Read, Act, Pass On

http://love146.blogspot.com/2009/07/urgent-action-needed.html

Gifts - Getting and Giving

Oh, the time of year when everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off. And why? I'm not sure, but I think it is due to tradition. And I firmly believe that traditions should not make us run around like chickens with their heads cut off.

I, personally, don't like getting gifts unless I know they have been well thought out or handmade with a lot of love. My immediate family and close friends know this and my husband and three oldest kids understand that I would much prefer them to give to a charity in my name than give me something they bought at the last second just to get me something. My youngest daughter will probably never understand and my 13 year old just thinks I'm crazy. But then, his love language is gifts. Obviously, it's not mine.

So, if you have someone in your family or group of friends that is weird like me, here are some gift suggestions:

TOMS Shoes - Can't go wrong here. Two gifts for the price of one. For every pair purchased, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. Watch the video. Buy the shoes.


Another amazing company is 25 Cloth. They are out to bring change to a hurting world and they are doing it. You can be a part of it. This quarter, for every t-shirt (and man, do they have some cute ones) you purchase you are changing the lives of those living in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Over 40% of the proceeds from Ike relief shirts and 25% of all other shirts go towards providing food, building supplies, clothes, and other necessities to the victims.

If your gift recipient has a heart for children then check out the following organizations:

Compassion International - The giving choices through this group are numerous & far reaching.
Real Hope For Haiti Rescue Center - These folks are on the front lines battling poverty.
Love146 - Help them save children from the jaws of pure evil.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

So, you're still looking for that perfect gift for your mother. Maybe you have a mother that has everything. Maybe you have a mother that has enough stuff and doesn't want anymore stuff. Maybe your mother would like one of the following or all of the following.

Love 146 is dedicated to ending child sex slavery and exploitation. Donate in your mother's name.

Gospel for Asia develops native missionaries to reach the lost in their countries. Sponsor a missionary in your mother's name.

Compassion International brings hope to poverty stricken children. They work with local churches to change lives. "Adopt" a child in your mother's name. Or give to the Malaria Intervention Fund in your mother's name.

Brody Harper is partnering with blood:water mission to build wells in Africa. Help with the drilling in your mother's name.

25 Cloth has great t-shirts with great purpose. This quarter, when you buy a shirt for your mother, you will also supply the cast materials for one club-footed child in a developing country. With your purchase, a child will have the opportunity to heal properly and enjoy one of life's basic functions--to walk.

Operation Care - Dallas ministers to the homeless of the DFW metroplex. They are expanding to work with homeless children in the Philippines. Give to the homeless in your mother's name.


This Mother's Day give your mother a gift that keeps on giving.

Last minute Valentine's gifts from the heart...

Okay, you are down to the wire. You need a gift, a gift from the heart, not from the tent in the Kroger parking lot. So, here are my suggestions for meaningful Valentine Day gifts.

Sponsor a child at Compassion International.
Buy a pair of shoes from Toms
Send some love through LOVE 146
Show a little heart with Operation Care
Give a drink through blood:water mission
Pick a t-shirt with a message and much more at Two-Five

Restaveks

Some things make me really angry and very sad all at the same time. This is one of those things. 27 million slaves still exist in this world. Many are children. Over 17,000 are brought into the United States EVERY YEAR. It is often called different things, glossed over, excuses made. It is still slavery. I saw it first hand on a trip to Morocco. Little girls brought from villages and supposedly paid by the middle class that can't afford traditional housekeepers. No schooling, just fetching and cleaning until they are in their teens and attracting the attention of the father or teen-age boy of the family. Then the girl is put out on the streets to fend for herself. There are groups that take in these girls, train them in employable skills, love them, and give them new leases on life. There are also organizations that are calling for the practice to cease. I'm sure that this happens in many countries where life is not valued. It is happening here. We might not see it everyday, but stories like this prove that it is true. Look at organizations such as Free The Slaves and Love 146 and International Justice Mission. Will we, in this nation that is suppose to be "The Land of the Free", put up with this kind of crap?