Remembering Grandmother

This past week as Heaven gained another, we lost a beloved family member- Grandmother. I remember the first time I met her (she was technically David's grandmother). Harrison was about two years old and he was with us as we went to meet her and her late husband, affectionately known as Pappy Sam. On the way there I looked over to David and said "I can't believe you call her Grandmother- it's so formal."  He said, "we'll just wait until you meet her."  She was formal- sometimes it translated as stuffy, but mostly it had the feel of a day gone by- a time when women wore dresses everywhere and never spoke crudely or interrupted anyone. Don't get me wrong, Grandmother was anything BUT a push over. She was in charge, but in a very dignified manner. I respected her and the way she spoke, the classy way she carried herself and her relentless generosity to multiple charities and organizations. At her funeral her pastor shared that even while in the hospital bed just a few weeks ago, she gave a significant donation to a mission trip to the holy land and stated "there's no way I can go, but by sending someone else it's almost like I'm going."  What a marvelous vision. 

A few weeks ago, when Grandmother knew she wasn't going to get better she called each of her family members in. I'll never forget the words she spoke to me that night at her bedside. She held my hand and said "I'm so proud of you,  Christan. You are such a wonderful mother and you have a beautiful family. You've made me so proud and I'm so happy the Barnett family has you in it." These words broke me and the tears began to flow down my cheeks. She went on to tell me more about how much she loved me and loved my children. I never felt more accepted into a family not my own than I did in that moment.  

In the last few weeks Grandmother was alive I visited her frequently, multiple times a week even. I never told her when I was coming, which looking back may have irritated her- she liked to plan her day. Nevertheless, one day I showed up and she was a bit in a tizzy, frustrated with her nasal cannula and wanting to find a certain grey scarf. We searched all over, her getting out of breath the longer it took and me, desperately wanting to find this scarf so she would be content. She stated over and over, "it's gray. I know it's here somewhere." Finally I found a brown scarf and asked if it was the one and she said "oh that's it!" I debated on whether or not to let her know it wasn't gray, but before I could decide she said, "that's not gray is it?" And we both had a little giggle over it. She turned to me and said,  "how do you always know when to be here? You always come at the perfect time." It warmed my heart. Honestly, it convicted me. I hadn't come at times that were extremely intentional, I only came when I could squeeze it in my day's schedule. 

Looking back the moment convicts me even more. I know plenty of people would say, "you did plenty!", but how much is really enough in someone's last days? There wasn't anything I wouldn't have done for her. 

After losing my uncle suddenly just a couple months ago, then starting to work for a hospice company, I'm so reminded of how we are all dying- every day our bodies decompose a little more. Our days ARE numbered. At Grandmother's memorial service Harrison read a poem that she liked called "the Dash".  It talked about the dash in between the date you're born and the date you die and what one makes of that time. Again, a reminder of the value of each day we are given. I have never appreciated life more than in the last few months as I have come face to face with death itself. 

Grandmother- if somehow you can hear these words- I promise to make each day count. I promise to make my dash matter. I promise to love my family and cherish them- until I meet you on the golden streets, where the eternal dawn shines.  I love you so much. 

Christmas shopping that gives back!

 Shopping from socially conscious companies is something I love to do. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Target run for a cute scarf or shirt but there's something so precious about shopping from a source that you know where the items are made and the person was paid a fair wage for. I was inspired by Jamie Ivey's list, which you can find here so I decided to share the love with you, my friends, who may not know what's out there in this arena. There are so many options!!! I've made a list of my top 5 FAVORITE socially conscious companies for you! Happy shopping! 

1. FEED // this company literally feeds the hungry. With each purchase the company provides meals in different areas of the world- even in the United States! They have clothing, jewelry, housewares and more. Go to their website to check out the new baby line, which I adore! 

SHOP HERE

2. Better Life Bags // I learned about Better Life Bags on the Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey podcast (which you should all totally check out on iTunes). 

