Swag Bag Sponsor Feature: Bearing Fruit and Naptime Diaries

A couple more sponsor features today!

Meet Andee!

Andee from Bearing Fruit sent over a "Letter from God" for each girl. 

Check out her post here to read the entirety of the scripture laden, 

beautifully written letter. It is a must read for ladies of all ages 

and a great reminder of the vastness of our Father's love for us!

Send Andee some love at her blog!

.... and meet Jessi!

Jessi from Naptime Diaries donated the digital file for this awesome scripture print. 

Even in the middle of a cross country move, she took the time to contribute! 

She just relaunched her Etsy store with some great new mixed media prints. 

Go check out her blog and shop! 

Ladies, thank you so much for sending over some beautiful scriptural truths to encourage our girls! It was very much appreciated!

Girls Extravaganza and Prayer Request

I  know a lot of you awesome readers expressed how much you loved the idea of praying for my youth group with me; 
so I've got a specific event you can pray for!

This Saturday, we're hosting the first ever Girls Extravaganza! 
I've been planning, preparing and praying for this for a long time, 
ever since God started nudging my heart in this direction 
after I attended an awesome clothing swap with my friend Becky. 

In the beginning I was just thinking of holding a clothing swap for my girls, but then I realized that there is rarely a time when I have audience with just the girls in our youth group. God began placing subjects and ideas in my heart. What started out as a good idea has matured into an event that I hope will deeply affect the hearts of these girls. We've invited several churches across Austin and are praying for fifty girls to attend. We are incorporating: worship through song with a female-led worship band; breakout sessions with topics very relevant to teen girls including true beauty, biblical conflict resolution, and healthy relationships; and a massive clothing swap which will encourage girls to focus less on materialism and consumerism. God has provided over and over again as I've prayed about and planned this event... everything from cupcake donations from my favorite bakery to speakers just hearing about it through the grapevine and wanting to come volunteer their time to pour into girls' lives. 

One of the biggest ways that God has confirmed His work in this event has been through the outrageous outpouring of generosity from the Etsy and blogging communities. Because of the donations from some sweet, sweet ladies, each girl who attend the event will receive a swag bag stocked with goodies to remind her that God deeply loves her. I've received everything from scripture prints to love letters to accessories and hygiene products. I will be writing some specific posts over the next week about the wonderful ladies who have donated, but for now thank you so much to:

Natalie at NS Pottery

Erika at Rouge and Whimsy

Amanda at moxiemandie

Lauren at Seek First

Amy at Amy Cornwell Designs

Andee at Bearing Fruit

Jessi at Naptime Diaries

Jackie at Willow of Wonder 

Becky at Petals, Lace and Pearls

The support of these women has not only provided 
some awesome goodies for the girls to take home with them, 
but also confirmation that God is at work here.

The theme of the Girls Extravaganza is

Trading Materialism for Generosity

Trading Self Preservation for His Provision

Trading Ashes for Beauty

Aren't those such beautiful and important things to pursue?

I'm excited and overwhelmed and in much need of prayer 
as this event draws close.

Pray for:

• fifty girls to attend
• that God would abolish stress and second-guessing from myself, speakers, and worship leaders
• that all of the electronics would work- sound equipment, tvs, projectors, etc
• that there will be clothes for every size girl at the swap
• that the event would transition smoothly
• that God would work in awesome and mighty ways to transform the hearts and minds of girls to be like His. 

Thank you so much, y'all!

Garage Sale Saturday!

I visited my parents over Labor Day weekend and throughout the whole visit, Madisonville was surrounded by massive fires- in Grimes County and Leon County, bordering my family's hometown. The smoke was visible on all sides and small fires became inevitable around highways and in open land. While I was there, fires raged on in Bastrop and small fires ignited all throughout Central Texas- near my home in Austin.

I have known a couple of families throughout my life who lost their homes in fires. It was tragic, truly. However, they had neighbors and friends and family who gave until it hurt so that those families could have clothes and food and shelter again.

