Anne Marie Miller

Author: Anne Marie Miller

  • i’m not one for begging, but i beg you, read this post

    [edit: i couldn’t take it anymore. i had to post it. yeah it’s earlier than i said. i was just so excited!]

    i really thought about titling this with the word “boobies” because statistics have shown that is the word that gets people to read your blog.

    but anyway.

    thank you for humoring my title and reading this.

    i cannot tell you the number of times that i have heard people say blogging is so narcissistic, but it’s been a lot. i cannot tell you the amount of hate email i get because people think i like to cause fights by asking questions that aren’t always religiously correct, but it’s been a lot. if i’m not careful, i can let the few bad things outweigh the good.

    and good? there is a lot.

    today, i just wanted to share an important stat about YOU. not stats as in how many people subscribe to my RSS feed or give me technorati points or whatever.

    but one important number.

    $80,000.

    in just six months, you guys have donated (through instant payments or gifts or commitments) $80,000.

    one blog. just a few hundred people. six months. $80,000.

    at least 40 children have been released from poverty from just this site (over 500 as a result of our blogging trip, which they tell me would equal about $960,000 based on the average sponsorship length!)

    110 mosquito nets to help prevent malaria have been paid for and sent to third world countries

    120 books have been purchased and sent to pastors in the dominican republic.

    over $850 has been given to various causes like haitian rescue centers, mission trips, and people just barely scraping by.

    $80,000.

    that number blows me away. i am speechless yet cannot thank you guys enough for putting your money where your mouth is, literally. you have shown that faith is not about rules or theological opinions but about loving others.

    so next time someone tells you that blogging is a waste of time, you can share with them otherwise.

    wow. just, wow.

    ==

    ps – if you want to sponsor a child through compassion international, and make that number 41, you can click here to meet some incredible and amazing kids.

  • i never do this, but…

    tomorrow.

    you will want to make sure to check back here tomorrow.

    in the spirit of it being 8/13, i will schedule the post to go up at 8:13 am central time.

    what’s this post about?

    it’s about you.

    you have done something incredible and i don’t think you even realize it.

    8:13 tomorrow.

    i can’t wait to see your faces.

  • why can’t we say no?

    Just Say No?last night, i asked you what you’d like to hear if you were attending a breakout session or workshop about burnout.

    “how do i say no?” was probably one of the most answered responses.

    so…now i get to ask you, why can’t we say no? should we say no? how can we discern when to say no?

  • you + 45 minutes + burnout

    you are going to a conference.

    you decided to attend a breakout session on burnout.

    what do you need to hear in those 45 minutes?

    stories from survivors? statistics? practical steps? broad things to ponder?

    no stupid answers…anything is possible.

    what helps you?

  • this should be interesting

  • ironwoman

    Errrr

    ever since i can remember, i’ve always been borderline anemic. at least that is what my doctor has always said.

    “you’re not quite there, but you’re on the low side of healthy.”

    and even though i’m from texas, i’ve never been a steak girl. in fact, slowly, i’ve been eliminating meat from my diet…not for any ethical reason…i just really don’t like the taste of it (except bacon! YUM!) and it’s getting really expensive, too.

    i went to the doctor last week for something minor, and since i was a new patient, he did a full work up on me, including blood work and a stress test (my dad has a wicked heart history).

    the results came back early this week, and evidently, i’m starting to get old.

    first, i was “mildly anemic.” no more dancing on the edge. i had crossed the line into low red blood counts.

    so, he told me to start on some iron supplements. or start eating more meat. i chose the supplements.

    then he told me my heart beat was funny after i ran on my exercise stress test.

    psshh. whatever.

    and he told me to start taking a low dose beta blocker for a month to see if it helps. so, i started those this week too.

    ummm….is this what being almost thirty is like?

  • international dining options

    los angeles is 1700 miles away from nashville.

    this is where people eat.

    Four Seasons Los Angeles

    haiti is 1700 miles from nasvhille.

    this is where people eat.

    Haitian Dining

    i got this email from brian yesterday, updating us on the food crisis in haiti. it is written by one of the compassion international staff serving there.

    The unprecedented rise in the cost of foodstuffs raise concerns in the Haitian community especially those whose daily income is less than $2US. They are all wondering if they will survive at all. Despite the promises made by the Haitian government and the aid programs conducted by the international community, food prices do not stop skyrocketing.

    “There is no hope that things are going to be improved; the situation is worsening. The population is silently starving and no one seems to care?? said angrily a young professional.

    brian also sent a list of staple food costs.

    it.
    blew.
    my.
    mind.

    1 half full-sized bag of rice has gone from $28 US to $35 US.
    1 full-sized bag of beans has gone from $54.6 US to $63.6 US.
    1 full-sized bag of sugar has gone from $25.3 US to $34.8 US.

    i responded to brian and asked if children in compassion international projects were guaranteed food, to which he said every child in every project receives at least one meal a day. some receive two hot meals…and they are working very hard to keep adding projects to the two-meal program.

    Compassion Internationalnaiva is one of many children in haiti who need to be sponsored. she has been waiting for more than six months. it’s just $32 a month, and with that, you can know that one more child is getting the food she needs to survive.

    click here to sponsor naiva.

    if she is already sponsored, you can click here to find another child.

    you can also make a donation to the global food crisis fund here.

    honestly, it is so difficult for me to understand why this happens. it still makes me feel sad, and angry, and guilty, and motivated, and desperate.

    you?

  • how does the church feel about you?

    monday, i asked the question, “how do you feel when you go to church?”

    the responses were all over the place…”at home”…”worried”…”disgusted”…”excited”

    today, the question is…

    how does the church feel about you?

    there are so many comparisons between physical anatomy and the body of christ in scripture.? and similar to our physical health, we should be striving for harmony and unity amongst all the body’s parts.

    when i was twenty six, i had my gallbladder removed.? it stopped functioning and died.? and it was making me incredibly sick. even eating a little bit of food would make me throw up and have tremendous amounts of pain.

    but once it was removed, everything started working better.

    so…how does the church feel about you? are you functioning and encouraging growth and health? or are you a dead organ that needs to be removed?

  • awesome leadership quote

    ?A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.? ~Lao Tzu