So. I’m sort of a mole-y person.

I guess it’s just a part of the dark hair, olive complexion. Well, that and I used to sunbathe on TIN FOIL, slathered in baby oil in Jr. High.

There’s that.

But, honestly, with my crazy-busy life, it has never once occurred to me to have “my moles checked.”

Which is as exciting as it sounds. Woohoo!

I was still proud I followed through with my first base-line mammogram 3 years ago.  Until I realized I was a year behind on my annual exam. Clearly, I’m in the maintenance mode of life.

I visited with my out-of-state brother for the first time in a long while the other day and after he hugged me, he said, “You’ve really got a lot of wrinkles around your eyes.” (You’d have to know my brother).

THEY. ARE. CALLED. LAUGH. LINES.

Only I wasn’t laughing.

Anywho, back to the riveting mole post.

Having my “moles checked” wasn’t in the life plan, but long story short, a friend of a friend, died from a mole turned fatal melanoma at age 40.

Um, “mole check” for one, please?

A few weeks later, taking a break from my busy-crazy life, I found myself in a paper gown.

[lowdown on the process-it's pretty thorough-but not too terrible of an experience]

I thought for sure, my sun-induced freckles and spots would bring a lecture. I was surprised the doctor focused in on a mole I had on my hip since childhood.

And then she said, “I don’t like the look of it. I think we should send it to the lab.”

Quicker than I could blink, she was giving me an injection and cutting it off for a biopsy.

I was a little worried, thanks to Google (beware of searching “Moles” under Google Images. Ick)

After a week of uncertainty, I received a call from the doctor.

“Your mole was abnormal. Pre-cancerous-the kind of mole that is likely to turn into melanoma. It’s very good we removed it. We will need you to come back often for more checks.”

Holy Moly.

I was relieved and thankful for the series of events that led me to the doctor.

Who knows, if you’re reading this, it might just save your life.

Or at least make you more comfortable in your own skin.

[insert prompt here to go have your "moles checked" y'all]

P.S. Whatever you do, don’t pull a Kramer (Seinfeld) and try removing your moles with a deli meat slicer.

An oldie, but goodie:

Last week, my daughter’s 5th grade Honor Choir sang a traditional African (Zambia) folk song at their Spring concert. I thought y’all might enjoy it as much as we did:

P.S. I’m all about the dancing

Translation of Bonse Aba:

John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”

My oldest has a sweet voice and fills our house with music. We’ve all been humming the tune to Bonse Aba for weeks, but my 4 year old has her own version:

And speaking of jewelry, which is totally what my little girl was talking about (ha!)

Look at what you can purchase at Dayspring now!!! New product alert!

Plus, Mercy House has an all new site!

Our trip to Africa is still on–coming at us quickly in less than a month. We thought long and hard about postponing it in light of Maureen’s losses. But she is determined to open the doors and begin rescuing girls and we are determined to love on her! Will you please continue to pray for us and especially, Maureen, as she attends her sister’s funeral this week?

And also-UNRELATED: an animal of some kind crawled into our Dryer vent hose and DIED.

Guess who is giving herself a LAUNDRY PASS?

It smells bad in the laundry room, y’all.

I’m a mom.

I’m an advocate.

One was planned, the other wasn’t.

Wanna guess which is which?

My every day regular life is crazy, full of car lines, gasping at dirty rooms, juggling three little people who consume a lot of goldfish crackers and produce piles of laundry.

Being an advocate for orphans and those in extreme poverty has made me a better mother.

• In America, with all our convenience and comfort, I think we forget how good we have it. We take education, accessibility to medical care, clean water for granted. Perspective is the greatest gift I can give my kids.
• I let things go that don’t matter. I don’t nag (as much) about messy rooms and home repairs. Because what I have is enough.
• I value life more because I’ve seen too much preventable death. Life is so fragile.

Being a mother has made me a better advocate.

• I view the orphan crisis through the lens of motherhood. How can I not? I want the best for my kids and basic necessities are a given in my neighborhood. I want every mom in every third world country to have clean water, education about breastfeeding, help when their baby is dying of diarrhea.
• We are nurturers by nature, compassionate by design. I think we make the best advocates!
• Mothers are queen multi-taskers. Enough said.

Bottom line: How do we advocate with our families as moms without sacrificing them for our cause:

Balance is crucial. The last thing I want to do is raise my kids with a guilty complex, forcing down dinner because I’ve seen starving kids.

• Involve your kids, but don’t ever force it.
• Take a break when you sense resentment.
• Live a life of compassion in front of your children, show them compassion.
• Pray together about your passion.
• Allow them to have ownership and allow them the freedom to not take ownership.

Are you an advocate for a cause close to your heart?

This is your chance.

To Advocate.

How do you balance it all?