Two Weeks.

Time is quickly running out on Angel Tree season! There are only 2 weeks left to help all of the children make their goals.

There are so many children still under $200, and the majority are still under half-way there. However, we've seen miracles happen every year for these kids, so I have no doubt that if we put in the effort we can make a lot of progress and do a lot of good.

Please help out! You can look at the children here and donate to whomever you feel most drawn to (my kiddos are Asherton and Robert if you feel called to help them out. They are both older boys and sadly, older boys are the most neglected and least "popular" as far as adoption goes.)

If you can't donate, that's 100% okay! You can still help. Please share the Angel Tree! Exposure is so important--just think, a Facebook or tweet that takes only a few minutes of your time to compose could end up bringing in a large donation from a childhood friend who is feeling charitable, or maybe even introduce a parent to their future child! Pick and child and urge your friends to donate and/or share them as well.

If you're looking for another present for someone in your life this holiday season, consider a printable from my shop, Light.Live.Do. I have dozens of printables available, including many Bible verses and adoption related ones, and I'm also more than happy to make you something custom! (Simply convo me on Etsy or leave a comment here with what quote and design you want!) You can frame these and they will make lovely Christmas presents to add some decoration to a loved one's wall. You print these yourself from home or a photo center (at Walmart, Walgreens, etc.) so no worries about shipping time before Christmas. Each printable costs only $5 and every penny is donated to the Angel Tree!

Please do what you can to help and spread the word in the next two weeks. You won't regret it--these children are so worth it, every single one of them.

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40

blessings + a merry Christmas,

Sydney

Angel Tree 2015!

It’s that time again!

Angel Tree 2015 is here! I’m super excited, as always, for November 1. I wouldn’t miss Angel Tree for anything—it’s the greatest experience, every year. So, who will I be advocating for this year? Well, none other than these two cuties: Asherton and Robert!

My first Angel Tree, I advocated for a 5 year old girl, Suzanne (that girl still has my heart, and hopefully someday it will be possible for her to be adopted. Every year since, it’s been a boy. 2012 was Dmitri, 2013 Hale (my only angel tree kiddo who has found a family) and Jasper, 2014 Artemur.

I really gravitate towards boys—older boys specifically—but it’s funny because that is the very type of child the least people gravitate towards. Most people want a baby girl. I love that I feel so called to kids who really the attention. If I ever adopt, it will absolutely be an older boy.

So, what will I be doing to raise money and awareness for Asherton and Robert? Well, as always, I have my Etsy shop Light. Live. Do. where I sell printables that you can hang up on your walls as decoration. I have a lot of Bible verse/adoption related ones, and I'm always more than happy to take a custom request! They only cost $5 and every single penny I receive gets donated to Reece's Rainbow!

I can also design blogs, flyers, etc. Just talk to me and I'm happy to design whatever you're looking for (email: lightlivedo@yahoo.com).

Here's hoping that this is a wonderful year for the Angel Tree and that all of us warriors will have success in our fundraising and advocacy efforts. Donate if you can, and if not, share the Angel Tree and the kids! Exposure is just as important as money. Who knows, your tweet or facebook post could make its way to an Angel Tree child's future parent!

be blessed,
Sydney

Art for Artemur: Design Fundraiser!

Angel Tree has officially begun!

My child this year is Artemur, and I'm so excited to raise money and awareness for him (and maybe even find him a family?). Here's some information about him:

Boy, born January 2002
Down Syndrome, Atrial Septal Defect, Polydactyly of the left hand
Large families welcome, multiple children may be adopted together from the same orphanage. Married couples only; travel required. 
Artemur is a handsome boy who has already been waiting far too long for a family of his own!From someone who met Artemur in 2012: Artemur is a ladies man ;) He loves to greet visitors with a formal “Hello”, a chair for the visitor to sit on, and for the ladies he’ll kiss their hands and sometimes request a kiss by pointing to his cheek. He has ten toes and ten fingers, and appears healthy. He is one of the two highest functioning boys in his group and is a big helper. He is quite verbal, and he has good self-care skills, he is able to feed himself and ask to use the restroom. He likes to play with etch a sketches, toy phones, and bubbles. Artemur would probably do better in a family environment where he can be the youngest in the family.

