trippingdifferently

December 22, 2014December 23, 2014

Book Review: Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis…

It has been a while since i posted a book review. It´s not that i have not been reading. It´s life becoming too busy.

i read this book more than a month ago and still the words ring in my head. This autobiography of a life lived purely for others is truly heartwarming and made me really look at my life and how it is being lived.

Katie was only 19 when she heard God´s call to love the people of Uganda. And she bravely stepped forward and allowed God to lead her. Of course, there were difficulties and doubts. There were trying times and dangerous times. There were lots of heartaches and pains. But through it all, she kept turning back to God, she kept the faith that God will always be there for her, working things out on her behalf. And God did and always will.

This is how Katie has chosen to live her life:

“To say yes to each and every thing He asks of me, to each person He places in front of me.”

“I am far from perfect, and God will use me. God will establish great things through me.
You are Peter. God already knows that you will make a mess, but His plan for you is great. Go. Feed His sheep.”

And then God gave her even more… He gave her daughters!

“This house has become a home, not just to me but to hundreds. It holds my heart. It holds so many lessons. It is a place where children can be children, where people can know that they are important and special and loved. It is a place where people accept Christ and learn about Him and grow in Him. It is my house. But mostly, it is a house of the Lord.”

i hope this will be what my house becomes too.

And for those whose heart is sad, she has these words to encourage you:

“Thank you that when i feel old and used-up and broken and no more exciting than a cardboard box, You (God) whisper that You love and value me, and that in Your eyes, i am shiny and new.”

That is how God sees us all.

There is so much more i wish to share from this book but i will let you read it for yourself. Katie Davis is amazing and courageous BUT she doesn´t think so. In her words:

“But i am just a plain girl from Tennessee. Broken in many ways, sinful , and inadequate. Common and simple with nothing special about me. Nothing special except i choose to say “yes.” “Yes” to the things God asks of me and “yes” to the people He places in front of me. You can too. i am just an ordinary person. An ordinary person serving an extraordinary God.”

And i must say that throughout the book she does not make you feel like you have to give up your life now and go to some far-flung country to serve God. You can serve God wherever He has placed you but you need to look at if you truly are saying “yes” to the things and persons God has placed in your life.

Do have a read and let me know what in her story touched you the most.

syc

December 18, 2014

Much Happened…

Yes, much has happened in the last couple of months. i would like to share everything but that’s too much. So i will just share three things!

First, i am so proud of my boy and his class!

A couple of girls in his class learnt about Star-Week (Sternewoche) at Unicef. And the people benefitting from Star-Week’s collection will be refugee children from Syria. Now that hit home because they have a new classmate this semester who is a refugee from Syria! So these girls suggested to the teacher that they do something for Sternewoche. The class took it on like champs. They worked hard coming up with suggestions and then making all the items for sale, and dropping flyers in letter boxes.

On Saturday, 29th November, 2014, starting at 8.30am, the kids set up a small stall outside the butcher’s in our village. They took shifts and sold their wares – framed geometric patterns made from cock pieces and painted, paper-stars, cookies (which the mums helped to bake), stickers and more.

And guess how much they collected… check out the picture below!

Yep! CHF1600!! i am so proud of them all and of their teacher for agreeing to let them do this and putting in all that extra effort to help them with the crafts and getting the police permissions etc… and there was even a small write-up in the local papers! Here’s a little write-up on the Unicef website in English about how these Syrian children will be helped.

Wonderful!

Now the second event i wanna share is about Angel Crafts Shop – my online shop where i fundraise for special needs orphans.

Angel Crafts Shop went to its very first public appearance – at Living-in-Luzern’s 1st Christmas Market!

It was hard work – i crafted and crafted for weeks to have enough stock. Thank God my dear friend who supports my cause was able to send the crafts he made, just in time!

It was a good event – people came, browsed and some bought. i was able to tell a few about the orphan situation and the great need which exists.

i had fun meeting some ladies i haven’t seen in a while – ladies whom i used to see often at different fairs when i was an Usborne Rep.

Check out the stand!

Last but not least – possibly the biggest news to date – we bought an apartment! Yep, our very own home!

We signed the papers and got the keys a week ago! Look at those lovely keys!

It’s a 3-bedroom place with an open concept kitchen-dining-living area, on the ground floor of a 1930s building but newly renovated inside. It has a little garden behind and a covered garage next to it. Here are a couple of pictures from the estate agent’s website:

Now we have to look at getting some new furniture (just a few items) and packed our stuff and move! Yikes! 😉

Well, that’s it for now!

Have a wonderful weekend!

syc

December 15, 2014

#happyhandmade ninety-two… Angel Crafts Shop…

Pink, Rosa, Roze, Rose, Powder-red – they all represent a colour which most (note i said most, not all) little girls love! i wasn’t one of those pink-loving gals but i must admit that Pink is a sweet colour and does have it’s place on the colour wheel! i, even own, a few pink items myself, even though it’s not my favourite colour.

So that’s the colour i have chosen for this week’s #happyhandmade – have a look!

Here are my picks for #happyhandmade ninety-two (please note that pictures are copyrighted by the creators of the items and i’m using them just to direct you to their shop – click on the pictures to see more):