My crazy blog friend, Kari over at My Crazy Adoption has partnered with Tom Davis of Children’s Hopechest (remember this amazing moment from almost two years ago) to raise money for a safehouse in Moldova and an orphanage in Haiti. These friends inspire me to care for orphans and the least of these and I wanted to share about this cool opportunity to win a missions trip!

Here’s how you can be a part:

Buy a shirt

SIMPLY LOVE SHIRTS: 1 tee = 1 entry to win!

When you purchase a Simply Love tee- you are supporting Project #1 – the orphanage Haiti Home of Hope in Pignon, Haiti. I just led a Visiting Orphans team to Pignon only a few short weeks ago, so this project is dear to my heart! The donations we raise from Simply Love tees will directly fund the orphanage projects:

• Mother’s milk [formula] and clinic program (70 children)
• Building project for mother/baby safehouse
• A brand new home for a family of 4 living in Pignon
• 37 orphans permanently living at Haiti Home of Hope orphanage- Food, clothing, and medical care

MAN UP SHIRTS: 1 tee = 1 entry to win!

When you purchase a Man Up tee- you are supporting Project #2 – the safehouse Beginning of Life in Moldova. Moldova is a small country in Eastern Europe nestled between Ukraine and Romania. The donations we raise from Man Up tees will directly fund the Children’s

HopeChest partnership with “Beginning of Life” to offer a rehabilitation home and program for survivors of human trafficking.

• I want to see Jesus-I want to be like Katie (who is so much like Him)
• Send Emilda to the Olympics! love this
• Give Every Day- a young family who has taken giving on the road. Literally.
• Speaking-I’d love for you to take a look at this and pass it along to your church

• How to {Make} Love-only Ann
• Marriage is Putting Jesus on Display-my church
• What Your Husband Really Wants for Valentine’s Day
• Love Necklaces-♥ I want to make one of these for me
• A Thin Gold Band-I didn’t write this, but I could have

• Chained: Reality Check
• 5 Ways You Can Help Mercy House Kenya Right Now-truly appreciate this comprehensive post!
• Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most-Due out Valentine’s Day
• Behind the Scenes-a little sneak peek into our garage
• Love, love this meaningful art
• A Dad…and An Advocate- an amazing post

• Breaking the Silence-a heartbreaking post we all need to read
• i {heart} mason jars- love this
• iPhone Valentine Printable-♥
• Croup with a Side of Constructive Criticism-This made me laugh so hard!

• Evidence of God in the Mundane
• 25 Vegan Recipes
• This ends at the end of the month
• Love this Simple Vintage Imperfection
• Join us over here on Monday to celebrate (in)courage’s support of Compassion International.  Link up a Compassion post (new or old)!
• Kelly’s got a little Online Love Connection Going on!

• Free Pornography Book-Life changing resource. Think it doesn’t affect someone you know? Think again.
• Can you buy yourself a Valentine’s Day gift? Because this is what I’m getting myself.
• Lovely mother-daughter journals from MODSQUAD-all proceeds benefit Mercy House!
• This is why I may NEVER move.
• 1000 Toes- Everyone can do something

• A Social Network Christmas-this had me in tears!
• 10 Things to Remember When Correcting Your Children- a beautiful reminder
• A Kiss is a Kiss and Sometimes it’s More-This is hot monogamy at its best.
• A Life Well Lived-love this happy news! God’s way is always best!
• Yes, Virginia, You Better Believe There Really Is- Ann’s spine-chilling lesson on Emmanuel  has left me breathless for Him

• When It Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas- have you ever been there? Talking about it at (in)Courage
• Happy 5000- I’ve never been more honored to be a part of something

• Ann writes about one of the most surreal moments in my life.
• I can’t wait to read this book! Meeting the author at the Compassion Reunion was a true highlight.

