The MLP--On Ice 'Till Next Week

I am in the middle of organizing a thousand person rally to help with the ice storm carnage of this week. Details are still sketchy, and perhaps it will never get off of the ground. However, that's what I thought about the MLP. So I am cautiously confident that I can round up 1,000 people to volunteer time and talent to help my beautiful home town of Fayetteville, Arkansas. In fact, I think I have already found one or two.

Are you are your church/civic club (preferably those within some proximity) looking for a service project? Well, do I have an idea for you. You could help me, and the rest of Fayetteville, clean up stuff like this:

Although a close friend of mine and I are just now starting the organizational efforts, we'd love to know whether you want to jump in. And if you do, we'll hang out some, and have a brief party at my place where we will revel in God's grace that covers a multitude of icicles.

The MLP post will come next Monday, don't worry. Get ready. We're about to make another big push!

THE MOTHER'S DAY EDITION--CHARITY POST

READ ABOUT THE GENESIS OF THE MOTHER LETTER PROJECT.

UPDATE—The Charity

As you now know, we have extended the Mother Letter Project and are trying to raise a bit of money for Compassion International's Malaria Intervention Fund (read here for more on Malaria).

Why Malaria? As if it were not enough that Malaria kills 3,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa alone, that little village in Mozambique wages war with the parasite every rainy season. And they are not winning the battle. So, it is our hope that by supporting a charitable organization that is fighting malaria, we may in some small way “bite back” at the disease that is crippling the Yao people in Mozambique.

So what is the charity, you ask? We intend to raise money for Compassion International’s Malaria Intervention Fund. According to their website, the fund provides mosquito nets for thousands of women and children with malaria. In addition, they provide life saving medication to those trying to fight the disease.

Here is how it works. We have extended the project to include a Mother’s Day Edition. For those of you who have not yet submitted a Mother Letter, you may do so before Mother’s Day. If you meet the deadline, you will get a complimentary copy of the letters to give to your mom, or your daughter, or your best friend for Mother’s Day.

If you have already submitted your letter and would like a copy of the new round, or if you would like to purchase a copy for a friend or loved one for mother's day, you can pledge $0.10 per letter to Compassion's Malaria Intervention Fund and, upon doing so, I will send you a copy once it is compiled.

Will you get behind the effort? Will you help beat the bushes for more letters? Will you pledge to donate at least $0.10 per letter to fight malaria.

We have this one lifetime to make a difference. Let’s do it.

THE MLP-MOTHER'S DAY EDITION?

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE GENESIS OF THE MOTHER LETTER PROJECT. Instead of purchasing Christmas this year, our family created it and donated the "difference" to a small African village. I collected a series of open letters-the Mother Letters-for my wife's Christmas present. You may still submit a letter via email HERE, or COMMENT HERE. Please refer to the FAQs in the side bar for more details.

THE MOTHER'S DAY EDITION

Did you think we were finished with the Mother Letter Project? Well, so did I.

Since the completion of the Project, many have written me requesting copies of the letters. The requests seem to be centered around generating a copy to give to their dearest mums for Mother's Day.  It is a difficult thing to say "I'm sorry." It is difficult to tell another mother, who might need her own set electronic encouragement, "no."  And the truth is, I don't want to say no. 

So, this week, Penny put me over the edge.  Penny was the request that begged the question, "should we do Round II?" A question that needs your help answering.

Amber and I have decided to give you another run at it.  Were you a late comer to the party?  Did you forget to bring your present and wrap it with a bow? Well, the party just moved into the wee hours of the morning, and Wal-Mart's still open. 

We are taking submissions again. If you submit your Mother Letter before Mother's Day, we'll compile the MLP Mother's Day Edition and distribute it. Will you get the original set of letters? Here is where I say, "I'm sorry, no." But you will get the Mother's Day Edition, which is sure to be chock-full of good submissions (I know someone named Jana who needs to write one).

I know that many of you who already submitted are asking, "will I receive a copy of the Mother's Day Edition?" Yes, and no. We are currently trying to locate a relief organization in Africa that deals with women's/mother's issues (suggestions in the comments). If you pledge to give $0.10 (10 cents!) per letter generated from the Mother's Day Edition to that charity, you'll get a copy of the Mother's Day Edition.

As always, you may email the project HERE, or COMMENT HERE.

Help me get the word out today? Twitter it? Email it? Let's get rollin'.

The Mother Letter Project--A Forum

First things first... I will post about her reaction in the coming days, but she says THANK YOU!

Also, know that you may still submit a letter via comments or email (motherletter@gmail.com). Although the deadline has passed for receiving a copy of the original MLP, I would still love to present your letter to Amber.

A FORUM
Now that many of you have received your copies of the letters, I am opening up this post as a forum for your comments--not to me, but to the other mothers. Did another letter touch your heart? Did another mother speak a timely word for you?

