2011 October — We are THAT Family

Give 1 Save 1: Would You Help Our Friends?

1:06 pm Bykristen

There are so many people in need.

There are so many places to give.

It can be overwhelming. And let’s face it, with the economy teetering, the holidays looming and your own family’s needs, sometimes it’s hard to be generous.

But we must.

And I have the perfect (affordable) way for your family to make a difference today.

It’s called Give 1 Save 1.

Every week, there’s a new family or ministry or worthy-recipient.

You can give $1 today and make a difference. That’s all. That’s it. Just $1.

Our family has been blessed with some very good friends, friends that were an answer to our prayer for real life community:

And they were chosen for this week’s Give 1 Save 1 Campaign! (click to get to know them). The Martinez Family are the real deal and they are nearing the end to bring a sibling group home from Ethiopia (My youngest is expecting new best friends, please!)

Would you give $1 today to help make this possible?

Leave a comment if you can contribute a $1 (or more) and our family will match it up to $100!

Bookmark Give 1 Save 1 today and start together as a family, saving change, changing a life.

Everyone can Give 1 Save 1.

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What He Said

7:54 pm Bykristen

I’m sitting at the airport, looking out the window at huge lumps of snow, pushed into dirty piles. I’m a Texas girl and the blanket of snow that fell from Heaven was a gift.

It’s not the only one I hold in my heart today.

For two years, I’ve met God at Relevant. Last year, I quaked. He breathed courage to follow Him. And this weekend, I came emotionally and physically exhausted, the balance of juggling home, children, husband, writing, non-profit, dream-chasing teetered precariously.

But I let the tears come, laying the burden at his feet and leaned in to listen:

He revealed I have community wounds. But He showed me community would heal.

He uncovered my ugly desire for success. And He asked me to just be faithful. Because that’s how He defines success.

He reassured that I have a destiny. And promised to lead the way.

He reminded that what I’m doing doesn’t make me important, it makes me a Christian.

And He restored hope.

My spirit sustained as woman after woman shopped mercy.

I’m boarding the plane, tired.

But full.

Next time, I won’t wait for Relevant to hear what He wants to say.

I’ll just ask.

You should too.

He has a lot to tell you.

*Thanks @mamahall (pictured above) for setting up our table and serving and to Family Matters for sending me!

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Make Pumpkin Carving Meaningful

10:48 am Bykristen

We love to carve pumpkins every fall at our house. On Halloween, we dress up, pass out the good candy to neighbors and give out a printable like this. I’ll just say it: I have a beef with Christians who don’t take advantage of being a LIGHT on this night every year. I said it. My controversy of the week. (I’ve written about it before).
Updated: I think my “beef” comment was pretty judgmental. I’m sorry for doing the same thing I don’t like people doing to me. It’s a personal choice, so whatever you choose, I want to be respectful. Please forgive me.

This year, we helped our youngest carve her pumpkin to match this prayer.

Dear God,
As I carve my pumpkin help me say this prayer:

Open my mind so I can learn about You;
(Cut the top of the pumpkin)

Take away all my sin and forgive me for the wrong things I do.
(Clean out the inside)

Open my eyes so Your love I will see;
(Cut the eyes out in heart shapes)

I’m so sorry for turning up my nose to all you’ve given me.
(Cut a nose in the shape of a cross)

Open my ears so your word I will hear.
(Cut the ears shaped like the Bible)-we did rectangles

Open my mouth so I can tell others You’re near
(cut the mouth in the shape of a fish)

Let Your light shine in all I say and do! Amen.
(Place a candle inside and light it)

We found the prayer on this fun pumpkin bookmark.

Have a safe weekend and go light up the night with Him!

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Raising Strong Kids

9:32 pm Bykristen

I watched a single tear escape his long lashes.

He quickly swiped it away.

Inside twisted, that wrecked feeling mothers get when children hurt.

But this wasn’t the kind of pain a band-aid could fix or a kiss on the brow. This wound was inside, out of my reach.

“I’m the weird one, Mom.” His words felt like a blow.

I grabbed his hand, the one with marker stains and chewed-nails and refuted his words. “There’s nothing weird about you!”

