where they go to grow up

Every so often my kids stumble out of their rooms in the morning, 

eyes all squinty as they process the light and I notice…

Somehow I tucked them in a little kid but the child who woke up seems much older.

Does this happen to you?

The other night as I was slipping into bed I heard Della call out my name from her room. 

She was fine, maybe a bad dream or maybe she woke up forgetting where she was, but I laid in bed with her regardless stroking her hair and singing Heavenly Day by Patti Griffin.

And in mid stroke my heart skipped a beat.

Her hair… 

when had it gotten so long? I see it every day but somehow, my baby girl was looking so big. As I laid there with her I began to wonder things like...

How many moments like this do I have left with her?

How many braids will I create with this hair?

How many late night talks will we have as I listen to her share her heart?

How many dreams will she have?

Who will be her first heartbreak?

And what will her dad do to that boy? ; )

Will pink always be her favorite color?

Where will her brave, determined nature take her?

How many will her comforting heart comfort?

What will her "awkward stage" look like?

And will I recognize that it is awkward?

Will her laugh always light up a room?

What is the story that God's writing with her life?

Will she forever have her brother's wrapped around her pinky?

Who is this precious girl that God is creating right before my eyes?

And why must she go to bed each night a baby and wake up a little girl?

I smiled and thanked God that I get to be her mom and a part of her story.

It truly is amazing that he would chose ME to care for such precious children.

May I have many more moments like those this year… 

taking the time to comb my child's hair, marvel at all that they are and dream of who they are becoming. 

when springtime comes in January

There was this perfect day in Austin this past week.

In the middle of cold dreary days was this warm, sunny beautiful Spring day.

It didn't belong in the middle of Winter, but was such a gift.

 

We found ourselves at the park watching our kids ride bikes around the pond and playing fetch with our dog. It was one of those moments you take a deep breath and try hard to soak in the memory so it will never be forgotten. Those moments everything just feels right. It was sweet time with family and I was so grateful. 

I've been thinking about seasons a lot lately.

How they cycle, the character of each season and how there is joy to be found in each.

Much like the seasons of the year are the seasons of life right?

This past year has felt much like the winter to my little family.

It was the hardest year of our lives colored with small things like sick kids, changing a flat tire in a hail storm and a totaled car… 

as well as big things like cracked dreams, health issues, broken relationships and death of loved ones.

 It was a year of suffering, pain and disappointment. 

BUT, in the midst of those things… were these moments of pure beauty. 

These moments that were wrapped up like gifts straight from a God who loves us reminding us that he was indeed in the midst. 

Things like the gift of a new truck, a couple of sweet getaways, memories of lost teeth, pool days, the boys starting Kindergarten, Della learning to tell jokes, friends who speak life, purpose given, dreams restored and the year ending with Camp putting his faith in Christ as his redeemer and savior. 

The juxtaposition of great joy and great pain was perplexing, but kept reminding us of the personal God we serve. He loves us intentionally, leads us with purpose and is writing a great story with our lives. 

This year has left us feeling bruised and tender, but somehow stronger and more certain. 

We look a bit more like Jesus and have learned the hard way how to have the "perfect peace" that is available to those who trust in Him. 

And we wouldn't change that for anything.

But just like seasons change, we feel a shift in the seasons of our life. Somehow I am entering into January with Springtime in my heart. I can almost smell it. 

The warmth of a God who has drawn near and the smell of new purpose and growth blooming.

At the beginning of each year, Jake and I get away to reflect on the past year and pray over the next. We ask God to give us vision for the year, a theme to abide in. 

Over the past couple of years God has called us to go wide. When starting a church and learning to live intentionally in our community, this was necessary. 

But this year, we feel like our calling is changing… and we are embracing it.

Go Deep.

This is what we have heard from God. 

Go Deep

in our relationship with God,

with our kids,

with each other,

with a few people in our community,

with a few people in our church family,

in our giftings…

it's time to go deep and not spread ourselves so wide.

And you know what? 

It feels like Springtime.

It causes me to pause, take a deep breath and walk in the freedom to prioritize the few things God has called me to and do them well.

Will I do this perfectly? Of course not! 

But I will struggle well to discern what to say no to and where to go deep.

What is God calling you to in this new season?

my noonday story...

Well hello friend!
I'm so glad you stopped by on today's Noonday Blog Train!

