Birthday Man Q&A

Today is Matt's birthday! Two years ago, for his 28th b-day, I wrote a list of things I love about him. This year, I thought I'd let him tell his own story with a fun little Q&A.

So tell me, baby...

We'll start off easy.
What's your favorite food?
Sushi and Italian food.

What books are you reading right now?
The Gennessee Diary by Henri Nouwen, A Just Place by Jurgen Moltmann, and The Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.

What book has had the biggest impact on you? (and you can’t say “The Bible”)
Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli

What was the last thing you purchased?
Gas

What song are you playing a lot these days?
Peace (A Communion Blessing from St. James Square) by Rich Mullins

What is your favorite thing to do with Kate?
Our (not so) Secret Daddy-Daughter Handshake

What would be your dream vacation?
Somewhere outdoors that feels completely untouched by human hands.

What was your most memorable birthday?
That's a tie between Disney World when I was 8 and Rome when I was 26 on our Honeymoon.

What has been your proudest moment?Winning the Preaching Award at Div School graduation in a class with a bunch of amazing preachers

What are you looking most forward to in your next thirty years?
Continuing to be a daddy!

And you are indeed a great daddy! I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and a great year ahead.
You can wish Matt a happy birthday too by contributing to his "Birthday for a Cause" over at One Day's Wages, where he's collecting for a charity called HEAL Africa.

Happy birthday, baby!

Caring and Cuteness

First, the caring...

My husband turns 30 in exactly 30 days. Being the selfless, compassionate person that he is, he wants to celebrate this milestone in his own life by helping others. So, he issued the 30-till-30 Challenge, asking people to contribute to HEAL Africa, an organization working to "address the root causes of illness and poverty for the people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo." (quoted from their About page)

Matt wants to raise $3000 for HEAL Africa to provide basic training and equipment for women to start their own businesses, become financially independent, and help her and her children escape the evil cycle of poverty.

Please help my hubby's birthday wish come true--and make a huge difference for several Congolese families--by making your donation HERE (through One Day's Wages' "Birthday for a Cause" program.)

Now for the cuteness...

There haven't been enough cute Kate pics here lately, so here's one to bring a smile to your face and say "thank you!" in advance for honoring her daddy and the God he serves by caring for the least of these.

This is Kate saying "Put down the camera and go get my sidewalk chalk, please. I want to color RIGHT HERE."

(One of Kate's "things" right now is pointing to the ground where she wants me to put something, sit, or do something. "Put it right here, Mommy!")

Marching for Babies

This afternoon, we walked in the March for Babies at Centennial Park to benefit the March of Dimes' research on prematurity and other neonatal issues. Our team ("Itty Bitty Becca's Team") was centered around this little bit:

Cute, isn't she? Here's her family's blog about their journey through premature birth, a long NICU stay, and all the progress Becca has made!

Becca and Kate make great playmates, and it was fun to see them together today. Thanks to those who supported our team. We had a great time hanging out with the Hills and the rest of Becca's fan club, walking the two-mile loop around the park and adjacent blocks. Great fun for a great cause--that's a great day in our book!

It's Exhausting, Changing the World

Yesterday was a super-busy day at work. I didn't sit down at my desk once, and at the end of the day, I was exhausted. But it was a great day, because I hosted author Mike Slaughter, who was with us to speak at the launch party for our Fall 2010 list. (His most recent and best book yet is Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus) 

I always love meeting with Mike, from breakfast in the morning, to meetings about his next books, to introducing him before his talk (so nervous beforehand I thought I would faint--I do fine with public speaking once I'm up there, though!) I love Mike's work at Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio, where he leads his congregation in being the hands and feet of Jesus, living out their faith in numerous social service ministries (a food pantry, clothing thrift store, furniture, medical equipment, and car ministries, etc.

Their biggest, boldest ministry, though, is The Sudan Project, through which Ginghamsburg has invested close to $5 million in Darfur, Sudan, providing schools, water yards, sustainable agriculture, etc. The commitment and self-sacrificial attitude the people at Ginghamsburg have--about all their missions, but the Sudan especially--is amazing. In a blue-collar town devastated by the loss of automotive jobs in the last couple years, the people continue to give sacrifically in Christlike love to the people affected by poverty, war, and disease in Darfur.

Mike is especially proud of how other agencies have gotten on board since Ginghamsburg started its work in Sudan. In 2006, Ginghamsburg made up 100% of the United Methodist Committee on Relief's presence in Sudan. Now, it's like 9%, I think he said, not because Ginghamsburg has reduced it's presence, but because so many others are participating in this mission relieving the suffering in what the UN called the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time.

PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly program did a great segment on The Sudan Project last week. I wish I could embed the video here, but it doesn't look like it is on YouTube yet, so please click the link!

