JANUARY: I'M STILL HERE!

I am a bad blogger.  Baaaaaad bad blogger. 

 

But see, there were the holidays spent with lovely fun family etc, and then there's all this other stuff to do & food to eat, and also there's this handsome guy who keeps hanging around and making me want to have fun & play instead of stare at a computer.  Plus, I was trying to implement December's trait, you know - working hard and enthusiastically - and I got carried away (upside: house is clean, & I'm ahead at work). On top of that I've drafted (no lie) 3 posts since my last post.  And lost ALL OF THEM.  Nice, long posts with lots of wisdom and gosh, they were hilarious and deep, really prize-winning stuff.

Just trust me on that.

I decided to funnel some of my frustration into creative endeavors, as you can see in my new header, etc.  This page is a work in progress, but bear with me - lots of changes coming in the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, there are other things in the works  and I wanted to share with you here, before my next blog post in the Proverbs 31 Project.  As some of you know, I'm passionate about cooking and hosting parties, etc.  Just one of my things.  In the past my friend Art Hill and I have "battled" in the Friday Cooking Duel, on Facebook, and have had lots of fun cooking/photographing/posting our kitchen exploits.  Last year we decided to turn our love for cooking into something meaningful in our community, namely cooking and serving meals at the local homeless shelter.  But instead of the typical spaghetti/salad/cake meal, we wanted to make everything from scratch and treat these people as patrons of a fine restaurant - serving them, pleasing their palates and their bellies with an unforgettable meal from a group of humble, joyful food enthusiasts who love Christ and love people.

We've done 2 meals so far, and our 3rd is coming up in February.  I covet your prayers, your support, your advice, etc.  We fund this entire meal for 170 people on our own, with hopes that we'll get donations of food and supplies from whoever can help.  It's a major operation, requiring about 20+ volunteers, and this meal will be even bigger because it's a VALENTINE'S DAY feast.   In other words...not only food, but decorations, lighting (if I can figure out how to create ambiance - candles, etc?), and entertainment.  I want this to be a special time for the families living at the shelter.

February 11th.  That's the day. 

 

If you want to help meet a specific need, shoot me a note! Thanks already to some of you who have offered help/donations in these specific areas...I will definitely be in touch!  Here are some examples of what we are going to need:

Basics: plasticware/cups/plates/napkins, condiments (salt/pepper, the basics).  Also paper tablecloths, enough for 15 big round tables! 

Food: I'll know more after our Jan 18th planning meeting.  I want others to chime in on what our meal should be! But rest assured we will need pleeenty of ingredients :)

Entertainment:  I'd like to find someone who can play a good assortment of songs on the guitar, maybe a mix of love songs old & new, with other normal songs mixed in.

Decorations:  I'm thinking fresh flowers would be great, but maybe too tall an order - I need enough for approx. 15 dining tables.  Candles and other decorations would be nice too, plus any interesting lighting ideas/equipment anyone has.  We'll be in a nicer room this time, so I think we can make it look really wonderful for the folks we're hosting.

Before that all comes together, though, I'll be spending some time curled up with hot chocolate in the middle of snowy woods, with lots of opportunities to dedicate myself to the Proverbs 31 Project.  I can't wait to share with y'all what I've been learning, praying about, reading, discovering.  January is a GREAT month for us, and I think you'll be encouraged by what the Bible says!  As a preview, here's a reminder of what January's virtue is: RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE IN CHARACTER; JOYFUL, STRENGTH & HONOR ARE THEMES IN HER LIFE & SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE & JOY.

We'll cover the first part - reliable, dependable in character - and then move into the joy/strength/honor/hope bit after that.  Some good resources I've found are www.boundless.org (especially for us younger folks!) and www.lproof.org (especially for us chicks!). I'm going to re-read at some point, and perhaps for this month's topic, Bill Hybels' Who You Are (When No One's Looking).

 

Maybe some of you have already checked these out and can opine.  Stay tuned! 

Oh, and guys - if there are any of you who read my post with a similar project suggested for the menfolk, this month's virtue is...

January: Clear-headed, logical, mature; understands that a clear understanding of moral standards must move to the higher level of moral reasoning, by which a man learns how Biblical principles are translated into Godly living and how the moral challenges of his day must be met with the truths revealed in God's inerrant and infallible word.

That's a big one, may have to read that a couple of times to process it! And I would of course LOVE to hear your thoughts on this.  Hey, why don't one of you start a "First Timothy 3" blog and do this along with me, it's not that hard. :)

 

 

Love to you all as you kick off 2011. 

xoxo

 

Comments

[Drew]

C,

The Marine Corps has done a terrible thing. They've blocked your site on our regular computers!!! Very frustrating.

D

[C]

Oh no! How are you reading this post? Alternative: you can subscribe to my feed and you'll be emailed each new post. Don't know how to comment without site access, though. :( Get thee back to America and all will be right once more! p.s package en route to you...

[Drew]

Luckily, I have found a work around to access your site. :) 64 more days!