It's Not Okay...

Of course lots of things going on in this crooked world are not okay, but whenever this issue arrises, it hits a nerve, and I really just need to get this out... (so thanks for listening/reading along!) ♥

It's not okay that children are trafficked.

It's not okay that little girls -or any girls- are forced into prostitution or pornography.....

that they're abused and used and degraded.

This grates against my soul like no other evil.

I have been torn about how to get involved, what to do, how to help.....

All I can think is that
the problem is too big
and I am too small.

I can't actually see the victims
or recognize them,
nor the perpetrators,
and if I could...
What could I do?
I am untrained.

In his book Primal, Mark Batterson says,

Don't let what you cannot do keep you from doing what you can. (p.46)

How many times am I stopped in my tracks because I can't do it all??

I can't fix the whole problem
so I guess I'll just do nothing.

Why do our brains do that to us??
(or is it just me?)



Rescue Her is one of many organizations already fighting for these little ones.....

I may not be able to do it all, but I can certainly do something.

We sure do drink a lot of coffee around here.

Every morning.

What if I bought Zoe Coffee from Rescue Her instead of the stuff we normally buy?

$10 at a time doesn't feel like much, but it's a start.

What if I talk to my friends who own a coffee house and see what they think about buying Zoe Coffee??


Any causes grating at your soul??
Do they seem too big?
Have you done something anyway?
♥

1% change #5: vitamin regimen...

Background: I started taking a generic multivitamin about six years ago... in 2005.

(image source)

I used to buy these at Walmart... for cheap!

Best choice ever.

Immediate benefits:

1. This daily dose seemed to regulate my appetite immediately. (I went from massive portions [+ dessert!] to being content with a  'normal' amount... I attributed that to the suppliments & the fact that my body was not having to take in as much food to get the nutrients it needed.)

2. It also improved my digestion. (aka: The bowels were on the move -regularly. Gross, I know. But a very good thing!)

3. I even think this simple daily vitamin regimen helped me shed a few pounds...

me then... with JILL & Meg :)

Since then I've changed brands and added a few specific vitamins to the list.... and unfortunately gotten away from the regular - daily part.

I just want to get back on track with my regular doses. Once in the morning (with breakfast) and once in the afternoon (between lunch & supper). More complex than before, but not too hard to handle.

(clearly all of these aren't mine, but this is part of our stash:)

The point here is health... and consistency. These 1% changes are really helping me tackle some areas I've been neglecting. Bad habits come easy for some reason. This has been great motivation for me to fight against that.


....Just in case you're wondering, the other changes I've made have been going great...

-walk-time: still loving it. (also nice that I usually walk during my lunch break for work, so the 30 minutes is already there, carved out for me)

-Bible reading: One of the best priority-shifts I've ever made! (I've read three 'books' in 4 weeks... (finished 2 Corinthians this morning!!))

-Being Early (1 & 2): stiiiiiiiilll working on it.... I've made it to on time but early still alludes me! ...for some reason it seems as if it goes against everything in my being!!

Hope to have a happy vitamin-report next week...... Maybe I'll do what my husband does and set an alarm on my phone... good thinking, Love!

Happy changing, friends. ♥
(and... the linking up link :)

highlights...

These two weeks worth of highlights should probably be separated into several posts, but with limited blog-time lately, I'm just going with one... :)



Two beach trips in two weeks... a definite highlight!!

Bike rides & walks with some favorites...

Jordan twin-cousins

Jill & her sweet girls

I even squeezed in a nap in the park!!! 

Last sunday we celebrated J's Dad... 

...and we got to feel Baby A! :)

Steph got home late Tuesday night..... and came to eat with J & me Wednesday night...

This weekend Jeremy & I dyed eggs with Kayla...

got in a family lunch...

And I started a Bill Hybels book I've been wanting to read for a while now!

(updated cover: BN.COM)

We thoroughly enjoyed Seth & Laura's wedding...

And Easter at Seacoast was excellent!! --Becky Jones has been working on this live painting for the past three weeks... today she finished it up and explained it to us. super sweet!!

(pic from week 3 of 4 -last sunday)

Two favorites at J's grandmas...

and then Easter supper with the G-fam! ♥

The days have been sweet to say the least. 

I cherish these moments with family and friends... looking forward to more...

Thoughts & prayers for this week.....
-It's the last week of the fiscal year at work (a big deal in retail).
-I'm seeking to learn more and practice prayer in a deeper, truer way.
-It's my last week of Photoshop class!!
-I'm still working on being early to work.
-Always hoping to encourage & love well those I'm entrusted with throughout the week: Jeremy, family, friends, coworkers, etc......

Pray you're blessed and resting in His goodness. He loves us Big! 

1% change #4: Keep keepin' on...

Is it already Wednesday again??

First, if you haven't already, you should totally check out the new Naptime Diaries' post & time-sensitive challenge here. You'll be glad you did.

I've been loving this... Since Jessi started this 1% changes just four weeks ago, I've instituted walk-time, started reading the Bible first-thing in the morning, and even started working on my tardiness...

I'll have to be honest, the first two I thought about, decided on, started, and continued... nice and easy like the name '1% changes' sounds like it should be ... baby steps, right?

Well, this week, that was not the case... I hit a wall with the tardiness issue... I have shown some improvement, but nothing to write home about! ..... So, this week, I'm just going to keep chipping away at my most recent goal of being EARLY. (Like more than two minutes... the goal is at least five.)

No ideas yet for my own time-sensitive challenge..... I'm thinking I might do 'go to bed early for one week'.... sounds simple enough, but I'm kind of afraid of the proverbial wall right now... I think I better just stick to being early for another week and see what happens.

hey, maybe that's it...

