I wanted to make a catchy brochure for Jeremy for the Wilmington Young Professional’s event last Thursday night. We’re thinking of building an entire branding concept around the idea of “seeing clearly” with a picture that is blurry and fades into focus.

Here’s what we came up with:

Dig through your closets and pick out 1-3 stylish, gently worn items, and come to THE EXCHANGE EVENT on March 6th at Paralellogram at 7pm.

On another cleaning out note, if you found a waterproof tent or two back from your boy scout or girl scout days that you are no longer using, we need it, Haiti needs it! Donate it today! Here’s more info on that written from my friend, Kirsten Paschal.

I like the way she breaks it down…

…lodges itself in my memory as if it’s a person, is beyond me. I’m reminiscent today of cold days in Slovakia, of travels to and fro, of Barcelona in March, the promise of spring, in the stillness of winter. Today’s weather is like that. With snow flurries, and cold air, sunshine, and freshness. There’s something there. A new season is coming. The hope of new life is almost here.

Oh February, you have made your mark.

Haitians need tents. (The rain is coming, tarps are not enough) We have tents.

How do you know Haitians need tents? Here is the best article I’ve read yet on the subject from the Washington Post.

Some ways you can help:

1.  Pray.
2. Tell everyone you know, (blog it, facebook it, twitter it). We need people who will encourage others to give tents that are new OR used. Download a Twitter Avatar and/or a Twitter Background for your twitter account.

3. Give! Buy a tent locally or online. OR donate a USED tent.

• Locally: Our Wilmington drop off location is Port City Java’s Main Office on Market Street (@portcityjava) (2101 Market St, Wilmington, NC 28403) M-F 8am-5pm OR bring them to the Wilmington Tweet up on February 23rd from 5:30pm -8:30pm at Pomegranate Books. (@pombooksILM)

• Online: by donation or purchasing tents through Amazon. Those who order online ship tents directly to Courageous Church in Atlanta. From there the tents will be shipped out through 4 different aid organization and distributing them in Haiti. Go to A home in Haiti website for more info.

4. Volunteer. If you are in Wilmington, NC and you would like to volunteer with this effort, contact me. We have ideas of doing a tent day – but plans are still in the works. More to come.
If you have questions, please let me know!

Contact info:

needtentsnow@gmail.com emails go directly to me.

Press:

Press Release: A Home in Haiti Press Release (23)

kellyecain@gmail.com
910.241.0030

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged this yet. One of the most exciting things going on in my life right now (there are others, competition is a good thing in this category) the Exchange is of the highest ranked. It’s a clothing swap, no. An art gallery, no. It’s a concert, wait, a benefit? Yes! It’s all of these, all in one! And YOU classy, stylish Wilmington ladies, are invited.

What I love about this event is that it benefits Haiti! What a tremendous time to be sending aid to a country that is in desperate need! HALF United – an incredible organization dedicated to feeding those in need will be giving the money raised at this event to Haiti!

A clothing swap, too! It’s ingenius! And as if that weren’t enough, local artists will be hanging their work as well as the local hit band, Rio Bravo will be keeping us entertained through out the evening.

As the event’s, graphic designer, I’ve had the privilege of putting together an event website, facebook fan page, and twitter. I hope that you’ll follow us and that you’ll join us for the Exchange on March 6th!

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Fresh Broccoli
1 Cup Carrot, Diced
3 Cups Tap Water, Divided
1 Sm Onion, Chopped
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup (98% ff)
2 Cans Cream of Celery Soup (98% ff)
1 Can Evaporated Lowfat Milk
2 Cups Skim Milk
6 Oz Velveeta 2% Cheese, Cubed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Steam broccoli and carrots till tender, reserving liquid. Chop broccoli & add broccoli & carrots to 3 qt crockpot. Add enough water to reserved steaming liquid to make 3 cups & add to crockpot along with remaining ingredients. Cook on high approximately 3 hours, (till onions are tender & cheese melts) stirring occasionally.

Oh my, it’s so delicious!
This is also, surprisingly Weight Watchers friendly, it serves 12 @ 2 Points each

I can’t get this out of my head. I know I’m one person, and there are millions suffering in Haiti. But it’s like this, every time I run the water to wash dishes, I think of all those in Haiti that don’t have a drop of clean water to drink, every time I walk into my cozy 2 bedroom apartment, I think of all of those people that don’t have any thing above their heads (especially in this rain). When I head to the grocery store to pick up essentials, because we “ran out of bread” I think about those that don’t have any where to go to get food.

