What's on Your TV?

ICarly made its way into our living room this winter, and, I confess, I watch Modern Family, and um, American Idol (but only sometimes). Don’t judge. Oh, fine, judge. I deserve it.

TV viewing isn’t big on my list of loves, but I watch my share of junk, and so does my family.

Today’s focus? ABC’s Secret Millionaire, the show in which millionaires go “undercover,” learn about helping-related organizations throughout the US, and later donate $100,000 of their own money to organizations making a difference in their communities.

Now, I know what critics of the show say about the wealthy throwing money at the poor. I know about attempting to band-aid serious issues, and I also acknowledge that a few contrived situations and perfectly cued music make for happy viewers.

But, with that being said, I also see some good.

To me, Secret Millionaire has little to do with the millionaire and loads to do with people and organizations who work to better their communities and the lives of those who live there. Why shouldn’t good organizations get a little national screen time?

Also, Secret Millionaire provides a platform for discussion with your kids. In one episode, our family hit on abandoned houses, soup kitchens, scholarships, and unemployment.

What about you? What TV shows prompt positive discussion in your house?

Photo credit.

Follow My Example

Atop Bald Mountain, NC

Do words with the same theme ever parade across your life?

*The light that shines brightest from far away should shine even brighter close-up. —Steve Harris, New Life Church

*God entrusts us with a beautiful opportunity to shape their thinking while they are young and pliable. We give them a priceless gift if, from the start, we enter into the sufferings of others and take them with us from time to time. —Susie Larson, Growing Grateful Kids

*The strongest thing you can give is your example. —SG, a way smart friend of mine

*Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 11:18-19

Yes, I hear the message clearly. Be an example. Be an example.

What about you? Do you feel yourself drawn to a certain topic, lesson, or verse? What message do you hear when life quiets?

Linking up with the girls at Finding Heaven and Michelle at Graceful.

My Friend in Real Life: Lori McClure and Share Your Story and Giving

Meet today's Share Your Story guest, Lori McClure. In case you're struggling with this upside down picture, that's Lori in the red shirt and me in the white shirt, circa 1994.

Lori is the girl I met in sixth grade when my hair was high and my attitude bad. The girl who labors over songs and stories and poems. The girl who knows my secrets and loves me anyway. The girl who mothers Abigail and Jonah. The girl who introduced me to my husband. The girl who searches out truth in both her life and the world. The girl who encourages, cheers, and touches all (especially me!).

Lori's poem relates to something that traps all of us when we attempt to give: busyness and self-consumption.

Here's Lori.

: :

Busy

I sat down and thought of me today,

pushing the rest of the world away.

For a moment, and then a day or two,

I was all that I could do.

And, oh, I did it well.

Those days turned into months and years,

and never once did I hold fears

I might be self-consumed,

self-absorbed,

self-

ish.

I've cared a time or two or ten

of others pain

of others when

they need a helping hand,

but then

I've turned it back to what was pressing-

all that time I lost in dressing

up my fancy lies

to disguise

the fact

that I've done

nothing.

Nothing more than seeing me

and all I want

and all I need

and I'm content

most days

to let the haze

of my intentions

keep me from

any

sort of mission

more than me.

So go ahead and save the world if you can.

Follow through with those big plans.

I'm far too busy . . .

doing . . .

nothing.

Thanks, Lor. Readers, if you want to check out more of Lori's writing (and see some hideous pictures of me back in the day) stop by Immersion Blog-apy.

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Do you know how much I enjoy getting to know you better? Do you know I’m always on the hunt for stories related to giving? Do you know I’d love for you to share your story? Click here for more details.

*Comments turned off today.

The Power of Words

Last week I wrote about being brave and living dreams. I spoke of how difficult living dreams can be, even the dreams He plants. Often I claim immunity to other’s opinions, but in truth, one negative comment can ring in my head for months.

Why do I give words such power?

