What will You be Doing on 12/21/2012?

I'm growing tired of the gloom and doom. I plan to celebrate Nicky's 12th birthday that day. Here are my thoughts on all the doomsday hoo-ha. Shouldn't we live every day like it's the last?

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.  Photo capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

A Beautiful Scarf from Start to Finish {Even you don't sew it, skip to the end to see how to tie it}

Mary Beth is my best encourager when it comes to handwork. She's happy to listen to my sewing ideas or help me hunt down the perfect yarn or knitting pattern. She even likes to sew a bit herself (though she doesn't quite admit it). But as many moms of teenagers know, it's not always easy to make something for them. They don't seem to appreciate the fine line between handmade and homemade;-).

So, when I hit upon these scarves and I stitched the first one up( a gift for my mom) and Mary Beth looked more than a little interested, I pounced. I made one for her--my very first middle-of-the night sewing project. It was ready when she headed off to the mall with her oh-so-stylish dance friends the next morning. She wore it well and was rather delighted when even store clerks commented and asked her where she got it. 

I had had grand plans to make a jacket from Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush velveteen for me to wear for Christmas Eve. I never got to it. Not even close. So, Mary Beth graciously offered me her scarf so that I could have just a little bit of that lovely AMH color to wear after all.

 

Together, we decided we needed a few more. So, when I should have been packing for Disney, I did a little sewing.

I highly recommend buying the kits, unless you are going to make several scarves of the same fabric combinations. It's two long, narrow pieces of fabric in lovely, luxurious voile. The kits are actually a more affordable way to manage the fabric purchase. (Besides, I love to order directly from the artist. In this case, it was late at night when I started to do my first and I emailed "the company," confessing I needed some direction. Anna herself emailed me back lickety-split. That was an unexpected bonus. My personal rule is always to order from the artist or author directly if possible. It's just the nice thing to do, all around. And I know firsthand that authors like to hear from you.)

Even if you buy the kit, expect to do some trimming. Both fabrics need to match each other exactly. Pin right sides together, being generous with pins because that lovely voile is a bit slippery.

Use a fine needle. I used these and I was very glad I did. It makes a big difference when machine stitching voile. I started in the middle of a shorrt row--it doesn't work so well to start at the corners. I left about a three inch opening so that I could turn the scarff right side out. I marked the opening by putting two pins at the beginning and end of where I'd stitch, so that I remember to stop. I used my quarter inch foot so that my seam would be super-straight, stopping with the needle down and pivoting around the corners. I backtacked at the begnning and end.

Then, I trimmed the corners to reduce the bulk. 

Turned the whole scarf rightside out.

Poked those corners nice and square with a chopstick.

Then I really took my time rolling that seams out as flat as possible to press, so that only the right fabric would show on either side.

Lots of steam. Press well. (Make a note to make a new ironing board cover before ever showing pressing pictures again.)

I tucked the unfinished edges of the hole where I'd turned the scarf under and pressed those well and pinned a bit. Then I stitched all the way around, using about an 1/8 inch seam.

Then I looked to my expert for a tying tutorial.

Grab the scarf in the middle and hold the loop.

Pull it around your neck.

Take one tail and put it through the loop.

Take the other tail and put it over the top of the loop.

And then put it under the bottom loop.

Fuss with it a bit to show the sides of the fabric you want to show.

Very pretty!

We might have made a few!

(Oh, and when I went to link today, I noticed all sorts of new things in Anna Maria's shop. My birthday money has been allocated accordingly;-).

Teaching charity, hope to your children through sponsorship

Guest post by Shanxi Omoniyi, web editor and writer for Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA).

One of my sweetest childhood memories is writing letters to my family's sponsored child.

My parents have a long history of child sponsorship, and they encouraged us to write to their sponsored children. We were maybe 8 or 9 at the time.

I remember looking at the children's pictures, reading their letters and wondering what their lives were like.

Brenda, CFCA sponsored child in El Salvador.

Today I work as web editor and writer for Christian Foundation for Children and Aging.  CFCA is a lay Catholic sponsorship organization serving more than 300,000 children, youth and aging persons around the world.

CFCA's Hope for a Family sponsorship program provides personal attention and direct benefits to children, youth and elderly and their families so they may live with dignity, achieve their potential and participate fully in society.

From my experience, I highly recommend sponsorship for several reasons. It's a practical way to put your faith in action and answer the Gospel call to serve the poor by helping someone in need. (Mt. 25:31-46)

From left are Rosa and Victoria, two elderly women served through CFCA's sponsorship program in Chile. CFCA is the only major U.S.-based sponsorship organization to sponsor the elderly as well as children.

It's also a wonderful opportunity for your whole family to meet another person across geographic, cultural and economic divides.

Geography lessons

Tanzania, Uganda, Honduras, Nicaragua – all these countries were labels on a map when I was a child.

When you sponsor someone in another country, though, you make an instant connection to their world. That includes the place where they live.

"I keep a map near my desk with the geographic locations of our family's two sponsored children in Guatemala marked," said CFCA sponsor Paula Kiger. "It has helped me be a lot more aware of how things may impact them (like weather, tropical storms, etc.) and just helps me have a more literal 'grip' on the truth of their existence."

Cultural immersion

Letters are the primary window you'll have into your sponsored friend's life.

Through correspondence I've learned about sponsored children's families, favorite foods, hobbies, holiday traditions and so much more.

