Back in action.

Thanksgiving has came and gone and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  Ok, well maybe not here in Florida but I can feel it coming anyways.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I enjoyed much needed time with my family.  I thank God for getting us to and from safe on our trip to Memphis, I thank him for providing us so much wonderful grub, and for allowing me to spend time with my family.  It s because of him I have so much to be thankful for.
G Momma's are back in the FLA and ready to move on to our next mission.  I received quite a few emails this morning for request of needed help so emailing and posting I go.  I'd like to share a few stories I found through one of the organizations we are helping with our donations.  Like I said before everyone has a story and if we all just take time to stop and listen instead of judging the world would be such a better place. Enjoy!

• A 53 yr old truck driver suffered a brain injury after an accident during heavy rains.  He exhausted his money from paying co pays and deductibles and can no longer drive due to seizures relating to the injury.  The medication he needs is to expensive so he doesn't buy it.  He has applied for SS and disability which is a long process and they will only pay him $550 a month.  He's living on the streets.
• A 20 yr old women who works at a fast food restaurant at min wage, who for the last few months has been living in a vacant parking lot, hiding among bushes and tall grasses.  She has worked the 6am to 2pm shift for the past year and a half and has not missed a day.  As long as she had a roommate she was making ends meet.  Her roommate found a job in another state and move on.  She hung on for 3 months but could not afford it all and was evicted.  Her last personal items she had were also confiscated.

This is just a few stories.  Unfortunately there are so many more. Let's help our neighbors and make a difference in these individuals lives.  Wouldn't you want someone to do the same for you??? Most of us like myself are one paycheck from being in the same shoes.  Let's not make them walk in them alone.
The 2010 Point in Time Survey results show that there are 2,262 homeless persons in Okaloosa and Walton counties.  This is astounding to me.

GMomma FIRED UP AND READY TO ROLL!

Excitement

The last few days we have laid a little low preparing for our big weekend.  I have been scurrying around town picking up Thanksgiving bags that have been donated by generous folks in our local community.  Although I could not get around to everyone who wanted to help, it sure made me feel awesome knowing how many were willing to step up and help when we just ask.  Trust me you will all have your turn because my missions have just began.  I know it takes a lot to ask for help because we do not want to be a nuisance or a bother, but that's wrong.  We should not be made to feel like that.  We should all stand up for each other, swallow our pride and ask.  Think if you were homeless, you could not feed your family, Imagine you were a parent that could not provide shelter for your babies, or you had to skip on necessities for medication, medical equipment or diapers for your baby.  You would have enough to worry about, why should anyone have to worry about where help will come from??
I know times are hard for most of us but I challenge everyone to just ask for help on behalf of all those out there struggling worse than you.
It's a beautiful relaxing day.  I Thought I would share some of my favorite quotes or thoughts.

• "A problem not worth praying about, is not worth worrying about."
• "The harder we fall, the higher we bounce."
• "Be faithful in small things, it is in them that your strength lies." Mother Teresa
• How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank
• Live simply that others might simply live.  ~Elizabeth Seaton

G Momma out.......

Sharing this road....

I am very thankful to be sharing this path with my newest friend Stephanie! She is truly inspiring and her passion for people is so touching! I love being able to help people with what little I have. I have found that there is power in numbers. So many people have busy lives and work very hard but when you tell them what you are needing for a family they get right on it and pull all the resources they have. I am so appreciative to everyone who donates and helps us with our "mission". I have found that so many people really care but they just do not know exactly how to get involved well...neither did we! We just started calling around and before you know it we had a mission....people needed clothing so thanks to all our friends and neighbors...we were able to help provide that. This holiday season I am very thankful for the blessings in my life!
I am also thankful to see so many good hearts in a world that can be cruel at times! We truly have love all around us when we look in the right places!

That The GRACE that is reaching more and more people may cause Thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of GOD! 2 Corinthians 4:15

Sincerely,
Courtney

On the Road Again...

