Eight Dollar Hot Dog

Are homeless people giving more to missions than you are?

I heard about this church yesterday – The Homeless Church. The pastor felt called to go to San Francisco and minister to homeless people living there. They moved into a bus and drove around helping people they met – feeding them and offering them God’s love. The church has two services at two different parks each Sunday.
The amazing part is that this church supports a missionary to the Domican Republic. When missionary LaDawn Rance came to speak at their church, the pastor suggested that everyone donate a few cans to help Ms. Rance’s mission. But the people stepped up and are now supporting her at $200 per month.
These people – without jobs or homes – collecting cans – are giving their Widow’s Mite to God and are being blessed for it.
Stories like this really make me rethink my financial priorities and take another look at what I give up (and don’t give up) for God.

Fighting global hunger at your own grocery store

1. Skip the meat aisle
Producing a pound of beef requires 4.8 pounds of grain. Grain that could be sent directly to starving countries. Harvard nutritionist Jean Mayer estimates that reducing meat production by just 10 percent in the U.S. would free enough grain to feed 60 million people. Not to mention water usage. A pound of beef needs over 2500 gallons of water. Avoiding meat a couple of days would save more water than skipping a shower for a whole year. The production of meat is inefficient at best, and the food given to these animals would go much farther if it were put directly on our dinner tables.
Find out more: Christian Vegetarianism Association

2. Fair trade
Food growers, especially of coffee, chocolate and bananas receive wages that are well below the poverty limits, harsh working conditions (no protection from pesticides or the weather), long hours with no overtime, and many times children are forced to work also. Companies that sell fair trade products are committed to giving their growers and workers a living wage and benefits. Another way to buy fairly grown foods is to look for local growers and buy direct.
Find out more: Global Exchange

3. Avoid the companies that do the most harm
Coca-Cola’s bottled water hoards local water sources, leaving nothing for agriculture or locals to drink. They have caused draught in two communities in India. Nestle, in the past, has sent infant formula to impoverished African countries, which seems like it would be helpful, but then mothers lose their breast-milk, and when there is no water to make the formula, the babies starve. They are also one of the largest employers of child slavery.
Find out more: Better World Shopper

4. And after you leave the store
Buy 100% gasoline – no ethanol. Corn ethanol is another example of food crops being used for non food items. And, you’ll get better gas

Adoption – not just for infertile couples

A trend I’d like to see increasing is adoption by older Christian couples. Their kids are in highschool or moved out, and they’re not ready for the empty nest just yet. But at the same time, don’t want to start all over at the baby stage.

There are tens of thousands of orphans worldwide that their chances for adoption are very slim – simply because they are over the age of two. Many teenagers age out of the system and are so unprepared for real life that they join gangs, become homeless and jobless, have more babies and just continue the system. In Russia, for example, only about 10% of children that age out make it to a successful future.

There are pros and cons, of course. Adopting an older child will bring it’s own set of challenges, which may or may not need professional help – depending on the child’s past. But the benifits are numerous. This child will know his history, where he came from – he may remember his birth parents, and he wants the love of a family. And – no diapers!
Adoption is a big step – it’s definately not something to take lightly – but adding to your family in this way is an experience that you can’t know until you’ve had the joy for yourself.

What can I do?
Research the topic. There are many myths about adopting older children, and the more you know, the more you can think about something like this for your own family
If you know a family who is adopting, encourage them to look into older child adoption. Infant adoption often has a very long waiting list.
Look at foster care. There probably are children in your state in the foster care system who are waiting for their ‘forever family’
Host an older orphan in your home. There are programs that bring children to America here on a trip with hopes to expose them to potential adoptive families – one such program is The Lighthouse Project

Who has done it?
These people – Older Child Adoption is a compilation of blogs from families who have adopted older children
We have! We’re not empy nesters, but my husband and I adopted our first – a 6 year old boy – last winter. I love telling our story, so here it is.

