Was My Starbucks Coffee This Morning Worth It?

Nabakoza died this weekend. I posted about her last week. This is her. She died from starvation. When I first found her story, I had prayed that she would be saved. Renee did everything she could to save Nabakoza, but more importantly during Nabakoza's last few days, Renee loved her. She showed Nabakoza Christ's love by feeding her, giving her water, cleaning up her puke, and loving on her. I found out through Renee's blog that Nabakoza was starved by her family because she had a disability.

"Sweet Nabakoza lived a life full of incredible pain, and suffering; she lived a life of neglect. A life of abuse. She grew up in a home where because of her disability she was denied the right to eat food, wear clothes, and go to school; she was even denied the right to be loved by her own mother. Can you even begin to imagine what that would be like?"

I know we aren't all called to move to Africa or some foreign country, but we are supposed to do something about this starvation, physical abuse, poverty, lack of education, sexual abuse, sickness...should I keep going? There are so many great organizations out there that provide education to these countries, medical help, food, and job education for women and men. No, we cant all be over there, but we can support these kinds of organizations, and as believers (or just good people who care about others, but if you are not a believer....I highly recommend it:)) we are supposed to!

I got a Starbucks coffee this morning. It has become an addiction of mine. It costs about $4 every time I get one, and I get one at least three times a week. Besides the calories (which kill me) it is a huge waste of money. If I stopped getting my Starbucks three times a week, I would be able to give an extra $48 a month. That could easily feed Nabakoza's entire family for about half a year! (plus it would help me lose weight, which is a win/win situation.)

Here are some great organizations that John and I have given to or have heard great things about. World Concern My brother Mark and sister in law Erin are both currently working for World Concern. They are based in Seattle and go to the most poverty stricken countries and meet that country's biggest need. (for example, they work with children in sex slave trafficking over in Asia, provide jobs for people in Haittie by paying them to build back their own town, de-worm kids over in Africa (only $44 de-worms 100 people) etc..)It is a great organization and I'm really happy to have learned about it even if it did steal one of my favorite families away from me and move them across the country...

Then there is Compassion . This is also a great program. You get to choose a child from any of their countries and sponsor that child. We have a few over in Africa and are able to write letters back and forth just by logging onto our Compassion account and clicking on our child's name (so fun!). By sponsoring them you are providing them an education, clean water, food, medical care, and important life-skills training. You can sponsor one child for only $38 a month. You can also send them birthday money, Christmas money, or a family gift. One of our kids bought a goat and sent us picture of his goat which was awesome!

There is Amazima Ministries which is Katie's ministry. I have written about her a ton! I love her. Amazima Ministries operates a sponsorship program for 400 orphaned children. These children are provided an education, school supplies,
3 meals a day, and medical care. They are also provided with spiritual encouragement and attend a weekly Bible study/fellowship program. Another aspect of Amazima Ministries, is the feeding program provided to the displaced Karamojong people of the Masese community. These people are Uganda's poorest and often considered
outcasts. A lunch meal is served to over 1,200 children Monday - Friday and a plate of food is sent home for dinner. This allows the children to attend school and not go to the street in town to beg. Also provided is basic medical care, Bible study and general health training.

And finally, I will give you Renee's organization Serving His Children . She is the one who took in Nabakoza and fed and cared for her. She, along with Katie, provides food for over 1200 children M-F. She also brings in starving children and adults, cleans up their throw up (without complaining I hear) and nourishes them back to health (or in Nabakoza's case, loves on them and cares for them until the Lord takes them home).

Any of these organizations would be a great place to donate money to and I encourage you to take that step and find ways that you can stop spending money and start giving it to people who are in need. We have to start waking up every morning and realizing that everything is NOT okay. We might be over here in our comfy little suburbs, but in other countries (and even here to an extent...but don't get me started on Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare, or I'll never stop. Come work at a non profit organization, deal with my clients, and then tell me we need to provide more help for them...its crap man...) people are dying of starvation or being trafficked into sex slavery, and it's not ok!

I want to leave you with part of a note that Renee wrote to Nabakoza after she died. Its so sweet and because I'm a dork, it brought me to tears...in bed..while John was sleeping...seriously, I was like a blubbering idiot.

