Day 151

Today has been joyful. I have been more than encouraged with the comments, e-mails, and messages. & i have a really good feeling we will be up and running again soon. I hope you are as excited as i am.

Also, on a side note: my baby niece is due any day now. you'll probably see her on the blog everyday for the rest of my life when she arrives. this is your first warning.

Day 150

Today has taught me:
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1

Day 143-149

I was partly avoiding posts this week because lately it has felt a little discouraging. As you can probably tell, things have been going slow around here, and maybe even not at all. For the last two months we have not been able to take donations, which has made things a little hard. But i have good news for you!

Firstly, thank you for your patience and all the love and encouragement that has been sent my way. I'm continually overjoyed when someone tells me they've been praying for the project and for these children that are so dear to my heart. These past weeks have brought a whole new meaning to what this project means to me personally. A change of heart and a better understanding of faith.

(drum roll please)I was updated yesterday and found out the current total is $1921.36. Donations will be up and running again soon as well!

If you have prayed for this project, for me, or the children, i want to say thank you. Your words are being heard and appreciated.

Day 142

Hello and happy weekend!

I am making my way to the ocean today.

I'll come back with stories, and love, and maybe a poem. I hear it's an inspiring place.

See you in a few days. 

Day 141

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

Day 139 & 140

 If you don't already know, i'm getting worse and worse at this blogging thing. I'll stop making false claims of getting better now. It's highly unlikely.

On a serious note: i haven't said anything about it in a while, but we are still at a loss regarding donations. Saturday, a little girl told me she was saving money for the children in Jinja. My heart melted a little as i whimpered out a small 'thank you'. It was a reminder that even though some things have come to a halt,  i can continue to wear my LBD everyday and know it's for a much bigger reason than i intended.
Know that if you are praying or saving, your love is not going unnoticed.

Day 138

“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen.

 -Craig Groeschel, It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It

Day 137

Both joy and sadness have been taking place in life these past few weeks.
I'm joyful because of a man named Jesus. I'm joyful because i have a family to wake up to every morning. I'm joyful because i'll kiss the ocean twice this year. I'm joyful because i have a mom that cooks. I'm joyful because i have the privilege to meet the Redeemer House children in the Winter.
Yet, the world is full of chaos. It has been since forever. But i'm starting to realize it more and more. Shootings, bombings, crashes, political unrest, killings, hurricanes..the list goes on. And with these hard times, God is teaching me to pray. Though i may not be able to help those suffering first hand, prayer can be just as great, if not better. Even though i am 3000 miles from Boston, i can pray. Even when earthquakes hit, i can pray. Even when disaster floods Texas, i can pray.
Despite the danger and heartache that this world has to offer, we can all do our part one way or another. Maybe it's your town or community being burned, or maybe you on the other side of the computer screen. Wherever you are, just know: we are all doing our part to help. God is sovereign and hears the prayers of his children. He's holding the mess together and comforting those who suffer.

"What do we do when the world is on fire? We help put it out together. And we pray for Rain." -Elizabeth

Day 136

"He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength." -Isaiah 40:29

Day 135

A letter to Redeemer House:

I love you, even though sometimes you seem so so far out of reach.

I thought about all of you today. What it will be like to spend day after day with you. What it will be like to just laugh, and sit, and sing, and hug, and dance, and play, and pray, and love. Just love. I can't wait. But today,

it's like loving a million little hearts i've never even held. And it hurts a little at times.

Because you have never put your small hands in mine.
Because i know you pray for me and i pray for you, but we have never whispered prayers to each other.
Because you are so very special & i just haven't met you yet.

But i am reminded that love isn't always returned with a touch or smile. Sometimes you can't see it, but you know it's there. All the way across the oceans.

I still wait. I still love.

-tandy

Day 134

"We don’t love people in order 

to have 

great stories of happy endings.

We love people because 

God loves them, 

and that is reason enough."

-Elizabeth, Lark & Bloom

Day 133

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a person being 

themselves. Imagine going through you day being unapologetically 

you.| 

Steve Maraboll

Day 132

Day 131

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

-Romans 8:38-40

Day 130

I think we all can argue that 'our mothers are the best in the entire world'.

Mine makes a mean lemon meringue pie, and has a green thumb when it comes to gardening. My mom is a pro at matching socks after five children. She can cook a meal for fifty, or use all the leftovers no one wants to eat in the fridge.(and make them taste good) My mom can win your mom in a 5k. My mom can navigate her way through an entire different country..and never get lost.

I could keep going, but before this my mom/your mom fight gets out of hand, i just want to say:

I have been realizing this week, that i am a lot like my mom.(minus the green thumb. i kill anything i try to keep alive.) And as i have been growing up, i am so happy and proud and glad to be able to say that now. She has taught me what life is all about as a women. I could say thank you a million times, but not even that would be enough.

My mom is pretty great, and i guess that means i'm gonna be pretty great too.

Day 128 & 129

I apologize for no warning. I've been away the past weekend visiting some schools with my family.
We made our way across Oregon to California and back up to Oregon in a span of three days. Doted over mountains & the ocean & sleeping outside. I think my dress has dirt permanently intertwined in it now, and it's starting to feel a lot like summer.

Happy may!

Day 127

Happiest Wednesday to you!

Day 126

“God reminded me how beautiful we all are to Him, after all, we were created in His own image, and He looks at me, at you, in all our sweat and dirt and brokenness, and says, "I choose you. You are beautiful.” 
― Katie J. Davis

Day 125

Day 124

Before this project, i was content.

With my life,

my Lord.

It was hard stepping over the line into a place that was a little uncomfortable. I was filled, and loved, and at a pretty amazing place. 

But who was i to 'stay' put.  More than ever now, i am learning that growth needs to happen continually. We may have just conquered mountains and crossed rivers. But there is more. There are plans that the Lord has made that we can't even comprehend for ourselves. And all He's asking you to do is surrender. 

Day 123

because i didn't snap a photo of anything other than these trees.^^

Day 122

I've been really bad at this whole blogging thing lately.

Day 121

It's weird tagging posts with the month of "May." We are almost halfway through. Can you believe it?
Here are three things on my heart this week:

01. I've been e-mailing some sweet ladies these past months about starting there own projects like this. It has made me so happy to see woman stepping up and asking questions. Stepping out into the uncomfortable. But most of all, it's made me realize if I had sat around praying all day for God to make it clear whether or not this was a crazy idea, or what He wanted me to do next, I’d probably still be in the same position i was last December. Doing my part, but in all honesty, doing things for me.

You don't need a sign or an answer to pray to do something loving for someone else. It's nice to have direction, but if you are stuck, are waiting, just go. Just do something. For the sake of someone else, do something to show them Christ's love.

Have a little faith. It's what allows God to be God.

02. I appreciate people more than ever. (I appreciate you.)

03. "The comic book heroine feeds a woman’s desire to save the world in her own strength, but the real wonder woman lives for Jesus’ glory." -Marci Turner

Day 120

C.S. Lewis said, "Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’: aim at Earth and you will get neither."