Homegrown Hospitality

Giving Tuesday and Growing Hope

Today is what is referred to as Giving Tuesday, It is a day created to focus on GIVING.  

 

Personally, between the election season, the black Friday & Cyber Monday hustle and the crazy people camping out on sidewalks to bust through doors trying to get that gigantic TV that is in a box so big that it won't even fit into a cart so you have to carry it through the store to get to the check out stand, hoping that someone does not punch you on the way there only to find that the stupid huge tv wont even fit in your car...

I am overstimulated, overwhelmed, feeling frazzled and a bit on the anxious and frantic side.  THIS is NOT what LIFE or CHRISTMAS is about so let's talk about GIVING BACK and GROWING HOPE. 

Each Christmas my best pal Lisa and I collaborate to benefit someone or something, also known as giving back.  This year we are working hard to give back to The Grow Hope Foundation and I thought it would be AWESOME for you to get to know the heart behind the foundation. To put a face with the name.  This is Kimberly Taylor.

 

 

 

 

 

Q: What kinds of work are you doing in the Tusubira Village?

A: Currently the team in Uganda runs a number of different projects.  Our social worker Sharon works with the women of the community teaching them valuable skills to create an income, as well as tutors the children in our local school.  She oversees programs like the tailoring classes where women learn to sew on machines in hopes of doing sewing for an income.  We host ongoing workshops to teach sanitation, hygiene and nutrition and people come from all over Uganda to take part.  We have an extensive farming program which provides sustainability for our program.  We grow numerous crops which are sold to the community and at the local market which brings money back to Tusubira Village to continue the work we do.

 

Q: Tell us about your plans for the education building:  

A: The Education Building- we are so excited about finishing it!  When completed this building will have space to host things like family planning clinics which is desperately needed in our area.  With it’s western bathrooms and kitchen we will have the ability to host teams who come to work within our community, providing education, tools and skills so that our community can rise and see it’s true potential.  I’m most excited about bringing a hydrologist who will help us find solutions to our water scarcity problem- which is needed so much after the severe droughts we have seen.  I also can’t wait to bring a team of motivated passionate teachers who will spend two weeks working with our local teachers empowering them with skills to better reach and impact the children in our area.  The children are the future and we need teachers who can bring real change to this area by encouraging and inspiring our kids!

 

Q: How are these bringing HOPE to this community? 

A: Hope.  It’s the one thing that changes everything.  I think that for many in this community there wasn’t much by way of hope three years ago.  They were living the lives they had been born to without knowing that there were things they could do themselves to change that.  When our team first met them there wasn’t a lot of hope to be found. But once our team connected with the amazing members of this community, and they earned their trust, this community has transformed!  We began with such simple things- sanitation and hygiene.  But those two things changed the health of the community and once they were healthy and saw that they had the power to make that happen, the sky was the limit.  Women began learning hand skills to make things they could sell.  Suddenly there was a possible income source.  Some of them learned to grow crops and then found that if they were to grow more than their families needed, they could sell the excess and voila!  School fees or home improvements or any number of things that they needed.  And once they learned that they weren’t going to be given anything more than the skills needed to make changes, their hope came in the form of self-confidence that they had POWER and they could create a different future.  

 

Q: How has your work in Uganda changed you?

A: Wow, I’m not sure if I can even properly define how it has changed me.  I think that my perspective on life is 180 degrees from where it was.  I know how privileged I am - not only because we have what we do, but because I get to know a community of people half a world away who are the strongest, most determined people - especially the women- that I have ever met.  I get to have a team in Uganda who feels the same as I do about empowerment vs. aid and an African brother who seriously has the SAME thoughts as I do on a regular basis.  It’s no joke.  We literally have the same thoughts at times - we are so totally on the same page.  I feel so blessed to have been given this path by the Lord and that he continually leads me exactly where I am meant to be.  Now THAT is something you would have never heard me say 3 years ago!

 

Q: What words best describe the foundation and the vision you have for it?

A: I think that even though I named our foundation Grow Hope when I barely knew anything at all about this journey, HOPE continues to be the reason we do what we do.  Hope brings out the best in people.  Hope gives people a reason to keep moving forward.  Hope is what we all need - to know that things can and will get better if we persevere.  I also love empowerment because I truly believe that if we want to create sustainable change in any arena, the ONLY way to do that is to empower the people who live in that world to make the changes themselves.  It all falls into place once they have the power themselves.