The pages are numbered. Give a reference and discuss!

Enjoy, and...

Merry Christmas, 2009?

A PLUG FOR WEARETHATFAMILY

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE GENESIS OF THE MOTHER LETTER PROJECT. Instead of purchasing Christmas this year, our family created it and donated the "difference" to a small African village. I collected a series of open letters-the Mother Letters-for my wife's Christmas present. You may still submit a letter via email HERE, or COMMENT HERE. Please refer to the FAQs in the side bar for more details.

A SITE WORTH READING

Today, I am directing you to a post from a story-sharer. Perhaps my initial draw to this post was the fact that it hits so close to home-the similarities THATfamily and OURfamily are uncanny. Perhaps it was because she was unafraid to be transparent. Perhaps I was drawn to it because I suspect many mothers and fathers are harboring dishonor and lies. In the end, isn't freedom better than the alternative?

I love the stories people share. Even those that require some reading between the lines.

Please visit weareTHATfamily. Drop her a line.

a gleaning

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE GENESIS OF THE MOTHER LETTER PROJECT. By now you know the story. Instead of purchasing Christmas this year, our family created it and donated the "difference" to a small African village. To that end, I collected a series of open letters-the Mother Letters-for my wife's Christmas present. You may still submit a letter via email HERE, or COMMENT HERE. Please refer to the FAQs in the side bar for answers to more of your questions. They explain the project in greater detail.

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Another thank you is in such order here, friends. This is Amber, the Mama who is married to the Daddy of The Mother Letters. We do call him "Daddy" around here, even though his email and twitter name is "Mother." 

I've been gleaning and gleaning in these letters. Have you? I can't stop thinking about the blessing they'll be even years from now as we enter new stages and take on different perspectives. 

It's been slow-going. I haven't read very many of them because I can only be touched so deeply in one day. I'm telling you, I think my heart might turn inside-out sometimes. 

How would you feel if I shared a bit of what is really getting me about these letters as I read them - if I share with you what I'm gleaning? I want to talk about them as I read, and since you wrote them, I was wondering if we could talk.

Here are only a few segments I've loved from the first two sections (I have read more than that, by the way). I've had to go back again and again for them:

"When I smell your chocolate chip cookies, I smile and take a deep breath in and smell the goodness of being home" - Anita S, p. 3

"Strip yourself of what you want them to be and look deeply into what God has made them, who they dream of being. [...] Enjoy every opportunity where little hands seek yours and find contentment there. Revel in the snuggles after dark that provide the chance to hear the softly spoken thoughts from the bottoms of their souls. Breathe them in deeply. [...] The handprints of our children will be captured on our hearts forever and will shape our hearts into a work of art that only a child can create." - Kari Clark, p. 8 

"When I was a little girl, my mother would tuck me into bed and in a low hum, sing sweet melodies to ease me to sleep. [...] I wanted to curl up inside her vibrations; her warm tones covered me like a blanket. Her voice was pure love and I was safe and secure. Once I was sleepy, she would quietly exit my room and go next door to my sister's room. I would roll toward the side of the bed, press my ear against the wall, and listen [...]" - Leah, p. 32

"Slow down." - Ann Kroeker, p. 36

"I've been afraid, and fear creates perfectionism, and perfectionism kills grace, and gracelessness kills everything. Death is not a place where the love that grew a child belongs." - Angela, p. 46

"So a mother kneels. So a mother gets up and works and prays, prays and works. Because the prayers we weave into the matching of socks, the stirring of oatmeal, the reading of stories, they survive fire." - Ann Voskamp, p. 41

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Whoa! Isn't it so much to think about? Has anything in The Mother Letters really grabbed you, encouraged you, or humbled you? Please share.

Thank you for confirming Motherhood as a real, tender, uneasy grace. It makes me want to reverse time a little, catch the sand with my hands and shove it back into the glass. 

Relishing more,

Amber@theRunaMuck

A Brief Intermission

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE GENESIS OF THE MOTHER LETTER PROJECT. By now you know the story. Instead of purchasing Christmas this year, our family created it and donated the "difference" to a small African village. To that end, I collected a series of open letters-the Mother Letters-for my wife's Christmas present. You may still submit a letter via email HERE, or COMMENT HERE. Please refer to the FAQs in the side bar for answers to more of your questions. They explain the project in greater detail.

Mothers, I am taking a brief intermission from this project. As you can imagine, this project was quite a difficult endeavor. So, I am breathing a bit now days. Will I be back soon to discuss ideas for '09? You bet. Follow me on Twitter under the screen name motherletter. Or click in the side bar to follow me. I'll let you know when I'm running posts again.

And keep submitting your letters via comment or email. Amber and I will still read them.


See you soon.