Last night was awesome, as a group of volunteers geared up for Destiny Worships,Thanksgiving Outreach Program for this Saturday.  We will set out to deliver bags of Thanksgiving dinner to families in our area that are in need.  My husband, our kids and myself challenged neighbors, some local business owners and friends to fill bags for us.  We are proud to say we collected approx 25.  Thanks to everyone who helped us help others.  These bags are going to bless so many families.  I can't wait to share our stories. 
I got some awesome news yesterday I'd love to share.  This makes it so evident that God is working through us.  All you have to do is call his name, call upon him and he will answer.  So if you've read our past blogs you know we have been visiting a single mother of 7 kids and helping her get some things she was in need of.  Well, on my last visit she had asked me for work.  She was very motivated and just needed an opportunity.  I promised her when our business picked up I would call on her.  Unfortunately, things are still very slow for us, so I was very disappointed I couldn't help her immediately.  It weighed heavy on my heart all day.  I prayed about it, asking God to guide us and help me show her there is hope & a light at the end of the tunnel.  As I did that, Stephanie Bailey came to mind.  I knew she could possibly have the outlet we needed.  I ran it by her and she promised to look into it.  She emailed me back and said there was an opening for a cleaning job at...GET THIS her children's school.  I just cried as I thanked God!  There was a catch, the deadline for the position was the next day.  Stephanie took her the application for the position. The mother got it turned in before the deadline. I was so proud that she was fired up about this and took initiative.  I will continue to pray her this mother and her kids that this opportunity works out for her and if this door closes, another will open.  I pray she keeps the hope in her heart and the strength to climb this mountain before her. We should not judge others and assume a situation.  A lot of these families just need the right person to reach out to them.  Most, if giving the opportunity will take it and run!  Open your minds up and see what you can do for another.  You may have the opportunity for them right in front of you.
Thanks for your support.
Today's Mission: Courtney, lil Londyn and I are, as Willie Nelson sang, "We're on the Road Again!"
"There ain't no stoppin us, we're on the road again."  Ok, so we are heading to Defuniak Springs to help out our local Kidz Closet, organize and sort clothing donations.  Kidz Closet is ran by an AWESOME women Stephanie Bailey.  Kidz closet is through our Walton County School system and helps local needy families with clothing and other necessities.  A lot of our collections go here, so we are excited to help. They give things out first hand working with each family.  They ask for NO MONEY.  They give and that's what were all about. 
G MOMMA OUTTTTTTTTT!

Word of mouth

As I sat in church yesterday listening to Pastor Steve, I felt as if his message was speaking directly to me and what our mission is all about.  He spoke about Stewardship, to take responsibility for another's possession for which they entrusted you with. It made so much sense.  All we have is because of Jesus Christ.  Jesus sacrified his life, for us to have life and what are we doing with it?  Are we living purposely?  It all became so clear to me that what I was doing was my purpose.  He went on to talk about how everything we have is God's.  We own nothing.  We've always used the term "We came into this world with nothing and we will leave it with nothing."  Think about it.  We all consume and consume for our pleasure but for what purpose?  Our society is all about wants and desires but how many actually stop to think what God desires? Trust me I understand.  We use to drive the Mercedes and Lexus.  We had a gorgeous house on 2 acres and all the toys you could want, but for what?  In the end all we have is eachother and the bare necessities to live.  For that we are more thankful for than any of the material things we use to have.

We take for granted the things we have when so many out there think it's a distant dream!  Some may think, "Well I work hard and work 50 hours a week to make my paycheck.  I deserve material things." or "People need to work and they can have these things too."  That is a shallow way of thinking.  I don't believe Jesus asked us for explanation of our sins before he was hung on a cross with nails in his hands and feet.

Have you ever stopped to just why they are in the situation they are in?  Have you asked their story?  Everyone has a story.  Most were just like us and just had a tragedy that lead them down  a bad road, maybe they served our country and have feel no support from us or maybe they made some bad decisions.  Haven't we all.  It does not make them less than any of us.  It makes me stop and think of a scene in "A Family that Preys" by Tyler Perry.  This women would feed this homeless man that had been coming into her diner for years. She never harrassed him with questions or lectured him. She justlet him clean up in the bathroom, providing him a clean outfit each day, taking his dirty one with her to wash.  One day her daughters asked "Mom why do you help this man?"  She replied "Everyone has a story.  He lost his daughter and his wife in an accident which drove him to the edge.  He lost his everything."  I won't spoil the movie. Watch it.
My point is.....All it takes is for us to stop and understand there is a reason why these people are in need.  If we open our hearts and open our ears it could change God's world. We are no one to judge.  That is God's job. We are here for a purpose.  Find yours.
  I believe if we all just do a little, together we will make a huge impact.  

Weekend Mission; Friday we deliverd a refridgerator to a family in need.  It was sitting in our garage collecting dust.  Now she can save the little food she has for her 7 babies. 
Saturday morning our kids went knocking on doors asking if anyone would like to help us with a Thanksgiving Outreach program we are doing with Destiny to feed families that are in need.  I know some thought, isn't Halloween over?  These kids are still trying to Trick or Treat."
Im proud to say they gave 6 bags out to be filled.  When we were at church Sunday and Pastor Steve starting talking about the bags collected so far the kids sat there with pride and a huge smile as I looked down to them with a thumbs up!  They could then see that they were a part of it and felt important.  It was awesome. 
Thanks for taking time to read my thoughts.
GMomma out.....