 

Q: How can people get involved in supporting Grow Hope?

A: The best way to get involved is to become a monthly donor.  Monthly donors allow us to offer programs at Tusubira Village that empower the people who come to learn because it provides a specific budget that we can work within.  It is the reason we have had so much success in growing and expanding our programs.  We are so incredibly grateful for our existing monthly donors (whom I consider team members because honestly- they make me feel less on my own in all of this!).  

 

https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/TheGrowHopeFoundation/monthlydonor

 

People can also make one time donations to help with specific things like completing the Education building.  So much potential awaits the completion of that building.  

 

https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/TheGrowHopeFoundation/

 

People can buy the absolutely AMAZING gift set that you and Lisa have put together to support us!  Not only are they a wonderful thing to buy for yourself but they make fantastic gifts! 

 

Click Here: Hope Necklace or Hope Bracelet and HOPE print

 

 

 

I want to thank to thank Kimberly for giving us an up close look at The Grow Hope Foundation, I am saying it outloud (and should probably let my family know) that I am committing to going on a mission trip to Uganda with Kimberly and Lisa in the next year.  

 

I want to thank Lisa for lovingly pounding each little letter and heart into place on each bracelet.  There are BIG prayers being said as these are created and I am super excited to let you know that there is now a coordinating necklace!

 

 

Starting today and in honor of  GIVING TUESDAY, there is free shipping with the code GROWHOPE  and you will get 2 HOPE prints with every gift set so they can SPREAD MORE HOPE! 

 

 

 

I am so excited to be able to be part of this team and with your help, blessed to GIVE back to them.  I have to tell you that working on this takes away all of the feelings I described when I started this post and fills my heart with HOPE, true story.

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2017

Regardless of circumstances we should live daily with a grateful heart and give thanks in all circumstances...not FOR all circumstances but IN all circumstances.   Without our personal  trials, we would not be able to develop patience or faithfulness and without the circumstances we have to endure, would we not experience great change and personal growth. Many people dislike the phrase, "Everything happens for a reason" but ya know what, it does and it will and with that said, we know that no matter what, the outcome will be grand.  Whew, thank you and amen to that!

Today, I am thankful for my God and for home, family, friends and church, but also for the constant workout to strengthen my relationship with the Lord, a continual push to develop patience, to always remember to seek joy in the midst of pain and sorrow and to continue to move foreword by walking by faith. 

Today, I wish for you the same. To seek joy, push through the rough spots and rejoice always...

Happy Thanksgiving friends.

Let's Get Together

I am finalizing my 2017 travel schedule and while I sure wish that I could get to each one of you, I can't.  Between the rising costs of travel and the unfortunate sad truth of more stores closing, it has become a little bit of an arm wrestle. Not only do I want to teach, encourage and inspire you, I want to sit and create with you. I feel like my workshops are going to be a little different.  While I want to teach you new techniques and inspire you to look at products a little differently than their intended use, I also want to take time to share.  I feel it is important for our community of creatives to come together to create, laugh, cry, snack and share.  It is called FELLOWSHIP and it is a key part of our lives.  I don't just want to be the teacher, I want to sit, chit chat, drink coffee in the morning, iced tea with extra ice in the day AND evening, share, inspire and create.  I think I already said that but it is worth repeating. WE need our community, we need fellowship and we need to gather together, so let's get together. My 2017 workshops are going to be a little of this, that and the other,  Together we will play with lots of color by "doodling" with a paintbrush, a needle and of course, with pens. We will experiment with paints, canvas, paper, embroidery floss, watercolors and felt and we will use some of what we have to create new things.  We will create faith based art in art journals, on wood, paper and rubber and share it with others to inspire and encourage.  My plan is to not only teach you, but encourage, inspire and remind you of not only how to create, but how and where to share.  

Stay tuned for the release of the 2017 dates in just a few days! I can't wait to create with you. 

Better Together...A Collaboration of HOPE

I am so excited to share with you that Lisa and I have collaborated on a special project for Christmas again this year. 

our "Give Hope" GIFT SET includes: 

•Handmade stamped metal cuff with the word hope
• 5 x 7 limited edition Stephanie Ackerman "hope" print
• Mini Stephanie Ackerman art card
• $10 from each purchase will be  donated to the Grow Hope Foundation 

Your bracelet will come packaged as shown - ready for gift giving.  Thank you for partnering with us to make a difference! 
We truly believe that we all have something to contribute and we are BETTER TOGETHER!