How can you not fall in love with him from that description? He is the most awesome little pre-teen(!) and I love how happy he looks in his pictures. That's not necessarily the usual, so it's so lovely to see him smiling and laughing!

 To help him reach his Angel Tree goal, I'm doing what I do best and taking to Photoshop!

I have a lot of experience with design, and I've done pretty much everything. Blog designs, Facebook timeline covers, Etsy banners/materials, as well as design for things such as business cards, flyers, invites, Christmas cards, etc. You can check out a few examples of things I've designed below.

So...want something designed? Anything mentioned above is an option, and if there is another service you're interested in that I haven't mentioned, let me know and I'd be happy to do it!

Any of these custom design services will be available for a $15 donation to Artemur (with the exception of Facebook/Etsy banners, which will be $5).  Leave a comment/and or email me at lightlivedo@yahoo.com if you are interested in a design!

All payment for this fundraiser will be made directly to Artemur's fund. You can donate through the button below (or on the Reece's Rainbow website!) When you donate, email your receipt to lightlivedo@yahoo.com.

In addition to that wide variety of custom services, I'm also selling printables! These are all 8x10 designs created by me. They are all $5 and are available through my Etsy shop. When you purchase, an email will be sent to you with the file of your chosen printable so that you can print it on your home printer (or through another printing service) and hang it up on your wall.


Well, I think I've covered everything! If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I'll reply.

Not interested in design services/printables? That's okay! You can still help me help Artemur by sharing this fundraiser and mentioning it to anyone you know who may be in need of a blog design, flyer or invite design, etc. or be in the market for some new wall artwork. :) Let's make a difference for Artemur and all the other children on the Angel Tree!

blessings,
Sydney

Angel Tree Season!

Well, hello!

Long time no blog, right? I was a really active and consistent blogger in 2011, but since then I've slowly gone down hill. This is the first blog post I've written in a year! Yikes! But...I'm going to try to get back into it because it's really a great way to share information and advocate. 

First things first: exciting news! My Angel Tree baby from last year, sweet Hale, has FOUND A FAMILY!! I am seriously over the moon about this, and not just for the obvious reasons, but there's extra excitement because this is a first for me. I've been involved with Reece's Rainbow since the very beginning of 2011, so just about 4 years, and this is the first of any of the children I've advocated for to find a family. Isn't that crazy? And sad. A lot of this is because in my first 2 years, all of "my" babies were in R (it just happened that way!) and then the ban was instituted. Which is, of course, devastating, especially for Suzanne, because I talked to more than one family with interest in her over the years and I think she would've found her family very soon. The same for my boys, Dmitri & Niles. Anyway, last Angel Tree, I was a warrior for both Hale and Jasper. So, it's super exciting to see a boy a love and have advocated for find a family. I can't wait to figure out who they are and see Hale thriving at home next year! 

This year, I was really torn about which child to warrior for. I decided to wait a bit to choose because I'd really be happy to advocate for any of them. Hale found a warrior right away (yay!) and then I chose between Jasper and Artemur. Artemur had been one of my top choices last year, and he's also an older child, so I ultimately went with him! Oh, how I love this boy. How cute is he? It's so hard to believe he's 12 years old (13 in January)! These kids age out at 16, so that also means he has 3 years to find a family. Let's make it happen!

If you haven't signed up to be a warrior yet, PLEASE DO! Time is running out, as AT begins on November 1. There are over 70 kids who still need a warrior, and there is an extra sense of urgency this year because if all of the children don't find a warrior, they won't appear on the Angel Tree. It would be so upsetting to see so many lovely, deserving kids miss out on the biggest fundraising effort of the year because there aren't enough of us to step up! So please, sign up, and share AT with your friends and family! If you're looking for a child to warrior for, I highly recommend Jasper. He is amazing and at a disadvantage because he doesn't have a photo listing. However, his ornaments do have his photo on them, and he's absolutely adorable! It's definitely worth it to purchase one and be one of the few advocates who knows what he looks like (hint, hint...). Yay for AT season!

An Etsy Shop {My Latest Fundraising Endeavor}!