Better Life Bags started as Rebecca Smith's hobby.  To beat boredom during the last month's of her first pregnancy, she made herself a diaper bag and posted pictures of it on Facebook.  After hearing feedback on how many people wanted to buy one, she opened an ETSY shop in August of 2009 and decided to give 10% of every bag sale to a low income entrepreneur overseas through microloans.  She named the ETSY shop "Better Life Bags" and sent a picture of the person the loan was going to help with each bag purchase - to show customers how someone's life was being made better as a result of their bag purchase. In 2010, she and her family moved to a low income area of Detroit, Michigan and her eyes were opened to what poverty, unemployment, and blight can do to a city and the people living there.

When orders experienced a boom in 2012, she turned to her neighborhood for help.  She hired a woman originally from Yemen, named Nadia, to start sewing bags alongside her.  After a few months of spending time with Nadia and paying her for the work she was doing, Rebecca saw a shift in her attitude and economic status.  Her family was finally able to afford bed frames for their four children and a dining room table.  Better Life Bags was making lives better in Rebecca's own community. Every bag is custom created based on the buyers selection and ships in 4-5 weeks or you can choose from the ready to ship section!

SHOP HERE

3. TOMS // A simple idea has grown into a global movement: TOMS Shoes has provided over 35 million pairs of shoes to children since 2006, TOMS Eyewear has restored sight to over 275,000 since 2011 and TOMS Roasting Company has helped provide over 67,000 weeks of safe water since launching in 2014. In 2015, TOMS Bag Collection was founded with the mission to help provide training for skilled birth attendants and distribute birth kits containing items that help a woman safely deliver her baby.

SHOP HERE

4. Noonday Collection // I love love love the story and mission of this company!! They began just five years ago when the owner, Jessica Honegger, needed to raise money in order to adopt her son from Haiti. Now, with the help of global artisans and domestic ambassadors, Noonday is the fastest growing business in Austin, Texas!!! The name Noonday comes from the scripture in Isaiah 58 that says, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."

SHOP HERE

5. 31Bits // On their website the founders say, "Five years ago we were carefree 21-year-olds. Today, we have plenty to care about. We’ve learned that as consumers, every purchase we make has either a negative impact or a positive impact in the world. That’s why we’ve taken a simple product like jewelry and made it a vehicle for doing something GOOD. Our customers are changing people’s lives through their purchases. 31 Bits is part of a movement revolutionizing the way people do business. We believe businesses should be conscious of both the creator and the consumer. Through holistic care and YOUR purchase, women are being empowered to rise above poverty."

SHOP HERE

6. Raven + Lily // I have personally visited the storefront in Austin, Texas and let me just tell you I could have bought every item in the store. They have the most lovely home furnishings, jewelry and clothing who seeks to empower women through fashion and design in India, Kenya, Cambodia, Guatemala, Haiti, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Pakistan and USA! 

Why Isis won't keep me from the Mission

382 wounded. 129 confirmed dead. We were all stunned Friday night as we watched the shooting reality of another terrorist act unfold on the streets of a beloved city, Paris. To this point it's been easier for me to distance myself from terrorist acts. This time was different. I had just landed from traveling to Kenya less than five days prior. My sister had just flown through Paris last month. This time it hit a little closer to home. The world is mourning with the families who lost a loved one that night. As the Nationals responded over the weekend to the terrorist acts footage was shown of people gathering and holding signs saying "not afraid". Their immediate boldness after such a personal, heinous act was like nothing I had ever seen. It's been in the background of my thoughts since I saw it. People joining together, praying for peace, praying for Paris. 

In the coming days travel will require more and more precaution, but it won't change the Mission. The lost are still all around us, worldwide, hungry for the knowledge of the hope of Christ. What the world needs now is scores of Christians who LOVE relentlessly, HOPE unabashedly and PRAY continually. 

“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.”

