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By kcharles, December 16, 2011 8:56 am

Every Christmas morning, there are two envelopes hidden somewhere in our tree.  One for Paul and one for me.  But neither are really for us, which is the cool part. 

They are gifts given somewhere around the world, on behalf of the other. 

The hurt is there.  The hunger is there.  The injustice is there. 

But greater is He in us than he who is in the world.

The opportunity is 0urs.  To heal, to feed, to love in His name.  Because He first loved us. 

Maybe the person receiving the envelope is an educator.  Give books on their behalf.  If a pastor, give a Bible.  If a counselor, give aftercare counseling.  If a cook, give food.  Extend their heart and passion around the world. 

So here are some ideas, ya’ll.  Give and love much. 

Gifts of Freedom:  IJM Holiday Gift Catalog

Equip Churches to Seek Justice $25
Urgent Aftercare Package for a Trafficking Survivor  $40
Legal Representation $65 
Bicycle for a Former Slave $72
Transform a Life with a Scholarship $330

Gifts of Compassion:  Compassion International Gift Catalog

Soccer Ball for $13
Art Supplies for $20
Clean Water $25
5 Ducks for $30
Dental Care $38

These two organizations are just ones we have worked with in the past.  I love them and wholeheartedly believe in their work.  But there are countless like them.  If you know of other worthy organizations, I would love to hear of them here.  Thanks!

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By kcharles, November 13, 2011 12:21 am

It’s that time of year! 

For a shopping spree.  For wheeling around a cart whoohoo-ing and loading it up.  With cars and footballs and princess crowns and lip gloss.  With toothbrushes and soap and playing and prayer and squeezing into shoe boxes. 

I hope I never forget her giggling and dancing in the aisles and her heart so big it may just burst.  And the four year old hiking the ball for the boy so much like him. 

And it’s the lunch of fish and bread all over again.  Meager offerings to be multiplied by broken hands Who heal.  And with the small giving up, we are the more blessed than tiny hands receiving. 

We are the more blessed.

Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week is November 14-21, 2011

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By kcharles, November 5, 2011 9:48 pm

 My favorite Halloween quotes from Selah:

1.  “Mom, I’ve got this.” 
2.  “Do you guys know there’s another side of the road?” 
3.  “My fingers are freezing off.  Can we do just a few more houses?” 
4.  “A princess can wear sneakers, right?  Cause my feet hurt in high heels.” 

Needless to say, Rapunzel and the unidentified Race Car Driver stocked up.  Here is our plan for the excess: 

1.  Give it away. 

a.  Donate to a homeless shelter, women’s shelter, nursing home, church ministry, etc. 
b.  Donate to Operation Gratitude, to be used in care packages for military personnel. 
c.  Donate to a Dentist office buy back program. 
d.  Include in an Operation Christmas Child package.  (Add a toothbrush/toothpaste also.)

2.  Save it for Christmas:

a.  Use it in a Countdown to Christmas calendar.
b.  Make Christmas ornaments or Christmas garland out of it.
c.  Use it for Christmas cookie baking.
d.  Use it to decorate Christmas presents.
e.  Save it for a gingerbread house decoration. 
f.  Make cards out of it to distribute to classmates.  (Poinsettias can be adapted from here.)

3.  Use it as a teaching tool:

a.  Organize by colors, shapes, ingredients, etc.  Put it in ABC order. 
b.  Use for addition and subtraction. 
c.  Make a Venn diagram with it (my favorites, your favorites, our favorites)
d.  Talk about the importance of good nutrition and exercise.  Classify it on the Food Pyramid.
e.  Melt it down for science.  Discuss solids and liquids. 

4.  Use it for art:a.  Paint with it.  (Dip a piece in water and paint – works with skittles, gumballs, fireballs, etc.) 
b.  Create a mosaic.  (Glue small pieces onto a heavy surface – cardboard, foam, canvas, etc.)
c.  Create a sculpture with it.  (Use toothpicks, straws, popsicle sticks, etc.)
d.  Make a wreath for Halloween next year. 

5.  Tell Your Kids You Ate All of It: 

a.  Just kidding.  Have you seen this?  Those poor traumatized kids! 

What do you do with all of your candy?  Any suggestions?

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By kcharles, October 22, 2011 10:21 pm

Her hands are worn and weathered with the soil. 

