Simple and Small

There is something soul-feeding about noticing and appreciating the small and lovely things about a day.  The way curtains whisper and tell secrets in a breeze.  The way a song can pulse through your limbs and move your feet.   Light in a baby's eyes.   

 

Notes from friends tucked away in good books.  

The way an old record wobbles and warbles around a turn table. 

The way textures diverge and contrast.  

Reminders to tilt heads back and give laughter wings.

And the way words, no matter their age, can still slay your soul.

It's Wednesday.  And you may be smack dab in the middle of a really long week.  Life is hard.  It just is.  We live in a broken place with broken people who break things.  And the heaviness of some seasons seem to last forever.  But life and hope can be found there, too.  Pops of color among the backdrop of grey.

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.

ANNE FRANK

The quiet, little beauty of this day is calling to you, waiting to perch and sing it's simple song.  It is not too late to change the direction your heart is heading.  

Go.  Discover.  Breathe it in.  And enjoy.

Found

We and the world, my children, will always be at war. 

Retreat is impossible.

Arm yourselves.

LEIF ENGER

Today (for a few more minutes) is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

I should tell you that I believe people are sacred, personally crafted and dreamed up by the hand of God, Himself.  If there was a CSI of hearts, God’s fingerprints would be all over us all, whether we acknowledge Him or not.  And try to scrub Him off, though we may, we cannot get rid of His DNA, whether we twist and pervert His dream or not.  We have an enemy of our souls, one who hates the One represented in our fabric, whether we believe in him or not.

And if you weren’t convinced before that life is sacred and that a force throws all it has at cutting life off at the knees, the 27 million people—men, women, children—bound and silenced by slavery today should scream its truth at you.

I’ve mentioned them before, but I love the organization, IJM.  The International Justice Mission not only rescues those prey to abusers, but they prosecute offenders and work in countries worldwide, changing laws in order to protect Humanity’s citizens. 

In India alone more than three million people wake each morning to the bars and chains of sexual slavery.  More than one million?  Children...  Children like Suhana, uniquely made by God’s own hands...dreamed up for life.  Suhana—trafficked and trapped in a brothel at thirteen.  Rescued by IJM workers, healing in an aftercare program...only to be tricked and re-trafficked...dumped off and lost in Mumbai, a city of 18 million people.

And IJM found her...again.

My team was unwilling to give up.

(IJM Worker) 

One person?  In a city of 18 million?  That’s insane.  Or maybe just a few people armed with the knowledge of Insane Love, Himself…

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

EDMUND BURKE

I believe that people are irreplaceable.  Each of us has a role to fill...there’s no one else to hire.  It’s your job.  It belongs to you.  

I don’t know if you belong to Jesus or not.  But wouldn’t it be incredible to stand together, to refuse to look the other way when we know our fellow image-bearers are being stripped of their God-dreamed-up right to life?  It doesn’t have to be to IJM—there are lots of great organizations that battle human trafficking—but would you consider to give something, even something small just to say, on this day, “I refuse to slip silently into the night, pretending I do not see...hear...know…”

In the heat of battle it ceases to be an idea for which we fight. Or a flag. Rather we fight for the man on our left, and we fight for the man on our right. And when armies are scattered and the empires fall away, all that remains is the memory of those precious moments that we spent side by side. 

 The Four Feathers

It isn’t about standing against the idea of trafficking, though that’s vital.  It’s about standing up for the precious persons affected by it.  It’s about speaking for those who have no voice, no one to defend them.  Let’s speak with our money and time and prayer together and say, “You matter.  You were created for life, full and free.  And we see you.” 

********

To learn more about IJM or to give through their organization, click here.

Please do watch more of Suhana’s story.

And thanks to my sister, Anna, for the new banner.  My littles live in her hats.  You can check her out on Etsy, here.

