Neighborhood Block Party

We hosted another neighborhood block party on Friday night. This time we hosted with 7 other families in our neighborhood as part of an outreach event through our church. I'll tell more about the outreach part in another email, but I wanted to share some of the party logistics, in case you want to host a similar event in your neighborhood.

• Eight families got together over a Mexican Fiesta potluck to talk about the vision and plan for our party.
  
• We printed invitations and knocked on every door in our neighborhood, inviting them to the party. Knocking on their doors offered so many opportunities for conversations about life, dreams, sickness, needs, church... It was really cool!
  
• We borrowed chairs from a neighbor and set them up in circles around the yard. We also borrowed a camping canopy to shield some of the sun.
  
• We had a welcome table, to give out nametags and invite people to sign up for the neighborhood email list. Host team members worked together to personally greet each guest and start conversations with them.
  
• The church provided hamburgers, hotdogs and chips for the party. We invited neighbors to bring their favorite homemade dessert for a Neighborhood Dessert Bake-Off. Volunteers from our team set-up the food and made sure everything stayed stocked.
  
• For the kids, we set up 2 bounce-arounds in the backyard, tubs of bubbles, a cornhole game, and tubs of sidewalk chalk. The kids played dodgeball inside the bounce-around, which was so funny! The teenagers from our host teams were great - they made it their mission to make sure all the kids were safe doing the activities.
• We were too busy hosting to get a headcount, but we think we had about 130-150 folks from all sections in our neighborhood - from age 9months to 69! We were so pleased and so blessed!
  

Supporting Military Moms during Deployment

I live really close to a military base, so I have several friends with spouses that are deployed overseas. I've never known very much about military life, so I asked my friend Elizabeth (military wife and mother) to coach me through how to support women whose husbands are deployed. She gave me some great advice, and said that I could share it with you.

• First, I would recommend that she get a free video that Sesame Street produced for her kids if she doesn't already have it; the first link should take you to a site where you can order it.
• Make sure that she knows that she can call you whenever for whatever. We have a neighbor whose husband is in Korea for a year; she knows that she can come ask for whatever help she might need, even if it's getting a bird out of her house or watching her kids while she unloads groceries. You might offer to watch her kids sometimes so that she can have a little time for herself.
• Don't take it personally if she doesn't want to talk at times or totally breaks down for no apparent reason; deployment is hard and it's hard to predict what emotions may be there at any given time. For example, if someone knocks on her door when she isn't expecting it, it may really throw her off for the rest of the day. There were a few times that someone knocked on my door while Kevin was deployed; it causes a horrible knot to form in your stomach. A knock on the door is how the military notifies you if your soldier has been killed. On that same note, always call before you stop by!
• If she's expecting to hear from her husband and he doesn't contact her, it will ruin her day. It's probably just because there is a communication blackout and he's probably fine, but you don't feel better until you hear for sure that everything is ok. When Kevin was deployed, a communication blackout would go into effect if a soldier in his brigade was hurt or killed; it gives the military time to properly notify the soldier's family instead of them hearing the news through rumors. There's no set length of time; it lasts until the family has been notified.
• I would recommend that she get involved with the Family Readiness Group (FRG) for her husband's unit; it's a great resource and good place to find friends who are going through the same thing you are.
• Basically, just be there for her, listen if she wants to talk, and keep reaching out even if she's not reaching back. Do whatever you can to take her mind off things, which may or may not be possible depending on the day.
• Call her and call often just to check in.

Websites that families with deployed soldiers might appreciate:
My Army Life Too
Deployment Kids
Military Spouse Resource Center
Military Avenue

January - National Mentoring Month

Think about how you have grown from the mentoring (either casually or formerly, either one-on-one or in small groups) from other people.

Think of how the world would be different if every child had at least 3 caring adults in their lives - 3 mentors to guide them in the ways of life. Research says "that mentors can play a powerful role in reducing drug abuse and youth violence while greatly enhancing a young person's prospects for leading a healthy and productive life."

Think of how different the world would be if every parent had a mentor. Someone to guide and encourage them through all the ups and downs of childrearing. I think it would greatly affect marriages, home life, attitudes, characters, and so many other aspects of society.

National Mentoring month is a time to remember the importance of mentoring, and a call for
individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits to join together to assure brighter futures for our young people.

So I ask you a series of questions:

RELATED TO MISSIONS/DISCIPLESHIP
How are you impacting the lives of children this year?
How could you challenge your peers to more intentionally impact children this year?
How can you encourage other mothers in their journey of parenting?

