Healing through Service

Last week, I got to meet about 15 high school students and their leader from the NYC area. They are with a group called Tuesday's Children - all the students lost a loved one on 9/11/2001. The whole theme of their annual winter break trip is finding healing through service. SUCH a sweet group!

What a great example though...most people go through tough times and sadly become even more self-involved than we already are. Think about hard times and how it really makes you focus more on yourself...handling how you feel, figuring out how you will get through it, feeling down just doesn't allow room fore much other consideration. I think it's pretty admirable that these high school students know the importance of doing things for others, and in turn, actually feel closer to those they lost while doing this service to others.

This video makes me laugh...the last line is the best:


Each day someone donated lunch to them, then I would convince Koren and Michael to give a motivational speech to get everyone going again for the afternoon.

Here is Koren about to draw some tears...she's good!

Here a link to read about Live5's coverage of the group: http://www.live5news.com/global/story.asp?s=11993734

Open the windows!!! snOMG!!

For the first time in a looooong time, it snowed in Charleston, SC!!! It would have to be when it's snowing in 48 other states as well! THAT would be the only time it would snow here! I was home Friday night baking some cakes for a bake sale when the flakes started to fall. If I hadn't gotten a text message, I probably would have sat there all night without looking outside to see this!

So, be sure to open your windows from time to time...look outside....don't forget there is a whole world happening just feet away from you. You never know what you could miss!

There's my car...another form of "home" for me. I was able to pull out my snow/ice scrapper Saturday morning for its first use in 3 years!!!

Saturday, our "Women Build committee" had a bake sale during the SEWE festival! Tables filled with beautifully wrapped, delicious treats/sweets/goodies....all those words start to sound strange after saying them over and over. "Would you like to try some treats?" or "Buy some sweets for your sweetheart"....after a while, I felt creepy.

These two awesome girls toughed it out all day for two days in the hand-numbing, nose-dripping, teeth-chattering, why-can't-i-feel-my-toes?, you-touched-me?, what-else-can-i-wrap-myself-with?, freezing cold weather!

Raise the roof

Wasn't that a popular song or just a slogan in the 90's? Now let's move our hands up and down in the air with palms up while doing smoothe mini-squats to some slow rap beat that we hear in our heads....a cool move. Right?

So, a cooler way to raise the roof would be having volunteers actually put the roof trusses on the Hudson's house this week....

Weekly heros in summary: Stephen...my oldest brother - aka the smart one and largest source of my childhood conflict (now bff) - came to visit. This was the first time he has helped with Habitat....so he says he can finally wear his "I Helped Build It" tshirt that I gave him a year ago (my thirfty christmas gift to my entire family) and not feel like a poser.
Here we are out Saturday morning at the Hudson family build site:

(if you look closely, eyes open is some sort of genetic problem we both have)

Moving on....Teresa Rowe....a new friend to Habitat in Charleston. She just moved back to the area and emails me to say she wants to help out....here she is serving....the best white chicken chili I've ever had! Seriously!

She says she's going to send me the recipe but I have a feeling it's a secret family deal and she knows I'll make a million bucks off her recipe!

Here is a gung-ho (I suppose that's how you type it) group of volunteers that work for the Hilton Hotel Group helping us raise the roof trusses on top of this house:

Now who doesn't love a sideways video??

Quote of the day: "No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." - Calvin Coolidge

You take the shots

A guy names Andy Hagedon was out on our build site this last Wednesday with the local American Marketing Association. He took a few pictures that are on another leavel of quality in comparison to the basic digital snap shots I take most days.
I love good pictures...I know I don't appreciate or understand enough about photography...but I still love pictures...whether I know why or not. Good pictures are just  interesting, inspiring, and moving.

 

 

Now meet some of my co-workers. This is Dan, our construction manager...he's been working at Habitat longer than I have. A good friend and one of Damien's "brothers."

This is Koren...she just started in September as an Americorps member. She studied architecture and helps lead volunteers on the build site. She's super cute and always smiling.

This is Michael...all work, no play! But he's easy to please...just bring him some food.

He's in Americorps with Koren helping lead volunteers.

