Christmas Cards: Special Delivery {Where the Second Donation Is Headed!}

So I have been promising to tell you guys where the rest of the Christmas Cards money is going, but I couldn’t because you were still buying them even after Christmas had passed.

First, I want to say:

Thank you.

Rebekah, I know I told you a billion times already, but I can’t stop saying thank you because you took the idea from my head and made it a complete reality. Your photography is amazing and you are too. I am honored to call you my friend and I look forward to the inspiring things that God will do in your life.

To all of you who helped me get this started, especially my parents and Julia, who listened to me babble when this was just a crazy idea in my head. Thank you.

To all of you who prayed and offered your advice, I believe you made the difference. Thank you. 

To all of you who purchased cards or donated, whether it was 50 cards or just one, you made a difference. Thank you.  Rebekah and I, we didn’t keep anything for ourselves. We just gave. You gave.

I think this is what is the coolest: We use our gifts (that are God-given) to create, you bought cards to give as gifts, and the money from the cards was used as a gift to those who are truly in need. It’s just this twisted and beautiful little web of giving gifts.

Okay, so the remaining proceeds, which totaled over $550, were donated to a wonderful organization called Rehema Home.

I first heard about this home in a Facebook group (shout out to all the #DreamBuilders!) and I was touched by the work that they are doing in Kenya. 

Caring for orphans, meeting needs, 

letting God’s mercy change the lives of all those beautiful children.

A team from the States is going to Kenya this Spring and the proceeds from the Christmas Cards will go to help fund a project for the team to complete while they are there. They will give us an update after it’s completed so you can all know what project it accomplished, so you’ll just have to stay tuned! :)

It’s hard to believe that this round of Christmas Cards has come to a close. It’s hard to believe that over $800 has gone to bless orphans in Haiti and Kenya. It’s hard to believe that God chooses to use us to accomplish this stuff, but He does.

I just have one last thing to tell you guys: Give. Please do it. I’m not doing anything crazy. I just am trying to do what Jesus says and He says GIVE. It may cost you- time, money, sleep, tears- but give. 

God set the ultimate example for us, by giving His Son for us. 

Now let’s be givers too.

To read more about Rehema Home and the beautiful work they are doing in Kenya, click here.

To make a donation, click here.

“Live creatively, friends. 

If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, 

saving your critical comments for yourself. 

You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. 

Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. 

Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. 

If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.” 

~Galatians 6:1-3, The Message

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!

Jesus, the Perfect Example of Giving-Thanks-In-All-Things

Tonight at church, we took Communion.

Communion services are beautiful. I like how it gets so quiet. 

People thinking. Ears listening. Eyes closed. Hearts still.

I couldn’t even count how many times I’ve taken the bread & cup in remembrance. 

I have to come back to the whole 1000 gifts, give-thanks-in-all-things business that I’ve been doing, because it’s really opening my eyes to all of the times I see the words “give thanks” in Scripture, which is a lot by the way.

Christ said those words, you know. Ann Voskamp talks about this in her book, but today it became real to me. I experienced it.

I read it tonight in Matthew 26:26-27.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread,

 and when he had given thanks, 

he broke it and gave it to his disciples, 

saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 

Then he took a cup, 

and when he had given thanks, 

he gave it to them, 

saying, “Drink from it, all of you...”

When I read these verses, the words “he had given thanks” stood out to me, because I’m always on the lookout for the thanksgiving.

Then I really and truly thought about what Jesus was giving thanks for. I sighed heavy, as I realized that He was giving thanks for the very things that symbolized His death on the cross for us. 

The cup- His blood, poured out for the sins of many. Give thanks.

The bread- His body, broken for us. Give thanks.

Jesus could give thanks for this?

Yes, He gave thanks in the hardest of hard times and I should too. 

He did the hard work of giving thanks in ALL things.

Good. Bad. Ugly. Beautiful. Peace. Storm. All things.

Give thanks.

I’m putting post-its all over everything to remind me to give thanks.

I’m not kidding, they are everywhere.

Maybe you too, could try to give thanks, even in the hard times, like Christ did..?

 

For When You're Ready to Realize That Complaining Doesn't Change Anything

Thankfulness.

Joy.

Blessings.

Gifts.

One day, I picked up Ann Voskamp’s book 1000 Gifts. Amazon recommended it to me, so I gave it a try. (I’m going to make a blog post soon about all the fantastic books I’m reading/have read recently, and this will be one of them. But for now, I just want to tell you about it briefly, because it’s critical for the rest of this entry.)

Ann Voskamp’s whole thing is counting the gifts that God gives. It’s thanksgiving for the seemingly small- and discovering that joy is possible. Giving thanks in all things (good, bad, ugly) teaches contentment in all things. Content in all things= joy.

Yes, I was wanting some of that joy. So I gave her Joy Dare a try. You count three gifts everyday for a year and at the end, you have 1000 gifts. (Then you keep counting!) And honestly, it’s March and I am still doing the dare. In the giving thanks for all things, it becomes like an instinct. It’s all about trying to change the response from complaining to thanking.

