The Lent Experiment - Day 16

Well, how did you do yesterday? Were you able to expand your family by one or two through Compassion International? I hope you are considering sponsoring a child - I promise you it will be the best $38 you spend each month.

Day sixteen of The Lent Experiment and your choices are:

1 - Give someone a proper hug. When you feel sad, there's nothing better than a really nice hug from someone you care about. You should probably make sure you know the person you're hugging - it could be a little scary otherwise or you may incur legal action.

- or -

2 - Tell three people something you really appreciate about them. We all feel under appreciated at times and you would know how much you like it when others say something kind to you.

Your Girlfriend,
Michelle

The Lent Experiment - Day 15

Happy Wednesday my lenten friends!! Today is day fifteen of The Lent Experiment and a few of you have complained that the choices have been too easy. With that in mind, I hope you find these to be a bit harder. Good luck!

Your choices for today are:

1 - Stop being apathetic – it’s the disease of our generation in the West! Check out Compassion International and consider sponsoring a child. For a mere $38 dollars a month, you can ensure that a child living in poverty has the opportunity to eat each day and attend school. Start changing the world, one child at a time!!

- or -

2 - Volunteer to do something. Babysit for a single mother so they get time to be alone, look into helping at a local school or local food pantry. Be inventive!

Your Girlfriend,
Michelle

Weigh In Wednesday - Climbing Companions

This past Sunday, our pastor did a great job speaking from Matthew. As I sat there, I kept thinking about how much what he was saying mirrored what Girlfriends With Grace is supposed to be all about - relationships and the people we are doing life with.

If you have a few minutes, check out the video of our senior pastor, Greg Nettle, sharing this weeks study from Matthew right here. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Our pastor referenced his trip a year ago to Africa. While there, he and a few other men climbed Mount Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser to build another cottage for parent less children - hence, the climbing partners analogy. He has spoken many times about his climb, and I always sit there and wonder if I could hack the climb. I wonder if I should add a mountain climb to my bucket list? Is it on yours? Maybe this should be our next GWG Girls Night Out. Interested?

I am so thankful for the climbing partners in my life. I am so thankful for the quality friends that I have been fortunate to meet and develop relationships with. I am so thankful for my family. Lastly, I am so thankful for you, my blog friends. I hope you enjoy doing life with me, as much as I enjoy doing life with you.

Have a great day and thanks for being one of my climbing partners!!

Your Girlfriend,

Michelle

The Lent Experiment - Day 14

The Lent Experiment has hit the two week mark. Are you still committed to being an agent of change? I hope so! A little more than sixty of us have made the commitment to The Lent Experiment, so that is a lot of niceness, kindness, and goodness being spread.

Your choices for today are:

1 - Write someone a cute little post-it note and leave it in a random place for them to find it. It'll make them smile when they find it.

- or -

2 - Call or email your parent/parents/guardian or a sibling. Make contact and try to right any wrongs or smooth things over if needs be. Chew the fat. Shoot the breeze. Whatever… just be NICE!

Your Girlfriend,
Michelle

A Touch O' The Irish - Leprechaun Fun #1

St. Patrick's Day is just about two weeks away - what plans do you have? Are you unsure of how to whip up some St. Patrick's Day fun? Well, you have come to the right place! I have a few St. Patrick's Day tricks up my sleeve that have given my children many fun memories. Start reading leprechaun stories with your children soon, so they have some ideas of what leprechauns are, how big they are, and how mischievous they can be. We like to refer to them as the wee people of Ireland. A few days before St. Patrick’s Day, we created our leprechaun trap. Here are a few photos of traps to get your ideas brewing…

Leprechaun Hat Pit Trap

Rainbow Cage Drop Trap

Directions for both of these traps can be found at Family Fun magazine. Our traps were never this exciting. We usually just propped a laundry basket with a stick of some sort and placed a little pot filled with chocolate coins as bait attached to a 'trip wire'. This is probably why we have yet to catch a leprechaun!

