The Knitting Project.

Today I'm excited to introduce Jen of Rellas Bellas, she's here to share a bit of her heart and passion with you and I'm praying some of you will have a calling to help her reach her goal...

 

Hi Home is with You readers, I am so blessed to have Mallorie as one of my dear sweet friends who is helping me spread the word about my #purposeproject for Mocha Club.

Last week I shared with all my lovely readers, friends and family about the knitting project.

I’ve wanted to learn how to knit for as long as I can remember. Almost two years ago I bought yarn and needles in an effort to teach myself. Those needles and ball of yarn sit with my crafting supplies untouched. I tried for about two days to teach myself and failed miserably. Today that changes. I am partnering up with Mocha Club for the month of November to create The Knitting Project, a way to raise money to rescue girls in Ethiopia from the sex trade industry.
 

I left Influence conference last month and the ministry of Mocha Club kept weighing on my heart. I feel like we as women spend so much time worrying about things like having the newest shoes, perfect haircut, a home that looks like it could be in the latest issue of Martha Steward Living. We often times forget how great we have it. I find myself catching myself a lot lately complaining about things that are just so silly. Getting upset because I am stuck in traffic; annoyed the plumber was 3 hours late. God is reminding me of how lucky I am. How blessed I am to not have to worry about the things these brave women in Ethiopia encounter every day.

My goal for the month of November is to raise $400. $400 rehabilitates one woman from the sex industry in Ethiopia. By  raising $400 WE can give a woman the opportunity to live a better life and no longer allow prostitution to be her means of survival. 

{all donations are tax deductible, a receipt will be emailed after donation}

How $400 will change one woman's life:

Basics of what women receives through Women at Risk:

•Rehabilitation from desperate circumstances

•Counseling to redeem deep emotional and physical trauma

•Hope through skills training and job opportunity

•Restoration, dignity, and a new life!

Details of what they receive:

• Individual and group counseling 

• A 12 Steps addiction recovery program 

• Pre-& post-HIV counseling and testing 

• Daily devotion and bible studies 

• Skills training and job placement services 

• Day care services 

• Tuition and schooling material for children’s education and many more programs that address the unique needs of the rehabilitating woman and her children 

Once a woman is rehabilited from the sex slave industry the second part of Mocha Club is livefashionABLE. These woman who are given a second chance can make a living making scarves instead of prostitution. This is Bezuayhu's story: “I am now 19 years old. My parents had passed away and I used to live with my aunts and grandparents. They always wanted me to work and not to go to school. So, I came to the city, and there I came to this life of prostitution. // Now, it feels so good to get up in the morning and say I am going to work. It feels so good to have a scarf named after me. I’m so proud to be called a scarf maker.”
 

The scarf I am wearing below was made my Bezuayhu. Every day that I put it on I think of how amazing it is that Mocha Club can give these women a better chance at life. A chance to not live their lives in prostitution. $400 can give another woman in Ethiopia the chance to be a scarf maker and be proud of what they do.
 

scarf: livefashionABLE // sweater & maxi skirt: target // stripped tee: forever21 // shoes: converse "chucks" // clutch: sew caroline 

I am praying as you watched today's video or read my post from last week  you will want to help. Whether it be to share this post with your family and friends on Facebook and twitter, or to donate; every bit counts. if 10 people donate $40 we will have helped changed one woman's life. if 40 people donate $10 we will have helped changed one woman's life. if 80 people donate $5 {one drink at starbucks} we will have helped changed one woman's life.

A few tweets or posts for fb to help spread the word:

Can you help @rellasbellas change the life of one woman? read more about her #purposeproject http://ow.ly/f4U1s

Let's help @mochaclub make a difference and help @rellasbellas learn to knit #purposeproject http://ow.ly/f4U1s

Goal: $400 raised, 1 woman freed and a chance for @rellasbellas to learn to knit #purposeproject http://ow.ly/f4U1s

Bring coffee from home and donate ur $5 latte fund to help change the life of 1 woman #purposeproject http://ow.ly/f4U1s

  
Ok friends, let's help her out! Even if you can't donate, please please please help spread the word!

Guest post: Campfire Song

Today we have Lindsey from Campfire song who has written something for you all, I just love this post because it is something that I am working on myself...make sure to go tell her hi and show some love when you're done reading!**

Chicken.

