PLEASE, remember the forgotten at Christmas!

Stock photo, not necessarily depicting homeless in VA.

Dear Friends and Family,

It is hard to believe that 5 years have gone by since Tom and I moved to Martinsville, VA. Even harder to believe is the continual rise in unemployment and poverty in this area.

This region of VA has a rich history rooted in furniture manufacturing including such companies as Hooker, Bassett and Stanley. Martinsville was once known as The Sweatshirt Capital of the World, and was home to America's largest contract embroidery company. Sadly, these companies, along with many others, have either closed altogether or moved their plants out of our country. Martinsville and Henry County are now known for having the highest unemployment rate in the state, currently at 19.7 percent.

Adding to the struggles of the unemployed is the fact that many people have seen their electric bills double within the last 5 years due to Appalachian Power Co. rate hikes. Unemployed and underemployed people simply lack the funds to adequately heat their homes. Yet, they are the lucky ones – at least in the eyes of the homeless here; earlier this year, Martinsville’s homeless shelter closed its doors.

Though the facts of life are tough for so very many here, the people are some of the finest I’ve met in my life. There is a true sense of community here, the type I used to only here as elders spoke of, “the good old days

when neighbors helped neighbors.” I’ve seen time and time again, people willing to give to others in need when they had virtually nothing to give. You’ve heard of the type of folks who would give you the shirt off of

their backs? These are the type of people I’m proud to say live here.

Local churches and individuals are launching programs to do what they can to assist the people in Martinsville and Henry County. I’m excited to say that Tom and I will be helping as our church begins feeding the homeless and others in need in January. And, recently I began a blanket program to purchase washable wool blend, American made blankets for the homeless and those who cannot afford to adequately heat their homes.

Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” It is with this philosophy in mind that I am asking those of you who can, to please consider making a donation of $12.66 to purchase one blanket. Should donations exceed the number of blankets needed, 100% of any remaining funds will be used for our church’s meal program.

This has been an extremely tough financial year for most of us. If you are not able to make a donation, would you please add the blanket and meal programs to your daily prayers? That would be a wonderful gift!

God bless,

Donna

Donations can be sent to:

Donna or Tom Pratt

P.O. Box 4669

Martinsville, VA 24115

Please make a notation on your check: Blanket Program

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Words to live by.

Thanks to Rose who sent this to me.

WORDS TO LIVE BY

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you'e got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway."

~Mother Teresa

Please support our efforts to bring the gift of warmth and compassion to the homeless. Purchase ANY cross pendant or necklace from either of our websites and 100% of the profits go to buy Friendship Blankets for the homeless. If you'd prefer, for just $12.50, you can purchase a Friendship Blanket in honor or memory of someone special. We make NO monestary profit on the Friendship Blankets. Our profit is knowing that you and I are making a difference in people's lives. Please, open your hearts!
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www.LittleCherubsBoutique.com

Remembering 9/11

Ground Zero.......let us NEVER forget to pray for the men and women who lost their lives during this tragic day in our country's history. Let us also pray for the families left behind.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

You are a light.

This will be my last post until Labor Day. Heading out for vacation!
May God bless each of you!

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5: 14-16

How brightly are you shining the love of Christ to a needy world? Everyone is going through difficulties and the light and love of God that shines through your spirit may be just what someone needs! If you are letting God's spirit shine from within you, people will notice and be drawn to you. In turn, you will be able to help them with a word of encouragement, prayer, hug, etc.
I encourage you today to greet everyone whom you come in contact with, with a sincere smile & open heart. Let your life reflect the light from within you!

www.InspirationalGiftsAndDecor.com
"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Going through the motions?

Have you ever found yourself growing complacent in your walk with God? When things are going easily in life, it's easy to find ourselves simply going through the motions. This is a dangerous place to be. Not only can we be caught off guard and end up in situations that are detrimental to us but also we can so easily miss God's blessings.