He told me how different he felt from most of the other boys at school. The other 4th grade boys who cussed and bullied and wore tough.

And then my little boy said, “It’s hard being a Christian. It makes me odd.”

And then I felt my own tears, press hot against my lids. I closed my eyes and remembered the feeling. The one I lived with growing up.

I couldn’t discount his words or his pain, I knew they were true. He’s just so young to experience it.

“Were you ever the weird one, Mom?”

And so I told him my own stories. I whispered words I prayed would heal his heart, knowing they wouldn’t fix the problem.

We are called to the problem, to be the strangers of this world, to follow a different road, to live counter-cultural.

I told my son that we didn’t expect him to be perfect. We knew there was pressure to give in and I told him we’d love him no matter what and then I told him of times I’d tried to fit in. He looked at me with steel-eyes, “I know I can fit it, I don’t want to fit in.”

I marveled at his strength.

I walked down the stairs, heavy. I made a playdate the next day with one of the Christian boys who stood at the pole with us. I called a friend from my community group with a son the same age, grade, struggles. We devised a plan so our boys could find comfort and strength with each other.

And then I cried.

Because sometimes I feel like the weird one too.

It took a little boy to remind me that it’s exactly how I’m supposed to feel.

Do you ever feel that way?

———————-

If grace-based parenting has taught me anything, it’s to try and raise my kids the way God raises me–with infinite grace, unfathomable love and room to still be me. Today, I’m flying to the Relevant Conference and I’m proud to have Family Matters as my sponsor. Make sure you stop by the Mercy House table!

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WFMW: New Ways to Write Your Sponsored Child

9:51 pm Bykristen

Yesterday, we got a Final Letter from one of our Compassion kids. Precious graduated from the program. Yes, this special girl.

It was bittersweet. My kids begged for another child, but we still have ten and honestly, we have to pay the sweet college student giving my kids piano lessons, something.

We logged on to Compassion’s site since we’ve heard great things about their new letter writing options. Let me just say: AWESOME. You can choose from a variety of fun templates, upload pictures of your family (!) and even duplicate the letter for multiple sponsored kids. Within 15 minutes, all of our kids got a Christmas letter with pictures.

But we did send Precious one last letter and my youngest drew her a picture, that was well, precious.

What? You haven’t changed a life in a third world country and given your children a global perspective by sponsoring a child?

It’s the single most significant thing we’ve done to ignite compassion in our children.

Click here to do so.

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Attn: David Crowder Fans {Giveaway}

10:58 pm Bykristen

UPDATED WITH WINNER: Comment #245 Ashley

I’ve been listening to Christmas music.

I know. It’s too early. We just hit 60 degrees down here in South Texas and I saw a leaf turn orange. One.

But I love the David Crowder Band’s Christmas Album, Oh for Joy, because it’s a happy mix of worship, caffeine and celebrating Jesus. It’s not too Christmasy, ya know?

This is their last tour and they will be missed. I love their gospel-centered songs and I love that they made the familiar Christmas songs their own. Plus, have y’all seen David’s hair (see above nutcracker)?

My favorite is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. My little girl digs Go Tell It On the Mountain (although she prefers her version which includes a stick horse and made up words).

Today, I’m happy to offer ONE WINNER, the entire David Crowder Band CD Collection! It includes:

Oh for Joy
Church Music
Remedy (Club Tour Edition)
A Collision
B Collision
Sunsets & Sushi
Can You Hear Us?

Just take a listen. Leave a comment. And you’re entered!

This giveaway ends Thursday.

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Real Life Parenting Tips

10:12 pm Bykristen

I wanted to title this post How to Go From Good Parenting to Great Parenting. But it’s hard to write about great parenting, when you’ve had one of those weeks.

Of course, my next title might have been: Objects in Picture Aren’t As Happy as They Appear. (Because driving to family pictures creates the perfect storm, dontchaknow?)

Ahem.

So, I thought it might be better to just be real and share some tips that are working for us . It’s something I do best, share my junk, the good and the bad.

[My kids are at that age where I want to protect their privacy, so I'm going to keep their struggles private for now, but still share what I'm learning]

On Sibling Rivalry:

I told my hubby the other night of my two oldest, I never argued like them. He said, Remember you told me fighting drove your parents crazy? Me: Oh yeah, my twin and I would fight in the closet–very quietly. Do you know how hard it is to quietly beat each other up?