It stops you from chasing your dreams.

It keeps you awake at night.

It steals your confidence.

It’s paralyzing. It keeps you static. It tells you you’re not good enough. It keeps you stuck in your past and terrified of what your future holds.

It causes physical pain; even disease.

It keeps you unhappy.

It disallows you to fulfill your potential.

To be you.

It’s fear.

Fear of the unknown.

Of judgement.

Of failure. Pain. Change.

How does this emotion get control of us? While it’s designed to keep us safe, for many of us it’s crippling.

Like a cage.

Technically it’s not even real – it makes us afraid of what we think might happen.

I have fear.

Fear of death. Fear about money. Fear that the baby won’t sleep through the night. Fear that in general I missed the boat and am doing it all wrong. Fear of spiders and gross animals. Fear that I’ve carried with me for decades.

I’m tired, and I’m done with fear now.

Or, once I figure out how to make it go away I will be.

Until then I’m learning about fruits (Matt. 7:20), learning to think in the present (not the past…), and trying to keep it rational.

Guest post: After Nine to Five

**Hey guys, today I'm excited to introduce you all to Ashley from After Nine to Five! Her blog is wonderful so if you haven't checked it out yet, make sure you do!**



Hi there! I'm Ashley from over at After Nine To Five. For years, my family had the same dinner for Thanksgiving. We had almost the exact same thing for Christmas, too. We'd have a similar meal for Easter with a little less food. For the fourth of July we'd cook out - the same goes for Memorial and Labor Day. We became creatures of habit when it came to holidays until my husband and I were seriously dating. And then something changed last year

Maybe I got bored with making the same thing every year.

Maybe I got the itch to try something new.

Maybe someone was sick and didn't want to spend time in the kitchen all day.

Whatever it was, we broke one of our traditions. We didn't have the same meal we always do for Christmas. And then last year we didn't have the same meal we always have for Easter, this year - we didn't even eat at home. And now this year instead of exchanging gifts, we're going to Mexico before Christmas with my parents.

Over the years, I've grown to appreciate the traditions that give me a sort of comfort when it comes to knowing what's going to happen. But I've also grown to even more so appreciate the times that we broke those traditions and created a memory that stood out from the last year's holiday. And the year before that. And the year before that.

With this upcoming year, I vow to break a few more "traditions" and add something new to them. Even if it's something small. Something that will make this new year's holidays stand out and give me something to look back on. Probably thinking it was totally ridiculous that I even tried to do something new, but hopefully it's more so that is was definitely worth it to change it up.

Our Thanksgiving will be the same this year and I'm okay with that. With such a big change in traditions for Christmas, some normalcy will be welcome for me. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and try not to get injured on Friday. But if you live in Wisconsin, don't get in my way. ;)

Guest post: Casey Leigh

**Today's guest post is by the wonderful Casey who writes over at Casey Leigh. I'm beyond excited to have her here on my little piece of the internet today. If you haven't been by Casey's blog before, go now! She is one that I make sure to read every day. She is an inspiration and someone I feel is a kindred spirit :) You guys are in for a treat...**

My name is Casey Wiegand, I am a freelance artist, wife and mama. 

I love painting and sharing our life through my blog...where you can expect pieces of my perspective on life, faith, kids, marriage, with touches of art, creative inspiration, projects and things I love along the way. I have two little ones in the hopes of lots more and am married to the love of my life :).

 Im a sensitive soul, I am a people pleaser, I tend to be insecure at times.

I am trying to say "no more apologies"...

this is who I am.

I AM that mom that hates being away from her kids, even for an hour.

I am NOT that mom that cooks amazing meals, in fact my kiddos eat waffles and sandwiches a lot of evenings.

I AM that girl that gets hurt easily.

I am NOT that girl that balances her time wisely.

I AM that mom that advocates co.sleeping and NOT letting your babies cry it out.

I am NOT that mom that is crazy about schedules, about dropping pasies/bottles etc etc

I AM that wife that chooses her husband through it all.

I am NOT that wife that does everything right.

