Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today

Our church and community had an amazing fundraiser on May 1 to help people in Ukraine. Thank you everyone for your support. Now it's time to get back to making pouches and sending encouraging thoughts. Our fabric shopping bags are a big hit and we are trying to decide the best way to distribute them. We would like to use them still as a fundraiser for Ukraine as well. Marlene's neighbor, Shirley, sewed 98 of them for us. Others have joined us in this endeavor. Thank you everyone who has been part of this and each of our projects. We'd love to hear your stories about how you are encouraging others. And I will try to post more from now on.

Today's the Big day for our Fundraiser for Ukraine. Many have worked tirelessly for two months getting it ready. Please pray for a good turn out, fun day and that we all learn more about another culture and need. God send an amazing double rainbow yesterday as a reminder to all of us that this is His project--not ours. If any of you are in the Seattle area, please join us from 3:00-5:30. There will be two concerts 3:30 and 4:30 by two different Ukrainian groups. Also, items "for sale". Every penny will go to help displaced people in the country of Ukraine. The food truck had to cancel because of COVID so we are being creative and serving pizza. There are loads of baked goods, activities for kids and 42 silent auctions. It's been wonderful to watch everyone working together so well. A BIG Thank You to everyone. Address: 10106 36th St. E Edgewood, WA

Friends and our team have been busy making over 100 shopping bags and other items to donate to a fundraiser for Ukraine on May 1 in Edgewood, WA. The funds will go directly into the country to help those who have fled their homes. If you live close, please think about joining us on May 1 from 3:00-5:30 at North Hill Adventist Fellowship for a Ukrainian Concert, Silent Auction (we can still use some donations), "sale" of crafts and slightly used home goods, baked goods and Ukrainian sweets made by our friends. There are lots of kid activities planned. Also, a Vego food truck will be in the parking lot. We are excited to help in any way we can. The pictures show a sample of the shopping bags plus some tote auctions that have been donated.

What a beautiful day! The sunshine is helping to soothe hurting hearts and encourage us. Our team is working hard to cut fabric and handles to make reusable shopping bags to “sell” (for donations) at a fundraiser to help survivors from Ukraine. We have 60 plus ready to sew. It’s a simple pattern and anyone with a sewing machine and few minutes can make them. I will attach the YOUtube video with simple instructions. If you can help us out, we’d sincerely appreciate it. We need your skills. Thanks so much and enjoy this lovely day. https://youtu.be/BglMM_4cKlk

My favorite grocery tote! A FREE easy sewing tutorial! :: Caution: Portions of this video have louder than expected music! Keep the volume on the lower end! Thanks!::After looking through SO MANY different tutori...

What a beautiful day! The sunshine is helping to soothe hurting hearts and encourage us. Our team is working hard to cut fabric and handles to make reusable shopping bags to “sell” (for donations) at a fundraiser to help survivors from Ukraine. We have 60 plus ready to sew. It’s a simple pattern and anyone with a sewing machine and few minutes can make them. I will attach the YOUtube video with simple instructions. If you can help us out, we’d sincerely appreciate it. We need your skills. Thanks so much and enjoy this lovely day.

My favorite grocery tote! A FREE easy sewing tutorial! :: Caution: Portions of this video have louder than expected music! Keep the volume on the lower end! Thanks!::After looking through SO MANY different tutori...

We're making pouches and snack mats to share with our Ukrainian neighbors and friends of Ukraine. Please keep them in your prayers.

I'm trying to hang on to encouraging thoughts today but it's difficult. My heart is heavy as I see what's happening in Ukraine, a country we called home for five years. I think about our many friends and the wonderful people we met there. So I guess today's encouraging words are about Friends.

Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. My heart is filled with your footprints dear Ukrainian friends.

“Goodness isn’t hard to find, especially when you’re on the lookout.”
----Anna E. Rendell

Today is Random act of kindness day. How fun! Share your experiences. We'd love to hear them.
Random Acts of Kindness Day ® is Thursday February 17, 2022 Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 13-19, 2022

