Matching Gift

So during the Lemonade Benefit for the Hero Program, I casually threw out over FB that I would love for someone to match the total brought in at the end of the day.

Sure, it would be cool.

I didn't really pursue it.  Just prayed that perhaps someone reading the accounts of the day would feel compelled to give.

Our total was $220.

Then another $5.00 came in.

And another $10.00 today.

AND A MATCHING GIFT OF $220.

I can't not adequately describe how I am feeling.

Thank you.

Who Needs a Radius and Ulna, Anyway?

Loot from Beaver Community Yard Sale per Harper and Zane.

As sales came in at our house (they chose to sell a bunch off stuff), Harper and Zane decided to take a bit of their earnings and walk the neighborhood without me (GASP!)

Zane comes walking home at one point along with a personal courier who is holding a large black garbage bag that I was sure contained some sort of  legoy, playmobily, an awful lotta small pieces type of toy. Yep. For $2.00 Zane is now the proud owner of some dinosaur camp. I don't know. I simply found a bin for it and dumped it in for proper storage in the play room.

Then there was the:

Small pottery wheel kit (Harper)
Crystal-Making Kit (Zane)
Spin-Paint (Zane)
Laser-Gun (Zane - no real lasers . . . just cool sounds)

And . . .

(As if we are even entertaining putting Harper on such a thing after the twice broken arm.)

A snowboard.

You heard me.

No, it's not anything to admire. It's a plastic deal.

But, it is, indeed, a snowboard.

And, in true Harper form, she connected her feet and started attempting jumps.

My response?

"Get the crap away from the hill!!!!"

Mom isn't ready to risk anymore broken bones right now.

Best sale/non-purchase of the day?

Zane, not "feeling" the Nerf cross-bow in which he invested a few weeks back, sold it, taking a huge loss. Well, I knew this, but he didn't. And since I didn't pay for the thing - whatever.

And then, at the end of the day, as the children on our street gathered for a Nerf war, I mentioned to one of the older warriors that Zane had sold his weapon that day.

"Oh, he can just have this one. I have several."

Zane now has a *new* Nerf gun. He still wants to invest in one that is green, but the glee he felt being given a Nerf gun from one of the older guys????

Worth the loss he took on the prior sale.

I've now written two posts about today. I couldn't have loved it more.

(And neighbor on the way with a Trader Joe order . . . sigh. Really. Good. Day.)

Best Mother's Day Gift EVER. Seriously.

Sure, I could get a gift card.

Or jewelry.

A spa treatment.

Been there. Done that.

I've NEVER, however, been given THIS.

As a volunteer with the Hero Program, I write press releases, letters, and do some light fundraising. I've learned how to write grants, and I also get the chatter going on the Hero Program FB wall. Words.

Words. Words. Words.

Nothing wrong with those words.

But, just yesterday, I was informed that one of the children supported by the Hero Program is being denied treatments that can greatly increase the length and quality of her life. Insurance paid for only 2 out of the 10 medically recommended treatments for Leah, who, along with her sister, has Dravet Syndrome. The cost of each treatment? $55,000. Yeah, cause we all have cash like that stuffed under mattresses.

This kind of situation revs me up. When medical professionals are in support of treatments, only to have the insurance company deny them, I get mad.

And then, I get moving.

I shared with Harper and Zane about the situation and asked if they would like to help by donating proceeds from a yard sale we were planning

"Let's do a lemonade stand, Mom."

Harper. God love her.

So, she, Zane, and our neighbor, Missy started at 9:00, when it was still chilly, and threatening rain. There wasn't time to make a sign, but we were set with Hero bracelets (want one?) and brochures. As yard sale goers do, many just peeked at what we had to sell, ignored the jumping children holding a sign, and kept on moving.

Harper wanted to give up, "Nobody is paying attention to us."

"Well, figure out another way. Find another way."

That's when the umbrellas came out. A basket filled with Hero bracelets and brochures was packed up, and off they went on foot. To crash other yard sales.

