Two Sides to Every Coin

What an overdue time of sitting down and writing... and I'm doing it in unsanctioned clothes as my DH whisks me off on a spontaneous adventure during which he has claimed the right to dictate what I wear. I haven't counted yet, but I think I have about 3 or 4 separate outfits for this little excursion, including high heels and a dress I consider to fall under the 'fancy' label. I'm thankful that I truly had no angst over agreeing to his heist of my project and my cohorts have been nothing but supportive of my embracing this opportunity. As my mom said, God does give us our husbands for balance!

With the realization that we are closing in on the halfway mark of this challenge comes the realization that it has been much, MUCH easier than the food month! The only real challenge comes with making sure I have clothes that are at least halfway clean when I need to leave the house. So far, the dress I picked out as my 7th item has been a lifesaver on that head. I wear it so infrequently that it's never dirty! The other problem I've faced is the shoe issue... I almost had a meltdown the other day when I stepped in the pottery clay that passes as dirt in our yard when I had on my flats. I mean, seriously... It was a Monday and had been a Monday in every sense of the term. Being a tad sleep deprived probably wasn't helping any. At the very least, I'm sure I got a glimpse into what it must feel like for that poor friend I'm trying to identify with to get the first stain/first rip/etc on their ONE nice thing. I ran inside and got the wet rag and stood over the trash can trying to restore them to their previous shiny state and still get out the door on schedule, slipping into my boots and carrying them to the car this time.

That evening I had a nice birthday supper with my sister-in-laws and got to catch up over some fresh Mediterranean food. As we laughed and groaned over each other's past few months I found myself asked once more what I was learning through this whole thing. It was easy to sum up the first month, but I found myself struggling at first to find some good, solid points that had come up in this one. Of course there was the obvious, "I found out I have too much stuff in my closet", but this month feels so much more complicated for some reason.

On the first day of this challenge I found myself working on something in the living room and, as I am wont to do, I had What Not To Wear playing in the background. Please, don't roll your eyes. I know reality tv is cheesy, but I actually liked that show one upon a time. It's gotten old, the timeline is precisely the same every single episode, and I have the rules memorized. But you have to understand that when I first got married I knew next to nothing about fashion and I learned a lot from Stacy and Clinton! So I guess you could say that there's a special place in my heart for that show. ;) But this episode was interesting in a new way because of the subject's story and how she ended up where she was.

Since I can't remember her name, I'll just call her Laura. Laura was a woman of about 30 and she got ambushed wearing baggy khaki slacks, a turtleneck sweater, and a misfitted, also khaki colored jacket. She was a business woman and her family, co-workers, and even boss were in on getting her nominated for the show. They had known her long enough to know her heart, her work ethic, and her passion for life. Their concern, as always, was that her lack of effort in the clothing department was holding her back in life and work. She jumped on the opportunity to go shopping, but soon became slightly more resistant as she went through the process of being lambasted for her wardrobe and chided for not putting forth more effort into her appearance. That's when we hear her back story.

It turns out that she was once an extremely stylish young lady. She actually said that she was a little too obsessed with fashion and fixated on her appearance to an extreme. But then she faced a life changing experience... she got caught in the crossfire of the genocide in Uganda. When she made it out alive the memories of what she had seen and experienced made all her fashionable clothes look pathetically frivolous in comparison. She started wearing whatever she had and never wasted money on her looks. Her priorities saw a 180... and it got her nominated for What Not To Wear. In two days time she spent over $6000 on a new wardrobe for herself. Throughout the shopping she struggled with the knowledge that she was spending so much. Stacy and Clinton argued that these clothes would help her affect the change she wanted to by making her more approachable and look as reputable as she actually was. She started to dust off her habits of dressing well and rediscovered the joy she found in feeling put together. Then she felt terrible when she thought of the genocide and how frivolous it all was. And she tried to find balance...