As you may know, graphic design has been a huge passion of mine for about 2.5 years now. I was very into blog design for a long while, but eventually I stopped because I was too busy with school, work, etc. Last year, on a hiatus from blog design, I came up with the idea to design prints and ope up a etsy shop. It was a better idea at first glance because it was less demanding--I could design prints whenever I had free time, so the print would be premade for people to buy, and I would just have to print and ship. I had 2-3 prints last November, but for whatever reason, I dropped the idea.

Then, this September, as I was trying to figure out what the best fundraiser I could do for Angel Tree would be, I came back to the etsy shop idea. I really, really wanted to do it. Even more than before. So, I got to work! I was glued to my computer for weeks, designing and designing to get a good amount of prints stocked in the shop. I figured out all the logistics (shipping, supplies, printing, etc. which all turned out to be a surprisingly huge obstacle!), and this week, I was finally able to open up shop!

I'm so excited to show you the fruits of all my time & energy:


My etsy shop, Light. Live. Do.! I'm very excited about it. I sell 8x10 art prints, and I'll be adding more and more as I go, but you can also contact me about a custom print design. Of course, the best part of it all is this--these prints have a purpose! 100% of profits from each sale are donated directly to Hale, my Angel Tree child. This will be my third year participating in AT, but this is the first year I've ever had a real way to fundraise. I've had many ideas each year, including a bake sale type thing (which I still really want to do, but probably won't be happening this year), but this is the first year I've followed any of them all the way through. I have high hopes, and I'm praying my shop will be very successful so that I can really help my little guy out!

Please go check it out and spread the word! Help make a difference for some beyond worthy kids this Christmas (& get a pretty print to hang on your wall while your at it)!

xoxo,
Sydney

Make Me a Do-er.

The other night, I read James 1. It's one of my all-time favorite Bible chapters, so if you haven't read it...seriously, go do it.


The part of that chapter that really, really stood out to me the other night was verses 22-25.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. {James 1:22-25 NIV}

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. {James 1:22-25 The Message}

And that's when it hit me: I want to be a do-er.


A mover and a shaker. 


A person could read the entire Bible through & listen to sermons galore but never really do anything in the end.


Doing is so important to me. Actually doing something matters.

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. {Matthew 7:16 NLT}

Actions speak louder than words, it's true. Anyone can say they want to do something great for God, but how many actually do?

I'm so guilty of "letting the Word go in one ear and out the other". I'll read a Bible verse and think, "Wow, I just love this!"...but if I never actually make use of what it says, what was the point?

I like to think about doing. I like to write about doing. But I really don't "take action" very often. Or ever.

The Bible is supposed to be a manual for a life. The stuff written in it tells us how to live. Not how to write/talk/dream about living, but how to actually do it. And that's what God intended. For us to actually do the things He calls us to.

So... today, I'm calling you to action. Whatever you feel passionate about, DO it.

 The dictionary has 2 definitions for doer:

1. One who does something: a doer of evil deeds.

2. A particularly active, energetic person: a real doer in party politics.

Whatever you feel like your purpose is, live it out. Be energetic & truly passionate about it....it's your purpose, after all. Maybe you feel called to take action for orphans {see another verse from James 1...verse 27}. Maybe you simply want to take small steps everyday to become more like Jesus. That's something. Maybe your calling is to do something huge, maybe it's to do something small. I don't know, and it doesn't matter.

The Bible is full of calls to action. Make a difference for yourself, your community, and your kingdom by taking one on. Make a difference in this world. Be the change you're wanting to see {because yes, with God, you have that kind of power}.

Whatever it is, just do something. Start today, right now.

Be the doer God created you to be.

Orphans in the Bible.

There are 147 million orphans in the world. 147 million. Which is 147 million too many. But...what can we do about it? Today, I wanted to take some time to focus in on what God says about orphans. Here is my list of the top ten orphan related Bible verses.

1)."Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." {James 1:27}

2). "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." {John 14:18}

3). "It is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish." {Matthew 18:14}

4). "Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." {Matthew 18:5}

5). "You are the helpers of the fatherless." {Psalm 10:14}

6). "He defends the cause of the fatherless." {Deuteronomy 10:18}

7). "You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child." {Exodus 22:22}

8). "A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God sets the lonely in families. {Psalms 68:5-6}

9). "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." {Luke 18:16}

10). "Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." {Isaiah 1:17}

God calls us to take action for orphans. To help, defend, love, and seek justice for them. To be the change
they need. There are many ways to make a difference for orphans; you don't have to adopt at all! You can donate, fundraise, or even simply share and spread the word to help orphans find their forever families. If God hasn't put the plight of orphans on your heart yet, pray about it. Make it happen. Be a light to the world and do something {no matter how big or small} for orphans.

