challenge.

I read a wonderful story of a church halfway across the world meeting needs of people in their community…. And then I read the following challenge to think of ways of how we can impact those around us, right here, where each of us lives. I began to dream and recall past dreams of things I wanted to do, people I wanted to impact, ways of service that excite me… here are some of the results of the brainstorm.

1. Community Gardening – I love gardening and while I have much to learn about this, and have even little opportunity at this stage of my life to garden, I want to grow food and herbs and share them with others. This could mean inviting others over for dinner made with produce from my garden, teaching others how to garden by inviting them into my backyard with me, giving away the fruit of my labors to friends, neighbors, and the needy, or finding a communal space to garden with others and develop relationships through the love and toil of gardening.

2. Purposeful Hospitality – I enjoy opening my doors to others. This began in college when I maintained for the most part an open door policy. My close friends knew they could stop in my room, even if I wasn’t there, to use my computer, printer, space for peace and quiet, read books, borrow books, or find a listening ear. Nothing could brighten my day like the discovery upon returning from a class that a friend was sitting on my bed, enjoying my space. There was joy in having “my” space be a shared “our” space. In a similar manner, I love it when people pass through Kentucky and stop in to see me. Not only stop in, but stay over for dinner or the night. I love love love hosting people (and sharing with them the wonderful city I live in)! Or inviting a friend over for a homemade dinner and coffee and conversation... nothing is quite like it. Yet when I also open my doors, I want it to be purposeful. I want to go out of my way to find opportunities to invite others into my home and my life, rather than just wait for those times to come to me. I want to share the love of Christ with others. I want to help meet the needs of others. I want them to be better for having stopped by to stay or accepting the invitation for a meal.

3. Encouraging Notes – I love to write letters, even more than emails. The act of writing versus typing has an aesthetic and pleasing quality to it, almost a relaxing quality, that is lost in the mechanical noises of a keyboard and artificial glare of a computer screen. Furthermore, I know the receiving of a letter brings a surprise to one’s face. When I lived overseas, I was always overjoyed to receive any little letter or package sent my way. I regained my love of letter writing when I was dating Trevor for over 8 months in a absurdly long distance overseas relationship that relied on skype, email, and snail mail to keep us connected. Yet it was the letters that have stayed with me the most. I would like to resurrect the practice in my own life and send notes of love and encouragement, even if just a small hello, to those dear in my life. Whether they live next door or across an ocean, I want them to have the joy of getting mail and to know with more than just a feeling that they truly are extraordinary and specially loved.

4. Artistic Blessing – I love things that are handmade. Last Christmas, my husband and I decided to celebrate not 1, but the full 12 days of Christmas. The practice is one I would love to keep. There is no better way to celebrate the month-long buildup to Christmas known as Advent with a celebration that lasts for days rather than hours - a season of Christmas just as there is a season of Advent. Yet part of our 12 day celebration was a decision to exchange gifts every day – just 1 a day. While some people might get several gifts ON Christmas day, we decided to spread them out. And yet, as an engaged couple planning a wedding, we certainly did not have the money that some families have to splurge on each other with costly gifts. Hence, we necessarily decided that many of the gifts be homemade. I can tell you that I can easily recall all the gifts given to me last year that were homemade... the bought gifts are harder to remember. Being homemade conferred upon them a significance both unique and endearing. The love in homemade gifts is tangible. This differs from bought gifts, when one is often left wondering if the bought gift was something truly picked out for you in love, rather than an afterthought selection grown out of the necessity to give. As an artist (or: aspiring artist) who hopes to launch a store on etsy in the near future, I have a wonderful excuse to make things – not only to sell, but to give away, and to bless others with the giving of my time and energies to create something artistic, something both beautiful and unique like each recipient.

5. Sponsoring a Child - Before my husband and I met, he was already sponsoring a child through World Vision. I have enjoyed starting to get to know our sponsor child who lives in Nicaragua. I still have a desire to sponsor a child now as a couple, and am drawn to Compassion. My sister was able to meet one of her Compassion children in Ethiopia this past April. Knowing their experience and the wonderful things I have heard about how Compassion operates draws me to help and support a child through their organization.

Please feel free to share any of your own ideas of service for your community.