Have you seen the new issue of Architectural Digest?
(go look, I will wait-better yet, go out and buy the sucker!)

Brad Pitt is on the cover.  There is a whole spread on what he is doing to help the people of New Orleans get back into homes after Katrina-centering on Make it Right Project.

Now, Mr. Pitt was attractive back in the days of Thelma and Louise.  But the older he gets-well he isn’t getting less attractive by any means.  I am not generally one to swoon over celebrity-because-well I out grew that a few years ago.  I do however get a little giddy over philanthropy.

Paul Newman used his celebrity for good and toward the end of his life was better known for his food and salad dressings than his movies with the younger bunch.  Since the mid 80’s he donated more than $250,000 to various charities…it says it on ALL of his packaging!  (I noticed while snackin’ on some really good ginger hermit cookies).

Oh yes, back to the point of this article…

Back in 2005- I remember seeing Sean Penn riding through the flooded streets in a power boat with his own film crew-recording all of his good deeds.  I remember hearing of other celebrities showing up and donating time and money when all eyes were still on New Orleans.  Most of them have now gone back to higher ground.  Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie, however, are still there.  They have a home in the French Quarter and Brad is still there helping people re-build.

People still know the man for his movies because he is one heck of an actor, but he is becoming more known as the days go by for the good he is doing for the people of NoLa.  The houses are designed for living  in a flood prone area and they are environmentally responsible buildings.

So, I can’t wait to read the rest of the issue.  AD used to be one of my favorite publications.  But, from just flipping through it, the article on Mr. Pitt and his affordable housing, is my favorite and it isn’t just because of the pictures either!

I think this year, more than most people are scaling back, buying less and giving more. Or maybe it is just the folks I hang with.

I know in my own family we have agreed to cut back and for that, I am very thankful. It frees resources for us to give to others who have never had shoes, want to be self supporting or are getting an education to change their world.

My cousin is the Student Ministries Pastor @Flat Irons Community Church and his wife is the Children’s Ministry Program Director. I listen to every sermon on i Tunes and occasionally watch on their site. They also have a blog and of course, I read it too. Sometimes I wish that I either lived in Colorado OR there was a community like theirs here. They are doing AWESOME things.

Today’s entry on the blog is exactly how I have felt about the Christmas season for the past several years. Actually, I feel that way MOST of the time, but Christmas especially because our rampant consumerism is so obvious.

Check them out.
They are good people! (and I am only related to two of them.)

In keeping with my Buzzard Status…I thought I would bring one out of the vaults this week.

I remember when this was first on MTV. And looking at it now…wow, they were all so young…I was surprised at how many people I remembered. These artists were my music-loved them all…but really Boy George looked better with all the colored dreds than he did with the orange doo.

Part of me is sad that this is still an issue after almost 25 years….but it also gives me hope that people STILL care. Head on over to Compassion International and see how you can help “feed the world” this Christmas or make a difference in the life of ONE child. (you can also click the link to the right).

Visit Amy for more great music today!

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First thing I do every morning after I get the 13 yr old off to school is check my RSS feeds.

This week, it is obvious that Thanks is going to be the theme and I love it. What I find super interesting is that the professional blogs I read (Real Estate, Technology, etc) are the ones that are REALLY hitting this topic hard.

One of my favorites is from Kathy Drewien, How to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude. She is a Realtor in Atlanta and her blog is always filled with fantastic information. One of my favorite reads. While you are there, you might want to check out the “I feel your pain” video…really funny, even if it DOES hurt.

And then there is Brad Ruggles. I would like to say that he is my twin separated at birth, but he is much younger and it appears (much to my chagrin) much more creative. Check out the letter his family is sending out this year. I LOVE It. I want to steal it, but I am resisting. I will come up with my own, much less cool version.

So, what have you read today that has you all inspired?

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Today over 150 bloggers will hit the internets with posts about this fantastic program. I am fortunate enough to be one of those people.

Over the past 3 years my heart has really changed toward poverty around the world and sometimes the task seems so daunting. But, when you think that 5 dollars (how much a gallon of gas was in parts of the country not even 6 months ago) will buy TWO pairs of shoes for the poor in Mexico.

Wow.
I don’t even think I could get two pair of socks for $5.00 anymore.

So, here’s the deal.
50,000 shoes.
50 days.

