“No room in the Inn” takes on another meaning

This has been a heart breaking week so far for The Sparrow’s Nest.

I’ve had numerous calls from young girls who were pregnant or parenting sweet little babies and had no place to go. I had another call from a caseworker still looking for a safe place for his 16 year old client and her 4 month old baby. I looked into the eye of a mother of 13 year old girl who has struggled for months with so many self destructive behaviors. The family just needed a moment of peace.

However, the stark reality is the 3-4 teen shelters in the entire St. Louis metro are full. They’ve started waiting lists again. “No room in the Inn” has taken on another meaning during this holiday season. We’ve started referring girls out of the area. Some are willing to leave what they know. Others can’t imagine being away from their familiar surroundings during this hard time in their lives. Things look pretty bleak.

But, you are hope. And you can make space for even more hope.

Your prayers can help bring light to these dark places.

Your creativity can bring answers to these problems.

Your generosity can help Build The Nest

for a safe and secure place for these innocent babies and their young mothers.

We need champions who will give sacrificially for such a time as this. Please donate whatever you can, $1, $10, $20, $100.

Let’s make space for hope together.

www.thesparrowsneststl.org

You’ve got a freakin’ gold mine!

The average household has $90 in change laying around

We hear a lot of people telling us that they really can’t afford to donate much to The Sparrow’s Nest right now. Times are tough. And believe me. We get that! It’s kinda the reason we’re coming into existence. However, Coinstar® reminds us that there is forgotten money hiding in our homes.  The average American household has a coin stash of  about $90 just waiting to be put to good use. Like helping the fund a home for teens and their precious little babies.

So if you thought you couldn’t give anything, or first thought at most you could only give $25 or so start looking around your house.

To mine for money in your house, follow these steps from the Live on Cash Blog:

1. Prospect in the most obvious spots first:  pants pockets, handbags, backpacks, coat pockets, etc.
2. Look for “piggy” and other types of coin banks.  Half of American families keep change in a coin bank of some type.
3. Check behind chests-of-drawers and cabinets, under beds, refrigerators, dressers, and nightstands, any place where coins might end up after falling on the floor.  28% of the time you will find coins in random locations such as these.
4. Search out cups, mugs, jars, and other containers.  71% of Americans keep their coins in receptacles of some type.
5. Explore beneath the cushions and in the cracks of upholstered furniture.  There is a 1 in 5 chance you will find coins there.
6. Hunt through your washer and dryer.  36% of coins have been “laundered”.
7. Rummage through drawers.  A third of American families keep coins in drawers.
8. Comb through your car, especially the glove compartment, under the seats, the cracks within and between seats, and under floor mats.

You don’t even need to count it. Put your stash in a coffee can, a ziploc bag, or chinese food container. We’ll take it to the bank and then issue you a tax-ductible receipt.

And you thought you couldn’t afford to donate to The Sparrow’s Nest this year.:)

After you go on your coin scavenger hunt, let us know the most unusual place you found money. What was the highest amount you found?

Happy Mining!

Knock! Knock!

Image via Wikipedia

You can help The Sparrow’s Nest buy ME! I’m an empty house just waiting to become a home for teen moms who need a safe place to stay!

 

 

Hi there!

I have a dream.

I have a dream that one day soon, my bedrooms will be filled with young women who need a safe place to stay as they wait for their babies to be born. In my kitchen, loving adults will sit around the table with teen moms, helping them with schoolwork and teaching them how to properly care for their little ones. My family room will be filled with warmth and laughter as these young women find the support and encouragement they need to make positive choices for themselves and their babies.

I suppose I could be bought by someone else. Maybe an average family looking for more space, or a bachelor planning to fix me up and sell me for a profit. But deep in my foundation, I know I was built for something more.

You are the key to unlocking the greatness that exists behind these walls.

Right now, I’m sitting here vacant, doing nothing. Once in a while, I see a driver slow down, squint at my “For Sale” sign, and then keep on going. But that’s OK, because I’m waiting to become something amazing: the home of The Sparrow’s Nest.

And when my doors open next year, I’ll be a maternity home for teen moms in  St. Charles County. It’s enough to make my shingles tingle with pride!

Word around the neighborhood is that you’re already a supporter of The Sparrow’s Nest. That’s fantastic! But I’m going to need some more help if I’m going to be ready to take care of these moms and their babies by next summer.

By returning these with your tax-deductible donation to The Sparrow’s Nest Maternity Home—or by making a secure online contribution at www.thesparrowsneststl.org—you will get me one step closer to making my dream come true.

You can help TODAY by sponsoring

A coat of paint= $25

A washer and dryer (gotta keep those little onesies clean)= $1000

An entire bedroom= $25,000

 But the most important thing is for you to do what you can—NOW. Right now these young ladies have nowhere else to go . . . and I’m just sitting here empty.

Yours truly,

Future Home of The Sparrow’s Nest

Super Easy Way to Help Build The Nest

Image via CrunchBase

Here’s an easy way to raise money for The Sparrow’s Nest. Just start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they’ll donate about a penny to us every time you do a search!