• Amazing Holiday Prints by talented artists-look who the proceeds go to!!
• This Christmas, give Gifts of Compassion.
• Evie n Lizzie & In His Name (are the latest donators to the Mercy Shop)
• Who are the Joneses and how do you compare?-this is thought-provoking
• My hubby and I will be sharing about Mercy House here. Hope you can come.
• Lord, Have Mercy! I’m still telling the story over at (in)Courage

• Find a Family Mission-love this post, made me cry.
• Let’s help Shaun make a record!
• So honored and humbled to be a part of the Idea Camp //Orphan Care
• Home for Christmas: Buy a gift, bring an orphan home.
• Manifesto of Joyful Parenting- I printed this out and am trying to live it!
• Love this shop who donated to The Mercy Shop this week!

• Send a Christmas card to an unsponsored child-Greeting card drive of epic proportions!
• The Pattern- Love this thoughtful post by my husband
• Bringing Home Beautiful-This is beauty.
• Retired Couple Give Away $11 Million Lottery Win-I want to be this kind of person!
• The Power of a Portrait-Unbelievable! This gives me chills.

• A Full Day of Foreplay- Shaun, Shaun, Shaun
• My Heart is in Africa- beautiful knitted hat created exclusively for The Mercy House donated by Mommy of 4 Munchkins
• From Grass to Grace- Maureen’s first post (She’s the Executive Director of The Mercy House). Please encourage her on the other side of the globe!
• What You Can Do- the global orphan crisis is epic. But you can do something-fantastic list of ideas to get involved
• Darling child’s skirt made from authentic African fabric-love it! Donated by LiviJoy

__________________________

Show Offs Art Giveaway Winner:

Congrats to random commenter,  reader Lauren (email:cuse98@comcast.net)

Everyone else? Here’s a coupon code for 20% off just in time to order a beautiful piece of inspirational art for Christmas:

Code: WERFAM

• Gorgeous camera strap covers (donated to The Mercy Shop by Eclectic Whatnot)
• Getting Boys to Read-great article
• Love these hats!!
• Feeding Young Materialists-scary!
• Will you take the 30 Day Giving Challenge?
• These are the words I live and breathe and can’t even write.

• Erin’s post made me cry and makes me want to cherish every moment.
• My crazy blog friend is giving away a $3000 missions trip to Ethiopia !(buy a shirt to get an entry)
• How a Life can Support Life- such an important post.
• Powerful: Why  It’s Really Worth It to Tell Your Secrets
• Look, Mom, I’m in the nifty Dayspring Blog-o-zine!
• Love this beautiful charm donated to The Mercy Shop by My Forever Child. (sold!)

P.S. This is what 215 pairs of shoes look like! We’re taking them to the Samaritan’s Feet drop-off location today. Thanks to everyone who participated in the Back-To-School Do It For Others project!

• Wisdom and Sorrow-this post broke my heart and gave me hope, all in one
• This made me laugh! My Name is Shaun and I’m a Mom Blogger
• Adorable wall decor for children’s rooms and nurseries donated by Shop with Compassion
• Perfect petite pincushions and sweet coffee cozies donated by Stitches by Sara. LOVE.
• Precious Puddin Pop Scripture dollies (I ordered one for my 3 year olds December birthday!!)
• Beautiful tatting items donated to The Mercy Shop this week by Knovel Knots

Check out these awesome donations added to The Mercy Shop this week. 100% of the proceeds go to The Mercy House:

• Love, love, love the sassy little dresses from Stella Maes (sold!)
• I love the vintage finds at Patty Cake Vintage.
• A beautiful necklace by Sylvia C. Jewelry (sold!)
• And the custom baby wipe containers from KAHCouture almost (ALMOST) make me want another baby! (sold!)
• Custom stamped spoon pendant by Jennifer Perez Designs (I’ve had one of these for 2 years! Love it!) (sold!)
• Unique Africa picture frame donated by Love is Calling (sold!)
• Limited Edition hand crafted Reborn Doll ($350 value!)
• Beautiful hand stamped greeting cards donated by Jen’s Stamp Room
• I’ve never seen anything cuter than funky monkey crochet beanie hats from Mimi’s Babies (we sold 4 of these gorgeous headbands in about a day!)
• Pretty fabric camera strap covers-only $10 each!
• Another hot item are these beautiful and unique glass bead necklaces!
• Count Your Blessings platter ($10) lovingly donated by Creations by Kara (sold!)

