Making a Difference this Holiday Season #2 11/03/2009
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat."  Be generous with canned food donations. Did you know 1 in 8 Americans is at risk for hunger? Many churches/organizations collect non-perishable food during the Holiday Season. My daughter is a scout and her troop collects non-perishable food items during the month of November and distributes the donations to local food banks. Food banks are suffering in a bad economy; families tighten the belt and donations to food banks decline. My Tip: Shop for food banks around the year, not just during the Holiday Season. Every time I go grocery shopping I buy 1-2 items suitable for a food drive, any free items I get with coupons are designated for donation as well. We keep those food items on a separate shelf in the pantry. I also pick up toiletry items this way, a few days ago I bought 5 tubes of toothpaste for 50 cents each and 5 deodorants 50 cents each (with coupons), the next day my daughter brought a flyer home from school requesting toiletry donations. Visit Feeding America: Faces of Hunger site:http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger.aspx Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org. Many Blessings, Melanie Making a Difference this Holiday Season #1 10/28/2009
 Making a Difference this Holiday Season #1 - Place a quarter in every Salvation Army bucket you see. Make sure to have a couple of quarters with you before leaving the house. Let your kids put the money in the bucket. Visit their website at: http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-local/Home Many Blessings, Melanie Making a Difference this Holiday Season 10/28/2009
 Making a Difference this Holiday Season "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 3:17-18 Charitable giving fell last year by the largest percentage in five decades, according to a new study by the Giving USA Foundation. Now I am aware that most of us can’t spare hundreds of dollars, but there are “cheap” or free ways to make a difference. I think it is very important for us as parents to teach our children to show kindness and grow a charitable heart. Also, we need to teach our children that charity and kindness should be done privately without the want to be recognized or praised, that contradicts the act of charity. “Do all the good you can and make as little as fuss about it as possible.” Charles Dickens "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4 I think it is wrong to force children to do charitable work, instead find something that the whole family can enjoy and feel proud of. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 Sit together with your family and discuss ways to make a difference this Holiday Season, make a list, print and put on the fridge, I will post several tips over the next few weeks. Many Blessings, Melanie Fall with the Family 10/25/2009
I just love Sundays during Fall! Worship the Lord, Time with Family, Football, Baking and today Carving Pumpkins. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful and blessed day! Melanie          Abundant Living 07/20/2009
ABUNDANT LIVING The Candy Cane 07/17/2009
 The Candy Cane Beatitudes for Parents 07/15/2009
Beatitudes for Parents Blessed are those parents who make their peace with spilled milk and with mud, for of such is the kingdom of childhood. Blessed is the parent who engages not in the comparison of his child with others, for precious unto each is the rhythm of his own growth. Blessed are the fathers and mothers who have learned laughter, for it is the music of the child’s world. Blessed and wise are those parents who understand the goodness of time, for they make it not a sword that kills growth but a shield to protect. Blessed and mature are they who without anger can say "no", for comforting to the child is the security of firm decisions. Blessed is the gift of consistency, for it is heart’s-ease in childhood. Blessed are they who accept the awkwardness of growth, for they are aware of the choice between marred furnishings and damaged personalities. Blessed are the teachable, for knowledge brings understanding, and understanding brings love. Blessed are the men and women who in the midst of the unpromising mundane, give love, for they bestow the greatest of all gifts to each other, to their children, and—in an ever-widening circle—to their fellow men. Marion E. Kinneman (1895-1985) |      “It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
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