In addition, do all of your shopping through their online shopping mall, GoodShop.com, where you can shop at more than 2,400 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to The Sparrow’s Nest. You pay the same price as you normally would, but after you choose The Sparrow’s Nest as your cause a donation goes to us!

You can also enroll in the GoodDining program. Eat at over 10,000 participating restaurants nationwide and you can earn up to 6% of every dollar spent on the meal as a donation for The Sparrow’s Nest.

Here’s the web site — http://www.goodsearch.com. You can also read about GoodSearch in the NY Times, Oprah Magazine, CNN, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal.

Where Do We Begin?

Image by Daniel Slaughter via Flickr

Phillipians 1:3

I thank my God every time I remember you.

How do you begin to thank people for believing in a dream? How do you show gratefulness for people supporting and encouraging vision? There’s nothing tangible there. There’s no t-shirt or certificate or prize. I can only share my heart.

We have so much to be thankful for today. We are rich in blessings and have only God to thank for it all. And you.

We’re thankful for volunteers sitting around a table and asking “how is this ever going to work?” and then praying for guidance and working out details to make it work.

We’re thankful for a Board of Directors sitting in silence, presumably dumbfounded by an obstacle, only to laugh and say “We know this is going to happen, and this is how.”

We’re thankful for the Board of Directors spouses supporting the sacrificial giving of time and money their families have chosen to make to this mission.

We’re thankful for professionals in the area coming to us saying “We believe in what you are doing, we want to be apart of it and help make this dream a reality.”

We’re thankful for our sponsors saying to us “We financially support your endeavors and want to partner with you.”

We’re thankful for our supporting churches telling us “We want to grow with you and make an impact in our community for the glory of God.”

We’re thankful for all the emails, phone calls, and letters telling us to not give up and they are praying for our success.

We’re thankful for all the area service providers cheering us on and reminding us that we are a desperately needed service in St. Charles County.

We’re thankful for all of our supporters feedback to help us take more steps forward instead of backwards.

We’re thankful for our donors entrusting us with their gifts knowing that it may be awhile before we can put their generosity to use.

We’re thankful for our donors who don’t even live in the area, who may not even see the fruits of their labor, but still believe in this ministry.

We’re thankful for those volunteers who are patiently waiting on the sidelines until they see a need for their gift and talent.

We’re thankful for those volunteers who say ” I have no idea how to do that, but I’m willing to try.”

We’re thankful to all the donations of diapers, wipes, maternity clothes, and furniture.

We’re thankful for little things, like postage stamps, t-shirts, and handwritten cards.

We could write for days and days and not cover all the things you have blessed us with this year. I’m sure you gather how in debt we feel to you. Our biggest thanksgiving is just knowing you’re along for the ride, you haven’t forgotten us, and you are still pulling for this dream to become a reality.

What else can we say but, thank you.

If we have been a blessing to you we would love to know in what capacity. What are you thankful for on this Thanksgiving?

 

Fa La La La La

Image by Monica's Dad via Flickr

Did I seriously just hear a bell ringer? Is it just me or is anyone else in denial that the holidays are upon us? Does anyone else find it just a bit disconcerting for retailers to have beach toys, Halloween candy, and Christmas decorations displayed all together at the same time in their seasonal department?

Hopefully you’ve turned the calendar page and marked down all the Sparrow events for the rest of this year but I’d also like you to start looking ahead with us. We have less than 12 months to go for the launch of The Sparrow’s Nest. We are still on track to open in July 2012 but we need you to help us stay the course.

This makes me wonder if Grandma really needs another bottle of lotion. Or does Aunt Sally really another frame or coffee cup. Doesn’t Uncle Bob have enough sweaters?

As you’re starting to think about your holiday giving consider making a considerable donation of $25, $50, or $100 in honor of your special someone. We’ll make sure they are notified of your gift with a special Christmas card.

Gifts made represent a gift to the entire mission of The Sparrow’s Nest. To help get the doors open for our Build The Nest project we use your gifts where they can do the most good by pooling them with the gifts of others to help Build The Nest. And, because you are helping The Sparrow’s Nest save unborn babies and empower young mothers, your gift is tax deductible.

I can relate to the Rally Squirrel

Image by Californian Em via Flickr

I feel like we have a lot in common with the Cardinals Rally Squirrel. He’s running around crazy trying to get provisions for the winter so he doesn’t freeze and die. He’s so panicked, he’s even willing to risk certain death but racing across Busch Stadium in the middle of a playoff game. Who knows what he what he saw over there that he desperately needed at the moment. Something caught his eye that he viewed horribly important for his survival.

I’m feeling kind of squirrelly myself. I feel like I’m scampering around trying to gather what’s left of the nuts before another winter sets in and we’re still waiting on getting The Nest part of The Sparrow’s nest. I feel desperate to tell as many people and to gather as many dollars before that bitter cold locks everyone away. I’m running around as fast as I can to events, people, trying to gather information and support, as well as dispense information and support.

