The Package

This past year and a half, I have been seeking God's will as to how to serve Him in this next season of my life. I have prayed and asked Him to direct where He wants my passion and time. For quite awhile now He has told me to wait.


In the last few months, God has been revealing His plan and is calling me to step up. Now that He says it's time, I'm not very comfortable with it. How's that for willingness? Let me explain...


It's not the "what" that I'm uncomfortable with. I am humbled that He is asking me to step up and be a voice for wounded women and children; particularly in raising awareness and help for ministries that battle human trafficking. I'm thrilled to be able to educate and motivate American women on how they can make a difference in this issue. I relish the opportunity to knit the hearts of women to wounded women they don't even know. I think you know by now that I'm a bit passionate in this area. :) It's one of the places where my heart finds joy.


However, it's the "how" that I'm uncomfortable with. Let's rephrase that. It's the "how" that terrifies me. But in order to be a voice, that will involve using it. (Yep, I'm a quick one.) I'm not a shy person, I just don't like a lot of attention focused only on me.



Especially in relation to speaking. In fact, I get so nervous that I have to plan my wardrobe around it. (Now before you go thinking "Depends" let me continue...) I have this lovely attribute that when I feel intense emotion about something (excitement, fear, sadness, joy, embarrassment) I blotch. I get these ugly red splotches on my neck and chest. (It's happening at this moment as I am nervously typing this post!!) It's always been this way. If I could change one thing about myself- that would be it. I hate it. I hate it because I can't hide my emotions, and it draws unwanted attention. So, for years I have planned out my wardrobe to hide my neck depending on what may day would hold. I know, it sounds crazy, but it's a growing point. (whoo hoo for scarves being so in right now! :) )


I am not a speaker.


But God continues to give me opportunities to speak and bring awareness on this issue.



I am not a writer and am a "baby" blogger. Ihaveanamazingnatruraltalentwithrunonsentences. "I>am, quite, 'talented' with ?punctuation!abilities-and, grammar,' her said).



Yet God has directed me to help with several blogs for promoting the issue of human trafficking and to help raise financial support for battling this issue.



I have limited experience with the issue of human trafficking except for my trip to Thailand. I feel so inadequate to speak on behalf of these dear women and children. I have never experienced anything close to what they are facing. But I do have a deep love and burden for them. One that wakes me up at night to pray for the girls I met on my trip and the thousands more that I haven't met...yet.



I'll be honest, I'd rather share all this with you presented in a nice little package wrapped in a bow...years from now. Looking back with experiences and miraculous stories of how God has used and grown me despite my inadequacies.



But that's not what God is calling me to do today. He is asking me to show you the bare, plain package. The simple box that is open to being used, but struggling in the midst of it. Struggling with fears, insecurities, and pride.



I'd prefer that my package look like this:




It's vibrant, eye catching, not easily forgotten, fun, polished, and has a !wow! factor. It looks perfect. I bet it's even from TJ Maxx! ;)



But this is what He's calling me to be:



Simple, real, a little lopsided, completely open to being used; even with it's dents and tape residue. It came from the garage. It looks imperfect. It is imperfect. Yet it's ready to be filled.


If I'm speaking or writing, which neither are natural abilities, I want to look good. I want to be that beautiful package. I want to be liked. But what is my motivation behind that? Is is for my gratification, or to help give voice to the silent cries of thousands of women and children? Is it to glorify myself, or God? It better be for the right reasons, or there's no reason for it. I might as well be a clanging gong as it says in 1Cor. 13.






Eventually, I hope my package will be a combination of the two above. I want to learn skills that will help me in presentation, communication and motivating others to grow in their relationship with Christ. I hope to inspire others to find their role in the battle against human trafficking. Yet I want to continue to be open and authentic, knowing that all I am or will ever be is from Him and because of Him. I know that that is what really matters- because ultimately it's about the "who".

I think Lysa Ter Keurst(President of Proverbs 31 Ministries) sums it up best: "Saying yes to God isn't about perfect performance, but perfect surrender to the Lord day by day." (From the book "What Happens When Women Say Yes To God" If you don't own it- you need to!)