If today is the first day that you are joining us, I am following two rockstar ladies who I am lucky enough to call friends. Wynne wrote a great post about how Noonday is helping families adopt and McCall shared about our artisans and how much we truly have in common. They both still have giveaways going on so be sure to go enter!

But today I want to talk about our Ambassador Opportunity. I want to share with you the impact that God has made in my life through Noonday.

My Noonday Story:

God has been interweaving my story with Noonday from the very beginning. 

Five years ago, God was wrecking me.  For the first time, my husband and I realized that it was our responsibility to reflect God's heart for the poor, oppressed, fatherless and widow. A couple of years later, Noonday entered my world. I hosted one of the very first trunk shows to help raise money for our adoption and I fell in love. Noonday entered my life and was an answer to a stirring I had felt for a while. It made sense. Artisans hand making items that they are paid a fair and living wage for, Noonday selling it in the US marketplace allowing customers to participate in changing communities worldwide. I loved it. I loved that it so clearly reflected God's heart. I loved that it was sustainable. That artisans were not given a handout but had the dignity and pleasure of work. And I loved that we would be rewriting the story of poverty for them and their children. Together, we could make a difference. Together we could see world-change. So I became an avid customer and promoter. Soon after that Noonday launched their Ambassador program and I had the privilege of being the first Ambassador hired here in Austin. 

When I hosted my first trunk show as an Ambassador, 

I remember feeling that lives would be impacted by the work I was doing… 

I just had no idea that my life would be one of them. 

I feel like Noonday has unleashed me to a calling and enriched my life. And for that I will forever be grateful. So, how has Noonday impacted me? Well, I would prefer to take you to coffee and tell you story after story, but since that's not an option, here are the 4 major ways Noonday has impacted my life...


1. Adoption:

When I started with Noonday, Jake and I were adding a son to our family through adoption. We adopted him from Uganda and Noonday played a huge part in helping us bring him home. That of course had a significant impact on our family. I can't imagine our lives without our precious Enock! He is handsome, sharp, funny, stubborn and our son. But that's not all! Because our first Artisan Group was in Uganda, we got to meet them. Jalia and Daniel became our friends. By being a Noonday Ambassador, my entire job is to advocate for them, and other men and women like them.

Our family is able to invest in the country that gave us our son Enock. 

And that is amazing. 

I love that E sees what I do for a living and knows that I am playing a part in restoring communities where he is from. Priceless.

2. Artisans:

When I said yes to working for Noonday, I expected to play a significant part in helping create jobs in resource poor areas, but I didn't realize how real my relationships with the artisans would become. Spending time with Jalia, Daniel, Caleb, Bukenya and Coral, holding Bukenya and Coral's 2 week old baby girl, sitting in their homes, seeing where they work… it has changed me. Poverty was no longer just an issue… it was an issue effecting a person… a friend… MY friend.

I sat with Jalia just a couple of weeks ago, she had made her first visit to America as a result of Noonday, and we talked about how our lives intersected years ago. We teared up as we spoke of the mutual impact that has been made in both of our lives. We thanked God that our paths crossed 2.5 years ago. She is now out of poverty and championing on behalf of her community. She is making a HUGE difference where she lives and I get to be her friend.

When I first met Ana I could not help but smile. Her joy is contagious to all who are around her. She is single, a business owner, passionate about the women she employs and is working hard to see change in her community. I had the privilege to hug her neck, learn from her, eat with her and hear her story. Ana is no longer just one of our Guatemalan Artisans…. she is my friend. We are connected in a way that I never would have dreamed. I love that my job is to tell the stories of these amazing women and many, many more.

3. Ambassadors:

Let me just say, that in the last few years of saying yes to God, he has allowed me to run with some pretty amazing women. Many of them are from our Noonday Ambassador community. These girls are dear friends of mine. Girls who I have long texting threads with, girls who I turn to when I need prayer, advice or encouragement. Girls who know my heart, and my story, and I know theirs. These women sharpen me and encourage me in so many ways. Part of my job with Noonday is to know these women, and my life is so rich as a result.

4. Advocating:

Y'all, working for Noonday is seriously the best. job. ever. I get paid… like I'm able to help supplement my families income… by being an advocate for something I am passionate about. I get to do all of that while building friendships with our artisans and other Ambassadors worldwide. What a huge blessing it is that I can work hard to grow my Noonday business because my family needs my income, and because Jalia and Ana's families need theirs.