RELATED TO YOUR FAMILY
Do your children have caring adults (beyond you) in their lives?
What can you do to help surround them with caring adults?
How can you be a caring influence on the kids that are in/out of your home each week?
Do you have other moms that are mentoring you? (face-to-face, on the phone, blogs, books... - I think they can all equip you to be a better mom)

For more information, visit http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/.

Finding Meaningful Service Projects, MLK Day

MLK Day is a national day of service - Congress challenges individuals and families to make it a day ON (volunteering together, celebrating Dr. King's legacy of social justice) instead of a day OFF.

Volunteerism offers a great opportunity to teach about (and model) character, selflessness, responsibility, and sacrifice, while exploring a plethora of social needs that are important to your family. It's also a great opportunity to build family relationships and make memories together.

I wrote an article about finding good volunteer projects on my other Giving Kids The Edge They Need to Succeed blog. Go check it out and find a way that your family can make a difference this month and throughout the year.

A Mission to Serve - Life in the Church

Two of my friends planted Fellowship Church Louisville a couple of years ago. They have a great vision for serving others. Listen to this paragraph from their newsletter:

"We constantly pray that one of the hallmarks of our church will be service. But, not just service for service's sake, service that builds relational bridges to our community through which the message of the Gospel can be shared. We desire for our service to be a demonstration of the love of God that opens doors for His message to be declared to our community."

So their November service project involved partnering with Here's Life Inner City (Campus Crusade's inner city ministry) and other Louisville churches to provide Thanksgiving dinner to almost 900 families in the city. But it wasn't your typical dinner delivery. Each of the 900 families took a spiritual interest survey before the boxes were delivered, so the Gospel could be presented in a meaningful way when families delivered the boxes.

Their prayer is "that this would be a time where people both see and hear God's love. Ask God to use the Boxes of Love to meet the physical needs of those in the depressed area of our city and that large numbers of people would come to Christ and get plugged into local churches."

If you want to know more, visit www.fellowshiplouisville.org.

Vote, Speak Up, and Pray

I don't want this to become a political blog, so I won't even mention any names in this post. But I wanted to remind you (and your family) to be a responsible citizen this week.

VOTE - go vote early, so you can take your kids with you to the polls. Tell them what you're doing, why it's important, why it's a privilege, and why you've chosen your candidates. This is a great educational opportunity for them in regards to character and responsibility. Then get a sticker for everyone and wear it proudly.

SPEAK UP - know why you support your candidate (BEYOND their party connection!), and educate people around you on the issues. Remind them to make time to go vote. Let them know where they can vote early, and offer a ride if they need it.

PRAY - I like the way my uncle Cliff wrote it in an email today, "Pray for God’s divine will to be done and accepted by our country. Please also pray for healing for the deep divisions that are hurting us as Americans at this time. We need healing! Pray for whatever God has placed on your hearts regarding this election."

Neighborhood Tea Party

I smiled when I saw Lindsey's post at Passionate Homemaking. She's getting ready for an Autumn Ladies Tea - another great idea for neighborhood gatherings.

She shares about her philosophy of hospitality, some great resources for practicing hospitality, and some really yummy recipes.

Lindsey writes a very inspirational blog. She updates it regularly, sharing practical ideas for being a woman like God - loving, serving, encouraging, and engaging people in her life.

How to Host a Great Neighborhood Party

We had a great time hosting our neighborhood pumpkin carving and chili party Friday night. We had almost 50 people join us from all different parts of the neighborhood. The kids ran around like crazy, having a great time, while the adults sampled four different kinds of chili. Then we went outside to carve pumpkins together.

We believe that it's important to build and nurture a sense of community in our neighborhood. It creates safer community, where people care about one another. It creates a more joyful neighborhood, where people greet one another and actually talk to one another. And it's just fun!

It's easy to host a neighborhood gathering. You don't need lots of money, or a big house, or the best backyard in the neighborhood. You just need to plan ahead and ask for help!