Today, we start anew with this page. There have been no posts for a couple of months due to a number of things. Different members of our Encouragement team have experienced physical problems (COVID, back issues, eye problems), broken pipes resulting in complete floor renovation, stress over negative posts on Facebook about politics and mask mandates and discouragement. But for each of our members things are looking up. The embroidery machines are going again on a limited basis, fabric is being cut, and new ideas are being tossed around as to how we can encourage others. Our page person (me) is going to learn better how to post your responses—or we will find someone who can help us with this. We still have some pouches made and available to those who would like to have some to distribute and more will be made in smaller amounts. Over 4000 have been constructed and given out but numbers are not our goal. Encouragement is. So I will try to post a word of encouragement several times a week and ask you to help with that as well. We’d love to have you share quotes, new ideas on how to inspire and love others, and your uplifting thoughts.
Because we have been blessed with lots of fabric, we are hoping to have others with sewing machines help us make reusable grocery bags. We can provide an easy link to help with this. Perhaps those of you who sew would like to reduce their stash. This is an easy way to help with that.
Thank you for visiting our page and for what you are doing for others. May your day be blessed.
“Give away love like you’re made of it. Let it fill you up like candy in a pinata, so when you take a hit, it’s what will pour out of you.” Bob Goff

Think about doing something for your local veterans on November 11. You have less than three months to implement a plan. Our Wonderful Team is working hard to put together pouches for that day. We have been in touch with a local restaurant that gives free meals to vets on their day and we are hoping we will be able to create some smiles that way. If not, we will find another venue. We just want to say thank you for all they have done.
Remember to MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY! 😀😊💖

This morning I am thinking about all the wonderful team members who make this project a reality. We consider everyone who helps to be part of the team so it is growing and growing. New team member Anne brought 20 pouches to us last week and took another 40 home to create as time allows. She also brought some material another member will cut and prepare for sewing. The fun thing is that Anne's 4 year old son has the job of reminding her to move the zipper pull to the center before she sews the back on. A very important step. Thanks Ryan. And 2 year old Joey pushes the button on her machine for sewing. I'm going to share more each week about our team and what they do. We'd love to have you join us in the fun. Because if it isn't fun, it's not worth it. Have a great day.

It's "sew" fun that this project is taking off even faster through you our Facebook friends. Cheri in Florida is making the pouches for clients at the food pantry where she volunteers while Norma in Ohio is getting ready to distribute them to essential workers in her community. Valerie from Indiana has sent 85 really cool pouches for us to distribute. Here's a picture of them. AND Alethea in Alabama just obtained three machines to make hundreds of these to send to the many breast cancer patients who have requested them from Kimi's Closet.
We love to see your pictures and find out how you are sharing them. Every one is unique and wonderful. Thank you. Please let us know if you would like the pattern.

A big thank you to everyone helping with this project. We have several hundred of the pouches ready to sew along with supplies so if anyone in King or Pierce Counties has an embroidery machine with an 8 X 10 or 8 X 14 hoop and wants a fun project that will create many smiles, we could use your help. Pictured are a few that are waiting to be stitched together. Just message or email us. Thanks for viewing our page.

Happy Birthday America. We had a wonderful get together with the some of the Caring Thoughts team members last night and a Zoom visit with Alethea from Kimi's Closet. Stay safe and have fun today everyone. God bless our country!

Thank you Kimi's Closet for sharing your thoughts.

Kimi’s Closet,Inc

A HUGE thank you to Caring Thought Encouragement for Today for providing pouches Kimi's Closet, Inc., is able to send to women who have been diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC is the most aggressive form of breast cancer. This cancer affects women in the 40-50 age group--a more significant percentage of which are African American, Hispanic, and women with BRCA-1 gene mutations. It is a highly underserved population in a group that is often overlooked because of its age. The needs of children and the elderly who have cancer diagnoses overshadow or completely hide those in this age group. "You are young!" "You've got this!" are the words these women hear, but the ferocity and length of the battle are missed. Therefore, these women tend to suffer silently, left to grieve their losses alone.

Kimi's Closet, Inc., functions solely to help alleviate the effects of treatment for these women.

We have received responses saying: "Your pouch arrived just when I needed it most!""

"You have no idea how much your pouch brightened my day. THANK YOU very much! I have used the comfort pouch several times now. And I enjoyed the contents, too..."

Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today, YOU ROCK!!!

A big thank you to Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today for the pouches! These were delivered full of treats, encouraging notes and thanks to the Florence Police Department from the Shoreline Christian School of Florence, a Seventh-day Adventist School! From Debbie Harroun-Large

A special thank you to the team at Quality Sewing & Vacuum and especially Carrie for sharing our project on their page. This has been my go to company for machines and their expertise since moving to the Puget Sound Area 10 years ago. Because of their post, one lady is planning making pouch gifts for many local first responders and essential workers in her Ohio area and another for the people she helps at a food pantry in Florida. It's so much fun to share ideas and we are learning so much as this project continues to evolve.