I sat there watching this unfold and felt the same tension I'm sure she was feeling because I understand both sides of the issue. I grew up caring very little about my appearance. My parents did an excellent job of making sure that their children's worth was not tied up in clothing, weight, or appearance of any kind and for that I'm grateful! But then I started hanging out with a group of people who knew how to dress. They NEVER made me feel like less of a person for my lack of skinny jeans and flats or cute scarves or any of it... But I started to wish that I knew how to put together an outfit like they could. More than a desire to look a certain way it was a desire for knowledge in the fashion department. So I learned. I experimented. I gave accessories a whirl and different colors and cuts and tried to start finding my own personal style instead of just picking pieces that covered me. And all my efforts at least doubled when my BF/soon-to-be-DH decided to get into the political realm and I realized that my life, and therefor my wardrobe, would be much more under the public's critical eye than my previous ranch hand laborer life had been. I started to find my niche in fashion and I liked it. Where I once hated clothes shopping I now enjoy it (in small quantities and only if successful). Yet, here I am learning about the evils of the fashion world from Jen. Yet, I know the truth of the other side of the coin as well.. that looking a certain way truly CAN give a platform from which to work to accomplish our goals.

In a perfect world, a Utopia where what we look like doesn't matter to anyone, fashion could be obsolete with no consequences. But I feel like in the real world it can't. I don't know... perhaps we need an army of brave pioneers who throw fashion out the window and staunchly face the music and do what needs done to change the norm we have now. Maybe it could actually make a difference. But I honestly don't see it. Personally, I see people throwing fashion out the window and eventually just making a new fashion. I'm looking at you, hipsters.

So... where does that leave me? Am I throwing out the premise of this chapter all together? Absolutely not. I see the premise of this chapter as being, like the premise of the book, simply fighting a consumeristic and excessive mentality. That's going to look different for you than it is for me. In fact, it will likely look different for me in 10 years than it does right now. Different people in different walks of life, different geological locations, and different callings will have different needs. There may come a day when looking put-together isn't necessary when I'm doing inner-city missions with under privileged kids and in that case I will probably need to re-evaluate my wardrobe. There may come a time when having 6 pairs of working jeans is rather ridiculous when I'm traveling with my aristocratic husband on his world-changing journeys and I have to find another pair of dress pants because I spilled coffee on my last one. But where I am right now? I know I will be culling through my clothes during month 3 because 331 items is too many for my needs and I KNOW that there are others out there who could use what I have. I will be simplifying while maintaining the 'put-togetherness' of my wardrobe. I won't be shopping just because I want to or because there's a sale. That's what I know for now... and there is still a half of a month for me to learn more. Honestly, I think I'd kind of pulled back a little psychologically  and emotionally this month because of the overwhelming amount of angles from which I was trying to analyze this month. I'm going to try to be a little more thoughtful as I finish this month up.

Closet Comparison

Today was day 1 of month 2. Once I managed to make the decision about what to put on this morning it went quite well, although I did have to wonder about my choices as the day progressed.

7 articles of clothing for an entire month... Do you have any idea how hard it was to narrow it down to 7 articles of clothing? My life isn't conducive to that size of wardrobe. I can, in a single day's time, spend hours working in the dirt, change to run errands, and then clean up to attend a reception with my husband. Throw in a workout somewhere in there and I could see multiple wardrobe changes in just one 24 hour period. Of course, I could just wash everything at the end of every day, right? The problem with that is that there's simply no way to make 7 pieces of clothing create 4 outfits with shoe changes and differing functions. So... I had to make choices on what I would be most focused on throughout this month and provide clothing for those particular activities.

The Council has decided to follow Jen's example and count 2 pairs of shoes as 1 article (yes, I know... this month we're really doing '8'...). For me, my boots and simple black flats were the obvious choices, although I desperately wanted tennis shoes as well. That's #1. My other 6 are as follows.

- Skinny Jeans... the pair that already has a slight stain and I really won't care if I stain them further
- Button-Up... purple plaid, with easy to roll up long sleeves and able to be worn tucked in or out
- Castle Ranch T... my favorite, most comfortable top
- Athletic Shorts... lightweight, comfortable, and needed for working out, relaxing, and playing volleyball
- Dress... not yet found! Looking for a lightweight but long, easy to dress up or down dress
- Black Peacoat... I hope it's never so cold I have to wear it to work in, but if one must be ruined it's this one

As this month drew close I decided I should take an account of my current clothing situation. If the purpose of '7' is to learn - to learn about the poor, to learn about myself, and to learn about and develop the connection between us - I needed to know where I stood and how we compare. My findings were... embarrassing. I'd really rather not, but I promised myself and my Council that the numbers would be made public. Everything in my closet and dresser, with the exception of socks and underwear, was counted. Everything from pants to belts, scarves to outerwear, even those formal gowns I never wear; it all went into the final tally.

