This book. Woah. It almost rendered me speechless. Almost. It also almost made me ugly cry on the plane a half dozen times. Almost. The fact is, Glennon Melton Doyle, author of Carry On, Warrior and my favorite blog, Momastery, superbly took all the feels straight out of my heart and put WORDS to them! WORDS! Brilliant, riveting, funny, emotional words that give substance to all the love I want to show to and share with the world and don’t know how to express!!
Somehow, while our life experiences are completely different, she and I have the same beliefs when it comes to living and loving out loud, about people, parenting, God, love, fear, zen and even profanity. So obviously, if you’re one of my friends you must read this book. Since I read this book over this past weekend while traveling to and from a meeting for GLSEN leaders, it managed to get all tied up in my heart with my plans to DO and DREAM BIGGER for our local GLSEN Greater Wichita, a chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. In order to achieve those dreams we’re going to have to raise some major funds, which is awesome because I LOVE offering people the opportunity to donate to a great cause! Who wouldn’t?!
I wish I could tell you what these dreams are right now, but I really should talk to our Board first. Details. I also wish I could share with you a quote from a local student about what GLSEN Greater Wichita means to them, but I don’t really have any since we’re still so new. I DID however meet the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) president of a high school in San Diego over the weekend. I had just finished being interviewed on video for a project and some of the other GLSEN people and I sat around visiting about the climates for LGBTQ students in our areas and some of the work we’re doing to improve those climates. I wasn’t really aware that this young man, a junior in high school, was listening to our conversation until everyone began to file out of the room. As I approached the door where he’d been standing, listening, he said, “Thank you. Thank you for everything you’re doing for students there in Kansas. It gives me hope.”
This young man attends a very affirming school in a city and state with laws protecting him and his rights, but he wanted to express to me that his heart hurts for other students and children in places where just being themselves is more of a struggle, and that our work offers hope. Hope. Is there anything better to offer someone? Besides Love I mean, obviously.
So, I’m going to give you the opportunity to help us offer hope to Wichita area kids! Yay! Aren’t you so lucky?! If you go to this GLSEN Greater Wichita website and give us a donation to help with our upcoming programs, events and hope-spreading, I will put your name in a drawing to receive a copy of this book! We are dreaming BIG this year, and I don’t even want to tell you the number GLSEN Greater Wichita is going to try to raise over this next year because I laughed out loud myself when I heard it. Okay, fine. $25,000. Totally doable, right?! So, give $10 if that’s all you have to offer, or dream big with us and give what your heart leads you to give, and you’ll get the chance to win a copy of Carry On, Warrior! Win-Win!!
I’ll draw a name next Tuesday, March 10th, so if you’d like a shot at the book for helping to be a hope-spreader, go donate before then! And THANK YOU!