I was suppose to be writing about the fact that Marc and I will definitely headed to the small inner city church instead of our home church ( yes, the voting is over..its finished and done. And I'm ok with that...go figure!), but at this point that is not as important to me as what I saw last night on ABC News (and no its not about Obama or Biden). I am only on the second chapter of "Wild Goose Chase", but I am enjoying the book. One of the questions Pastor Mark Batterson asked was "when was the last time you asked God to make you dangerous"? I can honestly say that has never been a part of my vocabulary! As a matter of fact when someone mentions danger I am more apt to head in the opposite direction. But lately my disorderly, ordered life has been turned topsy turvy. So I am guessing God (and maybe even my "bored" guardian angels) may be trying to tell me something. Recently I started reading "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren. I will be the first to admit that the deeper I got into her story the more afraid I was that God was trying to tell me something. I ignored the signs until last night.
Last night I found myself watching the special on NBC ("Babyland") about unwed mothers in Memphis Tennessee who were having underdeveloped babies at an alarming rate. Did you know that nearly 65% of African American children in the US grow up without their fathers? I was one of those statistics (thankfully I had a very special grandfather and uncle who stepped in to full those roles). Most young babies are not that blessed.
Secondly I learned that there are pockets of areas in the US where babies are dying at the same rate as some 3rd world countries. This was about the time that I became " disturbed". If you have read Kay's book then you will know where I am going with this.
The thing that took me over the top was when it was revealed that the city buries a group of babies each week at a cemetery that has since been tagged "Babyland" because there are so many babies (underdeveloped) being buried there!
The last straw for me was when I heard that one non profit group asked for donations of maternity wear and only one person responded! I honestly felt sick to my stomach thinking about this (how much effort does it cost to give up a few clothes?). But in the back of my head I kept saying this is something that is bigger then me, so even if I wanted to get involved I wouldn't know where to begin or even what to do. For some reason this idea kept forming in my head and today I still can't let it go (hence the reason I am up past 12:20 in the morning blogging about it).
So here is the deal. I have this extra book, and I have been tasked with sharing it with someone else. So over the next few days I am asking people to give me some advice, even more then that I am asking you to spread the word, if you know someone who can help me gather some maternity clothes (gentle used...come on ladies, I know you have some stuff in the back of that closet you have bagged up for goodwill). If you know of a non profit organization that might benefit from this please let me know ( there is actually one locally that I plan to contact). I don't know what is going to come of this, but I know I can't stay in my cage, maybe its time to Chase the Wild Goose (or in my case the stork). Oh, and about that free book....next Wednesday I will draw a random name and that person will receive the second copy of "Wild Goose Chase" . Hey, what do you have to lose? Who knows maybe God is calling you to live dangerous!
By the way, I have hesitated several times before posting this. I'm not even sure I will hear from anybody, but as much as I would like to ignore this I can't. If you watch the video and it doesn't disturb you in some way, well there is not much I can say about that. I just know I have to do something, even if it only benefits one girl. Anyone brave enough to live dangerous with me?
3 comments:
For a few years I stared and led a ministry for teenage moms. My maternity clothes have long been donated to them, but I think what you are doing is great. I have a huge heart for these girls and their babies. I'll resist jumping on my soapbox. One group of women we got lots of donations from were mommy groups. We left cards for donation of maternity and baby clothes with mommy play groups, mommy bible studies, and MOPS groups, etc. We had a great response from them. I'll pray that you are able to find groups like this to talk to.
I love this idea. Other than the ones Lori gave you, my suggestion would be to hit the local Starbucks bulletin boards. I think the moms with disposable income go there to have a cup of coffee with others.
Cyndi, my heart sank deeper and deeper while i watched that show. in fact, i could not watch all of it, it was very emotional.
i second Joann's Starbucks idea. also, what about hitting up the local Goodwill or Salvation Army to see what they've got in the maternity section? when i was pregnant all of my friends were shopping there for maternity stuff - you could buy a LOAD of things and donate them to someone.
we are about to get involved with a local initiative through Youth For Christ where parents can get involved in mentoring young moms and dads.
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