I’ve been making a “giving suggestion” every day as part of my participation in:

…and Giving Suggestion #5 is: Find a cause that helps children—especially those who are helpless and usually ignored—and give! (your time, your money, your love…anything will do!)

Sort of in tandem with that idea, the theme for this week’s:

five days five ways | 5 Things Thursday

…is Giving Hands

I would love it if you would link up (or leave comments about) 5 giving-related thoughts on your mind, but if you’d rather just link up 5 pieces of randomness or a different theme, I’m totally fine with that as well.

The “rules”:

  • Please link up to your specific 5 Things post rather than your blog’s homepage, and

  • Please place the Five Things Thursday button (left sidebar) somewhere on your page or post so that others can join in the fun.

That’s it!

Happy list-making! : )

Today, I’m going to indulge in a little bragging if I may.

1. My mom has giving hands, especially when it comes to kids.

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This was taken at the surprise party I threw for my mom’s 60th birthday (yes, 60th! I can only hope I look HALF that good at 60) last May (apparently Della was done taking pictures). Shamefully enough, it is the only party my selfless mama has ever gotten. And yes, she was genuinely surprised.

Mama takes my boys home with her every. single. Friday (we pick them up Saturday afternoon). That means that, right about the point when I feel like I need a break or something might pop, I get one. What makes this doubly incredible is that my mom teaches high school English full-time, and if you’re an English teacher (especially one as dedicated and hardworking as my mama), you know how much grading she has every weekend.

Thank you, Mama, for your giving hands. I love you!

2. I so want to teach my children to have “Giving Hands.”

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And I am grateful that both my boys naturally already have them. 

Ezra (below), especially, is eager to share because he loves pleasing others.

It’s a little harder for my stubborn middle child, but just the other day, Simon (above) gave me his last Skittle and said calmly, “That’s all I’ve got, Mama, but you can have it.”  Sounds like a small thing, probably, but I imagine it was a pretty big deal for this almost-4-year-old. 

And nothing makes me prouder than seeing how they offer friendship to others without reservation or partiality (we have to work really hard on “stranger danger”). If I had to choose between the two, I would much prefer that they be known as “friends to the friendless” rather than the “cool kids.”

3. Have you heard of Operation Christmas Child? If not, you really ought to read Amanda of Serenity Now’s post and also this one by my friend, Kelli, of More Bang for Your Bucks because it is an awesome opportunity to show Jesus’s love to children who might normally view Christmas as simply another (maybe the most) disappointing day of the year.

I’m reeeeeaaallly late even thinking about it this year, but I think the kiddos and I are going to try to make shoebox run (read the links; this will make more sense) this weekend. I’ll update you on how that goes.

4. Compassion International is another incredible ministry that allows you to meet a child’s most basic needs and more. Our family sponsors a little girl named Viviana, and what’s truly special about this sponsorship is that I speak Spanish, so when we write her or receive her letters, we’re able to write/read in her native language instead of having to go through translators (who always do a good job, by the way!).

5. Have you checked out:

five days five ways | because every day is different

(You didn’t seriously think I was going to talk about giving to kids and miss a chance to mention our very own kid-giving effort—yet again—did you?)

FIVE absolutely fantastic (seriously, folks, I sooooooo wish that I could enter this one!) prize packages to win by simply putting your name in the hat, and an even more fantastic cause to support with every single dollar you give ($5 = 5 entries into the giveaway, and every dollar is matched, so that’s actually $10!!)

Right now…

Shop My Closet for Good

…is going strong, but there are still some items left. Every piece of clothing starts @ $5, every dollar goes to our effort to build PCM a new classroom, and the shipping is FREE!

C’mon!

You can’t beat that with a really big stick!

Also, today is:

If you’re local to me (E. Texas) and want to come, click for all the details or shoot me an email. Even if you haven’t already RSVP’d, show up at the door ($10), and we’ll squeeze you in! Fun times, sweet women, cute crafts, and yummy treats, and all the proceeds benefit our classroom fundraiser!

Woot!

I’ll be sharing all about it for tomorrow’s Feature Friday, so come get yourself in a picture! I promise I will try really hard not to put bunny ears on your head if you pose with me. ; )

Link away!

0 Comments

  1. Just returned from our trip to you neck of the woods! It was beautiful – the weather and the fall colors! I took too many warm clothes for my fam and only a few shorts and tees that we wore the whole time. Visited the fish hatchery in Athens and the kids loved it.
    My brain is kinda tired so I’m not thinking of much here but I do love Compassion and we sponsor two kiddos. A girl in brazil and a boy in Uganda. Their letters bless my heart!
    Thanks for sharing your list. Your mom and kids are beautiful 🙂

I love hearing from you guys!