Judi Ballweber-Ruban
I am heading to St Louis tomorrow for seven weeks of radiation and three rounds of radiation. I have 25 wonderful pouches stuffed and ready for my care providers!!! Thank you so much for blessing me with these, so I can bless and encourage others!!

We'd love to hear your stories about how you have encouraged others during these trying times. It's always fun to get ideas how each of us can reach out to our neighbors as well as strangers. Or tell us about how someone has reached out to you. We're stronger together.

Our latest batch of Pouches have been delivered to four different small fire stations and we have more ready to deliver to the brave individuals who help keep our communities safe. Thank you each one of our brave firefighters.

The past week was amazing, busy and so very gratifying with our Caring Thoughts Team. We were able to gift 79 filled pouches to Auburn Adventist Academy dorm students and 76 to church pastors as well as 60 empty pouches along with a few items to a church for a children's outreach this weekend.

For those who might want to make a simple zippered bag without an embroidery machine, this is a great one. Very easy.

How to sew a lined Zipper Pouch--great for Beginners! Dimensions for this zipper pouch: Zipper - 9 inch size (10.5 inches from end to end)Fabric - 10.5" x 6.5"Zipper pouches are fun and easy to make...and with a...

68 Pouches on their way to Florence, Oregon to a private school for children to gift to police, firemen and others. Looking forward to hearing their stories.

This week 23 pouches were delivered to the Cle Elum Washington Police Station along with 40 for Kittitas County Sheriffs. These pictures show a little of the assembly operation and a sample what goes into each bag--although the contents may vary depending on what supplies we have.

One couple has a bucket with pouches on their front porch for delivery persons. Often Amazon, Fed X and UPS drivers deliver packages late on weekend nights as well as other days. These drivers work hard. We'd love to give you some pouches and hear how you have used them to encourage others. Just contact us. They are free but help with postage is appreciated if you can afford to do so. If not, it's okay.

It's now easier to email Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today

Our goal is to encourage and create smiles. These small rubber ducks are a new addition to the law enforcement, healthcare workers and military pouches we are giving out. They make me smile.

Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today updated their information in their About section.

Love to Sew? Wondering what to do with your stash? Do you have an embroidery or sewing machine? Looking for a fun project? We are here to help you put smiles on faces and joy in hearts. Please contact us. We'd love to hear from you. Let's spread encouragement everywhere.

Pouches waiting for the next projects. Getting 60+ ready for law enforcement in Kittitas County. The rest are ready for wherever God directs. Any ideas? Will be happy to share some for free. Let us know your ideas.

In May of 2020 members of our church, mostly children, wrote cards to a hospital in New York to encourage them during the pandemic. 67 cards were received so we packed up 67 zippered pouches with fun items, put them in Ziplock with the cards and sent them to the doctor in charge. This was the spark which eventually started the Caring Thoughts Project. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of this.

On Labor Day some prayer group members were discussing their need to be involved in some type of encouragement ministry. None of the group believe in “coincidences” but instead in God’s leading. Then God provided the key person needed to give permission to provide gifts to teachers in the denomination’s 18 K-12 schools which were in session in western Washington state. One by one those needed to make the zippered pouches volunteered to help. Others donated items to fill them. A group put them together (while social distancing) and a lovely couple spent a week traveling many, many miles to deliver them. And the Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today project took off.
The original idea was to find individuals to pray for one teacher for the entire school year. Unfortunately this did not happen even many attempts were made to do so. But again pray-ers stepped and are praying for several teachers each so all the 150 teachers and staff are being covered in special prayer on a daily basis. These teachers have been under great stress because of the pandemic and prayer for them and the children they serve is so very important.

In June 2020, 225 pouches filled with small items were delivered to a ministry that works with foster children in the Seattle area. They were sent to the kids who had planned to go to the yearly camp but could not because of closure from the pandemic. The idea for a larger project began to take shape. Again, we have no pictures of those first gifts.

In May 2020 some members of our church, mostly children, wrote cards to a hospital in New York to encourage them during the pandemic. 67 cards were received so we packed up 67 zippered pouches with fun items, put them in Ziplock with the cards and sent them to the doctor in charge. This was the project which created the idea that eventually became the Caring Thoughts project. Unfortunately there are no pictures of this project.

Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today updated their business hours.

Caring Thoughts Encouragement for Today updated their website address.