But, that isn’t all-after they get 50,000 pairs of shoes-one lucky person who donated will get to travel to Mexico to deliver the shoes. What an aswesome experience!

I donated mine yesterday and honestly, it took like 3 minutes-less if you have your credit card number memorized! So, head on over to 50,000 Shoes.

Share the love!

About Soles4Souls
Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Since its inception, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 3.5 million pairs (or one pair every 23 seconds) to people in 61 countries, including Honduras, Romania, Thailand, and the Sudan. The charity has been featured on CNN Headline News, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, ABC News, FOX, CBS, and hundreds of regional outlets around North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS; donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.

I have been looking forward to today for about the last 300. Part of me was so sick of all the ads and the he said, she said business I couldn’t stand it.

I was also pretty tired of the emails and assumptions made about my voting choices by people I respected. This whole thing presidential election has been a huge mess. My eyes have been opened to division and hate that I didn’t know existed among civilized people.

Good Christian people sending emails that were so hurtful and filled with lies and hatred for another of God’s children. (and then we wonder why people have such a negative opinion of us-Christians.)

We are ALL God’s Children, even if we have different ideas.

Because of all of this, I was nervous about voting. I had conjured images in my mind of people yelling and screaming and getting in fights. Afterall, my polling place IS a Baptisst Church in Kentucky.

The line snaked to the door and wrapped around inside the church. I thought I would be there all day!
Young kids-obviously voting for the first time with their tatoo’s and stretched ear plug disk thingies-grandma’s who have voted at the same place for 60 years. All of us, in it together.

I got choked up.

And I prayed that no one saw me wipe the tears from my eyes. I was emotional because this is the first presidential election that my popaw won’t vote- because he died in April, but even back then, he had some SERIOUS opinions about it and I miss him. I miss discussing politics with him. But, that was only part of it.

The other part, the part that would have gotten him coked up too (because that was the kind of man he was)…that there were people lined up at 11am on a tuesday…TO VOTE. I heard on the radio some people waited over 2 hours to vote this morning.

To exercise our right.
Our Duty.

I can’t say that I don’t care how it all turns out…part of me does. I want “my” guy to win. I don’t want to be a loser by picking the wrong dude. I know it is silly it is my competitive nature, but, I also know that no matter what…

God is in control and he can turn even the worst situations into his glory.

And no matter who wins…History will be made.

How was voting in your area?

This year my family is considering making a donation to a charity or buying livestock for a family in a 3rd world country. In the past month we have gotten at least 5 brochures from various organizations.

Some we have already developed a relationship, others we are investigating. I found two websites that have helped so much in determining where our money may go for the holiday season and next years giving:

Ministry Watch



Charity Navigator

I was happy to learn that the organizations we were seriously considering have a great track record. I also discovered some newer options to consider as well.

Do you have a favorite charity? How do they rate?

Today is Blog Action Day and the subject is “Poverty”. As a sponsor of a child from Compassion International, I could talk about that. I could talk about my own experiences with poverty, however, I know that I have never experienced real poverty-myself or what my sheltered life has seen.

With stories that have been in the news about the instability of our economy, I have been thinking alot more about poverty. While I am trying to not make light of the people who have suffered monitary losses this year, when we compare it to the bigger picture-to the people world wide who didn’t even EAT today-I have a hard time.

My spouselet got his 401K report yesterday and he had a loss of around $10,000. Wow. That would take care of my compassion kid for 26 more years-or 312 kids next month. Doesn’t seem like such a thing to get all worked up about anymore does it?

I read American and Europeans spend as much money on PERFUME as the Global Priority for women’s reproductive health (@ 12 Billion Dollars in 1998). It isn’t like we spent that money on french fries or apple pies, we spent it to SMELL GOOD.

With numbers like that, my heart breaks. I know that as a family we are changing the way we spend and redirecting some of that to humanitarian efforts, including the fight on poverty.

We are trying to Live Simply so others can simply live and every day, it gets a little easier.

If you would like to take steps to help end poverty visit Compassion International to make a one time donation OR click on the widget to the right and sponsor a child. I honestly can say, it is a very rewarding experience that my family has come to cherrish.

Data supplied by: Anup Shah, Poverty Facts and Stats, GlobalIssues.org, Last updated: Wednesday, September 03, 2008