beautifully broken

are you beautifully broken?

In a world that repeatedly breaks our hearts, our deepest pain can also be our greatest source of joy and purpose. Brokenness draws us to God like no other condition can. He is the only One who can give us true hope and use our pain for His glory and for His good purpose. The deepest hurts of our fallen world may be inescapable, but God also promises us that He is "our refuge and strength" (Psalm 46:1-2), the deliverer of all our fears (Psalm 34:4) and the One who wants to use for good the pain of those who belong to Him (Romans 8:28).

"don't react off of love"

overseas overeating

I've long struggled with my weight.

Read what I've been learning about emotional eating and what I'm trying to do to change my habits.

New column called "Overseas Overeating" is up at Ungrind!

a waving flag

When I get older, I will be stronger.

They'll call me freedom, just like a waving flag.

And then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back.

Born to a throne, stronger than Rome

but violent prone, poor people zone.

But it's my home, all I have known.

Where I got grown, streets we would roam.

But out of the darkness, I came the farthest,

Among the hardest survival.

more on black baby dolls

Perhaps you read my post about collecting black baby dolls for girls in Liberia. Young girls often do not have access to toys much less dolls that look like themselves.

Here's an interesting post to folo on that from a new online magazine I started writing for this month.

wounded healer

"For the minister is called to recognize the sufferings of his time in his own heart and make that recognition the starting point of his service. Whether he tries to enter into a dislocated world, relate to a convulsive generation, or speak to a dying man, his service will not be perceived as authentic unless it comes from a heart wounded by suffering about which he speaks."

-- Henri Nouwen from The Wounded Healer

speed polish

I  just used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail polish to give myself a quick manicure. It has a thick brush that can slick the entire nail in one fail swoop, and it dries in a ridculously quick amount of time. About 30 seconds and wha-la!

I'm taking this with me to Pretty & Polished this Saturday, and I encourage you to bring your own "speed polish" if you are going.

Quick-drying nail polish is a sure way to beat any impatience coming from sweet, little old ladies. :)

bad day

Where is the moment we needed the most

You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

They tell me your blue skies fade to gray

They tell me your passion's gone away

And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low

You're faking a smile with the coffee you go

You tell me your life's been way off line

You're falling to pieces every time

And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me don't lie

You work at a smile and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don't lie

You're coming back down and you really don't mind

You had a bad day

You had a bad day

-- excerpted from "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter

did Jesus get into an emotional funk?

Well, did he?

nowhere to now here

Take this love

Calls your name

No need to walk alone

From nowhere to now here

-- excerpted from "Nowhere to Now Here" by The Kin

kangaroo care

When I got back from Liberia a few weeks ago, I decided to continue my hospital work. For about three months I worked in a remote hospital in northern Liberia alongside a chaplain. I met many women and newborn babies at their bedsides and had the privilege of praying for and encouraging many people who were suffering in a facility severely lacking the technology and resources of hospitals in the United States.

The differences are stark, and I still can't get over how fortunate we are to have so many resources to serve the sick, dying and grieving in the United States.

I'm volunteering at one of the hospitals in my hometown right now, working on a pediatric oncology floor and in a nursery filled with preemies. I count this as another huge privilege to encourage and care for people who are in distressing and very sad situations.

Caring for the little babies has made me think more and more about our relationship with God. At that young age, they need someone to care for their every need. They can't survive without touch. At the hospital, the nurses encourage something called "kangaroo care," which essentially is skin-t0-skin contact between a mother and child. It aids in the healthy development of the newborn and in digestion. Amazing! I also read this article about research that concludes that babies who are held regularly experience less pain following a painful procedure, in this case, the lancing of their baby heels.

baby dolls for Liberia

I'm on a mission! Children in Liberia, most who grow up in extreme poverty, often don't have toys. I've walked Liberia's broken streets and watched young boys running after metal rings with sticks or pulling cars made out of empty oil bottles. I've seen girls with "baby dolls" made of scraps of wood and artificial hair. These items are the closest they have to toys.

Perhaps a toy doesn't seem really important. But for a Liberian child who grows up with hardly any "extras," a toy can bring hours of happiness and encouragement. It can become a reminder that they haven't been forgotten, that they are loved.

Christmas isn't too far away, and I'm planning a drive to provide Liberian children in Ganta with needed clothes and school supplies. But I also want to give them some toys.

If you'd like to purchase a toy for a Liberian child, please email me or leave a comment below this post. I'm especially interested in collecting black baby dolls like these.

in the mail

Today, I got my contract from Boundless. I've started writing for them, and I'm very excited about it. Keep checking back for new columns there and over at Ungrind! Since I've been home, several columns have just poured out of me. I'm eager to share them with you!

the rainbow umbrella

Pain, poverty, heartbreak ... I've learned that a Liberian woman carries all beneath the shade of her umbrella.

"The Rainbow Umbrella" is my latest column, up now at Ungrind.

Read it here.

pompom biz card

I've started a new business! Check it out at www.pompomphotos.blogspot.com

new columns

All,

I wanted to let you know about two new columns that you can read online right now!

Need to burn some old love letters?

"The Little Black Box," which originally was published over at Ungrind, has been picked up by Focus on the Family's singles' webzine, Boundless. The column is about how I realized that an old box of mementos from an ex-boyfriend was enabling my bitterness -- and how I let go.

Read it here.

Then, click over to Ungrind, where you can read my latest column called "Night Terrors." In the column, I write about an armed robbery I went through last year and how I'm learning to release terror's grip on my life.

Read it here.

I'd love to get your feedback!