Over the holidays, I stumbled across the I Like Giving campaign through a friend’s website. I absolutely love what they’re doing – reminding us that generosity comes in all shapes and sizes, and can literally be done anywhere in the world.
I know as graduate wives on limited budgets, we don’t have a lot of money to give, but one thing we do have to give is time. I know this is something that several of my friends are exploring right now. How do we give to others in need and learn to be generous with what little we have?
What are you plans for generous living this year?
Something to think about this Monday morning!
Happy New Year!
~Mandy
Meet my good friend, Tara Russell, CEO (and former graduate wife!) of Create Common Good. Based in Boise, ID, CCG is an amazing company designed to provide training and employment to refugees and others in need. They are passionately committed to disrupting the cycle of poverty while strengthening local communities.Their experiential programs transform lives by teaching self-sufficiency and by bringing access to fresh, conveniently prepared, local food products.
In the past few years, they have trained approximately 1/3 of the refugee adults entering the state of Idaho annually. Since early 2009, CCG’s job-training efforts have impacted the lives of 1500 refugee family members. CCG has built an alternative education system for those who have had little or no educational opportunities throughout their traumatic lifetimes.
CCG has fed tens of thousands of people over the past four years through their farms, value-added food products, catering, and production food services. CCG provides fresh, healthy, and convenient foods in a variety of locations throughout the Treasure Valley. CCG believes in quality, natural, whole foods and produces meals primarily from scratch.
I absolutely love what Tara and her team are doing, and the impact they’re having on the lives of refugees on the west coast of America is staggering. They are currently raising $450,000 to build a larger facility; if you’re looking for a place to donate money this holiday season, then please do give here.
By giving, you could literally change the life of a refugee or a refugee family.
~Mandy
The other day I read a recent post from a friend of mine, Rachel, who has just moved to Malawi (and whose blog is always worth reading). Out of her experience in Malawi, she offers an illustration of want and plenty using a stubby pencil, the prized possession of one of their new friends, six-year-old Asan.
Christmas is a season for excesses, and of course there is something entirely right about that. But Rachel offers a timely reminder for this Monday’s food for thought to not forget that excess itself is culturally determined, that any abundance that comes to us must be held with the responsibility we owe to the ‘least’ in our societies, whether on a local or global scale – and that we are all impoverished when any one of us is, since that poverty often prevents people from making use of their full capacity in the service of the common good.
Asan, who is six, loves my son Aidan, who he summons daily by standing outside our house and shouting “Ten!”; “Aidan” has morphed in the Chichewa accent into “eh-TEN” and then attenuated, by Asan at least, into, simply “Ten.”
Asan likes to draw: the first time we met him, he clutched a small composition book, the kind American college students used to write their essay exams in (do they still do this?) and a pencil sharpened at both ends that was, tip to tip, perhaps one and a half or two inches at most.
Read more here.
-Julia
While I am normally very conscious of the foods I eat and any drugs or supplements I put into my body, I am not always as vigilant about products that come into contact with my skin, like deodorant. However, thanks to my friend Kim, I began looking into the issue of potential risks to using mainstream deodorants and antiperspirants. If you’re curious, this article enumerates many of the possible dangers, including possible links to breast cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and allergic reactions.
As a result, I began using a deodorant which I make in a clean jelly jar and apply daily using my fingers. The recipe is super simple:
Mix together:
¼ c. cornstarch
¼ c. baking soda
4 T. coconut oil
10 drops of essential oil (Kim & I both use lavender)
I’ve been using the homemade deodorant since June of this year and have found it to be as useful as any other product I’ve tried, while not drying out my underarms to the point of itching and discomfort. So, feel free to give it a try–it’s definitely worth a shot if you have some extra coconut oil lying around, and there just may be more health benefits in the long run!
Something to think about this Monday morning!
-Keeley
I stumbled across this quote the other day, and it was a good reminder to me to not lose sight of the end goal in this graduate life. Sometimes, in the middle of a busy semester or term, I forget where we are headed because I get lost in the day-to-day details of life. This graduate journey is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s good to remember that from time to time.