{Check out Reece's Rainbow, my very favorite orphan ministry, for many ways to make a difference in the life of an orphan.}

 Blessings!

 Sydney

Amazing story!

I first read this story on Kinze's blog, and I thought it was completely amazing, so I wanted to post it here as well! It gave me chills. God is so good. :)

"I read about a woman named Pam, who knows the pain of considering abortion. More than 24 years ago, she and her husband Bob were serving as missionaries to the Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or drink. She went into a coma ...and was treated with strong antibiotics... before they discovered she was pregnant. 

Doctors urged her to abort the baby for her own safety and told her that the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted. Pam said the doctors didn't think of it as a life, they thought of it as a mass of fetal tissue. 

While pregnant, Pam nearly lost their baby four times but refused to consider abortion. She recalled making a pledge to God with her husband: If you will give us a son, we’ll name him Timothy and we’ll make him a preacher. 

Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy August 14, 1987. Pam’s youngest son is indeed a preacher. He preaches in prisons, makes hospital visits, and serves with his father’s ministry in the Philippines. He also plays football. 

-His name is Timothy Tebow."

 wow. I could have cared less about football, and I've never watched a football game in my entire life, but...I love Tim Tebow. (and now,  I love his mom too. What amazing faith she had! It just goes to show that through EVERYTHING, good and bad, God has a plan for our life that is greater than we could ever imagine.) He's just so amazing! I love that he is using his life and fame as a platform for change and as a way to spread his faith. He loves Jesus. Rock on, Tim. :)

Blessings!

Sydney

Love = Change.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. {James 1:27}

The Chapman family are my role models. Mary Beth Chapman's book, Choosing to See, is my favorite book to this day. I completely love their whole family.

The work they have done for orphans on the 3.5 years since their sweet daughter, Maria, died is amazing.

Show Hope and Reece's Rainbow are my 2 favorite orphan organizations/ministries.

I don't have a lot of resources. I don't do a lot. but I do SOMETHING, and that little something I can do for these orphans makes a difference.

There are 147 orphans in this world. If there is anything God has laid heavily on my heart in 2011, it would be orphans. I've fallen in love with I don't even know how many kids that live half way across the world {without a mom & dad}.

I really "fell hard" for orphans, especially special needs orphans, because without us, they really have no hope. They are forced to live in orphanages for the rest of their lives with no one to love them.

I think their potential is way overlooked. I don't know why parents give up their kids, but I know that just because their biological parents don't want them, doesn't mean they are unwanted.

Orphans have SO MUCH potential. I can't wait to see the day when a former orphan is elected president. I mean, with 147+ million of them, it's bound to happen some day.

I'll leave you off with James 1:27 again, this time translated to The Message:

Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. 

REAL religion, real religion that is up to God's standards involves loving and caring for the orphans of this world. Slowly, as more people understand this, change will start to happen. Changing the world isn't as intimidating or hard as it may seem. All it takes is to love a child who isn't blessed with a family.

Love is the key to changing an orphan's world.

Blessings!

Sydney

Mia's Story on ABC!

The Cox's adoption of Mia this year was the first adoption I ever "followed". They are amazing!

ABC and Diane Sawyer have followed Kecia and Kris throughout the adoption process and afterwards. Last night, the segment about Mia was aired!

It's such an awesome video. CLICK HERE to watch it if you haven't seen it yet!

 Mia used to be a Ukrainian orphan (no longer-- now she is home with her 3 sisters & her parents!), and she was listed on Reece's Rainbow. This segment has brought so much traffic to Reece's Rainbow that the site actually crashed. The crash is not good, but we are so thrilled Diane Sawyer has sparked people's interest and they are checking out all the sweet children on the site. Amazing.

In awe.

The goal of Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree, as I've shared so many times before, is for every child to have $1,000 donated to them.

There were 186 kids on Angel Tree this year. Which means that $186,000 is the full amount that need to be donated collectively for every single baby girl and boy to meet their goal.

wow. That's a lot.

