Saturday, December 21, 2013

Christmas Cards: Special Delivery {Where the First Donation is Headed!}

When I saw Tom’s post in a facebook group that I am a part of, I knew this was one of needs that the Christmas cards would help meet.

His post is below:

Let me tell you about Margareth - she was one of the nannies at the orphanage, at God's Littlest Angels. Her 5 kids range in ages from 13 down to 6. Her husband was killed in the earthquake in 2010, so she's been a single parent of five since then. Oh and her younger brother (in his twenties and still in high school) has been living with them as well.

This past weekend, Margareth passed away. Did she die of some deep dark incurable disease that not even Mayo Clinic could cure? No, she did not.

She died of high blood pressure.

Yes, if she had the medical care that those of us in the first world have, she would still be alive.

Her five children wouldn't be orphans.

And her 22 year old brother wouldn't be left trying to not only finish school but grieve the loss of his sister and care for 5 kids, ages 13, 11, 10, 8 and 6.

And the kids wouldn't have to go through the trauma of first losing their dad in the earthquake and then losing Mom.

Tragic on so many levels.

And they can't even do a proper funeral because they don't have $1,000 to cover the burial costs.

Would you consider a gift to help the family out? We'd like to raise $2,500 by tomorrow to cover both the $1,000 for Margareth's funeral and also $1,500 to cover the rest of the 2013-2014 school year's expenses so at least they don't have to worry about that.

~~~

When I read that, I just cried. I cried at the tragedy of it all. I cried for that brother, now care-taker of those children. And I cried for those children, who have lost not one, but both parents.

A few short hours after reading his post, I knew in my heart that $300 of the total card profit was going to help this hurting family.

And do you want to know what happened?
The next day, my friend Tom posted again and told the group that through their generosity (and the giving of others outside of the group) they were able to cover the funeral costs, the remaining school fees, AND some of next year’s fees as well.

See a need, meet it. Hear about a need, meet it. All of it. Some of it. Whatever you can- no, whatever God says. (Because sometimes it’s more than you think you can possibly do!)

This, this, is really living out the faith we claim we have.

Be on the lookout for another post about where the remainder of the Christmas Card profit is going because, yes, you are STILL scooping up the last few cards!




"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means 
caring for orphans and widows in their distress and 
refusing to let the world corrupt you." 
~James 1:27






To read more about God’s Littlest Angels and the beautiful work they are doing in Haiti, click here.
To make a donation to God's Littlest Angels,  click here.

Monday, November 25, 2013

{The Post that Never Really Ends?}


So many thoughts running through my head. So many tears lately. Tears for children with no parents or pajamas to wear to bed. Tears and an aching for fullness. 
Tears and a very clear sense of purpose, the creed by which I will live: I was put on this earth to fill bellies with food, voices with laughter, faces with smiles, and souls with Jesus- the LIVING water.

The motto is great, but actually living it is another thing entirely. See, I’m a detail person. I really can’t control it. So immediately I think: When? Where? How long? With who? What can I do right this second?

I am learning this though: God rarely gives a roadmap. Most times, it’s a blindfold. He takes my hand and says, Will you just trust Me? 

I don’t know when.
I don’t know where.
I don’t know who.
I don’t know how.

But I will take a deep breath and let Him tie the blindfold. I know that I can walk unafraid because He is not only with me, but my hand is in His and He leads. 
I follow Jesus.

Of this I am certain: There is work to be done. I saw it. I saw the clan of kids walking by the dirt pit, going to the bathroom on the side of the road because they have no toilet. I met the girl who saw her mother die in a ditch that was their home, father long gone. Orphan. I saw kids with no shoes and no hope. I met the cutest little kiddies who are six, but look three because they have been malnourished all their lives. 

I wish I was making this up, but I’m not. And maybe you’ve heard this all before or even seen it yourself, but maybe you’ve forgotten. Maybe you’ve forgotten that in all of our reaching for the coolest stuff and waiting for the newest gadgets- we’ve missed it. Maybe you’ve forgotten that these are real people. Can we really afford to ignore their cries? 

