By the way...

It occurred to me that in all the hustle and bustle and blogging on a new project, I've forgotten to mention it here since my originally very vague post several months back. (Remember this?)

I'm allowed to help!! And I'm loving every minute of it.
Yes I Am is a newly formed organization that was the heart-child of singer, songwriter (and dear, dear friend) Carrie Bowen. Carrie's daughter, Maisey, is the literal inspiration for the whole undertaking, explaining to her mom that at 5, she too can make a difference right there where she is. Carrie continues to be moved by her darling girl as she writes and records her first solo worship album entitled, "Nightlight" which is to be released on June 13th, 2010. All the proceeds from this album will go directly to Yes I Am whose main project goals involve Biju Thampy's Vision Rescue, and Beth Moore's Hand of Hope Ministries.

To see the Story Behind "Yes I Am" as told by Carrie Bowen click here.


You can follow the Yes I Am blog at www.YesIam-Us.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter @YesIAmUS

Right now a promotion is going on to win heart shaped nightlights (that match the Carrie Bowen "Nightlight" album cover!) by being the 15th, 20th, or 25th person to follow the Yes I Am blog. The 30th person to follow the Yes I Am blog will receive a free copy of the "Nightlight" album! Follow us on the blog and on twitter to stay updated on events and ideas and giving opportunities! You never know when we'll be in your area!!!

Hungry? (As posted on YesIAm-Us.Blogspot.com)

Have you ever been hungry? I mean REALLY hungry; so hungry that you literally ached?

Have you ever wanted to feed someone else, but knew that you didn't really have the money? Or maybe you've wanted to feed those people you see on the commercials with the distended bellies but you knew you'd probably never get to go all the way to their country. Has that ever happened?

Visit the Hunger Site. Just by clicking on the yellow button (which costs you nothing but a few seconds of your time) you can generate the funds from sponsors to provide staple foods through Mercy Corps, Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest), and Millennium Promise. Every cent that is paid by sponsors to advertise on the Hunger Site's page goes to these charitable partners. Funds are divided between the partners and their projects and are able to feed hungry people in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.

"The Hunger Site was founded to focus the power of the Internet on a specific humanitarian need: the eradication of world hunger. Since its launch in June 1999, the site has established itself as a leader in online activism, helping to feed the world's hungry. On average, over 220,000 individuals from around the world visit the site each day to click the yellow 'Click Here to Give - it's FREE' button. To date, more than 300 million visitors have given more than 671 million cups of staple food." (taken from their How Does the Hunger Site Work? section).

The Hunger Site also offers a myriad of other ways to help. One is to visit the Hunger Site Store where the shipping is always $3.95 and you always have the option to show your support and spread the word. The Hunger Site Store also offers items that have been fairly-traded and various handcrafted items from across our world to help generate funding to pull families and communities out of the poverty and hunger cycle.


You know you're gonna shop and you KNOW you're gonna peruse the internet. Why not do it with love in mind?

Cost.

I lead a small group of middle school girls. Can I just say right here, that if you've ever swore middle schoolers can not hear from the Lord or think deeper than the next five minutes, you have it perfectly wrong. See every week, I let them write down anything in the universe that they want to pray about, in a little square notepad. Back in the fall, I let them decorate the box that I bring with me every week that carries my Bible, my attendance notebook, extra pens and the notepad for prayer requests and questions. They had decorated the box (more like a basket really) with ribbons and strings that I'd brought along with me one night. It was quite a hilarious sight! But overtime the torn out slips with prayer requests scratched down onto them were kind of overtaking the basket so I felt the need to purge. Not that I'm throwing these pages away. Not yet... I couldn't bring myself to do that. I just needed to thin out the things that I carry with me every week.

Needless to say, I was in tears within minutes reading those precious little prayer solicitations. These girls know about what happening in the world and in our church. They understand the tensions that occur between believers and those with little to no moral conviction. My darling girls have prayed for everything and everyone they can think of, sometimes making long lists on their pages. But what I think touched me most is when they were honest enough to pray for themselves. "Pray for me at school to do well and meet new and good friends." "My mouth is in severe pain. I got my braces tightened and it doesn't feel good!" "Help my friend and my relationship." "I'm sick and I hate being sick." "Pray that I'll find some Christian friends at school so I won't feel so angry and alone hanging out with people who cuss and hate God and stuff."

My breaking point: "I want to get saved. I want to do good things and become a girl God has called me to be instead of doing things to get attention."

Thank you, Lord for calling me to a place that costs so much! Being a small group leader is hard work and it can be exhausting. But HOW FANTASTIC to have seen so much progress in my girls and such great promise in them!? I love each girl in a very different way and for very different reasons. They are each very strong and each full of grace and beauty ready to offer the world. I think the reason that last request moved me so greatly is that I may have actually inspired them to realize that they matter! Each girl, each name on the page, each set of bright and sparkling eyes, each eager mouth and each nervous hand MATTER. Learning to love others and love God can be easily inspired, but learning to love yourself is a hard task and not easily attainable when you're faced with the challenges of middle school! It's not necessarily something that I did or said, CLEARLY. But I got to be a part of it! How great a reward for what seems somedays like a hefty cost?! The cost is nominal when compared to the joyous treasures returned back.

Serving costs.

And serving pays.

I care.

MeaganAmanda invites you to SocialVibe.com

Are You Somebody?

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

~Emily Dickinson

What do you think she was trying to say? If you know anything about Emily Dickinson, you know that after returning from Female Seminary, she was extremely content to be a recluse, never leaving her Massachusetts home. Later in life she even had a hard time leaving her bedroom. Most of her relationships were maintained by mail, eliminating the need for her to engage in social settings like parties or luncheons or whatever else they used to do in groups during the 1800s.

Contrast this attitude with that of today. Everyone wants to famous. Everyone wants to be chased by the paparazzi; even the people that ARE celebrities! Half of them call photographers ahead of time to make sure they know where they can catch a good picture of all the glitz and gossip. Even high schoolers want to be somebody. Have you ever noticed the cattiness that comes out during Superlative Week? Or Homecoming Nominations? Good grief. It's borderline obscene.

But among all the "Somebodies" of today, how many somebodies are there REALLY? To be SOMEBODY means that you leave a mark on the world, that you fight for something bigger than you, that people (maybe not thousands of people but people none the less) are inspired by your action and compassion, that you are proud of the life that you lead, that you fail with grace and honor, and that at the end of your life, you have exhausted every fulfilling opportunity afford you. That is to be somebody. That you give all you are and all you possess for Love.

Are you Somebody?