Birthday Project

In March 2016 my boys, Mason (13) and Caleb (8) and I moved from the Denver metro area to Iowa. We initially landed in Boone, but thanks to a wonderful man and an exceptionally friendly community, we found our forever home here in Manning, IA.
 
I love the simplicity of living in a small community - its calm and its quite. The desire to welcome people to the community sort of bubbles over, everyone is so excited that we’ve decided to share their hometown with them. You get the feeling that we all take care of each other here.
 
I love the way people show up for their kids here - the turn out for a 3rd grade flag football game or an 8th grade basketball game always blows me away. Small town living allows us to really focus on our families.
 
You don’t even need a library card, because the librarian knows your name. She also knows what your kids are currently reading in school and helps them find books they love.​
 
This quieter, slower life enables us to live below our means, and not just because the cost of living is so much more reasonable. There are not mindless trips wandering through Target, in fact, there are no mindless shopping trips at all. I used to kill time with so called “retail therapy”, while I can still shop in Manning, or make a quick trip to shop in nearby towns, the trips are more intentional.
 
I absolutely adore my new home town. I couldn’t imagine a better way to show my gratitude to my new favorite place than my annual Birthday Project.
 
November is my Birthday Month, each year I celebrate with my annual Birthday Project. I spend the month committing random and intentional Acts of Kindness. This year one of my projects was a food drive to benefit the Manning Food Pantry. I used online wish lists to ask for donations from friends and family. Boxes of food arrived at my house nearly every day, as donations poured in from all over the country and as far away as Germany!
 
December 1st   we dropped off nearly 900 items (a truck bed full) to the Manning Food Pantry.
 
I see this project as an important demonstration of how simple acts can show so much love for God’s people. Even more importantly, I love to involve my kids and use the project to teach them to give and to have humility.
 
If we are going to be the light of the world we have to get the habit of being kind. This project is about being kind and the humble act of giving a piece of ourselves to others.
 
A sincere thank you to the people of Manning for your warm welcome and for the opportunity to serve in our community.