Friendship House Board Updates

Board Update, No. 5

'When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end - because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That's how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you."

~ Isiah 43:1 - 3

Unconditional Love?

I thought I understood unconditional love. Then I fell in love with a man and decided to spend the rest of my life with him. On top of that, I became a parent. Twice. After that, I began walking a walk with my dad I never expected - one that will end when his body completely gives in to the terrible disease of ALS. These experiences taught me, or rather opened up for me, a love deeper than I had realized existed within me. I have done things for those I love I never though I was capable or willing.

Now, add on top of this my time at Friendship House, where love is always present and in abundance. Love can not cure all of our issues or problems. Love can, however, help us through each of them, and it has. Love is something I am continually learning about and experiencing. Love is a gift, and one we can all share.

It is one of my deepest prayers that every person who comes in contact with any of us feels the unconditional love only God can offer through our interactions with that person. The love described in Isiah 43 quoted above. Would God really sell off the world for any one of us? God gave us his/her only son for us and then watched that son beaten and tortured knowing there was peace and redemption on the other side. This is a love I can not understand. I can not stand to see my loved ones suffer and I will do anything I can to prevent it from happening. And, at the same time, I am not the one shouldering all of humanity, our world, and universe.

God loves us - every aspect of our imperfect selves. Isn't that enough to just sit back and relax? Sadly, no. We still find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. We still have souls suffering from pain, addictions, heart aches, and diseases. We keep forging ahead, however, because of God's love. The hope that exists there is what keeps us going forward. Hope that there is peace available to us one day. No more suffering. No more sadness. No more addiction. No more homelessness or displacement. Just peace. That, friends, is because of God's unconditional love for us.

Wow.

Your biggest fan,

Kim

BOARD RETREAT

BOARD RETREAT DETAILS

This year we will be talking about our vision, core values, mission statement, how to engage our community and getting to know each other more. Click here for information regarding location and what to bring. REQUEST: Please bring three words that describe the Friendship House vision or values to hang on our 'Vision Tree." I will have sticky notes for you to use when you arrive. If you can not make the retreat please send me your words ahead of time and I will make sure they get added.

CHECK THIS OUT!

NPR started a series on how different cities in the U.S. are handling homelessness. You can read them by clicking the link below. Pretty impressive. I appreciate not all cities declare they are ending homelessness. At minimum every city and state should offer ways to make it only a temporary displacement and a more comfortable time for all.

Link to articles

WORDS WITH AN IMPACT

I have chosen to change how I talk about those who are experiencing homelessness and addiction, and many of you have noticed. Here is one opinion piece about why it matters. I invite you all to join me in how you define a person - are they homeless or just experiencing it? Are they an addict or in an addiction? You get to choose.

Link to article

Make A Difference

Don't forget if you or someone you know shops using Amazon.com switch to smile.amazon.com and 5% of your purchase will be donated to a charity of your choice, like Friendship House! This gets logged as "business" in our income. This is a small change that can make a big impact!

Switch to Smile.Amazon.Com

Way to go, Idaho! (Bonus points if you can name the movie that quote is from.) We have 21 teams registered (which means $2,100 already raised in matching money with the $100 early bird match!) and almost $4,200 raised. We have a hefty goal of $50,000. We can do this with your help! For any questions or help, you can contact Kay Preston (on the Friendship House Board) at kaygp@aol.com.

EMPLOYEE THANK YOU NOTES

At our last board meeting I shared my desire to have board members write thank you notes to our staff for our staff retreat scheduled for mid June. I have had 6 people commit to letters resulting in 5 letters to each staff person. That is wonderful. And, I am hoping for more. Please consider writing at least 5 thank you notes to staff. I can give you names, positions, and ministry information to make it as easy as possible. Please email me with the max number of letters you can write. I will want them by June 1. I will also have thank you cards available at our board retreat!