From the Archives... Cherished

It's my birthday.  

So, of course this little Bloggy Break is still on, but I wanted to take a moment and reflect... repost, if you will, a post (Pt 1&2) that stemmed from a Five Minute Friday that stirred up the story of my birth.  And, of course, because it is better to give than to receive, I am also including a link at the end with an invitation to join me in letting our sisters in Africa know that they, too, are so very Cherished!

Cooking and Kitchens and Welcome Centers, Oh My!

In the midst of a normal Bossy To Do List, I turn the calendar and I feel all the feelings because today is the day, ya'll!  We are kicking off Phase 2 for the Maubane Community Center in South Africa. 

Our goal... it felt a little crazy... wild and giddy with the need for God to show up.  And oh how He loves to show up when we invite Him in and wait... holding our breath and acting brave in faith, even with upset stomachs and shaking knees... we waited!  And God and you... ya'll showed up! With open hands and hearts and wallets and together, all of our Little added up quick and we reached Phase 1 ahead of schedule. 

So now, we're moving on to what is next and that means we are out to raise funds to build a Kitchen and Welcome Center. I have written on this blog before about how our kitchen tends to be the gathering place in our home... how when we are broken, we pile on this floor... and when we are hungry, we find nourishment here (and we cook meals, too!)  In our tiny kitchen, we have all the items you would expect, but this space also serves as my office area and we have a little loveseat as well. I know very well how a kitchen gathers in... offers food and drink, hope and healing; how conversations at the table and in prayer circles begin while washing vegetables and chopping ingredients to be placed on stoves and in ovens.  As Moms, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen - before and after the meal has been served.

Nourishment comes through the kitchen in more ways than simply through food!

Lisa-Jo Baker posted today about this Phase as well, and here is part of what she is wondering about... what she is believing for:

"What if 1 blog community could build 1 South African community a safe place for sustainable food, child care, economic empowerment, job skills trainings, a gathering place for church, classrooms for HIV/Aids education, and a playground for their kids?

Because there’s a whole community of women who are raising more kids than just their own and still have all the same hopes, dreams and fears that we do."

This, from PureCharity:

"There's a community just north of Pretoria, South Africa, called Maubane. Home to about 150 adults and 250 orphans and vulnerable children.

For three years every Sunday they've been gathering for church on this vacant piece of land. For church and holidays, trainings, workshops and community celebrations.  Out here in the dust and the dirt is where they gather. Where they serve meals. Where they celebrate community events. Where they meet for trainings. 

The community has received permission from the local tribal council and government to build a community center on this land. 

Imagine a big community hall with kitchens and admin buildings, bathrooms and storage facilities, classrooms and training rooms and before and after school care spaces. 

Imagine a place that would provide shelter from the sun, the dirt and the dust to serve meals and practice hospitality... The kitchen and welcome center will be the first part of the entire community center, each additional part designed by the architect so that they can be added on building by building."

Be brave with us and give as big as these grins?

Oh... and just in case you need any added incentive to give... KraftyKash is generously offering these necklaces for sale:

$12 of every sale goes to help fund this project! So it's win-win for everyone! (I own a few of these myself and let me tell you - they are gorgeous and you will LOVE them!)  Check them out HERE.

Also... Lisa-Jo has another super talented friend, Cheri Norquay, and she is jumping on board to help out.  She is offering 50% of all sales in March to help us build a kitchen and the welcome center in the Maubane Community Center!  Check out her album HERE.

So today I am inviting you in once again.  I am opening the door and pouring a cup of coffee for you... partner with us... give what you can - every little bit makes a big difference!  I will be honest... I hesitate to ask for more in this space.  I know full well what a tight budget looks feels like!  We live paycheck to paycheck and I don't want you to feel pressure... but I do want to invite you in to be a part of this God thing that we are doing!  Even $5.00 adds up quick, and our goal of $40,000 is scary big... but our God is even bigger and I think He loves it when we lean in and trust Him and give what we can, believing that He can take our offering and make MUCH of it in the Kingdom of God... and in Maubane, South Africa!

