This article was originally posted on Christianity Today on 2/17/12. The original can be found here.

Concern for the poor is a fundamental pillar of Christian identity and calling, a constant theme throughout the Old and New Testaments (Deut. 15:4; Prov. 14:31; Gal. 2:10; James 2:2-6). A definitive mark of the church throughout history is its members caring for the poor in their midst.

Today, thanks to economic globalization and the Internet, those who want to care for the poor overseas enjoy a plethora of attractive options: sponsoring a child, donating a farm animal, making a small loan to a budding entrepreneur, installing a well in a village, getting a morning caffeine jolt with fair-trade (instead of free-trade) coffee—among others.

But what are the best ways to help those living in developing countries By "best," I mean most effective: things that actually help people rise out of poverty, and that carry with them a sizable "bang for your buck"—programs in which the impact on the poor is significant per donated dollar.

Answering this question proves more difficult than you'd expect.

The Economist's Challenge
Measuring the performance of a for profit institution is straightforward: you look at its profit. Measuring the performance of a nonprofit program is much more difficult. Most relief and development organizations carry out self-assessments and measure impact based on self-studies. But donors (and Christians at large) should know the deficiencies of these self-studies.

For example, many relief and development organizations measure results based on studies that compare outcomes of program participants to those of nonparticipants. Such studies typically yield biased results, because program participants are routinely a self-selected group of motivated individuals who would likely have improved even without the program. In other words, their success cannot be attributed to the program alone.

Other organizations conduct before-and-after studies and interpret the difference as "impact." But this also leads to bias: individuals tend to turn to development programs when they want to improve their lives. Just as the impact of a substance-abuse program cannot be judged by "before and after" outcomes (since the main causal effect is the addict deciding to enter the program), neither can poverty programs be assessed in this way. For example, people take micro-finance loans when they want to improve their lives; in a recent study, we find that 75 percent of the apparent impact of microfinance, based on practitioners' before-and-after observations, is an illusion (although the 25 percent that remains is not insignificant).

Some development programs rely on the perception of impact. But even honest attempts to self-evaluate are affected by what's called "confirmation bias": we naturally gravitate toward evidence that confirms a prior belief, especially a belief about our own effectiveness. People and organizations also suffer from "illusory superiority," which causes us to systematically overestimate our performance. For example, over 90 percent of us believe ourselves to be above-average drivers. (Apparently even those of my own species are not immune: another study found that 68 percent of university faculty rated themselves in the top 25 percent in teaching ability.) Development organizations are run by human beings. Like all of us, they tend to attribute their successes to program effectiveness and their failures to forces outside their control.

Donors' subjective impressions of a program's effectiveness are even less accurate. Jesus tells us that "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). But too often Christian antipoverty organizations have worked overtime to ensure that we feel blessed by our giving. Nonprofits tend to market themselves to potential donors through success stories, anecdotes, and narratives that emotionally connect. In doing so, they want our giving to feel good. But these carefully selected anecdotes virtually always exceed the average impact on a program participant, creating a bias in donors' minds about the impact of their giving.


The difficulties in assessing the impact of antipoverty efforts only magnify the need for understanding the impacts of different types of programs. Love, understanding, and giving are deeply intertwined. Genuine love motivated to action is concerned about the consequence of its action. If I truly love my wife, I study her needs and desires carefully to understand the effect of my actions toward her.

Giving that gives in response to feelings but which disregards consequences can turn into a narcissism that is only semiconscious of motives. Genuine love carefully considers how an action affects the recipient. In some cases, love may call us to acts of compassion even when there is little hope of a life-changing result, such as when we stay by the side of a dying person. But in many cases, it is more feasible to measure tangible impacts of our giving, especially when it comes to helping the poor. In these cases, we are not being good stewards if we give blindly without understanding the impact of our giving. The blessings of givers should be rooted in the blessings of receivers.

Measuring Blessings
In recent years, development economists have made remarkable progress in measuring blessings to receivers. I have been fortunate to belong to a generation of development economists who are borrowing tools from the field of medicine. For example, the use of randomized controlled trials to evaluate development programs has helped us understand the relative merits of different approaches to poverty alleviation. Other new methods that mimic the impact-identification power of the randomized controlled trial have also proven fruitful in this area.

So what are the best ways to help the poor in developing countries?

To answer this question, I polled top development economists who specialize in analyzing development programs. I asked them to rate, from 0 to 10, some of the most common poverty interventions to which ordinary people donate their money, in terms of impact and cost-effectiveness per donated dollar.

Sixteen researchers responded to the survey. They are from Cornell, Duke, Yale, the University of Maryland, UC-Berkeley, Stanford, George Washington, UC-Santa Cruz, the University of Minnesota, Brandeis, Michigan State, Tufts, and the World Bank. Of the respondents, five are members of the Association of Christian Economists. And they showed remarkable consensus in their ratings. Virtually none of the highly rated poverty interventions received low marks from any of the responders. Likewise, virtually none of the lowly rated programs received high marks. I did not include my own rankings in the survey, but I do comment on each. The following are the results in order of greatest estimated impact to the least, followed b organizations that use that strategy (= faith-based).

