Celebrating Life

Can you believe this little girl is already 3 months old?

 I am so proud of her momma, who stepped into the role of
motherhood as naturally as possible.

Today Aleah got to meet Jerrie, who is one of my best friends and a spiritual mother.

They had some good conversation. I hope Aleah is soaking up all of that wisdom :)

Also in this week's news...

On Wednesday my grandma turned 86 years old.

Although quite the feat for anyone, I am extra thankful for this woman. Two years ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and given a few months to live (if that). Today she is cancer free, and she did it without chemo. I am proud to say that I inherited a bit of her stubborn streak, as she is living proof that it can be a good thing. Now if only I inherit just an inkling of her faith, I'll be able to move mountains.

Just a quick update on Yelena's adoption grant.

In the last week since I posted Breaking Down Barriers, $400 has been added to Yelena's adoption grant! As the amount keeps growing my body is having a hard time determining if I should jump for joy or break down in tears. Either way, thank you so very much to each of you who have shared Yelena's profile or given. Let's keep the momentum going!

Last but not least, God has entrusted this beautiful one here (another daughter of my heart) with a son who we will be welcoming into the world on Monday.

If God puts her on your mind or impresses her on your heart in the next few days, please pray for a safe and healthy delivery for both mom and baby, and just for lots of goodness to be poured into this little family. 

I'd love to hear what you have to celebrate this week!

Just Call Me Meemaw

Yep. Gonna be a grandma(ish).

She's the closest thing I have to a daughter (in my heart it's the real deal). And she is having a baby.

Come August life is going to get Kuh-Ray-Zee.
But it's also going to get a little a lot more beautiful.

A Special Day for a Special Girl

See this gorgeous girl here? (Not me, the other one ;)

She has been in my life for what seems like forever.

Together we have been through lots of ups and downs, laughter, tears and hair colors.

I've given her talk after talk while she crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.

From baseball games to pizza nights, pumpkin patches to coffee dates, she has been a wonderful blessing in my life.

Today is a big day for her, a day that makes me feel old, but proud of the beautiful young woman she is. Won't you join me in saying

Happy 18th birthday Bobbiann....

You are so very loved.

Summertime Tradition

Last night I took some of my Youth for Christ girls to our annual summer baseball game. Each year a wonderful local business donates baseball tickets for our local minor league team, and through going to these games each year, we have started our own little tradition.

We get to go in through a "special door" with no line, and to the littles one's delight, we even get to take the elevator instead of the stairs. Oh, and not to mention, we have great seats!

And not only do we get to go enjoy a baseball game, we get to do it in style. Last night we got free tickets to the buffet, and on top of that, free hotdogs and sodas (delivered to our seats), and all we could eat popcorn! (And its a good thing I brought my mom purse, cause one of my girls insisted on taking some of the goodies home for her siblings. My purse now smells like a concession stand :)

We had such a fun night, and to top it all off, we stayed to enjoy a post game fireworks show. It really is a blessing to be able to give these kids a little special treatment once in a while.

 Thank you, Giersch and Associates, for your generosity, and for helping us create lots of great memories!

The C Word

This week I was asked to house/animal sit, and in exchange they allowed me to have a couple of the girls I mentor over to go swimming yesterday.

Two weeks ago I helped the woman I live with paint the New York skyline for her church's VBS. As a thank you to her for all the work she did, they gave her a giftcard to the Olive Garden. And to thank me she invited me and the girls to go out to dinner last night.

It kinda feels like that thing...

You know...what's that word?

Its that thing where you help others out when they need it, and then they help you out, just because they can...

I think it starts with a C....

Oh, yeah.

Community.

Being a Billionaire

In all honesty, many of the things I write on this blog are things I think about while driving/praying on my 30 minute commute to work.

Today on my drive home I was listening to the radio, and there was a short news piece about a couple of famous young women who are now billionaires.

I've gotta tell ya, my $20,000 a year income cannot even wrap its mind around what a billion dollars even means. And billions of dollars? Can't comprehend, other than I know it means being able to live without the constant worry of what extra jobs I can pick up this week to pay my bills.

So, away with this thought my brain went.

If money was not an issue, what would I do? How would my life be different?

Of course there are the little things. I would pay off my car and student loans. I would throw out several shirts that are ready to go and replace them with new ones. I would go out for a sushi dinner more than once a year. I would fly to Colorado to see my family more often.

On a bigger scale though, I gotta be honest. If I didn't have to worry about money, I would keep the same job I have now, working with autistic kids.

I would continue to volunteer at Youth for Christ, but instead of squeezing in time with my girls when possible, I would buy a house in their neighborhood and quit my extra tutoring jobs so I could be home with my door open when they get out of school. I could bake them cookies and help them with their homework every day. I could hear the little details about their everyday lives instead of once or twice a month updates.

Then summers. Oh, the things I would do with my summers. Since I work at a school, and I wouldn't have to work summer school, I could travel the world. But first I would get my master's degree in Community Development. I would spend the summers building schools in rural areas where there is no formal education, but I would do it in a way that they are community sustainable. (I have ideas, let me tell ya).

And as I continued driving, my ideas expanded. Then I realized that my dreams are not that far away from reality. In some areas I would be able to do the things I love "better," but I wonder at what point my reliance on Christ would turn to reliance on money.

Since I can remember, growing up in a single parent home, each month was lived by faith. There were days we didn't know if we would have dinner, and somehow God always provided.