On St. Patrick’s Day eve, I would create a little leprechaun mischief in our home. Here are some ideas:
• Make leprechaun shoe prints along your floors – I just cut out some shoe prints from green construction paper and laid them on the floor ‘walking out the door’.
• Sprinkle green and gold glitter around your house
• Place a piece of green velvet fabric or green felt in a spot where the leprechaun could have caught his clothing, such as a window or door
• Make some shamrock cut-outs and place them around the room
• Turn things upside down and topsy-turvy: chairs, toys, books
• Turn the milk in the fridge green with food coloring
• Switch everyday items (hang up shoes in the closet & place coats on the floor)
• Unravel the toilet paper
• Dump out small buckets of toys, like legos or blocks
• Turn the toilet water green with one or two drops of green food coloring – this is always a favorite because it leads to conversations about leprechaun pee all day.
• Sprinkle Lucky Charms cereal in a few spots
• Leave normally-closed things open such as doors, cabinets, and drawers
• Place a small leprechaun hat in a non-obvious, hidden place for the children to discover. For older children, hide it somewhere good so they really have to look for it!

After I have made some leprechaun mischief, I then print out the following note on a piece of green paper or paper decorated with shamrocks.

Good Morning Mariah and Jackson,

I had a great time dancing and playing in your home last night! I'm am so sorry about the mess that I made. Unfortunately, I have lost my hat. Will you please find it and keep it for me? I'll be back later to get it.

Your Friend,
Lucky the Leprechaun

That is it for St. Patrick's Day eve, but what about St. Patrick's Day? You will have to come back next week to find out what we do once we realize the havoc that the leprechauns have created in our house.

Your once-a-year Irish Girlfriend,

Michelle

The Lent Experiment - Day 13

It is Monday, which means it is the first day of a new week, and a fresh, new week for The Lent Experiment. Let's make it a good one!!

Your choices for today are:

1 - Spread some positive gossip! Instead of telling people something mean about someone, tell people something nice about someone. For example, did you hear that Tim and Melanie got engaged? Did you know that James and his wife are expecting twins? Sharing good news makes everyone feel better and more connected!!

- or -

2 - Buy someone a banana or an orange. They are both full of energy and are a bright, sunny color! Yum! Better yet, buy two oranges and one banana and make them a smiley face. :o)

Great news... The Lent Experiment keeps growing. Yesterday we had our sixtieth person join us on facebook. How exciting!!

Your Girlfriend,
Michelle

Make-It Monday: Start a Recycling Center

Recycling has been a part of my family's lives for years now. In fact, I started recycling right after I was married. I live fairly close to a large trash dump. (No I can not see it from my house, but it is about ten miles away.) On hot summer days, when the wind is right, you get to have a lovely odor fill your nose! It made me think about what my children will be smelling when they are adults. It also made me realize that God gave us this earth to take care of. We take this for granted so often. We just assume there is enough land and space for everything.

Recycling is very easy, and after a while, it becomes second nature. The best part is that recycling can also become a habit for your kids. They will not know any different. Case in point, I went to throw away a water bottle last summer and my son stopped me - "Mom," he said "shouldn't we recycle that?" How awesome is that?

The first thing you will want to do is check your area to find out how recycling is handled. In my area, we have to separate all our items - paper, plastics, glass, cardboard, and cans. Then we have to take it to the recycle center and deposit in appropriate areas. Our family has created a recycle center in our mud room. I have a container for each item. Then when the containers are filled, which is usually once a month, we take a trip to the recycle center. In our kitchen, I placed a container to deposit all recycle items. When it is full we take it out to the mud room and sort. This is a chore my son is in charge of. He loves to figure out where everything goes.

If you live in an area like my mom, you are blessed! All you have to do is collect recyclables and place them at your curb once a week. You do not even have to separate items! This does make the process much easier.

Some other things to look into:
- Many local churches or schools collect paper. They then recycle it for funds. This is a great way to help out a local church.
- You can also recycle cans for money. This may be a good incentive for your family to get involved. Of course you will not get rich, but it is a little extra cash. This is also a great way for your family to collect money for missions. The money raised from saving cans can be donated to missions.
- Some hospitals collect the tops of pop cans. Again, another great way for your kids and you to help others. (Girlfriend Michelle just dropped off two gallon size ziploc bags to the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland - a great way to give back to the organization that gave so much to her family when their daughter was in the hospital)

When you are recycling, it is interesting to know that only number one and two plastics can be recycled. The other numbers will not. You can normally find the numbers on the bottom of the containers. Should you just throw these containers away? No way! These are normally cottage cheese and sour cream containers. These containers make great Tupperware for your leftovers. Just keep a grease pencil handy to label the containers so you know what you are storing. We also reuse our wet wipe containers for all sort of fun crafts and storage. Be creative!

I hope this gives you some new ideas on how to recycle. Remember to try and keep it simple and do not overcomplicate the process. Your part will make difference!

Your Green Girlfriend,
Melinda