Back in January, when we first started to organize our little For Kelli web-a-thon, I really and truly thought it was a one-time deal. In fact, I think I even said something about the fact that the next time I would ask for donations would be approximately, oh, never.
But apparently, as best I can tell, “never” is officially here.
Because what I never dreamed was that a another friend would find herself in the middle of a medical crisis; I never dreamed that Heather, my talented, sweet, funny blog designer, would find out that she has a brain tumor. And I never dreamed that a second situation where our blogging community can so tangibly make a difference would cross our paths so soon.
So on Wednesday, April 18, we’re going to have an opportunity to love on Heather and her family. Heather and her husband Mark will be leaving April 25th for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota – the number one neurosurgery hospital in the country. The fact that Heather even got an appointment is a miracle, and there is absolutely no telling what further miracles God will do through the hands of the gifted physicians there.
And here’s what I’m thinking. :-)
I’d love for us to give Heather and Mark a love offering before they leave for Minnesota, to be able to take care of some of their financial obligations so that they can focus on the most important aspect of their trip: getting the absolute best treatment for sweet Heather without worrying about how they’re going to pay for it. Before Heather knew that we were going to step in and try to offer some help, she posted about some of their financial concerns surrounding their trip to Mayo; you can read the details here. If you don’t know the specifics of the challenges Heather’s family has faced over the last few years, you can read about that here. What you read will bless your socks off.
And please understand: I have absolutely no set amount in mind for this love offering. Maybe what we’re able to present to Heather and Mark will pay for a few meals at Mayo; maybe what we’re able to give them will cover a couple of nights’ hotel expenses while they’re away from home. Or maybe – just maybe – we’ll be able to cover their hotel costs for the whole trip (THAT WOULD BE SO COOL). But here’s the bottom line, at least for me: whether we collect $50 or $500 or $5,000 for this love offering, God will get all the glory. He is the Source of all love, of all hope, of all joy, of all generosity. Anything we’re able to do for Heather will be an extension of the love He has lavished upon us.
So if you feel led to give, you can stop by here on April 18th and click on a “Donate Now” badge that will take you to PayPal. You can pay via PayPal, checking account, or credit card (and if you are more comfortable sending a check, email me and I’ll tell you how to do that). Just for kicks, let’s set a minimum donation of $1.00 – but you certainly may give as much as you’d like.
The money will go straight into an account for Heather and Mark. I won’t know how much you give; I won’t even know who gives (unless, you know, you tell me). I won’t be involved in the financial end at all aside from the fact that I’ll have the Donate Now badge for contributions on my blog. There is absolutely no pressure for you to participate financially – please know that. And if, for whatever reason, you can’t give a monetary gift right now, you can offer something even more valuable: your prayers.
If you’d like to help spread the word and put the For Heather button (thanks, Laura!) on your blog, that would be great. If you’d like to put the For Heather button in your sidebar, email me and I’ll be glad to send you the code so that you can do that. Just be patient with me on the email end…we’re heading out of town later today, so it may take me a few hours to get back to you.
If you have any questions, just let me know. And thanks, Jada, for setting all of these wheels in motion yesterday.
April 18th is For Heather. I hope with all my heart that you’ll be here.
April 13th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Boomama
Please send me the code!!
Thanx
Linsey
April 13th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I’m in! This is an awesome thing you are doing!
April 13th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Hey! I would love to have that on my my sidebar!! You are such a great person and thanks for doing this!!!!!
April 13th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I would love to help Heather. Please send me the code. You are a sweetheart of a friend.
April 13th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
I have the 18th marked on my calendar! What an awesome thing you are doing here and I believe that God is going to put it on a lot of people’s hearts to come give on the 18th!!!!
April 13th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
this is fantastic! let’s give her some lovin’!
April 13th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
With a thankful heart- you amaze me. Thank you for caring about me. I am truly amazed at the outpouring and the support.
I will keep you updated all the way…
Love you Boo,
Heather
April 13th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Would love to help…
What amazing things God’s children have seen from the heat of the flame…He is still the God of Wonders!
Praying for you Heather!!
April 13th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
I’m in too, of course!
April 13th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
I’ll be here. Thank you, BooMama, for another great idea. I’ve had Heather and her family on my heart and it will be wonderful to be able to share the love.
April 14th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Oh dear, the bandwidth limit has now exceeded on Heather’s site. I wonder if the company who hosts her site would offer more free bandwidth…
Prayers for Heather and my button is up.
April 14th, 2007 at 2:09 am
You have a huge heart. I will be praying about it…
April 14th, 2007 at 2:47 am
I’m in. You have a heart of Gold!!!
April 14th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Hello,
Easter Blessings to you and yours.