It makes me literally sick to stomach when I think of our complaining, gossiping, greed. . . and our total apathy for the cries of the alone, hurting, hungry, and broken. 

I sat down to write about something completely different, but I can’t. 
I just can’t shake this. 

Someone’s gotta speak up about the selfishness.
The cost of that coat at that store would provide a child with clothing, food, clean water, shelter, and schooling for almost 60 days...?

There’s no nice, clear way to end this post.
And that bothers me.
So I hope it bothers you too. 
I hope you keep thinking about this over and over.

And to be honest, I kind of hope the words on this screen eat at you, like they eat at me. 
I hope they expose some things that maybe you’ve pushed away or ignored. 

Then, I hope you do something. 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Your Paycheck {Why You Might Not Want This One}



"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
 in Christ Jesus our Lord."
~Romans 6:23

Powerful and humbling. Think of this: We all sin. 
Sin's paycheck is death. 
(This isn't looking so good..) 
If the payment for sin is death, and we've all sinned, then the only thing that we all deserve is death. But, that word "but" changes everything. The gift, the GIFT, of God is eternal life. He gives the gift of salvation freely to anyone who will open hands and heart and humbly give thanks for the precious gift we obviously do not deserve.

I wonder to myself, Can it really be that simple? Is God that good that He would really just give eternal life to anyone? And I know that the answer is YES! YES! YES! 

Yes, He is and yes, He does. Since He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, He can cancel sin's paycheck, our paycheck, of death- and give us gifts!

The best gift of all? 
The One and Only God gave 
His One and Only Son, the most valuable of all gifts. 

I open hands and heart and utter a quiet "Yes." 
Yes, I am a sinner, dirty, deserving of only one thing. But, there's that word again, BUT, He gives His Son on that cross- the one I deserve to die on- and He takes my place. He gets thorns into his scalp and whips on his back and nails hammered through his hands and feet. He gets spit in his face and mocked and beaten and betrayed and killed- death- for me. In my place. And I'll never be able to earn eternal life, but I can open these hands and heart, not to be pierced with the nails and betrayal, but to receive this gift of salvation. His love- the deepest, widest, highest, wildest, most wonderful love of all.

I'm the one who should be locked in prison, burning forever, but His great gift saves me and cancels that paycheck. He offers me freedom. I'm so thankful for that gift and all gifts that my Father gives. I will not just give thanks, but live thanks. I will live thanks to God who didn't "withhold His own Son" from me (Romans 8:32).

How could I ever tire of this thanksliving...


Feel free to comment below and express your thanks to Him, who gave His very Son.. for you!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Compassion... Christmas?


I don’t remember the day, but it came, the day I stopped dreaming. It just sorta happened. Before I even realized it, I was content with putting God in a box. He can only do so much, you know.

I know the stories- Abraham, Moses, David, Esther- people who did amazing things with God. The problem is though, that my focus was always on what the people did. So I thought, Not me God. I’m not quite right for this.

Turns out, my eyes have been on the wrong person all along. See, it’s not about what they did really. It’s about God. Isaac was spared by God’s mercy, the waves parted by His hand, the giant went down by God’s power, and a people group were blessed because of His favor. Without God, these awesome things wouldn’t have even happened.

I don’t remember the day, but it came, the day I started dreaming again. It just sorta happened. Before I even realized it, God was standing on the box. He can do whatever He wants, you know. So He does. He does some crazyawesomeinspiring things. Suddenly, I’m asking Rebekah for her photos and putting them on Christmas cards. I was clicking and confirming and a couple hundred cards were arriving.

See, I know it’s easy to forget, but God commands us to live our lives with compassion. Painful, messy, lovely compassion.

This Christmas I am practicing this living compassion. I’ve chosen not to accept gifts this year. An unconventional sacrifice. Instead of giving me a gift, just give something, anything, to someone who really needs it. I'm not doing this because I want a pity party, a pat on the back, or my name in the paper- but because the only thing I need and want cannot be bought. 