“There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream.”
– Author Unknown
I hope wherever you are today, you remember that the part you are playing in this graduate journey is important. You are an inspiration.
~Mandy
These past two weeks, my facebook and twitter feed has practically blown up with everyone’s daily November thanks. Since Remembrance Sunday was also just commemorated in the UK, I’ve spent most of November thinking a lot about gratitude, and wondering what it would look like if the November thanks given every year was continued throughout the rest of the year. What would it look like in the winter doldrums, in the spring flowers, or the summer sunshine?
Gratitude is good for us. Yes, it is good for our souls, as it reminds us that we are part of something larger than ourselves; but did you know it can be good for our physical bodies as well? I recently stumbled across this article by Dr Robert Emmons, a world leading expert on the practice of gratitude and the effects it has on our physical health, psychological well-being, and relationships with others.
Dr Emmons says that gratitude is good for us in these four ways:
1. Gratitude allows us to celebrate the present.
2. Gratitude blocks toxic, negative emotions.
3. Grateful people are more stress resistant.
4. Grateful people have a higher sense of self-worth.
Do you do anything to cultivate gratitude in your own life throughout the whole year?
Something to think about this Monday morning!
~Mandy
How far would you go to have the edge?
Coffee keeps us awake to pull an all-nighter, energy drinks offer a boost for that mid-afternoon slump. Some take significantly stronger (and potentially more harmful) stimulants such as Adderall or Provigil before exams or job interviews in an attempt to perform better.
But what if you could safely go beyond even this? A pill to improve memory or enhance problem solving capabilities or steady your hand? A video game that when played boosts brain function? Artificial limbs that could replace and work better than human ones? Would you take advantage of it? Furthermore, depending on your job, would it be irresponsible not to?
This article published by the NY Times earlier this month gives a quick taste of the possibilities and ethical implications and is worth the few minutes it will take to read it.
“…besides basic safety questions, [there is] the issue of who would get the enhancements, how much they would cost, and who would gain an advantage over others by using them. In a society that is already seeing a widening gap between the very rich and the rest of us, the question of a democracy of equals could face a critical test if the well-off also could afford a physical, genetic or bionic advantage. It also may challenge what it means to be human.”
Something to think about this Monday morning!
-Deanna, a current graduate wife
Do you ever have moments as a graduate spouse/partner when you feel like everything is going wrong, simple daily tasks feel like a challenge, and things in general are just plain hard?
I’ve had plenty of those moments; and when I do, I always try to think of something positive or why I’m fortunate to have the life I do. Spencer West’s story made me think especially long and hard. If this guy climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with no legs, surely I can make it to the end of my husband’s PhD program!
So when you hit a rough spot, ask yourself:
I’ve found that asking myself these questions helps me keep a better attitude and (dare I say it) can even make this journey seem like a positive thing even on the darkest days. Now that sounds like some serious food for thought!
-Heather, a current graduate wife
Maybe it’s just because my birthday is October 30th, but I have always been a huge fan of Halloween–the bonfires, ghost stories, and, of course, candy. Something I became aware of when I learned about the Fair Trade movement, however, is what some have called “The Dark Side of Chocolate.”As it turns out, the growing, trading, and manufacturing of some of the chocolate treats we enjoy often depend on business practices which are hard to support, at best, and egregious, at worst. The documentary mentioned above finds evidence of child labor and slavery, trafficking, and other abuses existing on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, a country that produces nearly half the world’s cocoa.
Other than purchasing fair-trade chocolate and other treats, there are some other small, but significant actions we can take, like signing a petition to keep larger chocolate producers accountable to pledges they’ve made to amend their labor practices. Often, these efforts meet with some degree of success, but they need momentum to keep moving forward. So, Happy Halloween, and if you didn’t make it onto the fair-trade bandwagon for this holiday, there’s plenty of time for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter!
the graduate wife 
