Banished to the Basement

January 5, 2013 by · 2 Comments

No, not really, but I knew that would get your attention. 😉

I’ve actually spent a good part of the day IN the basement, but that was by my own choosing. (But before you go feeling sorry for me, I have a comfy chair, a fleecy blanket, my laptop, and my awesome slipper boots that I hate to ever remove from my feet. Life is really very good with these four items. :))

AND my awesome husband gave me a wonderful, late-Christmas gift.

The afternoon off.

Yes, it deserved bold. I probably should have typed it all in caps, too.

I needed it. Between attempted book-writing, keeping up with the blog, staying connected with my Dream Team sisters, spending as much time as possible with Maelie, and trying to not bow out of regular life…I maybe think I almost, kind-of went a little crazy yesterday. Just maybe. (Though I’m positive I hid it very well.) Add to that the fact that the emotions have been running high this week, and well…enough said.

So we spent this morning together as a family…coffee, took our time getting out of the house, and then made trips to Hobby Lobby and Target to pick up a few things. (Side note: Yes, yes, I know that today was “Support Hobby Lobby Day”. However, I went there because I needed to get a few items, not because I’m into that whole thing. I mean, I support Hobby Lobby and AMEN to their courageous stance against the whole Obamacare fiasco, but I’ll go there anyway, not just on January 5th.)

Ok, ok, climbing down from my soapbox. Hee hee. 😀

Anyway, so when we came home, I temporarily much moved myself to the basement to get my head back together. I am pretty sure there were so many scattered pieces floating around in my brain by then that productivity would have been questionable had I not given myself peace.

I created for awhile. Thanks, Pinterest. I am now almost positive that if I continue at the rate at which I am currently going, my friends will never again need to purchase an accessory of any type.

That could make me cool. Or slightly obsessed. (I vote for the first. ;))

So between Mod-Podging (I love that verb…it SO belongs in the dictionary) and an extremely-overdue, hour-long chat with my Indo-friend, Becky, I managed to squeeze out two more chapters. The plan is one more tonight, and I will be on track to be half done with my rough draft by January 20th. Wowza.

Definitely a productive day.

Oh, and guessing you probably want to see what I created?

These.

They’re going to be on chains for necklaces. (Mod Podge just takes so stinkin’ long to dry that I haven’t finished yet.) And this is my first try, so they’re definitely not perfect, but I love this kind of thing. So the fact that I can make them now? Well, like I said, thanks, Pinterest. I really do heart you and the far-too-many, must-make options you provide for my creative streak. :)

So can I tell ya something?

Writing a book scares me.

I mean, the actual words to paper are the fun part for me. I love reliving the memories…it’s like they come alive in my heart all over again. :)

But there’s that part of me that wonders why my stories would matter to anyone else.

I know that’s fear and uncertainty speaking, but I gotta be honest. I’m terrified.

But I also know that God wouldn’t have opened some pretty huge doors lately if He didn’t want this to happen. And so I’ve got to trust (there’s that word again) that it’s all in His hands. Which I already know.

I just sometimes forget that little detail.

So I’m gonna head back to my rough draft and pound out several more paragraphs.

And, hey…if I don’t feel like much of a book writer tonight, at least I look like one. Guess who got glasses? (Translation: Guess who really needed to start wearing them again so she could see…I don’t know…across the room?! Slight sarcasm. ;))

But life IS much better without a headache. And when I can see. :)

Off I go…back to the book. Must. Write.

Happy Saturday to you…hope it was a good one.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, creating, Indonesia, just life, Maelie, Tobin, where I am, writing

2013: Dream

January 1, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Happy 2013!

If you popped over for my list of 13 in 2013 ;), I hate to disappoint you, but there’s not one.

It isn’t that I don’t believe in setting goals or having things to work toward. There are plenty of things I’d like to see happen this year. I just didn’t write them all down.

At least yet.

I’m trying to find more balance this year…and I’ll admit that I’m definitely in process.

We all are…all the time, but for some reason I just feel like I’m really in process right now.

