Thanks for letting me Share this week.

Thanks for letting me share this week about Real Hope for Haiti and the RC and Clinic that is helping and impacting the lives of the people in Haiti.   Jamie shared on her blog today about Juberson and the difference the RC has made in his life.  He is one of many children that their lives saved by this wonderful ministry.  Aaron also shared today about Bennet and the role he is playing at the RC as one of it’s employees. 

Dave and I talked last night and we are now going to commit support this ministry monthly for the next year.  When I was in Haiti one of the things I asked Troy Livsay(another amazing family that is doing life changing work) was “How can I help have impact here in Haiti even though I’m not called to be here?”  I loved his answer.  He simply said per my paraphrase… “find places that are here and are doing good things and invest in them.”  Invest can mean a lot of different things.  Maybe that means you take a trip and see what they are doing or you begin to pray for them or you even give what you can to them.  That is probably the greatest impact that Dave and I can make on places like the RC and other places that we become aware of that are doing great things but need help.  We can invest in them and right now for the RC that means we can financially give to them.  Every little bit helps.  I wish we had excess of money that we could randomly give away but we don’t. So we look at what we can do.  What our family can personally sacrifice to help someone else that we believe in.  I’m not saying that to bring attention to ourselves but I think that it’s important that if I’m going to talk about peoples needs and ask other people to help that I’m also doing the same.

So would you consider helping?  If you want to you can click on the link below.  Every dollar helps. And if you don’t feel called to help the RC then I really challenge you to reflect on the places in your life where you see people who in need of help and do what you can for them.  I know you will be blessed. And again, thanks for letting me share this week about this need.

Here are some picts to enjoy while I was visiting the RC earlier this month.  These kids lives are being changed.  They are being given a chance to live all because of the RC and the Clinic that is there.  This place is full of laughter, energy and love. 

Meet Zack

Real Hope For Haiti Campaign – DAY 2

Want to learn a little more about what makes me tick?  About a place that I spent the day at in Haiti on my recent trip to Haiti?  Want to hear about a family who is making a great impact in the people of Haiti?  Want to hear about ways you can play a role in helping them?  Then be sure to read Aaron’s blog today….  He is laying out the need and the way we can help in a simple way that explains everything.

Meet Licia.  She runs the Rescue Center and is in charge of taking care of all the children that come there.  She is an amazing person.  I’ve had the chance to correspond with her over the past year.  To hear about her life and her joys and struggles.  I’ve had a chance to first hand see the work she is doing in helping to save children’s lives.  I’ve even had the chance to give her a great big hug and thank her for all she does.  She would never want me to share this with you but I feel I need to so you can really see what kind of a person she is.  When I was raising money for my trip to Haiti… one day when I was checking Email I saw that I had someone that had donated money for my trip.  Licia and Enoch her husband had made a donation to help me get to Haiti.  This family gives everyday and never asks for anything in return.  They simply trust God for their needs.  And they also are people who invest in other people as well.  Please consider how you can play a role in helping them.  Even if you have never been to Haiti, or know much about the country… pray how you might be able to help or maybe pass on this information to someone you know who may want to help. 

Thanks for letting me share with you!

Flower Girl

This past Saturday Emma was a flower girl in Dave’s Cousins Wedding.  She was the perfect flower girl.  She loved every minute of the day and I think as her mom, I’ll remember spending the day with her and watching her enjoy it for the rest of my life.  Our children grow so fast.  What an amazing memory we created.  I was so proud of her.  She is one sweet, tenderhearted little girl.  If you need a flower girl we’ve got one for rent!

Want to walk a journey with me this week?

Many of you know I was able to take a trip to Haiti earlier this month.  And I was able to visit and see first hand the amazing work that Lori, Licia and Zack are doing. 

Licia has just told Aaron that  without immediate financial help, the rescue center is in danger of closing. Arron has said that “this means 50-60 malnourished and sick children have the potential to be left without care, shelter, and food. I fully trust that God will provide more than enough funds to keep the mission open, as well as birth a deep love and affection for this place in the hearts of many of YOU.”

So I will be linking to Aarons blog this week.  Please follow along.  Who knows…maybe you’ll be challenged to be a part of changing the world in helping the Rescue Center or be challenged to help someone else that has a need.

A heavy heart and mind

(Me with Chrislene at the RC earlier this month)

I’ve gone non stop since being home from my trip from Haiti.  The summer is about to hit for the guys at Wayfarer and one of my main jobs is to be sure they are good for every event. We’ve made a few short 8 hr trips…one to Orange Beach to spend some much needed time with friends and one to Rockledge, FL to see Dave’s family and to be here for a wedding that Emma is in.  We just hit Disney the other day etc.  Life going non stop and I am yelling/screaming for it to slow down.