331. Thus is the number of my closet. If you figure in that I spent around $5 per item that means I have over $1500 tied up in my clothing. That might seem like I'm low balling it to make myself feel better, but I promise you, that really IS about what I tend to spend on my clothes. I'm the kind of person who will put something I like back on the rack at Goodwill because it's not the half-off color of the week. BUT... shoes are in that count as well, and I tend to spend around $10-$15 on shoes. Yes, that's about 80% off of regularly priced shoes... I absolutely love RedDot Sales at the Shoe Dept! BUT again, I know that my two pairs of cowboy boots were significantly more expensive than anything else in my closet, and gowns are a bit pricier as well. All things considered, I'm estimating that there sits within my closet somewhere between $1750 and $2000. I'll say it again... that's down right embarrassing.

Now, I know that some of you really want to reach through your computer screens and give me an encouraging pat on the back and tell me that it's not that bad. Maybe you think it's silly of me to feel embarrassed about my closet when you know there are closets worth many times more. But see, that's the problem with comparison... I could very easily choose to compare my closet to the first lady's closet and feel fully justified in going on a shopping spree. I could choose to compare it to a similar closet and not deal with feelings either of deprivation or embarrassment. Or I could do as I am doing now.

I choose to compare my closet with those who don't even have one at all, much less have one full of clothes. That choice isn't based on some strange desire to try and evoke feelings of guilt. In fact, I believe that 'there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'. Feelings of guilt and shame are feelings to be fought with the truth of God's grace whenever they raise their ugly heads! No, my choice to set my closet next to an emptier one is for no other reason than to spur me into action and restrain my hand from grasping after more. I can't really think of any other reason to go count your clothes, sum up an estimate, and put it out there for the world to see... It's certainly not an exercise to be labeled 'just-for-fun'. :)

This month is going to be interesting, for sure! I have some ideas of what I will deal with throughout the next 4 weeks, but I'm looking forward to see what unexpected issues arise as well. The Council is meeting tomorrow night to discuss the details and display our choices while we enjoy (read, gorge ourselves on!) Mexican food. I'm bringing guacamole... just because I actually do still love avocados. Surprise surprise! It will be good to see them all again, laugh over last month's stories and this month's question marks, and argue over the nitty-gritty details of what exactly constitutes as an 'article of clothing'. ;) I am so grateful for these ladies... doing this alone would have been such a different story!

Too Full of Cookies?

My emotions are mixed as I sit here trying to recap the entirety of the first month of '7'... It's hard to believe that it's over and time to move onto the next challenge. At the same time, it feels like we started the food month much more than a month ago. The excitement of being free to eat whatever I want is going up against the feeling of being overwhelmed with options. The thirst for variety is being beaten down by the new found enjoyment of simplicity. And, of course, the happiness of a tongue being tickled with explosions of flavors is fighting for superiority over a stomach that has grown accustomed to simplicity.

But more importantly than any of those things is the task of figuring out how to incorporate what I've learned into my normal, every day life. From the very beginning, I knew that the danger of this entire thing was that it become a filling-of-the-square fast; something I could add to my list of 'Christian accomplishments' but that didn't actually change my life. The last thing I want is to have something to look back on and puff myself up. A lot of good that would do me... "The Lord sets Himself against the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 

Looking back on the February fast might seem like a great way to build myself up. I mean, self-control saw an all-time high, right? Not even licking my fingers when I cooked for DH... that really took grit! But really, the thing that stands out to me about the month is all the ways I saw how weak I actually am. Because in all the tough temptations I faced and overcame I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that was so not me. I don't do that. And in the two days that have passed since the end of the challenge I've proven it! :P I don't deny myself normally, because I don't normally have a reason. But when God is behind me... He is my strength! It begs the questions, 'What could I achieve, through His strength, in my regular, day to day life? How can I tap into that strength on a regular basis and what would He have me channel that strength to overcome or accomplish?'

There is a shared sentiment among the 'council' that we will actually miss the food fast. Some of us even woke up on March 1st and felt a certain amount of sadness that it was over. God was so very present and we saw and learned things we never expected to see and learn. Some of those were written about in a previous post, "Surprises/Lessons from the 1st Week". Others are hard to explain in a blog post... hard to even explain to each other, face-to-face. But we are all so expectant... We can't wait for this month's revelations! 