After hoofing it, and bringing in quite a few donations, the sun came out. We decided to change locations, get the lemonade crankin', and picked up two more volunteers.

Briefed on the situation, the extra boys flagged people down and then Harper gave the presentation.

As I continued manning our yard sale down the street, a woman approached me.

"Are you Joline?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. I'm Leah's Mom. I saw your post on the Hero FB wall and my husband and I decided to come over and say hello. We introduced ourselves to your children."

I hugged her. And cried.

What else was there to do????

You gotta know that I've not met ANY children supported by the Hero Program and only 1 other parent, so now, meeting Leah's parents, helped me see that the families are not just words . . . they are flesh.

As the afternoon continued, the group of kids offering to help, increased. A rap was conceived. The Macarena was performed curbside. The final total for donations?

$220 and change.

Anyone wanna match it?

Happy Mother's Day.

I received the joy of watching my kids run and problem-solve the Lemonade Benefit, along with sunshine, and steam-cleaned carpets (thank you, George).

Why would I want anything else?

Aslan Joins Our Family

We don't do Easter baskets.

We do this.

Zane is a lion lover. His bed is covered with them. So as Easter rolled around, I got the idea to add to his collection with an enormous Aslan.

Why not for Easter? Come on, you get the symbolism, right?

If not, pick up "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe". Good God, man! Read the book!

With Grams and Gramps on board, I entered Castle Toys and Games, gave the owner, Linda, a nod and a wink, and while Zane wasn't looking, paid for the one huge lion she had on display.

We set Aslan up on the couch on Saturday so that Dad could watch Zane's reaction to his new snuggle-lion a day early, for George would be out of the house early Sunday morning and didn't want to miss the unveiling.

Zane responded just as we thought.

I think he and Aslan will be very happy together. Along with the other lions in his stuffed pride: Lion, Liony, pillow-pet Lion, Playmobile Lion, and other assorted lion figures. Add to the weekend a viewing of Disney's "African Cats" and "Born Free" and I think we have outdone ourselves.

Harper is lioned-out.

Scout seems to be a bit confused by the newest addition to our family. Threatened even. Aslan is larger than she is.

This is how we do Easter.

Who needs candy???

Harper's Baptism, Take Two

Yes, she was baptized as a baby, but that was more of a decision we made on her behalf. Infant baptism doesn't hold any "magic" power. It was a public profession of OUR faith. It was during Harper's infant baptism that we communicated our commitment to introduce Harper to Jesus.

Ten years later and Harper shares with us that back when she was in 2nd grade she asked Jesus to be her Saviour.

She is not very vocal or overtly emotionally expressive when it comes to her faith in Christ, so when the opportunity to be baptized on Easter presented itself, we sat down to talk with her about making a public profession of her faith.

We wanted to make sure that if she did decide to get baptized it wasn't because she thought WE thought she should or because it would please her Grandparents or friends. It needed to be her decision and hers alone. So we talked about her "story", which went back to the years when she struggled with social anxiety. A very touching part of this story included the influence of our neighbor, Martha, who has made a huge impression on Harper - something we hadn't realized until we sat to chat about her faith.

After much consideration, she decided to be baptized, and we felt that she was ready to do so based on how she expressed herself to us.

George would already be up helping for the ceremony, so I asked Harper if she'd like me and her brother to join her as well.

No.

We could tell she didn't want this to be a drama-filled event. She didn't want to be surrounded by us, which would only increase the attention. It was very "matter of fact" for her. A next step.

We followed her lead - didn't make a huge deal, no gift, no fawning over her. Nothing that would serve as a means of "influencing" her.

When her name was called, she bounced up there, hopped in, smiled, and then, dunk! This, from a girl who used to struggle and hesitate to do anything in front of crowds.

Yes, I cried. Am I proud? That's an interesting question. I am not as much proud as I am filled with joy that she has chosen to profess her young faith by this means. When folks say, "You done good, Mom!" I cringe. Yes, I pray for her, and we do our best to be in the Word and address daily issues from a Christian perspective, but strip all that away and really it's just her and Jesus. Strip that back even more and you hit a bigger truth.