In our family we make a big deal about loving God and loving people and I love that my kids know that my job with Noonday is doing just that. They talk about how their mommy is going to a trunk show to sell things so that mamas around the world can feed their kids and send them to school. I love that.

So I've shared my Noonday story. Are you ready to join me? 

Would you like to join women nationwide in advocating for the poor and the oppressed? 

Would you like to have the best job ever? 

If so, here is a link where you can find out more information. Or, you can email me at krista@noondaycollection.com with any questions you might have. 

I hope you join our team!

Well, because everybody needs a little Noonday in their life, I'm giving away a $50 gift voucher to one lucky winner! You could use it to buy something from our best line yet!

{ Also, tomorrow make sure to check out my precious friend Brandi's blog! Seriously y'all… you will love her. Plus, she will be doing another giveaway! }

Good luck! I hope you win!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

finding my words

I've been in a season.

At least that's what I've been calling these past 2 years where we have lived in Uganda, 

adopted E, 

birthed Della, 

moved twice, 

planted a church 

and radically changed the way we live.

Somehow the word "season" just doesn't quite seem to capture it. 

In the past 2 years God has been at work.

growing me...

stretching me...

teaching me to truly depend/rely on Him...

changing my priorities and aligning them with His.

There has been much refining.

It's been both painful 

and beautiful.

I have lost friends

and been given new ones.

And although processing these things in this space has been my desire.

Wanting to let my little community here into all that God is doing,

and being able to document all that God has done.

I have lacked the words.

Many a time I have sat in front of this computer with my heart overflowing in groans but no words.

Groans that scripture tells me God has heard, but that I could not articulate in this place.

Words have been absent in this crazy, full, challenging season of our lives.

But...

They are coming.

Slowly I am breathing more deeply.

And as I do, I am gaining the words I need to articulate all that God has done, and all that He has promised to do.

So, I hope to slowly and steadily let you into my world.

Hope to give you a glimpse at how worth it it is to say yes to God.

So, hello again!

Let's talk again soon.

Krista

Noonday Blog Train

Today's a big day! If you are visiting my blog for our Noonday Blog Train, welcome! So glad to have you! Today Noonday Collection launches our New Fall Line and so we are starting a Blog Train where 34 Noonday Ambassadors have come together to have a giveaway each day! I'm excited to kick this off! So come and stay for a while. Read my story and enter to win a $50 gift voucher!



I just recently got back from Guatemala.
I had the incredible privilege of traveling with 9 other Noonday girls to meet up with our artisans there.
This business is a relational one.
As Ambassadors we are investing in the lives of many in developing countries that we have never met.
We link arms with each other to make change in the world, and we take those stories of change to you in hopes that you will use your purchasing power to advocate alongside of us.
Like I said, this is a relational business.

So when the 10 of us traveled to Guatemala to meet our artisans there for the first time.
To hug their necks, be in their homes and hear their stories first hand.... it only deepened relationships that had started 2 years ago for me.

The Noonday story is real.
These artisan stories are real.



When I met Ana, I had just traveled by boat about 45 minutes to get to her village of San Juan.
She greeted us with the warmest smile that never left her face.
She walked us to her workshop where her and 4 other women make our woven scarves.
We spent the morning hearing their stories and learning how they create their dyes, prepare their looms and hand weave our scarves.



After that we walked with these women, our friends to Ana's families house.
They had prepared a special meal for us and we ate together and watched the children play in the yard. Again, we continued to hear their stories of change and Ana's heart for her people.
She is their fearless leader.
That afternoon as we said goodbye, they gathered us around and each women spoke of how much Noonday means to them.
We heard women say...
"You are helping us rewrite the story for our children." and "Your orders bring us hope."
They had each woven a scarf as a gift for each of us.
And there were many tears as we hugged their necks, prayed together and said goodbye.



I've come back from this trip with a deepened relationship with our artisans.
I've seen their faces, played with their kids, stayed at their homes and heard their stories first hand.
And it has changed me.
Your purchases really do make a difference.
When you purchase through Noonday and wear your scarf, or necklace etc.,  you are wearing THEIR story.
It's a story of great hope.
A story of changing the world.


{photo credits: my sweet friend Paige Knudsen Photography}

So, I'm excited to be giving away a $50 gift voucher this week!
This will give you the opportunity to own and wear stories like Ana's.

You could use it to get this...

 or  or 

Or maybe even our Ana Scarf named after Ana herself...