Ranking 10 Strategies
1. Get clean water to rural villages.
(Rating: 8.3)
One million children die from drinking unclean water each year. Clean water can prevent legions of child health problems and dramatically reduce infant mortality.

Scientific evidence is overwhelmingly positive on impact. A World Health Organization study estimates that the availability of clean water in a rural village reduces infant mortality by 35 to 50 percent, at a cost of roughly $10 per person per year. Because infant mortality rates in the poorest countries often range from 60 to 110 per 1,000 live births, the cost of saving a child's life by providing clean water alone may lie in the range of only $180 to $400. To development economists, cheap-plus-effective is an endearing combination.

A growing number of development organizations working to provide clean water in rural villages now receive online donations. Funds are used to drill wells, lay plastic pipe, and install pumps.

Living Water International†
LifeWater.org†
GlobalWater.org
WaterAid.org
TheWaterProject.org†
Flowing Streams Ministries†

2. Fund de-worming treatments for children.
(Rating: 7.8)
Intestinal worm infestation affects one in four people worldwide and is responsible for chronic poor health, listlessness, and learning impairment among children in developing countries. Albendazole and other medications are stunningly effective and very inexpensive, making de-worming another great case of "bang for your buck" effectiveness.

A study by researchers at Berkeley and Harvard found that regular de-worming treatment in worm-infested areas of the developing world can reduce school absenteeism by 25 percent at a cost of only 50 cents per year per child. The only caveat: In most instances, de-worming drugs need to be administered repeatedly, especially to shoeless children, as worms typically enter through the soles of the feet.

DewormTheWorld.org
ChildrenWithoutWorms.org

3. Provide mosquito nets.
(Rating: 7.3)
Malaria is a leading killer of children in developing countries, accounting for nearly one in five deaths of children under age 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. The claim is that every 45 seconds, a child dies from malaria. The good news is that, like health problems from dirty water and worm infestation, malaria can be prevented cheaply and effectively.

Bed nets cost only $5 to $10 each. Because of their cost-effectiveness, they have created quite a buzz in the nonprofit world in recent years. The scientific community strongly supports the intervention; insecticide-treated bed nets have a proven positive impact on malaria prevention. Modern nets last for years and are proven to reduce instances of malaria by 50 percent and malaria mortality by 20 percent.

HisNets.org†
NetsForLifeAfrica.org†
NothingButNets.Net

4. Sponsor a child.
(Rating: 6.9)
Of all the long-term development interventions, child sponsorship received the highest rating. Sponsors typically pay $25 to $40 per month, which covers a child's educational fees, school uniforms, tutoring, health care, and, in faith-based sponsorship organizations, spiritual mentorship. Many development economists today favor interventions like child sponsorship that remove practical constraints to education while building a child's self-esteem, aspirations, and goals. In this way, sponsorship relieves both external and internal poverty constraints.

Two researchers and I recently carried out a study (sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development) on the long-term impacts of Compassion International's child sponsorship program. The study, gathering data from over 10,000 individuals in six countries, found substantial impact on adult life outcomes for children who were sponsored through Compassion's program during the 1980s and '90s. We statistically compared formerly sponsored children to older siblings who were too old for sponsorship when the program started in their village. In adulthood, formerly sponsored children were far more likely to complete secondary school and had a much higher chance of having a white-collar job. They married and had children later in life, were more likely to be church and community leaders, were less likely to live in a home with a dirt floor and more likely to live in a home with electricity. [Editor's Note: Christianity Today will feature a full report on this study once the findings are peer reviewed.]

There are some caveats: Although the impact in the child's life is significant, compared with other forms of interventions, child sponsorship is comparatively expensive. In addition, some economists are concerned that some child sponsorship organizations, such as World Vision, Save the Children, and Plan, use sponsorship funds for development projects in the village where the child lives rather than investing them directly in the lives of sponsored children, resulting in diffuse impacts that are more difficult to rigorously assess.

Compassion.com†
Children International
ChildFund.org
PlanUSA.org
WorldVision.org†

5. Give wood-burning stoves.
(Rating: 6.0)
The World Health Organization estimates that 50 percent of all people use biomass fuels (wood, animal dung) for heating and cooking. But biomass fuels lead to two major problems: deforestation, which kills 5.8 million hectares of tropical rainforests each year; and indoor air pollution, which is believed to prematurely kill 1.6 million people each year.

Stoves that burn wood efficiently and pipe out harmful smoke through a chimney kill both of these bad birds with one stone. Just $150 can buy a new Onil wood-burning stove, which uses 65 percent less wood than most stoves and pipes toxic gasses out of the house. In a recently published study using a randomized controlled trial, two researchers and I found big impacts from the Onil Stove on wood usage and reduced coughing. Only $15 buys a household a new hightech "Rocket Stove," which uses even less wood than the Onil version, but has less heating power and a lower impact on indoor air pollution (since it doesn't attach to a chimney).