• My little baker and her first guest post
• This post BROUGHT ME TO MY KNEES.
• Shaun Groves is doing a great series on becoming a Compassion Blogger.
• Look: My book’s on sale for only $8.10! Pre-order it today.

The following amazing people donated Items to The Mercy Shop this week:

• Eclectic Whatnot (sold!)
• Home With the Boys

(I have at least a dozen more items that will be added next week! Check back often and shop mercy). Have an item you’d like to donate? Email me (kristenwelch@mac.com)

• How You Might Really Be Pregnant-this post from Ann is stunning. Prepare your heart before you click.
• Sex- on not separating God and sex
• For Men who Aren’t Boys-
• Interesting article about Glenn Beck

• Love this by John Piper on marriage being a covenant
• ADORE this inspired post by my friend GypsyMama
• Interesting chart on how much technology has changed our world in the last 10 years
• And as overwhelming as the above chart might make us feel, this balances it out
• Love the idea behind this site Adding Zest to Your Nest
• Since my girls and I love headbands, I’d like to try and make this one.
• Some of my friends are getting ready to go to Guatemala on the next Compassion trip!

The conversation in the comment section of the post, Growing Up Too Fast (about our kids, puberty, and our food) was very interesting! Many of you asked me to put all the links left in the comments in one post, so here they are:

• Book: Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax
• Book: Girls on the Edge by Leonard Sax
• Documentary: Food, Inc.
• Documentary: King Corn
• Documentary: Supersize Me
• Article: Some Girls Puberty Age Still Falling
• Article: BPA in Plastic Blamed for Early Puberty
• Book: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
• Book: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• Blog: 100 Days of Real Food
• Article: Drugs in the Water
• Book: Master Your Metabolismby Jillian Michaels
• Article: First Sign of Puberty in Younger Girls
• Healthy Food Co-Ops in your area: Local Harvest

If  you have more, please leave the links in the comment section.

————————————————————–

And these links have nothing to do with food at all, but I couldn’t resist sharing them:

Twitter-The Movie: I love Twitter and I think this is so funny!

Rules for Christians who use Twitter-hilarious

Satin Flower Headbands-I want to make these with my daughter.

The One Parenting Habit that Changes Everything- we are adding this to our dinner time routine!

Conversation with a pastor who had an affair. This is a seven part series-very interesting

Darth Vader’s voice is now available on your car GPS-I love this!

Shoes: 116 144 pairs have been donated! (my little p.o. box was BURSTING today!)

• Sears is selling horrid pornographic posters online-You can object to this and let your voice be heard. Our family will not shop there until they make a change. (This link will explain what’s going on…you can continue to follow the warnings to the graphic images, but I don’t advise it.)
• Make Homemade Slime-Your kids will love you for this!
• Where can I go from your Spirit? ?- This spoke to me
• Celebrate half-birthdays with style-love this idea from my baking neighbor
• I am Hungry-what a thought-provoking, beautiful post that leaves me hungry for more

• This adorable young couple moved to AFRICA this week! Would you pray for them as they transition into their new life?
• How to make a skirt from a t-shirt (in 30 seconds)-I want to try this!
• Make a necklace from fabric scraps
• This post from Seth touched me deeply

For the days when you are bone tired- I love Ann’s words

10 Little Ideas for Summer Bliss- I want to do every one of these

Leading Your Family in Worship-good stuff

DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint-this looks like a fun summer activity

• Beautiful stories of hope from Honduras-please take a minute to read
• Why Christians are Jerks Online-funny and honest
• Don’t forget to wear red, white and blue and grab your free Spicy Chick Fil A Sandwich, July 3! (no coupon needed)
• Support Mom’s who make/sell things-Kelly’s Korner
• Please consider sending something to support a wounded soldier
• I love this video-everyone has a story:

Every Life Has A Story – Chick-fil-A from Dan T. Cathy on Vimeo.

• What I Wanted to Say- concerning adoption-so good

• 20 Ways to Make Your Marriage Sexually Pure

• Trying to decide which of these homemade ice cream recipes to make July 4th weekend

• Oh my gravy-this video is hysterical! (thanks, Missy for sharing it).

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.