Last night at 1AM I was catching up with people on their blogs.  Again, all I’ve had time to do is post if that.  And as i was reading up on the RC and Licia and Lori, I read that Chrislene had passed away this past week.  Life stopped, I sat in my chair as if to try and process anything that has been happening lately and then weeped.  Haiti rushed back… well did not rush back, it’s always there but I still have not really processed a lot of my trip and so it just rushed back.  We saw and touched so many children while we were in Haiti.  At the RC I had the privilege to hold Chrislene for a while.   I just remember telling her how Belle “beautiful” she was.  She touched my heart.  And now her life is over here.  I also read how the RC is struggling for funding etc.  That just should not be happening. They are making such a difference in meeting needs in so many peoples lives. 

So as I wake up this morning from a night of little sleep I just sit and ask all the questions. Why? Why do these kids have to die?  Why does any child have to face death and not get a chance at life?  Why do thousands of people just get wiped out in an earthquake or a Cyclone and the world just goes on?  Why the tragedy?  I guess for me I’ve think that I’ve landed on something.  I know this for sure.  Tragedy will find each and every one of us.  I don’t think it’s possible to escape this life with out experiencing it.  It’s just a matter of when it will find you. 

So what does that mean for me?  That means that I try to live each day with intention and purpose.  Try is the key word here.  I try and  give it all and leave nothing.  I embrace each and every wonderful thing and cherish it and I embrace the bad and learn from it.   It means I never stop asking God the tough questions and it means that I trust his heart and who he is even when I can’t humanly understand the timing, randomness or brokenness that tragedy brings.  I trust that he will use our family to play a role in this life.  That he will empower us to empower others to dream, dare, dive, and give our lives away.

Oh and couple all of what I just said with the fact that 24hrs ago we were at Disney in Fantasy world with our family.  It was awesome and it was the perfect day that we all embraced.  Again, I just find myself in a place that is messed up as I try and process life, celebration, death, tragedy, meaning etc if that makes any sense to anyone at all.

The Day of Firsts

Yesterday we had a day of firsts during our time at Disney.  It was also the perfect day.

First time:

• we never waited over 20 minutes for a ride
• we walked on rides with no wait
• we did not sweat ourselves away
• we did not freeze ourselves away
• Izzie was actually pleasant and enjoyable for the whole day
• Emma and Dave road Soar-in (at Epcot)
• I traumatized Izzie by taking her to Honey I Shrunk the Kids 3-D experience, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. I’m sorry Izzie.
• Emma, Dave and I road Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We screamed the whole way.  First time Emma rode a big roller coaster.  She loved it.
• ate  at the Chrystal Palace – Dave’s parents treated us by surprise!  Great Food!
• Izzie saw giant characters and she did not like them.
• we rode in the front car of the monorail and talked with the driver who’s been doing that for 13 years.
• we saw tinker-belle fly out of the castle.
• we stayed after the fireworks and walked on 5 rides.
• Emma fell asleep on our way out of the park as she was walking.  No joke!
• we conquered the park and had an amazing day!

And by the way.. when it’s free, somehow that just puts the icing on the cake!  Enjoy the picts! Thanks again John. 

Emma and Izzie Waiting for John to come and meet us:

Emma Waiting:

Waiting for the Monorail:

This is my favorite part of Disney. Walking on Main Street to the Castle:

Izzie Playing on a sound floor:

Our Dinner Treat:

What happens after a fairy tail day:

 

 

A day in Florida and a trip to see the Mouse.

 We made it to Florida late last night.  I forgot how hot it is here.  At 7:30AM I’m already looking to cool off.  We are heading to Disney today for a day at the park.  Dave has an uncle who works for Disney who always gets us in for free when we come for a visit.  It really is such a nice treat for us.  It has warped Emma in a way since she thinks it’s normal to go to Disney all the time but I’m sure we’ll handle that later down the road.  I think we may have been 10x in the past 5 years.  Yeah, like I said… we’ve already dealt with extreme Disney princess obsession let alone other things but we still keep going. 

I hope the girls can make it till the end of the day so we can stay for the Fireworks.  It’s one of my favorite things to expereince.  As you watch them you truly feel like you are in a fairy tale moment and when you are standing there with your family the whole world seems to stop for a moment.  Then you wake up and make your way through the crowds so you can get home and get in your bed and face reality.

So Mickey and the gang and all the princesses… Here we come.  We are crossing our fingers that there are not major lines everywhere (which I’m sure there will be) Thanks again John for making our dreams come true again!

What do they say?  Let the magic begin?

Pray for this Family

Just found out last night about Steven Curtis Chapman and his family.  Please pray for them today.  See here for more info.  This is very hard for me to understand and process.

How I know I’m Stressed

Took a trip to the outlets in Gaffney yesterday after work and prayed the whole way there that they would have ivory shoes for Emma for a wedding she is in this weekend.  Well planned mom was not on top giving myself time to find shoes.  Who would have thought that the shoe industry ran out of shoes and are not making ivory shoes in the size we need anymore?  Seriously…try and find Ivory dress shoes in Greenville/Spartanburg and you can’t.

We get there.  We find these.  They will work.

Thank you Lord…..  2 kids in a nice store and I forgot my stroller.  As I make my way back to the van I notice that the driver side door is open.  My door is open.  Apparantly I got out of the car, got the kids out and never shut the door.

Yeah, that is how I know I am stressed.