If you walk into the little white country church, she sits in the back pew, to the left; sometimes alone or with children; most often with her grandson.  I don’t know where he would be without her. 

One time I sat in her home with our baby, sunken deep into her living room couch.  I asked questions because I needed to learn.  About so many children and an only love buried and how they first made it work to get by.  She told me simple stories of love.  Loving with basketball games, loving with nachos and cheese, loving with pies. 

More recently and most ridiculous, is this story of butternut squash.  For two weeks, I scoured grocery stores for butternut squash, when there was none to be found.  But why would she know that.  Then out of nowhere, she has bags of squash so heavy that the bags are breaking.  She gives them to my in-laws who give them to me.  And I can’t keep from laughing at God’s goodness. 

When you plant seeds deep within the soil, you have no idea what will become of them.  You work hard with your hands and no one sees.  You don’t work for approval.  You have no idea what will become of these plants.   You cannot see the end from the beginning.  You work anyway.  You love anyway. 

Maybe extravagant love is just this.  It’s the ordinary kind, worn and weathered.  My Lord dried feet with a towel.  My Lord taught others using seeds and a lamp and salt.  My Lord told stories.  My Lord cried.  My Lord sat with children and ate bread with friends. 

Maybe it’s not that we love much, it’s that we love small.  Love in the ordinary.  Love in the nondescript.  And maybe then the Gardener will take what is meager and multiply it till bags are breaking.

For those whom we love and for recipients unknown. 

With Love (the small kind),
Kristin

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By kcharles, October 18, 2011 10:50 pm

 What I needed to hear this week.  (For our kids)

Sweetheart.  (I don’t know how to help you.)

Yum.  (Slow cooked butternut squash with apples.) 

My next DIY project  (I am my Beloved’s and He is mine.)

Chalk Talk (A great early childhood resource)

What favorite links have you found this week? 

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By kcharles, June 30, 2011 11:32 pm

We had put miles on our shoes.  Wore our treads.  Pounded bike trails and tracks and rolling roads.  We had pleaded awkwardly for support.  We got injured.  We lost runners.  Runners stepped up.   People gave generously;  encouraged richly.  For everything we were ever grateful. 

All for this one day.  Race day.

On a rainy Sunday morning in May, we tear ourselves out of bed and groggily hit the road.  My brother Dan has just gotten in hours before.  The guy is fresh off a root canal and giddy to run.  It is an honor to have a brother who loves so much;  who lives so well. 

Paul is our fearless organizer;  command central, with maps and knowledge of road closures and a time frame for each leg and a plan.  I don’t know what we would do without him.  Every runner finds their starting place with hours to spare.

Kathleen and I find our leg;  the last one, with probably too much time on our hands.  We make two trips to the fancy hotel bathrooms down the road.  We drink water and eat bananas.  We run warm-up laps.  We cheer on the real marathoners.  We stretch and laugh like kids and talk about everything and nothing at the same time.   

I am as nervous as I’ve ever been in my life.  I am falling under the weight of doubts… You can’t do this.  You shouldn’t be here.  You aren’t a runner.  Your knees aren’t going to make it.  Kathleen remains calm and collected;  a more seasoned competitor.  She keeps me focused.  It’s only a few miles. 

I sync my Ipod and wait for Aaron.  I get a text that he will be there soon.  I hope to not disappoint my team.  I see him in the distance and take my place.  I give him a medal, grab the baton, and run.  He yells at me to go.  Aaron never yells.   The team has made great time. 

And I run.  It’s really happening.  This race.  This now.  My eyes fill with tears because God has brought me here.  I could not be more grateful.  My legs run and there is no hint of pain.  I lengthen my stride in joy and in hope.  That a Savior, my Savior, will fulfill His purpose through legs that are not steel.  One strike at a time. 

The miles go quickly, one to another.  I am in Bloomfield, in the Strip, in the city, on the Clemente Bridge.  There is a Yankee fan heckling me about my Red Sox hat.  Bands are playing loudly.  Crowds five people deep are cheering runners on.  I am almost there. 

The last stretch is the hardest.  I can see the finish line, but I want to walk.  Everything in me wants to give out.  I can’t stop.  Full marathoners are searing on ahead of me.  They are amazing.  I don’t run any faster, but I can’t give up now.  Finally, I finish.  I finish.