I was going through some messy stuff in December and I read this quote by Leslie

"If you haven't already gathered, or happen to be reading this blog for the first time in your life, I am a melancholy girl through and through. I find beauty in not only the beautiful things in life, but the bittersweet and sad as well. To me, there is something poignantly lovely about the human experience from its splendor to its grief. God created all our emotions, not just the happy ones, and for His good purposes. That's why a good cry can feel so good. And hitting our limits forces us to look outside ourselves for a Savior. It is in the plea, when we're at our end, that we can find that which is truly life-giving. Personally, my moments of deepest grief, deepest pain, have resulted in the most beautiful seasons in my heart. I've met God more intimately in those moments than in all the other pleasant ones combined. What isn't completely lovely about that?"

In a moment where I felt alone, I felt heartbroken, angry.....I read this and suddenly felt like someone out in the world possibly understood. In January of this year with 20 followers I started speaking out on my beliefs. I started talking about mama stuff, some heartache, money trouble, csection scars, NICUs, my miscarriage, almost killing my dog on accident....and that's not the half of it. I havent even gone down some of the REALLY tough roads of where I have been with you all yet.

I wanted (and still do) this to be a blog/ a place of inspiration, uplift, joy...but also truth. Because life is hard. 

A lot of us have been through some seriously icky stuff. 

And so I wanted this also to be "real". 

It's easy to take beautiful family photos and pretend to have it all together-but  who does that help?

Then Rachel (who blogs here) said this...

"To be taken seriously, I must realize the seriousness of  blogging.

Not in a "I take myself very seriously" type of way at all. More in the way that you realize the importance of the words, the faith and the beliefs that you hold.

I have a responsibility and far reaching arms when I share my words and

so

do

you.

Use your blog, your words and your person to share the Lord (and your heart) with others.

They desperately need to hear your story as much as you need to hear theirs.

Be serious. Be passionate and Be you."

Use your voice. No apologies. 

We are all different and have been through different things, believe different things.... but whoever you are there is SOMEONE you can touch with your story.

Don't hold onto it.

Guest post: The Arizona Russums

**To kick off our guest posts I have Jen from The Arizona Russums here today to share with you all! Make sure to go give her some love after you read this amazing post, love her fun site :)**

Hi! My name is Jen and I blog about faith, marriage, grad school and life in the desert over at 

The Arizona Russums! I am so excited to be here with y'all on Mallorie's blog today!

*****

Did  you ever watch the movie Pollyanna growing up? I loved that movie - mainly looking at all of Pollyanna's pretty dresses after she got to go shopping with her rich aunt {Is that materialistic? I was obsessed with dresses when I was little}. I also read the book, because I am the nerd that always reads the book.

Anyway, if you are familiar with Pollyanna you probably remember that she played the "glad game" in which she would try to find something to be thankful for in the midst of unfortunate situations. In the book/movie, she talks about a time her family {who were missionaries} received a package of crutches instead of a package of toys {Pollyanna was expecting a doll}. But instead of being mad about the crutches, they chose to be glad that they didn't have to use them.

It's so easy to be "thankful" for the obvious things in life - shelter, food, family, friends. Of course, we should be thankful for these things and try not to take them for granted, but sometimes I like to challenge myself to find things to be thankful for in the sad, messy, chaotic or confusing moments in life. Even when things don't seem to be going my way, I know there are things to be thankful for in every situation.

Here are a few of my glad moments lately:

{This is what my bedroom looks like right now - as well as the rest of my house. We just moved this weekend, and while I hate moving, I am thankful for a newer, bigger house that will allow us to be more hospitable to friends and family!}

{These are my running shoes that haven't been used in over a week. Due to the craziness of moving, visitors and presentations for school, I have not been able to work out in far too long. However, I am about to go suffer through a run after a week off. Even though I know it will probably not be very fun, I am so thankful I have legs that can walk and run! Not everyone does. I am privileged, not entitled, to exercise.}

{This is the pile of books that currently sits on my desk at school. The end of the semester is always completely overwhelming as I try to juggle grading my students' papers with writing my own for my grad classes. Even though it's easy to get stressed and anxious during this time, I am thankful that I am in grad school pursuing my dream of getting my PhD and that I have an amazing husband that supports this endeavor, even though it means I spend many late nights writing papers and am only able to contribute a teeny, tiny portion to our family income.}

And here is that supportive husband... love him...

Now what are some things you can be thankful for in the messy areas of life?

xoxo,

Jen