What Can $1 Really Do?

Here's your chance to do something that may seem to be insignificant, but has a huge impact! Terry has the opportunity to do a creative little experiment to help a local Wilmington homeless man named Herman.

He's attempting to raise some funds for Herman (for which he has a matching donor), but there's a catch: anyone who wants to give can only give $1. Yup - only $1. You might think it's a silly idea, but if Terry can get 500 other people to give just $1, then his donor will match it dollar for dollar for a total of $1000.

He isn't going to be giving Herman the cash. He has been taking time over the past year to develop a relationship with him, and knows what sort of needs he has, and so he plans on using the monies collected to help Herman in a much more significant way. You can read about it in his post for more details, but the gist of it is this:

1. Comment here on his blog.
2. Leave your first name and your city/state and tell him, "I'm in."
3. Follow through by sending $1 to:

Herman's Bridge
PO Box 363
Montchanin, DE 19710-0363

I'm in! Spread the word to your friends and help share the love of Christ in this way!

"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor." 1 Samuel 2:8

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Extreme Makeover Home Edition came to Wilmington, Delaware this past week! This show is definitely one of my all-time favorites! My brother's place of business helped sponsor the project! For information on the family they helped, check out Anderson Extreme.

On Thumbs

Other possible titles for this entry included:
-Ouch.
-Well, that hurt.
-Warning: This Entry Involves Blood.
-We'd never know what's wrong without the pain.
-You don't appreciate something until you find that you can't use it.
-I never really knew how much I used my thumb until my thumbnail decided to come off.

To tell the story -

Back in Morocco, one evening towards the end of the trip, I was getting ready for bed. Brushed my teeth, and then proceeded to grab the mouthwash bottle. Being that my hands were wet, my right hand slipped on the bottle cap and my thumb jammed into the lid. We then proceed to typical gasping of pain, some bleeding underneath the nail and soreness and bruising around the right side of the nail. Took some painkillers and didn't think much of it. Soreness continued during the remainder of the trip. Had to think of creative ways to trim my fingernails and play my guitar.

Back home, it didn't come to mind much; after all, I was in the midst of helping get all of my brother's wedding details worked out, and then I got my nails painted for the wedding. True, it still hurt, especially whenever I bumped it, but that was to be expected.

I finally noticed it after the nail polish had come off the week after the wedding. It was a yellowish bruise on the entire right side of my right thumb nail. And I had lots of fun commenting to whoever noticed that it was my Morocco bruise. I mean - it's not every day you get to go to Morocco and you get a really cool bruise that will most likely stay with you for a really long time (for, having acquired my fair share of bruises underneath nails, I can accurately testify to their persistence).

That was the middle of July. Fastfoward about a month, and I notice that it's starting to chip right in the middle of my nail. I start wearing a bandaid quite frequently in the hopes of avoiding any further chippage, but that is not to be. A month later (i.e., mid-September), it is now almost halfway ripped off, for despite my best intentions, it still gets caught and pulled on all sorts of things. And just darn hurts.

And then, last night. I was trying to pack some clothes for an overnight trip to my mother's. Sounds simple enough, right? Nope. I bent down to pick something up and my thumb accidentally hits the corner of a cardboard box. My thumb was covered at the time, but this did not prevent it from ripping off completely. Now, it's extremely sore.

But I don't mind. I really don't. I see it as a physical reminder of my time in Africa. There were lessons learned there that I do not want to forget. Ever. Lessons such as God's provision and His perfect timing. A deeper understanding of what an eternal perspective looks like, and being awed and humbled and overjoyed at being able to labor side by side with some of the best people I have had the privilege of knowing. Lessons such as trusting that God really does have me in the palm of His very capable and very large hands, and that He does have a plan for me, a much bigger plan that I ever dreamed possible. Lessons such as forgiveness and letting go and reconciliation. A reminder that I am not perfect yet, but one day I will be.

So I smile at the bandaid on my thumb, and laugh at myself as I clumsily attempt to take off my necklaces or type or write with a pen. And I thank God for the pain. What is a little pain in my thumb when I am reminded daily of how very big God is? And what is a little pain compared to the pain He went through for me and for the people I served over there and who need His love more than anything?

Retreated!

It was an awesome weekend at North Bay Adventure Camp with the 6th-12th graders on their retreat! I hadn't been on one of those things since my senior year in the youth group (which was actually 10 years ago at approximately the same time of the year, now that I think about it). I spent my Saturday on my feet, setting endless tables, dropping countless pieces of silverware, lugging around exorbitant amounts of food, and saying "Tiramisu?" eight billion times. But it was well worth it - God uses those small, seemingly unimportant moments to prompt bigger moments, and I can't wait to see what happened because I went. I know one day I'll find out, and that is enough for me.

And in the meantime, something else has retreated - my health. I never completely found my voice last week (I'm sure it's in the stadium where I left it), and over the weekend, came down with a cold (as opposed to a 'hot'). I am still feeling a little under the weather, but thankfully much better than yesterday, which was a day that included drug-induced sleep, a very sore throat, medication, a nose that ran away with itself, and a general achiness all over. I have to say, though, if I was going to take a sick day, Monday was thankfully the day to take it.