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Two balloons with peace written on them

What do George Washington, Martin Luther King. Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus all have in common? They’re not just some of the most famous names known to the US and, in some cases, world-wide. Yes, all of these men were great and well-renowned for their achievements in life. And it’s because of these achievements, they are on the same list – people with whom holidays have been named after them and are celebrated on their birthday.

Prominent figures throughout history have had holidays named after them. George Washington’s Birthday is better known as President’s Day, celebrating the first President of the United States of America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrating his life accomplishments to end racial segregation and work towards racial equality in the US. The most notable on this list – Jesus Christ. His life work is celebrated in more than 160 countries every Dec. 25.

These are all great men in history, who passionately worked towards creating a better world for mankind. Their holidays are all well known and celebrated, but did you know about International Day of Non-Violence? This day was named after Mahatma Gandhi, and thus why he is on this list. Gandhi worked tirelessly to promote peace and non-violence on this earth. And just in case he isn’t already immortalized enough through his acts and reputation, in 2007 the United Nations named October 2, Gandhi’s Birthday, the International Day of Non-Violence.

Two balloons with peace written on them

Gandhi took a country in political turmoil and saw that the way out was not through war and conflict, but peace and understanding. Instead of resorting to physical violence, he advocated non-violent methods including peaceful protest, persuasion, non-cooperation, and non-violent intervention such as marches and blockades.

Important to this steadfast belief that peace could be achieved through non-violent means was Gandhi’s belief in faith.

“Non-violence requires a double faith. Faith in God, and faith in man.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Non-violence involves a certain inherent amount of trust that the person(s) you are practicing non-violence towards will not react in a violent matter themselves. There is a faith you put in God to guide everyone on the right path, and a faith you put in your fellow man (or woman), not to stray from that path.

So, which path will you choose? If society were to honor you with a day to celebrate your life’s accomplishments, what would we celebrate? I like to think the kids in our schools would be celebrated and remembered for their steadfast commitment to peace, and independence through education.

Father Mugaga and the nuns who care for these children will forever be remembered by many for their non-violent work to combat the aftermath of war in a time of political unrest. They take children off the street who otherwise may have been subject to a lifetime of corruption from warlords or slavery through inadequate education, and provide them with a hand up to the prosperity of an independent life.

Kids are the future of Africa. Among them there is the next political leader who will bring peace to the country through governmental change. There is the next doctor who will save countless lives and limbs of innocent victims harmed by the violent acts of war. They are the next era of business leaders who will know what it’s like to live in poverty, and thus strive to treat their employees very well. Because they remember what it was like to worry about finding their next meal, or shelter from a storm, and they will do everything they can to ensure nobody else has to go through the trauma they did.

These changes may be small when you look at the challenges of an entire country. But over time, and student by student, change will happen. The staff and students at our schools practice the value of peace through non-violent means every day. And eventually that will make the world a better place. Who knows, maybe one day one of them will go on to make such a profound impact on the world that they get a national or international holiday named after them. Be a part of making the next historic happy birthday. Sponsor a child now at https://hope4hearts.org/donate/.

Peace and Love,
Cristen Lyn

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In honor of July coming to close, lets focus on freedom.

free·dom
noun: freedom
1. the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
“we do have some freedom of choice”
synonyms: right to, entitlement to

Freedom can take on many different meanings and is unique to each individual. Freedom should mean that children have the power to act and think as they choose, without hindrance or restraint. At our organization, we mainly see children who face multiple hindrances and deterrents on their path to freedom.

We need to insure children can grow up safe and supported with the freedom to be a child.

Without loving friends or family, access to education and the simple means to survive, their freedom is restricted. They are not given the opportunity to act, speak or think as they feel because they are too busy trying to survive and find the next place they will sleep or where they will find their next meal.

That’s where our help comes into play. We provide housing, education, training, counseling, food, faith and friendships.

Freedom to learn in Uganda is scarce – children do not have access to public or free education. Without an education, they are often unable to become independent adults and grow into healthy, happy and successful individuals.

Freedom rings when you sponsor a child. It’s a gift that creates a ripple of lifelong change. Children become free to spread their wings through knowledge. Families drastically changed with the power of an education.

Our children have unique needs. Thank you for supporting their freedom.

DONATE TODAY

With love,
Cristen Lyn

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Flourish is a very important word to our organization as it is at the core of our mission. What we hope to see on a daily basis is a child flourishing in all ways, and we encourage and guide this beautiful process.

flour·ish
/ˈfləriSH/
to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment

That’s what we want for YOU! Every day we see girls flourish in our program from the counseling, education and work training. Uganda has an orphan crisis with children living in severe poverty, lacking money to attend school and have no family. They have no support or examples of how to grow up and live an independent life. Without any tools and support, they often have no hope. We make strides every day to provide the resources and environment necessary for them to flourish in a life of their own.

We serve the most destitute children in our program who have a strong desire to educate themselves, so they can have a productive and self-reliant future. Children not participating in one of our vocational programs, attend Ugandan schools and all children receive food, shelter, counseling, spiritual development, social and life skills classes.

We’ve seen many children flourish and create a life for themselves that they never imagined was possible. For example, Annet Alumna lost her father at an early age and was raised in poverty in a slum called Ndeeba. Her family could not afford to pay for school and she was forced to abandon her education. Annet wanted to learn, and under the guidance of our caring staff, she received counseling and entered the catering vocation. Annet is flourishing in life.

