yoongz

July 27, 2012

Little Free Library…

i’m a big time reader… actually my love for books knows almost no bounds… i LOVE books!! i love the feel of a ‘real’ book; i love the way a new, actually even an old book smells. i love the feel of the pages under my fingers, running my finger along the lines as i read.

So when i came upon this website, i was like: “Oh wow! Awesome idea!!”. And i’m sharing it with you here.

It’s the Little Free Library project. A very worthy project. You can either build your own Little Free Library or order one from the website. Stick it on your property, near the sidewalk or hang it somewhere in a school, even an office. Fill it with books, which will then be shared with whoever desires to read them! There are no library cards or late fees or lines. Just pick a book you like and read it. Then return it and contribute with a book of your own.

The whole idea is to promote the joys of reading and i support this 100%.

Silverlake's Little Free Library — Silverlake’s Little Free Library (Photo credit: Michael R Perry)

Hop over to the website and have a look for yourself. Most of the libraries are in the US at the moment. There are 2 in Germany, 2 in Italy, 1 in London, 1 in India and 2 in Africa. So the movement is slowly catching on. Click on the “Find a Little Free Library on the World Map” button at the bottom right of the homepage to see exact locations.

i think the idea of getting a whole community involved on it is wonderful. The website also has advice on what to do when the Library is damaged or books get stolen. See their FAQs.

i wish there was one near me, although that would mean most books in German, which will take me forever to read and i would be contributing back English books. Hehhehee 😉

What do you think of this idea? Would you build one where you live? Or maybe there is already one there? Let me know.

syc

July 24, 2012September 29, 2012

10+ and Waiting…

reecesrainbow_heather20120301 — 10 year old Heather, is a healthy sweetie who needs a family asap.

My beloved Heather is this week’s Teamwork Tuesday child – today is the day many other prayer warriors and orphan advocates work together to pull attention to one specific child and my sweetie Heather gets highlighted today!

However, i would like her to share this spotlight with all the other 10+ years-old girls listed on Reece’s Rainbow who have all been waiting just as long as she has for loving parents to put their arms around her and take her home. (Too many to post all their photos and details here – please click here to go to the listing.)

There are 27 girls, aged 10+ who are listed on Reece’s Rainbow. When you go to the listing for 10+ years-old girls, you may be have to do a double-take like i did when i first visited that page. Many of the girls don’t look like they are ten years old, they are tiny and a lot of them either have their heads shaved or have very very short hair; making them look like little boys instead of little girls. (Their hair are cut really short for easier care at the orphanages which are often very short-staffed and can’t afford the basic luxury of combing girls hair.)

Like Heather, they all need a caring family to love them and help them grow into the lovely young ladies i know they are. They need a mummy and a daddy who can look beyond their disabilities and medical conditions and see the beautiful butterfly who is stuck in the shell of a fat little caterpillar. Only with a supportive family can they ever hope to blossom as they should.

My little Heather is such a cutie and she has no other medical conditions except Down Syndrome. She will be turning 11 in a couple of months. Wouldn’t having a family be the best birthday present ever?

All of these 27 (10+ years-old) girls could do with an amazing present like that.

Please, if you are considering expanding your family, would you consider the blessing of adding Heather or one of these girls to your family?

Please do pray for Heather and these girls who all need a family badly. Please help Heather‘s very low adoption grant to grow, donate to it as a bigger adoption grant would likely get her more notice. Also do share her story, share the stories of all of the 10+ years old girls or just the one who captures your heart so that their forever family can find them today.

syc

Here are the other blogs shouting out for Heather:

Faith, Love, Hope & Courage
Sleeping Under God’s Wings
Love Leaving Legacy
One Child, One Voice
Saving His Sparrows

Please click here to see my other posts on Heather and other Reece’s Rainbow children. It will only list 3 post at a time, please click “older posts” at the bottom of the page to go to earlier posts. Thanks.

July 20, 2012

Stop Apologizing for Your Art…

i read the article below and i thought, “Wow! We, or at least i, don’t just do this about my work (be it writing or art or photography) but i also do this in a lot of aspects of my life.”

There are times and in certain things, such as my writing, i don’t really think people want to read or want to hear what i have to say. i don’t believe in myself enough in certain areas of my life. After reading Goins, i’m determined to, at the very least, start believing in my writing. Have a read and let me know what you think.

Stop Apologizing for Your Art | Goins, Writer.

Oh there is one statement he made at the end,

But whatever you do, don’t apologize. We don’t have time for that.

i don’t quite agree completely with it.

If our art had offended people by making fun of their culture or background for no other purpose than to make them the butt of jokes, then i feel that an apology is owned, even if you did it unknowingly. If, however, the piece was making a social/political point, then i can see the use of such jokes… but we really need to be careful there…

i say the above because i really dislike distasteful jokes about a certain culture or race of people, just because they are who they are.

But having confidence in your craft (completely different from making meaningless jokes) is an important thing and i want to thank J. Gions for pointing that out to me.

i hope you would be inspired too.

syc