Brand New

New Year's is fast becoming my favorite holiday.  We good-bye a year in a night.  We hello brand new in the wee hours of morning.  Clean pallets, empty canvases, wide open horizons of possibility.  Minds poised, ready to dive in to change.  Big or small.  Stopping, starting.

Diet plans and exercise regimes.  To pick up a new hobby.  Save for that trip.  Work hard.  Play more.

Maybe you find cynicism in the resolutions of a new year.  It's true - the year ahead doesn't change the year behind us or the obstacles we face.  And yet the New Year extends its hand to us just the same...its open hand.  A hand free of judgement, void of record.  Yup, there is snow on the ground...but it can still be summer in our hearts.

My sisters and I dove in and started a 365 (+1 - leap year, baby!) project.  A picture a day for a year.  I want to learn my camera.  I want to link arms with my sisters, no matter the miles between our front doors and welcome mats.  And while I have no aspirations of becoming a photographer, I do hope to always be a student of life.  I hope that when I'm 86, I'm heading off to a pottery class just to get my hands dirty and learn something new.  To push myself creatively.  To pause for the beauty in each day.  Because it's there, ripe and ready to be enjoyed.

We are all moving toward something.  No matter the direction we're heading, we are shifting, changing.  So why not dream up the people we want to be, pin it up on the Pinterest boards of our minds and.....become.

Listen to the mustn'ts, child. 

Listen to the don'ts. 

Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. 

Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... 

Anything can happen, child. 

Anything can be. 

Shel Silverstein

My all-things-new-resolutions are simple.  Open hands.  More love.

Let's embrace the new.  Quiet that noise heart.  Point our feet.  And become...

Forget about what's happened; 

don't keep going over old history.

Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. 

It's bursting out! Don't you see it? 

Isaiah 43.19, The Message

Viva la Vida!  Here's to the adventure of a brand new year.

Lavish Love

It’s four days past Christmas.

And maybe you trimmed your home with sentiment and cheer this month…

 

Maybe you traveled or maybe loved ones gathered in your home….

Maybe you maked-and-baked in preparation for time together...

Maybe you shopped and placed presents under a tree...

 

Maybe you reminisced about the old days or made new holiday memories…

I heard a story on the news last week about a community of "Secret Santas."  Anonymous strangers who pulled out wallets at layaway counters nationwide.  Families who walked in to chisel at payments were shoved off their guard with good news: balance paid in full.  Wet faces and swollen hearts carried home presents...and hope.

As December packs up and 2011 waves goodbye, I'm thankful for a God who showed up, opened wide His heart, and slapped down payment...the gift of Himself.  Peace on layaway?  Paid in full.  Hope on layaway?  Paid in full.  Forgiveness?  Purpose?  Bright futures?  New tomorrows?  Paid in full.  Celebrity born to obscurity.  Majesty...lullaby-ed in a manger.  Creator, Author of Life, bent down low.  Vulnerable and weak, an infant - dependent on the tender care of a mother, the protection of a father.

Maybe you were able to breathe deep and soak it all in - family, traditions, friends, love, laughter - everything Christmas. Or maybe amidst the busyness of this holiday season your inner Zen stepped out on you.  Maybe now that the gifts are unwrapped, the magic is fading like a child grown up.

But Christmas isn't over. 

The Great Gift-Giver keeps giving and giving and giving.  He cannot help Himself.  He gives because He loves.  And He just keeps loving and loving and loving.

Maybe it was your first Christmas without him.  Maybe her seat at the dinner table sat empty.  He gives Himself.  Alpha and Omega, The One Who Never Leaves.

Or maybe the life you carried inside slipped from your womb to the grave.  He gives Himself.  His shoulder for your tears, the One Who Sees...Hears...Knows...

Maybe you found yourself alone again, when you thought for sure that this would be the year.  He gives Himself.  Protector...Provider...Husband.

God, squeezed into man.  The answer to all our hearts' questions; the fulfillment of every longing....asleep on the hay.  Emmanuel.  God near...among...for...with...us.

