Christmas 2016

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! Mine was absolutely spectacular! My family and I opened presents and stockings, watched some shows together (Mission Impossible and Star Trek...yes, very non-traditional things to watch on Christmas day. 😉), played Twister, tried out all our new gifts, put together Christmas supper, and in all, spent a great day with each other. It wasn't a white Christmas unfortunately...but it did rain, so I guess that was okay. Better than nothing at all (and you ought to know how much I love rain). 🙂

Aside from telling y'all about my Christmas, I wanted to share a little something. On Christmas Eve, my family and I went to a Christmas Eve service at the Church. The place was all decorated up with wreaths and garlands, and everyone received a candle which was lit at the end of the service. Towards the end of the service, the pastor showed a short video - rather, a commercial - about an event during World War I where the British and Germans stopped the fighting to celebrate Christmas together. The video was quite awe-inspiring, and so I want to share it with you. You can watch it below. December 25 may be over this year, but I hope the joy and love and peace that comes with the Christmas season never ends.

Christmas Truce of 1914, World War I

May your days be merry and bright, everyone!

à la prochaine,

July 4th!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I love fireworks so much, and today is really, really special. We bake a cake and put lots of frosting on it. And we watch the fireworks go off outside. And we smile because everything is so beautiful.

Emmy, this is for you. ♥

Emmy, you will always be my little strawberry. I love you so, so much and so, so beyond words. I'm sure you would love the fireworks here. They are just for you.

I love you, little sis. ♥♥

Newsies On A Mission

If you came into my house this past week, you probably would have noticed me loudly singing songs from Newsies. Since last Tuesday, I've been singing and singing and singing "Carrying The Banner" and "Santa Fe." I really can't help it. If I'm not singing one of those songs, I can hear it playing in my head. I know for a fact that some of my siblings have been just the slightest bit aggravated or amused when I suddenly burst into song. The little boys laugh. Sunshine rolls her eyes. Super-K groans and wonders why I'm singing again.

But it's just that I looooove Newsies. It's one of my favorite musicals (and I've only seen it 3 times...and I'd never heard of it until this year). I don't quite know why, but it is. I thought it was awesome when I found out that Christian Bale played both Jack Kelly and Batman. :-)

Last Tuesday was my Special Night (Special Nights are a really cool thing at my house. Every Tuesday, one of us kids gets to choose one food and one drink and gets to stay up late and spend time with Mom and Dad.), so I stayed up and watched Newsies on VidAngel. I don't care if it was a box office flop - apparently there are more "fansies" than you'd think - I like it so much. I like Jack and Davey and Spot and, well, quite a few of them! I grin all through the movie because I love it so much.

I hope to see Newsies on stage sometime - that would be so cool. Though I think it would be different not seeing Christian Bale up there with his cowboy-esque outfit and smile where he sticks out his tongue between his teeth. But I'm super excited, and, if not this year, then someday I'm going to see the stage version.

I've heard that some people have tried at some point to do the so-called "Newsies leap." I can barely do the splits any longer than 10 seconds, so I'm not even going to try that. I'm bound to tear something. ;-) I wouldn't care to land in the hospital by trying it (oh, goodness, I'm so punny. Awful, I know).

The coolest things about Newsies, I think, is that the kids have dreams and don't lose sight of them, they take care of their own, and they don't give up. And they're awesome. And they're rebels with a cause. And they dance and sing and...oh, man, I'm getting all squeaky just thinking about it (my voice gets squeaky and I shudder when I'm excited...odd, yes)!!! So, I hope you can see how much I like Newsies. They're cool. Aaaand you can watch them on VidAngel for $1, which is cool too.

And you might like it, you might not. But I'll probably keep singing "Carrying The Banner" for at least another week or two or three before it fades...and then I'll watch the movie again, and the siblings will groan because they don't like it much, and I'll start singing again. Oh, well. At least I like it. :-D

Whenever I talk about musicals with my friends (I'm glad some kids still have taste for musicals these days, ya know?), I somehow fit Newsies into the conversation. They've never heard of it, so I'm thinking I'll have a Newsies movie night sometime...

And while I rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher, I'll keep on singing "Every morning/we goes where we wishes/we's as free as fishes/sure beats washing dishes/What a fine life/carrying the banner/home free all."

And I object to not singing songs from Newsies...

...On the grounds of Brooklyn.

On Working at The Merch Table (and learning to use a card reader)

Hey, everybody! Can't believe June is coming to an end. I'm not too excited for the hot weather, but I'll survive. ;-) This past month has been pretty busy and crazy, in a good way, and I really want to share one particular day I had this month.