Join us in prayer, and if you can, in sowing into the red dirt of Africa... building actual buildings, strengthening a community! Let's fall in love with the world next door!

An Invitation to Fall in Love - Five Minute Friday

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know... for some, it's too sappy... too commercialized... too sweet.  For others it's too remind-y... too lonely... too exclusively not for them.  For some - for many... it's just another day! That's ok... I get it.

Not everyone has a Crafty Theme-Party heart and a Romantic Dreamy way about them. That's alright.  As Jen Hatmaker says, some people are spicy and some people are sweet. (She's spicy and she's good at other things!)

It's just that this Love day is my JAM, ya'll! This is my bent! I was this way long before Pinterest was ever a thing and while we were never the long-stemmed-roses-and-jewelry kind of couple, we could slow dance in our living room with the best of them!  Oh, and I am the first to admit that I miss (Oh how I MISS!) the classroom parties, the baking, and Valentine-making days back when my Girlie was a Little! I do... I really do!

I've still been known to cut out hearts and ink and glue myself in to a happy creative frenzy.  But it's more than that.  It's more than paper doilies and candy hearts... so much more!

I remember way back in the day, when our Only was maybe 7 or 8... In the midst of my romantic planning and the frosting of all the cuppycakes... God swooped in and lifted my vision for this 'holiday' higher. 

He whispered to me soft and invited me to celebrate Valentine's Day on a larger scale!  "Don't just make it about romance," He said. "Make it about Love!"

So we began new traditions that year... we included our Girlie and invited single friends. We set the table fancy. We lit candles and dimmed lights.  We ordered take out and took Communion. We laughed and enjoyed a meal and talked about the One who loves us best. We wrapped up with a little chocolate, of course... making sure we celebrated Love and shared it too.

It's been years... and traditions are nice... but our Little is working tonight and our favorite take-out place closed down and it was starting to feel a little less than lovely but then... well - then came this:

I know, right? Do you not just LOVE her?

Lisa-Jo has opened a door and invited us in and together we are falling in love... we are leaning in and being love... and we would be beyond delirious if you would jump in and join us, too!

Last fall, in 12 hours, we purposed to do laundry with our sisters across ocean and land and we built a water point in Maubane, South Africa. Twelve hours, ya'll! 

So today we invite you to Be Love...
to be someones' Valentine and help change the world.  

Our goal is to to build a safe place for sustainable food, child care, economic empowerment, job skills trainings, a gathering place for church, classrooms for HIV/Aids education, and a playground for their kids in the community of Maubane, SA.

This is an audacious project... we are believing God to help us fully fund each phase (there are 5) of this project, bringing in a total of $150,000. 

I know... that is huge.  It is scary. It seems ridiculous... but God, right?  But God is calling us and awakening us and we are realizing that we are never 'just Moms' and we have learned that every little bit adds up fast in the Kingdom of God!  He can take what little we have, and make much of it!

So between Valentine's Day (because, why not?) and Mother's Day, we are asking you to pray... to give... to join with us in audacious faith, believing that God will bless and multiply. 

Because if we believe that Love is more than a date on the calendar, this is our chance to fall in love with the world next door and pour out a gift that grows and gives all year long!  

When we give a garden, we can change a child's life... and this community of 400? There are 250 children, many orphaned or vulnerable, and having a Garden will not just change lives, it will save them.

You can visit PureCharity and read more about Phase 1 - "Help One Now - Veggies for Africa" where we are raising funds for a Community Vegetable Garden.  

And just in case you needed any extra incentive... there is this:

Seriously ya'll... check out these amazing Necklaces by Krafty Kash.  $12.00 from each purchase is going directly to help fund this project! I know this is what I asked for for Valentine's Day! (Win-win!)

So... here we are... a ragamuffin group of blogging Mama's stretching hearts and hands and wallets wide... inviting you to join us! We are about to get a front row seat in watching God do the miraculous... in watching Him take our small offerings and turn them into something BIG!  

