Everyday Giving

So I am finding God has allowed us many opportunities to give in our every day life.  So often it is easy to compartmentalize areas of life and for us that includes giving.  

We were walking into a local mexican restaurant to eat lunch after Mass one day and sitting on the bench outside of the restaurant was an elderly man who was dressed in rags and looked very dirty.  My three year old has one of the biggest hearts and does not let the way someone looks keep him from giving hugs.  So we say hi to him and our little guy offers a big dimpled smile accompanied with a bear hug as he would call it.  My husband walks up behind us and sees this happening and invites the man to come in and eat with us.  I continued into the restaurant with the kids as I see my husband sit down on the bench with him.   Five minutes later he walks in with only his socks on his feet.  We get to the table and I wondered why the man wasn't with him and what happened to his shoes.  The story goes the old man was going to be heading to church and could not stay long enough to eat or wait for a to go meal.  My husband then looked down at his feet and saw all of the holes in his shoes and asked him what size shoe he wore.  It happened to be the same size as my husbands!  So my husband proceeds to take off his shoes.  The mans hands were having trouble taking off his own shoes so my husband gets down and takes off his shoes for him and then puts his shoes on the man.    The man walked off in his new shoes and my husband came into eat with just his socks.  I took the picture below!

I had been wanting to share this story for a month or so, but I think it makes it even a better story now that I can say my husband still has not purchased new shoes.  The shoes that he gave away he loved and had just recently bought.  We ourselves don't buy shoes very often.  It really was a big sacrifice for him, but he didn't think twice.  On top of that we don't eat out often because it costs quite a bit for our family to eat out and when we do we are always trying to cut corners and without hesitation my husband offers to pay for another person to eat.  He inspires me!  Being the provider of our family I can see how it would be easy to be more stingy and cautious with money, but my husband he is an inspiration because we don't have a lot to give financially speaking, but he is always stretching us and listening as the Holy Spirit guides him in his generosity.   

Smiles for the Elderly

This past Sunday October 28th we dressed the kids up in their Halloween costumes, brought bags of goodies and took them to the nursing home with several other families.  We visited many of the residents in the home and had a wonderful time.  The longer the kids were in there the more comfortable they were giving hugs and talking to the residents.  We will definitely be going back on a more regular basis.  The smiles the kids brought to many of their faces were priceless.  They told us before coming and upon arriving that they LOVE kids and what a treat it is for kids to come because they see so few of them.  Being able to share our children with these people was amazing for them and even more so for us.  Watch the video below to see how it went!  One of the highlights was meeting a 105 year old woman that is a resident at the home.  In the video she is wearing a striped shirt and the kids are crowded around her.  She is filled with so much life.  She was so animated she was capturing everyone's attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYV7eMIvX0E&feature=player_embedded

October Mission of The Month

MISSION OF THE MONTH - OCTOBER
October 28TH from 2-4pm at Grace Healthcare (1287 West Main Street Franklin, TN 37064)
We will bring smiles to the faces of the residents with our children dressed in costumes! If you feel called please bring treat bags for the residents filled with toiletries and/or have your children make cards for the residents! Please let me know if you have teenagers who would want to participate in the thrilling bingo game! Teenagers are also welcome to come around and make room visits greeting people.

What's Mine is Yours Event

On September 30th Mission Family went to a mobile home community here in Franklin with truck loads of stuff!  Families arrived and set up all of the items on tables as the Franklin Estates community gathered to shop!  The What's Mine is Yours Event was a huge success!  Families gathered items from their homes and asked others to donate to the mission and then we gave it all away at the event to families in need.  Check out the article link below for more on the story and check out the pics below.  

http://www.dioceseofnashville.com/index.cfm?load=news&newsarticle=14

Creating Opportunities for Giving in your Everyday Life

Annaliese (6) said "mom because you changed baby doctors (we would drive into downtown Nashville the past two pregnancies, but now we are going to a doctor 10 minutes from our house) will we take food to people on the streets" and I said why wouldn't we take food to them and Annaliese said "because they are not on the way to the doctors anymore."  It occurred to me in that moment we have to make it something along our path especially when we are busy with life.  If it is not something along our path and built into our lives we forget about it.    During my pregnancies and anytime we go down town we fill the front seat with water bottles, bananas, crackers, and any other food we have in our house to pass out to all the homeless people we pass on our journey to our destination.  Driving into Nashville you see some and if you open your eyes and are looking for them you see a lot!  We found when we started packing food the people began to multiply, but really the people didn't change it was our hearts.  We were searching for them and made time for them.  My goal is to now figure out a way we work this into our lives again.  I love my new doctor and it works for our family, but I have to figure out a way to make going downtown a regular part of our lives.   

Living on a mission can be done wherever you are.  I think I will probably say that a million times!!  This video is a clip from our journey home from Disney World.   We got off to eat at Zaxby's and as we were getting off we saw a man on the side of the road with a sign asking for help.  We decided to get him a meal as well when we drove through Zaxby's.  When we went back to give it to him he wasn't there, but we saw a group of homeless people under an overpass and that is the video you will see.  Once you start opening your eyes to these things you seem to see it more often.  I feel it is one of the greatest gifts we can give to HIM who gives us all things.  So often what I personally have to overcome are the questions that run through my head wondering why they are on the streets.  What got them there and where are their family and friends.  Was it drugs or bad choices?  Then Christ always shows me that none of that matters.  The past and what got them there doesn't matter, but what does matter is the love that they need to be shown right now in this moment.  They may not deserve it, but I don't either and HE shows me his love all the time.  None of us deserve it, but he gives it anyways.  Don't let human calculations stop you from giving the overflowing unending always forgiving very present in this very moment love of GOD.