HelpsIntl.org
StoveTec.net
WorldStove.com

6. Give a microfinance loan.
(Rating: 4.2)
The growth of microfinance in developing countries has been nothing short of breathtaking. Currently 190 million of the world's poor are microfinance borrowers, up from 13.5 million 15 years ago. Microfinance has been supported by everybody across the political spectrum: liberals, because it represents grassroots development and empowers women; conservatives, because it promotes capitalism. Everyone loves microfinance—at least until recently, when problems stemming from borrowers' over-indebtedness have stalled the bandwagon.

Serious studies of microfinance find modest impacts: increases in entrepreneurialism and business investment, and a greater ability to smooth out bumps in income. But microfinance is not the magic bullet many once believed it to be. Today one can lend directly to an entrepreneur through websites like Kiva.org. A new loan is granted when the previous loan is repaid. Most loans start at $25.

Kiva.org
Opportunity International
VisionFund (World Vision)

7. Fund reparative surgeries.
(3.9)
Cleft palates make normal life nearly impossible for 170,000 children in developing countries. Children with cleft palates have trouble speaking and eating and suffer from social exclusion. Surgery to repair cleft palates and other visible maladies such as cataracts, crossed eyes, and limb disfigurements are typically unavailable or unaffordable to many families in the developing world. They offer new hope to children who would otherwise face a lifetime of discrimination and difficulty.

Smile Train is a nonprofit that performs corrective surgeries through a $250 donation. Respondents to the survey expressed little doubt about impact; its ranking is lower primarily because it is more costly than other interventions.

SmileTrain.org
OperationSmile.org
MercyShips.org

8. Donate a farm animal.
(Rating: 3.8)
Giving a dairy cow, goat, or chickens to a household in a developing country in the name of a loved one would seem the perfect Christmas gift for "the person who has everything." Christmastime marketing for animal-donation organization is second to none; who can resist the picture of the happy Bolivian girl hugging the alpaca?

Sheep cost about $70, goats $85. A water buffalo runs around $250. Preliminary evidence from a current impact study with the Heifer Project indicates positive impacts on dairy consumption from donated dairy cows and meat consumption from receiving a meat goat. But the consensus among the economists is that relative to cost, animal donation likely has smaller impact than many alternatives. Moreover, impact may be very sensitive to the recipient: the very poor lack the resources to properly care for an animal; those already with many animals (who arguably can care for them best) don't need another one.

Heifer.org
SamaritansPurse.org†
World Vision's Gift Catalogue†

9. Drink fair-trade coffee.
(Rating: 1.9)
Coffee growers are susceptible to large swings in the market price of coffee, rendering millions of coffee-growing families vulnerable to a sudden loss in income. Fair trade coffee offers a minimum "fair" price (currently $1.41 per pound) to fair-trade-certified growers around the world.

Fair-trade coffee isn't a scam, but it is hard to find a development program that has attracted so much attention while having so little real impact. The most recent rigorous academic study, carried out by a group of researchers at the University of California, finds zero average impact on coffee grower incomes over 13 years of participation in a fair-trade coffee network. Low impact is due to a flawed program design: growers must pay for FLO (Fair-trade Labeling Organization) certification and bear the costs of compliance with fair-trade standards. When coffee prices exceed the $1.41 threshold (as they do today, with prices at around $2.50), all growers essentially receive the same market price. It is when coffee prices fall below this minimum price that the real benefits of the program kick in. But in these same years of low coffee prices, coffee growers flock to fair-trade certification, lowering the fraction of the fair-trade crop that can be marketed at the higher fair-trade price, thus neutralizing the benefits of the program.

What is more, fair-trade programs continue to encourage the cultivation of more coffee; the best thing for coffee growers around the world would be if everyone grew less.

Better alternatives for helping coffee farmers are the cultivation of higher-priced specialty coffees and programs that promote education for the children of coffee growers to wean them away from coffee growing.

GreenMountainCoffee.com
PuraVida†
GroundsForChange.com

10. Give a kid a laptop.
(Rating: 1.8)
Seeking to bridge the digital divide, programs have sprung up in recent years to provide computers to children in developing countries. One Laptop Per Child has gained worldwide attention by distributing laptops to children to foster learning in primary schools in developing countries. The experts who were polled are not anti-laptop, but given the more basic needs in poor countries, they said donating computers was highly cost-ineffective compared with the alternatives. For the cost of one laptop, you could provide clean water to 20 people, and for a year de-worm an entire school of 400 children.

Moreover, a recent study by economists at the Inter-American Development Bank evaluated the impact of One Laptop Per Child in Peru, and found no change in learning or in expectations about future education.

One.Laptop.org
Carec4dc.com
ComputerAid.org

What's the Takeaway?

The above rankings offer several lessons. A casual examination of them suggests little relationship (perhaps even a negative one) between marketing hype and program effectiveness. For this reason, organizations working with the poor must subject their programs to rigorous, scientifically based evaluation by impartial third parties.