So, I'm entering this contest! From what I have read and heard about the She Speaks conference, they desire to give you the tools that will help you grow in speaking, writing, blogging, and leading. But they keep to the heart of it... God and walking in daily obedience and humility to what He calls you to do. Which I find unique in this type of a conference.

I also want to encourage you to enter the contest and check out more about the She Speaks conference here.

P.S. You all were such amazing prayer warriors during my trip to Thailand that I would love for you to pray with me on these issues also. Of course, I'm always up for a cup of tea, or talking on the phone to listen to your heart too.

Details from the heart

I loved the night of the banquet, not only because of the beauty in the details, but because of the beauty in the faces. It is hard to describe the impact that a night like this had on the girls. Or on any of us on the team. Thank you Lord for your grace.


The girls were dressed in their best! (One girl even made her dress out of some material that resembled aluminum foil- it was amazing- seriously!) They walked in a bit shy, but their faces lit up when they took in the room. They squealed over the tables, and goody bags, eagerly looking at the gifts inside!



I was struck by how crazy the girls went over the games. They loved them!! They were screaming and laughing. It was such fun. Later I was told that this is a typical response for women who have lived through horrible pain like they had. By playing these games, they are living out a childhood that they never had. Oh Jesus, continue to heal their wounds like only your love can do...



Becky McDonald shared through a translator how each one of us is the bride of Christ. That because of His death and resurrection, we can stand pure and holy before God if we choose to believe and follow Him. Many of these girls will never get married because of their pasts. You could tell that this truth of being Christ's bride really resonated within their hearts. Mine were not the only tears shed around the table that night.



Our evening ended with worship together in English and Thai. For the last song, we all took hands. I was already crying (as was my awesome table partner, Lauren- love ya, girl!) and this just put us over the edge!
I was told that the wait staff had been watching us all night, and that during that last song, they were all standing in the back holding hands as we were!!! One of the female hotel staff later commented that "we are the group that values women". Thank you Lord, that we were able to shine your love to more than just the women from the safehouses.



One thing I love about you, my bloggy friends, is how you have let yourselves get totally involved in my trip- in so many ways, so I know you can imagine with me what it was like to have to say goodbye to the girls at my table. It was hard. So hard.... I had prayed that God would use Lauren and I to give them a night that would be a healing balm over their wounds with the laughter and love we communicated.


I still pray that prayer.



I wanted to communicate with them my heart, so I asked one of the Safehouse missy's to translate for me. As I memorized their faces, I spoke to them how I had been praying for them for two years, and how blessed I was to meet them. I told them that I would continue to pray for them and that you, my friends, would be praying too. (cuz' I know I can count on ya! ;) ) I said that I love them, would never forget them, and that their stories would not go unheard.



Since our return, we have heard from the safehouse staff that one girl's response to the night was this statement, "For the first time in my life, I am glad to be a woman." This breaks my heart, yet I praise God that she was able to feel her value and worth that night. May it be the beginning of a healing process for her.



P.S. I love how the picture above has the shape of a heart in it! I didn't do anything to create that- just changed the colors of the picture! Cool, huh?

Little Jonah

If you haven't heard about this precious little guy, then click on the button and go visit him! This family needs our prayers and encouragement. When you go to his page, you can find a summary of his story on the right hand side (scroll down until you see the "about me" part).




This week I'll be posting some more stories from my Thailand trip. Also something fun...since garage sale season is upon us, I thought I'd do a little series to help you boost your sales! So, come back and visit!