My resolve: I will get to work by 7:40 and spend a few minutes reading/journaling until 5 'till. hmmm. sounds like a plan!

Happy 1% changing! ♥

Lessons in Photoshop...

So, now that my Photography class is done, I'm having the sweet privilege of taking Photoshop (CS3 -not the newest version available)! I always knew the program was cool.. and something I'd like to learn, but seriously, this class has been GOOD!! (twice a week for a month is kind of a lot-- and making me feel busier than I like-- but I can honestly say it's already been worth it!)

So, a few highlights/favorite lessons from the past two weeks...

Our textbook (bought it used..comes w/a CD)

Changing color within a selection! :)

Auto-Align Layers feature:
Before: grandpa and the girls are a little off & After: much better!!
(DOES THIS KINDA BLOW YOUR MIND A LITTLE, OR IS IT JUST ME!?)

Vanishing Point Perspective:
Before: 3 windows and a wreath & After: 4 windows and no wreath!
Umm, Wow.
That seriously just happened!

And then we got to play with our own images/portraits...

Crazy green hair for Sister... :)
Not realistic, but so much fun, & kind of amazing!!

Glad to get to soak it all in..... look forward to fixing up some more of my photog-class pics....

Happy Saturday, Blogland!! ♥

1% change #3: Be Early...

Love this 1% changes Naptime Diaries has come up with...


My recap from weeks 1 & 2:

#1: Walk-time is still going quite well... in fact I'm to the point where if I miss my midday walk, I really miss it! It's been a sweet place for me these past two weeks... This has been much more than a 1% change and I am thankful for that!! (I even got to join my friend-cousins Tuller & Ada -and their mommy Angela- during their walk-time one day this week!!)

#2: Bible Before Blogging (or First & Most) has also been GOOD!!! Most mornings I've been able to read before touching my feet to the floor and that has been awesome! (As you can tell by the strange diptic-ified screen captures, I made it through Romans just this week!! This kind of progress totally fuels me!) <3 So... Week #3 is here and this week my 1% change is to Be Early.

I'm one of those that tends to be late... just like a 5-10-minutes-every-single-time kind of late... To the point of annoying myself.

So, I would like to start thinking and being early --even if just by a minute or two-- however I'll aim for five whole minutes! :)

Happy 1% changing... Definitely check out Naptime Diaries' 1% food changes this week.. such good stuff! Definitely time for me to try some Quinoa!

Helped.

I was waaay out for work yesterday when this happened...





Thankfully I was close to a church parking lot when my tire blew that I was able to creep along to it & get off the side of the road. The pastor called a friend for help....

I'm convinced this guy was an angel.

He just joyfully gave of his time and energy to help me out!

(that's what Mark Batterson would call 'loving God with all your strength!!')





This was his sidekick Rio! She was too sweet!!

...When all was said and done and he had the spare on tight, it was clear the air was a little low, so he proceeded to let me know I could swing by (basically next door) & fill up before heading on my way!!!

Amazing.

What in the world!?

Couldn't be more thankful for these two.. And sweet Rio :)

What a blessing that they weren't too busy to stop what they were doing for the better part of an hour and help this girl!! Pray they're seriously blessed for their good deeds!!!! <3

April-read: Primal...

Primal by Mark Batterson

Some of my 'Bible First' inspiration (1% change #2) came from Chapter 5 of this book...

You are what you read. p.75

...the goal of meditation is to get the Bible through us. p.78
(Fuel for my meditation-walks!)

Sweet (cousin) Haylee

The Bible is God's way of initiating a coversation with us. p.82
(if that doesn't make you want to read it, I don't know what will..)

...the goal of knowing the Bible isn't Bible knowledge. The goal of knowing the Bible is knowing God p.83

Those are good words.. Spurrs me on for sure!!

1% change #2: Bible before blogging...

First of all, in case you were wondering.. 1% change #1 [Walk-time] is going very, very well.. :)

Here's a recap of my 4/5 days worth of walks:

Day 1: cold & rainy- but I was ready...

...and the walk-prayer-time was sweet!

Day 2: Sunny & tender as I rested in the fact that I could keep coming to Him & pouring out my heart to Him! (Seriously refreshing!!)

Day 3: short & sweet.. I seriously had like 8 minutes this day, but I seized them!! And what a reprieve it was from the busyness of the workday!

Day 4: Although the sky threatened a rain-storm, I went for it.. My cry this day had to do with asking the right questions.. (Jill, didn't we just have a conversation about that?! -I think we did because as I walked and thought & prayed, my spirit wrestled to hear what pleased His heart most and what questions would bring about the right/best fruits in my life!!)

Sooo, onto my 1% change #2... Bible Before Blogging!

Clearly, I don't actually blog that often (but I do like to read them often --esp first thing in the morning!)

So this is my metaphor where 'blogging' represents every distracting whim I could pursue (i.e. Blog-reading, Instagram, iPhonography, email, Twitter, cleaning up [as a form of procrastination], reading other books, & even my incessant journaling...)

Essentially the goal here is: Bible First (& Most).

I don't need/want to be able to say I read it all in a year, but I would like to say I read it consistently & more than other material...

This book is just too important to be neglecting or reading flippantly throughout the week.

So now you know.. And I surely wouldn't despise your accountability should you offer it!! :)

What's your 1% change gonna be!?
If you blog it, do link back w/ Naptime Diaries' week 2! ♥ ♥

PS- I have finished Acts and jumped into Romans this morning.. Maybe I should be asking you to pray vs. hold me acctable!;)