As most of us are about to dive deep into the potentially treacherous and terrifying black hole that is Christmas shopping, I’ve put together a list of some of my very favorite online shops that donate a portion of their profits to wonderful causes all over the world. These businesses all have super cute items that I love.  Happy shopping!

Beautiful & Beloved: “[their] vision is to make a simple path for you to support individuals freed from slavery who are now empowered to earn a living in a safe, clean and just way.”  I bought this fab Beautiful & Beloved necklace at The Influence Conference:

fashionABLE:  “The fashionABLE mission is to create sustainable business for Africans so they aren’t dependent upon charity, but instead earn the dignity of a job. We offer opportunity to everyone, with a primary focus on empowering women.”  fashionABLE sells beautiful scarves and leather products (iPad sleeves, wallets, clutches)–all made in Ethiopia!

She Does Justice: I met Megan Burns of She Does Justice at The Influence Conference during the dinner for adoptive mamas.  She started a handmade shop to raise money when her family was fundraising for their adoption, and it was so successful that she’s continued it.  Each month, she donates a portion of the proceeds to a different charity.  The shop has adorable items for both adults and children (oh, the headbands–LOVE!); I bought this top at Influence, and it’s so cozy and soft. (the necklace I’m wearing is by Sassy Lemonade, and the coffee sleeve was made by my friend, Hannah)

Better Life Bags: Rebecca, the founder of Better Life Bags, is such a sweet girl!  I love the mission behind the company: “My family and I moved on purpose to a low income area of Detroit  in 2010.  Because the unemployment rate here is 20%, we have an awesome opportunity for BLB to give back to the community that we operate out of! We hire women, who otherwise cannot get jobs, to work for BLB.  We rent them a sewing machine and tools while teaching them a skill set that allows them to become a primary or secondary provider in their families.”

Finally, if you have (or a friend/family member has) a heart for Africa, the shirts Jon and I are selling to raise funds for our adoption have a powerful message.  Shipping is on us!

 

You know when you’re reading the Bible, and a passage of scripture just leaps off the page and punches you in the face? (In like, a good way.  Not a scary, horrible way, like actually being punched in the face probably would be. Anyway.)  I had that experience the other day with Luke 17:21, when Jesus tells His followers:

…the kingdom of God is within you.

I mean, seriously?  This is powerful.  The kingdom of God–the full presence and power of the Godhead–is inside of you.  When you’re drowning in work stress, financial worry, health issues, friendship drama, tough decisions, and sticky family relationships (holla to all of my sisters for whom the holidays are a time of stress and tension) remember the sweet truth that you are walking around with the love and power–the same love and power that pulled Jesus out of the grave--inside of you.

Even better–His grace is all we need, and His power works best in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we are weak, He can work for us, through us, stronger than ever.  Be still before Him, and let the freedom of that truth wash over you.  If spending time with family is hard for you during the holidays, invite His power into your weakness.  Ask Him to love those difficult family members for you, through you.

John 7:38

Everyone who trusts in me…rivers of living water shall flow from within him.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.  Feel free to leave any prayer requests in the comments, or send me an e-mail.

Y’all… could we please talk about Stitch Fix for a minute, and how amazing it is?  I met several of the Stitch Fix stylists at Influence, and they are just the sweetest, most delightful girls, who have a genuine desire to help the rest of us bust out of our fashion ruts (am I the only one who buys the same things over and over?).

How would you like to have a personal stylist who learns your style, your preferences, looks through your Pinterest style board, and then picks out and boxes up 5 items she thinks you’ll love?  And what if this delectable box of goodness is then delivered to your front door, so you can try everything on in your cozy bedroom, away from harsh dressing room lighting and pushy salespeople, with 3 days to decide what you want to keep?  (You can send back what you don’t want in a postage-paid package that they provide.)

Um, YES PLEASE!!!!  I received my first fix last week and discovered for myself that Stitch Fix really is just as amazing as it sounds.  In my box was a faux leather moto jacket, a multi-colored sweater, a plaid shirt, burgundy skinny pants, and a black and white striped top.  Jon and I headed to downtown Grapevine one night to do a photo shoot with some of my Stitch Fix goodies… I didn’t wear the pants or the black and white top at the shoot, and I forgot to photograph them separately.  Oops.

I paired the sweater with a mustard tank & sage green lace top, as well as with a coral dress I recently bought on sale ($12!) on piperlime.com.  I think this is one of those sweaters that initially seems like it will go with nothing, but actually goes with lots. (I kept it.)

The fabulous necklace is from Beautiful & Beloved.

I paired the plaid shirt with my mustard cardigan, as well as with the leather jacket that was included in my fix and a couple of necklaces from LuLu’s.

I love mixing edgy and feminine pieces, like the leather jacket with my pink tulle dress.

It all sounds amazing, right?! Ready to sign up for your first fix? (Remember, there is no obligation to buy anything–you can send it all back if you want to.)  Click here to get started!

Disclaimer: Stitch Fix kindly offers a discount to bloggers whose readers schedule a fix via their affiliate link.

Today, I’m joining Kerrie Williams and Kerry Todd for their third Hello, My Name Is link-up, which gives women a place to come together and “make Him famous by letting others know how He is redeeming [them and] how He has renamed [them].”

Anxiety and fear–manifested in various delightful ways–have ruled me for much of my life. I didn’t have much stability growing up, so it started young. Yes, my parents stayed married and my family didn’t suffer any major tragedies, but we moved a lot. In between the moves, I changed schools. A lot. In 6th grade alone I attended a private school, was homeschooled a couple of months, and then attended a public school.

Any time I saw my parents with their heads bowed close together in hushed conversation, my stomach would clench.  Like many people, my parents would throw out “hey, what if we moved here/did this?” questions; BUT, they would actually follow through. Almost every single time.

In addition to the constant change, I was an awkward child.  I never had many friends, and I struggled with crippling insecurity and (what I now recognize as) social anxiety and panic attacks. I became very fearful–that bad things would happen to me or my family, that I wouldn’t get the things/life I wanted, that loss–of places and people–would be my constant companion. I also became a bit of an OCD control freak.  Did you know that control freaks are really just scared out of their minds?

Over the past few years, but especially in the last year, the Lord has been slowly healing my heart, knitting together the broken pieces and sealing them with a kiss. My eyes were opened to the fact that anxiety was killing me–emotionally and physically–and I began to run even harder after Him, because what other option was there? I can honestly say that I now have complete, peaceful-to-the-tips-of-my-toes trust in Him.  I have rest. Our adoption timeline? Our financial needs? My family members’ health? My job? Jon’s job?  My longing for deeper friendships?  It’s cool. He’s got it.  “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17) is my jam, remember?  There is beautiful freedom in trusting Him completely.

My old labels were: control freak, insecure, anxious, fearful.  My new labels are: open, confident, trusting, safe.

Hello, my name is afraid secure.

Because His name is faithful.  And He is enough.

Have you been given a new name?

How often have you taken your grandparents for granted?  I know I’ve been guilty of it–of assuming they’ll always be there…

Since I’ve become an adult (blech), I’ve developed a new, deep appreciation for my grandparents.  One of my very favorite things about our yearly visits to England is sitting down with my grandparents over glasses of wine–beer for my grandad–and listening to their stories.  Stories about the beginning of their courtship when they were 14 and 15, the cycling trips they used to take around England in the 40s and 50s, my grandma’s days as a nurse, and my granddad’s rise from army private to the co-owner of a successful engineering firm.  I’ve come to learn just how generous and kind my granddad is and how wise and funny my grandmother is.

My very favorite stories though, are the ones about their experiences in London during WWII.  Until this most recent visit, I had no idea that my granddad was nearly killed by a German doodlebug–twice. My grandma’s story about ruining her new, pale blue coat by lying down on a dirty London street to shield herself from a bomb and both of my grandparents’ stories about witnessing the pain and grief of their neighbors, of watching women dig through rubble with their bare hands to search for their children, made the terror of living through the London blitz tangibly real to me.

I can’t believe I didn’t seek out their wisdom, life advice, and their stories years ago.

I love England, I really do, but I LOVE Cambridge.  As in, I feel joy-filled and cozy and comfortable and safe and home when I’m there.  My mother, for the most part, was raised on the outskirts of Cambridge, and I’ve been spending time there since I was 6 weeks old.  In college, I lived in Cambridge for one glorious semester, and I’ve been scheming of ways to become of permanent  resident ever since (Jon is now scheming, too).  I have regular pubs, shops, and market stalls I have frequented for years.  I have seen businesses and restaurants come and go.  Tragically, I’m now only able to spend a day or two in Cambridge each year (since my family moved an hour away, to the countryside), but every time I step off the bus and look around, I feel I’ve come home.

Today is Orphan Sunday.  Two years ago on this day, my heart was permanently wrecked, and adoption became the first choice for our family.

I have been drawn to international adoption since high school.  I always saw it as a far off, “maybe one day” thing–but, shortly after Orphan Sunday, 2011, we (Jon jumped on board shockingly quickly) began the process of adopting from Ethiopia, and we’ve never looked back.

Although I don’t know a ton about Children’s HopeChest, they seem like a pretty legit organization if you’re drawn to orphan ministry but aren’t able to adopt yourself. I love their video, Ethiopian Orphans, because it goes beyond the numbing statistics and shows you some of the kids behind the numbers.

Is there a child out there who is waiting for your family to say yes?

 

 

We’re back from England now, and I’ve begun the never-ending task of sorting through and editing hundreds of photos. For the next week or so, I’ll be sharing snippets of our trip with you.

After our weekend at Becky’s house, we headed to The Lake District, a dreamy area in the north of England (the county Cumbria, bordering Scotland, to be exact).  We spent one night in a B&B on Ashness Farm.  I highly recommend it–beautiful setting, kind people, and a delicious, home-cooked breakfast.