I’ve decided that’s a good thing. :)

2013 is the year I get to write my book. Honestly, I’ve already written a good portion of it, but this is the year where it goes somewhere. That is, if God wants it to. And so a lot of my spare time…you know those moments between chasing a toddler and painting with watercolors and sticking stickers and rocking baby dolls…will be spent with words.

I wrote my life statement for the God-Sized Dream Team today.

Hmmm…

It was no small task. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time on one sentence. And between the scribbles and notes, I managed to come up with what I believe God is asking of me this year.

I believe God has created and called me to encourage and inspire others through words, stories, and lessons learned from the unexpected adventures that come from a journey of walking by faith.

At this time in my life, I feel that sentence best depicts the purpose of my book.

God gave me (us) an experience like no other when He opened the door for us to spend five years in Indonesia. That doesn’t make our experience, or our lives for that matter, any better than anyone’s, but those years did leave me with a few things.

Perspective.

Insight.

Heart lessons.

Laughter.

Deeper love.

…and more.

And my purpose in writing is to share some of what He taught me through the grit and the grace that abounded during those years.

And still continues today.

In trying to choose a word for 2013, I went through several.

I thought I was going to choose Rooted, a word that God continually seems to bring to my mind and my heart.

In the end, though, I chose Dream.

God has given me an incredibly opportunity to really pursue the dream of writing a book this year. He’s given me amazing friends and prayer support and a team of women who are each pursuing a dream as well.

Today is the first day of 2013, and again, as I do each day, I am giving my dream to God. I can plan all I want, write all I want, submit my book to as many publishers as I want…but in the end?

What happens is up to Him.

I trust Him and I’m blessed beyond words for the opportunity to

DREAM.

Will you come along for the journey?

And, today, my sweet friend, Holley Gerth, launched an e-book called The “Do-What-You-Can” Plan: 21 Days to Making Any Area of Your Life Better. It’s fantastic…I’m going through it right now. And today…JUST TODAY…the Kindle version is free! Head on over here for your free copy!


Sig

Filed Under: adventures, barefoot, blessings, encouragement, goals, God-Sized Dreams, Indonesia, just life, what I'm learning, where I am, writing

Those 12

December 31, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

This post should probably be otherwise titled, That Post When I Reflect Too Much.

However, I want you to actually read it. 😉

Exactly 364 days ago, I set some goals, which you can read here. (Or you can just scroll down, too.)

Time to see how I did! (And to look forward to all that 2013 holds…which I very much hope includes some brown and tan paint over some purple walls. Do I get bonus points for choosing the colors at least?)

Spoiler…oops. Sorry about that. 😉

Here we go!

1. Start…and finish…the canvas painting for Maelie’s room. Check. No drama here. I just painted it one Sunday afternoon, hung it on her wall that night, and that was that. :)

2. Redecorate our front living room. (The purple needs to go! Soon.) Well, friends, the purple still needs to go. We actually bought the paint in October, but between life and more life, the living room is still an unfortunate shade of purple.

3. Start an Etsy store so I can sell my jewelry. Ok, so I’m not selling jewelry. But selling hats on Etsy counts, right? 😉 

4. Take some kind of lessons…guitar, voice, djembe…still deciding, but leaning toward djembe. I went with guitar and started in April. It’s good…am learning a lot and even played a real bar chord, though it wasn’t pretty. :) 

5. Complete a marathon. (Edit…1/2 marathon.) Didn’t happen. Though a half marathon is on the list for this May, and then we’ll see. I don’t have any plans to run a full marathon yet…to be honest, though I love running, four hours straight of running does not really sound even remotely enjoyable. I think I need my marathon-running friends to give me a little push here. :)

6. Run a 5k in less than 30 minutes. This actually happened several times during the year, which was a boost. I broke 30 for the first time in May and am now running my regular 5k around 28:00 flat, give or take. My fastest clocked one was around 27:15…factor in a few stops for cars that don’t yield to pedestrians (or runners). I’ll take it. :) Would still love to hit the 26’s…we’ll see. :)

7. Continue blogging at least three times a week once January 24th has passed. Yep, got that one covered. :)

8. (Re)Learn how to sew and make a bag out of some of my Indonesian batik I still have. Nope. I thought about pulling out the sewing machine several times but never actually did it. I love to teach myself new things, but sewing scares me.