"You should know that thousands of people are praying for you and your family. I know your Mom is feeling so sad about the past 23 years; I told her you forgave her. My heart hurts for the hard life you had to live, but your pain was not in vain my friend. Because of you hearts are being stirred, God is calling out a people who desire to bring about change in this world. You made a difference in this world, Nabakoza! You matter. It’s a privilege and an honor to call you my friend, my sister. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life even for a short time. Thank you for forever changing mine. I love and miss you. See you at the golden gates… "

So, was my Starbucks worth it this morning? Nope.

A Letter to My Future Children...Whoever You Might Be and However Many of You There Might Be...

Disclaimer: I know this is cheesy, but I have been thinking a lot about how hard it is going to be to raise my children well when they are finally here. It is so easy to get caught up in the American lifestyle and I have been stressing about how to raise them in this lifestyle and still serve God well. So, I decided to write them this letter. I decided to post it on here because I'm hoping that one day I will still have this blog and I can just pull this up and show it to them. The idea of my printing it out and knowing where it is in 15 years is comical.

"Ive been thinking about raising you lately. It kind of stresses me out. Raising you well comes with a huge burden. I want you to follow Christ. (Not the kind of following where you just got to church on Sundays, but really really follow Him.) I want Him to be the most important thing to you. I want you to grow up and be godly men and women who serve Him. But how am I going to teach that to you? I know I must lead by example, but I hope that you will learn from my mistakes instead of follow in them.

I don't want you to care about meaningless things in life. I don't want you to care about making the best soccer, basketball, baseball, or football team. (Let's face it, none of you have the chance of being talented dancers, you have me as your mother...although, if you were adopted by us, there is hope for you.) I don't want you to care about getting the best grades. (although the only way you are going to college is if you pay for it with scholarships, so you better get good grades) I don't want you to care about that "hot" boy/girl in high school that you wish liked you (because trust me in a few years they will most likely be bald or fat..) I don't want you to care about having the cutest clothes. I don't want you to worry about having the most friends or the most fun house to hang out at. I don't want you to care about being popular. I don't want you to gossip. (Its been a problem of your mom's in the past. We can call that one a generational sin) I don't want you to cuss. (also a problem of your moms in the past/present) I don't want you to get drunk. (again..a problem in the past...none of these are true with your father which is really annoying, but makes me feel blessed at the same time.) I don't want you to have sex until you are married and I don't want you to get pregnant before you are married. (But if you do make that mistake, know that I will not freak out and will support you in having your baby) I don't ever want you to try drugs. I don't want you to value yourself based on worldly things. I don't want you to care or worry about these things, but I know that many of these things are bound to be something that you go through during your life, and I want you to know that your dad and I will be here to love you and will try to always point you back to Christ and His Word for the right answers in life.

What I do want for you is this: I want you to know that you are loved by God. I want you to know that He loves you so much that He always forgives you for your sins. I want you to know that He is a God of mercy and grace. I want you to know that He holds no records of wrong doing. I want you to know that no matter how many hundreds of thousands of times you screw up, He will always take you back. I want you to know that He is mighty and powerful. I want you to know that He is the great physician. I want you to know that no matter how much we love you, He loves your more. I want to teach you that serving Him is all that matters. I want to teach you how to love your neighbor as yourself. I want to teach you how to love your enemies. I want to teach you how to forgive and not hold grudges. I want to teach you that serving others doesn't always make you happy, but brings you a joy that can only come from God. I want to teach you to be humble (because all the good that you do only comes from Him...trust me on this one. You have nothing to brag about.) I want to teach you that judging others is stupid when you yourself have all kinds of problems that need to be worked on. I want to teach you that serving your God first and foremost is the most important thing you can ever do.

Sweet babies, you are not being born into a fabulous world with no problems. We are told that in this world we will have lots of trouble, but to take heart because our God has overcome this world. I pray that this will resonate in you. know that we already love you. We are already praying for you. (If you are one of our adopted ones, we are already praying for you, your mom and dad.) You are PRECIOUS in His sight. You are loved beyond anything you can imagine, and we are very grateful for you. "

Let's Get Organized. Organized. I Want To Get Organized. Organized.

The above title is supposed to be sung to the tune "Lets Get Physical" by Olivia Newton John. FYI.

