June 25- Threw a shower. Two members of our Bible study group will be expanding their families soon. My friend Ashley and her husband are adopting from Haiti, and my friend Liz and her husband are expecting a baby in August. My plan was to have an adoption shower for Ashley this summer, and then about a month or so later, have a baby shower for Liz. Things got kind of crazy schedule-wise, and we ended up combining the two showers. I couldn't have done it without help- everybody volunteered to bring food, the presents were adorable, and my friend Leah even climbed up on the counter to hang pretty star decorations from the ceiling. We had such a good time! Liz is from Tennessee, so I made a Tennessee trivia game; Ashley's son is from Haiti, so I made a matching game with Haitian Creole phrases, and since everyone has a connection to Lifeway, I also made a Biblical moms and children word scramble. It was cool.
Also, I would just like to say- if someone in your life is adopting, it is an awesome thing. It is beautiful and wonderful and a tremendous act of love. So many adoptive parents "labor" for their children MUCH longer than the 9 month wait that biological parents go through, and yet, somehow people don't always give them the same kind of attention that birth parents get. Do you know how hard it is to find adoption stuff for people not adopting little babies? Greeting cards are hard to find. Birth/family history books always include baby pages. My friends who have adopted newborns or tiny babies are treated just like other expectant moms, minus the belly-touching (that would be weird.) But people adopting toddlers or older kids don't get that kind of attention, and I think that's stupid. So here's some advice: if someone you love is adopting a child that is not a "baby", still be excited for them. It's a big deal. End of rant.
June 26- Gave my signature. On this day, I signed a petition regarding diamond buying practices in the United States. Organizations are pushing for laws that would require a lot more oversight for American jewelry buyers, to limit the number of conflict diamonds that enter the country. This is really a human rights issue. If you're interested in learning more, you can click here.
June 27- Donated a book. A while back I let someone borrow one of my books. I love books. I have tons of them, and I pride myself on the great shape I keep them in. I hate seeing abused and torn up books. Well, this book came back to me looking pretty ragged. It's a hardcover, and the book itself is fine, but the dust jacket kind of looked atrocious. It is no longer good enough to sit on my shelf. Instead of throwing it away or recycling it, I decided to donate it. It wasn't in good enough shape to send to Operation Paperback or another charity like that, but it's still a very well-loved book, and I know that someone will be happy to get it from the library booksale. When you're cleaning out your own personal library, don't forget to consider your public library as a place to get rid of your books!
June 28- Liked a page. I like super-easy, shareable acts of kindness. On this day I saw a news story about a kid named Xan who is very sick, and he has a wish to get a million facebook fans. Click the link, like his page. It makes him sooooo happy. It's so easy- there's no reason not to do it! : )
June 29- Tried to save an animal some suffering. I get email updates about circus-related protests and other peaceful actions, thanks to some mailing lists I'm on. I recently found out that there is going to be a festival in Michigan soon, and they have hired a company that has a former circus elephant named Nosey who has been abused for a very, very long time. I sent a letter to the people in charge of this festival asking them to please reconsider having an elephant as entertainment, as these creatures really deserve better than these environments. I know I talk a lot about animal causes and elephants and stuff on here, but that's just something that's particularly important to me. If you have something you care about, you can find an organization that will hook you up with opportunities like this, too- for pretty much any cause.
June 30- Asked how I could help. My church is sending a team to Honduras this fall for a medical missions trip. I stopped by their table in the foyer before the service on Sunday and asked how I could help. They gave me a list of prayer needs and a list of items they need donated to take on the trip. I have been praying for them and will continue to do so, and I will also see if I can get my Bible study group to donate some stuff for them to send!
July 1- Shared a sweet treat. I made the mistake of shopping on an empty stomach this day. My grocery store had little containers of chocolate peanut butter fudge out by the bakery- I couldn't resist. I decided to share it with my coworker because she has been super stressed out lately and I knew she would be even more stressed that evening because she had a program to do. I know that canceling the program would be the optimal way to reduce her stress, but I hoped that some yummy fudge helped a little bit, anyway. : )
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