Anti-poverty programs also need to start emphasizing prevention over cure. Unfortunately, it is easier to mobilize resources in the wake of a crisis, such as a famine, than it is to mobilize resources that help prevent crises in the first place. Prevention is less dazzling than cure, but nearly always more cost-effective.

The problem is that some of the most cost-effective poverty intervention programs provide fairly mundane raw material for marketing departments. The provision of clean water to villages, child de-worming campaigns, and mosquito bed nets rank as the top three development interventions, yet they fail to attract much donor interest. But rigorous evaluation allows an organization to show real impact on recipients. This can facilitate a greatly needed shift in the focus of donor marketing from emphasizing feel-good giving to providing useful information to donors.

Finally, it is not enough for an organization working with the poor to show that it handles funds honestly. Plenty of organizations, such as the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, certify that an organization is not pilfering donated money. Many nonprofits working with the poor seek to satisfy donors with such certification, but an organization can be financially honest and still run an ineffective program. Large donors have begun to insist on scientifically based evidence of positive program impact as a condition for giving. Small donors should do the same. Aid and development organizations soliciting donations should be prepared to provide credible third-party evidence that their work actually helps the poor.

Over the course of U.S. history, an ethic of transparency about organizational performance has taken hold in private industry, the legal and medical professions, and, most recently, on account of public demand, the financial sector. It is time for this level of transparency and accountability to take root in the aid industry, and it will when small donors demand it from the organizations they give to.

Another way to ensure a closer relationship to the recipient is to be involved in development work firsthand. Long-term partnerships between churches and communities from the developed and developing world can be life-changing for everyone. About five years ago, a group of college friends and I from UC-Davis's InterVarsity chapter started a tiny nonprofit, Mayan Partners, that works in an indigenous village in the western highlands of Guatemala. An organic network of about 30 friends, Mayan Partners supports a Christian school in the village, the first middle school in the area. We also work with physicians to offer clinics and have introduced clean-burning wood stoves to reduce deforestation and lung disease. A group of us visits the school once or twice a year.

None of our work has proved a magic bullet to pulling people out of poverty. There are always problems and issues to resolve. Sometimes miscommunication and hurt feelings get in the way. But our commitment to one another has thus far weathered these storms, and our long-term relationship has tremendously blessed both parties.

Whether one chooses to give money or work with the poor directly, what is important is to care enough about the poor to understand the effect of actions we take on their behalf.

Bruce Wydick is professor of economics at the University of San Francisco and visiting professor at the University of California-Berkeley. He is the author of Games in Economic Development (Cambridge University Press), and is writing a novel about coffee-growers in Guatemala.

Copyright © 2012 Christianity Today.
 

The Easter Dress

Day 142, Day 152, Day 159. As the end of my “dress journey” approaches, I have been contemplating and praying about what challenge I should take next to raise money for Living Water International. But I have been mentally blocked with any ideas except this one:
I must do what is first before I can do what is next.

What must come first is to finish my dress journey. It has bothered me that my end date has no significant marking, no grand finale, and no finish line to cross. The date of six months of wearing the same dress will come and go without any particular celebration or acknowledgement of what this journey has taught me about the meaning of the word love, sacrifice, mercy, justice, frugality, humilities, and giving. A journey that began with giving what I had to others, but that has ended in an over-abundance of rewards that are too many to list.

If you are a runner you will understand my next analogy. If not, pretend with me for a minute. Skipping what is first, to go directly to the next, would be like training six months for a marathon, traveling to another city to enter the race and then as you have the finish line in your sight, you spot a Day Spa and you think to yourself, I really deserve a pedicure and my feet have gone without attention for six months now. So you cross the road veering into the nail shop, throwing yourself into the heated and massaging pedicure chair. You never cross the finish line into the new reality of what you have accomplished.

This is how I feel, ending my dress journey on an insignificant date without any particular drive to finish the race like a champion marathon runner.  I have been busy not only thinking about what is next (because that seems more rewarding and exciting then what is first) but I have also been doing a lot of online dreaming of what I might buy when I can shop again. (Honesty is not very redeeming, is it?) Everything seems a little blue and mundane.
But then, I remembered my motivation for taking this challenge. It was to give people a new beginning through fresh water. When I think of new beginnings I think of Jesus. When I think of Jesus, I think of Easter. When I think of Easter, I think, Easter is the perfect day to begin my next challenge because it is a day of new beginnings. This makes me excited to finish this dress journey with a BANG!

When I told my friend Sharon I wanted to change my end date to the day before Easter because Easter represented new beginnings, she reminded me about the history of the Easter dress. After a bit more research, I discovered” in the early days of Christianity, newly baptized Christians wore white linen robes at Easter to symbolize rebirth and new life. But it was not until 300 A.D. that wearing new clothes became an official decree, as the Roman emperor Constantine declared that his court must wear the finest new clothing on Easter. Eventually, the tradition came to mark the end of Lent, when after wearing weeks of the same clothes, worshipers discarded the old frocks for new ones.”1 Isn’t that interesting!

