the return of #makesomethingday

Msd_button3

Steve Knight and I--and hopefully some others--are trying to see if we can get an online presence for Make Something Day back up and running again. Go "like" the new Facebook page, follow MSD on Twitter and spread the word (use #makesomethingday). A website is in the works. But more important is whatever you choose to do on MSD. I hope you'll share with us what you make.

For those of you wondering, "What is Make Something Day?" The idea came about several years ago. Here's an article I wrote for Sojourners magazine a few years ago that tells the story. (And it looks as though others have had the same idea independent of our endeavors.)

Make Something Day is back!

MSD: gift as dominant form of economics

Msd_button5

“Imagine a world where everything is backwards from what we usually expect – an “upside down world” where what you get is far less important than what you give, where what we owe each other is far less important than how we care for one other. Imagine living in a world where the gift is the dominant form of economics and forgiveness is the dominant form of politics. Imagine living in a world where the poor and the marginalized are blessed, where the weak become strong, where the last shall be first.”
Dr. Jamie Gates from Roots of Giving

visit MakeSomethingDay.org

MSD: true gifts are dangerous

Msd_button4

“Buying gifts for people is easy, but creating something is much riskier. How will it change your perspective when you really have to think about what someone might want or need? How will it change their perspective of you? How will your perception of yourself be changed when you discover that you already have all the resources necessary to demonstrate your love in such a tangible way? True gifts are dangerous, because they have the power to transform all our relationships.”

make something day

Msd_button2

It's that time of year again! Make Something Day will soon be upon us. TheOOZE.com just featured my article on the subject. Here's a quote from my article, "Beat Your Apples Into... Applesauce":

"The idea of gift-giving doesn't seem to be central to Christmas any longer. Instead, it's all about buying stuff and getting stuff. But during a time when so many of us are biting our nails with anxiety over the economic recession, buying and getting adds even more stress than usual. This is problematic for the Christian. We are called to be hospitable, generous people. Yet, these ideals don't stem from economic security. They come from our story as God's people. In the book of Exodus we read the story of manna falling from heaven, providing the sustenance that everyone needed to survive in the wilderness. There was one problem: no preservatives. It didn't keep. You couldn't save it for tomorrow or the next day. God provided just enough for everyone, every day. In the New Testament, when Jesus teaches his friends to pray he draws upon this story when he tells them to ask God to give them their daily bread. The concept is that God provides enough for everyone. Not enough for some to hoard, or have more than others, but enough for all of us to have what we need... not necessarily what we want, but what we need. This concept runs all the way through Scripture."

Read the rest, offer your thoughts and help us spread the word by adding one of the MSD buttons–like the one on the right of my blog–to your site. And send in your ideas for the MSD blog too.