My Word for 2012

My word for 2012 is:

Intentional with doing what's important....intentionally spending quality time with my children when we aren't doing school....intentionally getting our son out of our room and into his own so that my husband and I can finally be alone...intentionally having date nights with my husband......there really is a lot for me to be intentional with.

However, there is one intention in particular that God has allowed to weigh in heavily on my heart for this year:
being intentional with helping others.    

My family and I have been on the receiving end of giving for quite some time now.  

And most people don't ask me to help because I am limited physically....medically....financially....and I don't usually ever volunteer to help because my disease and condition, and my son's diseases and conditions are so unpredictable.  Our finances are unpredictable.

It's all understandable, sure.  

But having been on the receiving end for so many years....I recently recognized that I have grown complacent with allowing others to help us and sadly, I have grown comfortable with never doing anything to help anyone else.

I think of plenty of ideas, I even talk about them,
but I don't do any of them.

So this year, I will intentionally step out in faith with my family, in my illness, in my son's illness, and help others in however the Lord guides us to help.  

Thus far, He has put rather simple, but profoundly meaningful and practical ways that I can serve to those--that are in shoes that are similar to ours--around us.

First, is with Joy Jars.

Jessie Reece (pictured above) is a 12 year old girl with an in-operable malignant brain tumor.  Her dad is one of the pastors at the church where Tim and I met in 1996.  They live locally to us, and pass out jars at our local hospitals to kids with cancer.

I lead a Keepers of the Faith group--it's like girl scouts, only it's Christian and not run by a big organization.  I have 13 girls that are in grades 2nd-6th, my daughter is one of them and she is in 4th grade.

I decided that my group and I will host a Joy Jar Toy Drive.  

We are still in the planning stages, but I am excited that this isn't just something I am going to talk about, it's something I am going to intentionally do with my group of girls:


Send Joy to sick children in our local hospitals.  


The second way the Lord has led me to help thus far is donating books to the Joyful Life Library.
  

Started by Heather from Life Made Lovely after she lost her infant son at 6 weeks old, this beautiful project seeks to  "bring a sense of comfort and normality to people in crisis."  

She says:

"During Samuel's joyful life God allowed us to be supported through the people we met at the hospital and the pediatric hospice home where Samuel eventually passed away.  We learned first hand how important it is to bring a sense of comfort and normality to people in crisis. Now that we understand the importance of this kind of support, we feel called to bring pieces of comfort to other families in similar situations. 

We feel strongly that reading a favorite story to a child is an act of love that's comforting to the child and the caregiver alike, and is especially important when your life has been turned upside down because of a little one's critical illness.  As a parent of a hospitalized child, you often feel helpless because there is so little comfort and care you can offer.  Being able to sit and read a book, just like you would do at home, helps to make the entire family feel a little bit better.  Because of this we have set out to put books in as many PICU's as we possible can.

It makes my heart sing when I think of parents being able to give a little comfort to their child through reading books to them.  Books that are there because of Samuel's joyful life.  We're excited to see where this journey leads us and we hope you'll join us for it."

One of the hospitals on the list is Gavin's hospital...and he's even been in their PICU before.  Since spending more nights than I can count at that hospital, and knowing how much Gavin loves being read to, I too recognize how important it is for them to have enough great books to go around.

You will see Heather's Joyful Life Library button on my sidebar in the hopes that 
you will decide to click on it, and donate too...
there are many childrens hospitals to choose from...so click on this link to join in.
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I also signed up to bring a friend a meal....
it sounds small....
but it's a big step of faith for me.

I am hardly able to cook a home-cooked meal for my own family let alone for someone else's.

But there is one meal that I usually am able to make even when I am not feeling well that is really good.  So I am going to double it and deliver half to her family.

 I am trusting the Lord to protect my health that day so that I can cook and deliver a hot meal to a friend in need, just like they have done for us so many times.

Instead of not signing up with the assumption that I probably won't be well enough to complete it, I am intentionally going to trust God to sustain me to serve in His kingdom.

It's a simple start...but surely, He will lay more opportunities in my path in the days and months ahead.

I have considered that all the opportunities that the Lord guides me to might all feel simple and small to me because of the fragility of my health, but I decided that I am okay with that.

Why?

Because I am leaving the "How to Help Others" part up to Him...only He knows what I will and will not be able to do...after all, it's His plan for my life, not mine.    

I am excited to see what those plans are in this unfold before my eyes this year, and I am thankful that He put this on my heart...thankful that I will be helping others...

grateful to be passing on the Love of Christ that's been given to us for oh so long.

I hope you'll decide to join me!