The First Week

Unfortunately, this post will have to be fairly short. I'm in the process of cleaning the house up a bit for the lovely ladies who are coming over tonight :). Tonight is Women's night! We're talking about the vital importance of women in the body of Christ, in relation to Amy's talk on beauty. I am sooo excited about this. Too many women don't know their worth. Too many women don't know how stunning they really are. I struggle with it sometimes, myself. But the truth is that we women have beauty unrivaled. Isn't that what we're fighting for, with organizations like The Daughter Project? Steve talked at CRU last night about every type of sin all coming back to some form of stealing. Whether or not we are physically TAKEN from, like those women who are trapped in sexual trafficking, we are all subject to losing sight of our true value because of how readily the world steals it from us in exchange for filling us with a picture of what we "SHOULD" be. We all struggle with feeling incapable. Unreachable. Ugly.

Constantly being amidst a media that demands a certain kind of physical beauty and a world that demands a certain kind of personality for success certainly puts the pressure on, and hikes up the chances of feeling less than capable.

But I write to tell you that you are beautiful. You ARE. Tonight, we celebrate our beauty that SPEAKS. It speaks truth and rest; it speaks love.

For the daughters.

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4 (Thanks to Cass for lending me the skirt!)

Day 5

Day 6 (we snagged Amy at CRU! All these ladies are doing the one dress campaign for a month!)

Day 7

May the Lord bless you and keep you. An encouragement to those who are praying for the women trapped in sexual trafficking and abuse: the Lord knows who you are praying for. Keep praying for the nameless faces. He loves them.

One Dress

Good snowy afternoon to you all!

This is the first day of the "One Dress" campaign that me and a few friends are doing for a month. We are joining Amy Seiffert in this, who is actually wearing one dress every day for 6 months! Check her out! http://www.amyseiffert.com/

Fact: The U.S Government estimates that nearly 30,000,000 people worldwide are suffering from human trafficking. (http://thedaughterproject.org/#/welcome)


We wear the same dress every day to promote awareness of human trafficking and encourage people to donate to The Daughter Project. Here's a little blurb of what TDP is all about:

// OUR PURPOSE
To help girls recover from the trauma of human sex trafficking and to help prevent them from being trafficked through community education. The foundation of this help will be Godly, biblical and holistic.

// OUR CORE BELIEFS
God is the creator of everything. God is the redeemer of His creation through His son, Jesus Christ. God indwells believers to transform them into His agents of redemption on the earth through His Holy Spirit. The Bible is Jesus Christ in written form. We will strive to operate our organization in a way that reflects His life of perfection and grace, for His glory and for the redemption of the girls we serve in love.

// OUR PROGRAM
To provide holistic healing services in an extremely safe, home-like environment to girls who have been freed from human sex trafficking. The services will include; spiritual mentoring, abuse & addiction counseling, health & nutrition education, medical/dental/vision care, legal counsel, and family/friend restoration. This help will be provided by caring & competent professionals & volunteers. In addition, we will offer education, job and housing assistance.

Will you consider donating today?

We believe in freedom. Freedom and love above all things- through Christ who strengthens us.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength , they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:31

Here it is...for the next month!

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Late Night Thoughts from a Grandma.

Helleeewww. Yes, I consider myself a Grandma. Or at least old enough to be one...when it comes to how early I usually get tired. It's 1:45 a.m. and I am SO ready to collapse (about 4 hours ago), but this is usually when my best thoughts come out. Plus I'm trapped at the front desk in Kriescher. So here I am, it is late, and I have some thoughts for you.

I came into the semester today feeling completely unprepared mentally, but coming to grips spiritually with the truth that I don't NEED to be as prepared as I want to be (i.e. LOSE THE NEED TO CONTROL LIFE!). I want to encourage you, friends. I'm not going to sit here and tell you to give up the control. Because I know we all want it, in some way or another. But I do want to encourage you with truth.


"For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights."
-2 Samuel 22:32-34

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea..."
-Psalms 46:1-2

"But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city."
-Hebrews 11:16

"For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power."
-1 Corinthians 4:20

"God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."
-1 Corinthians 1:9

"...this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever."
-Psalms 48:14



Friends, drink up this sweet nectar. Keep these words and share them; let them be the wind that carries your ship over the seas. Today was a mess of emotions for me. Insignificance, confusion, determination, joy, protectiveness, frustration, hopelessness, and irritation all bugged my thoughts and heart today. I was thinking about India (ALWAYS thinking about India) and where God is leading me in my future in general, plagued by incapabilities in the dance program, let myself become insecure about certain relationships, and ran from class to class in a hurry, worrying about the semester to come- just to name a few. I let the day fly by, by trying to control it. But I was missing it. "God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city." Even in our brokenness, He sees us with eyes that we will never understand fully. Why do I care so much about saying the right things or walking at the right pace or planning out my next actions? Planning and organizing are glorifying to Him in the sense that we are called to be good stewards of the time and resources given to us. But it when those things become lords over The Lord, that we begin to feel how unfilled we really are.

Blessings on this week, friends. Find joy, rest and peace in the One who will really fill you.


"We will run to you, we will run to you.
Turning from our sin, we return to you.
Father, heal Your world, make all things new.
Make all things new."





P.S. My brother and good friend, Jon Stoddart, sent me something called "The Sound Mind Principle." It's the Paul Brown letter written to help guide into scripture for tough decisions and paths that need light. I thought I'd share it with y'all:

http://www.greatcom.org/resources/paul_brown_letter/




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