Hearing about this great work, a cause advanced by Mike's writing, is encouraging to me (and my colleagues too!) as we participate in his ministry through publishing. I went home, poured a glass of wine, and put my feet up last night, tired from a very busy but worthwhile day.

(Sudan photos courtesy of Ginghamsburg and included in the book Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus.)

More About Thistle Farms

You may have seen the concert poster I shared earlier today in this week's Project Life. I told you it was a great cause, but didn't really tell you what it was all about.

Thistle Farms is a non-profit business run by the women of Magdalene, a program that helps women with a criminal history of prostitution and substance abuse find recovery and community. They learn job skills and earn money making handmade, natural body products (lotions, bath salts, lip balm, etc.) for Thistle Farms. There was an amazing story about the program on The Rabbit blog recently.

The program's founder, Episcopal priest Becca Stevens, is simply amazing. She and several of the Magdalene women are actually visiting womens' prisons around the country right now, sharing their story of hope and emphasizing the message that "love heals." Stevens has written several books, including Find Your Way Home, co-written with the women of Magdalene.

So, the $40 ticket price for the concert at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Ga., goes to benefit this great program that gets women off the streets and out of the cycle of prostitution, drug use, and prison, and into a fruitful new life. The concert features country singer Julie Roberts ("Break Down Here"), Grammy-winning songwriters Marcus Hummon ("Bless the Broken Road"--Matt and my wedding dance song!) and Don Schlitz ("The Gambler"), and a special guest appearance by Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls.

If you're in the Atlanta area, check out the show, and if not, check out Thistle Farms products, available at stores all over Tennessee and nationwide. (Find a store here!)

We're Marching for Becca!

You might remember Kate's friend Becca from our playdate in January. Becca was born early--really early. As in three months early. Born weighing only 13 ounces and measuring 9.5 inches long, she is the smallest baby ever to survive in the state of Tennessee and she's one of the smallest in the world. She's now going on 22 months old and is still "itty bitty" for her age, but she's growing and thriving and gaining new skills all the time with the help of her awesome parents (both United Methodist pastors!) and a whole posse of therapists. Read more of their story at their blog, Life with Our Itty Bitty Baby Girl.

On April 18, Matt, Kate, and I are walking in the March of Dimes' March for Babies at Centennial Park in Nashville to show support and help raise money for the March of Dimes' work funding research on prematurity prevention and treatment, education to help women have healthy, full-term births, advocacy for better access to prenatal health care, and more.

Will you support the "Kelleys for Becca" as we walk with Itty Bitty Becca's Team? Please consider it. We are so thankful to have had a healthy, full-term (and a little more) pregnancy with Kate, and to have taken her home promptly with no NICU stay, no agonizing nights wondering if she would live or die. Some parents are not so fortunate, and we want to help more babies be born healthy.

Our family goal is $500, and we're 20% of the way there. Will you help us?

Squalor

I have vowed to purge the word from my vocabulary: squalor.

It is my word of choice whenever I am getting overwhelmed by the clutter in our house, when I am frustrated by the cracks in the sink where mildew breeds or the gap in the back door through which creepy-crawlies enter, or in those fleeting moments when I think my mom might be right and I need to clean more.

But I'm always aware (or at least I try to be) how good I have it compared to the conditions in which many people live, both around the world and even in America.

And thanks to the Compassion Bloggers who were recently in Kenya, I feel like I have now seen real squalor, and I want to never again make light of those impoverished conditions by likening my palatial abode to the homes of mud and tin lining streets of sewage in places like the Mathare Valley--a slum near Nairobi.

I cannot imagine this being my neighborhood. As one blogger on the trip said "There wasn't just sewage in the streets. The streets were sewage." Kristen Welch (with whose permission I use these photos) described it as a hell hole--dark and oppressive, dangerous, sick, rank, the unliveable "home" of countless orphans, plagued with horrific violence, drug use, exploitation, and alcoholism. Read her full post from that day here. I may complain of a little dirt in my home. These homes are made of dirt. The teenage boy who lives in this home (about the size of a walk-in closet) has been an orphan for ten years. He cares for his younger brother, walks an hour and a half to school, and does his homework by the light of a kerosene lamp. The Compassion project in this slum gave him a job and is helping him to have a better future. Kristen described the project as a haven of safety and hope amidst these horrid conditions. It was amazing to follow Kristen's journey in Kenya and see how child sponsorship through organizations like Compassion and WorldVision really does make a difference in these children's lives. Only $38 a month can give these kids life, health, education, and hope.
I try not to take what I have for granted. Envy is a real temptation for me as I see people (often via the blog-world) with bigger homes than me, nicer furniture and decor, or at least homes they have chosen for themselves. I battle that temptation and desperately need reminding that, though no virtue of my own, I was born into a life where I've always had more than enough. Through no fault of their own, billions were born into lives of poverty.

I don't know what real squalor is.

But I know my home is not it.

