To bring his & his family's suffering into the light; Pastor Saeed.

Friends & family, I want to give you a heads up of one of many persecutions going on with our brethren in the faith. Pastor Saeed & his family are American citizens who do a lot of missions work over in Iran, his home country. He has started many home churches over there through the years as well  as orphanages. This last trip, before being arrested, he was headed over to one of his orphanages with an offering. This money was taken by the government in Iran. He was sentenced to eight years in one of the most brutal prisons in that country enduring extreme abuse daily while bring asked to deny his Christian faith. The torture he endures has left him unable to stand without shaking uncontrollably. I fear for his life everyday. His wife & children are asking for help from brothers and sisters in the household of faith to please put Pastor Saeed on their daily prayer list. But there's more that you can do!  There's been petitions where over 500,000 have signed and last week was a congressional hearing held by the ACLJ leaders & his wife pleading the case of our American citizen and brother in Christ. We are holding our breath and praying that our government takes action to free this man and bring him home to his family. This is only one of many who suffer for the name of Christ but it weighs heavy on my heart. Imagine if it were your husband & daddy to your children.....lets come together and be the voice him & his family need right now. You can sign the petition and hear from his wife, Naghmeh, here at this website www.SaveSaeed.org. If you have a smart phone you can install the ACLJ app and sign important petitions like this one almost everyday; and keep up to par on the results. 

Pass the prayer request along and lets not give up on our brother & his family.

Thinking outside the box for your christmas shopping.

It's around the corner....most have already begun to shop for it....Christmas. Frantically running around trying to figure out, what do they need? Is this too cheap....too small? Can I be more creative this year? 

There's Christmas and then there's Christmas shopping.

Last year I really enjoyed buying from companies such as Toms (yes, they're pricey but you ARE actually buying two pairs of shoes at a time), and the company FashionABLE, which are women in Africa who make scarves, the money provides a safe place and a JOB for women who were once on the street.

www.livefashionable.com

And of course, you have world vision who, whether you sponsor a child or not, gives you the opportunity to provide something very needful to a family over seas; a goat, chickens, mosquito net, bibles, or even a cow. 

I have also found a new one this morning. It's at www.3cordshaiti.com

This small company provides women in Haiti who dealt with devastation from the aftermath of the hurricane a shelter and steady job. Women who made have had to have amputations, etc. They have some of the cutest products; Purses, tote bags, Mac covers, ipad covers, hair cords, etc.

I don't know about you, but when Christmas comes around, I love knowing my money is going to help somewhere AND it's marking names off my Christmas list. FashionABLE scarves even offers wrapping & each scarf comes with a picture and the story of the woman who made it. I have yet to buy from 3cords, hopefully I will get a chance considering everything says 'Sold out' this morning. 

We also love Operation Christmas child. They are even providing the boxes for you, and you can (online only) track your box alllll the way to the the child that receives it. If you have children, they might enjoy this. You're even allowed to put a letter in there spreading the Gospel and the greatest love story. 

www.samaritanspurse.org

You also have your local children's shelter & those Angel trees for something more local. Justin and I used to do the Angel tree every year before getting more involved in ways to actually shop for family AND give. Whatever fits your situation, I can't think of a better family project. It makes huge impacts on your own children watching them change from, "what do I want this year...." to, "I get to pick out all their gifts....yay!" 

My December

So far, this Christmas has been unforgettable. And Christmas hasn't even approached. I'd like to share a short story for the company Livefashionable. If you follow me on facebook you know what an advocate I am for them. I first learned of them through a friend last year, and this year was very inspired to do my Christmas shopping through companies such as them that help those over seas. We had plans of traveling to Texas the first weekend of Dec to celebrate an early Christmas with my husband's family. I ordered a few scarves for the women two weeks prior. Talk about some fast Christmas shopping. The week before the weekend we were supposed to leave nothing arrived and I had not received a shipping notice. I was a little worried because my husband informed me we would not be buying different gifts being these were already bought. I emailed the company who promptly responded. Supposedly a couple of the scarves I ordered were on back order and that delayed my whole shipment. I kindly wrote back and told them I must have over looked that & asked if  there was a possible way to overnight me two scarves, I was willing to pay! I also told them my dilemma with the trip. She wrote me back with this reply: 

Hey Krysten!  Below is the tracking information for your package.  We covered the overnighting costs so that it will get to you tomorrow!!  Thank you again for your patience with this and we hope your friends LOVE their fashionABLE scarves!!

I cannot tell you my surprise. What company would even care about your personal dilemma, much less pay your overnight shipping? After all, it was my fault for not paying attention to the availability of certain scarves. I share this story to say, I am now even more of an advocate for this company. May God bless them and what they're doing.

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:31

Here is the site if interested.

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  This year we also cut down our own Christmas tree. What a beautiful, unforgettable mess it was!

I have never enjoyed the Christmas tree as much as I have this year. I felt like I was finally experiencing a Christmas from the heart. 

   The finished product. Not bad for us first timers huh? There were so many branches of cedar left over I was able to decorate the house with them. And this is not half of what we had to throw out.

         Sometimes at night I sit and soak it in. I think this is a first for me to. Sad huh? But true.