Last weekend, I attended a writing conference, received positive feedback, met funny people, learned new things, and listened to an editor express interest in my writing, and now, I feel like this:

Yes, dancing in the streets, hitting home runs, hugging strangers, jamming out with a singing blue bird and marching band. That’s where I am, riding the high of positive talk.

And so I ask myself again, why do I give words such power?

What about you? Are you good at seeing the positive in yourself, or do you put too much worth on the ebb and flow of others' opinions?

Paper Cranes and $200,000 and Giving

Japan.

The footage appalling, the statistics staggering, and the stories devastating. Ten days after the massive earthquake and tsunami, people around the world struggle to comprehend the magnitude of this disaster.

I want to help, but how?

You know me, friends. I love simple ways families can involve themselves in events bigger than themselves. Check out this kid-friendly idea from Students Rebuild:

Help Japan by making paper cranes. These simple yet powerful gestures will trigger a $200,000 donation from the Bezos Family Foundation - $2 for each crane received - to Architecture for Humanity's reconstruction efforts in Japan. Once we reach our goal of 100,000 submissions, the cranes will be woven into an art installation - a symbolic gift from students around the globe to Japanese youth.

Great idea. You make a paper crane, send it off, and $2.00 is donated.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Talk to your family, church, class, book club. . . whoever about the earthquake and reconstruction efforts.

2. Make a paper crane. Don't know how? Learn here.

3. Send your paper cranes to this address.

A small gesture by many equals a big difference.

: :

Linking up with Jen and the girls. Click over and meet some new friends.

*Image credit.

Standing in Slippery Places

Thinking I merit reward proves a slippery place to stand, but often I plant my unsure feet in that very spot.

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Today I'm hanging out with Melody, a pastor's wife who doesn't bang out tunes in church on the piano, but instead pounds out tales of faith and family here. Click over to meet Melody and finish reading.

Comments are turned off today!

Image credit.

Be Brave, Amy

Fact #1: The majority of people who know me, don't know I write.

Fact #2: Of the followers on those mini-squares to your right, I actually know (in real-life) seven of the people listed. This, of course, is attributed to Fact #1.

Fact #3: Sometimes dreams prove tough to live.

Fact #4: God gives us dreams, and He is the one who grows our dreams. I write and pray and blog and hypothesize and rethink things until my head spins, but God grows the dreams He plants within me.

Fact #5: My dream involves a message. My dream? Encourage families to see God-sized opportunities to give in the everyday.

Fact #6: Fear of failure stunts growth. As I read words from her and him and her and her, I know I’m not alone in creating and dreaming, and I know my dreams (and yours) deserve a fight.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

What brave dreams are you pushing yourself to live?

*Linking up with Jen and crew today. Click over to check us out!

Elemeno Pea, Cars that Work, and True Blue Friends

Counting blessings with Ann today.

Snow day on Friday and sixty degrees on Saturday {18}.

A friend who loans her car and four others who offer {19}.

Elemeno Pea which reminds us we don’t have to wear failure around our necks {20}.

A hand-drawn book written just for me {21}.

Flakey apple strudel {22}.

Words that touch me right where I am. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 {23}.

True blue friends {24}.

Loads of mother and daughter time in this city {25}.

Can you guess where?

Happy Monday, friends.

It’s the Second Friday of the Month. Do You Know What That Means?

Compassion International encourages sponsors to write their sponsored child the second Friday of each month. Now, I could ramble on and on about the reasons I think sponsoring a child through Compassion is great, but instead, let me tell you a few cool facts you may not know about how this child advocacy ministry makes letter writing easy and sponsor involvement meaningful.

-You can write your child online. Yepper, bye, bye stamp and jaunt to the mailbox.

-Compassion stationary can be downloaded from their site because although Compassion thoughtfully sends sponsors stationary created to make translation easier, mine disappears in the chaos of the bill basket.