Life is short; this is not a dress-rehearsal. Let's purpose to not allow ourselves to simply go through the motions in life. Seek God's direction, get excited about life and live each day with His perfect passion!

Let the words of Matthew West's song, The Motions, really sink into your heart.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ~Revelation 3:15-16


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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

The HHH people.

For far too many years, there have been Homeless, Hungry and Hurting people living among us. The numbers of these precious HHH (Homeless, Hungry and Hurting) people is now staggering! Except by the grace of God, you and I could find ourselves among the HHH. If you think otherwise, then you need a reality check.

I was born in Washington, DC and spent the first 14+ years of my life in the Alexandria, VA area. I clearly remember the first time I saw a homeless man - literally laying in the gutter of a side street in DC. My mother's explanation of this man's situation seemed reasonable and acceptable to me as a young teen.

Gone are the days of seeing an occasional alcoholic laying in an alley or street gutter. Gone are the days in which any halfway intelligent person can steriotype the HHH as "bums" or "alcoholics". (Reality check here: "Homelessness in suburbs, rural areas increases" Read: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-09-homeless_N.htm And, GONE are the days of there being ANY 'reasonable and acceptable' explanation that makes sense to me. There is NOTHING acceptable about anyone being Homeless, Hungry or Hurting in America.

Gone also are the days of sitting back and waiting for our government to solve the problems of the HHH. It is time for the collective church to roll up their sleeves, dig their heels in and commit to helping the HHH in our communities for the long haul. It is wonderful to feed the HHH on holidays, but we need to feed their bellies and their souls every day.

I am grateful beyond words that God has recently led my husband and me to The Community Fellowship in Collinsville, VA. *Pastor Michael, TCF's leadership and the congregation have true hearts to serve the HHH in our community and beyond. They may be a relatively small congregation but there is nothing small about their vision and there is nothing small about the impact that these precious people have already made in our community (and beyond).

One of the members of The Community Fellowship who has a God-driven passion for helping the HHH in our community is Vicky English. You can read as Vicky shares her heart and vision on her blog, Serving With All My Heart: http://vickysheart.blogspot.com/

If every church in America put faith into action to help the HHH in their communities, the impact would be a tidal wave of hope for the Hurting, housing for the Homeless and food for the Hungry across our country.
In a matter of days, we could be reading of the "staggering" drop in the number of the HHH instead of the "staggering" acceleration we now have!

Matthew 25:40 "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
* Follow Pastor Michael Harrison's blog: http://e-devotion.blogspot.com/





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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Inspiration for the week

Walking along the paths of life, there are level, smooth paths and there are those that are uneven, steep or rocky; the later requires more attention than the first. We must carefully choose our steps, mindful of our footing so we don't veer off into a ditch, turn an ankle or stumble and fall.

The older I get the more I've come to realize that my walk with Christ is often on the challenging path. I need to stay focused, be mindful of my steps, careful not to veer off.

Smooth paths are easily forgotten as we walk aimlessly along, our thoughts drifting. The challenging paths are the ones we remember and often take us to places the smooth ones cannot, where the view is spectacular!

"My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped."
~Psalm 17:5

Daily inspiration

If we reach up as far as we can towards God, he will reach down the rest of the way to meet us.


This is a paraphrase of something I read years ago. It creates a picture in my mind of a toddler reaching up for his father to pick him up. Though the child's reach is not nearly sufficient to touch his father's hands, the father can easily reach the child. What father can resist the heartfelt plea of his child's little hands extended up towards him? Can't you see the delight and comfort on the child's face as the father reaches down and scoops the child up into his loving arms?

I can envision the Lord doing just this with us. There are times when we need our Father to reach down and scoop us up into his arms to comfort us. He is always there, ready for us to reach up as far as we can in praise and prayer towards Him. Trust that He will reach down to meet us the rest of the way!

1Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer,..."

Psalm 103:13 "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;"


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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6

"As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person."

