Pennies From Heaven

Anyone who knows me knows I am the person that stops to pick up a penny. I always have. They DO mean something to me, shiny or dirty, worn or new. A penny is a penny none the less.  I find them often on my runs or walks. I have a jar that is just for the money I find while on these excursions. I love when others tell me they too have found pennies while out and about. Lately, that penny has come to serve more to me than to simply mean a penny saved is a penny earned. It has come to mean HOPE.

Today the sermon was that of pennies. The visiting priest was talking about his daily walks and the time to just be. To be able to be in prayer, silence and absorb what is around you. One of the very reasons I prefer to run by myself. That is time to just be. While on his walks he finds money, most of it being pennies. He picks them up as well. He shared that others have told him that it isn't worth their time to pick them up, that they are worth less than a cent. That it is too much effort to bother with something that really has very little value. Yet to this priest it does have value. He equated that to valuing even those who are poor.

We often don't want to see those who are poor, and not just poor by financial means, but those who are also poor in spirit. It is easier to walk past, to feel as if it isn't worth our time. Sad to see that we have become a throw away society, that even a coin let alone people don't have worth. Let's pick up those pennies, let's take the time to see that person, that it is up to us to invite them in, to feed them, to nourish them, to share what we have to help them gain a sense of worth again.  

I have accepted the call for a second mission trip to Haiti. "But why do you need to go again, didn't you already cross that off your bucket list?" One, it wasn't just a bucket list item. I really felt called to do this. Two, I said before, I cannot unsee what I have seen. That place still exists, those people, they are still there, there is very much a need. Haiti may be one worn and tarnished penny, yet it still has worth or it would not be there. Remember, I too am a bit selfhis, it isn't all about what I can do for Haiti, but also what it teaches me.

Some see a "$h*+  hole" (a term used by someone else), a place of "those people" a place where the need may be way too great. I see a land that was entrusted to people, people who have unfortunately miss used what was given to them. Not unlike many of us here. The people of Haiti did not ask to be born into such conditions any more than you or I could choose the land to which we were born onto. I see a people who have a sense of gratitude, an aptitude for making something out of what appears to be nothing. I see a nation of hope, people who want to do better AND give back at the same time. I see a will, and believe we need to find a way.

Haiti is that tarnished penny. That penny that I often bend over to pick up that many may over look or find it isn't worth their time. I do not find it a coincidence that the priest today equated a penny with the poor. This message is just further affirmations that what my heart has been lit with, needs to shine and continue to light within others. I found a penny right there in Cite Soleil on my first day of service in Haiti. Cite Soleil of ALL places, the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. What does that say? I found a worn, old penny, right on our first water stop of the day. I was to be there, I could know that I was to see the hope in the people and to continue to give them hope. I was to let you all know that we need to pay attention and keep our eyes and hearts open. It really is up to us.

Just about right here is where I found that penny!

So when you find a penny, please, don't pass it by. If it at least makes you think of me and my silly jar full of the ones I collect on my runs and walks, then so be it. It gives me hope that you could smile and know that there was a little bit of good in your day. Maybe take that penny and give it intent, the intent to do something a little bit more, give that penny some worth, make it shine! In this world, I do believe we all have the ability to shine.

I challenge you to find a penny today. Leave me a note to say that you did, let's see how many pennies we can find over the next week that allows us to once again see hope in this world!

Live your life with purpose, live the life of abundance.
Stacey

These kids.

My heart is back in Haiti this morning. I don't want to forget a single thing about that trip. Going through the photos I have (and really haven't shared) is keeping those memories alive. I am also excited that I will be able to share my experience with a local group in Janesville today! To be able to share this passion and talk freely and openly about how my heart has been changed, how I am learning to understand what it means to mission to others and to see humans as people has me pretty pumped!

I'm still in awe over how this trip came to be for me and the continued nudge to keep this train a rollin'! Doing so has meant I have had to do a lot of things that most people wouldn't do or even agree with. I get asked, "Why go to another country when there are people here that need help." Yes, there are, and you can help those who are here. I also see that there is more to this world than what is in our own country. I also understand, now, the need to get out of your comfort zone to be able to really absorb what is needed. I can also bring what I know from here, to there and from there, back to here. (did you follow that?)  Right here it is too easy to stay "plugged in" too easy to find that convenience and still too easy to be blinded by what we have come to know as the norm.

Seeing what Haiti has by having so little. Learning that we didn't need to know words but could communicate through motions and emotions.  Being able to trust that I was in the right place at the right time.  I'll admit, when I was in the hospital, I wanted to BOLT right back out in the daylight and cry. I wanted to ask God why he has created a nation of such poverty and allowed such illness to take over His people. But at the moment I was told to keep it together, that I needed to be the light at that moment. I had to show others that we did have a reason for being there, our presence was that of His presence and if He could send His only Son for us, He could send us for those who are here in this day and time. I met the need of that moment. I held those babies to relieve those mothers of the weight of worry. I could smile, I could make eye contact, I could show them love. I gave them human touch, a connection and treated them with dignity. I learned that we ALL want those same things, no matter our place in life. 