You could find a home that costs less than that. But then again, a home is just a foundation built of wood, steel, bricks, etc. These children... they're priceless.

Even so, none of us are made of money.  So many of us just did not think that all the children could possibly meet their goal... even in a million years.

Last year {I wasn't a warrior last year, but I've heard about it from friends}, every child made their goal because of a giant donation made on New Years eve {a.k.a. last day of angel tree!}. I'm talking $50,000 giant. Personally, I think it was Patricia Heaton, because she advocates for this cause. She's pretty awesome like that, not that we're friends {as if!}.

It was such a big, big, goal. BIG. but our God is able.

On Wednesday, an "anonymous donor" issued what we're calling "the BUMP challenge". There are categories on the Angel Tree page. One category is the $100-$500 category, one is the $500-$1,000 category, and then there are the categories for the kids who have met their goals {$1,000+}.

We don't really know the exacts, but there were about 65 kids in the $100-$500 cateogory on Wednesday.

65. sixty. five.

That's a lot.

and the majority of them weren't even close to $500.  A LOT of them were in the high $200's or the $300's.

The total to bump all of those kids just to $500 was something over $7,000+. wow.

So, back to the bump challenge....every time we bumped a child in the $100-$500 category to $500, the anonymous donor would bump a different child {the child closest to their goal of $1,000} to $1,000. The challenge was to end at midnight on Thursday.

It was only a 1 {and a half} day challenge.

Most of us, including the donors, expected that maybe 5 or 10 kids would get to $500, and therefore 5 or 10 other kids would make their angel tree goals.

No one expected it to go viral.

ALL I did on Thursday was sit on my laptop and refresh Facebook & the angel tree page. Seriously.

and a lot of people did the same thing.

It was i.n.s.a.n.e.

{In an amazing way.}

My little guy, Dmitri, got a $500 boost overnight. He was the lowest kid on the angel tree on Wednesday. Go look now, and you'll see that he met his goal.

and that was us just getting started.

Donations were POURING in. We would pick a child, the child closest to $500, and in 5 minutes they would be at $500. Over $500, actually, because we were going so fast that multiple people would donate at the exact same time.
...and then there were 30 kids left under $500.

We made it a goal to get EVERY SINGLE kid to $500 before midnight. I didn't think it would happen.

Yet, I was convinced to get on Twitter and start tweeting a message about Reece's Rainbow & the bump challenge to all the people from Glee. and Eva Longoria. and Jenny McCarthy.

I'm sure everyone thought I was a total Twitter spammer.

but it was working. We were rallying hard, posting to twitter and Facebook, spreading the word as much as we could.

BIG jumps were being made. BIG. Kids were ending up way over even the goal of $500.

At almost 11pm, there were 6 kids left under $500.

2 minutes later...


EVERYONE WAS AT $500!!! Let the virtual screaming begin.

Us warriors were FREAKING OUT, to say the least.

Because 65 kids, $7,000+, all in a little over 24 hours?

It's so amazing you just have to start praising God, right there and then.

It was such a fun day/night. It was so fun working together as a team and trying to spread the word as fast as we could.

Our warrior Facebook group was going crazy. I don't doubt we had 500 some posts & comments, just in ONE NIGHT.

and today, even though most of us are probably super broke from all that donating, we are SO HAPPY.

so happy. so excited.

We bumped 65{ish} kids to $500, which means 65 kids will be bumped to $1,000. We still have no exacts, but we figure there will only be about 35 kids who are not bumped to $1,000 by our amazing donor {whose internet is out right now, but will bump them all as soon as possible}.

and those 35 will be really close. We want to get them all to their goals by Christmas.

Yesterday was one of the best days ever. Seeing everyone joy when their angel made was bumped over $1000? Priceless.

We are all SO BLESSED by this challenge and our sweet donor. We've kinda bombarded her will thanks on Facebook.

God is doing so much work through all of our hearts with the angel tree this year. Last night was a true Christmas miracle if I've ever seen one, and I'm so blessed to have been a small part of it.

After all, He doesn't want to leave them as orphans {John 14:18}.  

Blessings!

Sydney

Why I do it.

It's no secret that I love Reece's Rainbow & love advocating for as many children as I can. But...why? Why am I so passionate about this cause? That's what I'm going to tell you about today.

