Clothe The Naked

The Salvation Army takes donations of clothing and home goods plus furniture. They re-sell these items in their thrift stores across America at a good value.

Salvation Army

www.salvationarmyusa.org

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul helps the poor with needs, especially clothing.

National Council of the United States
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
58 Progress Parkway
St. Louis, MO 63043-3706
(314) 576-3993
www.svdpusa.org

Catholic Social Services are active in many local communities. Contact your local diocese or look in the yellow pages for their information.

These are just a few of the ways you can help to fulfill this work of mercy. Don't throw out those clothes..give them away.

Please visit your local pregnancy center and woman's shelter to see if they will take donations of gently used baby clothing and business attire for women trying to re-enter the workforce.

The Work of Mercy

I just finished reading The Work of Mercy by Mark Shea. Excellent book on the Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy. Highly recommend it to those who are interested in such things and to those who may not know they are. He's not preachy, but gives practical insight into each work and at the end of his book he gives us some ideas on how we can make it happen, and (as my blog title says) be a helping hand to others.

I'll post some of the ideas he gave to help us be doers of the word and not just hearers. Of course you can look in your local area and find many more ways to work out each work of mercy, corporal and spiritual. It really does do a body good. Both yours and those you help.

Feeding the Hungry:

Mercy Corps provides communities with the tools and support they need to transform their own lives.

Mercy Corps P.O. Box 2669, Dept. W
Portland, OR 97208-2669
www.mercycorps.org
888-256-1900

Food for the Poor provides food, housing, health care, education, water projects, emergency relief, and micro-enterprise assistance in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Food for the Poor
6401 Lyons Road Coconut Creek FL 33073
www.foodforthepoor.org
954-427-2222 or 800-427-9104

Feed the Children works in all 50 states and in 34 foreign countries supplementing more than 760,000 meals a day worldwide and reaching out to help children and families in 119 countries around the globe.

Feed The Children
P.O. Box 36 Oklahoma City, OK 73101
www.feedthechildren.org
800-627-4556

These are just a few of the larger organizations that you can contact to help Feed the Hungry. Look in your church bulletins and google your city for charitable activities to find local events you can participate in.

Good Guys

I woke up this morning...

I came down the stairs and my oldest was making me a beautiful, heart warming cup o'joe! He even asked me how I slept last night.

Then..he put on his coat and walked the dog.

God is so good.

Rainbows and Cookies

Well, yesterday was a mighty fine day! I received my package from the Honolulu Cookie Company (the cookies I won from JOT's quiz contest) and at work I was privy to the most fabulous sky transformations.

Yesterday was pretty hot and humid here..we hoped there would be rain. Well it came along about 6:30 pm. The sky went from a nice pale blue to a bruised purple and gray. I didn't get pictures because I was behind the cash register at the theater watching out the window. Then the wind..the crepe myrtles out front were blowing pretty good (everyone quick...roll up your windows..it's a comin') and finally, the rain. Blessed rain. I could hear my flowers and grass singing "Hallelujah!". Best of all I could actually hear my water bill decreasing. Ahhhhhhhhh.

Anyhow, after the rain(and my thanks to God for keeping my water bill low)..I finally got all my customers in and was able to head outside to take a picture of God's handiwork. This is what he painted for me.



Not just one, but two. Side by side. I wished I had a fancy shmancy camera but I don't. I was using my cell phone. They were much brighter in person. Not as lovely as a Hawaiian bow but lovely enough for me. The entire bow was visible in the sky. I just couldn't get the entire bow in my picture. When are they gonna come out with a Nikon D40 on a cell phone?!?!? Come on folks..we need some new thinkers out there!

I also captured this beautiful sky on my way home..it was about 9 pm.



Disclaimer: Do not take pics with your cell phone while driving.
(I only took three pics while driving. I won't do it again. I promise.)
This one came out all weird, but I love it.