The Big Thing

I can’t do the Big Thing. I’m past that part in my life – you know – where you’re free to just drop everything and move to Algeria to cradle orphans and feed dying. I have a ‘real life’ now. Except I can’t get over the Big Thing. I still want it.
I keep reminding myself of a quote by Mother Teresa, “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” So maybe I can’t do the Big Thing. But I can be nice to my neighbors, and pray for my church’s missionaries. I can give a friend a ride, and pick up litter. I can vote. I can invite people over for coffee. I can hug my son.
I think I might do that right now…

Ways to take your food pantry to the next level

Now that your church has its food pantry all set up and running smoothly, there are some other ways you can help the community around you through food ministry. There may be people in your church or community who aren’t in dire need of food donations, but could use a free meal or two. Even just a small contribution goes a long way.

The problem with most city-run food banks is that they are only open during normal business hours. And the people who need it the most are working long hours, or two jobs even, and don’t have the time or transportation to get the help they need. Our church started a bread ministry on Saturday mornings. For only an hour, people can come by and pick up surplus bread that a volunteer has picked up from a local grocery store or bakery. That’s it. No one is turned away and anyone can come get a few loaves to help them along through the week.
This could be expanded to almost expired produce that is about to be thrown out. Meat and dairy might be risky due to refridgeration concerns. Offer coffee in the winter and water in the summer. If you have the space, invite people to sit down and have a piece of bakery and chat. Build community and show love.

Once you get to know people that come, you can find out more about their needs and maybe match them with people who can help. One person might be starting a daycare, while another person later may say she’s looking for work but has no one to watch her kids. A bulliten board could be set up where people could post their needs.

All of this food you are giving away does not need a 5 point gospel presentation to be effective. In fact, it should be given away with no strings attached. When people are ready to hear more, they will come, and they’ll know where to go. They will go where they’ve been fed and cared for. They will know who you are by your love.

Weekend Meditation – James 1:28

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The $10 Philanthropist: Help the victims in Myanmar

From Global Giving.com

Support Save the Children’s urgent relief efforts by helping us provide food, clean water, and supplies for those affected by the cyclone, which has killed thousands and caused extensive damage.

The dark side of plastic recycling

Take the plastic spoon: sure, no one adores washing dishes, but is it really harder to wash a spoon than it is to locate and drill oil reservoirs, refine crude oil, extract the chemical feedstock used to make plastic, and mould plastic into thousands of tiny, single-use utensils that are then shipped to a landfill where they must then be managed for hundreds of years while they sit without decomposing?
From Lighter Footstep.com

Is recycling really a better option than a landfill? What happens to plastic when it’s recycled?

What can you do – it’s really pretty easy
Bring your own bag to the store
Buy your food in glass jars instead of plastic
Bring your own produce bag
Get a reusable water bottle – in metal or glass
At the heart of it – just think about the waste created when you buy things – packaging or the bag you put it in – try to avoid bringing things into your home that you didn’t need

Others who are giving up plastic:
Fake Plastic Fish
Plastic Free

What is the Christian response to Illegal Immigration?

33 ” ‘When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. 34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34 NIV

Leviticus goes on to say, however, that the alien living with you also must obey the same laws and recieve the same penalties for breaking those laws. But what do we do when the very fact that they are among us is against the law?

There are all kinds of answers to this problem, ranging from complete amnesty to complete deportation – both of which would destroy both the US and Mexico, not to mention millions of families.

There should be tight border control – the government should be protecting us from those who wish to harm us. However, I would like to think that most of the people crossing into the US are doing it for honest reasons – to find work, support their families, and to make a better life for themselves. Like our families did just a few generations ago. And yes, many of them came here illegally; lying about their profession, age, and ethnicity.

What can we as individuals do to help, without encouraging circumventing the law?

- Set up and donate to charities that help Mexcans in their own country. There is a dire need for medical care, jobs, and education.
- Vote against Free Trade and for fair trade practices which allow people to make a living selling their goods in their own country (instead of being undercut by low cost wares from the US).
- Buy from companies that do not exploit their workers, whether it be undocumented workers in the US, or low wage workers in their own countires, such as sweatshops.
- Encourage lawmakers to support closing borders while still allowing family reunification, and paths to citizenship without deportation.
- Above all else, pray for our neighbors, show them Christ’s love – for that is the only way for real change.

Other people who are doing it:
Humane Borders Bringing water and shelter to people crossing the dessert.
Mexican Medical Ministries
Immigration Service and Aid Center