But, all this to say, I follow this pastor in Atlanta named, Shaun King on twitter, that talks of getting tents out to people in Haiti, (as my friend Jessica says, “see, twitter is good for something!”) Tents are the greatest need right now, because thousands are living in what-could-be tent-cities, with tarps, and make-shift homes.

Here is the deal, the tents range in price from $50 to close to $500 for a 6 person tent. $50 is a lot for some people, but $5 or $10 really isn’t. So maybe instead of buying a latte or 2 this week, would you consider donating it to a tent? I will be collecting money and then I will buy tents that will be shipped to Haiti through some airlines that these guys secured. Would you consider it?

Here is what you can do, today, contact me to donate some money to a tent, etc. Pretty soon there will be a website launched where you can donate money, but until then, a good ol fashioned money collection is in order. Here are some waterproof tents on the wishlist.

If you have questions find me:

twitter// facebook // email

I would love to find out the answer if I don’t already know it! As Shaun King says, I dare you to share this!

I’ve picked my one word! finally!

I’ve realized that I’ve been “trapped” in by the way I see myself and the way others see me. That I live out what others think of me more than I become who I really am. That I don’t always feel the freedom to express who I am, that I’m more concerned with what everyone else thinks. This is no way to live, no, not as a child of God – who has been set free! Who no longer has to conform to the pattern of this world! I’ve been set free, to freely be me! And so as I embrace this freedom, it’s a scary thing, the real deal. To not hold myself back, to be open, to freely delight myself in God, and to yell freedom! at the top of my lungs when Satan tempts me to despair!

Thank you Jesus, for freedom! You have changed my life.

And how much different is it now as you live in God’s freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? (Romans 6:19)

For those interested in picking a word, just follow these simple steps (taken from myoneword.org)

So how do you go about picking a word? We’ve listed out a few steps to help you get started!

step 1: DETERMINE THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WANT TO BECOME

The first step is to simply take some time and decide what kind of person you want to be at the end of this year. This goes beyond simply being healthier and wealthier, but it must drive deep into your soul. What about the condition of your heart? What about the person that God Himself has created you to be?

step 2: IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT PERSON

Get a picture of that person and then simply identify their major characteristics. Is that person gentle? Is that person generous? What are the qualities of the person you want to become?

step 3: simply pick a word

Once you have a list of the characteristics, simply pick a word. There might be fifteen things that you want to change, but you must resist the temptation to promise you will do them all. Instead, simply commit to ONE WORD.

This will provide you with a lens to see the changes you need to make as well as a way to determine whether or not change is actually happening. Understand that this process is hard, but staying focused on your word will help you to struggle in the right direction so that you can actually see God working in your life.

HELP ALONG THE WAY

Before you embark on this journey, a little word of warning: don’t be surprised if living out your “one word” feels unnatural and awkward at first. Remember, the reason you want to change is due to the fact that this godly characteristic is not currently present in your day-to-day life.

This is why we’ve developed MYONEWORD.ORG, to give you the resources and surround you with a community that will help keep your word in front of you all year long. Here are some ways our website can help you with your word in 2010.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG

Visit our blog to access weekly exercises you can use to work on your word throughout year. You can also comment about the posts to interact with the online community about how you are using your word. To make sure you don’t miss a thing, SUBSCRIBE to the blog to get an email every time a new post hits the site!

SIGN UP FOR AN ACCOUNT

Creating an account on myoneword.org is designed to help keep you thinking about your word all year long. When you sign up for an account on our website you will be able to:

• Update your profile with your word and the inspiration behind it
• Share your word with our online community
• Receive emails monthly that remind you about your word and challenge you to keep your word in front of you
• Sign up for our newsletter, updating you about changes and added features on myoneword.org
• Review monthly questions for reflection that are posted in our blog on your profile page (COMING Q1 2010)
• Write about your reflections in a personalized online journal (COMING Q1 2010)
• Connect your MYONEWORD.ORG account with Facebook for added features (COMING Q1 2010)

Visit our Registration Page to setup an account today at MYONEWORD.ORG and become part of a community intent on encouraging and supporting you towards the change you want this year!

I got inspired today to start a few crafts that have been bumping around in my head. I have a lot of those – these days. All of these involve a huge paper mat stack that was purchased for some wedding crafts and I’m now using the leftovers. Oh what fun!

Today I took some paper and made my grocery clip board, and then decided to decoupage an old tray, and make some candle sleeves. I’m loving how they turned out.