Many of the people who advocate for RR orphans either have a child {or sibling, family member, close friend, etc.} with special needs, or they have already adopted through Reece’s Rainbow.

I don't fit into either of those categories. I honestly can’t think of a single person I know in "real life" who has Down syndrome.

So… how do I even know about Reece’s Rainbow? And more importantly...

Why do I care? I’ll tell you.

It all started at the end of 2010, when I was first discovering blogs. The very first blog I ever remember discovering and reading was Simply Alicia. I found it through random searching on Blogger and loved it. Then, in some way I remember nothing about, I happened to stumble across Patti’s blog, A Perfect Lily.

Patti happened to an incredibly adorable baby daughter, named Lily. {Seriously… she’s the cutest little girl in the entire world!}. I was totally in love with the pictures Patti would post of Lily, so I kept coming back. That was really all I ever did for so long… just visit her blog once a week or so and strictly scroll through looking at all the photos. I never read a single word of the posts. Then…

One day, I actually started to read. Patti wrote about Lily, of course, but there was something else she wrote about, too. Reece’s Rainbow.

She posted pictures of adorable kids {at that time it was Kareen, now named Mia and happily at home with her family, and Olga}. These weren’t just any random kids. They were kids from Reece’s Rainbow.

In her posts, Patti stressed the urgency of these kids situations. Both little girls were living in Eastern European orphanages, and nearing age 5. Living on borrowed time. Apparently, Eastern Europeans don’t roll like Americans do.

Because these beautiful girls had down syndrome, otherwise known as Trisomy 21, an extra {47th} chromosome, they were living in orphanages. And age 5… the reason that’s a significant age is because the majority of the kids listed on RR will be transferred to institutions at that age.

Institutions. As in MENTAL INSTITUTIONS. Scary, awful, adult mental institutions. At age 5.

Five.

And so... I kept reading. I kept stopping by Patti’s blog, and I slowly fell in love with these 2 girls. It’s inevitable, I think.

All this time, as I read all of these moving posts on Patti’s blog and heard about the institutions, where people as old as 20 who had been severely neglected lived, I had never once visited the Reece’s Rainbow website.

Never.

All my information was from Patti’s posts.

What I heard, it scared me. I didn’t know what to expect if I would click that link to Reece’s Rainbow, let alone the link to that video showing the reality of the institutions.

I was scared. It took me a long time. but finally…

I did it.

I went to Reece’s Rainbow.

and what I saw… it wasn't what I had expected at all.

I saw a bright and colorful site. As I browsed the pages and started to see all the faces of these boys and girls for the first time, I knew I was in love.

They were so cute. SO cute. What babies, 2, 3, 4, & 5 year olds aren't?

My heart broke for them.

These cute kids, they aren't like the cute kids that live down the street from me or anywhere else in America.
They don’t get to live the happy-go-lucky lives that most kids get the privilege of living.

They’re stuck. Stuck in orphanages and eventually mental institution in foreign countries, neglected and unloved, all because of a little something extra chromosome wise.

This website gave a whole new meaning to the words “Down syndrome” for me.

Suddenly, I was an advocate for children with DS and other special needs in Eastern Europe. and to think I hadn't even know it 5 minutes ago.

I started asking why myself.

Why, God?

Why don’t these kids get to have the childhood I had? The one with dress up clothes, cousins, barbie dolls galore, and most of all… a mom and dad who love me? Why?

I wanted to know how their parents could just give them up, just like that, and send them to play a game of Monopoly with life.

Only this time, it isn't a game. If one of those chance cards doesn’t say “my family found me” on it, that could make the difference between life or death.

This is serious. This is real. This is life for these kids.

Go watch this video and tell me you aren’t moved to do something.

Since that day, I’ve been advocating. Fighting the injustice that is the lives of these sweet children.

Jesus tells us that whatever we do for "one of the least of these", we do for Him.

And I believe it.

I love these kids so much now. All of them. I can’t even imagine how different my life would be had I not discovered Reece’s Rainbow at the very beginning of 2011. It’s better now, for sure, because of them.

This is something God has placed on my heart. Not just placed, engraved. Forever.

That’s why.

No matter what other people think of it, I’ll be advocating for these children until the cows come home
{whatever that saying means}.