Your Kids Will Not Get Along 100% of the Time- Do you? My hubby and I don’t yell and scream at each other, but we do argue sometimes. It’s actually pretty healthy for us to get something settled, or find out how we both feel about it. Occasionally, we agree-to-disagree on stuff. It’s called living together and we can’t expect less from our kids. When my kids are really arguing, I let them, as long as they are being respectful, keeping their hands to themselves without bullying or intimidating. I want them to learn to give in and to stand firm. It’s a dance for all of us, but in the end, we want to be better because we’ve worked something out that needed to be dealt with.

When Your Child Crosses the Line-It will happen, especially with older, stronger siblings. Finding a way to positively correct is challenging. We don’t always get this right. We are still learning as and as our children get older, it changes. But we won’t allow bullying in our home. A few weeks ago, I sat down with one of my children and explained that they were intimidating their sibling. I asked for them to write an apology letter. This could have gone either way, but I was moved by the letter from one of my kids to the other. I’ve seen a heartfelt change in both since.

On Discipline:

Some things that have worked for us:

Writing sentences, writing Scripture —these are not appropriate punishments for kids who LOVE to write. (Yes, learned this the hard way)
Reward charts- stickers for positive attitudes, helpful behavior, great school conduct, chores, etc
B doesn’t happen before A- We got this from the book Have a New Kid by Friday. It’s awesome. If A is “clean your room” and B is “go play with a friend” B does not happen until A happens. It gives your child the responsibility of doing what you asked them to do. This is not easy because they might whine, cry and throw a fit about B. Just FYI
Chore jar is our newest one (thanks, Karen!)- if there’s a bad attitude or an ugly remark, my kids go get a chore and have to complete it immediately. It’s great because this helps me not to engage and turn a sassy remark into a battle.

On Responsibility:

I think every child over 1 should have age-appropriate responsibilities, whether it’s picking up toys that were played with or doing your own laundry.

Don’t make their room a battleground. I’m type A, this is one of the areas I’m most challenged in. My hubby helps me (not have heart palpitations) by checking for me and pointing out areas that need work to my kids. We’ve recently started a weekly check (instead of whenever we walk upstairs). We just felt like our kids needed more freedom in this area and if they want to spend one whole day cleaning up their room to get it back in shape, that’s up to them.
Don’t do everything for them-My kids share the heavy load of laundry (get it?) Each weekend, they help wash, fold, dry, hang up the laundry they wore during the week. They also make their own lunches for school each day.
Don’t constantly bail them out-When my oldest lost her retainer (again), we asked her to explain it to the Orthodontist. And although we knew she wasn’t in a position to pay, we asked her to make our bed for eternity or until it’s payed for.

Bottom line, there are no perfect families because they are made up of imperfect people. Don’t beat yourself over the head. Learn from your mistakes and be the best parent you can be. Plus, prayer goes a a long way!

Tell me your real-life parenting tips. I could use some!

* family photos by Suzanne Box Photography

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Fall{ing} For the Perfect Treat

9:50 pm Bykristen

I fell in love with chocolate peanut butter acorn cookies on Pinterest.

Source: sixinthesuburbsblog.blogspot.com via Sara on Pinterest

This is my kind of baking:

Buy three ingredients, use the microwave instead of the oven and assemble.

It’s so easy, a child could make these (and my daughters pretty much did).

Take half the bag of mini chocolate chips and melt them (10 seconds at time, stirring). Chocolate glue is the best!

Apply a bit of chocolate glue to the bottom of the Hershey’s kiss and attach it to the Nutterbutter. After it dries, attach the acorn top (mini choco chip).

Share with friends! [like awesome neighbors who constantly bring you goodies-looking at you Bridget]

We were going to take some to other people, but we ate them all. Turns out we aren’t that nice.

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Be A Courageous Parent

9:48 pm Bykristen

I took my oldest daughter to see Courageous, the new {Christian} movie about Biblical fatherhood.

I cried the ugly in the middle of the sold-out theater.

My daughter and I shared popcorn, a coke, and much more. We held hands.