~ Paul Shane Spear

Part of my morning prayer is, "...Lord, help me be a better person today than I was yesterday." As heartfelt as my words are when I make this daily request, I sure can fall short of recognizing some opportunities that are right in front of me. I can get so tangled up in my own thoughts that I can trot right through a day without seeing those around me who could use a kind word, a compassionate shoulder or a patient ear. Those are such small expressions of love but they can make a huge difference in someone's life.
Beginning today, when I pray I'll be adding, " Lord, help me to see those around me whose needs I can meet. Help me to demonstrate my faith in you by expressing your love to others."



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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

Turn to Him

by Tanya Staggs

If you’re looking for something that you can’t seem to find and negative thoughts keep running thru your mind,
just turn to Him.

If nothing seems to work for you, but you just keep on trying and you have a smile on your face when instead you feel like crying,
just turn to Him.

If the road you are taking seems like it’s all uphill and you’re running out of strength, but you keep on travelling still,
just turn to Him.

If it seems as if all’s against you and you have nowhere to turn and life’s lessons get you down because you never seem to learn,
just turn to Him.

If troubles keep on coming and there seems to be no end and you feel as if you’re all alone and haven’t got a friend,
just turn to Him.

If you feel your strength slipping and you seem to lose the fight, keep your eyes upon Him, He’ll turn your darkness into light,
just turn to Him.

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" ~1Peter 5:7
Poem found @ http://www.thechristianwoman.com

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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

I'm sure you know what it's like to suddenly realize that you are driving in the wrong direction. With some sense of urgency, you look for the first, safe place to make a u-turn. Wouldn't want to waste any more time going in the opposite direction of our destination now, would we?

Life is this way. We're human and as such, we often fall short of who we would like to be - more importantly, who God wants us to be. We find ourselves clearly heading in the opposite direction of our destination to be more Christ-like.

We've all found ourselves regretting something we've said or done, wishing we could take it back, wipe our slate clean and start over again.
I sure have. Truth be told, I find myself in that situation more often than I'd like to admit. But, I'm grateful that God allows u-turns. The bible says in 1John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Through God's grace and mercy, we are given the opportunity to make a u-turn and get back on the path He has laid for us. We don't have to wait for a pastoral invitation to kneel at a church altar. We can ask God for forgiveness right this moment, right where we are. Why not take a minute right now and ask God to point your life back in the right direction? His direction.

www.InspirationalGiftsAndDecor.com
"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily Inspiration

Back in the '70s, when I first came to know the Lord, Christian bumper stickers were very popular. One that sticks in my mind said, "God is not concerned with our ability, rather our availability." So many times, because of our personal insecurities, it's easy to dodge the leading of the Holy Spirit urging us into a new area of serving others or our church. We buy into the lies entering our thoughts; "Oh, that must just be my imagination and not God calling me." "I can't do that!" "I could never volunteer for that project. What do I know about that!"

Well, I'm not quite as old as dirt yet, but I am old enough to know that my life is most fulfilled when I listen to the Holy Spirit's leading, step over any doubts and insecurities that enter my thoughts, recognize them as my thoughts, not His, plow forward, yielding to His direction.

Yielding requires faith; faith requires trust; trust requires belief that God's word is true. The next time you feel that God is leading you into an area that is outside of your comfort zone - yield to His calling, have faith and trust that He who calls you will provide you with the tools and knowledge to serve in that area. Remember: "God is not concerned with our ability, rather our availability." Make yourself available and HE will make the way possible.

Today, go confidently in the direction God is leading you!
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13

Inspiration for the week

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." ~Mother Teresa

Before you can love others, you must receive God's love for yourself, because you cannot give away something you don't have.

