Little Flower Projects

"The King will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Matthew 25:40

Least--smallest in significance.

There is a rather large population of the "least of these" in China today.  They are, for many different reasons, considered small in significance to most of the people living around them.

And then there is Little Flower Projects.  A light in the darkness, a refuge for the forgotten, a place of healing for the hurting.  I first came to learn of Little Flower Projects several months ago from facebook.  I saw others sharing the amazing photos and captions.  I quickly "liked" their page and everyday since have smiled or teared up due to their updates.  (If you are on facebook take a minute to find and "like" them.)  And since, you are obviously a blog reader...click HERE and be sure to follow their blog.

It is an amazing thing to see the unloved being loved.

It was about this same time that my brother shared a Mother Teresa quote with me.

"How can there be too many children?  That's like saying there are too many flowers."

Something about that quote struck a chord with me.  I thought of how unique flowers can be.  How a bouquet can lighten up any room and bring it cheer.  I began to see the correlation. :)

So as we began to work on a new shirt design aimed at Mother's day, I could think of no better quote to use and no better group to support than this one that is being "mothers" to so many without.  Therefore, the proceeds of this new shirt design will go to Little Flower Projects and the work they do.

We chose to do two designs.  We wanted this shirt to appeal to as many moms, grandmothers, aunts, friends as possible so we have one with "got love? adopt." because that is the heart of Minus 1 Project's message but also one without to celebrate children in general.

Soft, lightweight heathered lilac tee (fits true to size).

We are ready to begin taking preorders and will be sure that your shirts arrive before Mother's Day.  If ever you've considered a purchase from Minus 1 Project, now is the time.  Your purchase will help support a group of women, an ocean away,  that are daily being the hands and feet of Jesus and a mother to "the least of these".

Shocked? Not really.

I have seen several links to articles on Facebook about the new Victoria's Secret line aimed at teens.  By about the fourth one, my blood began to boil just a bit.  Honestly, I must say that my frustration isn't aimed at the CEO or designers at Victoria's Secret.  It only takes one look at the business they've built, from stores to fashion shows, to see how smart they are, how good they are at their job.  Their number one objective is to figure out what the population at large wants, design it and watch their stock and bank accounts rise.  And in my opinion, they've nailed it!

Most people seem shocked and/or outraged that they would target teens.  Last time I checked the majority of teens are still at home, under the roof and rules of their parents and they aren't purchasing most of their own clothing.  The majority of those parents dressed their young daughters in bikinis and thought it was cute.  (I don't understand the thinking that girls of any age are "cute" when out in public dressed in what equals a bra and underwear. I cannot get over the pictures on blogs and facebook of young girls in bikinis.)  As they grew older, they allowed them to sport short shorts with writing on the bottom and strapless, short prom dresses.

The majority of households have cable in which most shows, whether reality or sitcom, revolve around immodestly dressed young women.  Not to mention the music world with its videos and Super Bowl half-time shows.  We are allowing Hollywood to dictate what is appropriate dress for girls and it saddens me.

I read one letter written from the father of a three year old to Victoria's Secret asking that they rethink their decision to open teen stores.  You can read the letter HERE.  I thought it was a good letter but one part left me unsettled:  "One day she'll be a rebellious teenager..."  Why is it so assumed that teenagers need to be rebellious?  I know that the teenage years can bring "finding oneself", hormones, confusion, etc... but rebellion?  It is almost as if parents are just "buying" into the idea that their teen will rebel.

A little side note:  I might be opening a can here but I have a really hard time when I see little girls getting manicures, pedicures, ears pierced, wearing bikinis.  In my opinion, those are grown-up things. I feel like our culture is speeding up childhood, especially for girls.

I feel like this post has been a jumbled release of feelings and frustrations for me. My blog, my thoughts, my convictions.  Take it or leave it! :)

Responsibility (A Post Update)

"God gave us the responsibility to care for the defenseless. It is through our hands the Father's love touches, it is through our voices His voice is heard, it is through our efforts and those of the church that His care is revealed to the ones the rest of the world has forgotten"

~Tom Davis, Fields of the Fatherless

For many of us our days are full of responsibilities. They range on a long scale of importance. Our responsibilities differ partially due to our stage in life. A single in their twenties has different responsibilities than a retiree than does a father of three. This quote addresses a responsibility we all have. One that has been ignored far too long, by myself included.

Caring for the "ones the world has forgotten" is not just a warm, fuzzy idea. IT IS A COMMAND. It is laid out over and over that this is the responsibility of the church. It is no secret that the need is huge. We only need to glance at the number of orphans to feel the burden of the task at hand. Then add on the number of poor, homeless, widowed, lonely...

Who could blame us for feeling overwhelmed and unable to help at all?

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn....

