Charity Event and Chance to Win Book!

Chance to give and to receive!  

Win a Copy of "The Staycation Jar"

Erica McNeal has been on my blog before. You might remember my book review of Good Grief! and her interview on Self Publishing it. 

Now Erica brings you the opportunity to win her new book as well as donate to a charity her  daughter has initiated. Kids really do know no limits! 

5 Books will be given away to random commenter’s who also share this post through other media outlets. Please include in your comment how you shared this post for a chance to win. Winners will be announced tomorrow (Wed) and contacted via email by Erica.

Faith Like A Child 

When we found out we were going to be first time parents, we knew above

all else we desired to instill in our children to love God and love others. Therefore we

developed a tradition in our family called Love Projects, where we intentionally look for

ways that we can serve others. As our daughter Jordyn prepared for 1st grade, we asked

her to think of a big Love Project we could incorporate into her schooling.

When we made this suggestion, we were thinking along the lines of filling boxes

for Operation Christmas Child, or adopting a family in need for Christmas. However,

Jordyn came to us with way BIGGER dreams of what she wanted to do. In fact, the first

Love Project she came up with was to send a family to Disney World after their 15-year

old daughter finishes her chemotherapy.

It took everything in us not to try and get her to think smaller. However, for some

reason we stopped, and instead of immediately saying "no", "that's too big", or "honey,

that's just not practical" (as we have in the past), we asked her how she would make this

dream happen. Her big green eyes got even bigger, and she immediately rambled off 11

different ways she could raise money.

We were stunned and had a decision to make.

Were we going to allow her to proceed, or were we going to sway her in a

different direction, a more "reasonable" direction?

We realized as parents, we needed to stop putting our own limitations of what is

and isn't possible on our children because we have lost our ability to think and dream big.

We’ve set up our own boundaries based on our life circumstances and our own reality (at

least how we see it). But, these are our issues, not theirs. Why not let our children dream

big, then come alongside them and support their ideas, and their precious hearts?

In saying, "YES" to Jordyn, we are experiencing the pure beauty in her child-

like faith, because she has absolutely no limitations, no boundaries, no financial concerns

(or concept of money), and no idea of what is or isn't possible. She simply wants to do

something special for a family and therefore she is finding ways to get it done. There

is no doubt in her sweet mind she can and will do this. And along the way, Jordyn is

reminding us how to live a life with no limitations and with a pure and simple faith in

God to see her through.

Therefore, a new Not For Profit, Faith Like A Child, Inc. has been created by our

family to help families going through hard times. Jordyn simply wants to "help people

who are sick and have dreams, make their dreams come true!"

As one of her ways of raising money, Jordyn asked me to write a book so she

could sell it. So, our family compiled our ideas, and I put together The Staycation Jar,

available as an eBook for only $2.99. All proceeds (70% of sales price) will go directly to

Faith Like A Child, Inc., to help Jordyn love other families!

The Staycation Jar is filled with 200 Family Fun Ideas:

1. Creative Meals - This idea came from a long-standing family tradition

of Crazy Dinners and range from Ice Cream Sundaes for breakfast to eating

Candy Apples and watching Snow White, or eating "Dirt in a Cup" while

watching Tangled.

2. Main Events – These are the major activities for the day. The ideas range from

Theme Parks to Cultural Centers, renting a boat/canoe/kayak, and Behind the

Scene Tours for your favorite shows.

3. Silliness – We wanted to add laughter and spontaneity to our days. Our ideas

range from water fights, finger painting a portrait as a family, and sending secret

messages with homemade invisible ink.

4. The Love Projects became our favorite category as we looked to meet the

needs of others. Some of the ideas range from baking brownies for the Fire or

Police Dept, to bringing food and supplies to a local Food Bank, and leaving an

extra large tip for a waitress.

The Staycation Jar is available only at Amazon. This Friday morning, October 5th,

Jordyn will choose one family to give her Winnie the Pooh Collection of Paintings to

from those who purchase this book! To be eligible, simply send your book receipt to

love@faithlikeachildinc.com.

Author of The Staycation Jar and Good Grief, by the time Erica was

32 years old, she was already a 3-time cancer survivor, and had

experienced the loss of 5 children. Erica uses her cancer and child-

loss to equip men and women to learn how to effectively love people

who are hurting, and is passionate about helping families grow

stronger through tragedy. You can find more about Jordyn’s journey

at www.faithlikeachild.com and on twitter @FLACinc