Lasso The Moon

My Four Most Wanted : God changed the way I saw my kids

Something you should know about me: I dream big.  Like, really big.  Even as a little kid I was absolutely sure I was going to be a famous singer.  Or author.  Or fashion designer.  Absolutely positive. 

But somewhere along the way, God challenged me to dream smaller.  Like really small.  He challenged me to serve Him in a way that might never impact the world.  Or go viral on social media.  He asked me, "Do you love me enough to do something small for me?"  And although I didn't know for sure if I could love Him like that, I was up for the challenge.  And the last few years, through the tiniest expressions of obedience, service, and worship, I have grown to know the Lord in an entirely new way.

Fourth of July 2015 - Ice Cream Social and Bike Parade

 

I love community.  And over the last few years, as I have pursued what I believe is a calling from Jesus, to love my neighbor and focus my ministry as close to home as possible, I have grown to love community even more.

When I was in high school, my parents moved into a small community with a town square, friendly neighbors, and parties.  Lots of parties.  We had block parties, Christmas parties, even a "howling at the moon" party!  And as a young woman, it affected the way I saw my neighborhood and the people who lived there.  I want my kids and my neighbors to have that, too.  Even if it has to start with me.

This weekend we had a July 4th ice cream social and bike parade. 

Y'all.  You have to try this.  It was almost NO WORK AT ALL!

I'll explain.

What you need for an ice cream social is this:

1) invitations

2) ice cream

What you need for a bike parade:

1) streamers and shiny decorations

2) tape and scissors

3) people with bikes

Seriously.  It could not be any easier.

Here's how we did it. 

One month before the party: I sent my neighbor Malika a text, asking if they'd be in town on the 4th.  Yes.  Done.

Four days before the party: I designed a simple but fun invitation using PicMonkey, a free graphic design program online. 

You don't even have to do this, because I've made one for you!

Click on the image to see it full-sized.  Then right-click on the image and select save.  Then upload to pickmonkey.com and add your own words!

Three days before the party: This part is FUN!  Get a stack of simple paper plates and tape one invitation to each plate.  Use a hole punch to make a hole at the top of each plate, about an inch down.  Loop a rubber band through the hole to make a stretchy hanger for the doorknobs on your street. 

Walk your invitations to each door.  If you've never met your neighbors, this is a great time to knock on the door and introduce yourself.

(I made him pose for this.)

One day before the party: Hit up the Dollar Tree for cheap decorations like crepe paper streamers, curling ribbon, and foil stars.  Balloons and flags are awesome, too!  Pick up a couple (or more) of those giant tubs of generic ice cream at the grocery store.  If you get more than you can fit in your freezer, see if you can store some in a neighbor's freezer.  This is a great way to ease someone into the party.  For ours, we had 6 tubs of chocolate and vanilla at three different houses.  That's community!

Optional: even if you have asked people to bring their own toppings, you might want to grab a few syrups and sprinkles while you are out.  Just in case.

The day of the party: On a hot day like July 4th, it's good to have water of some kind.  Sprinklers, baby pools, and plenty of bottled or cooled water for drinking.  We have this giant obnoxious blow-up slide that we only use a couple times a year.  It was a hand-me-down from family, but it has been well used and loved by us.  If you think you might be throwing a few of these block parties a year, think about investing in one (affiliate link) at some point.  Of course, that's totally optional.

Set up tables for the ice cream and decorating supplies.  Set out as many chairs as you can find.  Fill up your drink dispenser with extra water.  Fill a cooler with ice for storing the ice cream.  Find your ice cream scoop.  Maybe put out a bucket of sidewalk chalk for the kids.  Turn on some music.  And wait for the guests to arrive!

I have to admit, I did invite a couple of ringers--

my nieces who just got new bikes--to make sure the party looked full to passers by.

During the party: We kept two tubs of ice cream in the cooler, and two in the freezer inside.  When one got mushy, we switched them out.

Wear sunscreen!

Serve up ice cream like it's going out of style.  Let the kids pile on the toppings and go nuts. 

(Jesus is lavish with His grace.  The sprinkles should be free-flowing at the very least, while we are representing Him!)

 

Get to know your neighbors, where they live, their names, and even some phone numbers if possible.  Talk to them and see how they'd like to get involved as a neighborhood.  A street-wide garage sale? A book club?

I didn't know how to run a bike parade, and to be honest, I still don't!  We let the kids go wild with the supplies for decorating.