9. Finish the rough draft of my book, Lessons From Indo: On Life, Love, and Squatty Potties, and submit it to at least one publisher. Am late on this one, but the plan is to be done by May. Extremely grateful for the chance to be part of the God-Sized Dream Team…these women are such an encouragement as I navigate something that is really new. It’s one thing to write a blog…it’s a completely foreign place to write a book. Really praying it will happen in 2013!

10. Continue developing discipline in my life by spending time in God’s Word each day…whether two minutes or two hours. This one could be a post all on it’s own. I’m not sure why I even set this goal because for me, it was unattainable. Don’t misunderstand me…I love my Father and His Word. But, honestly, I didn’t read the Bible every day. I don’t know if that makes me a bad Christian or just an honest one. Maybe I’ll hash this one out more later. :)

11. Guest write for another blog at least once. (The Patch doesn’t count.) I didn’t pursue this one like I should have…I found myself most content just writing at my own place and linking up other places, which provided some new bloggy friends. To me, that’s worth it. :) But I do have a guest post coming out next month on (in)courage…not sure of the date but will let you all know when it’s up! This one, in particular, was really a blessing because one of the editors wrote and asked me if they could use something I’d written. I must be doing something right. Thank you, God. :)

12. Go on an actual vacation with Tobin (and no Mae) to celebrate our 10th. We stomped our feet (well, not really) through Marbella, Spain; Tangier, Morocco; and Paris, France. It was a crazy adventure, as all trips we take together seem to be. We missed Maelie, but it was good time to spend together, and we had a really memorable time. Spain gave us our time to relax, Morocco was an insanely crazy adventure that left me dying to go back and explore more, and Paris was a dream come true, complete with bread. (We even kissed under the Eiffel Tower!) 

It was a wonderful 2012, though not everything turned out as I had first pictured. In many ways, it was better.

Here’s to a wonderful 2013!

Blessings to each of you, and thanks for being part of my barefoot journey!

God is so Good.

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, blessings, family, goals, just life, Maelie, remembering, running, Tobin, travel, what I'm learning, where I am, writing

Collisions

December 30, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Is it bad to tell you that for the last week writing has been about the last thing I’ve wanted to do?

I especially felt guilty about that as I’d read the blogs of friends…they were all so inspiring and beautiful as each writer managed to take something profound from the birth of Jesus and apply it to life now.

I mean, it’s Christmas, after all. That’s when bloggers are supposed to pull out their best writing.

Not me.

And I suppose it’s not that way for everyone. It’s just how I feel. How I felt as I labored, literally, over each word in the last week, trying to pull beautiful out of seemingly nowhere.

And as I opened my laptop tonight, part of me just wanted to go to bed and do some more non-writing.

Which, I guess, is the opposite of writing.

Which makes me a genius for figuring that out? 😉

At any rate, yeah.

Life is just a strange collision right now.

In some ways, that’s not a diversion from the normal of life. There are always ups and downs, joys and sorrows, things that make me laugh and others that make me cry, times of being surrounded and times of loneliness.

I usually have no problem processing those things, but for some reason, it feels almost impossible to scribble out anything worth reading lately.

That’s why I post pictures like this one. Hey, when you have a cute little princess dancing for the camera, who needs words? 😉

But if I’m being honest, life is a mix of crazy confusion and big blessing right now.

I’m supposed to be in the thick of book-writing right now, and instead I’m wading through a swamp of doubt and fear and insecurity.

To be blunt…it sucks.

Not only does it just suck…but it’s suckING me down, slowly.

I’m questioning purpose, the right to dream, and if I’ve actually got what it takes to follow through. It’s discouraging, at-times depressing, and just feels…wrong.

It feels wrong to be even feeling those things when there are so many blessings surrounding me.

Because there really are.

Friends, family, community, church, sisters and dreamers…all good things. And there are so many more.

