clean4myking: CLEAN THINKING: Triple H Cookie Club is at Your Front Door!

"Love cannot remain by itself- it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service." ~Mother Teresa

Ever since returning from Ghana, I knew there was one area of my life I needed to improve upon. Serving others. Sometimes its hard to think outside the box. Sometimes its overwhelming to know where to start. Sometimes I don't feel like doing it. Sometimes its inconvenient. Sometimes...

But during those "sometimes" stages is when God's glory is revealed and I stand back in awe of Who He Is and how He equips me for those "SOMETIMES" moments.

Let me start by saying, I write this not for any glory or praise. I'm sure w/ this one little idea that popped into my head there have already been thousands of mom's who've done this, or even better ideas, before me. Many of you reading this have had your kids serve in soup kitchens, helped w/ charities, foster parent, or maybe even are right now serving on a mission field overseas somewhere. There are families in the "front lines"...some who are literally risking their lives to share the news of Jesus, and here I am chatting about my little cookie club. Whoop-tee-doo. But not all of us are CALLED to 3rd World countries. Not all of us are CALLED to foster or adopt. Not all of us are CALLED to minster to prostitutes and drug addicts. But we are all CALLED TO LOVE. You. Me. Called to love others- not with human, temporal, cuz-it-feels-good-love. We're called to AGAPE love. AGAPE love has PURPOSE. And that's what I felt we were lacking at Happy Heart Homestead. Love with PURPOSE.

I'm specifically talking about my kids. They've seen their momma "in action" many times. They've seen me deliver meals, help out neighbors, pray over friends on the phone, go to hospitals, and even help the turtles cross the street. We've donated their clothes and toys to good causes and sent care packages across the ocean to orphans. But they are usually "along for the ride"...and my kids are getting to the age where I'd like to see them take the steering wheel a little. Have some ownership. Be aware. Have AGAPE...love with PURPOSE. Instead, I feel like I lose them in the modern-day-the-world-revolves-around-me-environment.

Parents, I know you agree with me when I say we live in a "me-focused" society. (Can I hear an AMEN??) I can't even go into a Gap store to buy a new t-shirt for my daughter without it reading, "DIVA" or "It's all about Me!" Boys shirts aren't any better with their slogans like "I'm kind of a big deal" or "It's My Way or the Highway". On a practical level, how do I instill in the hearts of my children a true desire to SERVE others? To LOVE others? To think OUTward, not Inward?

After a recent trip to the hills of Arkansas, I was very much moved to action. Again I could feel the Lord whispering to me to continue guiding my children in the area of service. I just didn't know WHAT or HOW. After all, my youngest just turned 3 and his world revolves around poop and trains...and my oldest is an overly-cautious and sometimes anxious 5 year old. Neither of my kids are "Type A"...they tend to need a little push from momma to embrace life and really LIVE. About 2 weeks ago I was in my kitchen baking some cookies and hashing this very topic out w/ the Lord, asking Him to reveal to me what my kids could do...they need something tangible, something they can take ownership in, something simple...and I looked down in my mixing bowl and had an AHA! moment. I looked at my kids, both of whom were standing on chairs helping me mix and pour and stir some more...and as clear as day I knew what we could do. Start a Cookie Club. Simple. Tangible. Serving. And nothing says love better than a homemade cookie, right?

For 2 weeks we talked about our club. We made a brochure to hand out that stated who we were and why we deliver cookies. We talked about the "rules" of to-do's and not-to-do's. We discussed manners and how to properly greet people.

Since both of my kids have some social anxiety, I thought it would be good to "recruit" some extroverted buddies for some positive peer pressure. We made our cookies. We printed out our brochures. We loaded up in the pick-up...and off we went. 5 plates of cookies to deliver to 5 unsuspecting homes. To see their eyes LIGHT UP was worth it. I could sense that they were getting it. They were enthusiastic (almost a little TOO much!...kids, quit peering into the windows! kids, quit ringing the doorbell, they hear you already!) I wish I could show you our cute little brochure! I'll have to print more out and take a picture of it so you can see. It has our Mission Statement and everything! HA! So much fun...

Taking ownership...making our first batch for Triple H Cookie Club

The "Club" members!

1st home...had no a/c, no screen on some windows, yet 2 net dish satellites. . Very sweet mom and little girl

2nd home had several kids. Home was missing siding and had several broken windows. Rural America

I loved this homeschooling mom who told me she got kicked out of a co-op because she had a tattoo! In her tiny yard she had chickens, a goat, cats, and 7 dogs. She was refreshingly real.

We did not knock on this persons door but as I walked by and noticed the windowless holes and falling apart siding/roof, I wondered about the person inside...what their story was...

Meet my dear miss Marjorie. To say I love her is an understatement. She is in her 90's, still drives, lives on her farm, has a large garden that has way less weeds than mine, hand washes her car, mows her lawn, etc. she is a strong yet gentl woman...humble, gracious and tenacious. I want to be just like her...even with her adorable curlers in her hair!!!!