The people who walked in darkness 

have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—light...
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants...
Is gone, done away with...
For a child has been born—for us! 

the gift of a son—for us!
He'll take over 

the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor, 

Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.
...there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.

Isaiah 9, The Message

He gives Himself.  Happy for-God-so-loved-the-world-Christmas, all. 

Red Rover

It's been a year...

I'm not sure where the time goes, but a little over a year ago we moved from our first home, off to adventure life in a new city.  Our move sputtered and stalled, four weeks turned into four months and crescendo-ed with a broken ankle - mine. 

I was looking at 30 just weeks prior, determined for newness, a list of resolves folded and tucked away in my heart...

1. Listen for God.
2. Less fear; more love.
3. Try; it's okay to fail.
4. Mess is good.
5. Give grace.
6. Use my words to empower.
7. Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion...(Zech. 7.9).
8. Treat all equally.  Be intimidated by and look down on no one.  We are all just people, after all.*

I never would have chosen this year of detoured plans and clipped wings.  But looking back, it was these very circumstances that watered my little list and made it shoot down roots to my soul.

If we let them, if we give them space and time, hearts and bones mend.  They come back stronger, more resilient, more sure.  And it is amazing to me how the good and bad of life can mold and shape...and then release us.  And while these seasons leave their mark, they no longer hold us.

This year, as I turned 31, I wanted guests for dinner.  Because when I wasn't sure how to keep up hope and see good, these precious people linked arms and deflected the darkness that tried to red rover my soul.  I loved them before, but now they are forever branded on my heart.

In a society that screams independence, that promotes and applauds the self-made and DIYers, I am thankful for a circle of friends, a small band of hope-ers who loved, full and fierce, refusing to let gloom break through.

Raise a glass to friendship

And to knowing you don't have to go alone

We'll raise our hearts to share each other's burdens

On this road.

Every burden I have carried,

Every joy - it's understood.

Life with you is half as hard

And twice as good.

SARA GROVES

Photo by Kenna.

Photo by Kenna.

Photo by Kenna.

Photo by Kenna.

Photo by Kenna.

Photo by Kenna.

Don't go alone.  Be seen, known.  Raise a glass...here's to going together.

Thankful

I think she's picked her song.

Each of our littles have snuggled up with Aunt Kenna early in life, bonding over lyrics and melodies.  They smile into each other's hearts, discuss, break, regroup, try others on...  And at some point walk away with a lullaby pact.  A sort of secret handshake.  You sing THAT song, you're in.  I'll be happy.  Deal?  Deal.

Eden's - Three Little Birds



Silas' - Pack Up Your Troubles


Maizy's?

Who's my pretty baby?  Who's my pretty little baby? 
You're my, my pretty little baby. Hey, hey, pretty babe.

And we will keep up our end, let me tell you.  We like happy babies.  Hey, hey.

I love this time of year.  Dear ones gather, the faucet of togetherness on full blast.  Thanksgiving fades to Christmas and graduates to New Year's.  Family and friends leave the grit of routine and step under the reuniting waters of love and tradition.

thankful (adj.)

conscious of benefit received; expressive of thanks

Coming to the end of a year of change and uncertainty I can say with conviction that I am thankful this Thanksgiving.  Thankful for the adventure of life, broken ankles and all.  Thankful for the ways it changes us.  Thankful for new days.  I'm thankful for forgiveness.  I'm thankful for family that are friends and friends that are family.  That hard seasons pass.  That good seasons come.  That through it all, no matter the season, the Alpha and Omega - the Beginning and End - of our souls stays.  And if we made a pact with Him, if He sang a lullaby over us, I think it'd sound something like this.

I pray you know His arms this holiday.  I pray you pause between the stories and pumpkin pie.  I pray you hear His melody wash over your soul.

Happy giving-thanks-Thanksgiving, all.