So. I kind of went off on my last post. If you didn't read it, please do so now:). I was really upset about the pictures that I had seen and kind of had a rant. I stand by my rant completely. This shouldn't be happening. People shouldn't be dying of starvation. Once we know about it and are made aware of it, we should do something about it. You can donate to Amazima ministries here. Katie (a 21 year old girl who is the adoptive mother of 14 girls in Uganda) is a rock star. She started Amazima ministries and with the help of others, she feeds hundreds of people, takes care of their medical needs, and started a program where hundreds of kids go to school every day. I digress. You can read more about her here and here. DONATE!!

OK so my point to all of this: I mentioned in my last post that I don't want to see these kinds of pictures and then go on living my life the same. (A little bit like the good Samaritan story.) So, I started thinking about some of the things I can do to save money and therefore donate to Amazima. One of the main things John and I spend money on is food. (ironic since these people are starving...or just sad...) I never want to cook because my kitchen is an unorganized mess so we go out to eat.

So, I decided to organize my kitchen, (Copied an idea from Terri Flanigan) and I plan on cooking all but three meals each week. Obviously, we will not be perfect in this, but this is my plan.

Here are the before and after pictures. Drum roll please......

The before picture of my pantry. It was not a pretty picture...literally:)



Pantry After. Much more organized. Now when I need something, I can go to that box. Before I would assume I didn't have it, and I would go out and buy something I already had. No more!




And finally. Do you hate your spice rack? I did. So, I went to Ikea and purchased some very cheap spice containers that magnetically stick to your fridge. I was able to throw away all my spice bottles and will be labeling these beauties tonight when I get home. (yes I remember what is in each one).


So, this is step one in how I will be trying to save money. It's not an easy thing to change your lifestyle, but Im pretty sure God didnt say it was supposed to be easy to follow Him. For examle: This weekend I tried to go shopping (you know, take advantage of tax free weekend. Its like they are giving stuff away:)). I was determined to find something cute, but no matter where I went, I didnt like anything...I am viewing that as God protecting me from my shopping addiction. Thats another post for another day.

What are We doing?

I am sad. I am sick to my stomach. I don't think that's ever really happened to me before. I don't think I have felt unrest like this before. I know starvation is out there, but to see these pictures coming from people that I "know" (through the blog world). They took these pictures. This isn't some National Geographic magazine. Its pictures of young women and little babies that they took with their cameras. It's not OK. There is nothing OK about this. What are we doing? I have this huge unrest in me right now. I want to go over there right now. There are so many thoughts though. People say, "you can send money." "You can pray." That's true. So true, and God is the Great Physician, but aren't we supposed to be over there taking care of them? I hate that this is happening. I hate that this takes place thousands of miles away while we go to the movies, watch TV, buy more clothes, make sure our kids are in private school, put our kids on the best soccer team, make sure we have the makeup we need, get our hair cut and highlighted etc. I hate this. But am I willing to make more of a change than sending a $100 check? Am I going to send this check today and then forget about it? I don't want to forget about it. I want to feed the hungry. I want to "be the hands and feet of Christ". But what am I actually going to do? I think staying over here in America is fine. Some people are called to stay here, but I also think that that becomes a crutch. "I'm supposed to stay over here. My mission work is over here." That is true for so many people, but are you really doing mission work? Are you changing your life for Christ. God's word says that "for whom much has been given, much will be required." That's us. Are we giving much, or are we giving our 10% so that we can feel good about ourselves?
Look at these pictures below. The one of the older girl is current. (They are all actually current) but the one of the older girl was taken this week and they think she is going to die this week. This shouldn't be happening. I hate that this is happening. Look at these pictures. Become sick about it. Make it change you. Don't look at these pictures and then forget that this is happening. It is better for your soul and my soul to take these pictures into our hearts and do something about it.

My Nieces

God has blessed me with two awesome nieces and two awesome nephews, but today I am going to focus on my nieces. Angie and Ryann Cate Lamb are ROCKSTARS. One is 13 and one is 3. They have a 10 year gap in their ages, but the are both equally cool. I have had the privilege of hanging out with Angie a lot more lately. We had a fun girls day on Friday, and had a blast. We went to lunch with Mom and Grandma. We went and got pedicures and frozen yogurt. Went to buybuybaby to buy some gifts for her two new little brothers that are going to be born in the next few weeks, and then headed to Mardel's to get Ange a new Bible...because all she had at home was a KJV...which would put anyone to sleep... and then I took the lovely young lady home. (run on sentences, I know.) Ok, so think about having a conversation with a 13 year old. Doesn't sound very enlightening, right? Well, in Angie's case, she acts like a 23 year old. She is the most mature teenager I have ever met. When I asked her what kinds of guys she liked, she told me that they had to be nice to everyone, have a good heart, be smart, and be a Christian. What 13 year old says that? Seriously. Besides all of that, she is great at having adult conversation. I forget all the time that she is only 13 years old. I am so proud of the young woman she is becoming and pray that she continues to grow close to the Lord. Here are some pics of one of my favorite nieces. I LOVE YOU ANGE!