Because when everyone is opening their gifts, hearts feeling full, 
I want mine to feel full knowing that someone truly in need, received.

There are hungry children- dying hungry- right now.
There are thirsty children-dying thirsty- right now.
There are orphaned children-dying orphans- right now.

And I don’t think they're praying for a wii or an $80 coat… 
they just want some love. 
They just want someone to wrap their arms around them and tell them that they are a gift, infinitely more valuable than any possession.

Christ spoke and this Christmas it’s all about compassion.
To find out how you can get in on this compassion movement, click here.

Compassion... Cards?


First off, thank you thank you for your interest in this adventure of mine. When I came back from India in July, my heart was so broken by what I saw and I was so anxious to do something.

With a little work and the help of a friend and amazing photographer, Rebekah Yeretzian, this idea of selling cards to spread compassion came to life.

That’s what it’s all about for me. Compassion. So together, Rebekah and I have created Christmas cards to sell this year, all the proceeds to go to missions projects around the world. We are still deciding where these proceeds will go specifically so keep an eye out for that :) 

My thing is this:
There are hungry children-dying hungry- right now.
There are thirsty children-dying thirsty- right now.
There are orphaned children-dying orphans- right now.

I may not be able to go to each of them, hug and love each of them in person, but I can do something. And you can too.

It’s simple. Buy a card, a couple cards, whatever you can- and find that you are living compassion this Christmas. To find out how I’m trying to radically live compassion this Christmas, click here.

There’s no guilt trip. No begging. No company name, logo, and statement of faith. 
You buy them, you give them, and together- we live compassion as Christ commands.

Who knows what crazyawesomeinspiring things God will do?!





Want to purchase some cards and spread the compassion?

Single card: $2
10 pack (candle design): $20
10 pack (winter scene): $20
10 pack (blue ribbon): $20
20 pack (assorted): $40

Details:
Envelopes included.
Deliver locally- free.
Other- shipping & handling fees may apply.
Cash or check only.

Message me on facebook or e-mail nessabarnes0041@gmail.com (with subject line “Christmas Cards”) if you’re interested!



Here's a peek at the covers of each of the three designs!






"Winter Scene"



"Blue Ribbon"







"Candle Design"

Thursday, August 29, 2013

{How Do You Title Your Heart's Cry?}

It's after midnight and I'm up writing.
Why? Because I have to. Because I think I finally found some words.

In July, I went to India. Two and a half weeks. Thousands of miles. Different time zones.
And somehow, during all that, God was working on me.

When I came home, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE asked about my trip. I told them how great it was and if they had time, I'd tell them about the traffic (which was insane) or about what I did while I was there. I was happy to tell them, share what I had experienced.

Here's the thing though: I said the trip was great, which it was... but what I really wanted to tell them was how heartbreaking and heart filling it was too.

I just don't know how to put into words what I saw there-
the brokenness, the sadness, the longing...

Whenever I close my eyes, I see those four girls. We sang a silly ABC song and did puzzles and took photos and played Duck Duck Goose and giggled all messy, laughter spilling and eyes twinkling. Whenever I close my eyes, I see all those kids walking home from school barefoot so they didn't ruin their only pair of good shoes on the extremely muddy road.
Whenever I close my eyes, I see the kids lined up, waiting to for a single piece of Juicy Fruit gum. They smiled big and said, "Thank you Aunty."
Whenever I close my eyes, I see that girl with the two braids, holding up that marker we gave her, saying, "Excuse me-what is this?"

Sometimes I lose sight of it for a bit. I fool myself into thinking that other things (like waxed eyebrows and a shirt that lays just right and a room that's not too hot or too cold) are more important. My tank top shrunk in the dryer and I step in a huge puddle on the ONE day I actually wear sneakers and I flash back. I see girls running to the rooftop to grab their few items of clothing before the rain starts pouring, soaking them all over again. I see the kids with no shoes and big, flashy smiles, walking through trash-filled mud puddles.