In celebration of new beginnings for people who are receiving clean drinking water through Living Water International, I invite you to join me for the last 10 days of my dress journey to help raise $5000. I am calling this the $10 for 10 challenge. We only need 500 Facebook friends to donate $10 each in the 10 days before Easter and we will cross the finish line together with great celebration and jubilee! I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the end of my “dress journey” and to honor the gift of Jesus this Easter!

Won’t you join me?

1Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3982197

I am attaching this blog post by Jonathon for you fashionistas out there. It gives a fun history of Easter attire and Easter traditions.
http://blogs.fashionclub.com/my_weblog/2010/03/new-clothes-for-easter-a-history-of-the-tradition.html
 

Attentiveness takes time and intentionality. Attentiveness with intentional action is what brings healing to the earth, our bodies, our minds, our souls, and our relationships. In my attempts at building this character trait in my life,  I have discovered that attentiveness with intentionality can take a lot more effort than one might desire. Simply staying busy is easier.

Busyness is fast and fleeting. Running from work to event; scanning emails, Facebook, Twitter accounts, and blogs, while trying to sneak in housework and meals. All of this keeps us busy. But in our busyness, are we attentive to our world and the people in it? Are we being intentional about how we live?
 
Attentiveness requires that we slow down and observe our surroundings. Attentiveness requires that we be still and listen for God’s voice through the thick of sound waves that come at us from all angles of the world. We must ask these questions: How do I care for my family, the earth, my soul? What is the condition of my spiritual life? Who is my neighbor?
 
As I personally examine these questions, I come up with so many areas that I want to be intentional about. From the simplest to the more complex, it begins in my everyday routine. While grocery shopping, choosing local cherry tomatoes over those grown in Mexico saves 400 gallons of gasoline. Just by slowing down and reading labels, I can buy local produce instead of imported and help heal our earth.
 
I can be attentive to my husband, not only by looking up, but by getting up from the pile of laundry when he enters the room from work, I can greet him in a way that shows him love, respect, and honor instead of dismissing him like a hired servant.
 
By choosing to give up something I want (like shopping or Starbucks) so that someone else can have something they need I am learning that I consume out of a place of scarcity and lack but I give out of the plenty of what only God can provide. I have found freedom in giving up things and have received so much more than I have given.
 
When morning comes and my computer beckons me over my Bible, I can be intentional about the healing of my soul to learn more each day of who God created me to be in relationship with Him and to the world I live in. When I am attentive and open,
 not rushing, I can be transformed by His word and the power of His Spirit. Without this time, I serve as a hollow shell of a flawed human, unable to truly love the same way Jesus loves me.
 
Do I do attentiveness and intentionality well? Do I even get a B- if you were grading me? Probably not. I am on the same spiritual journey as anyone else; which means that I am giving this my best shot. Some days I succeed and others,  I fail miserably.
 
I believe it is our fear of failure and drive to please others over God that leads us down the road of busyness opposed to attentive and intentional living. I am afraid that if I try attentiveness and fail, I will not be able to live with myself. So I continue life in a flurry of activity instead, never facing the needs of the world, the people around me, the church, or my own soul.
 
Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk said it best, “Being attentive…requires a lot of courage and know-how.” As Thomas points out, attentiveness is work and it take courage, but isn’t that better than having a life of attentive deficit? 

Freedom.

You may not think ‘freedom’ is the word that would come to my mind as I reflect on the last hundred and twenty-five days of my “Well” Dressed journey. It may seem even stranger that there is a large piece of me mourning the day the journey ends. For what I have received has far outweighed anything I have given up.

How many mornings did I stand in front in my closet, surveying the rack of skirts, slacks, tops, and dresses, trying to determine what to wear? Having no innate sense of style (I am pretty sure God gave all of that ability to my sister) my palms would begin to sweat as I thumbed through the stacks of sweaters and baskets of accessories. Colors, patterns, design…my head starts to spin, “can’t I just wear my jeans and cowboy boots again,” I would think to myself!

In the last hundred and twenty-five days I have been freed from the chains and shackles of my closet. I no longer ask the dreaded question, “What will I wear today?” The weight of twenty wool sweaters and thirty pairs of shoes, no longer sit heavily on my shoulders, like a Sumo wrestler, when I walk into my closet. Instead I see one dress and a world of possibilities.

In the last (almost) five months, I have a new found freedom to be creative (This gift was one God gave to my brother at birth). Considering that I never wore dresses before (with the acceptation of my wedding and special occasions), I have loved the adventure of getting out of my narrow box of five ‘safe’ and ‘comfortable’ outfits to learn how to accessorize my dress differently every day. Luckily, I have had many talented women around me to help on this creative exploration. For this I am thankful.