-Struggling to come up with things to discuss in your letter? Compassion lists themes and letter writing ideas monthly.

-You can visit your sponsored child through Compassion Tours. We sponsor Audry in the Dominican Republic, and there happens to be a Compassion Tour heading there this Novemember. Can you imagine?

-The Compassion Blog encourages readers to do more than sign a check. It brings a little section of the world to you through real stories and amazing photographs.

If you already sponsor a child, woo-hoo! Any chance you might write them today?

If you don’t sponsor a child, I’m turning the comments off in hopes that maybe (fingers crossed!) you will click over and check out what’s happening over at the Compassion site.

Graffiti and Your Mark

A six-year-old me stood on a new boardwalk in northern Michigan, I looked down. Initials and names etched patterns into the wood. I wondered why someone would ruin fresh boards, boards still smelling of new wood.

Years later, I pranced over a frozen river with a bottle of orange spray paint. My fiery, blonde haired cousin knew what she wanted to spray, an artist even at thirteen. She saw a concrete canvas and created. I looked up and saw the belly of a bridge. I bubble lettered “Amy Loves Kurt”, and as I sprayed, I knew three things: I didn’t like florescent orange. I didn’t love Kurt, and I burned to leave my mark.

During my fourth year of college, I packed two suitcases and headed to the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. My first trip West overwhelmed me. Could those peaks touching the sky really be mountains? When we stopped to photograph the muliti-colored sign that said Colorado, but meant something more, I penned my initials into the base of the sign. I knew if I turned away for a brief moment, my little “AS” would disappear into the words and ramblings of travelers before me, but I still wrote.

What about you? Do you long to leave something behind that remains through the winds and rain? Can you name a person who left a life-changing mark on you?

*Linking up with the girls at Finding Heaven.

My Empire of Dirt

Did you know I am a music junkie?

This addiction started with a tiny, red jambox and a blank tape. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor recording song after song from the radio. I memorized words and dissected meaning. I poured over lyrics. I visualized scenes. I momentarily left my world and entered another.

Play. Rewind. Play. Rewind. Play.

My love for music directly relates to my insatiable desire to hear stories, and one of the ultimate storytellers was Johnny Cash.

Today in church, we talked of a woman named Wisdom calling to us from the street. We talked of change and worldviews and Ephesians.

But all of that seemed fuzzy after the following video played during closing. It’s Johnny Cash’s remake of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails. In the video, Johnny Cash, one of music’s greatest, shows a very real and vulnerable side. Shot six months after the death of his wife, this no glitz, no glamour video was created from old home video footage and stark shots of an older Cash sitting at a banquet table.

Take a peek.

After the song stopped and the sermon ended, the only thing that rang through my head was this verse from his song:

You can have it all, my empire of dirt.

Johnny Cash looking back and declaring his empire useless dirt.

How does this relate to me? Am I unintentionally building my own little empire made of something worthless? Am I running in desparate pursuit of nothingness?

Powerful stuff, friends.

What about you? Does music touch you in real ways and challenge you on new levels? What songs or artists rock your world?

Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia and Haunting Words

Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia.

These three words haunted me for three years, and truthfully, they still dance around my head every once in awhile.

Today I'm remembering miracles over at Mindy's. Click here to join me. I'm also linking with Mama's Heart.

*Comments turned off for today.

Beep, Beep, Beep!

Loving this BluefishTV.com video.

Just this week I encountered this in my own-little-world-kind-of-way.

Quick summary: One lonely kid + one single parent + one annoyed me = Can anyone take the time and invest in this child? Isn't there anyone? I know! He needs a mentor, maybe a Big Brothers/Big Sisters kind of thing. No, I've got it! We can increase the time he works with that agency. Wait, wait, this is good. A peer buddy.

Hmmm or maybe me.

Have you ever hunted for an answer only to realize you were part of the solution?

*Linking today with Michelle at Graceful and Jen at Finding Heaven.