in place - do whatever you can.  I let my kids drop it off, so they could have the comfort of giving.
Paper Goods:  With lots of family coming in town, this neccesity became apparent the very next day.
Laundry:  kids have alot of it, all the time.  This was another way my kids were able to feel like they were helping this family.
Cleaning:  If you are like me, you may be thinking how uncomfortable it must be for the family to have people coming in and cleaning their bathrooms, floors, etc.  But the husband said that it kept him busy and distracted and that the kids were able to see how many people cared about them and were willing to come in and do the nitty gritty. (This could also include mowing their lawn and helping to prepare their home for company.)
Errands, Rides, Etc:  Offer to do things, such as pick up something from the store, take the kids to school, or other things that can seem overwhelming to someone who has just lost their spouse.  It was simple for me just to call and say "Hey, I'm going to the store, do you need anything?" or "do you need [specific item]?"
Funeral:  If a person has family or church leaders that can help with arrangments and decisions that is fantastic, but what if they don't?  This takes some personal reflection, but think about what you can do that would be helpful, but doesn't step on toes.  A quick text to say "Do your boys have dress shoes for the funeral on Saturday?" is simple, easy to reply to, but may be something they hadn't had time to think about or address.  Also, our church women's group, aptly named The Relief Society, provided a meal after the funeral for some 150-200 family and close friends.  This was a great opportunity for many people to serve, by bringing food or dessert and helping to set up, serve, and clean up.  It was requested that people who made desserts make something pink.  This may seem trivial, but from the comments we recieved from the family, we knew that it was the small touches that they appreciated the most.  And it was good because, this was one of the other things that my kids were able to help with. (And for three little boys to make treats NOT for themselves, is a real act of service.)

Other things you can do are more for emotional support.  After my friend's passing, many people posted condolences, kind words, and fun memories on her and her husband's Facebook pages.  This was a great way for all of us to connect in our grief and, hopefully, for her family to see how much she was loved and will be missed.  Also, someone in her family requested that everyone wear pink to the funeral as it was one of her favorite colors.  And I have to say that that made it one of the most beautiful services, it made it seem filled with love instead of filled with sadness.   Another thing that brought a smile to my face were the signs posted around our neighborhood on the day of her funeral services.

 

Something to note is that all of these also apply to someone who has lost any close family member, someone who is not living with them, but has nonetheless affected them the same - a parent, a sibling, a niece or nephew.  They may be helping with funeral arrangements and trying to deal with their own grief and thus could benefit from all of the tihngs mentioned above.  So even if you did not know the person who passed away, be aware of the service that can be rendered to a friend or neighbor when they are faced with this unfortunate situation.

 

There is no way to prepare for this kind of service.  And it is not like any other typical service "project".  But I hope when you are faced with similar circumstances, you will have a small idea of how to ease the burden of someone else and help them feel loved - which is what service is all about!

It's a date!

Who says date night has to be dinner and a movie or the occasional game of mini golf?

Our "date" this week . . .? 

Four hot, sweaty, awesome hours spent getting covered in sawdust to help Habitat for Humanity in building:

The South Franklin Community Center will be in a low-income area of Provo and will provide a place for community events, classes, tutoring and other programs, including the Circles Initiative that I am involved in (I will write about that sometime soon!).

Of course Russ knew what he was doing and they soon put his skills to good use.  I think they were glad to have someone they didn't have to "babysit", but I was surprised at how much the rest of us were able to do with our new found skills as well.  They even let us use all kinds of power tools!

 

We signed up through United Way, but you can also set a date to go volunteer directly with Habitat for Humanity Utah County.  If you're not in the area, Habitat is everywhere!  Check out habitat.org for more info.  And I will keep you posted on the completion of this building.  I'm sure we will be back - we had a great time!

Cans, Cans and more Cans

Did you know . . .

• one in six Utah children faces food insecurity, which means they don't know where their next meal will come from?
• that "Scouting for Food" provides more food for the food bank than any other food drive?
• on average, most families only need to return to the food bank 3 times?
• that since 2008, the number of people going to the food bank for help has doubled?
• that this hall of food will feed 300 families for 3 months?
• that Community Action Services and Food Bank in Provo does SO MUCH more than just provide food!? 

Community Action Services and Food Bank (CASFB) is set on developing self-reliance in individuals and families and does this through a variety of programs, not just hand outs.  And all of their services have strict requirements for people to qualify.  But for the determined and hard-working, CASFB can be a real leg up for those who are left with very little resources and opportunities.  If you want to find out more about who they are and what they do, click here for FAQs.

