Tag Archives: Hope

Start Your Day with the ATG APP – #ATGToday #FlyBy

How do you start your day? Do you grumble getting out of bed, thinking of all the things you need to do? Are you stressed and worried  thinking about how you will ever tackle that never-ending to do list? Do you feel like there has to be a better way to begin your day? If you do, you are not alone.

It can be easy to feel that we are not good enough or that we keep falling short of our goals. In fact, many people, moms in particular, feel they are not accomplishing enough and are very hard on themselves. I know the feeling all too well, it is especially true as we seem to be burning the candle on both ends trying to get our house finished after experiencing a leak last fall that left us with extensive damage.

Recently, I learned about an app called Awakening To God that is a devotional journal to help you enjoy your walk with God. It is very simple to download and use. In just 8 minutes in the morning, you follow simple steps that will get you on a routine that helps you learn to hear God’s voice, memorize scripture, pray and journal. It has many great ideas to increase your faith, share scripture, encourage others and strengthen family devotions.

I have been using the ATG App and what I really like about it, is that you have an easily accessible journal reflecting on the same areas each day. I can look back on what I wanted God to help me with last week, last month or last year on a certain day. It lets me see the things I need to work on and what I am thankful for as well.

It is not a drudgery or something that takes a lot of time. In about 8 minutes each morning, you can strengthen your relationship with God. It helps me to understand that I can lay my burdens, worries and troubles in his arms. He will fight my battles and I can remove that weight from my shoulders. It is very comforting. This one minute video will let you see how this app works. 

This app has two purposes. One is to inspire and encourage thousands of people on their walk with Christ (hopefully, leading to another “Awakening” – see 2 Chron 7:14). The other purpose is to raise funds to dig a well in 100 villages in India, provide 40,000 meals to widows and orphans, 15,000 mosquito nets and a medical team for immunizations, cataract operations and other services.

Gerald and Jeannie Long are the founders of Awakening To God. They experienced success and wealth based on the values of the world and also the deepest grief and suffering from the death of two of their three children. On their journey, God has revealed His grace and glory to them in extraordinary ways.

In particular, they have experienced how God is able to redeem the most painful areas of our lives and turn them around for good. Gerald has found a deep awareness of eternity and Jeannie has experienced God’s presence and glory when she was close to ending her own life. Their marriage has triumphed when all seemed lost and they learned invaluable lessons on their unbelievable journey.

You can learn more about them by watching the video, How Do You Keep Living After the Death of Two Children at: www.awakeningtogod.org and see Mission, Vision and Strategy under About.

If you would like to download this app, you can do so HERE. If you do, I would love to hear about how you like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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See The Baskets That Represent Hope #Path2Peace

The other day I received a very special basket in them mail. It is a festive red and white and fits right into the current Christmas season. I can imagine it filled with some colorful Christmas ball ornaments or filled with Christmas cards. It would also be a nice centerpiece for a entry table or coffee table. You may see this in my home and think it is pretty, but you would probably be surprised to learn there is so much more to this basket.

red white basket 1

It is actually the Rwanda 10th Anniversary Medium Woven Star Basket. It is sold online and in Macy’s stores as part of the Rwanda Path to Peace program. These baskets, every single one of them represents a journey that they and the women who weave them have been on. The journey is one toward reconciliation.

red white basket macys

Macy’s has carried the Rwandan Path to Peace baskets in store and at Macys.com for 10 years. It’s an amazing commitment for an American retailer to make to women in another country. Back in 1994, the tiny nation, no bigger than Rhode Island saw a genocidal mass slaughter.  In three short months, nearly 1 million Rwandans were brutally murdered in a fury of ethic violence that is hard to even fathom.

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After the massacre, a few women came together and did what women in Rwanda do. They talked, they cried and they wove baskets. These were women of both sides of the ethnic divide, practicing the skills of weaving they all learn from their mothers and grandmothers. When Macy’s began carrying the baskets in 1995, it was the first example of a major American retailer committing to a Trade-not-Aid product line in a substantial way. Macy’s has kept that commitment alive, despite the fact that Rwanda has largely disappeared from the news.

red white basket 3

The baskets are available online and in stores and retail for $30-$50. Macy’s offers many 20% off coupons and the wonderful thing is, if you get this item for a discount it does not affect the price the weaver earns for the basket. I hope you take a look at the baskets HERE.

red white basket 2

red white basket

I have to admit I had never heard of this great commitment Macy’s has made to the women of this tiny nation. We are so blessed to live in America and it can be hard to imagine the plight of these women and what they lived through. I am sure they have very deep scars but what Macy’s has done and continues to do gives them a sense of hope, hope for the future, hope to women in Africa.

If you are looking for a gift that carries with it great meaning, these baskets would definitely fit that to a T. It truly is a gift that represents the wish and hope for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Women. Do you realize that every basket that is sold will not only provide hope but economic sustenance for a woman in Rwanda. She will use the money to pay her children’s school fees, feed her children and perhaps buy a goat that will help improve her life. Can you imagine the kind of impact the purchase of a red and white basket can make?

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Below I hope you will take a few minutes to view a video that shows the history of the Rwanda program.

 

Rwanda Path to Peace is now the longest-lasting program of its kind, impacting thousands of women throughout Rwanda, their families and communities. With their earnings, women can now send their children to school. They can buy everything from soap to land, malaria nets to health insurance. The income they earn from their handiwork has helped rebuild their communities. One of the first things a weaver does when she sells her first basket is buy soap. The next thing she does is buy shoes and pay school fees. Many weavers today have seen huge improvements in their lives. Below are powerful videos featuring such stories, click on the woman’s name to see a video about her life now.

Every Red and White Basket is the result of a weaving process that has been practiced for centuries in Rwanda. Each basket design is unique and they are painstakingly crafted from sisal and grass by women who learned to weave from their mothers, grandmothers and aunts. If you would like to see how the baskets are made in a special video, click HERE!

Ten years ago many of the thousands of children were malnourished and sick but through this program that has provided food, medicine and education they are now thriving young adults. Many of these young adults have completed school and are entering university.  Macy’s commitment to the women of Rwanda means they can have hope for a future.

You will find the Rwanda 10th Anniversary Medium Star Basket on Mommy Ramblings’ 2015 Holiday Gift Guide.

 

“This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.“


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