Sometimes, I find someone else's blog post and feel like they've been inside my head, stolen my thoughts, and written them down better than I could have. My mom shared just such a post with our group this morning and I would encourage all of my readers to head on over and read Ann Voskamp's take on what plagues the American Christian. She explains it so beautifully, simply, and vividly... our appetites for God are being suppressed by other things; the appetite-ruiners like those cookies our parents never let us have before the main meal. 

It's so true... but it's so exciting to see that many of us are growing tired of being too full of cookies to truly enjoy the main thing in life. It may prove difficult to refuse them. In fact, I'm absolutely sure of it. After all, one of the biggest business in America is advertisement! But if there's one thing Month 1 showed me it's that having a God-given purpose can give even the weakest of wills the strength to refuse the tastiest of morsels, whether those be for the mouth of to clothe the body.

Eating Words

Every once in awhile you find yourself having to eat your words (no pun intended). Usually, I'm pretty guarded about what I say with no disclaimer so I won't have to come back later and try to backtrack. There are a lot of things in life that are subject to opinion and should be stated as such, a lot of things that are facts and should be checked before claiming, and a lot of things which can be disproved with new information that need a disclaimer. Usually, if you make sure that your opinion is stated as an opinion, your facts have been checked, and you admit you don't know everything there is to know about the given topic, you're pretty safe.

But honestly... who goes to those lengths when you're writing about yourself?

Remember when I told you that I wasn't an emotional eater? Well... I take it back. New evidence has come to light that would seem to disprove that claim. As the middle of week 3 showed me, I AM an emotional eater. I just don't often get upset enough for it to shine through. But when I did, I found myself feeling this 'need' to indulge myself in flavors. Throughout the day I wanted to munch at a whole new level. My mind was unsettled and I couldn't be still, resulting in (real or imagined) hunger and cravings that outdid the ones I had felt clear back at the beginning of the month. And when DH and I stopped at BWW for supper and my dish of plain ol' 'Naked Tenders" was placed in front of me, I thought I might cry. While he half-way sympathetically smiled before digging into his gooey, saucy, juicy wings I had to force myself to simply grab a lemon out of my water and squeeze it over the top of my chicken.

It was another surprise for me; a discovery about myself. But as I sat there and bit into my 7-sanctioned meal I took a deep breath... and then another... and another... and I settled down to enjoy the evening, 'Naked Tenders' and all. Sure, I still wanted to reach over and steal a few fries from DH as I'm wont to do, and when we next go there I likely will. But to be able to have a breakthrough like that in a problem you didn't even know you had is amazing. In the space of 24 hours I learned that I was an emotional eater AND that I didn't have to be. Well done, God. No better teacher than You!

I'm so grateful for the lessons I am learning during this challenge. Some have taken me off guard; they've been totally unexpected. Others were ones I had already been contemplating before starting; they've been built upon. All of them have been valuable and I expect them to continue to do the gradual work of changing my heart, my life, and my world. Now there are only a few days  left of the food month and then I will be delving into month #2. I can only imagine what is in store for me there as I face all of the same indulgent habits along with all the new facets of consumerism it brings.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... this month isn't over. Bring on the last 3 days!!!

A Long Way to Go

Sometimes, like today, it feels like I have such a very long way to go. Not in '7', not in this month of limited food options; no, in the whole heart transformation I seek.

Valentine's weekend was absolutely wonderful. Cracker Barrel for brunch... stuffed myself. Iguana Grill for supper... stuffed myself. My parent's house to celebrate my sister's birthday super... stuffed myself. I seriously loved every moment of it. Enchiladas, cheesecake, and blueberry muffins never tasted better! Did a number on my digestive tract *ahem* but it was worth it. :)

The downside has been coming off of those two glorious days and returning to my chicken, avacados, eggs, spinach, sweet potatoes, lemons, and bananas. I've had to make it through a church lunch with about 6 different dessert choices. The munchies have been my constant companion on this, an entire day at home. I want to bake something yummy to eat while I watch this movie that's playing. Or, at the very least, have some toast with my eggs!  Instead, I will soon go and blend up a banana and ice smoothie to eat with a spoon and pretend it's ice cream. I've felt deprived, to put it bluntly.

To think that I felt deprived when I had plenty to eat is a disappointment. The thoughts about 'me' and what 'I' wasn't getting to eat were so numerous... and how many times a day do I cast a thought for the millions of people who won't get to eat at all? Or who dig through the trash in hopes of finding someone else's cast off? It's a saddening glimpse into my heart.