{And now my short message to you...}

Fight it. Forget any prior notions you have about Down syndrome, special needs, orphans, international adoption, etc., and just see, with your own eyes, what is happening to these sweet babies over in Russia and Ukraine.

It’s not right. At all. Are you going to do something about it?

I know I am.

You don’t have to adopt to make a difference, as the saying goes. Advocate. Donate. Share it with your friends. But whatever you do, do something.

One Thousand Dollars.

In late October, I committed to being Suzanne's {cute little girl to the right!} Christmas warrior.

I did it because I love Reece's Rainbow, because I wanted to make a difference, because Suzanne was cute, because at the time all she had in her account was $25.20, and most of all, because she was in an institution.

That's right, Suzanne turned 5 this past April and instead of going to kindergarten, she lives in a mental institution in Russia.

and I wanted to help change her world. The goal for Angel Tree warriors is to raise $1,000 for your child.

Did I ever think Suzanne would get there? Honestly, no. That's a big goal. All I knew was that whatever money I could raise, and could donate, would be better than nothing.


No one can do everything...but everyone can do something...

Suzanne's been doing so great. She had $285 by the time I went to bed last night, some from my fundraising efforts, some just because people are kind of {no, not just kind of... really} amazing. :)

I went to bed kind of crazy happy, because of a new fundraising opportunity. I woke up, went to class, got home and logged onto Facebook {to check the Angel Tree warriors FB group, of course! My favorite thing to do.}

Then, as is my tradition, I clicked on Suzanne's link, conveniently located right there in my bookmarks bar. <loading...loading...> and low and behold, the number I saw was not $285, or maybe something in the $300's. NO. WAY. Cue the high-pitched screaming!

Do you know what that number means? It means in less than 24 hours, over $700 was raised for Suzanne. 

Over $700.

and I had absolutely NO part in this whatsoever.

Praise God, friend. Praise Him. For real. because this was a work completely of His doing {like everything else isn't, I know}.

"For nothing is impossible with God." {Luke 1:37}

I am SO blessed by every single person who donated to Suzanne! It melts my heart.

Just know, that when you do something like that, donating to an organization of any kind that helps children/orphans/people {not just Reece's Rainbow}, you are changing the world.

That's right. That $1, which isn't even enough to buy a pack of gum, helps save a life. and one day, when Suzanne {or any other orphan} is home with her family, you can say that you helped get her there.

Suzanne made it. None of this is about me.

Thank you so much, God!!!!!

People's random acts of kindness to this little girl have totally made my entire month. Yes, month.

YAY, Suzanne!!! You go, girl. :)

 "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." {Matthew 17:20}

The seeds have been multiplied. One thousand times over again. and I couldn't be more grateful.

I just hope that those donations, that the amount of money in Suzanne's fund and every other angels fund, bring glory not to the warriors {especially me}, but to God.

This is really an amazing thing. She's still got a long way to go until her grant is "completely funded", but God met her need for this November/December season!

I can't wait to see how much money over the $1,000 goal we can raise. I'm really excited for her.

a little faith, some crazily supportive {and also... awesome!} people friends, 37 days, and from $25.20 to $1025.20 this little girl goes.

no words.

*****

P.S. While donations to Reece's Rainbow are anonymous, so i have no idea who donated and how much they donated, I do have this "feeling" that the giant $700 jump must have something to do with Stori!

Stori is hosting an iPad 2 giveaway, which is going on until Christmas day, for her little guy named Kai. {Who is one of the cutest kids ever, by the way.} Kai met his $1,000 goal almost instantly, which is AMAZING, and he now has over $2,000 from Angel Tree.

Since she's the sweetest person in the world {if you have a better way to describe her, go ahead, but seriously, she's amazing!} Stori decided to extend her iPad giveaway to cute little Spencer and {brace yourself} Suzanne!

Yes, Suzanne. For real. By donating just $1+ to Suzanne, you are eligible to enter Stori's iPad giveaway! I'm so blessed by her generosity. So please, if you've already donated to Suzanne {or Spencer or Kai} go enter. If you haven't donated yet, all it takes is $1 to help make a change in her life & be eligible to enter for the iPad!

God. is. so. good.

Blessings!

Sydney

A platform for change.

