October 5-11 is designated World Orphan Week. Many organizations – such as Amani Life Project – are working to raise awareness in America this week and to sound the alarm for the orphaned child. To that end, I would like to give you some ideas on how to make a significant impact without severely impacting the family budget. I say “severely” because I think it’s great for the budget to be at least a little compressed and it’s good for our kids to feel it and understand what it’s like to live with less for a few days. The economy is ALSO doing it’s best to try to help us understand living with less as well…but this is for a great cause!
Day #1 Grocery Slash for Social Justice.
Figure out a rough estimate of what you spend on groceries (average American family spends $30-50 per person per week) and cut it in half. This will probably eliminate some things like soda, cereal, expensive meat, nutmeg and those awesome frozen pizzas from Costco. It will, however, open the door to: biscuits and beans (eat it by candlelight), cozy chicken soup, oatmeal for breakfast and many priceless conversations as your kids experience an altered lifestyle for the sake of orphans around the world. At the end of the week, gather up the money you’ve saved and give it to a worthy cause. Truly, your children (and your husband!) will remember this week for the rest of their lives.
Should you choose to donate your grocery money to the Amani Life Project – and to become a $10/month sponsor (which you could totally do since you learned to save all that grocery cash!) we will send you an awesome Amani Life tote bag for hauling your groceries home!
Tomorrow? Travel mugs and marathons!
Loving this week,
Bo
Thanks for this concrete idea Bo. For years I had a friend who had a meal of rice and beans once a week. She and her kids (two girls she adopted from Haiti) put the cash difference between the beans and rice meal and a “standard” meal in a jar, and that money was sent back to the orphanage.
I’d like ideas on how to “sell” Amani to high school senior girls. Do you have some materials I could share with our Young Life leaders? I feel like our Campaigner’s girls could be setting aside two lattes a month to help girls get an education…at the same time as their parents are preparing to shell out tons of money for college next year!
I was with you right up until you mentioned nutmeg. Things are getting a little personal now. =)
Seriously though, I love the thought about eating rice and beans once a week and giving away the money! Someone else had told me about how they have a “party with the angels” celebration everytime one of their immediate family members is involved in leading someone to Christ.
Great practical lessons to remind our household to live life beyond ourselves. Thanks Bo!
Sorry, Jamie – I’ll try to curb my expressions of hostility toward innocent nutmeg. Your “party” idea reminded me of the reading this week in Esther where God instructed that the throw a party every year just to remember what God had saved them from. It seems like such a good idea right now when our country is spinning and our tendency could be to say, “Where are you God?” to have a night – or a WEEK – to just totally celebrate everything He already HAS done because there’s so much. And that would fix our faith on what He WILL do. EM Bounds said, “Today’s bread is the surest kind of pledge that there will be bread tomorrow.” I’d like to live like that.
Karen – I emailed you!
I like nutmeg and orphans
Yep – Tracy wins funny comment o’ the day! That made me laugh hard!