Resolving

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other."
~President-Elect Barack Obama, in his acceptance speech, November 4th, 2008

Have you made any New Year's resolutions? I googled to find out the most common ones:
lose weight
get organized
get out of debt
learn something new
spend more time with family

"Getting out of debt" may top "losing weight" this year in the uncertain economic climate. I'm planning to work on both--consumerism is bad for our waistline and our pocketbooks!

"Help others" is actually on a lot of people's lists, but following through with such altruistic leanings can be tough. Last year I resolved to give someone a gift every week. I realized that most Christmases I can remember what I gave other people better than I can remember what I was given. It's not that I don't appreciate the gifts, it's just that I tend to spend a lot more time thinking about what people might like, and I enjoy watching them open a well-picked gift even more than I like getting one (maybe I just need to write more thank you notes, but then that's a post for another day!). The plan was to give inexpensive gifts, nothing major--just a little something to remind the recipients (sometimes anonymously) that someone cared about them. I gave a co-worker who liked fresh brewed tea a special tea cup. I gave a mentally challenged friend a craft kit she loved. I took a friend to lunch and treated. Nothing that cost me much in dollars or effort really, and the appreciation and thanks I received was rewarding. It was good to be reminded that I'm blessed and that I should share my blessings.

I don't remember exactly how long it lasted, but I know it wasn't more than a couple of months. Like most people that make resolutions, I slowly began to skip a week, then gradually just quit. Being a giver wasn't hard, remembering to be a giver was hard. You have to keep thinking about other people and what they might like and looking for opportunities to give. I don't think I consciously decided to stop-- I just let it go.

My husband is always reminding me that you need to have clearly defined goals if you want to accomplish something. I agree with that, but you also have to have stamina and determination to make a change and to follow through. They say it's good to have a friend to hold you accountable to your goals. Maybe I needed a 'giving buddy'--someone to spur me on to do good deeds and remind me of my promise.

It may be a tough year for you and me. "You never know what's coming for you..", says the mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. What ever the good Lord sends our way, let's all resolve to do what our soon-to-be new president suggests and " look after not only ourselves but each other". And if anyone needs a "giving buddy", let me know!

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:16-18)

Just in case you wondered.....

Thanks to my friend Amy for this picture of the house (taken from the lake) in the process of painting. The swatch I posted just didn't do the new color justice. You can see the old color (or really, lack of color) on the back two story section. Thankfully, we are finished with the first coat now. Anyone want to come to a "paint the second coat" party? Pizza's on us!

Free Rice

"They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away." Psalm 107:5

"According to the United Nations, about 25,000 people die each day from hunger or hunger-related causes, most of them children." FreeRice.com wants to change that and improve our language skills at the same time.

According to the site, FreeRice has two goals:

#1: Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.

#2: Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

How does this generate money? Through corporate sponsors, who advertise on the site.

How do you get involved? Go to the site and play the interactive vocabulary game. There is a word given, followed by 4 other words. Click on the answer that best defines the word given. If you get it right, you get a harder one. If you get it wrong, you get an easier one. For each word you get right, FreeRice will donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. There is a cool graphic of rice filling up a bowl as you answer correctly, and if you answer enough of them correctly you start to get, or rather, give, little piles of rice! Myanmar, Nepal, and Cambodia are in the top 10 recepient countries that receive donations. The rice is also purchased from "developing countries, keeping the cost of reaching the hungry to a minimum and boosting farmers’ efforts to grow their own food." (quote from www.wfp.com)

How big an issue is world hunger? For those of us who might have guessed that world hunger is declining, consider the following sobering statistic from the site:

"Since the second half of the 1990s, the number of chronically hungry in developing countries has been increasing at a rate of almost four million per year.Today, one in nearly seven people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, making hunger and malnutrition the number one risk to health worldwide -- greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined."

Is is effective? Consider that according to Wikipedia, “One month after the inception of the viral marketing program, users had earned enough points for one billion grains of rice. The United Nation's World Food Programme stated that this amount could feed 50,000 people for one day. Thus, approximately 20,000 grains of rice provide enough caloric intake to sustain an adult for one day. Using this calculation, enough rice is donated to feed 7,019.15 people daily per the totals for December 28, 2007.

Is it addictive? I'm just getting started, but a fun interactive game that improves your vocabulary and helps feed the hungry? Sounds better than doing one more "Can you name this Disney villan?" quiz on Facebook. Challenge yourself to spend a few minutes a day making a difference.

"...and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:10 NIV)