Then there is Ryann Cate. She stole my heart the day she was born. She is a precious little princess. She has the sweetest demeanor and is also quite hilarious. They have moved to Seattle and I HATE IT! I hate that I cannot see her anymore. Its just no good. But it's God's will so I guess I have to deal. I was talking to Ryann on the phone yesterday and said, "Ryann Cate, I love you so much!" She replied "I love you so much too!" Just her little voice is so precious. I pray for her that she will grow up to be a woman who loves the lord. I hope one day I will be living close by her again...maybe in Africa or something.... She is growing up way too fast, and I don't like it. If she turns out anything like Angie, we all be in good shape. I LOVE YOU RYANN CATE!!!!



I love you both very very very very much!!!!

Built in Desk

So, our "gameroom" is actually an old bedroom. The guy that lived there before us knocked out the wall between the kitchen and that room and made it another living space. We love this room, but there was a pointless closset in it. So, one day I got the bright idea to turn it into a desk and then had the brighter idea to have my grandpa in law, father in law, and husband do all of the work. In the end, I decorated it:). This is the result


These are just two pics of the gameroom because I wanted to show yall our new couch from Ikea and our fun green boxes that we put in our Ikea bookshelves (that we turned into a tv stand)

Scot and Conni's Baby Shower

My favorite oldest brother and my favorite oldest (but not actually old at all) sister in law are having a baby! They are due in September and are having a little boy named Will. We had Will's baby shower this weekend. Despite the lack of air flowing through my parents house, it was quite nice. Conni looked beautiful (as usual..she makes pregnancy look good) and all the rest of the kiddos (they have three others) and Scot looked nice also. Angie looked beautiful and way too old, but that's another post for another day. We had family and friends come to the shower to celebrate this little boy that's on his way. We had an awesome cake done by my old Bible study leader, and had a great time opening gifts. There were three people missing at the shower, and it just wasn't the same without them. Mark, Erin, and Ryann are in Seattle and were not able to be there. They were very missed and even cause Conni to cry when she opened their gift.

Baby Will: We love you and are so excited to meet you. You are going to be a very loved little boy. I will try to do my best to keep your father from turning you into a Star Wars nerd!

Here are Scot and Conni posing in front of their pretty cake!

Here are my mother in law and mom. I like them both.

Here are me and Ange. She is so freaking awesome. I hope my daughter grows up like her one day.

Here are me and Scot

My wonderfully dressed Grandma and Mom in Law Tricia

Everyone at the party. The guy on the far right goes by the name stinky, and lives up to it. The one to the left of him is my 15 year old Nephew Scot and then Angie is to the left of him. They are growin up so quickly!

Me and Angie again. I cant get enough of her.

The Cake. I think it turned out great!

Garage Sale

This past weekend our homegroup ran a garage sale to raise money for World Concern. World Concern is an awesome non profit that my brother works at. They go to all kinds of countries and meet people where their needs are. We raised $430. I was hoping for more, but we had a great time doing it. I am blessed to have so many great people in my homegroup and think it would be fun to do again one day....in the winter.

This is John and Randy. You cant see his entire outfit, but Randy was wearing a fanny pack and roller blades. Big dork! but thats why we love him:)
Allison, Katy, Becca, Me, and Elaine just being cute...as usual

The Garage Sale. We opened up at "8" and had people shopping at 7. One woman showed up at 6:55, but she did purchase the most. Tip: if you are going to have a garage sale, start it at like 6 am because after 11, no one shows up. The serious shoppers come in the morning.

Bailey, Randy, Mo, and John. John just wanted the sale to be over, so everytime someone would try to buy something, John would tell them they could have it for $1. Ridiculoso!

More shoppers!

Elaine and Katy working hard!

Katy, Allison, and Becca...hardly working:)


We missed the rest of our homegroup! It wasnt the same without them!