I finish because God is gracious.  Because He has given me health and strength in weakness and because He is good. 

I finish because Paul has cheered me on each day of every training week;  because Selah and Adden need to see finish lines crossed;  because friends and family have sacrificed for this cause of justice;  because our runners have given up a lot to be here.  I finish because Jesus came to restore what has been lost. 

Here’s to praying that He does.  All in all, $1,300 was raised for International Justice Mission, to go towards the fight against human trafficking.  As a team, we couldn’t be more thankful.

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By kcharles, April 2, 2011 12:00 am

Hey Guys.

In just over six weeks, ten of us will be running the Pittsburgh Marathon.  Now before you think we’re rockstars for running 26 crazy miles each, let me dispel that.  We’re running the race with two teams of five.  The legs run from 4.8 miles to 6.2 miles.  Collectively, we’ll run 52. 

Still, we’re training hard.  I’m running more than I’ve ever run.  My knees hurt more than they’ve ever hurt.  I look more ridiculous than I’ve ever looked finagling the weights in the gym and running with Paul’s wireless headphones like an orthodontic apparatus under my chin.  (It rests on the back of your neck, in case you’re confused too.  I knew something didn’t seem quite right.)  Ridiculous, I tell you. 

Anyway, I am thrilled about this race.  I am thrilled about our teams.  My brother is driving from Rhode Island to run in it.  (This means the world to me.) 

My sister in law Ashley is also running in it.  (She is the real runner in our family.  We train together on Sundays and that girl doesn’t fool around.  Sometimes she scares me.)  I’ve also coerced my good friend Kathleen to run.  (The second ask was the charm.)  Somehow, Kathleen will run faster than all of us without breaking a sweat, on no sleep, and with three kids in tow.  She makes me smile.

Rounding out the teams are friends from church – high school and college age students.   Admittedly, we’re a diverse collection of runners.  However, in six weeks and even now as we train, we’re running for one purpose. 

We’re running to raise money for International Justice Mission (IJM).  All of the proceeds from our run will go to meet the needs of IJM, a human rights organization that serves as a voice to those who have been silenced by modern day slavery. I’ve talked a lot about IJM on this blog.  Among many things, their work prevents the trafficking of men, women, and children, provides after care services for victims, and prosecutes offenders. 

I know this sounds crazy, but we’re hoping to raise a collective $2,600 towards this cause.  We figure that’s $100 a mile.  We would really love if you would support us, in whatever way you can.  You can visit here to support us financially.  You can feed us carbs, make big signs, throw water at us, or cheer along the way.  You can also pray.  We would be grateful for anything and everything.

Whenever I think about this run, I get giddy like our son catapulting off our bed into his beanbag chair.  I get all tangled up like spaghetti with fears that my knees just aren’t going to make it.  But mostly, there are these words that come to the forefront of every training session:

Jesus came. 

To give good news to the poor.
To bind up the brokenhearted.
To proclaim freedom for the captives. 

To release prisoners from their darkness.
To provide justice.
To comfort all who mourn.
To provide for those who grieve.

To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes;
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61)

Jesus came for that purpose.  To restore what has been lost. 
And like a newborn puppy awkwardly finding its feet, I’m scampering along. 

Would love for you to run along with me. 
Much Love (and Thanks),

Kristin

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By kcharles, August 10, 2010 11:53 pm

I am pretty certain that I left all my resolve at security.  When our ID’s were requested and photo badges created, I got all weirded out.  Who knew that we couldn’t just waltz in.  Poor Amy left her ID in the parking garage, so she ran like mad to get it.

Pastor Charles waited for Amy on the ground floor of the tower, so I went up to the Senator’s office alone.  I punch in 14 on the elevator and get off at 7.  I have no idea why I got off at 7.  All of a sudden I am dizzy and lightheaded and question my ability to walk in heels.

In the lobby, I meet Patricia and Erik.  Patricia is an older woman who looks just about as scared as I feel.  Erik is straight out of college and quietly confident.  Turns out we have mutual friends.  Life is weird that way.  Pastor Charles and Amy come in no time with Joanna.  Noone knows anything about Joanna. 