I stumbled across Seth Godin's Thanksgiving blog post through a friend the other day, and I loved it.

I'm an American. Maybe your an American too. Maybe your Canadian. Maybe your Australian. Maybe your English.

If you're stopping by my blog, then you have internet access. You likely have at least one TV, desktop/laptop computer, cell phone, iPad, e-reader, camera, and I'm sure many more than that...

You're blessed. And so am I. There are many times when we don't feel blessed. We get sucked into the "I want's" or worse, the "I need's", when really, we are doing just great without a new iPhone or whatever it may be.

...but we are, indeed, blessed.

The underprivileged are the people in Africa. Or parts of South America. Or parts of Asia. The places where big families live in huts together and sometimes go without food for weeks because there just isn't any money for food.

I don't know about you, but whenever I say " we have no food", my pantry and refridgerator are still stocked with things that would be great to eat. We just don't have the food I'm looking for.

I'm sure someone in Africa would just love to have the kind of privileges you and I do.

and that's exactly why it's so important to use our privleges and gifts as a platform for influence and change. Through Pinterest, I heard this story about a football player:

When Tim Tebow wore John 3:16 on his eye black to a certain game, over 92 million people looked that verse up on Google. That means over 92 million people heard the Gospel just because one man took a stand.

I read the article, and I was able to sum up that Tim Tebow {who I have never heard of before this, since I don't watch football} is kind of amazing.

"When you die," Tebow booms, "there's gonna be a tombstone, and on that tombstone there's gonna be a name, and there's gonna be a date. And for me, it's going to be 1987, and then it's gonna have a dash.… I want that dash to mean something. I want that dash to be special. I want that dash to represent that Tim Tebow finished strong." He pauses, scans the crowd, sucks in a calming breath, and the wild screams and cries nearly drown out his next line: "And most importantly, when I get to heaven, I want Jesus to say, WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT."

Amazing.

He's influential because he's a football player. He's "famous", and he's using his fame as a way to give back & spread the love of Jesus.

He's not letting the fame of being a football player get to his head. He's doing important things with his life.

You and I? We can do the same.

No, we aren't football players. We aren't famous. but the good news is...

we don't have to be. 

"No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. Together we can change the world."

We can all do important things with our lives. We can all use the amazing lives God has blessed us with to give back to others & change the world.

Doing good is doing good. The scale doesn't matter.

Our lives are a platform for change.

We can use our lives to change our neighborhoods. Our families. Our towns. Our online worlds. Anything is possible!

Jesus called us all to be the salt and light of the world. Let's get out, do things that matter, and give a whole new meaning to the word light.

Blessings!

Sydney

Salt and Light.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet." {Matthew 5:13 ESV}

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage." {Matthew 5:13 The Message}

We are the salt of the Earth. You and I.

What does that mean, exactly?

I love the way The Message puts it.

We are here to bring out the God in this world. It's our calling, our purpose.

To shine Jesus. 

We are called to show Jesus's love to all of the people on the Earth. His pure, unadulterated love. But how do we best do that?

We have to invest our whole hearts in Jesus, and preach His message to the world.

Why do we use salt in food?

Salt makes a difference in taste. It can give something more flavor, improve a bland dish, and most of us would agree that we love salty foods.

When Jesus calls us to be the salt of the Earth, He is calling is to make a difference in the world.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." {Matthew 5:14-16}

The light of the world.

We are the light. Not just the light of a secluded side walk that no one has used for 100 years. The light of now. The light of our families, our workplaces, our schools, our cities.

For someone who doesn't know Jesus, their good works shine on them. They get the glory, and they probably want the glory.

That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. {John 17:21-23}

{yes, it's a major tongue twister.}

As believers, we get the privilege of bringing glory to God through all that we do.

You are a gift to the people in your world and in your life. Don't ever feel like you aren't useful. God is always working in you and through you, to spread His message to others. Let Him have you.

Everything you do, from the simplest thing to the most miraculous thing, matters. Use your life as a tool to spread the good word and hope that you have in Jesus. Turn your possibly dry, dark, and flavorless world into a bright, salty, joyful mess, with Jesus right in the middle.

We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results. -Herman Melville

Be the salt. Be the light. Do good things in His name.

How are you going to shine?

Blessings!

Sydney