You know those moments in life when you think, "I am witnessing something amazing." For four months now, Pete and I have been living a prolonged moment like that. Back in September Sarah read Take Your Best Shot, the story of a boy who at age 9 believed he should do something to try to help AIDS orphans. Being a basketball player, he decided to use the sport he loved to help children half way around the world. In the past ten years his idea of a basketball free throw marathon, run by kids to help kids, has raised over 3 million dollars!
After reading the book, Sarah learned that one of these events had never been held in Raleigh. She came to Pete and I one night and told us she thought she should be the one to do it.
We told her to pray.
She came back to us with confirmation from scripture. (ok...)
From there, something incredible started to unfold.
Sarah received permission from the national organization to start Hoops of Hope Raleigh.
Her school gave her their gym to use.
Six adults who love her agreed to serve as her prayer team.
Four amazing friends came alongside her (along with their moms).
In the last four months we have watched Sarah learn to communicate her idea clearly as she has spoken to companies, basketball teams, schoolmates, and Sunday school classes. She has learned to take rejection with both dignity and a grain of salt. She has learned to believe in herself. (a hard feat for any 11 year old - or 40 year old.) She believes that she can make a difference in a little town called Hamaundu in Zambia where the money from this event will go toward the building of a medical clinic that will test for, treat, and education people about AIDS.
Last night we received an email from a reporter asking to do an interview via email. She asked me to ask Sarah why she was doing this. While I cooked dinner I told Sarah to write down her answers. She left them on my desk to send back to the reporter after she went to bed. (we do not allow her to email strangers).
Without any help or prompting, this is what she wrote,
" I am doing Hoops of Hope Raleigh to impact the lives of children who are being orphaned by AIDS. In the process, I hope to inspire the kids in Raleigh to make a difference in their own way. I hope that the kids in Raleigh are inspired by the fact that kids have just as much ability to impact the world around them as adults. No matter your age you can use your passion to make a difference."
Jesus taught that we would only be saved if we had the faith of a child. Watching Sarah and her friends, who each have grown so much through this, I know that the world's struggles can only be fixed if we address them with the faith of a child.
So this faithful girl of mine has set a high goal. A huge goal. She wants to raise $25,000 through her event. She wants 100 people to come take part. Please take a minute and hop over to her website. If you live in Raleigh - come join us Feb 21st for the event. If you don't, would you consider making a donation? www.hoopsofhoperaleigh.com. You can register or donate on the site. All donations are tax deductible.
Hoops of Hope Raleigh
High hopes of a creepy author stalker
I've only ever been a creepy author-stalker twice in my life. Once in 2006 when I read the book Living Simply by Joanne Heim and today when I just emailed Bob Goff author of Love Does. In the first case, my stalking really paid off because I ended up with an amazing new friend and mentor in Joanne - because as God would arrange, she lived about 7 minutes from me and she actually took me up on an offer to meet for coffee!
In both cases the books radically changed my view of my life. Joanne's book gave me a new vision of motherhood and Christ-following and our friendship/mentorship has been one of the most influencing relationships of my life. Bob Goff's book Love Does has given me a new vision of walking out my faith and has had such sweeping impact on our life this year, that I just had to turn stalker today and email him.
If you haven't read Love Does, you should, better yet, get the audio book and listen to it with your family. Our family listened to this book a little over a year ago and as I look back on the year since then I see how different out life is today. The book is a collection of stories from Bob's life. They are funny and astonishing and challenging. The thread that weaves them together is that Bob says yes. Yes to whatever God brings his way. He gets his hands dirty in life and amazing things happen. I walked away from the book realizing that God can't use me if I say no to everything. No, I am busy. No, that is hard. No, that will cost me something. No, my plate is full. Well friends, you know what? If cost Christ a lot to come save us. It was dirty and it hurt (more than we can imagine). But Jesus loves us, so he said yes - to us!
So for a year we've said yes to the inconvenient, the hard, the time consuming and the seemingly small.
Pete said yes to Bob's idea of taking your 10 year old on an adventure of their choosing - even when Sarah picked horseback riding every day for a week. - It changed their relationship forever.
I said yes to God's nudging me to host a 5th grade mother/daughter bible study. On average 12-15 moms and daughters came every week! My couch got a huge hole in in. God's Word was exalted!
The school called and asked us to host a Chinese student for a year - we said yes. Then they told us it was actually for four years. We said yes anyway! Daisy has been with us for six months now. She has heard the Gospel preached! She reads the bible in Chinese and English.
Sarah (age 11) read a book about a boy who started a fundraiser to help children orphaned by AIDS. God nudged her to do the same - and she said YES! Check out her event at www.hoopsofhoperaleigh.com. Yesterday we got an email from the local Today show asking to do a segment on her. Hello! Go God!
There are also small moments, too many to count, when we have decided to be "Love Doing" when we could have just sat on the couch and been comfortable. Last week I brought muffins to a new mom. It was four days after her baby had been born and I was her FIRST visitor from the church! Hello friends, we need a lot more "Love Doing." (It's in the bible - "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS. James 1:22)
So today I was a stalker and emailed this man Bob, and said thank you for encouraging us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. I'll let you know if he writes me back. I think I'll invite him to coffee!
When to call it enough
My mom and I talked today and compared notes on our Christmas shopping lists, and the progress we have made. My dad piped in that my mom's list just keeps growing the more she shops. It often seems that way doesn't it. At this time of year I feel like all my lists just keep growing as I work on them. There is always one more person I could bring a gift to, one more party or event invite that we can try to squeeze in, one more cookie/candy/cake that I feel I should make this time of year.
My second suggestion for making Christmas extraordinary this year is to know when to call it enough - all of it! This weekend is the perfect time to sit down with a cup of coffee or cocoa and make a list of what you think still needs to be done for Christmas, and all events and outings. Then ask these three questions.
It is such a shame to hand this season over to empty busyness. As the moms and dads in the house we get to decide if this Christmas will be extraordinary, or if it will just be busy. Be brutal with your list. Say no to those invites that you are dreading. Give up the traditions that are feeling empty. Recognize when you have enough gifts purchased.
The culling of your list serves as important purpose - giving yourself your resources of time and money back. Then go spend that time with your kids ...
Play a board game, Watch a movie, Go sledding, Bake cookies, Make a bird feeder, Read a book together.
And consider spending that money you saved where it is actually needed..
Buy food for the food bank, buy a coat for the homeless man you pass every day on the way to work, buy a goat or chicken or water buffalo through Compassion and change a life.
It's easy to get sucked into the ever growing lists of Christmas time, but it is worth it to take the time to sit down and ask, "Is it enough already?"