She declared it the best movie she’d ever seen.

The next day, my husband took our 9 year old son on the same date, except they communed over Grape Fanta.

I don’t have verification of real-life man tears, but I saw the lump in his throat, hours after the movie ended.

On the drive home, my hubby asked his only son to give him a parenting grade. (Something I don’t think I’m courageous enough to do).

He stepped out to pump gas and when he opened the car door, my son said, “Well, Dad. I have good news. You passed.”

And then my hubby started worrying.

“I’m going to give you a B-”

And then they talked. Really talked. I think it’s too beautiful to share, too private to disclose, but when they returned, we sat down as a family and talked about the one thing my son pointed out– the one thing we could really work on. It was something he felt like all five us struggle with. He was absolutely right.

I was proud of his courage to tell us. Even more proud of my husband to ask.

We sat around the sofa and joined hands and we each asked God out loud to help make us more like Him.

It was one of those moments I will never forget.

Whether or not you watch the movie, I dare you to ask your kids for a grade. It might just begin a beautiful conversation…

If you’re feeling courageous.

——————————–

did you see the movie? you must. that part where the dad dances in the field by himself….. I think I even hiccuped-cried.

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WFMW: An Awesome Tradition

10:02 pm Bykristen

I’m not a foodie. You know one of those people who’s really amazing in the kitchen. I get the job done and every once in awhile, I wow myself.

So, even though I wouldn’t consider this “my gift” I find that I’m taking a dessert or fixing a meal for someone on a regular basis. And sometimes it’s take-out (don’t judge me). Because we all know free food you don’t have to prepare is good food. Can I get an Amen?

My dear and amazing friend, Meg, shared a most-wonderful African tradition with me. [Her family of four are in the middle of adopting an older sibling group from Ethiopia. Her two kids just happen to be very close friends to my older kids and our hubbies are great friends. We just LOVE them ].

Back to the tradition. It goes something like this: I shared a dish with Meg when she had surgery this summer. She returned my platter filled with fruit for my family.

I was having a bad week a few weeks ago, she sent over a delicious salad. I returned her glass bowl filled with strawberry shortcake.

Tip: Return plates, dishes, bowls to friends and family filled with delicious food! And if you don’t currently have a dish loaned out, then maybe you should whip something up and take it someone sick or in need of cheering up.

It works for me!

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Kisses From Katie {Book Giveaway}

10:01 pm Bykristen

UPDATED WITH WINNER: Congrats to comment #136 Karo

If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, you know that Katie’s life impacted our family before we even knew what our story would be.

More than three years ago, I started reading Kisses From Katie. At first, it was hard to even imagine how this young girl left home and haven for the red dirt of Uganda, alone.

Not only did she go, she stayed.

And then she adopted 14 daughters and fed and healed hundreds more.

She wanted to make a difference. And it made me want to make a difference. Remember when we raised $3200 for her ministry, Amazima, to buy chickens and seeds and hope?

Katie is one of those girls that is called to greatness, but remains the girl-next-door.

Her first book, Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, is a lot more of the same. It’s profound.

It’s beautiful.

It still makes me want to be different. These words from Katie sum up her life: ”to be real is to love and be loved until there’s nothing left.”

Her book is remarkable, a true mirror of Katie.

I’m giving a copy away today. Please leave a comment if you’d like to win it.

This giveaway ends on Thursday.

[Disclaimer: I did receive a copy of this to review]

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Me & My Best Friend

10:09 pm Bykristen

oh, my. I love this man.

And even better: I like him.

We had a date at Starbucks on Friday night. We pushed two big, comfy chairs together and pretended we were the only people in the room. With a notepad and laptop, we wrote down our dreams.

Not so much our goals, but the visions we’re afraid to give voice to- we wrote those down.

My hubby called it a dreamstorming session. I like that. Because if it had been a brainstorming session, my brain would have told me our dreams are too big, impossible.

People like me don’t do this well-envision things that I can’t figure out or control.

But it felt good to say it out loud to each other.

To write them down.

We sense change coming. It’s scary. It’s exciting.

It’s an opportunity to trust the unseen hand that guides us.

There’s a sweet intimacy that comes when you acknowledge your secret dreams to your best friend.