Here is your invitation to fall in love with the world next door. Update - Phase one... in ONE day, ya'll - FULLY FUNDED!  But let's not lose momentum! You can continue to give to this project by clicking here:


There's room at the table! I'll save you a seat next to me!
Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.
~Karrilee~

So - technically this is not actually a Five Minute Friday post... Admittedly, this took me more than Five minutes tonight, but we are talking "Garden" and we are linking up - literally and virtually, on Friday and beyond!

If you are not familiar with Five Minute Fridays, here's the scoop:  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

Living out Christmas... Giving Love, Hope, & (in)Mercy

So, I wrote about Phase #1 of the (in)Mercy House Project in September.  In that post I wrote this:

"There is an amazing Community online... I mean, take-your-breath-away, encouraging, uplifting, let's-bond-together-and-change-the-world kind of gathering of Awesomeness... they break up into smaller groups all over the blogosphere but as a whole, many of them can be found over at (in)courage.me and I assure you that once you visit - well, you are like family and there is just no need to knock! Oh no... when you are part of the family - you are invited to just come right on in!"

 So we invited ya'll in and oh my how you stepped up and came in and helped us to reach our goal!  We fully funded that van so fast! In fact, all of Phases 1-4 were funded ahead of schedule and this makes us all giddy with excitement!

Phase #5 is the biggest, the most audacious of goals... for we want to purchase a second home for our sisters in Kenya! Yes... we know! It is a God-sized dream, for sure! But our God? He loves it when we dream big and we are believing that as we partner together and enter in to this season of Giving by giving whatever we can, He will take our offering and bless it and multiply it and provide some Rooms for these pregnant Mama's... no more do we want to hear "There's no room in the Inn!"

photo by Bess Brownlee 

 I was tempted to just link to Ann's words here...
because, as always, they bless!

Then I wanted to just link to Kristen's words here...
because she shows us what all those Phases 'fully funded' truly look like.

But I decided that I really wanted to add my own words to this cause too... simply because He is stirring our hearts and meeting us in ways that are causing us to get a bigger vision. 

My little family of three... for way too long we believed the lie that our limited paycheck-to-paycheck budget was too small to really make a difference.  Sure - we tithe... we give to local ministries and missionary friends and global outreaches.  But somehow we had forgotten that even $5.o0 can change the world.  In our American Dream, we-can-have-it-all culture - if we can't go big... we just go home.

But not anymore! You all proved that to me! With $5 here and $25 there, we joined hearts and wallets and we sowed into the red dirt ground of Kenya and we changed the world for our sisters in Africa! We did it first in buying a Van... then on to building classrooms, purchasing a generator, and equipping a computer lab... but it hasn't all been isolated to the Mercy House... no - I have joined hands and hearts (and yes, wallets) for other things too... aid to the Philippines and to Syria... and that day when we all joined ranks and did Laundry together with Lisa Jo. 

God is showing us here at home that even if we can't give MUCH... He makes much of what we can give!  When we open our hearts and our hands and offer up what we can... He meets us right in the middle of our God-Sized Dreams and shows off just a little!  And He should... for He gets all the glory!

Join us in Being the Gift... in sowing a little (or a lot) this Christmas!  I don't know about you and your family, but each December, as a family we look for ways that we can be a blessing.  We look for ways that we can put our money where our mouth is and we purpose to Speak Life, to Be Love, and to Shine On...  We decided already to cut back on how much we spend on ourselves and our families... in order to live out Christmas all the way across the world! We want to bring a bit of Christmas to Kenya and to make more 'room' in the 'Inn' (InMercyHouse - that is!)




To Join with us in Phase #5, click HERE



P.S. Because today is officially Cyber Monday... I wanted to let you know that you can also purchase some gifts and be the gift at the same time! You can Shop MercyHouse here! (Today or any day!)

