on writing.

I'm not a writer.  I do not have a deep love for the English language.  Let me clarify.  I appreciate it, I use it, but that's not what I am passionate about.
However, I do want to sing the praises of the written word for a moment.
Sometimes I'm confused, frustrated, emotionally exhausted, etc, etc, etc.  The process of writing things down helps me clear my head.  It helps me gain perspective.  I can step back and assess the situation at hand.  And later I can go back and read it.  When I do, it stirs my memories.  There is so much I have forgotten.  I'm thankful that I have it written down.

I wrote quite frequently during the time in our lives when we were moving here. I love to look back on it and read about all the little ways (and big ways) God answered our prayers.

I don't practice this everyday, or every week, or month, even, for that matter.  But I do use it during seasons in my life and it helps me.

gratitude

"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."1 Thessalonians 5:18

Gratitude can do a lot.

"Gratitude can turn what we have into enough"...a little nugget from Pinterest

"Gratitude heals and prevents jealousy"...read more in this post Overcoming Jealousy

And gratitude puts us in our place.  A people thankful to our God for his amazing love, tender care, sustaining power, and never failing strength.

So give God some gratitude today.  You'll be happy you did.

Neat free gratitude printable at cheepideas.com (for personal use only).

who knew a necklace could do so much?

Could you guess how a woman who works in an African orphanage could be connected with building a duplex in Haiti?  I think I would have a hard time figuring that out if I didn't have some inside information. 

My friend and a fabulous photographer, Ginny, makes it a point to use her photography business to minister to others.  For one, her prices are afforable.  For two, she chooses a charity to support every quarter.  A portion of the proceeds from all her photo shoots goes to help someone in need.

This time she's helping our team build a home in Haiti.  A friend of Ginny's recently went on a mission trip to Uganda.  Ginny asked her friend to pick up some handmade necklaces for her.  These necklaces were made by Agnes, an orphanage worker.  Now we are selling the necklaces and all the proceeds are going to build the house in Haiti.  What a neat way to support, Agnes, and the families in Haiti who will receive a new home.

If you interested in buying a necklace, I can hook you up.

homes and hope for Haiti

I love biographies.  I really love missionary stories too.  Just recently, I finished Taking the High Places  by Terry Snow and Jemimah Wright.  Terry Snow is a YWAM missionary in Saint Marc, Haiti.  I truly enjoyed reading about how God has used Terry Snow to make His name great in Haiti.  I was most impressed by Terry Snow's intimate relationship with God.  What especially impressed me was how often and clearly God communicated with him in very specific and directional ways.  I desire that.  Though, I know I don't put enough time and energy into my walk with the Lord to have that.

Our church has sent two teams to work on one of YWAM Haiti/Terry Snow's projects.  We're getting ready to send a third team in December.  The teams we send build homes for Haitians that were displaced by the earthquake.   Our church, I'm very proud to say, built the first house in this neighborhood and we plan to build the last one in December.  Right now we are raising the money.  It costs $6,000.00 to build a duplex in Haiti where two families can live.  Our church is hosting a Golf Tournament in November and all the proceeds will go to build the duplex.  It's called the Homes of Hope Golf Tournament.  We also have another fundraiser in the works I will talk about next time.
Here's a video showing what the homes we built are like.

chromatography

This week we had the opportunity to take a science class learn about chromatography.  We also got to do a really cool experiment where we made these shirts.  Thanks to our super duper teacher and friend, Jenny.  You can check out her blog over at Mullin It Over.

Megan took this one of Todd.

Todd took this one of Megan.

a nightgown

I saw the sweetest little nightgown tutorial online and wanted to make it for Megan.  I think, though, that it was only really worth it for me because it was free.  I used fabric and notions that I already had.  I think it turned out great, but I'm not sure it was worth all the work that went into it.  I bought a nightgown pattern at Hancock's on Monday.  I'm hoping that it is much easier.  In this pattern she calls for basting the skirt of the nightgown and ruffling it. I was having a hard time with that so I pleated it.  It was much easier for me.  Here is the tutorial link if you want to give it a try.  The sleeves would have been cuter, but she slept in this last night.

"warhol" dress

This is another cute and free pattern and tutorial over at MADE.  She suggested repurposing large t-shirt for the knit to make this dress.  Until this week, I never have bought clothing for the purpose of taking it home and cutting it up.  I cannot say that any longer.  It was really kind of fun.  I found several mens black XL t-shirts on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart.  Each has about a yard of knit on it.  It was $3/yard.  I think that was a pretty good deal.  The camo knit fabric some scrap fabric that Nana had given me.

Megan loves, loves, loves her Perry.

And Todd's favorite pasttime at the moment...reading Nate the Great books.

where's Perry?

When I saw the free pattern and instructions on how to make a stuffed platypus, I knew I had to make one.  I had to make a Perry the Platypus for Megan.  She loves it!  Now Todd and Seth need one.
Here's the LINK to the free pattern and instructions.

unplanned, or was it?

I just finished reading Unplanned by Abby Johnson.  She's the Planned Parenthood (PP) director from Bryan, Texas, who left her position for the "other side of the fence".  It was an interesting book.  It makes me think about words and how I use them.
One thing Abby said was she noticed how carefully PP chose their words.  Calling a baby in utero, a pregnancy.  Calling it fetal tissue.  Dehumanizing it.  Using words to make a case for the plight of women, never babies.  It worked for Abby.  For eight years she worked in and finally directed that particular clinic.  All the while, God was growing a movement called Coalition for Life, also in Bryan, Texas.  Coalition for Life volunteers would stand outside the fence of Abby's PP clinic and pray for her and the others working and visiting the clinic.  They prayed for her for eight years.  Then one day  she experienced something that opened her eyes.  She was God-changed.  She left.
I think her story is amazing.  What impresses me the most about this story is the faithfulness of those Coalition for Life folks who prayed for her for so long.  God answered their prayers.  It just took some time.  That is an encouragment to me.  I have also seen God answer prayers that have been long prayed for. 

One thing I do think she got wrong was the name of the book.  I don't think any of this was unplanned.  It just wasn't planned by her.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
Psalm 139:16

A man's heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

Many are the plans in a person's heart,
But it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 NIV