I have continued my intensive reading/studying over the past month and have so much going on in my head about the way the Christian life is supposed to look and how the church is supposed to function. Me thinks I may have been a little ambitious and taken a bigger bite than I can handle right now! Going crazy and brain dead may be in my foreseeable future. It's overwhelming to see how far we have to go. It's discouraging to have to wonder how many people would even be willing to see a change. It's confusing to not have a clue what the next step is. All in all, it's resulted in more than one afternoon of staring out the window and fighting back the flood of emotions that comes with having a million question marks and no periods.

But time in communion with my Heavenly Father has yielded at least a short-term plan for me. As I poured my heart out about my confusion and this lost, deer-in-headlights feeling I was fighting, He grounded me back in my own, personal reality. "Just stay faithful to '7'" He whispered. "I led you to it. Do that and rest in knowing that I will show you what comes next."

I am such an all-or-nothing person... When something has my attention I dream big, plan bigger, and go all in. And sometimes throwing caution to the wind and just going for it is exactly what following Jesus looks like. But other times, following Jesus looks like 3 years of talking to people who will eventually crucify you. The disciples were ready to help Jesus get His army together to plant that kingdom too... but that wasn't the first step in the journey.

One step at a time... one month at a time. Stay faithful. Trust Him to effect the change. He knows my future, the future of the church, the future of the nation. Pursue Him wholeheartedly... and let Him do HIS work.

Surprises/Lessons from the 1st Week

It's been a week already... And I can't believe I'm using the word 'already' to describe the passage of time during this month of self-denial and simplicity. But it's true. We're a quarter of the way done with the food challenge. How about a moment of dancing for joy? :)

In all honesty though, I've been genuinely surprised by a few things. Of course, the surprises are coupled with things I've learned in the process, so I must convey them by talking about the lessons themselves. Surprises are like that... the moment of shock when you walk in on a birthday party in your honor is the moment you learn that all of your friends have been scheming behind your back.

Surprise/Lesson #1 - I Cook Out of my Spice Cabinet
Do you have any idea how many times I have reached for the garlic powder or the crushed red pepper flakes? Or the vanilla? Or the oregano? Or the________...??? Salt and pepper my foot! I'm beginning to question the wisdom of my choice of lemons for flavor. I mean, they save my hide when it's salad time at lunch, but man! What I wouldn't give for some garlic! All that to say, I've come to realize that I have no appreciation for the naturally present flavors of my food. I smother it in added seasonings regularly. Now that I've had a week of eating it plain, I'm slowly recognizing that real food plain is actually quite flavorful in and of itself. A little salt can really bring it out!

Surprise/Lesson #2 - I have 'Errands' Systematically Connected to 'Food'
Seriously. Running around town tends to be a lengthy process for me and, as I mentioned in a previous post, it usually sees me stopping somewhere. Somewhere with food. And a Dr. Pepper. That being said, my last day of running errands I lived off of bananas and a hard boiled egg and didn't really get hungry. (Have I mentioned that I'm convinced my stomach is shrinking?) Wanted something, yes. But got hungry? No. And with this discovery has come another. I can actually 'make it' without stopping and buying some highly-processed, mostly-fake, fast food yumminess that is bad for me and slowly erodes away my wallet. I've thought about looking back to see how much I generally spend at fast food places in a month but the thought scared me. Plus I knew how difficult it would be to differentiate between my purchases and DH's so I decided I had learned this lesson without that information anyway so I didn't need it now.

Surprise/Lesson #3 - I am a Creature of Habit
Okay... this wasn't really a surprise or a lesson. I knew this about myself, but I rediscovered it. Maybe it's still a tad early to make this claim, but I feel like I have already formed this routine of eating. Breakfast - Eggs & Avacado  Lunch - Spinach Salad  Snack - Banana  Supper - Sweet Potato & Chicken To be totally honest, I am falling in love with the simplicity of this reduction. Sure, I'd kick up the spice and flavor bit. But eating the same thing over and over again is so easy on the brain. AND, it makes cheat days like yesterday extra special. It was actually exciting to go to the store for ingredients and spend hours in the kitchen cooking my man's birthday supper! Of course, that could have had something to do with the fact that there is still ice and snow all around and I'm growing a deep and dark hatred for the cold and anything to do with winter... but still. It was fun!

