Community and a Contest

When I started blogging almost two years ago, I had no clear direction. I just knew I had some things to say and having a place to say it (and perhaps even have a few people listen) seemed like a pretty cool thing. Seems like a self-absorbed endeavor if you stop and think about it.

But I didn't.

Think about it, that is.

For months I was sort of winging it. If you go back and read some of my earliest writing, that's evident. It was all about me and what I thought. But that gets boring. Seriously -- who cares? I didn't even care all that much.

But then a wonderful thing happened. This blog became less about me and more about the relationships that were beginning to take form here and on other blogs I frequented. As the popularity of this blog grew, so did my sense of responsibility to help others when and where I could. I'm still not that big a deal, not even so much a medium sized deal, but I do what I can.

Last month I wrote a post about my friend Sarah Salter. Sarah will be going to the Sudan on a mission trip this summer, and my friend Wendy at Weight What is helping raise money for her expenses by donating a portion of the proceeds of sales from her Etsy shop to Sarah's mission fund. You will find a link to Wendy's shop on the right hand side bar of this blog.

To kick things off, Wendy suggested a giveaway. Because who doesn't like some free stuff? The first prize winner will receive one of her $28 shirts, which are a available in a variety of sizes.



Second prize winner will receive a set of button wraps.


To enter, simply tell me in the comments section why you think you deserve to win. Be creative -- a poem, haiku, short story - whatever. If you're on the twitter (and if you're not, then why not?), tweet your three favorite items from the shop, then come back here and let me know you did.

As in previous contests here, I will not be judging the entries. I will once again call upon my friends Jeff and Tamara Hogan - two of my non-virtual friends. (Jeff and Tam, if you're reading this, thank you in advance for agreeing to judge the contest - Snort!) You have until Thursday, February 18, midnight CST to enter. Enter early. Early often. And please, no wagering.

If you find something there that you simply can't live without, be sure to put "Sarah" in the comments section of your order so that a portion of the proceeds will go towards her mission trip.

Ready?

Set?

GO!

***

Editor's Note: I realize this has been a pretty serious week here at Hey Look a Chicken, so tomorrow I promise to post something incredibly stupid and ridiculous. Sorry/you're welcome.

Now Go...

Don't Give Up

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ~ John 16:33

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. ~ John 15: 12-17



In this proud land we grew up strong
We were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail

No fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I've changed my face, I've changed my name
But no one wants you when you lose

Don't give up
'cos you have friends
Don't give up
You're not beaten yet
Don't give up
I know you can make it good

Though I saw it all around
Never thought I could be affected
Thought that we'd be the last to go
It is so strange the way things turn

Drove the night toward my home
The place that I was born, on the lakeside
As daylight broke, I saw the earth
The trees had burned down to the ground

Don't give up
You still have us
Don't give up
We don't need much of anything
Don't give up
'cause somewhere there's a place
Where we belong

Rest your head
You worry too much
It's going to be alright
When times get rough
You can fall back on us
Don't give up
Please don't give up

'got to walk out of here
I can't take anymore
Going to stand on that bridge
Keep my eyes down below
Whatever may come
And whatever may go
That river's flowing
That river's flowing

Moved on to another town
Tried hard to settle down
For every job, so many men
So many men no-one needs

Don't give up
'cause you have friends
Don't give up
You're not the only one
Don't give up
No reason to be ashamed
Don't give up
You still have us
Don't give up now
We're proud of who you are
Don't give up
You know it's never been easy
Don't give up
'cause I believe there's the a place
There's a place where we belong

***

P.S. - A VERY Happy Birthday to my friend Sarah Salter! Enjoy your day, and don't do anything I wouldn't! (Which pretty much leaves things wide open...)

Community

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may know that the blog Stuff Christians Like is what inspired me to start my own blog. I love the sense of community that Jon has created on his site. Take a look at my sidebar. Every blog listed there and many more that aren't are folks I've found either directly or indirectly from the comments section of Stuff Christians Like. He truly is the Kevin Bacon of the blogosphere.

Last Monday, Jon asked the question What if?:

"If only you had a platform with hundreds of thousands of friends from around the world that could easily organize and radically change the world through the power of something like a blog. If only...

Right now, right here, you and me and the Stuff Christians Like community have the chance to be much bigger than a blog. I am growing overwhelmed but the sense that God has given us all a tremendous gift called, “being alive on Monday” and He’s holding His breath in eager anticipation to see what we’ll do next.

And what’s next for Stuff Christians Like is that we’re going to build a kindergarten in Vietnam. (No segue whatsoever; we just jumped into that, didn’t we?)"

That's when something amazing happened...Stuff Christians Like raised $30,000 in 18 hours and funded the building of a kindergarten in Vietnam.

And now the community of Stuff Christians Like would like to build a second kindergarten.

This is not the post I had originally scheduled for Bridget's blog carnival topic of "Community". But last night I saw the following from Jon Acuff on twitter:

@prodigaljohn: I've got 5 on it. Tomorrow, Acuff family is matching the 1st 100 $5 donations for 2nd kindgrten http://tinyurl.com/yaye6aa

And I thought, "How cool is that?" So I sent Jon the following direct messages:

prodigaljohn: I'll match the next 50.

prodigaljohn: I mean the next 20 ($50)

prodigaljohn: Okay...I suck at math. I'll match 20 (that's $100 right?) Sigh...

We send a couple DMs back and forth and then Jon tweets this:

Want to play matchmaker? @katdish is matching $1 for every $5 the Acuffs match tomorrow for $500 for Vietnam. You in? 25cent match means $25

So...are you in? Click on the link and get the rest of the scoop from Jon.

Who's your neighbor?

I have set out to write this post on several occasions, but I always get distracted. I don't know why...

But my friend Stacy from Louisville (I mostly just call her Stacy, cuz we're Facebook BFFs and all) wrote a really great post about community that reminded me about writing this particular post. When I started blogging, It was mostly just a way to write really long comments about what I thought about stuff, thereby saving space on other blogs in the comments section. (That's worked out pretty well, don't you think?) But it has become so much more than that. I have met so many great people through blogging that I can honestly say I consider my friends. I've even had the great pleasure of meeting some of them face to face, and am looking forward to meeting a few more. A few of my bloggity gal pals were discussing/wondering if we would have ever become friends if we had all met in the "real" world. I would really like to believe that we would, but I think the odds are against it. The blogs I follow are pretty diverse, as are the people who write them, but there is something that caught my attention, some kinship, about each and every one of them. My reading them was not random, it was intentional.

So....In the interest of being completely random, I'm challenging you to meet your blog neighbor! You can do this every day, and your neighbor will be different every time. If you have a blogger account, go to the top of your blog and click on "Next Blog". There's your neighbor! (You are allowed to skip the blog if it is in another language or just a little too freaky-deeky for your taste. That has been the case on several occasions for me.) But this time, my neighbor was Tanya at Trixi's Stretching. No, she's not a Pilate's instructor. She's a photographer and all around creative person. She also lives in Texas, like me. Considering all the blogs in locations all over the world, what are the odds of that? I left her a comment telling her that I was her neighbor and what I hope was an encouraging comment about the post I landed on. She's a great photographer, btw. You should go check out her blog. I haven't heard back from her, but her friend RRamone entered my Super Skanktacular Saturday Giveaway. He also made me laugh out loud. That dude's a riot, and also an artist - Kewl.

So, there you have it. Are you going to stay inside your little circle of friends? Or are you going to go meet your neighbor? Inquiring minds want to know...