It's not about us.

It's not about Harper.

It's ALL about Jesus.

So, I'm proud of Him. For dying. And then conquering death. So that Harper may live.

Introducing Daily Fast Fuel

Introducing . . . a dream.

For over a year now I've been bouncing around the idea of starting yet another blog. I know. As if I need another project. I was thinking the same thing. Only, as my Cuppa Jo blog began to incorporate a number of different topics, drifting away from the original intent of it being a family blog, my mind started to dream up a place to write about the spiritual lessons I have learned.

Last year I approached an old friend and fellow blogger about the project, suggesting we partner together. We sat on it for a while - not due to disinterest, but rather due to a lack of direction. As I took the year to really reflect and tighten the idea, I recontacted her. She spoke with a writer friend of hers. I then approached another gal. And another. Feeling led, we added one more.

Six. Six writers. Six women from around the country, all committed to loving God daily and inhabiting a NEED to write as part of our individual spiritual journeys.

We are now ready to present to you the outcome of months and months of praying, brainstorming, planning, and Friday conference calls.

Presenting, Daily Fast Fuel.

Debuting on Easter Sunday, 2011.

Join us everyday to read hearty morsels of fast fuel. Our desire is that our offering to you would be tight and concise. Meaty enough to challenge, real enough to be transparent, and so tasty that you will want to ponder and savor the tidbits throughout your day. We know that it can be difficult to commit to being in the Word daily, only we can not deny that this is necessary for living, right? So, we designed Daily Fast Fuel to serve you quick (notice I didn't say "easy") daily nuggets taken from God's word. And, in the process, you'll get to know us as well.

Sticking to a weekly theme, each of us in this cooperative of writers will serve you for a week at a time: Monday-Friday. You'll find that we are similar, in that we all desire to love God and love others in our relationships with Jesus Christ, and yet, our styles, outlooks, takes on life, and perspectives, vary, due to our own personal experiences. How exciting it is to be a member of the body of Christ where He has designed each of us so uniquely.

So, come. Read. Give us feedback (we're open to it), and most of all, enjoy.

The link will be available as of Easter morning.

Daily Fast Fuel: share it with your friends:  www.dailyfastfuel.com

Lenten Progress

Easter is almost here. 5 more days.

Great time to check-in and reveal how my Lenten Project has faired.

I give myself a "C". Ok, maybe a "C+".

For while waking with sun, (or, rather, at least 30 minutes earlier every day) was the initial plan, I've been very hit and miss on this task. (Caution: list of excuses to follow.)

Rain. Lots of rain. Husband in Belize. Staying up too late. All of these have contributed to my NOT rising as early as I would have liked during Lent. Rain, you say? Yes. I love a day or two of rain. But when one gets almost an entire month of it? It starts to bring a mother down. Seriously, I think we may get more rain than Seattle.

Ok, so the rising wasn't consistent. Thus, the drop in grade.

HOWEVER.

The morning ROUTINE has absolutely been redesigned. Transformed. Changed for the better. Refocused.

The ultimate goal was fellowship with my Lord, was it not?

I can honestly say, that while rising earlier may have fallen short, my devotional time with God before moving forward with my day has absolutely occurred daily, AND has paid big dividends. My reward has yielded a much better profit than simply adding "morning person" to my list of mad skills.

What have I gained?

Intentional, consistent, daily time alone with the One who establishes and orders my days.

Thank you Lord for gently tapping me each morning, and then patiently waiting for me to join you once I have dragged my night-owl wings out of bed.

For the record, I'll keep asking God to build the discipline of rising earlier into my life. I'm fun that way. Only, this Lent, I am thankful for His grace - that all my "ducks" (the goal of 6:30 AM) did NOT need to be in a row in order to have met with the One who gives me life and breath every day. Many get caught up in "I must DO this, in order to DO that", and had I put off meeting with Him due to my disappointment at not sticking to the plan (rising earlier),  I would have missed the richness that He has shared with me over these past 35 days.

That is progress.