Craft Hope: Project 14

This post comes coupled with a confession: I want to spread the word on something I don't have the energy to do myself. There it is out in the open... but there's no reason why I can't use this blog to just pass on a good idea even if I'm not heading up some crazy rally. So that's what this is, sharing the love in case someone else wants to pitch in on their own.

Craft Hope has another wonderful project going on: Christmas in Dixie

Christmas in Dixie is going to be passing out boxes full of Christmas cheer to people who have been effected by this summer's tornadoes & have lost all those precious family keepsakes on top of everything else. They'll be providing lights & ornaments & such to help people rebuild emotionally in additional to the physical & practical rebuilding... sometimes losing those precious family mementos are the hardest to bare. And all Craft Hope is asking for on our part is the stockings.

So if you have some time & want to give a little hand-crafted love I totally recommend it. You can go to their website for all the details, whether you're making one or hundreds, and mail them in by September 23rd.

Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness...

(source)

Hi friends, no Flashback Friday today. I've got something on my mind that's a little more important than baby pictures or college memories... although it's something that has been brewing since college.

Every time the news mentions any combination of these 5 words, my blood starts to boil & my heart sinks:

• Fred
• Phelps
• Westboro
• Baptist
• Church

I think you all know who I'm talking about... If you don't, go ahead & google them. I won't post photos here or replay all the hate they spew, not in this space. Just make sure there are no children around when you google, they shouldn't have to see those kinds of words.

I can't actually put into words all the horrible ways I feel & hurt whenever I think of this group or hear news of them, but I'm sure you have an idea yourself. It's sickening, it's angering, & it feels so hopeless because what can you do? I've seen so much news coverage where people TOTALLY loose their cool trying to talk to these people & the outrage just turns them into monsters themselves. Again, what can you do? Well, sometimes we give ourselves the best advice... a few days ago I uploaded an image to my school's website for MLK Day with a quote saying:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that"

Well it turns out there ARE a couple things you can do. Nothing that will make hate-filled people stop, but there are ways to care for eachother in the midst of it. And I think I've found a way how people already are responding in love, and a way that we can start to respond in love.

Angel Action
I first saw this on the news back in college, & it's genius. In response to Westboro protests, particularly when they protest at a funeral, people have banned together dressed as angels with 10 foot high wings to create a barricade. That way people can mourn in peace, seeing only rows of angels rather than horrific signs. It amazes me, it inspires me, & I hope someday I get to be a part of something like that. Of course, hope MORE that these people change, but that's a longshot so I'll be prepared to join in the angel ranks.


Counter Donations
You know how some people get sponsors to raise money, like for every mile you run I'll give $1 toward the charity you're supporting? There's a website that had a great idea. They're called GodLovesAll.org, but I really don't think this is only a God issues... it's a human issue. They offer to send you an email that tells you the total number of hours Westboro has picketed that month, then you can make a donation to charity of your chosen amount for every hour. The more they protest, the more love you give out. In a way it makes them work against themselves & THAT is a good feeling! The website doesn't take donations, you do that on your own, it only gives you the totaled hours.

I'll be adding this to my "I'm a Joiner" page so you can reference it again in the future. Knowing that there are ways to add light to the world in the midst of so much thick, suffocating darkness help me a little. I hope it helps you too & restores some of your hope.

Ask & Ye Shall Receive

A few of you have been asking me to add a widget to let you subscribe by email, like I used to on my WordPress. Well today's the day folks, I hunted down the right html code (yuck) & bam! You can find it on the left sidebar.

And as an added bonus... I added fish. I don't know why. :) I'll let you hunt around for that on your own. Go ahead & feed them, it's fun.

Anyway...
There's something else I wanted to share with you other than building up my own blog. Something for other people. Something that I'd file under "I'm a Joiner" & that's Blurb for Good. You all probably know Blurb.com already, it's a make-your-own-book kind of site. I made my Mom a great photobook using that & I'll probably make a "Heya, Sparky! Year 1" book soon. But their Blurb for Good wasn't happening when I first started putzing around on there, I just discovered it!

The short of it is you can make books to raise money. Blub sells them in their online bookstore & 100% of the profits go straight to your business. Considering Blurb's low production costs, that kind of rocks. So while you're in a tizzy trying to figure out gifts for everyone, keep in mind "Hey, coffee-table books make great gifts! And I could support something good in the process!"

link to the Blurb for Good bookstore

"Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti"

A collaborative book for a cause Julie Van Rosendaal,
of Canada’s Dinner with Julie, rallied her pals, from
famous chefs to teen food bloggers, and created a cook
book for Haiti. More than 1,800 books were sold and the
Canadian Red Cross matched sales of the book. The
result was a mega-donation of more than $45,000 to
relief efforts in Haiti. Catch our Blurb blog post about
the book and its success.

Drop a Bomb

When I started blogging, I didn't expect to make the friend connections that I have... it came as a completely lovely surprise. See I thought it was about me... my spark, my writing, my whatever. Then you meet a few people, get hooked on what THEY have to say, start to put more efforts into leaving comments instead of waiting for your own.

And then maybe one day something happens that shakes your little online world... maybe it's a sad day for one of those people that you've grown to care about & you hope that little comment isn't just a "hi" but actually sums up all the things you wish you could tell that person who you've never even met: How wonderful you think they are, or that you'll be praying, or that you understand, or that they inspire you & on & on.

Now when hundreds of other people do the same & send thoughts of love into lots of tiny blog comments as well... that's a love bomb.

Once a week love bomb posts a mission... someone who needs a little support... & the team goes to work. All you do is leave a comment as one part of a team of hundreds. Nothing could be easier. But can you imagine being that person? The one who has a sick child, or has lost a parent, or is feeling worthless... to open your inbox & have 300 messages waiting to encourage you? Wow.

So that's what I've signed up for & have been doing. I just wanted to make sure you all had the opportunity to get on board if you'd like. I'm a big fan of Momma T (more commonly referred to as Mother Theresa)'s statement that you can do no great things, only small things with great love.

Also in that spirit, I'm starting a new tab on this blog called "I'm a Joiner". It's still just a tiny baby page so far, but I'll be filling it up with places to link up & connect. Small things like love bomb... or sharing special memories with Tia's flashback... the things that make us human.