Someone asked me about joy last night. I told them really briefly about this. How I’m trying it, it’s changing the way I think, etc.

Then the challenge came.

Today, maybe instead of complaining at anything and everything, we could just give a little thanks?

That was my facebook status this morning. I’d like to say that, after making this status, everything was peachy and I felt like I was on cloud nine all day. But I wasn’t. I am, however, still smiling after a crazy weird day and it’s all because of Him and the giving of thanks.

I literally get in my car and turn the corner, where a terribly long traffic light is. It was red. And the train was coming, which means I’d have to sit there for over two minutes waiting. Yup, I timed it before. I roll my eyes and STOP. Give thanks, Vanessa.

God, thank you that this light is red. I guess if this light wasn’t here I’d probably get in an accident. Okay, red light, I’ll give thanks for you too. 

No lie, the light turned green. I was able to turn before the train came. 

I laughed out loud in the car.

A gift.

I get to work and Sister Stephanie had bought me a donut. Gift.

Silly playing with preschoolers. Gift. 

Laughter. Gift.

A job. Gift.

After work, I go to college. I had a test today. I’m on the road and I see a sign: Detour. There was an accident on the ramp that I use to get on the highway. A huge tractor trailer was practically upside down. 

I sighed heavy. Now I have to go another way. I don’t know if I’ll make it in time for class. And this is the teacher who is always grumpy and refuses to let the late kids come into class. Super.

But I STOPPED. Deep breath. Give thanks. 

God, thank you that I wasn’t in that accident. Thank you that I know another way to get to school. Thank you that I am actually remembering to give thanks right now. Okay, detour, I can give thanks for you too.

I prayed that God protected whoever was in that accident and I just kept driving. And, just so you know, I actually got to school 5 minutes earlier than I usually do. Gift. Give thanks.

Test. Another opportunity to complain or give thanks. This teacher’s tests are so hard. And there was a question I wasn’t too sure about. And of course, it’s a duplicate question. So if I get it wrong once, I’m gonna get it wrong the second time too. 

Great, I thought to myself. So I put down my gut-answer for both and said a little thanks in my head. After class, I checked in my notes and *ding ding ding* I got it right! Gift. Give thanks.

My mom said she saw some bathing suits at Marshall’s. So after class, I went. Well, me and bathing suits aren’t the best of friends. I looked in the mirror and wanted to complain. Surprisingly, this was the hardest of all to give thanks for. It doesn’t look right. It’s too big here, to small here, that looks so bad, that’s more than I want to spend, etc. And I just complain complain complain. 

You know what I’m learning though? 

Complaining doesn’t change anything. 

It doesn’t change the situation and it doesn’t change the attitude and it doesn’t make this spirit of heaviness go away. It doesn’t bring joy.

Here’s the secret: Thanks is what changes things. 

Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you 

who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 

~1 Thessalonians 5:18

Now, thanks can’t always change the situation. 

I cannot give so much thanks that suddenly the bathing suits all fit me and look perfect. I cannot give thanks and that car accident be undone. BUT, I can give thanks, and my attitude can change. My perspective can change. 

See, thanks is changing me. 

Maybe you too, could give a little thanks? 

I can’t promise it’ll make you hit only green lights and look like an Olympic gymnast, but I can promise that it will change you. It will change your perspective.

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, 

or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. 

He doesn’t care what happens to me”? 

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? 

God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. 

He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. 

He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. 

And he knows everything, inside and out....” 

~Isaiah 40:27-28

Dear Me: A Letter to a Younger... Me!

Dear younger, awkward-er, self:

You don’t remember this, but Mom told the story to you today, recalling it as if it was yesterday. You were just 4 years old, at a good friend of the family’s house. Her young relatives were there, but they were older than you. They did  NOT want to play with a little four year old. You cried and cried, wanting to know why people acted this way. Mom just told you simply, that if you excluded others, it would make them cry and feel the same. 

You won't look like this forever, I promise!
You'll grow into your ears(a little!) and you'll realize
white stockings just don't work for you.

You do remember being in First Grade, with your favorite teacher, and playing outside by the old tire playground. That girl, nobody wanted her to play, but you saw the look in your teacher’s eyes and felt the thumping in your heart and knew what Jesus wanted you to do. You marched your itty-bitty-First-grade-self over to her, and asked her if she wanted to play. Your friends were a little upset, but they got over it. And you all played together.

Remember when you were eight years old and all you wanted was to help in the Sunday School class for kids with mental disabilities? Remember how your family thought you were kidding?

Well, you weren’t. And the day you turned nine Mom said she’d let you try it. But she HAD to come with you. The kids in that classroom were all older and bigger than you, but it didn’t matter; you had found your spot.

You would join the little circle, as the teacher prayed for the students, and the little boy with Autism, who couldn’t even use the toilet by himself, would put his hand on yours. You would just about cry as you thought, God, you are so in this moment.