I know I am blessed, but I am also reminded that any journey toward a goal isn’t without challenges.

Most of you know that I’m writing a book with the goal of being finished by May. (I’m shooting for much sooner, but well see. :)) I could use prayer.

Prayer for focus…that I will keep my eyes on what I’ve set out to accomplish. And that I’ll keep them on my Father and what He’s asking me to do.

Prayer for balance…because I’m still a wife and mommy, and those two titles take precedence over “writer” each and every moment, as they should.

Prayer for wisdom…that God will guide my words and help me to speak Truth without being culturally offensive. (This is a big fear of mine because some of my writing deals with life in another culture.)

Prayer for love…that each word will be just that.

Thanks for reading my collision of words tonight. Blessings to you all as you close out 2012…can you believe it?! Time just zips by.

Love this quote I found today…maybe it will add some inspiration to your day, too. :)

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, being mommy, blessings, encouragement, family, friends, goals, God-Sized Dreams, just life, Maelie, prayer, Tobin, what I'm learning, where I am, writing

What He’s Doing

December 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Wowsers.

I love those moments when I hear His voice, loud and clear.

I know He’s talking to me.

I virtually-cracked open my Kindle today to read Jesus Calling. I’m not always disciplined enough to actually read it every day or even on the correct day, but it never, ever fails to give me a heart-pull. (And, random…I just saw that she wrote another one that came out a month ago. YAY!)

Sorry. :)

Anyway, so I’ve been kind of at odds with myself in the last week, battling through allowing myself to dream and letting my head somewhat-float in the clouds but at the same time being intentional about keeping my feet on the ground and enjoying all of the blessings God has given me now.

I think I’ve done ok.

But the real deal is beginning, and I have to admit to you that I’m scared.

Scared of failure, scared of rejection, scared of people thinking I can’t do it.

And I’ve known, as I’ve read through others’ candid thoughts over the last week, that I just need to kick this fear to the curb and trust Him.

It always goes back to trusting, doesn’t it? :)

That’s why I loved these words today. I hope they bless you, too.

“Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be. Your desire to live a risk-free life is a form of unbelief. Your longing to live close to Me is at odds with your attempts to minimize risk. You are approaching a crossroads in your journey. In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe.

Let me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid. Eventually, you will learn to relax and enjoy the adventure of our journey together. As long as you stay close to Me, My sovereign Presence protects you wherever you go.”

(From Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

So here’s to…Dreaming. Book-Writing. Learning More. Loving Better. Growing closer to my Father. Embracing Trust.

And, I’m sure, a whole lot more. 😉

Just where I am tonight…thanks for reading. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, encouragement, God-Sized Dreams, just life, what I'm learning, where I am, writing

This Beauty

December 6, 2012 by · 2 Comments

It’s been beautiful, this week.

Oh, my goodness. I don’t even know where to start and don’t really want to spill everything yet.

But y’all know that I’m on my way with my God-Sized Dream, and this week, I’ve spent some time connecting with 99 amazing sisters from all corners. It has been wonderful, beautiful, albeit time-consuming…but I am so looking forward to the journey we have begun and will travel together.

This week has been beautiful for other reasons.

Oh, some of that beauty has come up from the ashes. Like the kind where I crumple myself into a ball in the corner and cry my eyes out because I am so convinced at the time that I am an utter failure at mommyhood. (To be less dramatic and more honest…I will say that this very thing only happened once.) It just felt like the discouragement was dumped on me this week.

But in the middle of those moments there have also been times of surrender…times that make me wonder how I ever thought I could do this by myself. ‘Cause I can’t. Oh, God, I need You. Always.

I’m thankful for beautiful reminders…because my Father knows this journey of grace and where exactly He is taking me. 

I’m thankful for my beautiful daughter, too. Oh, we butt heads as mommy and daughter will. (Though it seems the head-butting started a bit early… ;))

But then we have moments like Tuesday night when she snuggled deep into my shoulder and we read Love You Forever. And she sang the song with me and it was one of my favorite mommy moments to date.

Or the morning snuggles I had with her earlier in the week when she kept saying, I love you, Mommy.