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Before our trip to Texas my parents gave me my Christmas present early. If anyone knows me they know I love pictures. It's so well known that somehow that fact was brought up in my father-in-law's sermon Sunday while we were down. What's funny though, is as much as I love it, I have the worse camera equipment. It is an absolute pain for me to get pictures on the computer. I've had my sister's old digital one, that has no USB cord,  and a laptop where you cannot simply stick your camera card in. Therefore, I have been dragging out my old digital camera that is duck taped, using the usb to that one and once you upload pics to the comp with it, then you have to replace the batteries because one upload has sucked them dry. The night we were packing my mom & sister's brought me this; with the biggest smiles.      

The only way to show you a pic of it since I'm taking pictures with it. I love it and still cannot believe they bought me this. Thank you.

__________________________________________________________________________________ Also, this month, I discovered Pinterest. I do my fare share of browsing on there. I do not enjoy crafts & have always complained about not being able to sew. This month I hand stitched these pillows. Very beginner I know but I was proud and my girls love them.

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 I am going to share a handful of pictures that I thought were good memories from our trip over the weekend. After all, it is part of my December. Our journey there is always nice. The kids have always traveled well. This was Bub's first trip and he did great; in the car. Ha. An all time favorite for Justin and I is our mapped out Starbucks stop(s).

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101 ways to sleep in the car. This is 102.

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A seven hour drive always ends up in music & acting crazy. At least it starts out mature & calm.  

Whoa. Hands on the wheel, please. But yeah. great drum solo. Erin would have been impressed.

                                                                                             

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Brothers. They just can't be replaced.

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I'll hold your brother, if you hold mine?

                                                  
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 A grandpa holding his great, great grandson for the first time.    

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A great grandma on the floor playing polly pockets with granddaughters.

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A five and a six year old playing checkers.

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Girls. 

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 TOMS for my girls. I liked this. 

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Homemade Christmas gifts

and the cute little nephew who received this gift.

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Little girls who love babies.

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Grandpas who sleep & granddaughters who pick.

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 What I did most the weekend.

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Daddies pushing their babies heads down to keep them in a picture.

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Hence the highway home.

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 Children happy to see so much snow this year!

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Our first year of Advent. Justin made our candle stand.

__________________________________________________________________________________ Home from Texas and very tired. Justin bought me Chinese take out. I love him for it.

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Christmas is also our annual family picture time. It's the only time of year I do family  pics. My sister, Erin, has taken them the last few years & does great. A very special year since we added the newest little guy to the mix.

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This is my December thus far. We still have celebrations to attend & more memories to capture. I am so grateful to be soaking it in this year. Until it's time to share more, Merry Christmas!

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My story with Compassion International. Consider sponsoring today & be someone's saving grace.

Hello, I'd like to introduce you to, Extranise Orelus. A beautiful, nine year old Haitian. She lives with her mother and two younger siblings. Extranise takes care of her siblings when her mother works. She is also responsible for getting water for the family which includes miles of walking, multiple times day. Extranise has had to grow up fast, as most kids over there do. Justin & I have felt called to sponsor a child over seas for a long time. It seemed to always get put on the back burner. I had recently read a blog post from a blog I follow about Compassion International. Yes, I know, they have been around for ages. We almost get numb to their passion to reach sponsors. As I read this particular post http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/11/when-compassion-becomes-a-gold-rush/ tears streamed down my face, I finally understood. It's not about writing a check and then turning your eye. I never really cared about being a "do good er." It was about entering into their life and staring at their pain. Letting it touch you. It was about.....responding. Thankfully, we answered the call this year. I stayed up late last night scrolling through hundreds of faces of children who were desperately waiting for a sponsor. My heart began to hurt. "God, how do I choose....just one?"  So many cute, yet empty little faces. I eventually came across the picture of this little girl. Her face stood out to me. Most of the kids were little, cute & sometimes smiling. If they were older they braved a smirk for the picture. Extranise's face screamed at me....her face told her story. After clicking through 480 pages of faces I stared out the window. A bright moon shone in. and Extranise's face came to mind. Could God be giving me my answer? I quickly began going through the pages again to find her. It was now past midnight, baby Justin was waking up ready to eat. I quietly put the laptop down and walked away. Once I came back I continued searching for that face that was seared in my mind. Finally, there it was. Extranise had a red heart on her picture which let sponsors know she had been on the waiting list a long time. I instantly loved her. She was the one. Her face was unlike the other faces to me. Had anyone ever told her she was beautiful? Had anyone ever seen her smile? God loves, yes....but does she know this? Who's going to tell her these things? My heart began to overflow...I will tell her! I will tell her she is beautiful. I will tell her about our creator and how He chose her to be sponsored because He loves her! I will tell her how God brought her face to my mind and it never left. I will tell her that across the miles, waters & culture that I am listening. I am not there but I am here to help. I cannot wait to begin writing her. God has things He wants to tell her! I feel she is a part of our family. I cannot wait to frame her picture and begin praying for her every night. Lauren will be making her pictures and writing her letters and we will spill our love on this hard working little soul. Why? Because God has given us a love for her. He has connected us to her. I stand completely grateful for organizations like Compassion International, World Vision, Livefashionable, Toms and others who reach out to these in need and actually give us common people a chance to touch lives over there. We have set out to change a child's life but the truth be known, God is using this to radically change our's.