 

We found out there are many service opportunities for families at CASFB.  We signed up for their Monday "Kids Who Care" Family Activity Night (which, by the way, you have to do a few weeks to months in advance because they only allow a couple families each week).  It was SO perfect.  They gave us a quick overview of the needs in our area and what CASFB is doing to address those, then we got a short tour (CASFB is actually a food bank AND a food pantry - which I learned are not the same thing).  Then we got to work.  We actually ended up being the only family there, so it was just us and LOTS of cans (the "soft goods" had already been sorted out), and there was plenty of sorting to be done.

 

The best part was that everyone could help.  The boys all worked super hard and they loved it!   

We ended up emptying THREE of these big containers:

into these labeled bins.

We were sweaty and dirty by the end, but it was a great feeling!  I was so proud of these boys!  And what a great night!  (We've already signed up to do another family night project with CASFB in October!)

Our Servicemen Rock!

This week we joined United Way's Summer of Service (yeah, they copied me) and made cards for our amazing military men and women serving abroad.

I wish I would have taken a picture of my middle man's creativity.  He drew an awesome picture and on the other side wrote really big "You Rock!".  In writing the letters, they said to think about things that would bring a smile to someone's face.  I think that'll do it.

Cards with drawings, stickers, hand-written "thank yous" are great.  If your children are old enough letters are even better.  Don't know what to write about?  Here's a list to get them (and you) started: 

• School - what grade you're in, favorite subject, something funny that happened
• Favorite music or TV show
• Recent movie you saw and your favorite part
• Sports teams and how they're doing
• What you did for Spring Break or summer vacation
• Your siblings or friends
• Other likes or dislikes
• Something new you learned and how you felt about it

Most of all, stay positive and avoid controversial subjects (politics, religion, etc).  And make sure to tell them how much you appreciate them!  The whole point is to give them something to smile about and to know that they are supported by people they don't even know.

If you have apprehension about writing letters or wonder if they will really get it, check out this website for Operation Gratitude.  Our letters/cards were sent in a mass package to them and they will distribute them.  They also have ideas for sending packages and other ways you can get involved in supporting our troops.  Easy project, and yes, I do think it makes a difference.

Vacation!

to one of our favorite places:

And remember this trip?

Both were made possible by someone else.  So for our project while we were on the road, we decided it was time to say thanks.

"Dear Grandpa 

Thank you for an awesome trip 

♥ Cody"

Sign up for Assignments

For our project this week, we had the opportunity to help clean our church building.  Cleaning has to be done every Monday and Saturday and our congregation is asked to take care of this assignment four months out of the year.  What a great way for members to show their gratitude for the great facilities that we enjoy!

 This was a great project for all ages and there was plenty for everyone to do.  You probably can't see the above picture very well, but all tasks were explicitly delineated and with three other families helping we got the whole building vacuumed, swept, dusted, and cloroxed in less than two hours (bathrooms included!).

A Small Dent

Nothing says service like a good ol' park clean-up. :)

This is actually up the canyon near our house close to a popular park/campground.  It's on public land and is a common place, apparently, for people to use as a shooting range.  (Yes, legal to shoot - not legal, or cool, to litter.) 

I hadn't actually been to this area, but had heard that it need some serious cleaning up.  They weren't lying.  We're talking crane and dump truck type cleaning.  But we felt pretty good about what we did.  We just picked one area, stayed away from the river and made a noticeable effort on the main hang out part.

We started with our picnic, of course.  (I wanted to bring some of those stumps home, wouldn't those make cool backyard furniture?!)

Full stomachs and ready to roll:

Hard at work:

It doesn't look like that big of a trash bag, but it was big and it was full and it was a lot of trash.  A small dent for what needed to be done, but if everyone made a small dent, how much more beautiful of a world we would have!

PS: Cost of project - $0.00  :)

Party Crackin' on the 4th of July!

RECIPE for lots of smiles:

toilet paper rolls

curling ribbon

 treats and little trinkets

 

 tissue paper

 stickers

and a few helping hands

and  voilà! box full of party crackers

We delivered ours to the homeless shelter ON the 4th of July, which made it more meaningful as we talked about all the things we were getting to do that day and how there were so many children that didn't have those opportunities, but hopefully we made their day brighter with our little surprise. 

I chose The Road Home because I LOVE what they do and they are absolutely solid.  If you want to donate to someone who is really making a difference this would be a GREAT choice.  They work with the chronically homeless, with people who are transitioning, with immediate/temporary housing needs AND with families.  They had over 100 children residing there on this holiday.

If you want to do something for the homeless, click here to find ideas for volunteering at the shelter (which could also probably be implemented at any other functioning homeless shelter), or click here to find a list of ways you can give.

And if you want more detailed instructions on how to make the party crackers, click here.  I'd love to hear what you do with yours!  Who did you make smile?

Oh and PS - THANK YOU to our friends that came and helped with this project, it made it go faster and was much more fun to share it with someone!