March 1st.  How can that possibly be?  Where is 2015 going?  If it hurries the cold and snow and ice of winter along so be it, right? I can see a lot of you out there nodding your heads.

Welcome to my new readers – there are a few of you and I am thrilled to have you join me on It’s Just Life.  If you are new here you need to learn about my Comments for a Cause that I do each and every month.  I went back and looked to make sure but I have been featuring a different charity or “cause” on the blog since April 2011.  You can click here to see that post (just know that the format isn’t all perfect as the new blog changeover did not transfer all of my featured images but you get the idea.) That is 46 different causes that we have donated to and raised awareness about which boggles my mind.  It is quite simple.  You comment on a blog post.  I count up the comments at the end of the month.  For each comment made during that month on any post that I have ever published my husband and I donate 50 cents to that cause. Those comments add up and we have been able to make some wonderful donations during that span of time to some really great causes.  So thank YOU!  My readers are the driving force behind this and Chris and I have been blessed to be able to continue to do this.  This past month Val of Corn Beans Pigs and Kids  and I teamed up to support Library Lovers’ Month and chose Room to Read as our joint cause.  You can read more about what this great organization does by clicking here.   I am thrilled to report that Chris and I will be donating $172.50 to Room to Read this month.  You will have to head over to Val’s blog to find out her total as well as her new cause which is going to be a wonderful one.

The next cause is more of a personal one because it is a disease that affects someone that I care about.  Last Labor Day I had the privilege to help out at the wedding of one of my son’s best friends and his new wife.  Samantha and Cory Scott are two of the most amazing young people that I  know and I was thrilled that they asked me to help on their very special day.  You might recall there was even a teapot involved.  (Click here to see that post.)

Sam (Samantha) has been diagnosed with Lupus and I admit that I  don’t know a lot about this horrible disease but what I do know is that every little bit of research that is done to help find a cure is money spent in the right direction.  Sam was diagnosed with Lupus in June of last year. Lupus is an unpredictable autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with, and a challenge to treat. Lupus is a cruel mystery because it is hidden from view and undefined, has a range of symptoms, strikes without warning, and has no known cause and no known cure.

Image courtesy of Samantha Scott

Sam is raising money through a special fundraiser in Raleigh called Walk to End Lupus Now  that will take place on April 19th. That makes it the perfect cause for March.  We can “fundraise” all month for Sam and all those who are affected by this disease. Sam shares why she is walking:

Lupus affects more than 45,000 North Carolina residence and 1.5 million Americans, including our co-workers, friends, families and loved ones. Lupus is debilitating and destructive, and can be fatal, yet research on lupus remains underfunded relative to its scope and devastation. That is why I participating in the Walk to End Lupus Now on April 19th in Raleigh. This event connects the lupus community and helps bring us one step closer to solving the cruel mystery. Take steps with me to bring hope to millions of individuals affected by lupus.

Please join me in supporting Sam and all the others who suffer from Lupus by commenting this month and/or by going to her page by clicking here and making a small donation of your own.  I know that she would really appreciate it and every dollar helps.  The money raised goes to the Lupus Foundation of America, Raleigh Chapter. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and from Sam and Cory as well.