It's all in the details!

~~~~~ UPDATE... I forgot to mention (details, details, I know... :0) that the theme of the night was "The Bride of Christ" which is why we had many elements of a wedding reception~~~~~



On the Thursday before we left Thailand, we hosted a banquet with 129 women from the safe houses! The purpose of this night was to pamper them, and show them their worth in Christ. This was my favorite part of the trip. I thought I would give you an overview of the details that went into this evening. Then, I'll come back and post on a more personal level about the night.




This picture makes me laugh! We prepared about 150 gift bags assembly line style. We each had a different item to load in the bags!



The hotel created this beautiful entryway into the banquet room! This and the next backdrop cost under $200 for both! I wonder what it'd be here in the States?



This was created to be a portrait backdrop. Each of the girls had a picture taken by the professional photographer (yeah Krista!) on our team. For security reasons, I cannot post pictures of the girls. Actually, none of us even took pictures during the banquet except the photographer. I took these before the girls arrived and after they left.





Here's Beth getting the tables ready. We became friends on the trip and she is now a bloggy friend too! Beth is a beautiful person and I'm thankful for her.



The table centerpieces. Look at how they tied the leaves- so fun!




I loved the bows on these chairs




Each of the girls were given a corsage to wear. You can also see a little wedding dress box- it is filled with rose shaped suckers and wedding bubbles!



These were the programs at the tables







Isn't this amazing? If you click on this picture, you can see my roomie standing by the stage. Above her head is our version of a pinata! We filled big gift bags with tons of goodies; tied them in tulle, and let the girls experience a pinata for the first time! You should've heard them scream!








Only the bottom layer of this cake was actually real!



Each of the girls went home with a bag full of fun stuff!



Can you tell we had a great time???



The toilet paper is from a game we played. Each table had to create a wedding gown out of toilet paper on a member of their table! Our table won for design. Woo Hoo!We were told we had an unfair advantage as our table was full of the jewelry designers! The girls loved this game!



When it was all done, we met to debrief and eat pizza as we were pretty hungry. The food at the banquet was high class, but hard for us Americans to swallow (pun intended :) ). Chinese food is exquisite there, so that is what Becky McDonald (the Pres. of W.A.R.) chose to have served. She wanted nothing but the best for the girls!Our meal included a whole pig. You start with the top layer and peel off the skin and eat it. Then they take it away- but it comes back in a different form and you eat the insides. We also had jellyfish, and shark fin soup. I didn't want the food to be an issue, so I just joined in and drank a lot of Coke as I ate!! :)



I hope this wasn't too much detail for you all!

Birthday Girl

I remember the moment, at 10:02 pm when the Dr. said, "It's a girl!!!" They put you up on my chest and I said to Daddy, "We have our little Emma!" (Because ever since I was in high school- way before the name "Emma" was much heard of, I had dreamed of having a little girl with that name). There were screams just outside the door as your Grammy, Grampy, and Aunties heard the news too!!

At that moment, we were crying at the beauty of you, and the miracle that life is. You were such a gift.

Today, we celebrate your 12th year. 12!!!! We can hardly believe it. And today, we are still moved to tears at the beauty of you. Not just your beautiful face, but more importantly your beautiful heart. Today we see the miracle in your spiritual life too. Your decision to follow Christ and allowing God's power to change your life and work through you. Today, although we will give gifts to you, you are the gift, Emmie. Happy Birthday, sweet girl- er, excuse me...young lady! We love you so much.

*******************************************************


In celebration of Emma's 12th b-day, she had a "Peeps-over" (sleepover) with 9 of her friends from school. They had lots of fun and I actually got a bit of sleep!

We started with a "Peeps" theme because that is Em's favorite treat! I was so excited to find this balloon on ebay!



This idea for filling the vase with Peeps came from the "All You" magazine.





We found these on clearance!!



We filled the goody bags with Peeps items from the dollar store, ebay, and Target's dollar spot!



Of course, there had to be a Peeps cake! Emma chose her favorite Oreo dessert over traditional cake.






Instead of gifts, Emma chose to have her friends bring a baby item for a friend of mine at our local Women's shelter who recently had a baby boy. Emma's friends were so giving and brought so many sweet gifts for him. Her generous friends disregarded "the rules" :) and brought Em gifts too!




We had fun with Peeps fondue!





I am not sure what occurred more...giggling or eating Peeps!

Almost as cute as my kids!

My mom sent me this in an email this morning, and I had to post it. If you've already seen it, you know how adorable it us. This is definitely a day brightener! Aren't they just the cutest???

Keepin' It Real

~A little break from Thailand stories- but for those interested, more will be coming!~