Isaiah 61:1-2

Read carefully. Now I am in no way close to a Bible scholar but I notice we are NOT sent to feel badly, get depressed, "bless their heart", but to BIND UP the brokenness. That demands action. Adoption is one way to bind, proclaim and release those but certainly is not the only way. We need only to listen and look around at all the awesome ministries and workers that have devoted their lives to the least of these and the countless ways to support them.

We all love the parable of the good Samaritan on the road. What a lesson it teaches. A beautiful example of mercy, kindness and action. I think we would all strive to be like him and pray that our children would be, too.

Recently our family has started visiting an older man who lives alone near our home. His apartment window looks out over a bike path and playground frequented by our family. He is always sitting in his window and looking out. He greets every passer by with a smile and a wave. We visited him for the first time on Christmas Eve to deliver some Christmas cheer. Since then we have continued to visit bringing food, goodies and hand made crafts. I don't share this to brag or boast. Keep in mind, we had waved to Mr. Richard for YEARS before ever visiting him!!

Who is waiting along your road? Look around you. If you can't find anyone, pray, and then change paths so that you will have the privilege of encountering someone that the world has forgotten.

This post was originally written in March of 2011.  Two years have passed and we are still visiting Mr. Richard on a consistent basis.  As we delivered St. Valentine cards and goodies to him this year and in exchange received a bag of candy corn and a bag of jelly beans from him :), a thought occurred to me:  Through our obedience to the Holy Spirit's nudging in our hearts to reach out, we managed to give him someone to reach out to as well.

I came back to this post and while rereading it, I began thinking:  I don't know how many visitors he had or how many names were on his Christmas card list or how many children he would buy holiday cards and candy before our friendship began but I don't think it was many.  And now he has us!  He has made it clear that he enjoys our visits.  Early on, we would always bring something for him but have cut back on that a bit because we felt like that made him look for things to give us...such as a bird clock, almost expired Pepsi cans, and a stuffed animal dog from the 1950's, I think. So now we stop by (sometimes just a few of us but make it a family affair for holiday visits) to chat about weather, the kids' activities, community happenings, etc. We send homemade cards often.  His smile as he opens the door to us makes me think he looks forward to us coming and encourages us to come back.

 This year, I am very hopeful that we will be able to get him to come over to our house (as he has always declined) and, possibly that, we'll be able to get Carson to stop jumping on his furniture. :)

Discontinued...

As we continue to add new designs to our fundraising site, Minus 1 Project at www.gotloveadopt.com, we need to thin out some of our current inventory.  Therefore, we will no longer be reordering the tye dye "got love?  adopt." t-shirt.

The good news is that we currently have all sizes stocked from youth XS through adult 3XL.  This is a great time to add some color to your wardrobe.  These shirts make super cute family pictures, too!

Here it is in real time:

(I think the words show up much better than the image shows.)

Be sure to order yours soon because, soon and very soon, this style will be retired!

Be a part of Minus 1 Project history...

"got love?  adopt."

tye dye style.

Word Choice

At a swim meet several weekends ago, a fellow hotel breakfast eater, upon realizing the coffee pot was empty exclaimed to me, "They're out of coffee?  This is a tragedy!"

And although I understood what she meant, it still bothered me.  Maybe because I'm sure the coffee would be hot and ready in a few minutes (the need for instant gratification) or because maybe from the looks of her cup she already had some coffee (the need for excess).  More possibly it could have been caused by the fact that I had been reading about the life of children when faced with growing up in an orphanage or with an orphan status.  I think the true meaning of the word "tragedy" fits the latter and really doesn't belong used to describe an empty-for-three-minutes coffee pot.

So I have found myself, choosing my words a bit more carefully lately and instructing my children to do the same.

Love.  That is one I found myself throwing out from everything from chocolate to a song that pops on the radio.  When what I REALLY love, to name a few, is the Lord, my husband and children, adoption and salvation stories.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.

Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road (or drive your minivan), when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

I don't want the words I speak cause my love for the Lord or my family to rank up there with my likeness or fondness for many good things in my life. I want my words to mean something--something real.  

God's Word compares the strength of our tongues to horse bits, ship rudders and a spark causing a huge forest fire.  (James 3)  The words we speak contain power.  They can build up or cut down.  They can bring joy and happiness or anger and sorrow.  Let's choose them carefully!

Wordless Wednesday

Place your order,

TODAY!

We are placing the order for our new "adoption is..." tees on Monday morning.

Adoption is all of these and SO much more!

I'm headed over to our fundraising site now to lower the prices on what we have left of the long sleeve shirts.

Click, www.gotloveadopt.com now and follow me.

Stock up now on adoption long sleeve shirts.

Come now, sizes are limited!

Have a great weekend.

Adopt on!