Welcome One Little Word blog hoppers. For those of you who don't know, One Little Word is a class hosted by Ali Edwards at Big Picture Classes. Read about it here.
This is the third month of my journey with the word dwell. I have been finding my word continuing to pop up in unexpected ways. I have also been deliberate in keeping it in mind. I made a wordle, printed it, and framed it to place on my desk. I also added a hand stamped charm to the necklace I bought for last years word.
Ali suggested that March was a time for action with our word. Everyone who knows us knows that our house is full of action. Nonstop action much of the time. My husband and I have six children. We have one son who is married and lives too far away. One adult son who lives with us. Another son who is away at school. He will graduate in May. And a daughter and two more sons who are still in school. The younger three have school and activities which keep us busy. We also have a dog and five chickens. I planned several family fun things to do for the month. There were a few that were for the entire family and others that focused on individuals. I made a few dates with my husband - dates that did not involve a trip to the grocery store.
Still I wanted my action to be that ripple in a pond that Ali described in the March prompt. I have to tell you about two separate things in order to describe how I came up with my action.
Our family sponsors ten year old Jimi who lives in Indonesia through Compassion International. For $38.00 a month, Jimi is provided with education, health care, hygiene training, and supplementary food, in addition to the opportunity to hear about God’s love. We send Jimi letters, stickers, and coloring pages. We have watched him grow in size, hope, and God.
On February 18, 2009 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was found on my yearly mammogram. Ladies, I encourage you to be diligent with those inconvenient and uncomfortable tests. I do not have any risk factors, so it came as a surprise. Having cancer changes a person. Life is sweeter and moments are treasured. Sure I thought I was aware of those moments before, but now I am more conscious of them.
I wanted to express my gratefulness to God for taking me through that particular fire with an action involving Compassion. My husband and I talked about what we could do. We discovered our answer right at our feet. Literally. Our chickens were gathered about eating spaghetti. You can read about our girls here. We decided that we would purchase chickens for families through Compassion. A chicken can provide a family with a steady supply of eggs, a source of income, and manure for the vegetable garden. Chickens are only $16.00. Besides, chickens are also just plain fun.
Each month on the 18th, I intend to buy a chicken. I am so excited about it.
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. James 2:14-18
What will you do to cause a ripple?
Thank you very much to Margie for hosting the Blog Hop. Please visit as many of the blogs as you can. I know everyone loves comments, too. Thank you.
Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog/one-little-word
Monica http://scrapinspired.com/
Jill http://jillconyers.com/
Jenn www.studiojenn.blogspot.com
Kara http://iwannabemewhenigrowup.blogspot.com
Cheri http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com
Catherine http://myview-catherine.blogspot.com
Nikki www.inkyart.com.au
Cindy http://www.cynthiacrysdale.com/
Lisa http://backtoallen.com/category/one-little-word/
Donna http://holimess.blogspot.com/ You are here.
Coley www.coleybelle.blogspot.com Go here next.
Naomi http://poeticaperture.com
Stephanie http://playinghouseinmaryland.blogspot.com
Ruth http://suburbansahm.blogspot.com
Eydie www.whatwecreate.net
Janet http://lifeinsideascrapbookroom.blogspot.com
Orange Gearle http://orangegearle.blogspot.com
Amanda http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com
Jen www.jenritchie.com
Melissa S http://blog.mshanhun.com
Kaylea www.myscrappylife.com
Missus Wookie http://www.mrswookieswanderings.blogspot.co.uk/
Cindy http://seriousplay.typepad.com
Beth www.thesingularlyordinary.blogspot.com
Tere http://terecontodomicorazon.blogspot.com/
Kelly http://mindingmynest.com
Heidi http://mommy.heidimdavis.com
15 comments:
Hi Donna!
So nice stopping by to visit with you and get to know you a bit through your lovely blog. Sweet place you have here!
We have a little Compassion girl named Rolineda. She is from Haiti.
Kindly, Lorraine
Thanks for stopping by my blog....I've enjoyed reading your post very much.
LOVELY post, & beautiful captures!! LOVE the chickens/roosters... lol... whatever they are!)
Great idea. We also have a Compassion child, in Brazil. Must look into the chickens idea too.
What a great idea - I like these little extra we can do. Just bought thermometers for medical teams in Africa to support a friend going there to work. Have you ever heard of toilet twinning? You 'twin' your toilet and with the money they build a toilet for a family or community that need one - you get a map of where your toilet is too and a certificate to hang on the wall in the toilet. Great fun and a definite conversation starter!
http://www.toilettwinning.org/
What a wonderful and inspiring post! I love the photo of your chickens.
beautiful post donna! it's amazing to me how such a small action can make such a huge difference in someone's life. thank you for sharing your inspiration here on your blog. love, kelly
Thank you for posting Donna. I love the chickens; we have purchased many animals/birds/trees through Heifer, Foster Parents Plan and other agencies. It is incredible how such a small thing can be so life changing. Thank you for the reminder about the mammograms. I lost my sister 15 years ago today from Melanoma. Many advances have been made in cancer treatment but we do need to be more courageous about preventative testing. Have a great month!
Love the chickens and that you can share your love of them through Charity. Awesome. I am so glad that your word continues to speek to you. Thanks for sharing and hope to see you next month as well! -Amanda (Scrappnbee)
Such an inspiring read Donna! Thank you for sharing your journey in such a delightful way.
[Fitness, Health and Happiness]
I love it!
You are so awesome! Yay that you are taking ongoing action!
What an amazing woman you must be. I teared up when I read about your diagnosis and then broke into a great big smile when I read about the chickens. So glad you're on the hop and I'm honored to read a bit of your journey.
What a wonderful idea! What a blessing a chicken will be to a family living in poverty. Your gifts will have lots of ripple effects!
Thanks for sharing the story of your illness. One of my best friends is a breast cancer survivor (nearly ten years now!). She is one of the most ALIVE persons I've ever known. :)
Thanks so much for joining Grace at Home!
Hello Donna! SO nice stopping by to visit with you! We have a little Compassion Girl from Haiti. She was 8 in February.
Lovely place you have here. Each Sunday (opens Saturday at 6pm) I host Think on These Things where I post about something God has placed on my heart that week. Your posts would be such a blessing if you would like to share.
Kindly, Lorraine
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