Fun Facts

Submitted by Carol Pigg

Daily Wisdom

I can hardly recollect a single plan of mine, of which I have not since seen reason to be satisfied,

That had it taken place in season and circumstance just as I proposed,

It would, humanly speaking, have proved my ruin;

Or at least it would have deprived me of the greater good the Lord had designed for me.

We judge of things by their present appearances, but the Lord sees them in their consequences.

If we could do so likewise we should be perfectly of His mind;

But as we cannot, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us,

Whether we are pleased with His management or not;

And it is spoken of as one of His heaviest judgments,

When He gives any person or people up to the way of their own hearts,

and to walk after their own counsels.

~John Newton~

Reminds me that to everything there is a season.  I had to read this one a few times for the wisdom of it to really sink in, but it is such a good one it is worth the extra reads. 

Submitted by Carol Pigg

FREE Family Fun Fair

There is a great FREE "Family Fun Fair" taking place in Edwardsville City Park on July 17.  The YMCA partnered with other area non-profits to provide a morning of fun! 

Family Fun Fair

Submitted by Deb Ellis

A Missed Opportunity

Today I took my squirts and their friend, Miss E, to the park after Music and Drama Camp.  We were all in high spirits after their fun-filled learning experience and were looking forward to roller skating after a visit with "Porky Pig" and "Wilbur" (our names for the pigs) in the park.  After saying our "hellos" to the two pigs in question, we crossed the road so that the girls could play at the park for a few minutes before the skate center opened.  While they played, I sat on the bench next to someone's Big Gulp.  A few minutes later, a younger woman who had just been pushing her child on a swing sat next to me and drank from the Big Gulp.  We started chatting about the weather, etc., which, in turn, led to discussion of activities for the kiddos.  When she told me she'd like to take her three children to Splash City, but that it was too expensive, I told her about a summer reading program which had offered complimentary tickets for reader participants and their family members (I love FREE and am constantly on the hunt for FREE).  She then explained how she was a single, low-income mother.  This conversation led to the upcoming FREE Vacation Bible School offered at Troy UMC.   Usually having a RUBY Magazine card on me, much to my disappointment, this day my pockets were empty.  When it was time for the squirts and I to leave, I told her my name, and she told me hers.  I told her I'd hope to see her again at the park or VBS.  When I left, though, I felt as if I should have acted on her need . . . inviting her to join us skating and paying her and her kiddos' way, asking for her number, something, anything, but I didn't.  Sarah Kirkpatrick's article on TWIGS was resonating in my subconscious, but I failed to act.  The girls and I skated, and much to our sudoriferous glands pleasure, in a nonworking air-conditioned facility.  Due to this uncomfortable environment, we were given complimentary passes for a future visit to the skate center.  Thinking about the tickets in my hand, I am hopeful the next time we are at the park I run into this mother of three, pass on the FREE tickets, and not miss yet another opportunity.

Courtney Winkler

Rescue, the Best Kind!

Saw the best bumper sticker, but it was raining and I was driving.  So, no pix.  While it’s for adopting pets, how good it is to think about God’s love for us.

Bumper sticker read:

Rescue, the Best Kind!

God rescues us continually, to help us strive to be the best people for him.  Don’t you just love the image of God going to our man-made shelters, and picking us up to love unconditionally?  No matter how dirty, no matter how matted, no matter how smelly we may be, HE loves us.  HE rescues us.  He makes us a home in His kingdom!

Hallelujah!

Carol Pigg

Twigging Out

After going through a divorce six years ago, I had to learn how to navigate life as a single mom to a one-year-old; and since child support was sparse, but debt wasn’t, I had to learn how to do this as a broke single mom. I think most people find divorce financially devastating, going from a dual income to a single one, tackling debt, maybe selling a house, and I was no exception. I was blessed with a lot of love and support from family and friends and after a few years had pretty much recovered. In the intervening years, I was promoted in my job and my daughter, Grace, started school (what a world of difference it makes not paying for full-time child care!). I never wanted Grace to know of my stress or to feel like she didn’t have enough.

I’ve shielded her from my worries and struggles, giving her a joyful and happy childhood, but now I’m trying to figure out how to teach her that not everyone has what we have, that even when we had little, others had even less. Children in the world are hungry, and not just the ones she sees on the glossy brochures at our church. I want my daughter to know that families in our own community don’t always have enough to eat, let alone the dolls and other toys that she has. But I also want her to hold onto her innocence and optimism and believe in magic.

In May, I learned about the TWIGS program. The TWIGS program began in the summer of 2011, in Granite City, and seeks to provide free summer lunches for children of all ages who are at risk of not having a lunch during the summer months. You can learn more here. This summer TWIGS came to Edwardsville. Coordinated out of Emmanuel United Methodist Church, multiple area churches have provided volunteers to hand out lunches. This seemed like a great opportunity to give back in my community, and I could include my daughter.

Another girl her age from our church, Sloan, also came with her mom and both of them were eager to help. The first day, Sloan saw a girl from her class, and they gave her and her siblings lunches. After, Sloan said to her mom, “But she’s in my class?” And she and Grace hadn’t understood what the face of hunger could look like, that there were children they knew, children without enough. Both girls have a better understanding now and they also learned they can help and impact their community. They sit under the trees with the adults, listening to us chat about all of the wonderful people and businesses that have donated food and money to the TWIGS program, and I realized that beyond teaching her about the socio-economic diversity of our community, she has seen the goodness of people who can help and that she, too, can make a difference.

Sarah Kirkpatrick

Faith Full

From Faith Full on Facebook

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." 

                                    - Proverbs 17:22, KJV Verse of the Day

Submitted by Carol Pigg