Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.
What does your sign say?
What Did You Trade?
5:14 pm
... you know the ones.
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love these, thanks for sharing. Mine will one day say, I quit trying to be perfect to make my husband stop gambling, and started believing I was perfect enough for God.
Kristen,
You’re so inspiring.
Thank you for being strong enough to be the woman God wants you to be.
We’re in the process of writing out our own sign right now and it’s similar. Blessings to you for stepping out & making your faith speak loudly.
Hm, where do I start. I traded getting my eyebrows professionally waxed (shallow yes but the one that bugs me the most consistently), my hair professionally dyed, summer vacations, date nights, lots of meals out, a new laptop, dance/karate/gymastic classes, many many shoes, and basically any kind of “luxury” for a baby in Ethiopia.
Gosh, I wonder if she’ll be worth it??
This gave me chills!!! I pray God blesses you abundantly and that you get lots of waxing gift certificates every birthday!!:)
My heart is too full and my eyes too teary to share my sign… yet.
I love your heart, Kristen, and your bold faith, your simple trust. I see Jesus shining.
{Also? I love that you’re wearing your Amazima/147 Million necklace in this… for all the reasons I’m sure you chose to wear it.}
Mine would say:
Slave to self
flip to
Child of God
I hope soon mine will say I trade security in my money and my reputation for big faith in an even bigger God.
Can someone tell me how to contact Kristen? I must be blind because I can not find her email addredd. Thank you so much. Misty
mnmzz at msn dot com
There is a little button with an envelope on it at the top of her blog.
Misty,
Click the mail box icon on the top left
I knew I was missing it! Thanks so much Samantha
Samantha you have no idea how long I looked for it. I clicked every tab up above, searched the right side bar over and over! I knew by then it just had to be right there in front of my face. Thanks again!
Mine would say,
“I traded fear and the illusion of control for real life messy relationships with real and wonderful people and the ability to say yes to life and let it come in and make a mess of things.”
I might need to be a big piece of cardboard.
I’m right now learning to just say yes to God about stuff he wants to do, do my best, and let him worry about the details I can’t figure out. That’s how I ended up a founder of a non-profit and being able to support Thai orphanages and refugee communities in less than 2 years. still spinning from that one.
You are awesome, Kristen and our sign would say the exact same thing because that is the path our family has taken in the last six months—and it is incredible to watch God move! Thanks for sharing this video- WOW!
Mine would say “worried about a crumbling marriage and life’s unfair circumstances. It’s all just too messed up, I can’t fix it.”
And the flip side would say “Keeping my eyes on Christ and everything else will take care of itself”
Love these! I think I’d need a few pieces of cardboard…
Mine would say “once buried by satan under a pile of filthy rubble”…. “… using the rubble satan buried me under to build an altar to Him”
Beautiful! What a testimony!
My church did one of these with people in our church sharing their signs on Easter morning. It was so powerful and amazing. Mine would read, “Battled eating disorders for 20 years; trusting God’s grace and forgiveness to be enough for me today.”
I traded obligations and expectations for living in today.
Good one Kristen!!!
Simply beautiful!
I don’t know… but you had me in tears. That is one awesome video. The power of GOD.
NOW!!!! That is what I would call “recycled”. AMEN?!?!?!
Oh, I love cardboard testimonies! They are SO powerful and they show the power and might of God. My church did it for Thanksgiving a few years ago….and there was no doubt that God can (and DOES) change hearts and lives.
Front:
In bondage to legalism and “trying to be good” for God.
Back:
Living in freedom and discovering just how much He loves me for who I am.
PS. I’ve been reading your blog for a while (and LOVING it), but this prompted me to actually comment. Thanks!
Kristen,
I love it! WOw! is all I can say.. and I am going to take it further…..
But my cardboard would say.. I gave up feeling worthless, used, sexual assulted as a child, to be loved and cherished in the arms of my Savior
I want mine to say, She gave her heart for God’s grace x Thank you for your courage xx
I have stopped expecting my children to be perfect in public. They are not and will never be perfect. I am not perfect. I do not have to be held up to a public image when Jesus is my audience. As long as I am serving Him, parenting accroding to Him, and loving Him then I am on the right path.
Everyday I trade anxiety, paranoia, panic attacks, and fear for strength in the Lord, because I can do all things through Christ.
Alli, You are not alone in this trade. It’s a daily battle and every bit of it is a spiritual battle. For me, anyway. Just know you are not the only one. I’m praying for you, too. Kymberlie
“Had a heart of stone, spent a weekend in prison….
Saw God’s grace in action”
So powerful. My church’s Celebrate Recovery group did cardboard testimonies last year.
Mine would say, “bound by legalism, self sufficiency, and perfection……. freed to live in Christ’s love”
I wish I could write a sign that said:
Single mom to one blessing, worried he would never have a Godly father-figure and roll model
(flip)
Trusted the Lord and He sent a worthy lifemate for me and (step)father for my son – wedded bliss in Christ!
(Still praying that will happen. God, are you listening to my heart?)
Mine said:
Oblivious to the Word
***
Craving His Voice
our church did this one day. Cardboard ministries. It’s amazing see how God has changed broken lives.
Wow! I needed to know I am not alone on this planet…and this sign reminds me. Thanks
Beautiful! We did this same thing once w/a ministry team…my husband held a sign that said, “They said our daughter was dead in the womb.” My then 2year old walked out with a sign that said, “But here I am.” And my sign said, “And baby 2 due any minute!” I was literally in having contractions w/my son when we presented this. It is still so powerful in my mind.
Here’s a link to a still pic if it’s ok: http://ohamanda.com/2008/09/30/the-pirates-arrival/
Did you read Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt? I can’t remember if I read about it here or somewhere else, but it is worth your time.
We did something like this not long ago at our church. It was so moving and powerful. It was awesome to see some of what people’s cardboard signs read…and see how God was making a difference in lives.
Thanks for sharing
I’m not sure what mine would say… I think maybe, just for right now, I’ve only got one side of it written.
I really like yours. My husband and I are working toward that.