Helpful grown-ups are a plus!

 

Then we lined them up for the parade!

Boomhauer marched at the front of the parade as the Grand Marshal.  We all agreed that he was the Best Feline Grand Marshal anyone had ever seen.

We stood adults at the end of the block and the middle of the block (my house), in the street to discourage drivers from driving through.  Then we just let the kids loose. 

I thought they'd ride down and back and then be through.  But they didn't want it to end!  I was so moved by their enthusiasm!

They rode fast and slow, waving flags, and singing to the patriotic music Donnie was blasting from his phone onto a blue-tooth speaker. 

Next year, we might line up the adults along the sidewalks to cheer everyone on.

It turned out better than I ever hoped, and I can't wait to do it again!

Have you ever had a block party or have some ideas to share?  Let us know in the links below!  Just like my block, this blog is a community.  Let's work together!

Here are a couple other articles you might find interesting, if you liked this one:

A Novice's Guide to Throwing a Block Party

If You Bought Two Lasagnas, Give One to Your Neighbors

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Do Something Small

 

 

 

My neighbor, Mr. H

I've been trying to love my neighbors.  Not because they aren't easy to love, because they really are.  I have a sweet neighborhood full of a broad spectrum of people of different ages, life stages, social class, and race.  And we get along really well!

But I have a busy life with the four kids, homeschooling, and just the day-to-day, and before I know it, it's been months since I intentionally reached out to a neighbor in love.  I hope that changes.  I hope it becomes more natural and instinctive the more I practice.  But until then, I have to work at it, and allow myself some grace when I don't meet my own expectations.

My neighbor, Mr. H doesn't seem to have to work at it so much.  He is a great source of inspiration in this area.  For instance, the flags.

A couple years ago, Mr H took it upon himself to decorate our entire street with flags for Independence Day. He started with his own, his immediate neighbors, and my house, which is across the street.  And then the next year, he went from door to door, asking the permission to plant flags in front of every house--almost 30 of them.

He made many trips to different stores, buying all of the flags they had, with his own money, and then placed them, carefully measured by three shoe-lengths along the entire stretch of our block.  Both sides.  I don't know how old Mr H is, but I know that he suffers with arthritis, and that the task of decorating our street takes him several days in the heat to complete.  (Although this year he was helped along by Ethan, who was thrilled and proud to be a part of it!)

A few days after the 4th, he'll take down every flag, carefully wash the base of the stick, and store them safely away until next year.  This man knows about building community.  He knows that doing something small can have a big impact. When we have visitors to our house while the flags are up, every person asks about them.  Because of the simple loving act of one man, we are unified in some way, despite our differences in background.  And that is no small thing in this country today.

He came over this morning to tell us that he won't be able to make it to our block party tomorrow, but that he wished he could.

I asked him why he would go to the trouble to plant flags in front of every house on the street.  And he said, "I felt like it needed to be done."

Thanks, Mr H!  They look so beautiful!  I'm happy you're my neighbor.

::

PS  If you live in the South Dallas area, you've probably seen Mr H's roofing billboards around.  If you or someone you know is in need of a new roof, give him a call!  (He got ours done very quickly after a big hail storm.)  And tell him his neighbor Anna sent you.  He'd get a kick out of that!

.....................................

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Hope Spoken - And My Husband the Gifted Gift-Giver

I know I have a habit of going on about this...but I have to.

My husband gives the best gifts.

I just turned 35, something that continues to confuse me since I don't feel anything like a grown-up.  Donnie was out of town on the actual day...you know...helping orphans in Guatemala and stuff. 

But when he got home, he gave me my birthday present. He made the envelope out of a paper grocery bag.

(photo to come)

Inside was a ticket to a women's conference in Dallas--Hope Spoken.  I hadn't heard about it, but it is a conference that is centered around women telling their own stories, and the Hope they have in Jesus. (please visit the link--the pictures are amazing!)

I was moved that he thought of something like this, even more when I found out that Jen Hatmaker and Meg Deurkson were two of the speakers.  I've been a fan (understatement) for a while.  But I could also feel the anxiety creeping up my throat at the thought of attending a conference by myself.  With no one to talk to about what was going on, no one to sit with.  I set my face in a forced smile as I felt the panic about to take over.

That's when he presented me with the second ticket.  He had bought another one for my friend Mary.  She's one of those people who I crave time with, and who I never get to see enough.  She was my second gift.  And of course, that's when the tears came! (Also, let's all agree that he's a little bit of a jerk for letting me get so nervous before he told me she was going with me.)