Define G Momma

FYI- If you are wondering what Courtney and I mean when we say G Momma or GG Momma's. I know most of my friends from the Mtown were thinking Gangsta Momma or like what up G (homie or friend) but not so much!   It stands for Gorgeous Godly Momma's. So hands up to all my G Momma's!

Enjoy this Veterans day and remember why we get off school and work today and say thank you!

Thank you to all the men and women who serve our country and sacrifice their lives and their time with their own families so we can enjoy ours.
God Bless you, your families and America!

G Momma out!

GMomma's hitting the streets

This morning we hit the road to deliver some clothing and a twin mattress to the mom of 7 children.  Thanks to Stephanie with Kidz Closet, where we send some of our donations, for letting us rummage through her shelves to provide warm clothing for this family.  Our donations help keep her shelves full so when a child comes to school in dirty or torn clothing or we find families in need we can provide.  It's truly a blessing!

Tired G Momma's out for the day!

First venture out

Nov 9, 2010-I knew this day would be a blessed day as I started collecting 3 bags of donations from a friend Sally in Seaside.  It's support from our community like her that will make this ongoing effort work.  Today was the day to set out on our first delivery mission to help a few organizations.  First, we headed to FWB to the Okaloosa Coalition on Homeless.  This organization has transitional housing for homeless families which helps them get back on their feet.  They house 13 families every 9 months.  Right now they have 20 children and 19 adults residing in their housing.  We dropped off approx 10 bags of clothing for all ages and a few boxes of household items they needed.  Our wonderful friends there were so excited about receiving the items we brought, especially being a night where all residents were meeting and they were going to get to go through and pick out whatever they wanted.  It was really neat.  If you are interested in helping I have a list of items they need on a regular basis.
 Next we headed to fill Courtney's Thanksgiving Bag for church, then to every thrift store on Hwy 98 looking for size 14 shoe for a father in need.  No luck on that, but another pray was answered when Courtney called a friend to borrow a trailer. Not only did he have a trailer, he had the mattress I had prayed would come across my path before 3 oclock.  My wonderful friend Courtney helped me coordinate a trailer and get items to be donated.  Chance and I headed out this evening to visit the Single father of 6 boys that I have been posting about on my Facebook. When we pulled up with bags of clothing, a dresser, mattress etc. the kids ran to our car jumping on the trailer with excitement. I pulled out a bag of snacks which were gone in seconds.Unloading the mattress, we all realized it was a queen and it would not fit on the bunk bed they had, he needed a full.We put the mattress back on trailer and promised to bring the right size in a day or so.  Meanwhile, the boys were digging through the bags of clothing with excitement claiming their finds.  I noticed we were missing the 6th boy! Just as I stood back thinking, wow this single dad is doing this on his own, he explained the mom left a year ago and the child  missing was his boy with Down Syndrome which stays in a hospital bed and has a traq in his throat.  It took all I had not to break down.  Not only was this a single father raising 6 boys; ages 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, he had one with special needs.  This is why I say "There is always someone out there dealing with worse things than you."  I gave credit to the father and told him what a wonderful man he was.  My husband and I struggle every day with 5 kids in our household, I can't imagine having 6 with just one of us and one being physically and mentally challenged.  I got in the car and began to cry.
Quickly I dried my eyes, as Chance decided to pull up to a little boy standing in front of his trailer. Chance said, "Let's stop here and see if they could use a mattress."  I got out to ask the little boy if his parents were home and  if they could use this mattress.  The mother ran out, "Yes, yes, for sure, we could definitely use a mattress."  She then explained she was a single mother of 7(SEVEN) kids.  Her children age from 3 months to 8 years old.  I asked what all she needed and she replied, "A few more mattresses.  All I have is 2 twin mattress and the new queen you gave me."  I wanted to make sure I heard her clearly, "You mean you have ONLY 2 twin mattresses in your home for you and 7 kids?"  "Yes" she said.  "We were in a fire and lost it all." I continued to make notes of things she needed as she went into detail on how 2 of the kids are needing surgery for different things and that Medicaid would pay for it but she doesn't have gas to get to the hospital.  We took care of that.  She then looked up and said "God, I can't believe you all are here and just out of no where!"  I replied "Your right it is God that is at work and we are going to help you."  I gave her a big hug and told her she was not alone.  As a few of the little boys stood around me I asked "Can you think of anything else you need right now?"  The little 4 yr old tugged on my shirt as he looked up at me and said "Can you bring me another bed?"  I almost fell to my knees "Yes, baby boy, I will bring you another bed."
I was shocked that here I asked to bring them anything and he asked for a bed.  We all daily want this and that and we all talk about what we DONT HAVE, when we should look at what we do have.  It's really not that bad if you step back and look at what you do have!  As you get in or out of your bed each day remember what a blessing that mattress is and how many are sleeping on floors.  Maybe in 3rd world countries we could understand how but here in American I can not fathom.