Little did you know that God was creating a place in your heart for the people that no one has a place for. 

Little did you know that a decade later, you’d still be loving those children, and preparing yourself to teach them.

Self, I’m looking at your life, and all the events that have happened, and all I keep coming up with, is beauty. Not beauty because you’re perfect and always say the right thing and never get angry (ha, yeah right!), but because God is loving you like He always has. Because God is showing you compassion over and over and over. He’s pouring out His blessings- so many you can’t even count.

You’ll really learn about that compassion business when that preschooler cries for the Nicaragua-girls. You’ll tell this preschooler about the poverty, the no-shoes-no-toys-girls. You’ll see that four-year-old cry, deep and heavy compassion-tears, as her heart is literally broken for children in need. And it’ll break your heart. 

But don’t worry, in the broken heart, the things of self will drain out, and God will fill it, fill it up  with compassion.

You will find yourself amazed.

Please, do not ever stop believing that God is a good God, who cares for you and knows you by name. He has a plan, a job for you that no one else on this earth can do. He is all you need.

Keep serving. Keep loving. 

Keep writing.

And keep reading, you’ll discover some pretty amazing-inspiring books. (Grace For the Good Girl, One Thousand Gifts, and Cold Tangerines- just to name a few!) But more importantly, keep reading HIS Word. 

Keep learning, keep growing. Don’t ever stop. 

You’re never done growing in God.

XO,

A slightly taller, 19 year old version of YOU

Walk the Walk: On a Volcano in Nicaragua

Two roads diverged, not in a yellow wood, but in my spiritual journey. 

There are two paths, it’s really true!

One of these trails is taking you downhill, which doesn’t seem too bad. 

It’s seems like an easy walk on your tired knees. 

You can feel the wind whipping by you as your pace quickens. 

Watch out though! 

If you go too fast, you’ll tumble forward. 

Bruised and broken, you’ll be down in the dumps- both literally and figuratively. 

The other trail is uphill and it’s steep. It looks challenging 

and your chest gets tight just thinking about it. 

Your calves begin to burn as you push onward. 

You probably get tired and feel like stopping. Maybe you’re afraid 

if you stand up too straight, you’ll fall over backwards. And every few steps, 

off to the left or right, are mini-trails. They linger, tempting you to take an easier, 

but less direct course. Exhausted, but strengthened, you reach the top. 

And waiting for you is a breathtaking view.

Can I tell you that it’s the steep path you should be on? 

It’s the way to go, the trail to follow. 

It’s tough and seems more like a curse than a blessing, 

but your reward is waiting on top of that mountain.

It’s a reward that no man can buy or place value on. This gift? 

It’s life, Life everlasting. Peace and assurance. Hope. Trust. 

It’s relaxation in the Consistent Father. It’s blessings. 

It’s love, more deeply than you have ever felt. 

It’s happiness, the ear-to-ear-kind-of-smile. 

It’s jump-up-and-down-joy. 

It’s take-your-sweet-time-patience. 

It’s heaven and it is perfect.

Choose the steep hill, challenges and all, and you’ll find God at the top. 

He’s calling us, saying, “Choose life in Me, my children, and then come home.”

~~~

I wrote those words a few months before my Senior missions trip to Nicaragua. On one of our last days there, we had a “leisure day.” I put that in quotes because my leisure day consisted of hiking up a volcano. 

No, I’m not kidding. And no, I didn’t bring my good sneakers.

Nevertheless, as I’m climbing this steep volcano with a crazy incline, it hit me. I literally stopped walking and felt like I would fall over backwards. I was speechless. God was so funny to open my eyes to this steep-hill-theory and then make me walk the walk.

I laughed aloud. I kept climbing. Calves definitely burning and chest quite tight. However, as I reached the top, the view was indeed spectacular. The group could see lakes and whole cities from where we stood. We saw the beauty and could appreciate it better with our new perspective.

Yup, I took this picture:)

When the time came to walk back down, I was a little fearful. Didn’t I say how going downhill was the dangerous one?!

Some group members held hands, some angled their feet funny, and some fell down. My friend’s sister fell like 4 times. And to make us sound like bigger wimps, local construction workers were carrying (by hand) heavy blocks to be laid as a walkway. They carried these blocks up and down the volcano.

I noticed though, that no one was falling up the volcano. Sounds stupid, right? But when you serve God and are chasing after Him, He has your back. He’s helping you, supporting you, sustaining you. But when you turn your back on Him and deliberately do your own thing, why should God support your sinful actions? Don’t get me wrong, He still loves you and is calling you to return to Him... But if you aren’t for God, then you’re against Him. No one can serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24) I don't want to be against God. So I'm going to climb the steep hill, no matter how hard, for my reward is up there.

I took this one too! So breathtaking...

I lived it. On an old volcano in Nicaragua, I practiced what I preached. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I ever had. And I’m thankful. I’m thankful that God choose to reveal to us glimpses of His goodness and helps us climb the steep hill.