--------------------- ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ---------------------

You will love wearing this simple stamped cuff with a message of hope! Looks great alone or stacked up with other bangles! A beautiful and meaningful Christmas gift! 

Each cuff is hand stamped Lisa's studio and is personalized with my signature hearts on each end. A fun added touch! This cuff is made from lightweight but thick and durable aluminum. It so comfortable that you may forget you're wearing it! Easy to adjust for a perfect fit. Aluminum will not tarnish and is often preferred by those with metal sensitivities.

  

This year we are partnering with Grow Hope Foundation. Both Lisa and I personally know the founder and believe in the work being done in Uganda.  The $10.00 from each purchase will go to help finish building an education building that will serve the Tusubira Village.
The Grow Hope Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to empowering people in rural Uganda improve their lives through education, skills training and mentorship. We provide a well on our educational compound "Tusubira Village" which gives people access to clean water and we teach community members how to improve their health through good hygiene and sanitation, as well as farming skills in order to improve their nutrition.

You will love wearing this simple stamped cuff with a message of hope! Looks great alone or stacked up with other bangles! A beautiful and meaningful Christmas gift.

 Thank you for partnering with us to make a difference! We truly believe that we all have something to contribute and We are BETTER TOGETHER!

 

Change Is Good

and do not misunderstand me on that title.  I am talking about me and change.

whew.

Nope, you really are not going to get any "thoughts" or opinions from me and no I am not turning a "blind eye" to anything. I know what to do and that is what I am doing. the end.

When I talk about change, I am talking about creative change. There is a creative shift going on within me and when there is a shift, there is a change and no it is not a mid life crisis although I will be honest when I say that I have been feeling the feelings that go along with the word crisis, and again, when there is a crisis, I know what to do and that is what I am doing.

So what is all this change?

I will share that soon but for now, I just want to encourage you with a few things I shared on social media in the past week.  I always forget that what I share on FB or IG should be shared here too...

I shared this image TWO days in a row.  On Tuesday with the caption "It's a promise" and then on Wednesday with some amazing words from Lisa "I have a mustard seed of hope...God loves to use the most unlikely people and He loves to do crazy stuff.  Praying for Donald's heart"I posted this one on Thursday with these words: "Truth be told, I just want to scream "Stop it already!" but we all know that won't work so I will just keep on making art and praying"

Keep the faith friends, keep the faith.

It's The Most Wonderful..

...PLACE.

Do not freak out.

I am not going to sing it..yet

BUT as I have said many times, going to sleep at night and then waking up in the Whatever Craft House feels like Christmas morning no matter how many times you have been there and with that being said..

I am hosting a retreat there in February and with that being said..

there are TWO spots left.  Yes, last week there were two, and then then there was one...and now, again there are two.

I am not the boss of you but if it were me, I'd being letting Santa know what I was going to put on my list, just saying.

Here are the details about the Creative Soul Camp and a little visual inspiration from the Craft House...



I know that God will bring the right women to the big table in February and I can't wait.

Entertaining & Hospitality

This is week 46 of Documented Faith 2016 and we are into a new month with a new focus word.  This month we will be looking at the word Hospitality.

From an early age, I learned about what hospitality looked like from my mom and Aunt Dotties examples.  A door was always open, everybody was welcomed in and 9 times out of 10, there was food involved. I have to admit, as much as I loved all of that when I was younger, as I got older, I really confused "entertaining" with hospitality and oh my gosh, they are NOT the same. On the contrary, they are completely different and as I typed out this weeks message, I realized that.

Entertaining takes a ton of effort, planning and energy.  

Hospitality doesn't. You just do it.

Entertaining can be exhausting and draining.  

Hospitality never is, and again, on the contrary, it is quite opposite.  

It is refreshing, healthy, welcoming and essential.

In each weeks Documented Faith verse & message, I include a printable. This week, I found a quote on Pinterest by Melissa Michaels of The Inspired Room Blog based on Hospitality and I was inspired by the globe drawing she had done, so I redrew it adding in my two cents.  You can Download Week46, print it out and add in color.

