What I've been up to on the internet...

First, if you have noticed the two banners on my page toward the bottom, they are for Kiva loan applicants. I love love love the whole premise behind Kiva. Go check it out NOW! I have decided to make a loan every week. The beautiful thing about this program is that once your loan is repaid, you can turn around and re-lend it to someone else. So, your money just keeps working. I'm like my own little Gates Foundation. Check out my lending page.

And second, I have become an addict. I am having to carefully pace myself. I have been watching from afar and have finally taken the plunge into swapping. When I put together my first two packages to send out to other people I was so excited! But then I received my first two packages in the mail of cool stuff from all over the world, I was hooked. So, if you want (but I have warned you) go check out Swap-bot. Here is my member page. I signed up for a fun swap of a letter describing 24 hours in your life. Sounds so cool! and then there was the one where you just put a little box of joy together for someone... and then someone put together a swap honoring Kurt Vonnegut (one of my favorite authors) using one of my all time favorite quotes! What am I supposed to do? I signed up!

A little warning, it can seem a bit intimidating when you are new because there seems to be a general lack of trust of newbies. But, that comes from a lot of people flaking out and not sending anything to their partners. So, you have to "prove" yourself first. Just ignore all that and do the swapping. You'll have fun!

Charity of the Month: April

Ugh! I have so much to tell you all about! But, I need to get my April Charity up. So, tomorrow I will tell you all about my dear Granny and her Easter visit.

As a part of my Charity of the Month campaign, my April Charity is Women for Women International. It was given 5 stars by Charity Navigator and is giving me a lovely opportunity to be hands on with my dedication to supporting women and mothers around the world.

The beauty of this charity is that it is a relationship. One of the main things that has always frustrates Chowder and I when it comes to mission work and giving, is this feeling of superiority that comes with it. You, as the giver, end up on a higher ground than the receiver. It becomes a one way road that leaves both parties spiritually bereft. The donor must not assume that they cannot learn or receive something from their receiver. When both parties become givers and receivers, then the act of charity can empower us all.

So, I have signed up to be a sponsor for $27 a month. But, along with my money every month, I will also send a letter of support and encouragement. Depending on the situation of my sister, I will also get the benefit or receiving letters from her. What a great way to open my heart to women around the world! I have not been matched, yet. (It takes up to 12 weeks.) I put my first choice as Afghanistan, my second as Sudan, and my third open to greatest need. I am very excited about this journey. I will keep you posted!

Charity of the Month: March

I don't normally give to political or lobbying groups. ok. never. For my non-American friends, lobbying may be becoming the bane of our democracy. But, this cause is different. It is not lobbying on behalf of corporations, or institutions, or private interests. It is lobbying on behalf of hundreds of thousands people who can't seem to get anyone to help them. Save Darfur is trying to get the world to intervene.

I know this may not sit well with some people's politics, and to that I offer up an alternative. Here are a list of other charities working in the Darfur region of Sudan.

again, if you have charity suggestions you can email me or list them in the comments. You can also look at past charities that we have chosen as a part of our New Year's Resolution, under the heading A Matter of Charity.

Charity of the Month: February

Ok..so, if it hasn't slipped your notice I haven't written about our financial resolution. You may be gracious and think this is an oversight. But, no. It is far from it. This is always our toughest.

Charitable giving has always been a very important part of our family finances. I'm rereading the book, Worry Free Family Finances by Bill Staton. I highly recommend this book. Though it could have been a much shorter (he uses lots and lots of people's stories to illustrate his points) the simplicity of this book makes it genius. It is based on three principles: Save More, Give More, Invest Wisely. Now, we haven't done the invest wisely part yet (we contribute to our retirement and college savings plans at this point) I have found the first two parts of his plan invaluable. I have read many personal finance books, and most actually tell you to cut back on your charitable giving. Since, that goes against everything we hold dear, their plans don't work for us. But, this one makes giving a priority.

Now, sure he presents it in a way that would make most Gospel of Prosperity preachers very proud. I have to confess to being very put off by the idea that I should give to the church so that God will reward me with more money. or as Staton (this book is secular) puts it, but not nearly as strongly, what goes around comes around. Both ideas are basically using greed as an incentive to give. This bothers me quite a bit. (Along with what I call "The Birthday Party" theology, that I should be nice to Jesus and do what he wants so I can get into heaven and stay out of hell. Sounds like what junior high girls do to get invited to the popular girl's birthday party.)

Anyway...I think there is something to be said for this concept, just not it's application. I have personally seen our money grow and our belts loosen a bit when we are purposefully giving. There is no doubt. Is it divine or cosmic? I don't think so. I think it's two part. 1.) When we aren't grasping our money so tightly and can open our hands to give, it also allows us to receive with that same open hand. and 2.) When we are purposeful with our money, we are more in control of our spending. And this is exactly why giving is an essential component to our Christ directed lives. God knows what is best for us. He knows how to best live our lives in health and well-being. When we follow his plans, our lives run much more smoothly and the stress level in infinitely lower.

But, like all his plans, this one is still a toughie for us. We have to stay constanly vigilant about our money. Whoever said that a habit is formed in 90 days, is full of Horse Hockey. We fall apart at about 6 months when we think we have the hang of it. When we let our guard down. We are still finding our leaks and plugging them, I'll post more about that when we get it squared away. But, I was doing our taxes and noticed the huge difference in our charitable giving from 2005 vs. 2006. 2006 was disatrous. It was shameful. So, now we are recommitted.

Chowder and I follow the Catholic tradition of tithing which is based on the Old Testament 10% that is generally followed. Where it differs from some is that you give 5% to your parish and 5% to another outside charity. Because our family has two churches that it supports, we divide our giving in fourths. We give 1/4 to Chowder's church, 1/4 to my parish, 1/4 to a local charity, and 1/4 to a global or national charity. So, if our tithing amount equaled $400 a month, than we would give $100 to each every month. This year, we have decided to leave only the last fourth as a monthly choice. Our local charity is going to be fixed as our local food pantry that serves our neighborhood.

Our rotating national or global charity is a family decision. I'll post each month's selection on my sidebar so you can have a look at it. Our picks generally follow where are family is in that month. So, this month's is a charity that provides assistance animals. We were drawn to Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans because of its new program providing dogs to combat veterans. We research all of our charities and make sure they are legit and that their practices fit with our beliefs and values. We are always open to new ones, so if you have a favorite, post it in the comments or email me about it.