#BetheGift

In which we kick off the (in)Mercy House Project

There is an amazing Community online... I mean, take-your-breath-away, encouraging, uplifting, let's-bond-together-and-change-the-world kind of gathering of Awesomeness... they break up into smaller groups all over the blogosphere but as a whole, many of them can be found over at (in)courage.me and I assure you that once you visit - well, you are like family and there is just no need to knock! Oh no... when you are part of the family - you are invited to just come right on in!

I can tell you, since becoming one of the family (unofficially) - things have shifted in me!  I'm sure that reading some of my stacks of books this summer has kicked that up a notch too (books like Crazy Love, Love Does, and Awake) but when you find yourself in the midst of people who are not just talking about things - but are doing things... who don't just feel pulled toward a cause, but who know that even a simple sacrifice of $5 can add up quick and change the world around you?  You can't help but catch a vision and want to be included in making a difference!

Terrell and Kristen Welch felt a call to open the Mercy House after a trip with Compassion. Kristen saw the tragic reality of young girls, forced into a lifestyle, and then forced into backstreet abortions and God stirred her heart.  Mercy House was birthed and it is a safe house, a home for young mothers and their babies in Kenya, and it is funded almost completely by mama's here in America!  Moms who have stepped up... who saw a need and realized that they could make a world of difference!  As it reads on the project page over at PureCharity, "they followed a missionary call all without ever actually leaving home."  I love that! (You know why? Because I can DO that! ...and so can you!)

So last spring Stephanie Bryant, from incourage.me, helped to lead the way in raising funds to help build a playground for the Mercy House kids -and within 24 hours - it was fully funded, ya'll!

This was amazing... and this is a glimpse into the awesomeness of this community!

This Fall we are once again raising funds to come alongside our sisters in Kenya... young Mama's with precious Babies and real needs - that we can actually help meet!  We are inviting you to come along on the journey as we break up projects into five phases over four months... the final push just in time for Christmas!

Here's a sneak peak at the Phases:

Here at Abiding Love, Abounding Grace, I will be involved in Phase 1... and Phase 5.  Why did I pick the beginning and the end?  Phase 1 is purchasing a van for the Mercy House... it's a small way to make a big difference.  Phase 5 is bigger and will kick off in December, just in time for the holiday spirit of giving! I don't know about your family, but we love to reach out and bless a family in need... to really show what Christmas is all about, not just talk about it.  Phase 5 will give us a chance to do just that!  I will write more about that in December!

However... Phase 1 kicks off today... and I think buying a new van is something most of you can relate to! We have an Only - and still, we found ourselves for a long season, driving a van while carpooling and sports going and just all the running around that little's need.

The Mercy House currently has 12 teen mama's with 12 babies, 2 housemothers, a social worker, an accountant/assistant and director and that means that they need to make multiple trips to church and the doctor and everywhere in between.  Their current van seats 15.  The additional van we are hoping to help fund will seat 8.  This is doable and will make a huge difference!

I am not a saleswoman.  It's so not my thing! I rarely even host in-home sales parties... I just never want to make anyone feel pressured!  I understand when things are tight and there is just no 'extra' lying around.  I know how tight my budget is... we are a single income family that quite honestly lives paycheck to paycheck and yet... God stirs and draws and moves... and God provides.

Through both skin-of-our-teeth and more-than-enough seasons, we strongly believe in giving... we believe that you can't go wrong, when you are sowing into the Kingdom!

I am not 'selling' anything here - but I am asking for prayer, and I am offering a way to help be the gift... to help make a change!  Pray... and then if you feel so led, would you join in and sow in to this ministry that is making a very real and very lasting difference... it is changing the world for teen mama's and the next generation in Africa.

We can do this... one skipped Starbucks... one Drive Thru passed by... every little (or BIG) bit adds up and we can pitch in and we can Be the Gift...

Join me, won't you?

For more info and to donate towards Phase 1



 (purchasing a van),

 click HERE!









We are so excited to watch and see what the Lord will do through this project.
Join with us in prayer, and in purpose, in remembering to: