It's 1:15 on a Wednesday afternoon and my stomach is growling because I've yet to have lunch. It's important to note I've had precisely 2.5 cups of coffee and two butter-lavished blueberry muffins, and yet I'm still hungry. My pantry and refrigerator are full, so at any moment I can shut the lion's mouth.
If they felt like I do right now, my children would dramatically insist they "are starving!" Ever since I read Lois Lowery's "The Giver" a few years ago–where children were required to use precise language (i.e., I'm hungry is the accurate version of I'm starving)–I've corrected them when they use that line, reminding them they most certainly are NOT starving and more likely, they're bored.
S i g h…the luxury of "boredom eating"….
Ever since I discovered the Advent Conspiracy, I've been haunted by a single statistic: Americans spend about $450 BILLION on Christmas every year; then to learn it would cost an estimated $10 billion to make available clean water to the world's population? It compels me to:
- earnestly pray for those in need
- consider how I might sacrifice something…anything…in order to make a contribution.
This week I've encountered a new haunting: the reminder that tummies all over the globe have growled themselves to sleep.
Today is Global Food Crisis Day. Lots of bloggers are writing about it, and new-to-me statistics begin to break my heart:
- A child dies every seven seconds from hunger-related causes
- Worldwide, 161 million preschool children suffer from chronic malnutrition
- One person in seven goes to bed hungry every night.
Why is this happening? The Compassion site explains: "The cost of food staples have roughly doubled in many countries where
Compassion serves. Some of the original factors that turned this trend
into a world calamity recently include unstable oil prices, increased
meat consumption in countries like India and China, droughts in major
crop-producing countries, and increased production of biofuels.
You can do something to help…a few things, as a matter of fact. Please–
- Visit http://www.compassion.com/
please to learn more about the Global Food Crisis. - Donate to Compassion's Global Food Crisis Fund.
- If you have a blog or website, add a Global Food Crisis widget to your sidebar or in a post: http://share-compassion.org/
gfc/ - If you can't "do something" today, plan to contribute next week or even next month.
- Pray…pray for them, pray for how you can become a part of their solution, pray for wisdom as Compassion and like organizations collectively act to provide remedy and relief.
Thank you. Eight letters which convey the weight of 8,000.
Photo credit: http://www.eco-afrika-tours-co-za/3 day.htm
You raise an interesting point about clean water, and I’m actually doing something about it:
http://blog.bloodwatermission.com/a-challenge-40-days-of-water.php
Want to challenge your readers to join in? Even if they don’t start on March 1, they can make a difference. I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of my savings, and my hubby and I are over $40 already.
Sometimes it only takes a little to help a lot.
wonderful post! i have my post 1/2 written but today was a disaster, so its going to have to be tomorrow or next week. i, too, have been pondering how our family can help out. it breaks my heart to know there are mothers, children,fathers and others who go to bed hungry.
i will be linking to yours when i get my post up.
Wow… loving your writing, loving your blog. I’m so glad that I clicked my way over to you!
I’m a new blogger – my writing had been on hold for about 7 years (babies) so I have a lot of thought backlog to catch up too. Just started a barebones blog. Any suggestions are welcomed.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful gift!
Yes.
Lisa, I read about this on Diane @ Bunny Trails first and realized I wasn’t
willing. I’m not proud, just honest. I’ll try to remember to add a link to
this; I DO think it’s a great way to DO SOMETHING! CONGRATS on tracking
your progress!
That’s the thing, Karmyn, a LITTLE CAN go a long way. Thanks for making a
point about something many might not consider…I do believe something is
better than NOTHING! 🙂
Good for you, Gail! This fund is “open” all the time, today was just the
day to put the spotlight on it. PLEASE let me know when your post is
live–I’ll tweet about it and Stumble it!! 🙂 (It breaks my heart to think
about it, too.)
Hey Susan…WELCOME & THANK YOU! Glad you found me :). I’ll be by for a
visit soon, but my initial advice? PACE YOURSELF :). Your blog isn’t going
anywhere…and you don’t wanna burn out too soon. Can’t wait to see you
evolve :).
🙂
Thanks Robin. I hope to see you visit soon.
Keep spreading your wonderful gift and spirit!
Good…. continue your work..