Surpise/Lesson #4 - We Equate Social Gatherings with Food
I used to think it was a Baptist thing, that we couldn't get together without eating. Any more, I'm convinced that it's just a human thing. The council has agreed. We get together for lunch, celebrate with food, chat over coffee and doughnuts... Whenever we're invited to ANYthing social, we always ask "What should we bring?" Really, now, what would a party be without finger foods? Honestly, I don't know. It's not that I think this is a problem, per say, but you have to wonder how much more actual time we could spend together if we weren't spending our time in the kitchen.

Surprise/Lesson #5 - I Can't Explain '7' in Under 5 Minutes
No, I haven't actually timed myself... yet. But when I showed up at church on Wednesday night (Fellowship Dinner Night... Man that chili smelled good!) with my bag of groceries and began to assemble my own supper like the picky eater I've never been, of course the questions came. I was seriously wishing for my 7-Buddy Amy to be there to help me out but, alas, I had forgotten that she does Awana at another location on Wednesdays. So I was on my own to field questions to those who had never heard about it. I've tried to come up with simple one-liners to satisfy people's curiosity but so far they haven't been enough. Apparently, a 'fast from excess' doesn't compute as a good reason to pass up chili in the frozen tundra of Oklahoma for a salad, dry chicken, and a sweet potato. Usually I end up telling them about the book and suggesting they read it to find out all the cool stuff I left out. Your welcome, Jen, for the advertisement. ;)

Surprise/Lesson #6 - God is Faithful to Provide
Different levels of surprise have been reported by my faithful friends... but we all agree on the lesson. With varying depths of struggle and temptation, we have all grown stronger in this endeavor. What was once painful to see and not have (your husband's jalapeno poppers in the oven) is now a labor of love, made more sweet by the fact that it's for your loved ones entirely and you get no benefit other than knowing it is enjoyed by them. Kristi said that, in answer to her prayers, it is becoming easier to prepare meals for her family without even being tempted. And being obedient in this one challenge has served to be a reminder time after time throughout the day to be in prayer and has driven us closer to the One Who provides all of our needs and lavishes on us so many of our wants! As my mom, Michele, put it "God is faithful to walk you through what He calls you to do." If He is calling you to something... please do it! You never know who you will bless or how it will bless you.

-------- Week 1 --------

Day 2:

Behold, my 7 chosen items. And yes, I have already wished for another option. :)
1) Eggs
2) Chicken
3) Sweet Potato
4) Spinach
5) Avacado
6) Banana
7) Lemon
We are allowed salt and pepper and a little bit of oil. We are also officially allowed to cheat on family birthdays and Valentine's Day (DH would have a cow if I told him he wasn't allowed to 'treat' me that day... aw shucks, gee, I guess you are allowed, Honey!).

Every one of us was out and about on day 1, attending some event where the yummiest of foods were available to us. My mom reported that God made temptations easy for her... I need to find out what secret line she's talking to Him on. Lunch went by okay, but by the time my craft fair was done and it was time to go home I 'needed' a Dr. Pepper. And it was Happy Hour. No, I didn't cave. I just craved. Then I went to pick up a pizza for the guys to eat while watching the basketball game and the smell was driving me crazy! So yeah... first day wasn't a piece of cake.

It probably didn't help that the craft show was (almost) a complete failure. Had it not been for the one board sold to another vendor I might have written if off entirely and sat in my little pity party. In the middle of it my DH asked how I was dealing with the disappointment and I realized how high I had set my expectations. Silly me... I thought I was firmly grounded in reality and keeping a good check on my dreams. Alas, it seems that that's simply not how I do things. Dreaming big isn't something I even knew I tended to do just a short time ago, but I can see the pattern now.

But the joy that came with selling that one board at the end of the show helped bring my resolve back to the surface. The sweet young couple who chose to put their money towards a month of orphan care were genuinely interested in the approach I was using. Yes, they liked the product... but the husband had originally stopped to check out the chart that showed what each product would provide for a needy family. It was that ability to give that grabbed his attention. It gave me hope for the world, hope for the average joe I see in my day-to-day life. And, just as DH pointed out to me that perhaps the point of this venture wasn't so much about selling granite cutting boards as it was about my willingness to do so, maybe there's another point. Maybe the goal is to wake up a sleeping giant. Maybe it's more about giving others the same vision I have than trying to end poverty on my own. To use an analogy in a book I read recently, maybe my mission is to use my water hose to wake up the sleeping firefighters instead of trying to use my trickle to put out the fire. Maybe.