A Weekend of Trolling Twitter

I have spent a good part of my computer time this weekend on Twitter. I had no idea that there was a whole other world out there too! I had discovered Facebook sometime ago and quickly realized that it was a world of its own. I opened a twitter account because I read a non profit tech article that told me that I should but I did not really know why I was doing it and it remained pretty dormant until this weekend.

In fact, I thought that twitter was just another world like facebook but only with really small boxes for your status updates and for someone wordy like me, that is sheer hell. However, I discovered that it is actually a very powerful place. Where you can hook up with powerful people. In a short period of time, I Doug Ulman, the CEO of LiveStrong, Donald Jones from NBC17 News and lots of other people interested in cancer charities following me. This can only a good thing for a Childhood Cancer Charity that is trying to increase awareness of her cause!

So, if you have a twitter account and don't know what to do with it (like I was) or don't have one at all, I would encourage you to check out this terrific article called "12 Reasons to Start Twittering" that found by Micheal Hyatt (@MichaelHyatt) for Twitter Newbies http://bit.ly/QkiiQ

You can even hook twitter and facebook up so you only have to update twitter and it will automatically update your status on facebook. Most people update their twitter accounts using text messages from their phones. That is why they are so short and why you see many of them while people are out and about. It is actually interesting to see what the stars are doing (yes, many celebrities are out there twittering away and actually sharing with the world what they are eating for breakfast (like we care).

I encourage you to check it out! It will be fun.

When you get set up, please start following me...
http://twitter.com/striving4more (@striving4more)

The Striving for More board meeting is being held on Tuesday and I hope to have lots of exciting news to share afterward!

Tweet ya later!

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Making a Meal Would Help Us Right Now.

Things are really starting to roll along and I am excited. I cannot announce anything official yet because I have to get things approved by the Board of Directors at our next meeting. However, I am starting to plan an event and I am energized.

I am also energized by how our website is coming along. I have a great graphic designer that has been volunteering for us and he is fantastic. He came up with a terrific concept and we are running with it. It has led to lots of creativity.

This is the point, however, when volunteers are needed. I have been using Facebook to post some of my volunteer needs and that has been working out well but I knew it was a long time since I had posted so I thought I would post here too.

One of my immediate needs is for a meal for the Board Meetings. We have monthly meetings. I had originally planned to spend money from our budget to cater this dinner but it seems like my budget is a bit slim to feed 9 people. The reality is, that the meal does not have to be fancy, it is more about function. In addition, this will ensure that more of the money donated to our cause is going to our cause.

The board members are volunteering their time, most of them on their way home from work and they need to eat dinner. We usually eat while we meet. Therefore, I am looking for volunteers to make a meal for the Striving for More Board Meetings.

We meet in RTP, right off of the Davis Drive exit of Route 40 at 6pm on Tuesday nights once a month (the next meeting is this Tuesday, 4/28).

I can even pick the food up from the volunteers home if the office is not close to where you live. Again, there are 8 of us. I would love it if you would conact me if this is something that you would be interested in signing up to help with. And if there is anyone out there that would like to volunteer to coordinate this, I would love that as well!

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

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More Awkward for Others

I frequently find myself in situations that are more awkward for other people than for me.

Like today for example. I am very involved in my community and except for last year when our life was turned upside down and backwards, I rarely miss an event and am usually helping in some way or another. Today was our annual Easter Egg Hunt. We have been in Hawthorne for more than 8 years now. In the beginning of the event, I went introducing myself to the neighbors that I did not know. This is who I have always been. I don't believe it will be something that will change about me, especially now that I have a non profit and networking is such an important part of my life.

I introduced myself to one woman that I did not recognize that had two small children. It turned out that she had lived in the neighborhood for quite some time. I am not sure why the question always catches me by surprise but it does. At least the first time it is asked at each event. "How many children do you have?" I hate answering this question.

Not because I don't know how to answer it it. "I have a 12 year old daughter, Mackenna and then I had a 9 year old daughter, Colleen who died of cancer in June."

Not because it makes me sad. Talking about Colleen doesn't make me sad. Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I bring her up every chance I get.

I hate the question because it immediately makes the other person feel awkward. She told me how sorry she was and how she had no idea. She said that if it was her there was no way that she could be out at an Easter Egg hunt.

I tell my story a lot. I tell my story because it is an important story to be told. I tell my story because I want the problems that we experienced to be fixed. I tell my story because this is what God wants me to be doing and I am answering His call and trying the best I can to be obedient. So far, it is working out for me.

When you tell your story a lot, you learn to tell it without tears. Sometimes I think people think I am heartless because I can talk about it without turning into a puddle. God gives me the strength to get through each day, each story, each interaction. It is important.

Do I have my unhappy days? Yes. Do I have days where I sink so deep into a hole of despair that I feel like there is no climbing out? Yes. Are there days that I wish someone would tell me that I have 3 months to live and there is no cure so that I know I will see Colleen sooner rather than wait what seems like an eternity to be with her again? Yes.

However, there are also days that I feel happy. Like when Striving for More received its tax exempt status. There are days when I feel joy. Like today in church when Mackenna and I were singing and dancing and having a good time praising God. There are days when I feel proud. Like when Mackenna received all A's on her report card. There are days when I feel thankful that I have an amazing husband that takes such wonderful care of us and we have gotten through the worst of times and are still happily married.

Honestly, it sucks that Colleen died.

But this situation is going to be redeemed and our world is going to be better for it. I am going to help in my little ways with God pointing me in the right direction and putting the right people in my path. I just have to listen and stop worrying about what I don't know and trust that God will help me figure it out when I get to confusing intersections.

I appreciate everyone who continues to pray for me and my ventures into the unknown. I have been amazed at what God has been doing in my life.

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