And sometimes when I'm driving home from work or church, my heart starts beating heavy and I can feel my throat tighten and I try to blink back the tears. I don't have to close my eyes to remember how her eyes looked. There was such a hollow-ness, such a longing, such an intense sadness... it was unlike anything I had seen before. I'm told that she has become withdrawn and stubborn, refusing to sing along with the others. And I wave for her to come over to me. She walks to me that day and plops on my lap a few days later and I fix the crooked clip in her hair. She writes some of her letters for me with her broken piece of chalk. I help her write the rest. And by that Sunday, she's up with the other kids singing and smiling and being silly as ever.

I can't unsee those things. I can't forget the pain and brokenness. And I don't want to.
I also don't want to ever get to a place where I forget that there are children out there with no one loving them. There are children out there, dying because they're hungry and there's just no food. There are children smiling, even though they have nothing..and why do we think that we can only be happy when we have stuff? I don't ever want to get to a place where I'm not moved with compassion to DO something!

Jesus tells us to love our neighbor like we love ourselves and to feed the hungry and mourn with those who mourn and whatever we do to the least of these...

And if we're honest... We love ourselves more than anything and we don't even think about the starving people, let alone feed them. We send a card to the one who is mourning and maybe send flowers, but we rarely send ourselves. And the least of these? We close our eyes or roll them, we walk away, we laugh, and we maybe give some loose change so they'll leave us alone, but we never think to invite them to have lunch with us or even tell them about Life-Changer named Jesus.

We are so far away it seems.

And the tough question we have to ask is this: If we are not living as Christ commands, then are we really living at all?

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

What I'm Not Taking With Me on My Trip

This post has been a long time coming. Even now, it's hard to find the words.

For some reason, fear and faith always get compared.
Fear on one side of the scale, faith on the other.

You hear people say, "Oh, let your faith be bigger than your fear."
And that's great. But, if we're really honest, it's not that easy.

When I think of faith, I think of belief. A belief in something or someone.

When I think of fear, I think of ...

fear of failure
fear of looking weird
fear of being wrong
fear of being alone
fear of being unhappy
fear of losing
fear of heartbreak
fear. of. everything.

I lived fear. I let it tie a leash around me and lead me wherever it wanted to take me.

Here's the thing: All this fear wasn't taking me anywhere I wanted to go. It wasn't taking me anywhere, actually. Only deeper and deeper into it's own pit. Worry. Pride. Anxiety. Doubt. Control. Those things live in the pit too.

I have faith that God really can do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can think or imagine and I'm ready to live like it. I believe that He has a life for me that's crazy and awesome and inspiring and all for His glory.

Seriously though, I'm done with the little box, the safety net, the comfort zone. I'm done living like He owes me something or has to work according to my standards and limitations. See, God doesn't owe me anything; rather, he owns me. I live for Him. Faith may be considered a noun, according to the dictionary, but I'm going to think of it more like a verb. Because faith in God moves us into action. 

That's why I'm about to head on a trip to India. Not because God can only use me if I'm in a foreign country, but because He opened the door and said "Go." So I am. And you may not believe me, but for the first time (ever I think) I am not afraid. I have no idea what I'll be doing besides serving and loving and letting Christ be seen in me. And I'm okay with that.

And here's why: Fear is NOT the boss of me. (That needs to be read in the voice of a slightly annoying, but very determined five year old.) I'm not it's pet anymore. I'm not in that pit. 

So I'm all packed for my trip. However, there are a few things I won't be bringing with me.
They're heavy and bulky and awkward and demanding and I'm throwing them away.

 

Ah, that's better. Tough, but much better. Now I can be who I am called to be, do what I am called to do, and live radically for Christ. 

Will I be afraid again? Yeah, probably. But I'll take a deep breath and remember that Christ lives in me and fear is not my boss.