Being in another country to be able to truly focus on those in front of you was such a learning mission for me. I have stated previously that I quickly realized that it was I who was being missioned to.  I was the one receiving more than I could possibly give!  I had a desire that was again alive and I what was I to do with this desire?

The one night I stated I wanted to encourage. I keep hearing that message all around me these days. Was it there before?  Perhaps, but now I am more tuned in to it. I am trying to not only encourage my self to be brave with my faith, to be able to keep doing that decent thing, but to also speak out and encourage others. Today I get to do just that. I am not sure what my presentation will present. I pray that it opens the eyes of the need for us to continue to really lead a Christian life.

I was more than "nudged" by someone who knows more than me to embark on this journey. Upon returning home, I am continued to be nudged, and lately not so gently. Just when I am in doubt, I am reminded of exactly what it is I need to continue this journey.  The books I crave to read seem to fall into my lap and feed the hunger for wanting more affirmations and knowledge to lead a life with purpose.  The people who come into my life seem to be there at the right moments. The opportunities to practice what I am learning and to continue to grow as a person are within my reach again. That word encourage isn't just meant for me to do for others, but to do for myself as well.

I leave you with this, take a little time for yourself today. Really listen to what it is YOU need. Ask what it is that you can do for not only yourself, but another person. Extend a little grace to those who need it.  Be open to what it is you need to learn today.

Live your life with purpose, live a life of abundance,
Stacey

Humble is Not Just a Feeling

As I sat in church this past weekend I was yet pleased to hear the sermon that I did. For some reason it is just what I needed to hear. It was about being humble. I have struggled with what that exact meaning has meant for some time.

Dictionary.com:  Humble:  adjective;
not proud or arrogant; modest.
having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: 
low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly:

But what does that mean, I mean really, what exactly should that mean to us? 
 
In Father Leif's words: "To be humble does not mean to think lowly or less of ones self, but to not be thinking of ones self." YES!

We live in a society that promotes more. MORE, more and even still MORE! We need to make more money, we need to buy more things, we need more friends, more things to do,  more attention, we need to better ourselves, MORE.  All for what? That instant gratification and ability to say we've done something more than someone else? I struggle with that. Are we not ALL deserving of having the basic things? Are we not all deserving of having happiness and love? Yet we are being taught that we need to DO more to HAVE more. More of what? It's also a culture of, "Hey, look at me!" and those five minutes of fame or the notoriety. That culture of chaos.

I have observed a culture on a daily basis that is constantly searching for this more.  People work more hours, more days. They are buying more, trying to show that they have been able to do more with what they have accomplished. I see people list off their accomplishments like a laundry list that they want to be recognized for. Where is that getting us as a whole? In the end I feel it has left us all empty and still wanting MORE.

More what? I want more moments. I want more time, time with my kids and family. I want more love, more feeling of doing the decent thing, to recognize that people ARE what is important in this world. I want to do more, bring my family along to do more as well. Do more of what feels right instead of just good. Yes, these things we are starting to do are above that proverbial "good deed list" that some like to keep track of. I want to make my kids think, "ugh, I'd rather be doing something else than THIS for that person."  I want them to feel out of their comfort zone. I want them to grow, I want their hearts to be the more in this crazy life. I want them to have that feeling of doing for someone else.

I do want to do more. Truly I do. But I have found the more I do for me the less I feel better about life in general. Now, I am not saying every person does not deserve time or things for themselves, no, that's not it. We all need to take that time to recharge and to just be. We need to ask the why to what we are doing, the who are we really doing things for. Is it for ourselves or is it so we can be a better person for those around us? What I am saying is when you do more for others you actually do have more for yourself.  The more love I give, then more I receive in return. I have found that investing in people has been the greatest return on that initial investment. Some times it isn't about that "to do" list. It isn't about what YOU need to get done for yourself, but it IS about what you need to do in order to be there for someone else.

I am not looking for the pat on the back, I don't want an award or recognition.  I am trying to simply encourage each of you to do more and be more, WITH me! Start by taking an active interest in those around you, or perhaps it's a more honest look at yourself. Ask your own why. When you do ask someone how they are, really listen. Wait for the answer. I need to remind myself that it isn't about listening to respond, but to actually LISTEN to what the person is saying. Acknowledge those around you. Extend a hand when you can, even go out of your way to do a little extra, not because you are being watched or for the recognition, but because once again, it is the decent thing to do.

Live your life with purpose, live the life of abundance.
With Love,
Stacey