I worked at the merch table for a band in our city recently, and that was a great experience! One of the band members showed me how to work the credit card reader, shook my hand, thanked me for helping out, and left to get ready for the show. So, there I was, standing at the table, all by myself. I felt pretty awesome. A few people came by pre-show to buy CDs, and I got the hang of the card reader and counting change. After the show started, I was allowed to sit in on the show, provided I returned to the table just before intermission. It was a really cool concert, let me tell you! The band was like Piano Guys minus the piano. I ended up buying a couple of their CDs after the show, and they signed them for me. :-)

However, during intermission, I got back to the table, and I look up and all of a sudden there is a HUGE line of people in front of me. I'd memorized the "spiel," so when they asked me how much the CDs were, I'd say "Well, these 2 are $12 each, this one's $15, BUT we have a great deal - if you buy 2 CDs, it's $20; if you buy 3, it's $30." Most of the time, they raised their eyebrows in surprise and proceeded to buy 2 or 3. A pair of girls slightly older than me got to the table, picked up one of the CDs and shrieked, "Oh my goodness! Taylor Swift's on this one! We have got to get this one!" Then they glanced up at me, and I'm hiding a grin because I have no idea why they're so excited about Taylor Swift. "How much is this?" Proceed with spiel. Met with "Oh man! We can get two of them now! Which one?! Oh, this one! Yeah! It's got (name of song I've never heard before) on it! Yeah, we'll take these two!"

So, yeah, that was pretty entertaining to watch. And I upsold 'em. *mischievous laugh* ;-D I had no idea I was such a good salesgirl.

Then it got crazy. I mean crazy. I told you there was a huge line. And that I was all by myself. So here I was, sliding cards and taking cash and handing out change and shooting out the deal we had and answering questions and...Well, I was not prepared for so many people all at once. I have a new appreciation for the people at the merchandise tables at the concerts I go to.

Well, I got another volunteer to help me out, and together, we sold a bunch of CDs. It was a bit less hectic, although the card reader misbehaved quite a few times and some people had to pay cash (we did a little happy dance every time a credit card went through the first time!). After the concert, the band members sat at the table beside us to sign CDs, so that was a huge rush too. Everyone wanted to buy a CD (and 9 times out of 10, they ended up with 2 or 3). It was like a flood. It was loud. It was crazy. But we sold albums like nobody's business.

I'm really introverted, so that whole experience was pretty overwhelming for a while. I had to actually talk to hundreds of people. That was a feat in and of itself. I had to smile happily when the card reader didn't want to work, though inside I was going crazy hoping they wouldn't get upset at me. I had to count out change (we had to break a lot of bills, which was a bit annoying - I wondered how people could have such huge bills and not a single 10 or 20.) - and sometimes I counted twice since I didn't want to shortchange anyone. Thank goodness I didn't.

So, I had to overcome that whole thing. After the concert-goers had had their CDs bought and signed, I leaned over and told the other volunteer, "Hey, let's buy our CDs from each other!" So, I gave her the spiel and she bought two and I swiped her card and we laughed out loud since the card actually went through. Then she turned and gave me the spiel and I bought two and she counted out the cash and stuffed it into the bag, zipped it up. Then we went around the table, grinning from ear to ear, and the band members signed our CDs and thanked us for helping out. We shook hands, took each other's picture with them. Then they packed up their instruments, thanked us one more time, and left the venue.

And I was exhausted, let me tell you! I couldn't believe how many CDs we'd sold that night! And how many people there were! And how awesome it was that, as simple as it was, the band member taught me how to use a card reader. So, I went home a couple hours later, very happy and very tired.

But if you asked me to work the merch table at a concert, I'd do it again.

Even if the card reader misbehaved.

Time's Ticking Away

It's good to use our time wisely.  I hope this photo is a good reminder to use our lives for Jesus every second we can.  To do that, I think, is one of the most important ways to show Him to the world.

December Photo-A-Day Challenge (Week 5)

Well, I'm wrapping up December and 2013 with the last week of the photo-a-day challenge.  Happy New Year everyone!

27.  Fun

28.  Scarf

29.  Smiles With A Friend

30.  Night

31.  New Year's Eve

May God find you happily through the new year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

December 25th.  The day when Dad reads the Christmas story, the kids open gifts, we laugh and have a good time.  I hope you all are having a wonderful birthday celebration for Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

Tonight

At this moment, I am sitting on a couch in our living room, covered in a blanket with a plate of sour skittles (my favorite candy, by the way!) and a can of Arizona Tea. I'm listening to Pandora, and I'm just getting over a cold. So, yes, I'm telling you about my night...although some people aren't even awake anymore at this time of night (or, if you live in Nepal or someplace like that, you may be wide awake).