Make sure and take 2 minutes and then tomorrow head on over to Alicia's Blog
www.raisingalittlehale.blogspot.com to see what she is giving away!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

moments like these

Tonight's the night before their first day of Preschool. 

I have found myself staring at them extra long and soaking in each word the say. 

When did they get so old? 

I bathed them, put their pj's on and set them up in bed to read like we do every night. 

But tonight felt different. 

They are growing up so fast. 

I was doing just fine until this song came on...

Seriously. 

That isn't the first time the perfect song has played randomly in the perfect moment for me. 

Does that happen to you too?

Well, I'm heading to bed now. 

I will wake up in the morning and send my two precious boys to school. 

I hope I continue to slow down and take in moments like these. 

Because the go by way too fast. 

brothers

I've been finding a lot of joy in these two lately.
I love that they are "twins".
I love that they are best friends.
I love that they have inside jokes
and that they get each other.
They laugh together, fight together, love each other and defend one another.
They were never intended to be brothers.
But because God is so good at creating new things from the broken,
They are brothers.
And it is beautiful.

instafriday

It has been forever since I have participated with instafriday.

I'm so excited to do it once again!

Some of these are from this past week 

but mostly this is catch up.

Instafriday: my heart edition

a dream fulfilled

“I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls 

will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”  

- Martin Luther King Jr.

I am so thankful for this dream becoming a reality.

Something about reading this quote, and looking at my boys

always brings tears to my eyes.

They love each other.

Really love each other.

They are brothers.

They are best friends.

They have inside jokes and made up games that they play.

They giggle together and make believe.

I have a dream...

I dream of trips back to Uganda.

Together.

And of living for a greater story.

Together.

I dream that someday, they will know Jesus.

That they will spend their whole lives loving God and loving people.

And that someday, they will demonstrate and declare the gospel together, 

to a degree that they never could alone.

What are some of your dreams?

being a world changer

There is something in all of us.
Something that we feel stir during a movie, a story or at the sight of hope given.
Something that if we really pay attention to it, grows stronger.
It wells up so much that it can no longer be ignored.

It's that something inside that wants to make a difference.
That wants somehow, in some way to change the world.

I'm convinced that when most people are confronted with the face of poverty, they look away.
Not because of fear or disgust.
But because there is something in them that cannot look at the face of the orphan, the widow or oppressed without wanting to make a difference.
But because that seems so impossible, they look away.

A long time ago, that person was me.

Making a difference, changing the world, fighting for injustice just seemed impossible.

That was until I saw this face.

When I saw this face, I did not look away.
When I saw this face I said yes.

Yes, I can make a difference.
Yes, I can fight for injustice.
And yes, I can be a world changer.

I believe that there is a God, and that he is setting out to redeem all things unto himself.
He is in the business of making all things new.
And this God, he has a HUGE heart for the poor and the oppressed.
And guess what, he created US to reflect that heart.
He created ME to reflect his heart.

Noonday is more than just a fair trade business.
A place for you to buy a cute necklace and feel good about where your money is going.
It is an opportunity.
A chance.
A place for YOU to look at the face of the poor and the oppressed and to say yes.

Noonday makes it possible for the everyday person like you and me to be world changers.

By purchasing a paper bead necklace, you are a part of how God is making all things new in Uganda.
You get to have a hand in prenatal care being provided, children receiving an education, protection from sex trafficking and exploitation.
You empower parents to have hope.
Hope for the day their children will no longer live in poverty.
Because there is a God whose heart is to redeem there circumstances.
And because you are reflecting that heart.

And if that isn't enough, you get to rock your new Noonday necklace and when people comment on it, you get the opportunity to be a voice for the voiceless and tell their story.
You get to advocate for Coral, David, and Oliva, Clementine, Astrida and Sidhama.
You get to make a difference.

Anybody can make a difference that can change the world.

So I'm doing a giveaway today.
I hope you win! ; )

I'm giving away a $50 gift voucher!

Giveaway Closed

Winner is Beth!

(winner was chosen with RandomPicker)

*** Congratulations Beth! You will receive an email by the end of the day tomorrow with your gift voucher!

One last thing...

If after reading this post, you are like me and want to do more.
If this stirred something in you and you would like to join are amazing team of world changers over here at Noonday Collection.

{Click here and read more about becoming an ambassador.}
We are always looking for passionate women who want to {style their friends and change the world}.