I never get tired of those words. Such beauty.

And, though Tobin and I struggled through this one, we’ve found beauty in waiting. That seems to be the theme of our life, and this week has been a test in patience and trust. We are hoping for an answer to that waiting soon…and trusting that no matter what, it will be beautiful.

Some days the road is paved with seemingly ugly and depressing, yet, I am so incredibly humbled by Grace.

I shudder when I consider life without it.

Of all the beauty in my life, that Grace is the most.

Thank You, Father.

Thank You.

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, encouragement, God-Sized Dreams, just life, Maelie, where I am, writing

Dreaming God-Sized Dreams

November 29, 2012 by · 8 Comments

All of us…in one way or another…have dreams.

Dreams in and of themselves are beautiful things. They allow our imaginations limitless boundaries to create ideal and perfect…full of hypothetical rainbows, daisies, and smiley faces. (Well, if you’re me. ;))

It’s when we take steps to turn those dreams into reality that they can sometimes become messy, discouraging, and full of valleys we’d never planned.

For five years, from 2005-2010, my husband and I gave our hearts to a country on the other side of the world. I talk about Indonesia now with fond memories, but to tell you that it was full of those rainbows at the time would be untrue.

During those years I saw my Father take me and painfully chisel away those parts that were getting in the way of His glory.

I saw huge disappointments that caused more grief than I ever thought possible, teaching me that my joy could not be found in what I had planned for my life…but in His perfect plan.

I saw Him take a woman who thought she had it all going for her and bring her to a place where she had nothing to give but what she had in His strength.

When our Indonesia life ended and we suddenly had this brand-new(ish) American existence, I started to write.

I needed to write.

The need to process became necessary for my emotional survival in a country that was mine and yet made me feel like a stranger. I wrote about everything…from learning to park a car again to the perils of choosing a salad dressing from the mile-long aisle, and from my disdain for wearing boots over jeans (which is hilarious now!) to the dozens of coffee creamer flavors I purchased just so I could try them all. :) I wrote about how hard it was to feel alone and the joy that came from a friend who came to find me, about a heart that broke from starting over again to a Father who redeemed broken and was the Giver of all givers.

It was good processing. More than good.

And as the words found paper and I allowed my heart to bleed, there was this little dream that crept in.

Or, maybe not such a little dream.

As God began taking my stories from Indonesia and weaving them into my now-life, I knew He was asking something of me.

Something that I’ve always wanted to do, but also something that takes Bravery. Trust. Surrender.

Which are kinda scary sometimes.

And I knew it was time to write…really write…that book.

I believe what happened next was completely of my Father.

I read this site often, but sometimes I miss a day or two. And for whatever reason, when I hopped over about a month ago, my eyes fell on this blog post.

As I read Holley‘s words, I felt this little twinge in my heart, the kind that God puts there to say, It’s time. Do it. Be brave. You’ve got Me, and I’m all you need.

So, I applied.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to be accepted. Oh, I hoped…like, a million times a day, but I tried desperately not to get my hopes up.

And when I opened my e-mail on that morning two weeks ago and saw a message saying, Congratulations! I’m thrilled let you know that you’re part of the God-Sized Dream Team!…well, I walked around with a completely-founded, silly grin for the next few days. :)

In just a couple of days I have the awesome privilege of joining a team of 99 women from around the world who all have a God-Sized Dream. For the next six months we’ll travel this road together…the one of taking our dreams, placing them in the Father’s hands, doing everything we can in His strength to realize them, and trusting Him completely with those hopes that passionately consume our hearts.

I don’t know these women or their stories, but what I do know is that we’re in a similar place of dreaming BIG…and trusting God with it all. I can’t wait to get to know their hearts and to walk this beautiful journey…one of letting God move as only He can…together.

It’s going to be amazing!

Over the next six months, I’ll be sharing more with you. What I’m learning, what He’s doing in my heart, and the way He’s changing me…I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

I really have no clue what to expect, but I know that there’s a reason…and I’m SO excited!

This is a chance to be brave, and I’m ready to step forward.