One thing you must know about me (which may explain why I'm writing this) is that I am an extremely random gal. Meaning: I may randomly burst out some fact about Jamie Grace having a birthday in November, or that my bedroom is messy and I just cleaned it five minutes ago...or that I wonder what the word "delirious" means while I feel drugged by Nyquil (that stuff is nasty) last night, then ask my sister to ask my Mom what it means. I instantly regretted that and called her back. Blame it on the Nyquil. ;)
 
 And I can never drink water when I have a cold, so that is a real bummer too! I've had cranberry juice, Gatorade (not good at all unless I'm really thirsty!), apple juice and lemonade, but water simply isn't something I can drink while sick. It's terrible because I really like water. After this sickness is past, I am going to drink about ten glasses of water.

So here I am on the couch with my skittles and tea, writing about my life tonight. But I am loving every minute of it...

Saturdays Selections

A Worn-out Coat

 

I live in Kenya. Every day, I walk miles and miles along a dusty road to my little school, grasping my bucket tightly so I can get water for my mother on the way back. She cooks our food and washes our clothes with my water. We also drink from it. It is dirty yellow-brown from all the mud.

I've worn the same torn and tattered coat ever since my big brother grew too big for it. My mother gave it to me and I've played in it until it's become the same color as the dirt that I walk on. But I am thankful for what I have and I will keep on wearing it until it is just a patched-up rag.

Sometimes I wish we had more clothes, clean water and three meals every day. But, like many of my friends, we are poverty-stricken and don't have the money for everything we need. And that is why I still wear my worn-out coat.

(This is a post for Compassion Blog Month. Please join in the fight against poverty.)

Remembering 9/11

FOR THE HEROES WHO RISKED AND LOST THEIR LIVES ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

AMERICA IS DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SELFLESS SACRIFICE

Blessings In Disguise

     You've probably noticed the Compassion Banners I put on this blog that say "Sponsor A Child."
Those banners make me smile because I feel that I'm showing my thankfulness for Compassion International. I never would have had the wonderful experience of getting to know Priscyla, my wonderful, loving girl from Peru. I want others to have that experience.

Last year, 3,159 children were sponsored because of Blog Month. Currently, over 1 million children have been sponsored. That's a whole lot of kids!
So, why not make that number bigger? Find more sponsors for more impoverished boys and girls?
We need to love the least of our brothers and sisters and do more for Jesus.

If one person sponsors a child, that is hope for more children to be sponsored. We need to go above and beyond just speaking, saying we need to act for Jesus. We need to do. That's how so many good things have been started: Someone comes up with an idea and puts it into action and when people see all the good change, it causes something big.

That's what Christians need to do.

Priscyla is a blessing. I want others to see those hidden blessings, those children in poverty. If one boy or girl is sponsored, he or she can grow in Jesus and change the world through Him.

The least of people can change everything. We need to start giving these kids hope, giving them the care and love and life they need to put them on a path for Jesus.
 

And you can help by sponsoring a child, whether in an AIDS-affected area or waiting over 100 days for a sponsor. You can show that you care. They aren't destitute when they know Jesus loves them.

These impoverished children are blessings in disguise.

(This is a post for Compassion Blog Month. Please join in the fight against poverty.)

Compassion Blog Month is Back!

If you read my earlier Compassion Blog Month Post, you probably know what I'm talking about...If not, let me refresh you...

Beginning Tuesday, September 3, Compassion International will email a weekly writing assignment to members of the Compassion Bloggers Network and will publish each assignment on compassionbloggers.com.

The goal is to find sponsors for at least 3,160 waiting children. If you help, that will make a huge difference.

And there's prizes if you get children sponsored.

The grand prize is a spot on a 2014 Blog Trip.
The first prize winner and second prize winner has the option to attend the 2014 New Media Expo presented by BlogWorld or the 2014 Blissdom conference.

To be eligible for the above prizes you must get at least five children sponsored during Blog Month.

Also, Compassion has five prize packages to give away!  To be eligible for these, you must get at least one child sponsored.
Each prize package includes the following and more:
~$25 iTunes gift card
~16 oz. Compassion stainless steel mug
~12 oz. bag of fair trade organic whole bean coffee

All you need for entering is a blog and signing up to the Compassion Blog Network. Compassion Blog Month starts September 1st, so get ready if you're interested! Oh, and one last thing: 

Each blog post you write will earn you 10 contest entries after you enter the URL to your post in the Rafflecopter widget on Compassion Website. Submitting more than one blog post for each assignment is allowed, but each post must be unique and different...no copying! :)

For more info, click the link here

Let's help save children from poverty.

