Mission Impossible?

What does the phrase, "The Great Commission" mean to you?  If you are not a Christian you probably are drawing a blank.  If you are a believer, you might (should) know.  If you are in ministry, you know exactly what it means.

I grew up in the church but didn't hear that phrase until I was in my 30s.  I suppose it either wasn't a phrase used or I wasn't paying attention.  Now that I know what it means and it's significance, I'm doing my best to put it to use.  

My One Word Challenge for this year is USEFUL.   I believe the Great Commission and Useful go hand in hand.

What am I talking about?  Jesus Christ was crucified and buried in a tomb.  On the third day he came back to life and presented himself to his disciples.  "Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  Mathew 28:16-20.

I have struggled with my purpose, my usefulness, my abilities as a Christian for years.  Often my prayers have been, "Use me, God. Don't care how or when, but use me."  Then, when opportunities arose, I became frustrated by the lack of finances, which prevented me from doing what I thought was God's will.  Several years ago, I was blessed with the ability to go on a local mission trip.  Of course, at first I didn't consider it an actual 'mission trip'.  I was wrong.   I wrote a book based on that trip,  "Mount Mission".

This upcoming November, I have the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Panama.   Will finances prevent me from going?  Life happens, AC's break, kids get sick, etc., etc.   If I don't raise the money, does it mean God doesn't want me to be the "hand and feet of Christ"?   (see: 1 Corinthians 12)  The hands of Christ is 'serving', the feet indicating 'going' into the world.  

I'm doing my part, praying, studying, praying, fundraising through my businesses (Origami Owl and my books).  I have also created a GoFundMe account for donations.  

Now, I'm asking you for support.   Please prayerfully consider supporting me through any of the routes above and by sharing this post with your friends and family.  Feel free to download and print the attached flier, go on Facebook and share my event page.  Every little bit helps.  Five dollars from 600 people, $10 from 300 people, $100 from 30 people.  You get the idea.  

One last thought, Luke 1:37 "For nothing will be impossible with God." (English Standard Version).  If it is God's will for me to go to Panama, it will happen.

Thank you for your prayers and your support.

ShopFoward for Panama www.marathonmom.origamiowl.com

www.marathonmom.origamiowl.com

Panama Mission Trip

Shop online or donate through PayPal freedspirit05@me.com

Fun? in Phoenix part 2

Continued from previous post:
Friday morning, I woke up at 5 am.  My roommates were still asleep so I crept into the bathroom and put on my work-out clothes and went down to the gym.  My key didn't work.  No surprise there, par for the course so far I suppose.  I called the front desk and they sent someone right away to let me in.  I ran for about 45 minutes before anyone else showed up. I enjoyed the solitude.  When I returned to the room, my roommates were up and dressed.  I was not in a huge hurry to get to the convention hall.  The women I had met up with the night before planned on being there at 6:30 to get good seats.  My roommates and I arrived at 7:30.  The large hallway was just beginning to fill up, but it wasn't overly crowded and we found our group near the front of the line.  Next to us was a woman with a service dog.  Not just any service dog - a great dane.  

Service dog at convention.

Because of what happened next, I may need him.  I stood with my group near the front and by the wall.

As the crowds got heavier, I moved closer to the wall where it was a little more open.  Several minutes later, I begin feeling agitated.  I'm looking around, shifting my weight from foot to foot, backing up, turning around. My heart is pounding and I start breathing heavy.  Basically, I'm in fight or flight mode and I'm starting to shake.  Mentally, I know I'm safe, not in any danger.  Physically, my body is rejecting all intellectual thought.  Suddenly my eyes begin to tear up and one of the ladies in our group turns around and looks me in the face, "All you okay?" she asks with a very concerned tone.  I shake my head no and tell her I'm going to the bathroom and I'll be out when the crowds go away. Fortunately, the bathroom is only about three yards away but I have to push through the crowd to get there.   Inside the converted men's room, I find and empty stall, lock myself in and start crying my eyes out.  I texted my husband, "I wanna come home!"  I did at that point.  I could have left with no regrets.  Being the wonderful man he is, he assured me I was fine and to take a breather and go back in when I was ready.  Which I did.  I was embarrassed.  This was the second time this had happened.  The first was at a race when I couldn't find my husband after crossing the finish line.  I sat on a curb and cried for 20 minutes (after running around in a panic thinking he had left me).  