1 Peter 5:8-11 MSG

http://bible.com/97/1pe.5.8-11.msg

Home is Heaven

My uncle died unexpectedly last night. He was my dads older brother by two years. My uncle Roy had recently taken up running and had made a habit of running five miles every day after having run a marathon for the first time in his late fifties. He loved to travel and spoke French very well.  He played several instruments and this past year he went sky diving for the first time. He was a fun dude and will be missed immensely.  I have very fond memories of him playing with us as children and asking about our lives as adults. He was always up for a family game of football at the holidays and especially excited about any sort of political debate or religious discussion. 

When I learned the news of his passing I was by myself with Collins and Baylor and I began to cry. Collins was in the bath and kept asking what was wrong... I finally decided to tell him that uncle Roy had died. He looked empathetic but confused. "Right now?" He said. "Yes, baby," I replied. He asked all sorts of questions- some I knew how to answer and others I couldn't figure out why he was asking, but finally he said "where is his home?" And without thinking I simply said, "heaven. Heaven is his home and he's there tonight." 

After these emotional words rolled off my lips I was flooded with the stinging reminder of the brevity of life. It's but a vapor. It reminds me that this whole thing--all of life-- is just a temporary moment that we experience as a preview of the main attraction- eternity. Tonight I'm anxious to be home, but most days I forget where my real home is. I parent and love and live in the temporary. It takes unfortunate events to remind me of the eternal. 

“For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.”

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 MSG

28Bold

Today is World Water Day. Did you know that a child dies every 20 seconds from a water related disease? Or that 40 billion hours are spent on water collection in Africa alone? Maybe you did not know those facts. Perhaps similar to me you've historically taken water for granted. In honor of this day I am launching 28Bold, a non-profit agency dedicated to initially providing a well in Phakane, South Africa; a small village I've been to twice. This journey has not developed quickly, it's been in the making for over a year now. I will be sharing more about what this means practically for me and for you and how water can truly change a life. 

This well project was inspired about a year and a half ago. I had been to South Africa once, held a birthday party fundraiser for a garden, and was planning a return trip. By the second trip the garden was planted and it was feeding several dozens a week, mainly women and children. A couple of months after that trip I learned that the garden was failing. All the money and hours that had gone into this outreach was literally drying up from a few issues, lack of water being the main one. I was devastated. That night I cried angry tears. The next day I began re-reading a book by Bob Goff entitled "Love Does". In my favorite chapter of the book Bob talks about how after 9/11 his children had the idea to write letters to governmental leaders all across the globe. The really crazy part? The leaders wrote back. I realized these leaders had email addresses that I began to fill with information about what was going on in Phakane and how I needed their help. The minister of water not only returned my email but sent an official response saying they would easily remedy this by installing a well.  While this was shockingly helpful, the short version of the story is that it has to be done locally for it to be trusted. So, the goal is to employ a local vote digger to dig the well. Will you help us? Every donation is tax deductible and will go directly to helping us dig the well. You can be part of something that will affect generations to come. Maybe you want to make a donation in someone's honor or for Christmas???

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @28Bold for more info and photos of the project(s). 

I Want To Be a Baby Again

My 4 year old, Collins, has been helping me with project clean-and-purge the Barnett house while daddy and brother are at football practice. Recently, while I was going in and out of the attic, Collins saw his exersaucer that is a car shape. He asked about playing with it and I replied "that's for babies! You're a big boy!" He immediately snapped back, "aww I want to be a baby again." Not only did he say this, but he has literally harassed me about the car, even crying one night wanting "to be a baby again." 

It was annoying to me mostly, but the night he cried on the issue it struck a chord with me. We often look back at moments and think, "I wish life was like that again." Easier. Quieter, more fun perhaps. I believe God would have us remember the past, but not wish for it. Domenico Estrada, a Mexican writer, wrote "bring the past only if you're going to build from it." 

Rather than wishing to be back in a time that was easier or more simple, I am challenged to embrace the now and be in the moment. 

Steve Maraboli said in "Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience", "Live Today! Do not allow your spirit to be softened of your happiness to be limited by a day you cannot have back or a day that does not yet exist."