Wonderland

 

Ever dreamed something so hard, you felt it was going to happen someday?

Ever thought something was going to end like you expected, but didn't (and, when you think of the way you thought it would, it sounds better)?

I've been having those moments. I'm learning French so I can go on a mission trip to Haiti. 

I'm excited, but I wonder if my French won't be as fluent as it should be and I'll be at a total loss! Doubt issues, huh?

Then, another event happened (quite recently, actually) and I had to stop and think about it for a moment. When I thought about the two ways it could have happened (the way it did and the way I thought it would), I thought, "Whoa, it's a good thing God made it happen that way! My way would've been a total disaster!"

Huge disaster, nothing less! Isn't it great that we have a God Who makes things work?

And mistakes, misjudgements, and all are unavoidable. 

This morning, I had a French lesson and I forgot three words from my flash cards, left out words in more than one sentence (and occasionally added a few, too!), and struggled on some sentences.

But my teacher (who is amazing!) simply told me, "French is not an easy language, but it's a beautiful language."

She said this in English, then French...and I felt better.

Some things don't work out the way I think they should. But it's sometimes better that way!

Life isn't easy, but it's beautiful. 

Isn't that a nice thought?

World Malaria Day

Today, April 25th, is World Malaria Day.
Malaria kills approximately 655,000 children each year. It develops symptoms that usually include fever, chills, sweating, nausea, and headache. In severe cases, it can advance into coma or death.
 It is a preventable and treatable disease, but a child dies of malaria practically every 30 seconds.

Compassion International helps prevent malaria by : giving mosquito nets to families at risk of malaria, treating and educating families on malaria and how to prevent it.
You can support Compassion's Malaria Intervention by donating at this link.

A net gives protection from mosquitoes and the diseases they carry such as malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever.
Please give so others can live.

~Adoption (Part II)~

On many days, I click over to adoption websites, hoping to find resources and requirements. I am always on the search for the ability to convince my parents to adopt at least one little orphan! But I realize these current laws may be obsolete by the time I myself reach the required age to adopt.
I've been looking into Haitian adoption, but I  never knew the established law is that one must be at least 35 years of age and 19 years older than the requested child. I was thinking, "35 years!"
Everything seems satisfactory, but I don't want to sit around, waiting to adopt from Haiti until I 'm 35!
I'm sort of the "jump-right-in, let's-do-it" kind of girl. When it's something I'm inspired to do, I immensely dislike waiting.

I would gladly read fine print, or learn the order of adoption, but the cost of bringing an orphan into one's care always throws me off....$20,000-$40,000?! I would do good to start saving! :)
Not just the money, either! Adoption is more than having cash.

And then I think of the orphans with siblings. They want to stay together, and I love the idea...even though it would usually mean spending twice the amount of money to do so! The thought of only adopting one sibling and leaving the other behind is a thought I hope to never go through with.

I have a board on Pinterest titled "My Dream House." Currently, it has 30 pins on it, compiled of decorations, rooms, furniture. But the many other pins I feel I am missing on the board are children! A house is not complete without kids, with only a few exceptions.
My house will be absolutely filled with children: Biological, adopted, teenaged, babies, multiple different descents. But as long as I am unmarried (and will hopefully continue living with my family until I am), I will keep on praying, loving, searching...and saving.

~Adoption (Part I)~

It's something I've said so many times. I've already made plans for putting aside money for adopting a child.

No matter where I have to travel, or what age I need to be to meet the adoption requirements, I have insisted that I will adopt at least one boy or girl.
I have even designed my own house to fit my adoptive and biological family. I research countries and their adoption laws; I think about what I need to meet their requirements; and all the while I am putting aside money for it all! Either that is persistence or I'm a big dreamer.

I like basing my inspiration for adoption on James 1:27-"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and widows in their distress..." Not only do I feel the need to help the fatherless, I feel the inspiring call of eventually bringing home one of these orphans.

I believe the adoption of a parentless child is something beautiful. It is an act of love, of hope, of care.
*Love: You are bringing someone into your home to care for him or her, to love the child God has chosen for you.
*Hope: Imagine the joy of the orphan when he hears he has finally been received into a real home, and now has a loving family. He has hope for a wonderful new life in his forever family.
*Care: An adoptive parent has been so impacted to adopt. The parent cares to give time, money, love...almost anything to give an orphan a home.

I see photos of orphans and destitute children practically every day.  They are not always the sad, half-starved impoverished...the image most people imagine to be. These kids know how to smile and laugh and be glad. But most of the time, they lack one thing that is very important in their lives. And that one thing is love.
Love can be pictured in many different ways: Hugs, prayers, memories. I've read the phrase "in loving memory" dozens of times. In fact, our family watched WALL-E last night and watched the end credits. One sentence way down near the bottom read "In loving memory of....1981-2003." I had never noticed that until last night.