Thanks for your love and prayers, friends! You are each a blessing to this heart.

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, barefoot, blessings, just life, what I'm learning, where I am, writing

Five-Minute Friday: Voice

October 26, 2012 by · 6 Comments

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Voice

I have always loved music.

When I was a little girl, I would sing all the time…make up songs, sing along to my little Fisher Price cassette player, pound out tunes on my mini keyboard and sing along.

My singing voice was very important to me.

I remember my first solo when I was eight years old. I sang some song about a silly camel in our community children’s choir concert.

For a split second I was nervous, but once I heard myself through the microphone, I was all there.

I loved that I was being heard.

Granted, I was eight and very self-centered. More than just my singing voice has matured since then. :)

But the idea of being heard…of having that voice that people listen to…is still a desire.

This blogging community is a unique one.

Each of us use our voices in a different way…and while we won’t always admit it audibly, we want to be heard, just as I did the first time I stood in front of a microphone.

We want those readers and those comments and those people to say, Yes! I get it! I’m totally there with you! This is great.

But for many, these things don’t happen. We can’t all be the writer whose voice is heard by thousands…and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Each time I, or any other blogger, sit down to splash our hearts out, we are using our voices. Someone…somewhere…will listen.

Which makes my voice (and yours!) worth something, even if it’s not always as loud as I would like it to be.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Filed Under: Five Minute Friday, just life, music, remembering, where I am, writing

The Difference of a Few Words

September 26, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Several years ago when the book, The Five Love Languages, became popular, I read it.

As any emotional, feel-y female would be, I connected with the fact that Gifts was my love language. (Who doesn’t love a good gift?!?!)

But as I’ve spent much more of my time in the past few years writing and hanging with people, I’ve realized that Gifts actually comes further down the list than I once thought. My two love languages? Are really Words of Encouragement/Affirmation and Quality Time.

Especially words. We ALL need them, whether we admit it or not.

God has been challenging me in the last year or so to be intentional about using my words to build others up. That can be done in many ways…a blog post, a simple face-to-face conversation, a text, a phone call, a card.

In fact, I will shamelessly admit that I keep cards. So if you’ve ever sent me a little note or a card, I probably have it saved somewhere. :)

Words of encouragement have such a healing, uplifting power…at least for me. And for probably a lot of other people, too. :)

Dayspring recently sent me a free packet of cards…which I LOVE! (Thanks, guys! :)) They sent me the Colors of Compassion set, and as I looked through each one, I actually thought of several people that those cards were a perfect fit for. Someday…when a little word love is needed. :)

But there was one that caught my eye and challenged me to step out of my box. So, pardon me while I do a little storytelling. 😉

Two years ago, my family and I moved to Illinois from Indonesia. But between those two places, we had a quick six weeks in Minnesota and a teeny-bit of time to reconnect with our church from pre-overseas life. The church had changed quite a bit in five  years, though we still had several friends there. There was a woman there that I literally met in passing, and we had a few conversations during those weeks, but when we moved, I didn’t really keep in touch with her.

But I did read her blog.

And about a month ago, I caught up on it, and it made my heart bleed. She was going through some really tough things and was so open and honest about her struggles. I admired her courage for sharing the difficult and realized that, though I barely knew her, I could relate to a lot of what she wrote through the different seasons I’ve had in life.

But I had no idea what I could do. I said a prayer for her when I thought of her, and that was that…or at least I thought it was. Maybe our paths would cross again someday.

And then a few days ago I got a card in the mail. It was a completely unexpected, simple, I’m thinking of you note from a friend, and it made my day.

I thought about how much those few words meant to me at this particular time…and asked myself, Why don’t you just send her a note? The worst that can happen is she’ll never reply.

As I flipped through the stack of cards that I’d stashed in a drawer, I found the right one, wrote her a note, addressed it, and mailed it before I had time to chicken out.

I don’t know what will come of it, honestly, and that’s ok.. When I went back and thought about all she’d processed and shared with those who read her space, I realized she just needed some encouragement. Someone to let her know that there were prayers being said for her. Maybe a friendship will come of it, and maybe not, but either way…it’s all ok.