I need you to feel the urgency. I need you gathering the support in all sense of the word. I need you to rally around us and get a little squirrelly yourself, a little frenetic and crazy in how you drum up support. Through prayer, through words, through your church, through your neighbors, through your civic group, and especially  financially.

How are you getting a little squirrelly for The Sparrow’s Nest?

You haven’t forgotten, have you?

Image via Wikipedia

I don’t want you to forget.

I don’t want you to forget what the point is. What the reality is in our community.

Our calendar is filling up with events and fundraisers and these are important and necessary things. We really want you a part of these things so we can become fully funded by the end of the year.

But don’t forget why we need to be fully funded.

There are unborn babies who need us to fight for them. There are pregnant teens scared out of their minds that we need to comfort and protect. There’s a future for both in Christ that we need to help direct.

We will have a great time at these events. I know I can count on you to be extrodinarily generous. But we can’t lose sight of why we are here.

We are here to walk hand in hand with a young woman and her unborn baby. We are here to make a sure a difficult situation doesn’t go from bad to worse. We are here to minister to hurting young women. We are here to lift up The Least, The Lost, and The Lonely to our Father.

Where do we put the stuff?

Image by james.thompson via Flickr

If your children are “Messies” encourage them to marry someone who is laidback but possibly not a Messie. For better or worse, I’m a Messie and I married a Messie. Among other places in our house, the garage has always been a major dumping ground for us. This past year it has also become storage for the wonderful donations from people like you that just can’t wait for The Sparrow’s Nest to open.

Our garage is full of diapers, maternity clothes, a couch, a chair, a sidetable and lamp, a glider rocker, a changing table, well, you get the idea. We worked almost all Saturday cleaning and organizing and sorting. We took some into other parts of our house and some we took to church to store for awhile. It’s so fabulous and exciting to think about these items being used in the house by young mothers.

But that’s the catch , isn’t it. We are getting all this great stuff but we still don’t have a place to put it. We don’t have in our possession the whole point of The Sparrow’s Nest.

The Nest.

God has put on my heart such an urgency since the weather has started to change. Do you remember how bitter last winter was? I keep having that dreadful thought of a young mother trying to find shelter when it gets really cold. What if she thinks the only way she can find a home is to terminate her pregnancy? These thoughts race through my mind and make me sick to my stomach.

I just want to put on your heart the plea for God to provide a facility for us. I know there is someone in our area that could make an incredible sacrifice and donate a 4-5 bedroom house in St. Charles. I also know that if we pool all our resources we can have this project fully funded by January so we can lease to own a property.

There are so many exciting possibilities this fall. I want you with us every step of the way. I want your prayers. I want your creativity.

Can you just see it?  Are you willing to make it happen?

Part 1: God whispered “Nehemiah”

Image via Wikipedia

Do you remember when your toddler was learning to build with blocks? They would take those 2 or 3 blocks with those little mitten hands and try over and over again to stack them up successfully. During the process they would undoubtedly get frustrated when the blocks would fall over. They might eventually throw them or trying to push down even harder to get them to stay stacked.  The irony is the pure joy they get in knocking them down again themselves.

My heart was drawn to a different type of building this morning. God drew me into Nehemiah. He’s been whispering parts of this story to me for a year and I’ve only read and studied it bits and pieces. This morning I read its entirety and God has brought me to my knees.

The parallels between Nehemiah rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and our building The Sparrow’s Nest are obvious. But I just wanted to share a few points that God specifically showed me this morning.This week I’ll share a 4 part series over what God gave me from Nehemiah.

1. Prayer : It seems so obvious. But Nehemiah gives us the example at every start, every turn, every adversary, every thanksgiving to pray to God .

Nehemiah 1:10-11 They are your servants and your people, who you have redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

Nehemiah’s heart had been broken by the despair of his people. Nehemiah knew this would be a huge undertaking . Building the wall again would not be a popular project. Nehemiah also understood he would need the support of powerful people. But the very first thing Nehemiah did was to ask God for forgiveness before favor. When Nehemiah was given the opportunity to ask permission of King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah quickly first prayed to God and then answered the King.  When the opposition was in full force against rebuilding the wall, Nehemiah and his men prayed to God and made preparations to meet the threat.

I believe with all my heart in the power of prayer. I also believe we will not be successful in this endeavor without on-going, consistent, bold prayers. Just as Nehemiah did, we need support from powerful people, we need guidance and direction in our decision making, and we will need prayer warriors posted at our doors to protect the young women and those precious babies.

The next 120 days are a critical part of our history. My instinct is to get through the fall and start wrapping things down for the holidays. But God has always had a different plan. I believe God has some incredible wall building coming down the pipe this quarter and I challenge you to boldly pray what your role will be in this endeavor. I ask you to pray for generosity in spirit, time, and money. I ask you to boldly pray for protection, guidance, and direction. YOUR prayers will determine our steps.