About 10 minutes or so later, I left the sanctuary of the men's room and found my group.  Fortunately, they were near the front and I was able to relax - sort of.  

The main session was really good.  The shadow dance group performed and Bell (the founder) sang.  Several videos were shown.  One was about the trip to Europe and the new Swarovski crystal line of jewelry (yippies) and the Origami Owl story.  If your kids want a car for their birthday, have them watch this video.  If you've ever wanted to own your own business, watch it.  Also, we learned something that I thought was really exciting.  Origami Owl will begin offering health insurance through Agentra beginning August 1st to qualified designers (meeting minimum volumes).  Read more about it here.

Near 12:30 I was ready to climb the walls. Plus, I was starving.  12:30 Phoenix is 3:30 Orlando so way past my lunch time.   I excused myself and found some food and a free massage!!!  I so needed that massage.  It was free but I tipped the woman well.  I went to two breakout classes and then I broke out and went back to the hotel.  Around 5 pm just as we were all leaving for our group dinner, a sandstorm warning set off alarms on everyone's phones.  We didn't get caught in the storm, but could see it in the distance.  

Dinner went well, I had dairy-free options to eat.  It was a little stressful at first because I had to find a waiter, in the crowd, to ask about food.  I'm always stressed when eating out and this was no different, worse even.  One of the women, Christina, made the evening and really the whole week-end bearable and even a little fun. 

There was a photo booth in the restaurant and she was the first person to pull me in.  Normally, I don't like having my picture taken, however, with the hats and funny glasses and mustaches it was fun.  She, Christina, always answered my texts right away and checked in with me often throughout the week-end.  My roommates were great, too.  In fact, they decorated our hotel room door.  The pictures of me they pulled off the internet. 

I love this quote from Chrissy Weems:  The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our "behind the scenes" with everyone else's "highlight reel".   You may think the grass is greener on the other side, but if you took the time to water your own grass, your's would be just as green.

 My husband often says the same thing, referring mainly to Facebook.  People's lives aren't that perfect and we tend to compare our meager life to what is portrayed on FB as a perfect, happy life.  

All you need is within you, right now.  Search for it, find it, water it, and let your light shine.  If you are having a bad day, skip!

Overall, this was an experience that I needed as much as I did not want it.  I needed to get out of my comfort zone.  I can't say that I'm afraid of crowds.  Otherwise, I would not have gone at all.  For me it's a physical reaction that I, thus far, have little control over.  Praying definitely helped.  I know my limits.  I push myself out of the box a little at a time and next time, if there is a next time, I will do more, enjoy it more, engage more, socialize more.  

I returned home exhausted, yet excited at all the possibilities that lay before me.  I leave you with this:

  

AND HERE ARE A FEW PICS:

INTERESTED IN BECOMING AN INDEPENDENT DESIGNER (SMALL BUSINESS OWNER) ?  CONTACT ME THROUGH FACEBOOK.

School Fundraisers

Does your child's school need to raise money?  Have a band trip?  Need sports equipment? Do you need to raise money for books or tuition?

Tired of the same old fundraisers?  Cookies that taste terrible, flower seeds that don't grow. Tired of popcorn, chocolate and those discount cards you never use?

You NEED to have an Origami Owl fundraiser!!

Have an on-site or on-line Origami Owl Fundraiser event with me and I will donate 50% or more of my profits to your school.  Go online and see all the possibilities HERE.

Accept Pregnancy Fundraiser

This month, March, Origami Owl is hosting a fundraiser for Accept Pregnancy in Winter Garden, Florida. Accept Pregnancy Center affirms the value of life by providing a network of care that includes counseling, healing support, and resources that explain the truth about life.  It is based on Biblical principles, teaches Jesus to those who walk through the doors, and saves lives.

The following is an excerpt from a story in "Assurance, Stories of Faith" by Theresa Jenkins, director of Accept Pregnancy.


