{T.I.L. #10}

I'm kinda spent this evening (I'll share more tomorrow) so tonight is short and sweet {spoiler alert: no it's not. Short and sweet is just not in my realm of possibilities.}

I love books. Like so much. I read about people and their real-life memoirs, fictional works, self-help books, post-apocalyptic teen drama...you know, the normal stuff.

But what I love the most is the actual storytelling. Whether it is shooting the breeze with friends to recount the work stories of the day or Bible stories that tell about historical events, I often become engrossed in a good story.

I wanted to highlight a story that I've been following and it truly fills my heart with joy to think about this person and her life trajectory. Her name is Katie Davis and you can read about her journey in the book Kisses from Katie. Though I was crying every 6 pages, I found this book to be very challenging.

This single girl basically felt a pull from God to move across the world and adopt young girls who had no one to turn to. 

Katie & her girls...picture from Katie's blog

Honestly, I became aware of how selfish my single life suddenly felt as I thought about my greatest worry being whether they put water in my chai latte or whether Downton Abbey had released yet in the US.

This girl is caring for the fatherless and cleaning wounds of village drunks and buying property in a foreign country and starting a non-profit to help poor working-class women...all in her single 20's. What the ever-loving crap have *I* been doing?

That's not the message of the book or the great story. Her message is that she does it all for the glory and honor of Jesus. That's the best part. That's good news for all of us, including my selfish self. I recommend the book with no hesitation. 

But recently, something was added to her already amazing story and heart for the Lord. Katie Davis got married. 
 

Her wedding...picture from her blog post

You can read her blog post about her process of trusting God for a husband to enhance her relationship with God, rather than detract from it. 

When I am tempted to go inside myself and wallow, I am consistently reminded of stories like Katie's. When I am seduced by the world's advice to 'go out and get a husband' by using my body and sex appeal, I am reminded of a girl who served Jesus by washing feet and drying the eyes of orphans; orphans who now had a mother. God provides her every need as she depends on Him. On top of that, He gives good gifts...the best gifts. Why am I not convinced of that by now?

There are so many great stories out there, but my favorites are the ones with happy endings.

Hope Mommies

Just wanted to celebrate with my friend, Erin, who just welcomed her beautiful son Malacai into the world this weekend. We celebrate him incredibly, as we also continue to celebrate the short but powerful life of his older sister, Gwendolyn.

Erin, Blair, and baby Malacai

Blair & Erin are an incredible couple who love the Lord and love people.  And talk about two people who took the hardest thing in life and allowed the Lord to fashion a pearl for the world...a pearl that was never in the original plan, from the beginning of time until now. I am writing about them because I believe their story can help others. You can read about Gwendolyn's full story here, as well as perusing the rest of her blog that details the journey to sweet little Malacai.

Death is hard enough to stomach, but losing an infant has got to be the most indescribable grief one could experience. I know nothing about it personally, but I know firsthand that losing a parent caused many a 'pull-the-car-over-and-cry-until-snot-comes-out' episodes; these episodes often triggered by the number of songs, places, or memories we create with those we love.

But to lose the life-that-hasn't-been-lived-yet is altogether a different story in my opinion. I've always said grief is like a roller coaster that you never really exit...just endure until your body kind of regains a weird equilibrium in order to deal with wanting to die because of the gaping hole in your heart.

I have had several friends who have lost children...some early in the pregnancy, some right before birth, some during delivery. No matter when or how it happened, it always strikes a chord in my heart of questioning God. "How could you let this happen?" is usually my first thought.

We don't have answers for any tragedy (in fact, the more answers I seek, the more the questions pop up). That's just it. Like blessings, tragedy has no formula; no secret code to learn to ensure you can avoid it. It's what we do with tragedy that determines how we live. And I am adamant that no one can dictate that for you. No one. No one has the right to tell you when, how, or how long to grieve. I don't care how many 'steps' there are in the grief cycle...it's YOUR grief cycle. You decide.

I just wanted to share in my dear friends' joy this weekend...and also to honor Gwendolyn's life. The heart of a person can never be snuffed out, even when their body leaves the earth.

Erin is a writer and uses her words as an outlet to grieve and heal. While doing so, she began to see how her grief & hope in Christ could help other moms who had lost children. She started Hope Mommies as a way to 'bring the Hope of Christ to bereaved mothers and families experiencing infant loss.' What a beautiful testimony of God taking her tragedy and creating beauty from ashes.

I love you, Erin. And to my other friends who have experienced infant loss, I love you dearly and I wish I had more than my prayers to help you heal.

Princess and the Pearls: The Bieb Bag

Today I went to a baby shower for my childhood friend Amanda. She looked adorable with her big ol' baby bump (at what point is it no longer a bump? Just curious.)

Anywho, the shower was great, but that's not what I am writing about. I was talking with my other childhood friend Jill about life and things and somehow Justin Bieber came up. Well, I'm no stranger to admitting my love for JB and working that into a convo (yes, I'm 32...shut it). There's no shame here. Would I wear these to a movie theater (TWICE!) if I cared about what others thought?

I promise I am getting to the point...you have to follow my rabbit trail to get to the Pearl.

Jill's little girl has a rare disease and has been a little fighter (just like her mommy--love you Jill! *wink). You can read about her story on her Caring Bridge Page. The reason I am posting about this is because Jill told me about this teenager who was inspired by the Biebs' song 'Pray' and decided to help raise money for Ava & a few other charities by making The Bieb Bag out of the vinyl record. They are a little pricey, but for each bag sold, $10 will go to each charity (I believe). How cool is this girl??! I seriously want to meet her...

The Bieb Bag

I call this section Princess and the Pearls because I SOOO love how people take the grit of life and allow the Lord to coat it with His Grace.  This little girl Ava, and now, this teenager, have done just that. Plus, I just love pearls--they are so beautiful & miraculous.

So if you see me walking around sporting 'The Bieb Bag', you can't make fun of me...cuz now you know it is for a good cause! What do you think? Know any little tweens (or 32 year olds, ahem) that could use one of these??