You should try it sometime.

Source: etsy.com via lannerart on Pinterest

P.S. Two teen boys who badly needed haircuts and belts, showed up with guitars and sang loudly about two feet away from us. Everybody has a dream, some squeakier than others.

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He Alone Can Rescue {And Some Really Amazing News}

9:47 pm Bykristen

Our maternity home in Nairobi, Kenya, is registered as a Rescue Center.

And there’s not a doubt, our girls, their unborn babies, needed rescuing.

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Our first mom and baby

From abortion, abuse, horrors that still leave me angry at our cruel world.

But let me be clear, we are not the rescuers.

We can offer them a safe home, unconditional love, counseling, skills, good medical care and a full belly.

But we cannot give them hope. We cannot give them a future. We cannot wipe away every terror they have known in their short lives. We cannot heal them.

Oh, we try. But it’s not our job.

Only Jesus can do these things.

Several of our girls were accepting all that we offered, except Him. They knew they would have to trust the same One who allowed so much pain. It’s been a very challenging, painful couple of weeks.

But then it happened: every one of our girls have asked Jesus into their lives, to be Lord of the past, the present and the future.

And just like that, the heaviness lifted and Heaven rejoiced.

He alone can rescue.

And He has.

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Why We Need to Be Creative

10:04 pm Bykristen

I love to make things.

I grew up in an enterprenure’s home, with a dad who can still come up with ten new business ideas on a napkin at dinner and with a mom who folk art painted on Thursday nights, made stain glass on Saturdays and created porcelain dolls in between.

You could say I inherited some of this (except I can’t come up with ONE business that will get my hubby next to me during day time hours and I’m a horrible painter).

Except for that.

But I love to create.

For a long time, my creativity could be found in my DIY projects and home decor. But after returning from Africa, I struggled with continuing to make it about me and not sharing some of it. Does that make sense?

I think that’s why I can’t believe I get to be a part of Mercy House, specifically helping to empower our girls by selling their artistic creations. It all makes sense, this creative outlet helping them help themselves. Plus, I really enjoy this part of it!

Creativity has come full circle for me. Mine has found a purpose and I’m finding my rhythm to allow my creativity free reign back in my home again…

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Why we need to be creative:

We serve a creative God. Just look around you. (He also may or may not have a sense of humor)
God created us to be creative.
We possess a unique, original gift of creativity. We can produce something that no one else can.
We honor Him when we produce something creative.
He receives glory in our creations.

Challenge: My hubby and I are dream-storming about the future (you know, instead of brainstorming). It takes a lot of creative juices to think outside the box. Besides just mental creativity, I’m trying to scratch the itch that demands hands-on creativity.

So, with only items in my home and 10 minutes to spare, I made this:

-white platter on my shelf made a great canvas -leftover ribbon and stickers from an old project -flag pieces cut from a sentimental Compassion International flyer -put them together to make a happy sign

What can you come up with?

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And don’t even tell me in that whiny voice, “I’m not creative.” You know who you are.

YOU WERE CREATED TO BE CREATIVE. It doesn’t have to be crafty to be creative. Go make a unique dinner, organize the garage exceptionally, write something heartfelt.

Glorify Him thru your creativity.

Why are you still here?

Go!

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WFMW: Family Phone

9:51 pm Bykristen

Well. I’ve gone and done it.

I’ve did something I said I would NEVER DO. Don’t you just love it when you have to eat your words.

(They taste like chicken).

I have said for years that I would never ever get my kids a cell phone before they were driving.

I just think it’s crazy how young kids are with phones and nice phones at that.

But then I got a sixth grader and within 12 hours of being in “middle school” it dawned on me that my daughter was going to be in situations where she needed me. And more importantly, where I needed to connect with her (band practices, lessons, etc).

But since we still feel like she’s too young for her own phone and don’t want all the headaches that come with that much freedom, we opted for a family cell phone.

Our family cell phones stays at home and is only used when we drop off our daughter for an extracurricular school or church event. Or if she is a mother’s helper across the street, or I run and get a sweet tea and leave her in charge for 7.5 minutes, etc.

We were able to just add a line to our existing contract for $10 a month, so it was a cheap solution.