With God’s will , we’ll be here on April 18th. Please e-mail me the sidebar link asap.
Have a nice and safe journey.
April 14th, 2007 at 8:49 am
How awesome is this idea! Thanks for setting it up!
April 14th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Great idea! I’ll be putting a button on my blog. Thanks for coordinating this so we have a way to help in addition to our prayers.
April 14th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Thanks BooMama for putting this together. I grabbed the image from your blog — I hope that was ok. Here is the code that I used to put it on my blog. Please feel free to correct me or delete this comment if it’s not the right code you wanted to use! So many people want to put the button on their site, I figured BooMama would get bogged down emailing everyone!!
If this code doesn’t show up correctly in your comments, I’ll post instructions as well on my blog.
This is the code I used to put it in a WordPress post (you click on the HTML button and paste this in, then go back to writing your post). Remove the period after the
This is the code I used in my sidebar (remove the period after the
The code for both of these link back here to this post so people can find out about Heather.
Looking forward to the donation button on the 18th!!
Lisa B.
April 14th, 2007 at 9:32 am
D’oh! The code didn’t show up. I’ll post on my blog over at simplyhis.org so people can get it (hopefully!)
Lisa B.
April 14th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Thank you for doing this, as well as for Kelli. May the Lord richly bless you as you pour your heart out for others.
Still Seeking,
Amy Verlennich
April 14th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Word has been passed along, and my credit card is waiting.
BTW, you should change your tag line from “Read by tens of people every singe day” to “touching peoples hearts, and saving lives, every single day”. Because you truly are.
Wishing there were more in the world like you,
April
April 14th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Thank you Boomama for doing this. I do not know Heather personally, and I do not know you personally – it’s amazing how the love of God binds us all.
http://lizas-eyeview.blogspot.com/2007/04/now-its-time-for-papa-prayer.html
April 15th, 2007 at 3:36 am
What a great idea. I’ll have a button to spread the word!
Happy Sunday
April 15th, 2007 at 7:54 am
Wow. I will definately be praying.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I’m in…
April 15th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Such a wonderful idea. I will be here on Wednesday.
Take care,
Connie
April 15th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I will surely be back on Wednesday.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Thanks, BooMama, for organizing this.
I’m donating 40% of my Mary Kay sales between now and April 18th. More info is available on my blog http://www.ogle4.wordpress.com – shipping is also free; my Mary Kay website is http://www.marykay.com/lauraogle.
How long will we be able to donate?
Thanks again!
Laura
April 16th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Spreading the word over at my site.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Heather’s story is inspiring. What an incredible woman. I would love to post a link on my blog.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
You know how surfing is–I am not sure now exactly what path I traveled exactly to find Heather’s site and then this one. I will do what I can to help on Wednesday and with a button on my blog. Lynn
April 16th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Thanks so much for all you are doing. My post linking to you is up. God Bless you girl!
April 16th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
I am ready to Heather Boomama! I have the button in my side bar and posted about Heather to spread the word. Thanks for your sweet heart.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
I recently stumbled upon Heather’s plite by finding her blog. I cried through reading all of it. Thank you so much for letting us have the oppurtunity to help her out in this small way.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:54 am
I’d love to put the button on my blog. Please email me at sackmom@yahoo.com
April 17th, 2007 at 11:45 am
I will definitely be sharing this at my many blogs. Thank you for organizing such an event.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
I didn’t have time to get the code by email. I added the picture and link, I hope that is OK. I wanted to tell about Heather and wanted to mention what you are doing.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Will there be a “praying for Heather” button? I would like that code.
April 18th, 2007 at 5:40 am
I am new to this blog thing, but I have been following this family through another friends blog. May God continue to wrap you all in HIS arms of Love. Praying always.
In Him,
The Gilpatric Family
How do I put this link on my blog?
April 18th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
I’m in!
April 18th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I would love to have the code to add the Heather button to my sidebar. I think what you’ve done is a wonderful thing and I’m In! Heather is such an inspiration!
April 18th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
never underestimate the power of God’s women on the web!
April 18th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Love offering given – thank you so much for allowing our family to be a part of this.
April 18th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
I am in. I have been following their story on homesteadblogger.com and our prayers are with them. I have also sent Oprah an email about this couragous families journey.
April 19th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I’m in! Heather posted a comment about how she’d pray for me as we’re dealing with infertility. When I stopped by her blog to thank you, I read of what SHE’S going through and I’m humbled that she’d take the time to think of ME. I have no right to complain after reading what she’s facing. My prayers go out to her and her family.
April 28th, 2007 at 2:04 am
I just found sting my heart several days ago. And I just get to know what happened to Heather. From your post, I see the love among so many lovely christian-ladies. I will of courst hold heather in my pray.