This leads me to the last way in which the dress has freed me. I no longer care what people think of the way I look. Most people that I encounter in my day do not know that I have joined the “Well” Dressed Challenge to raise money for Living Water International. I am sure that I have raised a few eye brows by wearing the same outfit numerous days in a row or made people wonder why I was wearing my husband’s neck-tie as a belt. To this, I can now laugh out loud because I know they are only judging my outer shell, not the women inside whom God is changing daily by this challenge. I have a long ways to go, but I am thankful for the heart work Jesus is doing in me, specifically, in how I see myself and how I see others.

If you are like me and feel you need a set of ‘freedom lens’ to look through, I invite you to join me on the “Well” Dressed Journey. I promise you, what you will receive will far outweigh what you will give!

I almost quit wearing the dress today, made an appointment to get my hair cut and colored and stopped at Starbucks for double-Grande mocha on my way to work.

Are you a person who can set a New Year’s goal and stick to it? If so, BRAVO! But if you are like most people, you may find your enthusiasm wanes about January 21^st!

Don’t worry, I have the solution! I am about to challenge you to a goal you can keep. The following three things will be your keys to success:

• You are not taking on this challenge alone. Accountability will always lead you to success!

• You will do something for you while doing something for another. Doing something for a cause is always more motivating than doing for you!

• We have mind-set rules in this challenge. If you failed your goal today, you are not allowed to give-up, you simply start over tomorrow!

Below (in italics) is the promo piece for the “Well”ness Challenge.
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend!

Join the January “Well”ness Challenge with me!

Do something for you. Do something for another.

Feeling like you overindulged in eggnog lattes and pumpkin pie over the holidays? Ready to get back on track with exercise and eating better?

Join the “Well”ness Challenge and as you take care of yourself, you will be helping someone else!

Here is how it works:

• Give up fast food or lunches out and donate the money to Living Water International (LWI).
• Give up soda or Starbucks and donate the money to LWI.
• Replace junk food (cookies, chips etc.) with fruits and veggies.
• Join me and train and run or walk the St. Patty’s 5k race in Snoqualmie, WA (http://www.runsnoqualmie.com).
  Collect pledges per mile or donations for LWI.

My personal Journey on the “Well”ness Challenge

I didn’t begin this journey on January 1^st because I was still on vacation and busy enjoying as much goodness as possible.
But the New Year beckons a change, so I committed to one month on the Daniel Fast, or at least a variation of it (For example: I have not given up tea or coffee but I have given up dairy and bread.)I simple go by this thought: Daniel ate no luxury foods. Only fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Honestly, I rocked it for the first three days and one-half days, not eating out and packing salads each day at work. But then we went out to dinner with my sister and her new finance’. Calamari, pizza, pork belly sliders…hmmm none of those items are part of the Daniel Fast. I had two options after eating all that yummy – I mean junk food. I could quit or I could simple
start over the next day. After all, if I had never set the goal to begin with, I would have never known how healthy I could feel eating great for three and one-half days!

I have also committed to training and running (jogging) the St Patty’s Day run in Snoqualmie. The eight week training schedule for this race begins this weekend!!! Will you join me for our first training run? I you have never done a 5K, see the link below. It is absolutely achievable!

http://running.about.com/od/5kracetrainingschedules/a/5Krunwalktrainingschedule.htm

Here are a couple of my favorite recipes that I have tried so far:

Almond Milk
(substitute for dairy)

(Any type of nut is great. If you have a Blendtex or other
high power blender, you do not need to blanch the nuts.)

http://www.ohnuts.com/blog/2011/03/how_to_make_almond_milk_recipe_1.html

Southwest Quinoa Veggie Burgers

*Vegan* *Gluten-Free if you use GF bread crumbs*

I substituted egg whites for the potato.

makes 10-12 medium sized patties

Ingredients:

1 dry cup red quinoa, rinsed & cooked

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1 15 ounce black beans, rinsed

1 medium potato, cooked & removed from skin – you can
micro-bake it (see above for directions)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chili powder

dash cayenne (add more or less depending on how spicy you
want your burgers)

Directions:

Combine black beans, potato, onion, bell pepper, garlic,
salt, cumin, paprika, chili powder, and cayenne in a food processor. Pulse till
vegetables are chopped finely and contents are mixed.

Add bread crumbs and pulse till mixed well.

Add quinoa and pulse till mixed well.

Move mixture to a bowl and let rest in the refrigerator for
at least 1 hour (this will help the mixture to set and make it easier to form
into patties. You can prep your recipe up to this point ahead of time if you’re
entertaining and move on to the next step when you’re ready to cook)

When ready to cook, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line
a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Form the veggie burger mixture into patties (or balls) and
place on the prepped baking sheet.

Bake 18-22 minutes, till burgers are lightly browned on top
(note: if you’re entertaining, you can also cook the burgers ahead of time and
re-heat them on the grill)

Serve with toppings and enjoy

+or- 70 days - Fifth alteration done late last Monday night and up way too late, my daughter Keziah showed a unique interest. She began laying buttons on the dress as I had it flattened to make adjustments. How could I not include her design after seeing her enthusiasm! The joy this brought me was unexplainable. See the new look below.

