Did you know?

I have discovered something exciting that many of you may already be aware of. If you shop at all on Amazon, you can use their 'alternate' site, called AmazonSmile. 

Since 2005, I have been honored to be a part of Bethany House's ministry in several capacities: as an employee, board member, and volunteer. Bethany House is a Christian program of healing and hope for single pregnant women and women with children who are in need of multiple support services. This ministry has touched literally generations since their conception in 1989. I invite you to take a peek at the amazing work they do, and then, if you are so inclined, when you shop on Amazon, simply 'switch' and use the AmazonSmile section. You can select any non-profit that is signed up to receive donations through the Smile program on Amazon. I, of course, hope you will choose Bethany House as one of your giving options!

The AmazonSmile tagline is: "You shop. Amazon gives." 

What's really awesome? You don't pay ANYTHING extra. You just shop as you normally would and buy what you would normally buy, and then a portion of what you spend on your purchase goes to the non-profit of your choice. Cool, huh? 

Again, I am providing the links and information for Bethany House, but there are thousands of organizations that could use our support. May God bless you as you bless others!

Click below and shop!

Support Bethany House when you shop for your Valentine!

Learn more about the Bethany House Program's mission of service: 

 Bethany House on Facebook
 Bethany House's website

 

Allowing Change to Change you ... for the better

Change. It can arrive without warning and change, well, everything. I

I'm discovering that a ton of little changes can cause disruption to our lives leading to us feel overwhelmed. Or ... we can instead comit to trusting God, and allow the changes that come our way to change us for the better. Easier said than done.

Right now, at work, there is a lot of "rearranging" going on in my department. This means: redoing forms, working with new people (who do things differently), more meetings, more work ... etc. First, let me say that I am super grateful for my day job. I love it. HOWEVER, I'm learning that I still struggle with "being in control." I want things my way at work. (Big surprise! Not.)

Also, I find myself trying to prove my worth in the workplace. You know; making sure those newer employees know that I know what I'm doing. On a more positive note, I am encouraging and helping train these newcomers, and they're great. In fact, the people are in no way the issue. It's simply me having to change the way I do things that gets me flustered. I didn't realize I was such a creature of habit. Okay, I'll just say it: I'm not real flexible at work. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but inside I'm growling about it. Grrrrrrrrr. Those inner growlings can turn into loud barks if I'm not careful. My eyes tend to flash my disapproval, making it easy for those around me to sense my discomfort.

As I was thinking about writing this, I was reminded of Disney Princess, Mia. Lovely Mia, dorky school girl transported into the role of pretty and purposeful princess. The changes that girl went through in a very short time (thanks to movie-magic, of course) were phenomenal. I can only imagine the inner stress someone would feel in that same situation, if true. Yikes!

Granted, the changes were positive, just like many of the changes on my job, yet, regardless, change can cause us to become uncomfortable, unwilling, and unrighteous. Yes, unrighteous. If we're not careful we can let our feelings about changes reap havoc on those around us, if we don't learn to embrace those changes with God's plan and purpose in mind.

No matter what change is happening, good, bad, or somewhere in between, God can and will use change to grow us up spiritually. God doesn't let us hangout in a comfort zone for long, does He? He's always stretching us spiritually, increasing out abilities to reign real as the princess warriors we were created to be.

Like Mia, we can wear our crowns with class, or throw temper tantrums along the way. If we belong to King Jesus, we can rest assured that He will help us through any changes and transitions in our lives, if we let Him.

So, in a practical sense, I'm planning to embrace these latest changes with enthusiasm and integrity, adding my creativity and experience to the process in such a way that I help everyone involved. No more whining, complaining, or shooting eye-daggers. After all, change is a fact of life that we can't hide from, and, truthfully, why would we hide? A stagnate body of water becomes stale, even foul. A rolling river moves forward, around bends and curves, always going forward. Sitting in a stale, sour puddle of water doesn't sound real appealing. Riding the rapids of a river may be scary at times, but how exhilarating!

So, ladies, what changes are happening in your world? Are you fighting them or partnering with God in the process? I want to challenge you to take a a risk, get in the raft, and head for the rapids. Although, we may fall out on occasion, God is sure to get us back to dry land.

God bless you!

PS. Readers, please pray for the women of Coos Bay, OR. I will be speaking at their upcoming women's conference in two weeks. I'm asking that God prepare their hearts for mighty change and renewed hope. Also, please pray for my family and finances. I recently lost a significant amount of my income when my position at Bethany House was ended. With the economy in shatters, and donations down, Bethany House had to let all employees, but the director go. Please pray for more people to come along side this vital, life-saving ministry so they can transition into a new program format for single women with children. Thank you!

A Christmas Story (continued)

If you are just tuning in, you will want to read the last post featuring Part I to this modern Christmas Story. Read it and hurry back!

So it continues ...

Later that evening:

"Hey girl, you don't look like you belong down here. What's up?" A young woman with ultra-damaged, bleached hair asked. She slunk over to where Mary stood alone on Broadway in the heart of Downtown Portland.

"I don't know where I belong anymore." Mary was too tired and discouraged to fear the tough looking street girl.

"Let's sit over there, on that bus bench. Tell me all about it. I got all the time in the world." The girl gently pulled Mary to the empty bench.

"Why do you care?" Mary looked closely at the young woman's face, surprised by the sympathy she saw in the girl's sunken, hazel, eyes.

"Maybe I don't. Maybe I do," the girl shrugged. "I'm bored, lonely, and hungry. I listen; you buy me a burrito. Oh, my name's Nancy." She smiled revealing several missing teeth.