So we are welcomed into an office lined by hardhats.  Mr. Pope conducts the meeting in the absence of the Senator.  An intern sits in to take notes.  We are assured that everything will be conveyed accurately. 

Further introductions are made.  Through them we learn that Joanna has worked to protect the rights of bonded slaves in India.  She has witnessed the work of International Justice Mission firsthand.  Her story trumps any statistics we can rattle off.  I love her immediately. 

The presentation doesn’t rock.  It’s actually kind of awkward, but everyone knows their stuff.  I check my notes more than I would like.  Amy rattles off Senator’s names.  (She is awesome.)  Pastor Charles is as articulate as can be.  (As usual.)  And our newest friends fill in every blank and then some. 

Mr. Pope is certain that this bill will line up with the Senator’s ideology.  He provides positive feedback.  We should know definitively by August 21st.  We receive contact information and head out the door.  I think I catch Patricia skipping. 

In the bottom floor of the tower, we talk about where to go from here.  Joanna shares stories about India and I think I could listen to her for hours.  We ask questions and laugh and pray.  Somehow I know that I will see this crew again. 

As we wave and walk away in our own directions, I can’t help but smile in a giddy kind of way.  I hadn’t realized I would meet friends today.  I hadn’t anticipated anxiety getting the best of me.   I hadn’t prepared for such a favorable response. 

And in the midst of cringing about a blister on my toe, I realized that I can expect God to do incredible things.  I can expect Him to surprise me with joy.  I can expect Him to speak through a stutter.  I can expect Him to heal brokenness wrecked by trafficking. 

Please pray that He will.

Thanks friends,
Kristin

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By kcharles, August 9, 2010 11:23 pm

Hey guys.

I am heading to our Senator’s office tomorrow to advocate a particular bill called the Child Protection Compact.  As some of you may remember, I met with Congressman Altmire last year for this same purpose.  After consistent pressure, the Congressman decided to cosponsor the bill, which helps it to proceed to the next level. 

To be brief… the bill allocates 30 million dollars over three years to the Trafficking in Persons Office.  Its’ purpose is to prevent and prosecute trafficking and provide aftercare for victims.  It is dispersed through non-governmental organizations like International Justice Mission to select countries who display a willingness to combat the problem.  (I sound like I know what I’m talking about, but don’t be fooled.  I am learning as I go and cramming along the way:) 

I’ll be heading there tomorrow with Pastor Charles, Amy G. (one of our college students), and three other advocates that we have yet to meet.  Please pray that God gives us a clarity of thought, articulation, and wisdom to explain the bill.  We are meeting with the Senator’s chief of staff, so please pray that the significance of the act gets clearly conveyed to Senator Specter.  We are asking for his cosponsorship and praying towards those means.

I believe that God’s heart is so tender towards His children… an unfathomable thought that He could love His children more than I love my own.  I believe that the injustice of trafficking tears  at His heart.  I believe that this pandemic can be abolished in my lifetime with a concerted effort of voices, compassion, justice.

Please, please, please pray with me.  If you knew how tongue tied I can get, how inept I can be, how little I know about politics, you would be appalled.  Pray that God would use me despite me;  all of us despite ourselves. 

Much love and so many thanks,
Kristin

(And thank you especially to Courtney, who has made me passionate about this issue because she is.  I think the world of you, my friend.  You inspire me more than you know.  I love you!)

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By kcharles, July 3, 2010 11:51 pm

Hey ya’ll!

The kids and I are hanging out in New England for the week.  It’s been bliss already!
Red Sox Games, Clamcakes, Carousels, Parks, Parades, Beaches, Dell’s, and mainly hanging with the fam.  Time together is sweet:)

While we party, relax, and eat too much seafood (our kids love octopus!), Paul heads to the Dominican on a missions trip.  EEEK!  He has been planning this trip for months.  It’s hard to believe it’s here. 

He and the team will be visiting old friends, supporting the Dominican church in Santiago, providing a VBS for kiddos, and heading into Haiti, among other things. 

I would really cherish your prayer for them.  For safety, growth, flexibility, wisdom, creativity, LOVE LOVE LOVE.  Everything, really. 

Our favorite man is there, which is why we’re here.  (Trying to keep occupied.)

Follow their stories here.   They will be incredible, I just know it.

Much Love,
Kristin:)