NOTE: This should go on the My House Athens general blog. But I have not created it.... Yet. :).

Let's call this a Guest Post, shall we?

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY FRIENDS!

I never liked doing it, calling fifty people to ask them if they wanted to buy my overpriced wrapping paper and chocolate bars for my school each and every year. But I'd hunker down and do it. I realized when I got to college and started the course work for my major in marketing that a part of the problem for the kids in school is that they've got no earthy idea WHY they are selling wrapping paper. "For my school" was about all I could ever get out of anyone for a reason and besides that, nobody ever asked my opinion about what I would like to sell. So, year after year I made calls to sell what was explained to me by potential buyers to be extremely high priced gift wrap and I was sent out not so passionately armed with doing so "for my school". I think it must have been around the fourth grade that I decided that any kind of future where fundraising was involved was just not for me.

BaHAHAHA.

Well that's that now isn't it. Here I am, for the moment, the director of My House Athens, Inc. and for the first three or so years we fed homeless women and children and did art and language outreach in the community each week, held showers and parties for families who had fallen on hard times, and worked with at-risk youth across the area without asking for much except help with dinners now and then and a few shower gifts. I was comfy with that.

But God decided to amp up the passion, stretch our reach and tear me right out of comfy, "I got this non profit thing handled" land. I am equal parts excited about the incredible growth and opportunities God has given and uncomfortable about how it's all going to happen now that it is so GOD kinda BIG. I always spout that saying, "well, if you could do it without God then why would you do it at all?" And now God has super sized it on me. I shall be more careful with my little quips.

You may be wondering if this is a blog post or a solicitation. The answer is yes. I must solicit 50 today :). Hehehe. I wanted to open the curtain on funding life. We all have to do it- to eat, and raise our families, go to college, and help others. It's such a funny topic and I'm kind of tickled at myself at how weird I am about giving ( yeh sure, here!!!) but asking for help (awkward!). But I've solved some if those school/gift wrap issues. First of all, the people at My House Athens are all PASSIONATE about the mission or cause that they stand behind. There will be no wondering why they are asking you to drop by My House Athens for a cup of coffee and to check out the new leather bracelets from Africa, pottery from Brazil, or beadwork from Cambodia- they will give you an earful! Go ahead, ask me a question about orphans in Ukraine! Did you know you can have a private dance lesson with a member of our Breakin'Stringz Stringz teaching crew and the money will help us get to Ukraine? Yes, indeed! If there is ever gift wrap, it will be handmade in a remote village somewhere lost in the world and it will be amazing.

I read this wonderful article and found so many things to ponder about my own heart. I hope you enjoy it.

Your Heart Follows Your Money from The Barnabas Group.

As we round out 2013 and head into 2014, I would like to ask that you drop by either here online www.myhouseathens.com or send me an email so we can meet at the prayer + mission base* at 1055 Prince Avene. Athens, Georgia to see more about where your heart might connect. I am learning that my heart indeed does follow money and though I've never had a hard time giving it, I do wrestle with pride to ask for it. Please pray for my heart in this area as I am stretched WaaY beyond me and FAR into "ONLY GOD" territory as the acting director of this beautiful organization. Thank you so very much.

laura@myhouseathens.com

*My House Athens is a registered 501(c)(3) non profit. Your donations are tax deductible.

All my love and gratitude.

~L

It was about this time last year when four, beautiful orphans from Ukraine blew up on our little farm to celebrate Christmas.  Those kids stretched my heart in ways that I have yet to understand.  Christmas just isn't the same around here without our "Christmas Kids". Since leaving us, they have inspired the launch of things that I believe were in the heart of God.  James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." 

I had no idea at the time when my heart was twisting as they walked away to board their plane last January that I would spend the next year aching for them and countless nights waking at odd hours with the urgency to pray for them,  unending time with God asking what is His will for our family and these children and carrying a burden for them that most people cannot understand.  I am becoming a better human being because God loves these children and because He loves my family and He, in His BIG GOD wisdom,  decided we should collide.  

But this has been a very hard journey for our family, a working out on many levels- spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, financial, and thus we have sought God and found peace and joy in the pain, discomfort, uncertainty and suffering. During this past year, I have often been reminded of a book my Mom sent to me when I was in college (I was a bit of a prodigal- imagine that! hehehe).  The book is called "I Promise I Will Find You", by Heather Patricia Ward, which describes all the great and daring lengths a loving parent will go to to find a missing child.  As I have literally ached for these precious kiddos and carried each of them to the feet of Jesus, I have thought that I might just swim the ocean soon to see them one more time.  But God had another plan.

This February our family (the entire Smith crew), four break dancers (Mittchel Seabolt, Daniel "Pepper" Bush, Michael Ball, Jalen Esquivias), one missions pastor (Terry Ross) one singer/songwriter (Erica Schmidt) and one special education, ASL, ESL teacher (Melanie Anderson) will travel over to Ukraine to pay the Christmas kids a little visit.  I cried as I typed all of those names.  GOD IS EXTRAVAGANT!  To gather all of those extraordinary people together to go with us to visit our Christmas Kids, all of their friends and the children at two other orphanages in Ukraine this February is proof positive that our God reigns and that He is all about working out the details of James 1:27. 

Those of you that followed us here or came to the house know that we made bunkbeds out of recycled pallets for the boys.  These got a good bit of attention here on the blog.  That has turned into a small project that we hope will fund LOTS of outreach to at-risk orphans and youth.  (SEE BELOW)  Also, those of you who met the Christmas Kids know that they are break dancers and we danced A LOT while they were here (it kept us all sane!).  This has led to the launch of Breakin' Stringz, a local and international break dance outreach to at-risk youth.  The Breakin' Stringz program is a good portion of what we will be doing while we are in Ukraine this February along with handing out Valentine packages to the kids in the orphanages and working with their English teachers in order to help them build better ESL programs in their schools. 

And that's where YOU come in!  We are at the place where we could really use the encouragement and support of our people.  It is true that we are not meant to do this life thing alone- people are made for community and to rally together.  We really need you!  We need you to send your spare change or your end of the year cash, we need your prayers and your encouraging words on the blog and our Facebook pages, when you see us out and about.  WE NEED THIS!  The Bible says all kinds of stuff about it, statistics back it up, that's what we are going to go pour out in Ukraine and here in Athens when we get back home and that's what we need from our people- and YOU are our people!  WE NEED YOU- YOU ARE AS MUCH OF THIS MISSION AS WE ARE AND WE CAN'T GO UNLESS WE ARE SENT BY OUR PEOPLE!!!!  So~

PARTNER WITH US!

• SUPPORT OUR ONLINE AUCTION (Off the chain, cool swag- check it out!)
• TEXT DANCE TO 28594 (tax deductible donation)
• SUPPORT OUR RAZOO FUND (tax deductible donation)
• HELP LAUNCH THE DIY PALLET FURNITURE BIZ for B-BOYS EVERYWHERE (Umm- just check it out below, Indiegogo)
• PRIVATE PRE SALE SHOPPING SPREE AT CAUSE  Mission Crafts WITH 15% OFF (call 404-643-3404 for appointment)
• TAX DEDUCTIBLE END OF YEAR DONATION TO: MY HOUSE ATHENS, 1055 PRINCE AVENUE, SUITE 1, ATHENS, GEORGIA 30677. 
  
  Call Laura at 404-643-3404 for questions or email laura@myhouseathens.com.
  
  THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE & SUPPORT!  PEACE & LOVE
  MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!