Tips for planning an easy get-together

1. Outdoor parties are almost always easier, so use your patio or driveway if the weather permits. Some neighborhoods will even let you block off a street, if you want to involve the whole neighborhood.
2. Collect email addresses as you meet people. I keep the addresses in a word document along with the family names and ph#s. I also keep a neighborhood contact list on my email account.
3. Use evite as your primary invitation source. I know it's not fancy, but it's so easy to use! You can use it to track party #s and party supplies (see #4)
4. Host a potluck style event. Make a list of everything you need for the party (food, drinks, paper products...) and split them up into equal 'portions'. Use evite's 'ask guests to bring something' feature to invite your neighbors to pitch in. Most people want to bring something to help, so they'll be glad to help out.
5. Print out some paper invitations to include new neighbors that you haven't yet met or neighbors that don't utilize email.
6. Ask 1-2 friends to come early to help you do last minute preparations and stimluate conversations among the guests. New neighbors might be very shy, so you might have to initiate conversations until they are comfortable.
7. Use nametags, so people can see and hear names - they'll be more likely to remember them!
8. Have a sign-up list for people to share their contact info.
9. If you're having fun, mention the possibility of getting neighbors together again. If someone is especially enthusiastic about hosting another event, invite them to help with the planning. I think our neighborhood gals are going to start a bi-monthly Bunco night!
10. Be flexible - it's going to be messy and a little crazy. But it will be a lot of fun, and it's totally worth the effort!

Easy party ideas:

• Superbowl Soup & Salads
• Valentine's Day cookie swap
• St. Patrick's Day Irish get together (green foods)
• Memorial Day family softball game and picnic at a local park (thanks for the idea Mary & Stu!)
• July 4th bike parade and cookout
• Back porch watermelon & popsicle parties (thanks for the idea Ginger & Chan!)
• Back to school party (thanks for the idea Heather)
• Pumpkin carving party
• Christmas crafts party (for adults or kids)
• Christmas caroling and cider party

Building Community - Authentic Community

I just read a great post on Frugal Hacks about being a good neighbor. It has journal entries from the Deputy Handmistress' great grandmother, as well as reflections on what it means to invest in friendships that will build a sense of community during hard times. It's an outstanding read.

I just read Meredith's article, "Cheerful Frugality Faces Financial Meltdown". I started leaving a comment about her great article, then realized that I was writing enough for a long blog post!

I was grateful the time our church gave to one of our elders, also a financial investor, to educate our congregation on Sunday. He explained some of the 'whys' of the economic streses, but also took time to remind us that God is bigger. Everything in life will shift and change, but our hope should be grounded in God's love and God's promises, which never fail. I believe that it's our job, in uncertain and scary times, to gently point people to the quiet hope in our hearts.

But I also think it's time for us to encourage people in tangible ways.

• Teach your friends, neighbors and family members to live frugally. Gather a group of women to teach about budgets, pinching pennies at the grocery store, cooking inexpensive meals, living simply... My friend Shannon lead a great discussion on "saving on groceries" at my church a few years ago - I learned sooooo much listening to other frugal women.
• Store a little bit of extra food in your pantry - just in case. I just bought extra rice, beans, and canned goods to have on hand in case of emergency. I didn't buy tons, but I wanted to have food for my family and my neighbors in case we can't get to a store. We want to be prepared to help serve others in my neighborhood if they need help in a crisis.
• Keep a little bit of extra cash in your house. We're a credit card family (we pay it off every month and spend carefully, i promise!), so we rarely keep much cash on hand. But with the uncertainty of the market, we've decided to keep some cash hidden for emergencies.
• Give generously. Keep tithing, even though it's harder. God uses that money to help so many people through churches and other ministries. It's also a great reminder for us to THANK God for his provisions and TRUST him to continue to provide.
• Pray for our country's leaders, for humanitarian organizations, for families to manage their finances wisely, and for people to trust in God when they are afraid.

Also, Ready.gov has some great materials on putting together an emergency kit for your home, outlining a family plan for natural or human disasters. We haven't done everything on the list, but I think it's a really good basic outline for families to follow.

Summer Fun - Inviting Friends on Adventures

I've mentioned my friend Shannon several times before, but I thought you might like seeing some of the activities she is planning with her girls this week. She plans ahead, then invites other moms to join in their fun. I love the accountability of planning group activities, the opportunity to kids to practice getting along & having fun, and the opportunity for moms to enjoy good fellowship together. Here's an excerpt from her email earlier this week:

We have fun things planned for this week:

The girls and I are going berry picking Tuesday morning in Springfield. I am hoping to get an early start to the farm to beat some of the heat. We will hopefully be there from 8:30 to 10:00 (approximately!).

Wednesday we're going low-key and heading to the downtown library for the 10:30 storytime, book check-out and lunch in the courtyard with the fountain.

On Thursday, we'll head to the Kirkpatrick sprayground. Since it's getting progressively hotter as the week goes on, I figure we will need water play by the end of the week.

If we don't see you, have a great 4th of July! Hope you can join us for one of these!