Thanks Andy for sharing these pictures. If you want to see more of his work, check out his website: http://www.andyscamera.com/

10 questions

So, this is very nonoriginal....but wanted to share what my friend Allan posted on his blog this month. I met and worked with Allan while I was living in Chicago. He has since married Annie, together started a ministry in South Africa, and recently had their first child, baby Judah. They are two amazing people that I admire very much! I would encourage everyone to follow their blog...they always challenge and always inspire!

http://www.africarevolution.org/blogs/greigs/

Allan said: "As I have been thinking of the year ahead and all that I hope comes out of it, I was deeply challenged by our friend Floyd McClung, whom is so “intentional” in all he does. I thought these 10 questions of his were worth passing on for you to ponder for yourselves:

1.What’s one way, you could utilize time, to increase your enjoyment of God?
2.What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3.What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4.In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5.Who are three people you can disciple more intentionally?
6.What is the most helpful way you can build community with a few other followers of Jesus this year?
7.For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8.Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?
9.What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10.What single thing can you plan to do this year that will matter most in ten years? In eternity?"

Then he ended with this quote by A.W.Tozar: We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone… [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.

"The best country in the world is a donation!" - mayor summey

Saturday, we celebrated with a home dedication for Annette Lemon and her family. They are moving in as we speak..or I type....hmmm...

Lots of smiles! Hugging! Clapping! People! Food! Good times!

Above is me and Annette! She's become a great friend...gives good advice and has a great giggle with an echoing affect!

These are the Lambright brothers with Annette. They grew up on the piece of property where we built the Lemon's home. Both brothers have moved away, so they donated the land to Habitat. They both came in town with their families to see the finished house and celebrate with the Lemon family!

Here is Bakker Bishop and his son. His family foundation has sponsored (I believe ) 154 Habitat Home construction projects! He and his wife just had a baby girl. I think it's a pretty cool example, as he states, to set for your children on giving.

One of the sweetest parts of the day was after the ceremony....I was looking for Annette's sons and I found Trea (11) hiding in a back bedroom. I asked what he was doing in there all alone...he said he just wanted to hang out in his room! Be still my heart....he is the sweetest ever!

Annette's other son, Greg (22) and his son, baby Greg stole the show! Here is baby greg buldoze-hugging Isabella, my co-worker's daughter.

 

Lots of volunteers who helped build the house came out to celebrate as well!

Mayor of North Charleston Keith Summey gave the dedication speech. My favorite line was what someone once told Mr. Summey: "The best country in the world isn't the U.S., it's a donation." Building this house was a combination of lots of different types of donations. Land, money, materials, time, sweat, blistered hands, fear of heights...all things most like to keep for themselves or avoid giving....so in this case....I think the quote is true! Thanks to all who donated!

Pecans from another world

I spent Thanksgiving in Gordon, GA with my mom's side of the family. This is where my mom and her 4 siblings grew up. I relate it best to Mayberry. It's small...one caution light....everyone knows everyone.
A few cousins and I went into the "D & L Video" store and the lady working immediately asked whose grandkids we were. You kind of stand out when you're not from there.
Everyone knows my grandparents. They lived in Gordon their whole lives. My Papa was a train engineer.

My mom said the first time she came home to visit since she had Stephen (my oldest brother) that they Gordon newspaper wrote an article on it. The paper also used to annouce her weekend visits from college.

One of the great things about Gordon is the pecan trees! I have a hard time buying pecans at the grocery store at $10+ for one small tray...C'mon! Really?!?! Here they are all over the place, but it requires a little more work....some picking, cracking, and shelling, and I've got gallons of pecans to last me...well, honestly not very long beause I eat them too fast!

Here are my cousins with a bag-full of pecans - Justin (aka Jacward....any twilight fans figure that one out?) and Joe...both 17 yrs old ....hearthrobs if you ask me!

This is the home that my Papa built....and I mean he built it all....dug the foundation out and all! And yes, that's a pecan tree right in front of it! =)

It's a great home! And seems like a great way to grow up and live with such close community...where neighbors drop in (often unannounced) just to check on each other, to drop off some fresh baked goodies and cakes, to look out for one another, to not worry about locking your doors. Is that really all in the past? Is it really a world that doesn't exist anymore?