"I'm pregnant. My parents kicked me out. My boyfriend says he needs time to think about the whole deal, and my God-focused high school expelled me when I tried to talk to the guidance counselor, today. Oh, and my best friend told me I was crazy. So much for love and grace, huh?" Mary handed the girl a dollar bill.

"I don't know much about love and grace, but I do know something about your problems. I got kicked out when I was thirteen. I was really into boys and did some stupid stuff. My dad talked me into an abortion. Now, I mostly do drugs and have sex for money to survive out here. Believe me, you don't want this life." Nancy stuffed the dollar into her pocket and looked away, ashamed.

"What can I do? No offence, but I don't want to end up on the streets." Mary hoped she hadn't overstepped her boundaries, but for some reason she believed she could talk candidly with this girl.

"No harm. It's the truth. You don't want what I have. Later, after I'd already made my choice. I heard about this special home. You know, a real nice place out in Gresham. They help pregnant girls, like you. You can live there and they don't care how you got pregnant. It's called Bethany House. You even get your own room, meals, counseling, support, and from what I've heard, lots more." Nancy pulled a crumpled flyer from her inside coat pocket "See, here's the place. For some strange reason, I've been carrying this around for months. I guess now I know why." She held out the faded paper.

"Thanks. You know something, Nancy, no matter what you've done, God loves you. I'm going to tell you my secret. You probably won't believe me either, but, oh well. My son is the Chosen One, Jesus. When He's born something amazing is going to happen. You can count on that." Mary smiled, feeling a little flutter in her abdomen for the very first time.

"I'm ready to believe anything at this point. I better go. Call that number, okay?" Nancy rose and walked away. There was a new bounce to her step.

Glancing at the paper, Mary knew what she had to do. Find a safe place until the baby was born, and hopefully, Joe would decide to marry her and accept the child. She hurried to a nearby phone booth. As she slipped the coins into the shiny slot, Mary instinctively understood that somehow everything was going be all right. Just as the angel had said, with God all things are possible.

Alone, pregnant, and afraid -- not the words most of us consider while reflecting on our Savior's mother and the feelings she must have felt during the first weeks and possibly months of her pregnancy. We picture a loving Joseph, a cozy stable, and a Mary filled with joy. Certainly, there was joy, but I suspect that Mary, who wasn't more than 14 or 15 years old, was actually terrified. After all, it wasn't every day a girl found herself pregnant by God Himself. Most of the Jewish population expected the mother of their Messiah to be royalty, not a common young girl engaged to a carpenter.

What did her parents think? What about her friends, or their neighbors? Before the angel appeared to Joseph, did he calmly accept his wife-to-be's astounding circumstances? After all, sex outside marriage was punishable by death. Had Joseph denied Mary his name, where would she have gone?

Thankfully, Mary didn't have to answer that final question, but there are so many single, pregnant women in our world who do. Yes, yes, many of them have made poor choices that led to an "unplanned" pregnancy. I refuse to say unwanted, because God wants all of His children. No one is created without God's hands in the design, married, or not. Certainly, committing to purity and having sex only within the covenant of marriage is preferable and God's ideal. However, the staggering statistics easily demonstrate that God's best is not always the norm in our world today.

Consider:

Teen pregnancy rates are much higher in the United States than in many other developed countries. They are twice as high as England and Wales or Canada, and nine times as high as the Netherlands or Japan.

Each year, almost one million teenage women -- 10% of all women aged 15 to 19 and 19% of those who have had sexual intercourse -- become pregnant.

78% of teen pregnancies are unplanned, accounting for about one-fourth of all "accidental" pregnancies annually.

It's difficult even to imagine the Virgin Mary as yet another statistic, but had she found out in 2008 that she was pregnant and alone, what would she have done? We have young, hurting women who desperately need to experience the love of God in tangible ways that will help them make better choices in the future, and allow them to raise their children up in the Lord in spite of their own difficult circumstances.

Having a safe, Christian refuge to call home is crucial first step in this process of healing and change. Such a refuge, Bethany House, offers a home and program of hope for pregnant young, women and their babies. With godly principles woven through the fabric of the program, women are able not only to gain practical and education insight about pregnancy and motherhood, but also are allowed to grow up spiritually and emotionally, thus finding a new hope and future for themselves and their unborn children.

During the Christmas Season, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, there is an opportunity to reach out and touch the lives of many wounded women and their children -- women with no husbands, even families in sight. Women who have no warm bed to rest a tired head, no food to eat, and no medical care. There is simply not enough room at the inn for these women.

We, precious sisters, can bring tidings of great joy. A ministry like Bethany House cannot operate on its own. It wasn't meant to.

With financial support, in-kind donations, and the love of volunteers, it will continue to flourish. Sisters, Princess Warriors, this is a ministry that I support wholeheartedly. I wanted to give you an opportunity to give the gift of life this Christmas. We know so many people who have everything. Why not send a donation to this program in their name?

Instead of purchasing another item for re-gifting next year, give an eternal gift. I personally know that this 20-year-old ministry has struggled financially this year like so many of us and so many other worthy ministries. However, any gift can help keep their doors open.

Sadly, three maternity programs in my area have closed this past year due to finances, and all at a time when pregnancy rates are once again on the rise. Many Christians speak out against abortion yet do nothing tangible to support life. Bethany House is an opportunity to give in relation to God's truth and your values.

Believe me; God will gift you back in mighty ways.

To learn more, or give an online donation, visit: http://www.bethanyhousenet.org/

Let's make our own Christmas Story this year as we touch two lives at a time and generations beyond with Christ's love and generosity. Thank you for letting me share this with you. God bless you.