We pray for each other. They become our "family" from another country.

CFCA sponsor Kim Hope and her sponsored child, Nayeli, from the Dominican Republic.

CFCA also offers the opportunity to visit your sponsored friend through mission awareness trips.

These trips are in-depth immersion experiences that introduce sponsors to their friends and families, while also seeing the countries where they live.

"We are so grateful to have been able to go on two trips to Guatemala and to have spent time with our sponsored children, some members of their wonderful family, and dozens of other sponsored children and aged," said CFCA sponsor Elysa Koss. "We hope to go again sometime in the future. It will be like returning to family members."

More than a handout

Recently my newest sponsored child, Victor, sent me a letter from Kenya. The delight of opening and reading it has never grown old.

Recent letter from Victor, my sponsored child in Kenya! His mother wrote while he drew the pictures.

Victor lives in a house built of wooden walls, an iron sheet roof and cement floors. His mother is a widow and had trouble making ends meet before sponsorship. She works as a casual laborer, washing clothes for others to earn a living.

Through my monthly sponsorship contribution, Victor's able to go to school and have enough to eat. He even gets a birthday and Christmas present through CFCA.

Beyond the physical benefits, I hear through his letters about the encouragement sponsorship provides. Victor's grades have been consistently improving, and his mother belongs to a CFCA mothers group where she can meet other mothers of sponsored children for community support.

CFCA mothers groups and parent groups in communities around the world also offer support through livelihood initiatives that help empower parents in their efforts to earn additional income and build a path out of poverty for their families.

One of my favorite quotes is from Mother Teresa: "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

To me sponsorship is a small thing that shows great love. It provides hope not only to Victor and his family, but also to me. While I can't change the world, I can help change Victor's world. That makes all the difference.

Try it and see. You'll be amazed at the difference sponsorship can make – not only in the life of a child or elderly friend, but in yours and your family's as well!

Questions? Visit our website (www.hopeforafamily.org), call 1.800.875.6564 or email mail@cfcausa.org.

Beautiful Joy: for you

Today's post is the gift of Hallie Lord, also known as the beloved Betty Beguiles, and author of the soon-to-be-released Style, Sex, and Substance. I'm so pleased to have Hallie grace this space and I'm glad you'll get to consider what she's got to say this morning. As Disney Magic would have it, today's my birthday. After I have lunch with princesses (four of whom share a home with me), I think I'll find a little something pretty in Downtown Disney...

~~~~~

Over the past couple of years I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting upon and writing about the importance of self-care. Far too often I see good, faithful women neglecting themselves for fear of vanity or self-indulgence--a fear that is understandable given the state of our culture. It seemed to me that what had been lost was an appreciation for the value of putting our best foot forward for the sake of effective Christian witness, for nurturing the sexual-love aspect of our marriages, and for showing our children how much we value our vocation.

For a long time something nagged at me, though. It’s not that I disagreed with what I was advocating for, but a quiet voice suggested that maybe I’d missed something. Maybe the list was not complete.

And, indeed, I had. And it wasn’t.

I’d considered husbands and children and the world at large but I’d forgotten about you. And I’d forgotten about me.

Somewhere amid my list of reasons to polish, primp, and pamper should have been an encouragement to do these things simply for pleasure’s sake.

I don’t mind admitting that I’m a girlie girl through and through. During the more chaotic phases of life, though, even I start to view self-care (of the physical variety) as just one more item to cross of the to-do list as quickly as possible. Gone is the pleasure I usually find in painting my nails, doing my hair, and picking out the perfect shade of lipstick. Who has the time or energy for such indulgences?

I was reminded of just how much joy there is to be found in these things as I watched my three sweet small girls celebrate Christmas. I was struck by the glee with which they sought out their most beautiful dresses for Mass on Christmas Eve, the quiet delight they found in brushing one another’s hair with the new hairbrushes that they found tucked into their stockings, and the long hot bubble baths they insisted upon on Christmas afternoon.

My daughters aren’t yet old enough to recognize that there might be value in doing any of these things for the benefit of others; they do them simply because they realize that which is easy for us busy Moms to forget: God created them (and us) for joy and the enjoyment of simple pleasures is their (and our) right.

Pain and suffering are our constant companions in this fallen world. They are companions that are rich in value and should never be considered worthless. But so, too, is joy. I forget that sometimes amid the seemingly endless responsibilities that come with young motherhood.

As I watched my girls innocently savor their loveliness and delight in their baubles and baths, I was reminded once again that I must “change and become like the little children.” In spite of all suffering--and sometimes because of all suffering--there is joy. It comes in a million varieties and will manifest itself differently for everyone but, always, there is joy. We need only accept it.

If never occurs to young children that they should reject simple pleasures in favor of toil. Though hard work and discipline have their place, we adults can learn something from the young who never agonize over whether it’s prudent for them to rest and play. They play because God calls them to play. It’s as simple and as perfect as that.

It was an innocent mistake, but as I watched my daughter’s frolic on Christmas Day it dawned on me that my recent lack of appreciation for these simple pleasures was ultimately a rejection of God’s love for me. The only reason I have ever found any joy whatsoever in the things I do with is because He desired that I should and offered them to me as a gift of love. With the new year dawning, I am resolving to surrender more fully. When God calls me to work, I will work. And when he calls me to play, I will play--without any of the guilt or distraction that has inhibited me in the past from fully savoring His many gifts.