Shannon and the girls

Another Glimpse into my Service-Learning World

I led a really cool Service-Learning Camp for Harpeth Hall School’s Summer Program last week. Fourteen girls in grades 2-6 signed up to volunteer each morning for five days.

Through direct service, activities and reflection games, we explored how we can make a difference in our communities – and we had a lot of fun doing it. Here is a sample of our schedule.


Monday - Educational Opportunities and Healthy child Development
We’ll be talking about the importance of providing a safe, nurturing and educational environment for all children, and we’ll be helping Preston Taylor Ministries get ready for their summer camp. Then we’ll talk about how we can encourage younger children in our lives with words and actions.

Tuesday - Care for the Sick and their Families
We will visit Ronald McDonald House, learn how they serve others, help with house beautification projects, and encourage the residents with creative and yummy gifts. Then we’ll think about ways we can help sick or hurting people in our own lives.

Wednesday – Community Gardening
We will spend the afternoon at the Nashville Urban Harvest Gardens, learning of the importance of community building and helping with the community garden. Then we’ll make jewelry – from recycled materials – to take home with us.

Thursday - Supporting Art and Green Spaces
We will talk about the importance of art and green spaces in our community, we’ll see the beautiful grounds at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, and we’ll help prepare art materials for the Cheekwood children’s programs. Then we’ll make something to promote recycling in our own homes!

Friday - Providing for the needs of the Hungry
We will learn how they help the community and discuss the issue of hunger. We will be doing a scavenger hunt to collect food for the hungry in Nashville. We will also be making rice bags and cards to distribute in food boxes through Charis Ministries.

Susan Ragsdale and I enjoy planning service-learning opportunities for groups – whether directly leading young people or writing curriculum that youth workers/teachers can follow. If you know a group that would benefit from this kind of expertise, I hope you'll refer them to our work - www.theassetedge.net.

Double Professions - Playing Hard

I thought I would give you a glimpse of my other professional life, since I usually just talk about the profession of motherhood.

I spent last night at the beautiful Barefoot Republic Camp in Kentucky with a group of 28 teens, college students and adults working to build unity among teens in Nashville through a series of worship events called Fusion. We had the best time singing, planning, and hanging out together.

My job was to create a sense of community among these volunteer leaders who will carry out 3 events for 200 teens this summer. They wanted me to lead games from our Great Group Games book because “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” (Plato)

So we played – lots! Our first session was focused on getting to know each other. We bounced, finger fenced, searched for commonalities, sang, played with balloons, and scavenged for treasure. We learned the stories behind the names of people from teammates around the world.

The second playtime was about leadership and community building. We played silly games that led to deeper conversations about change, empowerment, appreciating diversity, listening, using the group’s strengths, creative problem-solving and trust.

We laughed together for 24 hours and left with 28 new friends, ready to make waves of change in our city. I feel so blessed in my job

Welcoming Guests

I love hosting guests in our home. Before moving 'to the country' we lived in a small 2 bedroom house that made entertaining quite a challenge. I love being able to give guests their own space in our new home, and we've had so many friends and family members come visit. I feel so blessed!

I keep a file called "Guest Preferences", so I can remember the little things that make individual visitors feel welcome. Then I can remember extra things to pick up at the store, or cooking preferences, or favorite places to visit during their stay.

Here is a sampling of the notes:

Gramma & Papa
Cinnamon raisin bagels
Instant creamer
Apple butter
No pesto, seafood or super-spicy foods
Diet pepsi
Braeburn apples
Chocolate raspberry or Amaretto coffee
Fruit tea

Jake & Jenn
No chicken on bones
Lollipops

Mama B & Papa Tom
Diet coke
Splenda
Low sugar, low vitamin K

Holly & Jay
Vegetarian (chicken only)

Pete & Joy
Diet coke
Chocolate chip cookies

Tornado Benefit Concerts

Middle Tennessee was hit hard by tornadoes a couple of weeks ago. This weekend two churches will host benefit concerts to collect money and food for the victims. Can you imagine being a mom without a home? Be grateful for your home today, and ask God for ways you might help people in your community that need a little extra help.

Strong Tower Bible Church will host a benefit songwriter's night fortornado victims in Williamson, Macon, Trousdale and Sumner counties THIS SUNDAY at 6:00pm (see flyer attached). Host for the evening will beVince Gill. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Concert will take place inLiberty Hall at the Factory in Franklin.Admission to the event is a food box of donated non-perishable items ora gift card. Cash donations for the tornado victims will be receivedduring the concert.