Yeah, it would be awesome if I had the money to, with the swipe of a card, just pay for the Rural School Project in Zimbabwe.  But then I would be missing out on being part of an international community. The members of New Life Church and I would miss out on the act of stepping foward in faith each month to meet the government regulations and time line in the building process. The communities around Binga would miss out on offering their time and talents and sweat in order to give their children an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. And the kids would miss out on the opportunity to experience through this project the faithfulness and power of Christ, through whom all things are possible.

And all of these things, they can be hard, but they are good. These are the things money can't buy.

I ended my drive with a prayer that if God ever entrusts me with more money, that I will be faithful with each cent I am given, and if he doesn't, that I would do the same. I prayed that I always remember that no matter how much or how little I have, it all belongs to Him. And I thanked Him for always proving himself faithful.

What would you do if you never had to worry about money? How would your life change?

Sharing is Caring

On Saturday I spent the day with Dulce, one of the girls I mentor.

I went to the bank, then went to her house and picked her up. We stopped by to say hi to a couple other kids. We went to Sonic and had sodas. We went to the $3 theater and watched the new Chronicles of Narnia. We went and got a pizza. We came to my house to hang out.

Then she told me my shirt was on inside out.

So, because sharing is caring, I thought I'd pass onto you some share worthy things.

*Come Together Trading Company is a Christian based company which sells fair trade items from around the world. They have beautiful, handmade, and unique items  that would make the perfect gifts. Here are a few of my favorite items.

Global Mamas Headband- made in Ghana



Guatemalan Scarves- made in Guatemala

Pakko Tote Bag- made in India

*Compassion International is raising money to help send one of their children to the special olympics. Compassion Can represented Emilda's story so well. Please take time to read it! You will be blessed.

*For those of you who followed my series on The Persecuted Church, and especally the story of North Korea, Inside North Korea is an eye-opening documentary released by National Geographic. None of the information in the documentary was necessarily new to me, but seeing pictures and videos of the people behind the stories really shook me. It is hard to watch at points, but this documentary brings light to darkness that Satan would love to remain hidden.

*Conspiracy of Hope is raising money to support IJM and My Refuge House. Click here to help bring healing and restoration for the victims of sex trafficking.

I hope you will take time to check these things out!

God Bless,

Bitter Sweet

I just checked my Compassion account, and I found this:



My oldest child, Dilsly

This picture makes me happy because:
~ Getting new pictures always makes me happy
~ She looks so grown up and beautiful
~ That outfit was a birthday present from me
~ She has such a big smile
~ I love her

This picture makes me sad because:
~ She is so grown up
~ She is in her last year of sponsorship
~ This will be my last updated picture of her...ever
~ And I love her

I know that soon I will be letting go and trusting her into the hands of our Father (who has been holding her all along). It is a wonderful thing because she will be graduating college with her degree in engineering. She will enter the work force and likely marry (prayerfully) a Christian man.

And she will break the cycle of poverty in her family.

This next year I will be pumping her full of as much love and encouragement as possible. I will hold on to all the letters and pictures she has sent me throughout the years. And especially the day we spent together.

But still, I will miss her like crazy.

Man, this love thing is hard.



If you would like to break the cycle of poverty and become a sponsor for a child in need, check out Compassion International. A child is waiting for you.

One Reason to Become a Mentor

Being a mentor can turn everyday drab events, such as running errands, into laughter worthy, bonding experiences.

You never know when a simple thing may be a first time and exciting event for a child.

Such as going through an automatic carwash.

It's in these simple moments, just living life together in ordinary ways, that I have found the extraordinary.

God Bless,

Immersed

A few months back I shared about having a Mother's Heart. I shared that although I don't have any children of my own, God has blessed me with many children in my life.

Last week I was hanging out with some of the girls I have been mentoring for the last few years, and I just had an overwhelming sense of love for them. I felt love for them that I am sure parents feel for their children...so much that I felt like I was going to explode...so much love that I couldn't contain it.



Feeling that love for them just broke me. Have you ever had God break your heart for someone or something, and you are moved to continuously pray and long for them?



It is like that, but stronger than I have ever felt before.



I have loved these girls for years, and God broke my heart for the neighborhood they live in and the families who live there a long time ago, but last week God pulled me in deeper.



So deep I am completely immersed in God's love for these girls.

You Capture. Hands.

This summer at Youth for Christ one of our interns is leading a girls club. Each week she does a short Bible based message about being a woman of character, and then she teaches awesome and practical skills that most of these inner-city girls have never learned.

I have the honor of being her support and mentor for the summer, and have been blessed to sit in with the girls club every Monday and Wednesday.

Jackie is a Proverbs 31 woman to the core, and it is a beautiful thing to watch her share her time and skills with some of our junior high girls.




Over the course of summer she is teaching baking, sewing,




as well as some fun crafty things. This week the girls made picture frames.







I love seeing these girls being pushed each week to try new things. They really are stepping out of their comfort zones, and are so proud of their creations.

Yet another reason I love being part of Youth for Christ.

(please feel free to check out more photos from this week's You Capture)

You Capture. Fun.

To be honest, this week has been a really rough week. Between my grandma passing away, and having to say goodbye to many of my students who will be at new schools next year, I have been an emotional wreck. Because of this, I will have to cheat a bit for this week's You Capture.

When I think of fun, I think of Thursdays. On Thursdays I invest a little extra time with some of the students I work with through Youth for Christ. A couple weeks ago I took 2 of my girls to the park to fly a kite, which kids and kites are the funnest things ever.

These girls, Payeng and Dulce, have been part of my life for several years. They were very shy when we first started getting to know each other...



...but as time has passed it has been a blessing and a complete joy to watch them grow



into beautiful,



joyful,



and fun







young women.

Wow, I am blessed.