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!

_sea

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/




_sea

Thoughts for the Holiday Season

I'm inspired to write. I want to keep sharing. I want to stay motivated to do this blog thing.

So here we are: in December. Those who know me, know that I get incredibly excited around this time of year. There are already some pretty incredible things that have happened this holiday season, and it's NOT EVEN CHRISTMAS YET.

Some moments:

-Sitting in the passenger seat of my brother's car, talking to Jared, who was sitting beside me in the driver's seat. It was 1:00 in the morning, and we were eating little debbie's snacks and drinking beverages. I remember the dim light hesitantly glaring at me from my neighbor's lamp post across the street, seemingly further than it really was from my side of the windshield, I remember looking up into the sky and telling myself not to forget those stars, I remember how cold my feet became after a while, the way Jared's voice seemed to echo in my ears, how close the car was parked to the curb, and the way my coat felt against my skin. But mostly I remember feeling so incredibly loved from that conversation we had, so proud of what a man of character my "little" brother is becoming. This wasn't one of your typical sisterly moments, either. If this part of the story were a fairytale, I would have told Kings about this man. I would have written parables and screamed to the heavens about the glory that is in a man forging his path out of a sought love for a God who saved us. Tears do not suffice this time. Neither does singing. Nor dancing. Nor any other artistic expression that makes the earth tremble with its likeness to a wind that has seen everything in its free graze under the skies. I am silent. And I simply stretch my arms and thank my God for His passion and relentless pursuit in US.

-Feeling the first snow before I saw those crystal flakes floating down that day. I was with Cassy Hintz, and we were cold in Panera. We tried to do homework, but got distracted. We both noticed a man strutting by outside; short-sleeved and cigarette-smoking, and we couldn't contain our giggles. It was winter in our hearts, the fun kind. We left before our toes froze. As we ran outside, laughing and ready to go find some "good" hot chocolate in Wal-Mart, we saw the first snow of the year. We ran down the alley, splashing in our made-up puddles, looking up at the dim orange lights like little girls at a circus. We made wishes. And it became magic.

-A sweet conversation with Angelica De La Torre. We were practicing for the Variety Show that was to happen in a few days, and found a cozy little corner in the Union to whip out that guitar and sing together. Minutes ticked on and singing turned into blushing when a large group of fancy looking people walked by, which then turned into more singing and then a laugh or two, and then words exchanged which became like drops of rain colliding together in a great pool of sweet blessings. This girl is a lifegiver, and the love of Christ shines through her beauty. I think we both felt a little "out of it", and we both kept claiming temporary insanity. And it was sweet like the sweetest honey, because God held us in His palm that day, and we both knew it by the time we left.

I am thankful for moments like these, that make the holidays NOT so special. Yes, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I mean it. God shows Himself in the simplest ways sometimes and it doesn't take Christmas to do it. But you've got to open your eyes. Open up your child-like eyes today. Watch what God can do.

P.S. Some roommates and I are joining Amy Seiffert on her quest of wearing one dress for a month (she's doing six months, the beautiful woman!). It's to raise awareness and raise money for The Daughter Project, a Christian organization that mobilizes and restores women who have been sexually trafficked and /or abused. Here's one of Amy's blogs about it:

http://www.amyseiffert.com/?p=1157

If you go to her blog and look at other posts, she has picture up of daily dress-wear. It's pretty fantastic.

Also: I came up from work last night at 4:00 a.m. to find Kristin Wilson and Cassy Hintz giggling in my bed. I thought it was a creepy girl under my covers so I came in screaming profanities and ripped the covers off of them before I found out who/what it was.

4:00 a.m.

Have a wonderful day :)

_SEA

Christmasssss....

Christmas season is upon us! For all those who hate any kind of mention of Christmas before Thanksgiving is over, I do apologize in advance. I just get really excited about this time of year. And come on, who could blame me? The celebration of the birth of our Lord, time with family, cold weather, trees inside houses, baking, lots of music, etc... all of these things are so wonderful; not to mention the Christmas tree lighting that my man took me to last night and that ridiculous holiday parade that went right past my house this morning ;). How could I not start thinking about it, with this town doing everything in its power to get people in the spirit?

One image will remain the most sacred to me during this time of year (and any other time of year, really...but especially now). And that is this:

The metaphorical and sentimental significance of a lamp post have remained in touch with my heart, and I will be on the look out for them as the snow falls and we trudge further along this snowy walk into December.



_sea

That Beautiful Thing

As I sit here and try to come up with the words to dictate my flood of emotions, the only thing that remains clear is a vivid picture of something. For the sake of challenging creativity, I'm not going to tell you what that "something" is. Just picture something beautiful; something so glorious that it makes you sweat with anticipation of seeing and touching it in real life. Something that brings you an ounce of comfort in your times of greatest agony. Picture it. And know that it comes from something much greater than we can create.

Friends, I let some pretty hearty lies get to me today. I've often gotten made fun of for my sometimes "overwhelming positive attitude." But not today. No, today I let myself sink. I wallowed and I cried. I was believing lies of not being good enough, not having the right motivation, not respected, not worthy, not capable, not clean. I walk in the light with these things because I believe that we all struggle with overcoming these lies, and because I want to take the chance to love you by letting you into my life. A few conversations with some people that I love snapped me back into truth, and that's what I want to write about. I want to write about the Godly love that was shown to me through these conversations. I was inspired to picture my "beautiful thing" during these conversations, and it stays with me even after the conversations are long over. It is a stunning view, friends, and one that I cannot compare to much else that I have seen in my lifetime. The truth that love speaks is a sacred heartbeat in this worldly place, and I feel it in my chest. And I write because I want it for you as well, but you must open your heart. You must be vulnerable. You must be willing to ask yourself the hard questions that make your stomach wrench, and then actually be willing to answer them.

There is life in places where we only let ourselves see death. My advice is this: do not put God in a box, and let Him see you- especially in the places of your heart that you want to hide the most.

Search me, O God, and know my heart

Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me

and lead me in the way everlasting!

[Psalm 139:23-24]

A precious thought

So it has been a while. And I have always promised myself that I wouldn't be one of those people who starts blogs and then just stops writing due to laziness. But here we are and every day is new :).

I promise, this won't be another one of my long-winded updates. I just have a thought for you.

Last night, my sister and good friend, Katie Barnett, posed the question: "If you truley knew that your heart was a valued treasure of the kingdom, how would you live your life differently?"

Ah. I thought. And at the moment, I became frustrated in that I couldn't think of a specific thing. So we talked it out (over facebook chat, no less), and she brought up some ideas that turned my wheels. But the underlying truth for me is this: we are not our own. We make decisions that effect our lives and others because we are stewards of our bodies while we're on this earth. Whether we are good stewards or not is something that we will be held accountable for later. But let me say this, friends: you, as a soul, are treasured deeply by our Creator. The unmeasurable joy, pain, depth and experience that you endure is close to God's heart, and He feels you. He feels you and every prick that makes your body tingle in this journey that you take, more than any other human being can even come close to understanding.

Tread. And tread knowing that your heart is so preciously cherished.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAkOhXIsI0