Simply on Sunday

Happy Sunday, friends.  Given the destruction that hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma have visited within the past few weeks, I felt led to write today about serving others.  As you know, our Sunday posts are often a sharp deviation from fashion and decorating, and that is most certainly true today!

Just a few weeks ago, we gave our readers the opportunity to contribute funds to help a family in Houston, and you responded with overwhelming generosity, to the point where the family told us that they had enough to live on until their insurance claim could be settled (isn’t that wonderfully honest, too?!).  We will have an update on how they’re doing next weekend since I know you’re anxious to hear.  Thank you for giving so abundantly!

While Houston continues to need our help, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean islands, and parts of Florida have been devastated by the combined effects of Irma and Maria.  We have military and national guard friends who have been deployed to Puerto Rico to assist and they are awed by the destruction.  The logistics of bringing everything to everyone on an island are pretty complex, but tremendous progress is being made.

Most (but definitely not all!) of our readers live in the U.S.; of course our tax dollars go towards emergency relief efforts provided by government organizations.  But that in no way can–or should–take the place of contributing to private charitable organizations as we are able.  If you’ve been struggling with which ones to trust recently, wanting to be sure that your donation is being used to help as many people as possible, I wanted to mention Samaritan’s Purse.  We’ve been donating to them for years, both for crisis relief and their Operation Christmas Child shoebox program, and we love their mission and organization.

Headed by Billy Graham’s son, Franklin, Samaritan’s Purse lives out the Biblical directives that Christians serve others in their need.  They enable me to be the hands and feet of Jesus even when the need is half a world away.  They’re usually one of the first on the ground wherever disaster strikes, and yes, they’re already in every location hit by the hurricanes (read about their Puerto Rico response here).  While they’re a Christian organization, you don’t have to be a Christian to receive their aid–the whole point is that they’re ministering to others, regardless of faith, just as the good Samaritan did in Luke 10.  For an objective report card, their Charity Navigator rating is {here}.  You can donate directly to hurricane relief {here} or direct your donation to another specific area or program.

Not everyone can give financially, but the power of prayer is far superior, anyway.  Let’s concentrate on actions that will resonate in eternity this week!  Another bonus is that it’s hard to feel criticism or hate for others when you’re united in God’s purpose, and isn’t that something our country desperately needs right now?

As we do every year, we’ll be starting our Season of Giving in December, as a way to focus on giving and serving during advent and Christmas.  We do most of our posts on Facebook, so please be sure you’re following us there.

Have a wonderful Sunday, and thanks for stopping by~