It gives her a small amount of freedom she craves and keeps me from worrying.

It works for us!

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How to Talk to Your Husband About P*rn

10:20 pm Bykristen

Not a week goes by since writing our He Said She Said Series that I don’t receive an email from a broken wife telling me about her broken husband and their broken marriage. She shares details of how she caught him looking at images on the computer, of how she doesn’t know what to do, how to help him, where to go from here…

Just last week, my hubby and I handed in a lengthy marriage article to Lifeway’s Homelife Magazine on the very same subject (due out in January). We understand the vastness of the problem and just how difficult it is to find freedom.

We certainly aren’t experts. We’ve just been thru the battle and now stand on the other side, pointing to Him. Because God turned our trial into a testimony.

I don’t think 100% of men have a lust or pornography problem. But I promise it’s much higher than you think. I believe if your husband won’t talk to you about it (when you ask), or if he gets angry or defensive, the problem may be at your own front door.

If you have never had the conversation, you must. Don’t assume it will never happen to you (or him). By and large, this is the number one temptation many, many men face, including Christian men.

How to talk to your husband about porn:

Ask, don’t accuse. You might say something like, “I understand with the Internet being so accessible, that pornography is an issue for a lot of men. How do you handle the temptation?”
Suggest installing filters for all Internet-based technology (phones and computers, etc).
See if there’s any interest in reading the book Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time (The Every Man Series) (it does say every man, after all)
Most importantly pray. This is not easy for anyone to talk about, but so necessary.
If you have tween or teen boys, ask your husband if he would talk to them about this subject.
Count the cost: It might cost you something to “go there” or it might relieve you to know that this isn’t a battle for your husband. True intimacy is worth the risk.
Prepare your heart because if you ask, “Do you struggle with pornography?” he might say yes.

If He Says Yes

The first thing I want to say to you is you’re not alone. I’m not trying to minimize your pain-because believe me, I know it’s real. I just want you to know that healing is possible, freedom is available and restoration is hopeful.

Pray for your husband. He has a very big decision to make if he is to live in freedom
Don’t be his accountability partner, but insist he find a Christian one
Buy and have him read (to start with) Every Man’s Battle and you need to read For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men
Be proactive in your home-cut off cable, throw out magazines and catalogs with women’s clothing, get filters for phone and Internet, etc–your home needs to be a safe place
Ready and watch our He Said She Said Series
Ask him to stop viewing pornography, come completely clean and seek counsel.

And, please, find someone to talk to about this. Ask a Bible Study teacher, a friend in confidence…One of Satan’s biggest lies is to try and convince you that YOU CAN’T TELL ANYONE. Obviously this isn’t something that is easy for my husband and I to talk about, but there’s power in the word of your testimony and we feel passionate about helping couples expose this dark subject to The Light.

Talking to your spouse about this subject isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

photo source

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Just Arrived! {Giveaway}

10:06 pm Bykristen

UPDATED with Winners: Congrats to comments #97 Oh Amanda and #125 Jody McComas!

I’m so happy to announce that our NEW Mercy House t-shirts are in!! We decided to have two styles printed since there were only a handful of votes difference between first and second place. More than 500 of you left a comment to vote…

I love the way they turned out!

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The winner: Women’s fit, v-neck in Navy, sizes S-XL: Love Mercy Africa Shirt

[cute paper bead necklace worn as a bracelet, sold here]

Close second (Unisex, black, sizes available: youth-XXL): Love Mercy Word Shirt

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Both $20 each.

And we have youth sizes for $16 each:

We also have NEW Love Mercy 1″ silicone wristbands in black and white (with mercyhousekenya.org embossed on the inside)

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Today Only: Shipping on shirts is $1 with this code: EMPOWER

Today Only: Free shipping on all wristbands with this code: MERCY

I’m giving away two shirts today to two winners! Leave a comment on this post to be entered. But wait, there’s more: I’m also giving away shirts on the We are THAT family and Mercy House Facebook pages, so make sure you “like” them to be entered!

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Why We Must Not Stop Dreaming

10:05 pm Bykristen

I met Robin when I was young. Oh, so young with childless arms and a confidence that was superficial.

We walked through the ups and downs of infertility together, hubby and I all wrapped up in youth ministry. Years passed, I moved away with my young family to another church on the opposite side of the map. We both had swollen bellies at the time…

But Robin is the kind of friend that is good for introverts like me. She never let go.

She is the first person I knew with a “blog” I used to use air quotes then when referring to this strange practice of writing your thoughts for the world to read. It kept us connected.

She kept us connected. (and was the very very first monthly sponsor of the dream we didn’t know we had).

After three boys, Robin dreamed of a little girl. That was ten years ago. She’s tenacious. She never stopped dreaming. She prayed her dream into reality.

This past weekend, I met her daughter, rescued from the vast hole of foster care, pending adoption that will be official in just a few weeks (which is why we aren’t showing her adorable face in this picture):

Robin has taught me a few things in this life (like how to make homemade baby wipes). She’s also taught me that we must never stop dreaming….

God gives us our dreams
God changes our dreams so that He will receive the most glory
With God, our dreams go from crazy to possible
Not everyone will believe in our dream
And sometimes dreams happen so quickly, it takes our breath away
But most times, dreams don’t happen overnight or even in a decade
But with faith and patience and hard work, they do happen

Keep dreaming. Don’t give up.

What do you dream about?

P.S. My big big dream is to one day have my hubby working from home (helping with Mercy House more), out of corporate America. We don’t know what this looks like, but we dream anyway.

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How to Turn a Bad Day Around

8:12 pm Bykristen

It’s possible, ya know?

I’m talking about it at (in)courage today.

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Your Christian Student Has Rights

10:11 pm Bykristen

It’s not easy taking a stand.

It’s even harder to do it alone.

When we arrived to See You at the Pole, there were only a couple of others there.

I could sense my daughter’s relief when classmates began filling in the spaces, one-by-one. Silently they grabbed hands and bowed their heads. Each student voluntarily joining together to pray for their school, their teachers, their nation. It took courage.

Moms and dads were sprinkled in and out of the circle, suggesting kids squeeze the hand of the person next to them if they wanted to “pass” on praying out loud.

My son and daughter didn’t squeeze. But my heart did.

It’s easier to have courage when you’re not alone.

As prayers were lifted, the sidewalks got crowded with students and parents pressing in. Some were staring, whispering. Pointing. I opened my eyes and I heard the mom behind me tell her son, loudly in a tone that sent a chill down my spine: “No, son, they are NOT allowed to pray like this. It’s completely illegal!”

I watched her march into the school, dragging her son behind. He looked perplexed.

I think he knew in his heart his mom was wrong.

Our Christian students have many legal rights on a public school campus to pray and do even more.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Share these with your kids. Encourage them to stand, even without a flag pole.

A Bible or Christian group can advertise and make announcements at school if other groups and clubs are allowed.
Valedictorians, salutatorians, honorary student speakers can give speeches on religious subjects, including reading from the Bible; baccalaureate services are permitted and if the school facilities are available to other groups then they most be made available for baccalaureate services.
Students are free to observe religious holidays and express their beliefs and convictions as they apply to a particular holiday; they have the right to distribute Christmas cards or religious tracts on the “true meaning of Christmas” during non-instructional times.
Praying in groups or alone is allowable and legal (including lunch-time and between classes) if it does not interfere with instructional times.
Students may bring Bibles or religious books or literature to school as long as they do not disrupt instructional times.
Students may opt out of a class for objectionable religious reasons. Unless parental consent is given, no student shall be required to submit to any kind of test designed to reveal information of a non-academic nature. Click hereto obtain a letter to your School Principal enforcing YOUR childs rights as a student based on Hatch Amendment -this is extremely important.

Download and read the entire document….you might be surprised at just how legal it is to be a Christian in public school:
A Christian Student’s Bill of Rights

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WFMW: Organized Fall Mornings

10:01 pm Bykristen

{Hard time coming up with tips? Try today’s suggested theme: share a fall tip}

Two-thirds of my children have a hard time picking out the clothes every morning. The other third picks out my clothes. Because she thinks I need help and she’s pretty good at it.

I was at my friend Amy’s house (who happens to live across the street [fun!], and she clued me on her morning salvation:

Beautiful, isn’t it? Okay, not really. But work with me here. I bought two off Amazon (one in pink with a different princess of the day since my 4 year old is still not reading big words yet).