People care to love. It is a selfless act of kindness to love someone or something. And "love," I think, is one of the words that define the reason of the persistence to bring an orphan into one's family for life.

Hearing the story of love from the fatherless' perspective is special. In some instances, you can feel what they have felt...just be listening to their stories. The emotions are what bring people together.

*Note: since this post would have had over 750 words in it, I have decided to create another part to this post! Check later for more!

~Merry Christmas!~

The white Christmas hasn't come yet, but it stands to reason that there's no place like home for the holidays!
This celebration of Jesus is a mere one for such as Him. Everyone is busy celebrating His wonderful birth! The tree, the presents, the laughter, the families gathering, sharing, and love.

You know, that's what Jesus was portraying when He came: His amazing love.

Thinking beyond the packages coming week after week this season, the temptation to take a small peek under the wrapping paper, the endless question "Is it Christmas yet?": Did we remember Who gave us Christmas? Who gave us this love, joy, and peacefulness?

Or have we waited for the morning when we get to grab out the stockings, rip open the paper, and spend all day in our pajamas?
This isn't all that Christmas should be. It should be more! Giving is better than receiving after all!

Give with your heart. You'll be glad you did.
Jesus Loves You, everyone.

Share Some Love

Christmas is arriving. But families in poverty may not receive any gifts.
While we sit around the tree, opening up our packages or smiling for the camera, holding up our stockings in our Christmas pajamas, there will be children who will be sitting on dirt floors, never getting the chance to know what a gift is.

But you can help give a family in destitution two special gifts: love and safety.
This Christmas, why don't we give instead of receive? Compassion International aims to raise $20,000 through their Gift Catalog. Your donation will help these families not only thrive, but show them that someone in the world is caring. And showing that you care is a gift in itself. 

Jesus gave Himself to us, and He was (and is) the greatest, most precious gift we will ever receive. Why not give for Him?

By giving love, time, and sometimes money, you will abound in happiness. Give generously and without resent ...you are doing a good deed.

"But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving." (2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV)

"Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 10:8b NIV)

"Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you."(3 John 1:5 NIV)
THANK-YOU,
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

Carrying a Stranger

I had a dream a few nights ago. I dreamed I was carrying a child in my arms through unfamiliar streets. Past stoplights and cars, and children playing, I carried this small one. Where I was going, I did not know.
 But all the while, I heard a voice saying, "Jesus. This is Jesus..." over and over again. 

I could not see the child's face; it was blurred in my dream. But I could see what he or she was wearing: Filthy, musty rags, and bare feet. While I continued walking, I remembered a quote by Mother Teresa: "I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus...I must wash him and tend him. I serve because I love Jesus."

I proceeded on my slow, steady walk to somewhere. I noticed how light and easy it was to carry the small child. Whoever I was holding was very thin, dark, and very dirty. And I carried this one child all the way to a large home.

Nothing looked familiar about this place, a very unusual thing to happen with me: Practically everything in my dreams look familiar.
I walked up the steps to the door with the child still in my arms, and the door was opened by a woman. Still nothing familiar, but she welcomed me in. However, she looked quite uncertain about the child I was holding.

I told her that this child would be staying with us for a while. We needed a nice bath for the little one, new clothes, and good hygiene lessons.
She smiled, took the child from my arms, and headed up the staircase, while I proceeded into the dining room. A large family was sitting at the table, and they all smiled. They invited me to sit down and eat with them. They were very friendly. Though I did not know them, they seemed to be a kind of family to me.

A short while later, the child and woman came downstairs to the dining room. The child was no longer in rags, but had a cute, flowered dress on, and clean white socks. I still could not see the face, but assumed, by the clothes, that I was looking at a little girl.

She ran up to me and gave me a big hug. A sweet, adorable, big hug. No one said a word. But words were not needed; she expressed her love all in that one hug.

Right after that, I woke up. It took me a second to figure out I was no longer dreaming. Then I decided what to do with this amazing dream: Put it on my blog.

Exactly what this dream means, I do not know. But I do know how that dream might have come.
I requested K.P. Yohannan's book No Longer a Slumdog and received it in the mail with great enthusiasm. This book is a real eye-opener, and the gripping facts may have moved from my mind, into my subconsciousness. And other reasons, such as my love for helping those in need.

I don't know how this dream occurred or why, but I will keep it in mind. Do you have a thought about this dream? Leave me a comment below. I'd love to see your input!