week twelve: mended women's ministry

I went to a young women's retreat at the beginning of January.  Holly, the speaker, said something that still resonates with me today, "Our spiritual intake must outweigh our worldly intake." I'm learning this to be so true as I fast from social media. Yes, its inconvenient and I remind people often that I'm no longer on there, but its taught me to be intentional and ask people to see their photos and how they're doing, since otherwise how would I know.  Quality time has been so much more authentic because my phone is no longer an object of desire, but actually quite boring... I've never been into phone games.  I'm happier because of time spent with Jesus, family, friends, cleaning and crafting.  This is only a 5-week check in. It's surreal to me that I still have a month to go and at the same time, I'm kinda relieved.  I've become aware of how we've taken social media for granted, expecting everyone to see what has been posted and therefore no longer feeling the need to communicate further. It is a great tool and I look forward to utilizing it again, but my prayer is that it will no longer be abused or coveted like beforehand.

Things bringing me JOY and rocking my world right now:
-My Lighthouse by Rend Collective and their new cd I just purchase
-this spoken word poem by Amena Brown and Ann Voskamp
-a list of books I want to read (and the fact that I've read 2 since I started my fast) joy!
-that its the weekend
-an open snow cone stand (even though I've yet to get one)
-Ann Voskamp's words:

"This world’s mostly salt water. We’re dust and this world is mostly salt water.

We’re thirsty and we’re drinking down salt water dreams, salt water days, salt water likes, salt water distractions, and we’re all still thirsty here —- we’re all still dying here....Because, yeah, nobody needs anymore saltwater of empty religion, of self-help, of some pop psychology veneered with a bit of Bible.

What we’re all parched for is pure, clear Gospel to wet some cracked-dry lips, grace-water that saves us, that reconciles the busted up, that redeems the banished and broken, that revives the weary and burdened....Give up so I can give more so I’m giving more of myself to Jesus. ...And the thing is — What God’s graciously given us is always enough to be abundant grace for someone else."

I can finally share a project I did last week during Spring Break.  I have dear friends that began a ministry several years ago and how God is working through them is remarkable.  They are so willing and sensitive to the Lord's Spirit.  He continues to bless their work and I want to share a little about them:
Mended Women's Ministry
They seek: to create opportunities for individual women and local churches to be involved in and see kingdom value in gospel-centered, inclusive women’s ministry, which equips women to mature in their faith and play their unique roles in the Body of Christ.

What they are doing is really incredible.  They are allowing the Lord to direct, change, and  guide them. They're being transparent, vulnerable, doing life with other women even when things get messy and hard.  They are pressing forward sharing the gospel, being about the gospel whether a crowd of 50 or 5.  They see the value in relationships, community, biblical teaching, and Christ-centered love.  I really can't say enough about them, but do encourage you to check out their website and consider supporting them.  

Decided to sew a bunch of scrap fabric together to reinforce their vision and message about being a diverse group of women, knitted together in community serving Christ.  

Here's the final result. With both of these projects, I had their promo table in mind that they use for retreats and events.  

Scrappy bunting that I'm kinda in love with.  

Stay tuned for a post with this cutie!  I spent the morning photographing Finley Blake, my friends' cute newest addition to her family. These pics will be so fun to edit! 

My craft to-do list is growing and I'm hoping to have a few days next week to play catch-up on some sewing.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!