Give instead of Giving Up this Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lent season.  Lent is a time for prayer and repentance of sins, as Christians prepare for Holy Week and the celebration of Easter.  A common practice during Lent is to fast or give up certain types of luxuries.  Now I may ruffle a few feathers here, but I am not a fan of this tradition.  I realize that fasting and giving up something is suppose to help you grow closer to God, and in a way symbolize what Jesus Christ did for all of us during Holy Week.  But there is no way we can even come close to the same giving up of ourselves that Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.  And are you telling me that people that give up alcohol, chocolate or swearing during Lent are really doing that in recognition of the glory of God?  That is why today, on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, I am challenging all of you to Give of yourself in the glory of God.

So what are some ways we can Give this Lent you are now asking?  Well, here is a list of a few ideas I have and I'd love hear your ideas.  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

• Read the Bible daily
• Practice daily devotions and share your insights with your spouse, children, friends, etc.
• Start a prayer team with a friend or family member.  Send each other a text or call each other every day and pray with and for each other.
• Volunteer at your church or in your community.  Help feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, etc.
• Send letters to family, friends, shut-ins of your church and community, etc. and let them know how much they are loved by you and God (My friend Beth Ann has been doing this the last couple of years and I have been lucky to be on the receiving end of one of her cards.  It was very touching.)

I hope you all have a blessed Lent!

Looking back to our first Valentine's Day

This week I was going through some old photos and came across this one of My Farmer and I from our first Valentine's Day together, ten years ago:

My Farmer and I laughed at how young we looked and decided that neither of us could fit into those jeans anymore.  But we also reminisced about our "young love".  On that first Valentine's Day together we had been dating for 11 months, and to tell you the truth, I think we probably both already thought each other were "the one" at that time.  I thought he was Mr. Right because I was still dating him 11 months later.  (Let's just say if a guy got more than two dates with me I thought there might be something there, and no one had ever lasted longer than a couple months before My Farmer came along.)  And My Farmer thought I was Mrs. Right because I wasn't crazy.  (That's a story for later...)

There is definitely a difference between new love and old love:

• When we were dating we were learning something new about each other every day.  Now we finish each other's sentences and know what the other is thinking by just looking at them.
• There was a lot of romance in those early days and now if someone does something romantic for the other it seems to usually fall on a holiday.
• It would take My Farmer and I at least 30 minutes to say good-bye to each other when we were dating.  Now, we give each other a quick kiss and say "see ya later - love you" before he leaves to do morning chores.
• When we were dating My Farmer and I would dream about raising kids on a working farm and today we have dreams of our kids continuing our farm with the next generation.

There are things I miss about that young love but things I definitely would never trade for the love we have today.  What do you think of when you think about new love and old love?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Peace in Chaos

"When I stopped being stressed about the situation,

the situation stopped being stressful."

- Cynthia Occelli

How do you find peace in the midst of chaos?  (Please tell me my house isn't the only one that can look like this...  I'm just glad JP can sleep through/in it!)  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

How to celebrate a BIRTHday as a family

Today JP turns one month old!  Part of me thinks "Wow! She's already a month old!", while the other part of me feels like she has been part of our family forever.  To celebrate her being a month old today, I thought I'd share how we celebrate BIRTHdays in our family.

It is the big day - your baby is born!  Family comes to visit, friends send their congratulations, and all you can think of and care about is that little baby you hold in your arms...  I wish it was that simple!  As a Mom of more than one child you not only are cherishing everything about your new bundle of joy, but you're also worried about your other baby or babies at home.  Are all the kids going to get along?  Is there going to be jealousy?  How is adding one more going to change our family dynamics?  To help decrease any of these anxieties, our family celebrates the new baby's BIRTHday in three simple ways:

Sibling Gifts:  Big Brother and Big Sister gifts can be as big or little as you like.  First, we (Mom & Dad) always give the new sibling(s) a big brother/sister shirt they can wear at the hospital.  Second, the new baby gives the older sibling(s) a gift the first day at the hospital.  We always tell our kids that the baby feels so lucky to have them as their older sibling that they brought them a gift.  The sibling gift starts with a special bag (when MP was born our son LP received a John Deere backpack he'd been eyeing for a couple of months, and this time when JP was born both kids got personalized Cinch Sacks).  The great thing about these bags is that they are reusable and can not only store all of their things at the hospital, but wherever and everywhere after the baby is home.  Inside the bag we include a new book, activities (such as coloring/sketch books, games, cards) to do at the hospital, and snacks for the hospital.  Both LP and MP really enjoyed their cameras in their bags from JP.  We got LP a disposable camera (which he actually did take a few good photos) and MP a play camera.