G Momma's Inspiration

How it first came about.  Courtney and I are Seahawk moms.  Our girl's cheer for the South Walton Seahawks.  We also both attend Destiny Worship Center in Destin Fl.  Together we decided to attend a conference for "Women of Destiny" where Lisa Bevere was speaking.  She is a powerhouse and rocked our world.  Her powerful speaking gave us the motivation and inspiration we needed to actually get out and make one our dreams of helping others happen.  We left that night fired up ready to do something.  We had discussed starting a food pantry then said we really wanted to do more than just provide canned goods etc, so we decided to sleep on it.  Soon after I was watching Ellen and came to a new revelation after seeing her and Ellen Pompeo speak and promote "Every Little Bottoms".  This is a wonderful new promotion by Huggies that is speaking out on behalf of all the mothers and fathers who can not afford diapers.  This hit home.  Being a mom at the age of 16 and now a 32 yr old mom of 6 (modern day yours, mine and ours) I know the struggles and strain it puts on you to provide for children.  Government agencies can help with WIC, Food stamps and insurance but no one helps with DIAPERS.  1 out of every 3 mothers do not have diapers. Ok, Ok so I'll get back on my soap box soon about that.  Moving on, I decided to go for it and sign up as a Diaper Bank.  Courtney and my husband, Chance, thought it was a great idea and said go for it. As a part of the steps in establishing our diaper bank, I had to call around to local organizations and agencies to request they be a donation center, accepting diapers on behalf of our bank.  WELL I opened a can of worms that my heart just feed on.  In talking to them I found out that Walton County had approx 81 homeless families in need.  Now these are the only ones reporting from your 1st of the year census card.  I knew there were others that had not come forward.  All of these organizations or agencies I spoke with were so excited they may be receiving diapers for the families in need.  I could not believe the demand.  Now this next story will get you.  I called upon one local agency and after explaining our goal she said, "Stephanie you just don't know how your an answer to a pray and how bad we need this." she went on to explain that just the day before she visited a home of a family in need.  As she was holding the newborn and getting a list of things mom could use she noticed the baby had soiled through it's blanket it was wrapped in.  She ask the mother to go get a change of clothes and diaper so she may change the baby.  The mom came back with an outfit but NO DIAPER.  The representative asked the mother, "Mam, do you have diapers?" The mother replied "Si, yes I have diapers but we only have 5 and we are saving those for when we go out."  "Here at home we let the baby go without."  The representative could not believe it.  She and her assistant went out to get mom some diapers from our local Caring and Sharing.  Now Caring and Sharing is a local agency we will be helping regularly.  They go through at least 50 packs a month and need to give out more but just haven't had the resources to do so.
Hang on, I'm almost done with the beginning of our story.  Anyways, I knew at that point this was something that would weigh on my heart and I had to make happen.  Each organization expressed how important donations of every type would help them and how each hurting in providing for families in need since the numbers have increased.  I knew at this point diapers would be collected but we needed to first get some warm clothing for the kids that have none in our area.  I decided to start getting all the organizations to email me a list of what they were in severe need of.  This began our journey.  I could not believe just the demand for clothing and necessities they we all take for granted each day.  This is when Courtney and I started begging and pleading for all clothing donations as we started a clothing drive.  Now realize I am talking about families that can not go to Goodwill and spend $4.99 on a 10 yr old shirt or $250.00 for a couch.  I am not trying to knock Goodwill but this is reality.  These organizations depend on our community to help families in need where they can GIVE these things away.  There is nothing more gratifying than to give to families less fortunate than you.
 As I explain daily to my kids and friends, most of us including myself are 1 (ONE) paycheck from being in any of these families shoes.  Without the support of our neighbors they can not help those in need and trust me, you never know when you may be one of them.    
This is the road that God has lead us down and we are walking it.  Please walk with us!!!!
G Momma out!