For a while now, some of you have asked about the picture on my blog header, and I've been over due in telling the story behind it. Thank you for your kind comments.


Last Fall, I wanted to get our pictures taken, so I checked out several photographers. I was about to make an appointment, but I had been pursuing photography and thought why not save the money, and take them myself? (Yeah, really smart idea- taking your family photos with yourself in the picture). I'm a little stubborn...well, okay, a lot stubborn, and once I get an idea in my head- I get a little determined. So, I scoured our town for a spot to take "the shot" I was looking for. Once I found it, I convinced my dear hubs that this was going to be great (!) wrestled up my family, got us all ready, and drove to our location.


Now I love capturing moments, and really love taking pictures of my kids. Usually I go for much more natural shots, but I was looking for something very specific here.


But the whole family- by remote- with me in it, trying to get that "perfect" shot with limited knowledge of photography? Well, this was a whole other ball game that I really shouldn't have been playin' in.


So, it was a miracle that we got one! It was freezing that evening and the light was fading fast- but I was stubborn determined. I can't tell you how many shots I took trying to get just the right one while working with the remote! Also, I was not very patient with my kids that evening- I was yelling at them between shots as they ran helter skelter and were growing impatient with mom and another of her "photo shoots" :). I think I remember saying that I was never going to photograph our family again (can we say attitude problem?).


Just before each shot you would've heard me say something like this: "Okay guys, everyone hold hands and walk forward- slowly...Ethan stop pulling on your sister's arm, everyone look at dad and don't pay attention to the camera... Eth, bud, please stop dragging your shoes..now everyone act natural..."(insert comment; ridiculous statement here)...Then click. click. click.


I went home and looked closer at the pictures and Chad and I laughed at one of the images I caught. (Which is the blog title picture). I absolutely love this one because it really does show their personalities!



So here's Emma and Audra doing exactly what I asked them to do... smiling... looking at dad... perfectly posed.












Next comes Ethan:
He's been around our family block enough times to know what mom and dad expect of him, and to know what he can get away with.
His body is with us, his head partly, but his eyes are telling a different story- he's checking out what's going on with the camera. He's trying to scam his way with a 3/4 body language, "I'm in this mom... " And it worked, because I didn't notice until I looked at the pictures!









And then there's Elliana. You know that phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words" ?? Scroll down~

















Fully doing her own thing and fully confident in it!!! Look at that smile and body language! If you look back at the original picture, you'll see she's one step ahead of us all. Watch out world ;)








P.S. Since we're keepin' it real here, I'll tell ya that I was really going for a picture of us walking away from the camera. I did get that shot and like it, but well, let's just say I wasn't wearing the jeans that have the best "pocket placement" if you get what I mean...oh, vanity!

Unbelievable!!!

Wow. Wow. Wow! It is so fun to watch God work! 130 women came out for the jewelry event last night!!!! We cried, laughed, cried, ate great chocolate (thanks to our truffle making ladies), and shopped! And boy did we shop! I am blown away by the amount raised...drum roll please ... estimated at an amazing $4,200!!!!!!!!!! With the economy in Michigan the way it is, we've got some very generous women! Wow. Wow.Wow!

I was pretty nervous about speaking, but God showed Himself faithful and gave me such peace. I even enjoyed it a bit! :) I had a couple people ask about doing this in their circles/churches. Oh boy... I am willing , Lord, but certainly feel you could find a more eloquent servant. May you be magnified through my weaknesses.

Thank you to all who came out, served and prayed for this night. It was a huge success, and I pray that God would continue to move hearts to action. What a blessing it is to be part of His work.

And look at this picture...there are so many shoppers, you can't even see the tables!!


It touched my heart that 5 of my team mates from the trip came out. It was such fun to see them again! (Many others wanted to come too, but schedules or location didn't permit. But I know they were praying!) Pictured L-R: Tina, me, Laura (my roomie on the trip) Sherri and Lora. Amanda was there too, but she left before we took this picture. Thanks ladies for coming!





P.S. I thought you'd enjoy the truffle recipe. Who doesn't love a chocolate dessert that is beautiful and easy to make? (It does take a little more than the 15 minutes prep time though) And guess what? Because they are so small, they hardly have any calories!! ;)

Simply Sensational Truffles Recipe Rating: Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 1 hr 15 min Makes: 18 servings, 2 truffles each

2-1/2 pkg. (20 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened Decorations: chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts, multi-colored sprinkles

MELT 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

SHAPE into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

MELT remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.