The Break- a few minor set backs. We've been traveling since December 15th, from CA to TX and throughout. Last Friday I had no time to launder my dress and it was overdue. So I wore another on New years eve and New years. Then a some button issues from the washing machine, a few more days set back. It was a challenge to make it this far and have to break the pattern, but I certainly do not want to be 'religious' or stinky:)

Realization - As soon as I feel burned out from wearing the same thing, I remind myself of the purpose of this whole dress wearing for so long. I realize the poorest of the poor don't have washing machines, sewing machines or buttons. I'm hopeful they have a few more items than just one to rotate perhaps for bed at least? I recall the stench of a friend who lived homeless. All she desired was simple fellowship with others. How often do we keep distant from the body odored obvious homeless or less fortunate people? So as aweful as it was, I built a tolerance for her odor. She taught me much. It wasn't laziness that made her smell, it was true poverty. Many do wear the little they have literally to shreds and with minimal opportunity to clean properly. I also realize how blessed I am and therefore will have a secondary dress to rotate in. Considering lots of travel and three children 5 and under, I just can't keep up with proper care of one dress. My sister gave me one when I arrived to Texas. I even told her I couldn't wear it til after my six months... Silly me:) Little did I know, I would have to put that new dress to a lot of use. Ive now been wearing it for five days.

A new challenge - I am humbly grateful for the abundance that surrounds me. I shop most by the pound at the final stop of used clothing items, a place called The Bins. This is a warehouse where Goodwill rejects end up before being compressed and shipped oversees to very poor locations. Why do we not donate out best, well tailored and quality fabrics? I purposefully give the dull, stained and faded. I am vain. I know my next personal challenge.

Mid April - I'm not sure how much longer the dress will last. It's thin and obviously quite worn. I will atempt to make it to the original goal of six months, but it may end up a scarf:)

Anyone else interested? - I encourage you to consider going out of your comfort zone to choose poverty and experience in a tangible way. You'll bring awareness, Know poverty more personally and be strengthened or changed in ways you never knew existed.

However you feel led, please Know poverty and Be creative to do so.

My family is grateful and encouraged by your support.

Blessings to you and yours this new year!

Risa Reeves 

Fifth alteration and ReDesigned by Kez Monday, Dec26th

This version was worn until Keziah's redesign

The traveling dress to the capitol, Austin, TX.

My new back up dress:) Thanks sis!

 

1.     Proverbs 22:2
Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them allProverbs 22:16

Proverbs 30:8

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

 

“Well” Dressed Christmas

Sing Along

I’m dreaming of a “Well” Dressed Christmas

Just like the ones I believe can be

Where many give what they have, so, that other can have what they need

Fresh water in a desert like snow

I’m dreaming of a “Well” Dressed Christmas

With every day I think of you

May you find joy in giving

So others may go on living

By giving up your shopping, Starbucks or fast food

I’m dreaming of a “Well” Dressed Christmas

With every dress invite I write

May your days be merry and bright

As you join the “Well” Dressed Challenge tonight

And make another person’s life BRIGHT!

 

 

I am a Christian Woman
I am a Wife
I am a Mother
I am a Writer
I am a Leader
I am a Teacher
I am a Daughter
I am a Sister
I am a Aunt
I am a Cousin
I am a Friend

I remember days that what was happening around me would control my attitude, my emotions, my actions, and my words. Every memory I have, even as a child I was this way, controlled by my surroundings. Waves of problems, loss, abandonment, abuse, hopelessness, and low self esteem would engulf my every move. As you can imagine this caused havoc on many relationships and it definitely did not reflect a relationship with a loving & living God..
For 33 years I lived this way. My faith was a roller coaster experiencing all kinds of twists and turns, ups and downs ... I had no foundation to keep me grounded in what I should have.

At the age of 24 I was diagnosed with depression and was placed on medication. Tho this helped me gain some assistance over a few emotions it did not make a difference in the way I lived my day to day life. I continued to struggle with a negative outlook on my life and the world around me, I continued to struggle with anger and anxiety, I continued to struggle with not being able to trust people nor allow them into my "real" world, and I continued to say things that would tear down instead of building those up. Bad things continued to happen to me & my family and it continued to cause problems in my relationship with God, my husband, my children, my family, my church, and my friends.

At the age of 32 I became very ill after the birth of our daughter. During this time the doctors and surgeons told my husband that their is a possibility I would not survive. (Read that story here) At this time my husband and I chose to follow God no matter what happened. We knew that if I had life that is all that would matter. We knew that all the small stuff, even tho at times was pretty big, was so very minuscule incomparision to this life and death matter we were experiencing. I received a miracle from my very Big and very Powerful God.. I walked out of the hospital that summer. Even tho I grew up in the church, I accepted Jesus into my life, I believed in Him and His love and I committed to the best of my ability, that day I as well as my husband knew that God was real

Now this changed alot of how I lived each day, I loved those around me more, I became more involved in the church, I enjoyed my life more... however I was still struggling inside. I harbored a darkness within me and within that I kept a big wall around that darkness not letting anything inside. Protecting me from all the things that have damaged me in the past.. I was not going to be treated that way again.. I continued to struggle with the inability to live life to its fullest.. but I did my best to pretend like I was...

