Proposal for a new act of Congress…
I know there are a lot of very important issues and I am not trying to take the pressing needs of our nation and minimize what are real struggles for people, but on a light note…wouldn’t it be lovely if Congress or Senate or the County Dog Catcher could pass some kind of decree that we always and forever had an extra week between Thanksgiving and December?
Please.
Because I have found this week to be an open space to breathe and have enjoyed it thoroughly even in spite of the fact that I have had the mother of all colds going on.
With the fortification of essential oils, Vick’s, night and day cold meds, mucinex and an antibiotic, I have been able to carry on and have progressed with getting our Christmas trim up, some gifts purchased and coped with only mild panic attacks pondering how to produce a picture for the Christmas cards.
You all may know I am a big fan of shopping local, particularly small businesses, even though there are times that due to lack of places to shop for certain items I do order online.
And I am also a big supporter of small businesses who give back to help others so in light of that, I am sharing some ministries I have become aware of that I believe are sincere in their mission to help others.
I am not getting any perks or benefits from these places but I have met the women behind the business and I can say they are bright lights in a dark world.
So check them out in your spare time…enjoy <3
<3 The first is called Loved and Blessed.
It is a subscription service for encouragement led by a beautiful lady named Jamila Jackson.
You can order one box or select your number of months to send (or receive).
The boxes include some little gift type items including one to pass along to someone else as well as a daily devotion to work through that is themed each month.
Jamila takes it a step further and provides an online community setting where she shares weekly encouragement, provides a place for shared prayer requests and expands on the devotion through some guided discussion.
You can check out her website here
https://www.lovedandblessed.com
I reconnected with Jamila at the Declare Conference in October and she is as warm and loving in person as she appears on social media.
She is the real deal and such a blessing in my days.
<3 Another ministry/business I discovered at the Declare Conference is Winton and Waits.
They have a store front in Fort Worth area but also offer their products online.
You can check them out here
https://wintonandwaits.com/pages/about
The founder, Jenna Lee, is darling and many of the beautiful products (particularly the candles and bath salts) are made locally, while others are made through partnership programs she has developed through women around the world.
Through partnership with other ministries, Jenna’s company provides income and way out of poverty for women and children around the globe.
I purchased some beautiful and reasonably priced earrings that are featured here…
and if you are local to my area… I happen to know a gift shop in town that is selling some of these beauties to support the ministry of Winton and Waits…just saying…
The last visit today is with ….
Mercy House Global.
Kristen Welch was the author of a popular blog We Are That Family
and was quickly rising in popularity when she made a trip to Kenya with Compassion International in the company of other bloggers who had been invited to travel so they could share about the ministry of this organization.
Her life was forever wrecked by the experience and her desires were completely rewritten by God.
For those in my church family who have been to Kenya…we get that…
She and her husband founded this ministry and I was blessed to hear her speak at the Declare Conference.
Mercy House Global had a shop at the conference and the products are not only excellent in quality, they provide income for the least of these…women and children who formerly had no option but prostitution to feed their starving children now have places to find refuge and to learn skills that provide income for their homes.
You can check out their ministry and shop here
https://mercyhouseglobal.org/about-us/
I wanted to do a better job putting this together and I so hope I have accurately portrayed the ministries represented.
And goodness knows… I do love to shop… I can’t help it.
It has been fun to window shop with you, my friends, today.
I hope you enjoyed our visits…and I will see you tomorrow <3