Before I left for the conference, I downloaded Jen's book, Interrupted and read the whole thing in a couple of days.  Her writing and point of view always wreck me, and this was no exception. So I spent the next couple of days texting every friend I could think of to also read it asap, so I would have someone to help me chew things over. 

(If you haven't read it, please do so now. )

The whole trip was exactly what it was meant to be. Night one was full of worship, Jen Hatmaker, and amazing food.  Seriously, there were tables spilling with cake pops and macaroons.  During worship I watched Jen like a stalker and tried to stop imagining meeting her and pawing at her face.  And then I did get to meet her in a burst of stifled self-consciousness, in which I blurted that I was trying hard not to touch her face.  (Freak!)  After that, I stood slightly out of her sight range and took mental notes on how she effortlessly flowed between conversations with strangers with grace, love, and sincere friendliness.  She has I gift, I'm telling you.

 

A photo posted by Anna (@lasso_the_moon) on Mar 27, 2015 at 8:41pm PDT

 (This is my look of total restraint.  Because inside I'm losing it.)

Mary and I had a room in the hotel, and even though Donnie had meant for the weekend to be a restful experience, to go along with my word of the year, we stayed up talking until the wee hours, our conversations ranging from compassion for the homeless, to our love for the movie Rocky.  Cause that's what friends talk about when they have the luxury of time.

The rest of the weekend was one delicious meal, one profound tesitimony of God's grace, one spirit-moving music session after another.  I did get to meet Meg, and she was really great.  We're basically the same age, so we'll probably end up friends at some point, right? Meg?

But there was one moment in the weekend where I knew absolutely that this was the reason I was supposed to be there.  Right before lunch, when only a fraction of the women were in the room, a woman named Sarah gave a presentation of a ministry that God dropped into her lap.  She only talked for about 10 minutes, but I was struck by emotion, so moved that I couldn't even get up and talk to her when she was done.

She talked about being lost in a job that took her away from family too much.  That even though she was great at it, her passion was closer to home.  She talked about how she discovered that she is a people gatherer, and that her happiest times are while she is feeding people.  She asked her dad to build her a huge table, and they put it in her yard...and started inviting her neighbors to dinner.  And after a few years, she has met over 1600 people at her table, and she knows more than 80 of her neighbors.

You can follow her ministry here.

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know that I feel like God has put some major restrictions on my life and my would-be ministry.  Every time I try to venture too far outside of my family/neighborhood, he pulls me back in, asking me to think smaller.  And it has been driving me crazy for years!  Because I have huge plans and dreams for what I could be doing for Him.  Anyway, I'll link to some of those posts at the bottom of this one, if you are interested in knowing more about that.

But this woman that I heard speak, as if directly to me, has been having a huge impact on the Lost without ever leaving her backyard.  And not only was I moved beyond words, I was moved into another planning phase.  I can't get into it too much yet, because I don't know exactly what's going to come of it, but we are hoping to start with some Saturday morning breakfast parties, and another big block party for the neighborhood. (Only three years after the first one.) Friends, I'm excited! I feel like I finally have that next step to take instead of just another closed door.

And I have Donnie to thank.  For a birthday gift that changed my thinking, and possibly how I do life.

I told you he gives great gifts!

Some other posts about ministry, neighborliness, Jen Hatmaker, and thinking smaller.

If you Bought Two Lasagnas...

Do Something Small

A Novice's Guide to Throwing a Block Party

Shredded Chicken Tacos (my most-pinned recipe, and a story about feeding hungry neighborhood kids)

 

 

 

 

Teaching Kids about Money and Giving

It's almost here! Are you ready?  This year is almost over, and a new one is waiting just around the corner!  I think this might be my favorite time of year.  I love the hustle and excitement of Christmas, but I REALLY love coming down from the height of the season to the clean slate of the New Year.  Like landing on fresh powder.

Our holidays were wonderful, and I'm overflowing with thankfulness.

Since we are homeschooling this year, we were able to take a full three weeks off and really soak in the restfulness.  Well, sort of.  We went to 14 parties in 30 days...but in between, we had some REST.  At least we weren't trying to fit in spelling lists and geography!

During our time off, the big kids each made some crafts so they could raise money for Christmas.  Half of their earnings were for gift-buying, and the other half was marked to give away to a charity of their choice.

