I love the Mother Letter Project. So much good has come from it, at least for my own family, and hopefully for yours. In fact, the idea behind the MLP has morphed and taken form somewhere else.
Won’t you come join us?
Christmas Change from Kujilana on Vimeo.
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I know that I’ve been a bit quiet lately. I have been hoping to give you a voice, and you have used it well. The comments and suggestions for the charity directory are growing. Please stop by and recommend the charity of your choice. We will use it in a collaborative Christmas project that we’re in the midst of pulling together.
Intrigued? Me too.
In the mean time, check out these mom’s (and a fella) doing it right. Over the last couple of weeks, I have read some interesting sites and seen some interesting things. Three of these keep me coming back.
Last week, I stumbled across this post at Study in Brown. This site is becoming a favorite of mine, not just because of her challenge to wrestle with difficult texts, but also because of her willingness to say the difficult things. Somehow, I think this encapsulates a large facet of parenting. Visit Study in Brown today and wrestle with some of her words. I promise, you’ll walk away stronger.
I have also been struggling (quite literally) with this post over at Robin’s place (please note the warning). I still cannot make it through an entire viewing of the video, but it shows us exactly the kind of need that exists in the world around us. And for irony? I watched this video on a device that would fund quite a few treatments, while sipping hot tea, and sitting in an overstuffed living room chair.
Finally, I was emailed this site yesterday. Perhaps there is some wisdom here. Perhaps the constant reel of hopeless images creates a feeling of indifference—a misunderstood echo of Jesus’ comment, “the poor you will always have with you.” So I have been wondering; how do we overcome the enormity of the problem.
Check out these sites, then let’s discuss this question “how can we avoid apathy and hopelessness in light of the enormity of the need?”
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The charity list is growing.
I secretly hoped that when the time came to publish the charity directory, we would have around 100 charities to include. Sometimes expectations accomplish little more than a basis for disappointment. However, as of today there are 56 comments on the Charity Directory Post, some leaving more than one suggested charity for donating your “Christmas change.”
I cannot thank you enough. And while I’m here, and while your reading, I need to take this opportunity to thank the ladies at (in)courage. They sent many of you this direction this weekend, tagging the Mother Letter Project as the “gutsy girl” for the week. I certainly appreciate the piece by the (in)courage team and the many of you who came from their site to nominate your favorite charity. I also appreciate their infinite sense of irony. Take a minute to visit them, read their previous “gutsy girls” posts, and browse their site to see if there is some small way you can step out and (in)courage. Thanks ladies!
Finally, you should know that something is brewing. It’s collaborative. It’s big. And we will want you to be a part of it. Start asking yourself whether you are ready for Christmas Change. Are you ready for a season of change? Are you ready for return?
And while you ponder the riddle and mystery, keep submitting your favorite charities, and asking your friends to hop over and submit theirs. After all,
Christmas is coming. The goose is getting fat.
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As you know, the Mother Letter Project is compiling a different kind of Christmas catalog. Today, we hope to continue to build upon last week’s momentum. As you know, we are compiling a charity directory of sorts, and we need your help.
Visit our previous Christmas Catalog post, and suggest your charity of choice. Make sure to tell us the nature of the organization, the work they do, and leave their web address. Then, email this link to your friends and acquaintances, asking them to suggest their charitable organization of choice.
In three weeks, I will compile the information into a global charity catalog. Perhaps we can use it as guide for where we can donate some of that Christmas change this year.
Let’s get back to work!
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This weekend, as I sat listening to an amazing series on giving, I received a random request from a new friend who resides somewhere in this great world of wide webs. Her request was simple - tell me more about “creating Christmas.”
I responded. I told her the story of how my wife and I have taken the challenge to forgo material gift-giving to each other during the Christmas season, opting to create gifts for each other. I told her that we intended to donate the difference (i.e., what we would have spent) to village in Africa that desperately needs funding. I asked her if she was interested in jumping into the mix. Her response was moving.
I cannot share her response today. I do not have her permission to tell her story of a child’s selfless reflection of Christmas. What I can say, though, is one of you in this great webbernet has agreed to create Christmas and donate the difference to the needy. That touched my heart this weekend. And thinking that it is not too early to start thinking about Christmas, I aim to ask this question this morning.
Are you in?
If you want to join this group - the group of those who will engage in creating Christmas, let us know. You don’t have to know what it looks like yet. You don’t have to know how you are going to do it, or to whom you will donate the difference. All you need, at this point, is a willingness to participate. After all, we are talking about Christmas.
The comments are for responding.
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She thinks differently. And that is reason enough to like her.
My first experience with Ann Kroeker was one filled with grace. She offered words for a mother living life at a break-neck pace. She offered words to my wife, encouraging her to take in the precious years of parenting before *blink* they’re gone. And when I read these words, I knew that she understood parenting in a way that others only aspire to.
On her web-site, she has encouraged readers to join her community of memorizing-foodies, has asked us to make-do, and has compiled a complete list of favorite (and not-so favorite) words. She is thought provoking and always full of wisdom.
As if all of that were not enough, she is now the author of a book—Not So Fast—in which she shares “slow-down solutions for frenzied families.” Take a minute to visit Ann. And if you are inspired to slow your family down, to experience a truly authentic and meaningful family pace, visit Amazon (or her publisher) and get your copy of Not So Fast.