John 15:12 "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

Our church was a big ball of wonderful chaos yesterday. Partnering with www.SamaritansFeet.org we were able to provide socks and shoes for local children. The Samaritan's servants who came to our church are a young, newlywed couple, Patrick & Kessid (forgive me because I know I'm not spelling Patrick's wife's name correctly). These precious young people have been married less than 3 months and are working as a team to present the story of the founder of Samaritan's Feet, Manny, to the children (and adults who accompany them) who come to receive new shoes. (I encourage you to go to www.SamaritansFeet.org to learn about Manny's story!) I am grateful for Patrick & Kessid for selflessly giving of themselves, pouring the love of Jesus into so many hearts. I know that God will continue to bless them. I look forward to seeing them next year and watching God work through them and Samaritan's Feet.

Many lives were touched yesterday, some changed, because of yesterday's experience. I know that I will never be the same.

I volunteered as one of the "foot washers" and WHAT a blessing! We washed the children's feet, put lotion on, all while talking to them about their goals in life, etc., put new socks on them, and new shoes. To see these precious children who so greatly needed the items...just a blessing. I wasn't sure what to expect when washing the kids' feet...not sure how they would react. The little ones exploded with joy at the sight of their new shoes and when they were on their feet, they just danced around. Let me tell you, some of these precious children will stay in my heart forever. One particular 16 year old girl (her friend was also there in the chair next to hers) has really made an impact on me. She looked like a tough street kid.....tatoos all over her arms, legs - skulls, etc., Ring in her bottom lip....well, you get the picture. She didn't want her feet washed....well, through a bit of talking with her (I ADORE teens) she allowed me to wash her feet. I was able to "love on her a bit" with words, and she brightened up and we shared a few laughs, then I asked if I could say a quick prayer with her. She said, "Sure." Her friend was finished at about the same time, and the gal who had cared for her led us all in prayer. A quick hug and this young girl was on her way. A brief encounter that has left a permanent mark on my heart.

I wonder how many hugs or words of encouragement and kindness this girl has had in her life? How many people would look at this child with disgust instead of compassion? I'm sure I've been guilty of such thoughts in the past; judging someone's appearance rather than their heart. Looking at the external through my own eyes rather than looking at their soul through Christ's eyes.

God wants us to love the unlovely, to show compassion and love to everyone, not just the "pretty people" of this world.

Today, start becoming aware of the unlovely people you encounter. Offer them a smile, a touch, a compassionate hug. I promise that not only will the recipient be changed, so will you.

Daily inspiration

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
~Winston Churchill

"The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Matthew 23:11-12

On sale this week, beautiful inspirational jewelry by Deborah J. Birdoes.
www.InspirationalGiftsAndDecor.com
"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake."
~Victor Hugo

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to to his life?" ~Matthew 6:25

On sale this week, beautiful inspirational jewelry by Deborah J. Birdoes.
www.InspirationalGiftsAndDecor.com
"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Inspiration for the week.

What is your "life song"? Whether you realize it or not, your life, lifestyle, attitudes, actions & words speak (or sing) volumes to others. Is your life the beautiful symphony it is supposed to be or are you living a life that is out of tune?
It's been said, "Life is God's gift to us. What we do with our lives is our gift back to God." Does your "life song" send a beautiful melody up to Heaven or do you need a little fine tuning?
After watching the video below, why not play it a second time with your eyes closed and your heart open.








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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

I've had some aggravation and frustration associated with work this week. At times, it seems all to easy to let frustration remove my focus of the "big picture" in terms of what is really important vs. "things" that interfere with the "little picture" - works in progress. I'm not proud of this, but it is fact. This morning, I'm (trying) to step back and remember that there are always lessons to be learned and, rarely are they obvious when life is easy. Ah, a new day has begun!

“You've done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.”

~Ralph Marston

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

~Isaiah 41:10

www.InspirationalGiftsAndDecor.com
"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
~ I John 3


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"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."


www.InspirationalGiftsAndDecor.com
"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."

Daily inspiration

“Where there is devotional music, God is always at hand with His gracious presence.”

~Johann Sebastian Bach


"Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp."
Psalms 149:1,3



www.InspirationalGiftsAndDecor.com
"Meaningful gifts that warm the heart, encourage
the spirit and add a little inspiration to life."