It was a chance to build up a sister-in-Christ.

I really hope it makes her smile. And reminds her she is Loved.

What about you? Is there someone you can encourage? Pull out your phone and send a text to a friend you know is struggling. Take time to jot a note to that friend you haven’t seen in ages but wish you could gab for hours over coffee with. Leave a comment on a friend’s blog just to say hey. (No subtle hints here, I promise. ;))

There are so many ways to make a difference with just a few words

Be blessed today, my friends. Love you all. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, church, encouragement, friends, just life, remembering, what I'm learning, where I am, writing

Compassion…Change a Life

September 4, 2012 by · 12 Comments

A few of you know that for several years, I’ve wanted to write.

That’s kind of been a bumpy road.

Finding a good fit for me has been hard. I wrote a few articles for a local online newspaper, but it wasn’t really my thing. (And I have a hard time sticking to a theme…hellOOOO! Just read the random of this place.) 😉

Several months ago, I decided that stressing over what might be next for me as far as writing (if there even IS anything) wasn’t worth it.

This blog is my space…my place. And in some very real ways, a piece of home. And so it’s where I’m staying. Just to do my own little thing.

However, one of my long-term dreams has been, for several years, to blog a trip for Compassion. For those of you unfamiliar with what that might entail, Compassion takes bloggers with them on their trips to visit sponsored children. Those bloggers are able to provide new perspectives because they are seeing and experiencing with new eyes and hearts.

I don’t make it much of a secret that I’d love to do that.

But that really can’t happen at the moment. For one thing, I have a two year-old girlie. My place is with her for now. And the bigger reason is they tend to choose bloggers who have higher amounts of traffic and comments. (That’s not a subtle hint. Or a not-so-subtle one, either. Just the facts. ;))

Last week I was browsing the Compassion site and came across something…

Want to blog for us?

Um, YEAH! (Pretty sure that was audible, though Maelie was the only one to hear it. :))

It turns out that Compassion is asking bloggers to write for them during the month of September to raise awareness and ask readers to consider sponsoring a child.

I can do that. In fact, I would LOVE to. :)

I can’t sit here and tell you that I understand the extreme poverty, hunger, and sheer need that these children face. Yes, I have lived near people very much in these circumstances.

But I have also never, ever been without. I have never been asked to enter in to the suffering experienced by so many children around the world. God has blessed me abundantly and given so much MORE than I could ever ask or imagine.

I honestly don’t know whose eyes see this. If my blog is anything like the many I read but don’t necessarily comment on, I could have a lot of readers.

Will you do me a favor?

First, leave a comment. I want to know you’ve been here. You can just say hi or tell me your favorite joke or compliment me on my awesome word usage. (Well, sometimes. ;))

Second, would you pray? For children around the world who are in life or death situations. Such a small amount of money each month would turn those situations around and give them HOPE.

Third, would you consider sponsoring a child? I can’t guilt you here. I can’t force it. Nor do I want to. But I can give you the opportunity to think about it. Pray and see what God might have you do.

I had this crazy, but super-cool, idea that it would be awesome if, through BarefootMel, I could get 100 children sponsored this month. (There are currently 3,108 waiting for sponsors. That’s a LOT!) All you have to do? Is click the button on my sidebar, pray through the children you see, choose one, and that’s that!

The lives of 100 kids changed forever. Or even MORE!

THAT’S something that can be done NOW. Love it.

I do want to point out that the blogger who gets the most children sponsored through his/her blog gets a spot on an upcoming Compassion trip as a blogger. That’s not why I chose to do this. It’s ultimately about seeing lives changed, and that’s what I want more than anything…just being up-front. :) But it would be pretty awesome to get to participate in a Compassion trip.

That’s all.

Oh! I almost forgot the best part…we have a new family member. :) His name is Putra, and he is a nine year-old boy from Indonesia. My husband and I decided we needed to finally put some walking with our talking. I have to tell you that I’m already in love, too. I can’t wait to share pictures with you!

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, Compassion, family, Indonesia, where I am, writing
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