Emma (10) made these  sets of hair ties:

We gave them cute names like Build a Snowman and Midnight, and added them to my esty shop, since I was running a virtual pop-up shop there anyway.  We also advertised on Instagram and Facebook.

Here's what Ethan (8) made:

Mini wreaths made from felted wool clothing scraps.  Each one was about 5 inches across.  In addition to facebook and IG, Ethan showed Emma how to hustle.  He sold most of his to people he came into contact with--not an ounce of fear in that kid!

When it was all said and done, it was amazing how close their sales totals were.  Emma ended up selling 21 sets of hair ties, while Ethan sold 19 wreaths.  We also had a couple people donate extra money to their charitable giving.  Both kids were so excited! Especially when they got orders online--that felt really official.

Today, we added up everything, decided to go with World Vision, and chose which gifts they wanted to give (rabbits and ducks).

They raised exactly $94.

 

Adding up the totals from our #kidmade handicraft sale this year. They earned a combined total of $94 to donate to #worldvision. You should have seen them pore over that catalog! They chose rabbits and ducks. And get this: 2 rabbits + 8 ducks cost exactly $94! #ChristmasMiracle #thankful

A photo posted by Anna (@lasso_the_moon) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:28pm PST

 

I went back and forth between the pages of the catalog, trying to do the math in my head. As it turns out, the price of 8 ducks and 2 rabbits comes to exactly $94.  I felt like I was in one of those stories were the family prays for the last $14 for the rent, and a stranger walks up and hands them exactly what they needed in cash...you know those stories, right?  Our friends, family, and even complete strangers came together to help my kids earn exactly what they needed to give exactly what they'd hoped they could give.  This kind of thing is a huge boost in faith in the midst of the daily gettin-stuff-done, ya know?

I love doing this kind of thing with my kids.  It pulls them out of themselves in this potentially selfish time of year, and helps them focus on someone else.  I'm sure they don't really understand the good that they might be doing by donating these animals to families in need--I'm not sure I even understand it fully--but the sheer act of working for the benefit of someone else was exciting and rewarding to them.  And $94 is totally worth getting excited over!

Another benefit of doing a little business with the kids, is that they were constantly doing math in their heads.  Ethan's ornaments were worth more than Emma's hair ties, especially since she had to pay back part of her sale price for supplies. (Ethan did too, just not as much since we had most of the supplies on hand.)  We also learned the value of expanding your target customer.  The wreaths were more expensive, but they were also appealing to a wider range of people.  The hair ties were cute, affordable, and had great packaging, but didn't work as a gift for someone without longish hair.  Or boys.  On the other hand, they made really easy stocking stuffers, so people bought in multiples.  Believe me, all of these factors are running through their heads as they consider doing this again next time.

And there will be a next time! We are going to open up the shop again really soon, and incorporate business, money management, and charitable giving into our regular homeschool routine.  We are planning to open back up on January 10, with a new line for the Valentine's, wedding, baby shower season, so stay tuned!

::

So how about you?  How was your Christmas season? Are you worn out or ready to charge the gates into the New Year?  Have you ever given to a cause like Compassion, World Vision, or Heifer International? Today is a good day to start!

 

 

Smaller

Oh my gosh, I have so much to share with you!  But for now, the Lord seems to be tying my hands when it comes to typing these things out. 

More than a year ago, God taught me a lesson that I am still figuring out.  As a dreamer and a doer, I love to think really big.  I love to imagine how I could make the world (sometimes the whole world) a better place, and then plan out the steps to see it happen. 

But for some reason, Jesus is not interested in me saving the entire world, at least not at this season in my life.  So, each time inspiration hits, we go through a series of paring-down exercises.  Get that great idea as small as possible.  Make sure that the idea has very little impact beyond the people who are directly in my physical path.  Why? I have no idea.  I have no idea how less can actually be more in the kingdom of God.  But I believe Him.  And I trust Him.

It seems, for this time at least, that even my blog is too big.  "Smaller," He says.  So today, instead of sharing whatever amazing insight I might have into this life, I'm just going to share this video of Beth Moore.  In this story she does something so incredibly small, that it brought me to my knees.  I know this story of small will change your life more than anything I might have said, anyway.

Please, if you have a second, share your thoughts in the comments.  I miss all of your feedback in this time of radio silence!!  Has God ever told you to reign it in, to do less for the "kingdom"?  Have you ever done something so tiny for Him that it changed your life forever? 

If you have never read the story of where this whole "do something small" idea came from, here is the original post.

XOXO, Anna