(I hope my mom remembers that next time she visits. )

Giving Joyfully

Being a pastor's family, I don't know if I should admit this, but Matt and I disagree over whether one's tithe (the traditional 10% of gross income one "gives back to God" through religious or other charitable organizations) should all go to the church, with other, smaller donations to other charities on top of that, or whether the tithe should be distributed to a variety of missional causes, including the church.

Matt feels strongly about tithing specifically to the church, but being the gracious, egalitarian husband that he is, he suggested that since I feel differently, we each give our tithe as we see fit. So long as 10% of his income goes back to the church, I can distribute 10% or more of my income to a variety of ministries that meet real human needs around the world. We started this new system in August (basically, when I bought my new 09-10 planner, because before that, I wasn't keeping very good track at all of when we gave what to whom), and after organizing our giving this way for a half-year now, I have to say, I LOVE IT!

Viewing my giving almost like a debit account ("ok, I have X amount left to give in the next year") rather than like a bill to pay ("ok, we have to write this month's check for X amount") makes it flexible and fun. When I hear about a sudden, urgent need (like a church's clothing ministry being robbed) or Stuff Christians Like building kindergartens for orphans in Vietnam, I can respond immediately, generously, and joyfully.

There is certainly something to be said for the discipline of writing a monthly check to your local congregation (and we do that as well), but I love being able to give spontaneously and more generously than I would if I were already giving 10% of my income to the church. One of the main scriptures that drives my giving (in addition to "whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me" Matt. 25:40) is "Give to all who ask of you" Matt. 5:42. I don't really give to ALL who ask of me (in fact, I avoid answering the phone when I think it is a telemarketer), but I do like to respond to a wide variety of needs.

I don't know how you organize your giving, but if you're looking for a great cause to sponsor in 2010 (or a place to make a last-minute tax-deductable donation in 2009) here are a few of my favorites:

The Sudan Project. The civil war, genocide, and subsequent lack of food and clean water in the Darfur region of Sudan is considered by the U.N. to be the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today. Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Ohio started The Sudan Project in 2004, raising money with its Christmas Miracle Offering. Every Christmas, Ginghamsburg’s pastor Mike Slaughter asks people to spend less on Christmas for their own families, and give an amount equal to one's family spending to the church’s ministries in Darfur (schools, water yards, sustainable agriculture, etc.) I have given to The Sudan Project for a while now, but this was the first Christmas we did the "equal amount" thing, and I'm so glad we did.

Sponsoring a child through Compassion or Worldvision. We just started doing this recently, and we got our first letter and drawings from our child (a boy in Tanzania) last week. It's cool how these organizations make the needs and the results "real" by fostering a long-term connection between you and your child. Our sponsorship funds his schooling and medical care, and we can maintain this relationship with him as he grows up.

Your local homeless shelter. Ours is the Nashville Rescue Mission. Homebody that I am, I simply cannot imagine not having a place to retreat and recharge, much less basic protection from the elements and a place to store food, clothing, and other belongings. Homelessness is a big issue for me, and the benefit of supporting your local shelter is that you can participate more fully in its ministries by serving there in person. When we lived in Nashville, we frequently served dinner at NRM, and I miss that.

I often feel that I'm using my job, my commute, and my child as excuses not to get out and physically serve others more often. I work full time, spend two hours a day in the car, and want to spend every spare moment with Kate! Some people say that young adults can give their time, more financially-established middle-aged adults can give their money, and older adults with limited mobility and funds can give their prayers. I hope we'll always try to give all three to those in need, but during this time-strapped stage of our lives--physically able though we are--we can still give of our money, and I am glad to have found a way to do so with great freedom and joy.

Change the World

Matt and I had the following tongue-in-cheek conversation yesterday, as he looked over my weekend to-do list, still posted on the refrigerator:

Matt: What’s “CTW2”?
Me: Change the World, chapter 2. I needed to do some more editing on it over the weekend.
Matt: So you’re changing the world twice?
Me: No, the changing of the world is not completed in chapter 1.
Matt: But it will be by the end of the book?
Me: Yes, definitely.

We have a strange sense of humor, I know. In all seriousness, we won’t change the world just by writing, editing, or reading Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus (written by pastor Michael Slaughter of Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio and coming February 2010 from Abingdon Press). But we can change the world by serving as the hands and feet of Jesus on earth, ministering to the hungry, sick, and poor worldwide.

Mike’s mission is to help his congregation and other pastors and readers focus on Jesus' mission to "bring good news to the poor, release to the captive, and freedom to the oppressed," (Luke 4:18). I have been to Ginghamsburg’s annual Change the World conference twice now, and I have to say, it is an excellent experience for inspiring and equipping church leaders to make mission a top priority in their congregations and to put that priority to work in concrete action that really can make a difference for suffering people. I can't urge you to buy the book yet because (obviously) it's not out yet. But registration for the conference--October 22-23--is open, and I really do encourage you to check it out.