I really believe that the reason that God led me to Accept Pregnancy was to teach me.  With my own daughter getting pregnant with Adam in 2009, He really answered my question why, because you really cannot reach out and help a lot of people unless you have been through things yourself.  I’m not saying that every person has to go through something to be able to help anybody but it helped to understand. My husband and I counseled our kids about premarital sex all the time. I went through the same thing as any other natural parent would do. I did have a lot of anger at first and not so much did I have it towards Diana, more so of, and this is terrible in saying this as a Christian but I think it is a natural human reaction – more was – God why are you allowing this to happen? First of all she is going to be a single mom and the dad chose not to be involved and second of all was because she had epilepsy so it made that risk even higher.  You know, when I got real angry I would just go into my room and yell into a pillow because I never wanted to show my anger but at the same time after a few months of being angry I thought, no, she needs to know that I’m mad.  She does need to know the natural reaction and I am doing the opposite of what I tell people to do every day.  I tell the girls all the time it is a natural thing.  I took her to all of her doctor’s appointments.  She could not drive because of the epilepsy.  I always heard about pregnancy healing certain things but I was not a real big believer of that. Now, I believe it without a doubt.  She has had no seizures, no headaches, no anything.  She drives now.  She works full time.  I could never ask for somebody to be a better mom. I was worried.  Would we be able to provide for him?  Ironically, when I was doing all that questioning, Diana came to me one morning and said, ‘mom I think I am going to place this baby for adoption.’  My heart just sunk in my chest and I was like, this is my grandchild she is talking about.  But I knew at the same time I had to catch myself because I knew that could not be my decision.  That had to be her decision but I let her know that kind of hurt a little.  Not even a week later she was like, nope I do not think I can carry a baby all nine months and then…especially knowing that I have my family’s support.  She knew that yeah we were angry, we were disappointed, upset, the whole nine yards but we all make mistakes.  We all sin every day.  One sin is not greater than the other. - Theresa Jenkins. 

Read the full article at Assurance, Stories of Faith.   Click HERE to shop Origami Owl's extensive line of beautiful customizable jewelry.  Proceeds go directly to Accept Pregnancy. 
 

Matthew's Hope Fundraiser

UPDATE (2/26)

The Matthew's Hope fundraiser is winding down.   Only THREE days left to shop forward. You don't want to miss out on this opportunity.

Starting Saturday March 1st the Accept Pregnancy Center will be the beneficiary of Origami Owl sales.  Stay tuned for links to shop. This will be an online fundraiser, however, I am more than happy to have an in-home event as well so you can see the new spring line, which comes out March 8th.

If you haven't visited Matthew's Hope in person, or their web site, I strongly encourage you to do so.  Scott Billue and his team of dedicated volunteers are making a tremendous impact in the lives of the homeless, the poor, those struggling to meet the basic necessities of life -food, water, shelter, love.

Shower Trailer

Farmer's market

Guest-run garden

Transitional housing

Showers for the homeless, a garden to grow their own food, transitional housing.  These are but a few of the services provided.  Everything,  and I mean EVERYTHING is done with donations from the community - cash, supplies, physical labor, food, clothing, technical and office support.

I have been blessed to be a part, a very small part, of Matthew's Hope from the beginning a little over three years ago.   Read all about it on their web site and their 'Moving Forward' magazine.  I know all the work they do first hand, I know how much money it takes to do the services, and I know it is used properly.

It is my heart's desire to help as much as I can by working directly with Matthew's Hope in any way I can and by spreading the word.  Homelessness isn't what it used to be.  It isn't always what is preconceived.  My heart breaks when I see a young mother with her children come through the doors, homeless because her husband abandoned her and she lost her job because she cannot afford child care or the man who asks for help because his house burned down and he has nowhere to go, the veteran who has been lost to the system.  The stories are as endless as they are diverse.  (you can read some of them in this blog:  the homeless interviews)

I would give every penny if I could.  However, if I did then I would be homeless.

God has given me an amazing opportunity to give back.  Origami Owl custom jewelry.  It is a new business for me and I plan on using it as a platform for giving.

Now through the month of February I will be donating the proceeds of my MH online party to Matthew's Hope.   Shopping for a cause.  Tell your story through your locket while giving money to buy a new pair of shoes, a blanket, or a meal for someone in need.

Caring for the Homeless Men,
Women and Children of
West Orange County

Matthew 25:35-40 NIV

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Read about Matthew's Hope, pray about where you can be a force for good.  Then, click here and shop away, knowing that  with every purchase you are helping a man, woman, child, family in need.  In March, I will post the amount donated and a picture of me handing over the check so you can see for yourself what YOU have contributed to.  

"Matthew’s Hope fosters the physical,
emotional, and spiritual well-being
of the homeless men, women, and children
of our West Orange community by meeting
basic needs, developing skills,
and restoring dignity and independence."

Living lockets

dangles

love locket with crystals

believe