During the weekend, when my kids do their laundry, (Yes, when you turn 8 in THAT family, you get your very own laundry basket! Lucky! and some lessons in the laundry room) I or more honestly, my oldest child who likes people in our family to actually match their clothes, fills up the organizer with outfits.

Y’all. I could cry. Because it works!! It has saved me so much time in the morning and my kids are happy since they helped pick out their clothes on the weekend.

Get your own for less than $10. Or better yet, use what you have and create something that works just as well!

Organized mornings work for me!

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Lisa Leonard Designs {Giveaway}

10:54 pm Bykristen

Updated with Winner: Congrats to comment #88 Kim!

Sometimes I forget to eat.

And I’m not talking about food.

While at the beach a few weeks ago with (in)courage, my friend Lisa Leonard let us choose from some of her new beauties. I was so drawn to this necklace.

Because if my tummy is full, but my soul is empty, I don’t have much to offer anyone.

Full.

I love being a living message. I love to accessorize as a living witness to what I need, how I feel, or what message I want to share.

Some other favorites:

and

and I love this [really] cute personalized Heart Banner:

Plus, there’s a fantastic sale page<———– think gifts.

Today, I’m giving away a $75 gift certificate! Look around, leave a comment on this post with what you love and you’ll be entered to win!

But what I love most about Lisa is that she’s a real person with a kind heart. She’s a beautiful artisan who loves Jesus and let’s her light shine for Him! And that just makes her creations more beautiful, huh?

This giveaway ends Thursday.

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How You Know You’re a Real Mom

10:26 am Bykristen

{I’m speaking at a Mom’s group tonight about Cultivating a Heart that is Tender to God’s Call to Minister to a World in Need. But I thought I’d start out by just being real.}

You have to think about the last time you washed your own hair
You can change a toddler’s diaper while he is flipping around on the floor.
You don’t fix dinner when your hubby is out of town. Spaghettio night!
You consider it a vacation if flag football practice is cancelled due to a storm.
Your minivan resembles a dump, lost and found, and your house.
You get a night out and your hubby calls 7 times.
You count it a good day if you can stay in your pajamas.
You call your husband, daddy, because,everyone else in the house does…
You hide chocolate in the house and sneak when everyone else is having a healthy snack.
You are always ready to put your hand over your child’s mouth because you never know when she’s going to tell people that she used to drink milk from you boobs and it’s totally gross.
You would do anything for your kids, including but not limited to, dropping off their forgotten lunch and band instrument, paying for a lost retainer more than twice, and sharing the last of your sweet tea.
Ok, you lied about the sweet tea. Don’t touch the sweet tea.

What would you add?

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2nd Mercy House Benefit Day

9:33 am Bykristen

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On November 7, 2011, I will be hosting our 2nd Silent Auction to benefit Mercy House. And we need YOUR help!

How it will work: In increments of 30 minutes, all day long, we will publish a new item up for auction. If you want to bid, you will leave a comment with your bid amount. Each comment is a bid, with the last comment being the winner–just like a silent auction. The Benefit Day will end at 11 pm CST on November, 9th.

Donate an Item: This is a fabulous way to get FREE ADVERTISING for your store or product and your own post write-up with links (and support a great cause)! All the cool kids are doing it! We will limit the auction to around 30 items (25 14 spots left as of now), they must be a minimum of $75 in value. Please send your interest to mercyhousekenya@gmail.com (Once approved, you will need to send a picture(s), item description, value and mail item(s) to winner).

Highest Bidders: Will be announced in a new blog post and invoiced via Paypal.

All proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the new counseling department of The Mercy House. We recognize the need for intensive one on one therapy for each of our pregnant girls and have hired a qualified counselor to do so. Monthly cost is a minimum of $250 (goes up with each girl). We are hoping this Benefit Auction will pay for the entire 2012 year! Your non-cash donation is tax deductible if you request a receipt!

Special thanks to the two amazing friends who are heading up the Mercy Benefit Day: Eryn of Mama Hall and Jamie of Six Bricks High, my volunteer virtual assistant. You girls are a blessing to me!

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