Well at the age of 33 I had a panic attack that sent me to the hospital via ambulance. My world of darkness that I was withholding on the inside bursted on the outside for all to see. .. This happened because even tho I dealt with life differently I still did not have the ability within me to actually do this. During my hospital stay I was diagnosed with anxiety and clinical depression. Something that cannot be controlled with my actions, words, & thoughts alone.. I needed medication in addition to all of my efforts.

With this medication I began to see life in a completely different way. All the things that engulfed me within my mind was released. Over time I noticed a clearer vision on the way I saw things. With that ability I was able to begin connecting with others in a way I have never been able to do. God began to place a passion within me. God began to give me the desire to love those who are in similar situations as me. I began to write and share bits and pieces with those on my blog... People would read and let me know that they to felt the same way. This was all so very exciting, all this time I thought that I was alone, that no one else felt this way. But I wasn't. .. this passion grew within me and I felt led to begin a LifeGroup within my church... this led me to other opportunities of teaching, leadership and writing in what I believe God is calling me to do.

Yet deep down I still had this wall. This wall that I began to say was something that I was taking down one brick at a time. Baby steps.. within my comfort ... I was in control of taking that wall down. October of 2011 God revealed to me that no one was doing any good by me keeping that wall. I surrendered and I gave God permission to bulldoze it down!

I feel that I was created this way so that I would know how to speak, to listen and to love those that struggle with issues of anxiety and clinical depression.

I am afraid that if I don't I am not being obedient to what God is calling me to do.

I am afraid that when I do share others will not accept me.

I have known that I have been given a boldness within me to do what I have been called to do. A month after I received my miracle, friends of the church came and prayed over me. During this time she spoke of a boldness and of courage that I have in order to fulfill His purpose.

I believe it is time for me to tap into that boldness and courage that has been given to me.

I pray that I do not do this on my own strengths, I pray that I will continue to surrender all to Him and give Him the control of my life. I pray that I will have opportunities to tap into the boldness and courage that He has given me.

I try to turn to Jesus deny myself and take up my cross and follow Him daily.

I dream that I will be able to reach out to women who have been in this darkness, I dream that I will be able to speak to those who have also built up walls to keep them safe... so that they will find the power of the living & loving God just as I have. Life is just too short to live behind the walls within the dark.

I am a Christian Woman
I am a Wife
I am a Mother
I am a Writer
I am a Leader
I am a Teacher
I am a Daughter
I am a Sister
I am a Aunt
I am a Cousin
I am a Friend..... Who has been fearfully and wonderfully made. As long as the world has existed, there has never been anyone like me. This is MY STORY

Jeanie Cullip is a stay-at-home wife & mom of three children of her own and two step-children. She is a writer, founder of Latte of Giggles & Blessings Ministries, teacher and speaker. In love with Jesus, loves to giggle & loves to drink coffee. Read a "latte" more about her on her blog http://www.cupofjoewithjeanie.com. E-mail her at jeaniecullip@yahoo.com.

Do you believe you can make a difference in the world in 10 seconds? Students and professors at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University believed you could when they started a project called, reCAPTCHA.¹

We all encounter captchas on websites. These are the security boxes that come up on your screen and ask you to type in a group of letters or a word to prove that you are a human. We encounter the captcha everywhere, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and more. It is an annoying but necessary evil…until now.

The School of Computer Science of Carnegie Mellon University discovered that if each person spent 10 seconds entering a word or words in a captcha box, this amounted to 150,000 hours of work each day and 54,750,000 hours of work each year! What if this 10 seconds and human effort could manifest itself into something world changing instead of time wasting? With this information and vision, the School of Computer Science created reCAPTCHA, a program that digitizes books one word at a time.

Now when you go to Facebook, Twitter, or Yahoo, and encounter a captcha box you will know that you are contributing to changing the world by helping to translate books that could not be scanned and read by a computer. Did you know you had “10 second potential”? I think that is so cool and creative!

This is the same concept we have with our “Well” Dressed Challenge. I challenge you to reDRESS your mind and think outside the dress – box. Many people say they can’t join the challenge because they don’t wear dresses or they can’t wear a dress to work. reDRESS your mind! The “Well” Dressed Challenge is about every person discovering their “10 second potential” and identifying what they can give back to the world. There is so much more you can do besides wearing a dress!

Mother Teresa said, “None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” If we each sacrifice something we want so that someone else can have what they need, the world would be a different place. I absolutely believe in you!

Won’t you join me?

¹Google. What is reCAPTCHA. Retrieved December 11, 2011 from: http://www.google.com/recaptcha/learnmore