Thanks Ann for inspiring right living. We applaud you!
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In the coming weeks, we will be teaming up with The Runamuck to give a copy of Ann’s book away. Give us time to read it first, that way we can have a good chat about it over a nice cup of tea.
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. In August, you ask? There’s a lot of work to do, I say.
The Mother Letter Project was born from a simple question: what would happen if one couple removed the material slant of Christmas and sought to infuse it with meaning? My wife and I explored what could happen if we created Christmas for each other and donated what we normally would have spent to those in need?
This year, we are encouraging you to ask the same question of yourselves and your families. It is our challenge. Will you forgo at least a portion of normal Christmas consumption and donate the difference to those in need?
But where will I donate the difference, you may be asking? Starting today, the Mother Letter Project will begin compiling a directory of charities where you can donate your Christmas change. Every Wednesday for the next month I will re-run this post and will ask readers to tell us those charities that they support. I will then compile the list into a master directory of sorts. A directory indicating the names of the various charities, those they serve, and how others can get in contact with them.
So, what are you waiting for? In the comments suggest charities that we should support, leaving us the inforamtion we need for the directory. And if you wish to leave a short story about your work with the charity, feel free to do so.
Involve yourself in changing the focus of Christmas this year. Involve yourself in the process of infusing Christmas with meaning, both for your family and for others in need. It will make this Christmas more memorable—and that’s my money back guarantee!
Now, let’s get to work! Who’s first?
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On Saturday I ate the meal. From the first bite, my taste-buds turned tunnel vision to the warmth of buttery wine sauce glazing my pallet. There were risks involved. After all, one does not usually stew a pan-seared hen in tannin-rich Cabernet. And it seems awkward to finish the gravy with al-dente asparagus and baby spinach. The rosemary potatoes were a given, but there were no other root vegetables—no hint of onion or carrot.
When I took my first bite I knew why my cook had done what he had done. The individual parts made no sense to me, but when combined, the whole was near inspirational. More than once I smiled as I took my “last bite, I promise.”
Passion inspires us to take unconventional risks. Writers cash in months of work on a novel without guarantee of publication. Painters begin blank canvases, without knowing whether they will create the great masterpiece or the great mistake. And everyday, mothers pour life into their children without guarantee of seeing any reward.
Perhaps mothering is like the preparation of a good meal. The finest ingredients, sharpest knives, and proper knowledge of deglazing do not guaranty success. Along the way, you can taste bits of the finished produce and see that it is good, but it is impossible to know how good until the product is finished. And when, by time, effort, love, and grace the meal turns out just right, it is so good.
And on those days, the audience, even if small, smiles.
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What risks have you taken in mothering your children? Share them with us in the comments. Help us tweak our recipes. After all, this is a community project.
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Each Friday, the Mother Letter Project will feature mothers who use their time and talents to serve and bring meaning into the lives of others. These are the mothers that encourage us, and we would like to share their lives with you. It’s our version of link sharing, so hop over to their space and leave an encouraging comment.
No doubt you will soon hear of extraordinary mommies, world gardens, holy experiences, and other such people, places, and things (do you like the foreshadowing). This Friday, thought, the Mother Letter Project features my wife, but not just because she was the recipient of the original project, or because she is generally wonderful, or because she is grace and her words are alive.
Leaving a post-graduate degree program to raise three boys, Amber is the picture of sacrifice. And she does well. She opened up a small space in the cyber-world, and there she encourages others. She has reminded us that a celebratory glass of sangria is well-deserved from time to time. She’s reminded us that there’s truly no fear in aging. And, she has asked us to come clean with our secrets so that true healing can begin.
Amber lives her motherhood with meaning and she inspires us all to live our lives in the same way. For that, I say we raise a glass of sangria and shout “Cheers.” Who’s with me? Visit her and share a word of encouragement with her today. She’d love it, and you’d be blessed.
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Thanks for visiting. We will feature a new mother every Friday. If you would like to nominate someone for a feature spot, someone who lives compassion for their children and others, leave us an email at motherletter@gmail.com.
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Welcome back to the Mother Letter Project!
When I walked into the local business last Thursday morning, I had no idea that the owner would share words that would recast the Mother Letter Project. As a proprietor who donates a large percentage of profits to feed orphans around the world, and as one who is trying to solve local hunger issues, he is often asked “what church do you attend,’ or ‘with what political party are you affiliated?” He remarked, “these are the wrong questions.”
And what is the question? Compassion. Specifically, are you focused on living a life of compassion?
Over the coming days, weeks, and months, we want to participate in answering this question with you here at the Mother Letter Project. Many of you showed compassion to an unknown wife and an unknown village by sharing your Mother Letters last Christmas. But on a daily basis, How do you focus on showing your children compassion? How do you focus on showing your spouse compassion? What about your next-door neighbor? Do you share compassion with your on-line community—your blog readers, twitter followers, or chat buddies?
Over the coming days, we’ll begin posting again. We want you to share your ideas with us. We want this to become a community where thoughts are exchanged and treasured. We want this to be a place of encouragement and compassion. Although this site will inevitably evolve as we move forward with this focus, we look forward to moving this project along with you.
Let’s get to work!
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