If you are new to Documented Faith and would like to receive the weekly verses delivered to your inbox, just register your email here. There is NO pressure and it is free.

To download all of the 2016 Documented Faith weekly verses, head over here.

To take a look at the Documented Faith Companion Kits, click here.

Documenting My Faith Daily

NOTE: This post is going to bounce around like a pinball machine or a dot-to-dot puzzle so PLEASE be patient and just try to follow along.  You have to connect all of the dot-to-dots to get the whole picture. Get some coffee, this is gonna be a long one.

Right now I am doing the study Armour of God by Priscilla Shirer.  After sharing some situations with a few people throughout the past year, the suggestion that I do this study came up more than once from different people at different times.

#uhhello

Truth is, as I type this, I am at battle with several things.  Actually, the truth is, I have been in battle with a few things almost my entire life. (Specifics are not necessary but if you ask me I will tell you.)

Another truth is...WE ARE ALL either in a battle, coming out of a battle or will be in one soon whether you want to admit it, share it, or hey, blog about it.  We all have junk, crap, stuff and big ol' messes and it is our my responsibility (I am not the boss of you so for the sake of this post, I will throw myself under the ol' buss and say it is MY responsibility) to use my mess as my message in order to help myself and to help others.

It reminds us that we are not alone because the battle is real.

Man, is it real.

 

Yesterday I posted a picture on social media of the page that I wrote out and washi tapes into my Bible based on Isaiah 30:21 with a reminder of something too important not to share.

My notes read: carefully consider any areas where my feelings, instincts or previous experiences become factors for my actions...

ut oh.

Sound familiar?

gulp.

So what is the way out when this happens?

STOP and re-align. (DO NOT PUT OFF THIS STEP)

Remind yourself of the truth and then MOST IMPORTANTLY, ask God to give you the courage to hold up that truth as a banner over your life.  As you do, and as He does.."Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, "This is the way, walk in it" Isaiah 30:21

All of the above is an example of how I personally document my faith on a daily basis (aka quiet time.)  I take what I am learning, reading and/or studying and creatively put it into action by either writing it down in a margin, on a piece of paper, a post it note or on an art journal page.  



There is good news and bad news about the "Good News" (no pun intended)  

The good news is that I have created a daily habit of getting into the word and that was my goal with Documented Faith.  The bad news is that it is all over the place.  In my Bible, on the margins, on folded pieces of paper, in art journals, etc.etc. etc....and when I need to go back and review, remind myself or look for something based on whatever I learned.....I am not really sure where I put it.  All of the things, my notes to self, the stuff I was learning and all of my God Light Bulb Moments are in different places.* (remember that little star)

Throwback to February 7, 2016 which was Superbowl Sunday, I was in a prescription medicated "snooze-la-la-land" state as I laid in bed during recovery from surgery one BUT God plopped this into my head:

365

Even in my medicated-to-heal snooze mode, I typed it into the "note" section of my iphone and then later in February I transferred it into one of the little journal spots in my binder.

You guys, I am not kidding when I tell you that 1001 times during this year I have TRIED to figure out what 365 meant. When something would spur a thought, I would THINK, "hmmm....Is that it? and even worse, I have been antagonizing over the fact that this year is almost over and I still had not figured out what 365 meant.

Here is the problem...

I was trying to figure it out myself instead of asking.

I did not ask....and I did not listen.

#duh 

You guys, never once did I ASK GOD what HE meant by it.  

I know I knew to ask but I forgot to remember, so...I never did.  I am human so that is 99% of the problem but also because all I have ever learned, read and studied is written down, painted on, stitched on or doodled...all over the place. 

#scattered

So going back to that little star * above and my need for a place to hold and even better, organize my notes and reminders reminders like these on a regular basis and I need to be able to look back at them and even share with others...and they need to be organized so that I can find them when I need them.

Insert a HUGE LIGHT BULB MOMENT that just came full circle TODAY (11/3/2016) because I have been ASKING God and I have been very specific.  I was so busy trying to figure everything out, doing it on my own and not asking or listening that it took me 268 days (yes, I counted) to understand what 365 meant.  Now, of course I related 365 to the number of days in a year, but now I see it as EVERYDAY. 

In 2017, I hope that you will consider joining me in Documented Faith 365.  Make sure that you are subscribed to my newsletter so that you get updates on this and other things going on inside my overflowing creative brain.