Kristen Welch

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My Life

What I’m Loving This Week, Vol. 23

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I love Fridays. Especially when they fall on International Women’s Day. I thought I’d share some of my favorite things this week (and some of them empower women!):

    1. FREEBIE! With every purchase on International Women’s Day (Friday, March 8) at Mercy House Global, customers will get a free set of these gorgeous notecards. Elizabeth, one of our teen moms in Kenya who lives in the transition home, painted this incredible oilmasterpiece, inspired by her time at the maternity home ($12 value) 
    2. The New Ambassador Program at Mercy House Global -I’m so excited to launch this program that has literally been a dream of mine for years. If you’re a monthly donor and/or a current Fair Trade Friday member, than you qualify–here’s a sneak peek if you want to apply early as we finish up the details at Mercy House Global.
    3. Coffee. Y’all. I don’t know what has happened to me. I’ve always been a sweet tea girl but the last thing I think about before I fall asleep and my first thought in the morning is coffee. This is my absolute favorite (and I’m not even playing favorites) with Hazelnut creamer. Somehow, I’ve become a “but, first coffee” girl. Are you? How do you drink your coffee? Do you have a favorite mug?
    4. The sun. Enough said, right? Winter, be gone. I’m ready for Spring!
    5. Curated Fair Trade Gift Boxes-Ah! I’m in love with this picture. Gifts for everyone–I love this new collection! Gift boxes for babies, kids, teens, and more will be added to the collection soon..
    6. Beaded Earrings That Make Every Day Feel Like Friday-  I shared the story of Bessina’s earrings on Instagram and the tragedy that stopped her from finishing her order…and our friend’s in Haiti who we are supporting by selling their beaded earrings. These stunning earrings are available today!
    7. Fair Trade Easter Eggs –More felt eggs arrived in our warehouse today and these will be back in online next week (click here to be notified when they are ready to purchase) Watch this brand new short video and learn why this is the best thing to put in your kid’s basket this Easter.
    8. Spring Break– One of the best things about this week is that my college girl is coming home!

Living A Missional Life Directs Our Kids Towards Their Mission

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This photo hangs on the wall in my bathroom and every morning it reminds me how quickly time is passing. Wasn't it just yesterday my tiny children were standing at the edge of their grandmother's pool in matching outfits with gapped-tooth grins, while I was trying to snap a picture and make sure they didn't also drown? A few months later, I would travel to Kenya for the first time and that trip would change everything--the way we understood the world's difficult normal compared to our easier ... Read More

Beyond The Mountains, There Are Mountains

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Nine years ago today, I traveled to Kenya for the first time as a blogger with Compassion International. I started Mercy House Global with my husband and a brave Kenyan girl named Maureen, five months after that trip as a response to everything that trip revealed to me. It’s been mountains and miracles ever since. But honestly, I never expected the road to be this good or this hard. Recently, in tears, I told my husband, our CEO, I just want an easy year—a year where we don’t have more mountains ... Read More

You’re Not Alone. God Sees You.

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I gripped my pen as she told me her story over the phone. As she described it, I could see the danger her family faced and sense the fear on her children’s faces, the shock of losing their home, their community, everything but their lives. She had lost so much. But I cried with her — not because of all that had gone missing, but  because she could see what she still had. She could see the unseen. She could look through the blurry present and see a clear future. No, she didn’t have answers ... Read More

Charity Doesn’t End Poverty. Jobs Do.

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I've been contemplating how to write this post for days. There has been a heavy wrestling in my soul in the process. Prepare thy self. Today was a Hallmark-made famous holiday. I have never really cared much about Valentine's Day--really, ask my husband. I didn't care until I started thinking like a small business owner and then suddenly, I cared very much. January is a dead month for retailers and Valentine's Day is usually the first day of a new year that stores see as a spike in sales. ... Read More

Hey Momma, This Is A Hug From Me To You

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I stumbled onto the Goodreads page for one of my parenting books accidentally. There were 100 and something reviews and although I usually make it a habit of not reading them, I couldn't look away. There were a lot of encouraging words there, but one review stuck with me, "The author [that would be me] kept repeating "I'm not a parenting expert" over and over again. Honey, we realize this. But you ARE writing a book--own it." I've thought about her words a lot--good grief, not the expert ... Read More

Go Team (Jesus)!

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It was about this time, four years ago, when I was sitting in gridlock traffic, in a car in an alley, in a slum in Kenya when I had the idea. We had just left the artisan group that named themselves Have Hope because they didn't have any and I was desperate to provide them with work that would fulfill their group name. The poverty in the room was stifling and these women needed a miracle. At the time, they only knew how to make one thing well-- paper bead bracelets-- and I was trying to come ... Read More

“I Hope You Will Be Treated Unfairly, So That You Will Come To Know The Value of Justice”

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My parents used to say that I had a strong sense of justice. I think because I tattled a lot. I have always seen in black and white and lived by right and wrong. In the basement of my strengths, this looks a little like legalism and a lot like judgement. But when it is used as God meant it, I tend to rally for the underdog and root for the oppressed. Mom and Dad aren't really surprised that I ended up working at Mercy House. When I first traveled to Kenya and met desperate women who ... Read More