Fellowship Bible Church (1210 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027) willalso host a benefit concert THIS SUNDAY, March 2, at 7:00pm to benefitrecent tornado victims. Confirmed artists include: Brandon Heath, JasonIngram, Christy Nockels & Bebo Norman.

Make Your Mark
Little ways you can make a BIG difference

Live simply.
Use your professional skills to help your neighbors, church members, or community.
Shop and eat locally.
Give money to causes that are important to you.
Take time to help others (move, bake, carpool).
Plant a tree.
Recycle and buy recycled products.
Prioritize and be willing to say no.
Find a mentor and be a mentor.
Live life to the fullest.
Use your personality to bless other people and organizations.
Don’t gossip.
Do your best.
Seek forgiveness and forgive.
Use less energy.
Use water wisely.
Give thanks.
Use your hobbies to make a positive difference.
Cleanse your mind, body and spirit.
Stay physically active – and push yourself to be strong.
Drink water. Drink milk. And have an occasional glass of wine.
Write a personal and family mission statement.
Care for your nuclear and extended family.
Don’t keep up with the Jones’.
Rest.
Be financially savvy.
Vote. And challenge others to be active citizens.
Speak up when you have a passionate opinion.
Know the news
Laugh – a lot!
Use your faith as an inspiration to LOVE others, not judge or ostracize them.
Love boldly.Make your mark where you believe a mark needs to be made.


What are YOUR favorite ways to make a difference?
Who do you know that IS making a difference?

Ravioli Casserole

My friend Misty first introduced me to Ravioli Casserole, when she brought me a dish after my daughter was born. (Have I mentioned what a HUGE blessing it is when people share meals with new moms???) My family loved it, and I've since created my own version of the yummy dish. If your family likes Italian food, I bet this will be a hit for your family too! My DH gave me a huge compliment last night, deeming it restaurant quality food. I love it when he says that!

It's also an easy meal to double - one for now & one for the freezer for later! So we prepared one last night for Jennifer's family, who's 4-year old son is undergoing chemotherapy. It's so hard to support one struggling through something like cancer, but cooking is a practical way to help. Best of all, preparing a meal reminds us to pray for our loved ones as they struggle.

The Recipe:

1 pound ground beef
1 (25 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli, cooked and drained
1.5 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2/3 cup diced green peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain grease, then add the peppers, mushrooms and seasonings – sauté for a 4-5 minutes. Then stir in the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes.

Make a layer of sauce, ravioli, cheese (both kinds). Repeat layer, ending with sauce on top. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top before serving.

Cool Moms Care

This is a message I just received from my friend Anderson:

Well, our friends at CoolPeopleCare have launched yet another exciting and informative website called Cool Moms Care! I thought you might want to check it out and pass it on to any cool moms you know. If you like these sites, I also recommend their new book New Day Revolution -it's full of easy ideas to help revolutionize the way we live our daily lives. The guys that started this are good friends of mine and I am a big supporter their work. Check them out!

They have a newsletter, articles and a blog listed at the Cool Moms site. The articles looked really good, so I just added the Cool Moms link to my bloglines account. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE bloglines?

Jewelry and Stories and Other Good Stuff

I splurged today. A sweet friend gave me a gift certificate to Ten Thousand Villages, a fair-trade gift shop that sells beautiful wares made by artisans from villages in 30 countries around the world. I found a cute little necklace (I've been watching for a necklace for a couple of months now!) for $12, and now I have a great story to tell with the jewelry.

It's made by women in the Tara Projects from Delhi, India. According to their website, "TARA Projects defends the rights of the underprivileged, especially women and children, by opposing child labor, exploitation and poverty. They are aggressively lobbying and campaigning, holding rallies, and educating people about fair trade. Their goal is to end injustice and manipulation in the world mass trade system. TARA Projects also funds non-formal and vocational schools as well as literacy centers for adults."

Ten Thousand Villages has 160 stores across the USA and Canada - and they sell goods online. It's a great place to find fairly priced special gifts for loved ones. And it's really fun just to see their stuff!

Ready to Vote

I voted early last week, because I hate waiting in line with the kiddos. If you're still trying to figure out your top candidates, you might peruse this Voting Guide. It outlines the viewpoints on some of the top issues for Democrats and Republicans. I don't think moral issues should be the sole foundation in your vote, but it is an important aspect, so this site might help you.

Rock the Vote is also a good site for young voters, so if you have teens or college students, check this site out.

Remind your family and friends to do their research and vote!