Share Family Photos:  Make sure to bring a family photo or a photo of your older child(ren) to the hospital to display.  This way your older child(ren) know that this is a special time for your entire family.  We have always put a photo of the older sibling(s) in the baby's hospital bed.  We tell them that that baby loves looking at their photo, and that all of their nurses and doctors know that they are the baby's big brother/sister.

Throw a BIRTHday Party:  What kid doesn't like a birthday party, especially if they get to help plan it?  On the first full day in the hospital we have a BIRTHday party complete with cake and ice cream picked out by the older sibling(s).  The morning of the first full day My Farmer takes the kid(s) shopping for a going home outfit for the baby, a cake and ice cream (and sometimes whatever else they deem necessary while out shopping...).  We tell all of our visiting family that cake and ice cream will be served all day to celebrate and the older sibling(s) are the host(ess) of the party.  They welcome everyone to the party and get the special role of introducing their new baby sibling to guests.  Be sure to sing Happy Birthday too!

Those are three simple ways we celebrate the arrival of a new family member.  What are some things your family has done?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

It's Never Too Late To Say Thanks

I was raised to always be thankful and to write thank you cards.  And even though I might be a little late or more belated than I'd prefer to be, today I'm writing a letter of thanks to Lindsay from Agricultural with Dr. Lindsay for the thoughtful gifts she sent me through the Christmas in the Country blogger/agvocate gift exchange.

Lindsay did her research - or as she referred to it, stocking ;)  First thing she gave me was a bacon cookbook!  I am proud to be a hog farmer.  My Farmer and I actually make our own bacon, so this cookbook has been fun to go through and pick out new recipes to try with our bacon.  Second, she gave be a beautiful cross.  I love the colors of it!  And third, she made my entire family ornaments.  She made hot chocolate ornaments for LP and MP and made ornaments with confetti in them for My Farmer and I.  My favorite ornament was one that says "Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids" on it!  They were all very thoughtful and fun to receive.  So thank you Lindsay for the beautiful gifts that brought a smile to my entire family's faces.

Besides receiving a gift, I also sent a gift.  It was a lot of fun to be partnered with an agvocate from Hawaii!  Now I have to admit, when I first saw the name and address of Rhonda, I thought what could a person from Iowa possibly give a person from Hawaii!  But then low and behold I discovered Rhonda calls Iowa home, so I thought what better than giving her some Iowa foods.  She told me that it hit the spot, as her family was feeling home sick.

I had never participated in a gift exchange like this before and I had such a great time doing it, that I'll be sure to do it again next year!  Have you participated in an online "Secret Santa" gift exchange?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Let's Play!

MP wanted to play dolls with JP...

What was your favorite thing to play with your siblings?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Comments for a Cause - Room to Read

It is a new month and time for a new cause to support.  But before I get into the details for February, I'd first like to talk about last month.  During the month of January I had 44 comments, creating a donation of $22 for the Battle of the Badges, that supports Make-A-Wish Iowa.  If you'd like to see how the event went check out my friend Donna's (from DonnaHup.com) review of it.

In the month of February I am teaming up with my friend Beth Ann from It's Just Life to support Room to Read.  Beth Ann and I both have a love of reading and February is Library Lover's Month, so we had to celebrate through a cause that supported childhood literacy.  So for every comment made during the month I'll be donating $0.50 to Room to Read.

Room to Read is a great organization that promotes childhood literacy worldwide.  They also work hard on gender equality in education.  There is an estimated 773.5 million people worldwide that lack the ability to read and write, and out of all those illiterate people, two-thirds are female, and over 90% live in developing countries.  This is where Room to Read comes in to help.

Room to Read is located in 10 countries in Asia and Africa.  They have programs that focus of girls' education, building schools, starting and filling school libraries, reading & writing instruction, etc.  A neat fact is that there have been over 9.7 million books checked out from Room to Read libraries.

Another thing that makes this organization an A+ in my book is that over the last 8 years they have had a Charity Navigator rating of 4 stars.  This means the organization is spending the majority of their dollars on their cause and not on overhead and management costs.

So get involved and comment all month long to help this great organization making a difference in the lives of over 8.8 million children so far, with goals of surpassing 10 million children this year!  How are you going to celebrate Library Lovers Month?  One way Beth Ann and I are celebrating is by helping Room to Read's Library Initiative through Comments for a Cause!