As Spring begins to ramp up, take time to self-reflect and see if you are flourishing in the different avenues of life. If not, what can you do to change it? It’s time to put yourself first and make sure you are in a supporting and loving environment that allows you to grow and develop into the best version of yourself!

Peace + Prosperity
Cristen Lyn
Hope for Hearts Founder

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Smile Week

It’s never too early to bring a little Christmas cheer around with this classic quote from “Elf.” Especially when it’s National Smile Week. Buddy the elf had a predilection for smiling. Which worked out because his smile was contagious and brought happiness everywhere he went.

When Buddy first came to New York, the main people in his new life were all unhappy for one reason or another. From Jovie, the lonely department store employee, to Walter, Buddy’s biological dad, who was so tied up in the stress of his job he felt he had no room for anything else, which in turn caused his family to be unhappy. By the end of the movie, Buddy’s infectious smile brought happiness and more smiles to everyone he met. And, they were able to ultimately spread that Christmas cheer to everyone and save the day for Santa Clause.

Smile Week

Ok, I get that this is a made up story – but the power of the smile still holds. Many historic figures known for changing the world in one way or another had an infectious smile. Despite years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela emerged with a smile that changed the world by ending apartheid in South Africa. Princess Diana of Whales was known for her brilliantly white smile that could give hope and comfort to the downtrodden and those in need.

In many photos and depictions of Mother Teresa you can almost always find her smiling. She was perhaps the smile’s biggest advocate with poignant quotes like:

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”

“Peace begins with a smile.”

And, one of my favorites – “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.”

A smile is the simplest, free gift we can give to the world. And while it’s true that we don’t know quite all the good it can or will do, we do know some benefits. Smiling is the first facial expression we have with babies smiling in the womb and at early stages after birth due to feelings of comfort. As they grow they learn to smile as a response to stimuli from the outside world such as seeing a family member. And as we continue on in life smiling continues to provide us with several health benefits such as boosting your immune system and reducing blood pressure. A smile towards another person can bring them comfort and joy. In the workplace, a smile may be more likely to lead to a promotion as it projects confidence and several other key qualities employers look for in a strong candidate. I encourage you to watch Ron Gutman’s TED Talk for more interesting research and facts about the power of a smile.

So this month as we’re focusing on happiness, remember to smile more. Take this week to focus on the power of your smile. Challenge yourself to smile more often and notice the responses you get from yourself and others. I guarantee you’re going to like what you see.

You can also take part in National Smile Week by putting a smile on the face of all of us here at Hope for Hearts. When you make a donation to our Happy Jar, you brighten the already beautiful smiling faces of orphaned children in Uganda. These children are filled with hope and working toward change in their lives by getting an education. Their smiles are contagious.

Thinking Happy Thoughts,
Cristen

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Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly

All this month we’re talking about happiness.

This week is National Simplify Your Life Week. This is a serendipitous great start to “Admit Your Happy Month.” Sometimes life can get so crazy, chaotic, and out of control that it can wear on our overall happiness. But that’s nothing that can’t be fixed by simplifying things a little bit. Here are some ideas to help you get started in leading a simpler life and boosting happy thoughts.

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly

The first step to being happy is being ready to receive happiness. This means clearing out the negative energy in your life. Throughout life, you should always schedule “Me Time” to spend time focusing on your health and emotional well being to make sure that you’re coming from a place of light and ready to receive happiness into your life. Whether your “Me Time” includes taking a bubble bath, going to the gym, seeing a spiritual advisor, making sure you actually go to those doctor appointments you’ve been meaning to schedule, reading a book. Large or small, make sure you take the time to focus on you.

Next, you need to focus on your immediate surroundings. Are the places where you spend the most time bringing you happiness? If not, it’s time to clean up, declutter, and organize! Our friends at Graceful Spaces can help you bring a little feng shui and peace into your life. Also, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Marie Condo’s methods for decluttering your home and creating joy in your surroundings presented in her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up” are truly magic.

Once you’re ready to receive happiness, it’s time to take a look at what you allow into your life and evaluate if it really makes you happy or not. One thing we often hear people complain about is how much we’re letting technology get in the way of living our lives. Technology has grown at such an incredible rate in our lifetime that we went from not being able to communicate with someone unless we were face-to-face, or able to catch them while they happened to be home and near their phone. Math, learning, even the simple act of reading, were all done by hand with paper or thumbing through books in a library.

The advancement of technology has made more information than ever available all at our fingertips 24/7, but with that comes the burden of feeling like you have to spend every free second contributing to, and ingesting that information. Simply put: You Don’t. Take a break from technology for a week and use this time to evaluate what you truly miss, and what you can do without. This will give you more time to focus on the things that bring you happiness.

This concept doesn’t just apply to technology, you can use it with any aspect of your life. Do you have a friend who you think is toxic to your life? Are you part of a social or volunteer organization that you’re just dragging yourself to go to without true enjoyment? Don’t participate for a week. See how you feel after. Perhaps there are a few things in life that need reevaluating.

Lastly, when you complete your week of simplifying your life, don’t forget to show a little gratitude for your accomplishments. Share the wealth and help someone else simplify their life.

With Gratitude,
Cristen