I can't imagine entire communities being taken out. But that's exactly what has happened in Bastrop, Texas.

photo courtesy of statesman.com

And despite the enormous loss that so many people have faced in these past couple weeks, I have seen an even greater outpouring of love and generosity from people of all ages and walks of life.

Amber at Bluebonnets and Brownies is hosting an online raffle where a donation to the Red Cross's Fire Relief efforts gets you a chance at some great prizes. So far, $1500 has been raised!

There have been benefit concerts, stand up paddle board races, hair salon events and restaurants collecting to benefit those affected by the fires.

When working the cupcake trailer the other day, two young girls came by with their mom to get a cupcake each. They had been sitting in front of HEB all day selling baked goods in which all of the proceeds went to relief efforts. The 8 and 10 year old girls had wanted to help and so they did! They baked and sold and received more than the asking price for their cookies because people just wanted so much to help out somehow.

When our church was accepting donations, businesses would call and offer to help in any way they could. A Mattress Firm in Houston donated stacks and stacks of mattresses for fire victims. Westoak Woods Baptist Church contributed over $1000 from their own fundraisers.

Oak Meadow Baptist Church was, for a week, a drop off center for donations for fire victims in the Bastrop area, coordinated by the Austin Disaster Relief Network. At this point, our facility is serving as a warehouse and is housing donations until they are transported to Bastrop.

But we have an overabundance of clothing and toys, so this Saturday September 24th from 8am to 1pm the Austin Disaster Relief Network will be hosting a Garage Sale at 6905 S I-35 Austin, Texas 78744 in which all of the proceeds will go to the fire victims in Bastrop. And there is a LOT of stuff to go!

I'm not sure what all we have but I know there are new and brand name clothes, toys, appliances, etc. Please come out and look around and if you don't find anything you need, you can always just make a donation!

For more information call 512-331-2600 or email admin@adrntx.org, or 512-444-1268 and office@ombchurch.org

Help Us Obey Christ and Love Others

As we announced on Sunday, our students are working hard to raise ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS for World Vision, 100% of which will go to provide clean water, food and basic medical supplies to places and groups of people who need it most! We must raise all of this moneyby Friday August 19th- the date of our 30 Hour Famine. Our guys and girls are engaging in a friendly competition to see which gender can raise the most money so support your youth and participate in these events, or help us by spreading the word!

The girls are accepting orders for a pre-order bake sale. These ladies are some great bakers and decorators, so whatever it is that your taste buds crave, they can whip it up! If you don't have a chance to sign up on the order forms at the church, just email me atchelsea@ombchurch.org and let me know what it is you want! All orders will be prepared and delivered on Sunday August 14th at the morning service.

The girls are also hosting a giant garage sale at the church on Saturday August 13th from 8 am- 2 pm or until they run out (that's this Saturday!)! If you have any unwanted items in your home or garage, bring them by the church this week- OR let me know and we'll get a truck out to take it off your hands. If you're in the market for a bargain, grab your friends and visit our sale! It will be on the front porch of the church.

The girls are also available for babysitting, of which all their earnings will go to World Vision- just email me and I can set it up for you!

The guys will be holding a slave auction following the morning service on Sunday August 14th. The highest bidder wins three hours of hard work and elbow grease doing whatever you need on a scheduled date. I've seen these guys at work and they are efficient workers- moving, mowing and weedeating, pulling weeds, washing cars, etc I suggest if you need anything done around your home or yard, let these guys battle the heat while you sip lemonade in the AC. There will be 8 guys available for auction (all of which are strong and willing to serve) so make sure you grab a close seat and bid high!

We appreciate all of the support that this church body has poured in to our group. The difference in these fundraisers and the ones in the past are that none of this money will go to our benefit. All of it is going to help the poor, hungry and impoverished. All of these funds are fulfilling Christ's commandments to love the least of these.

The verses we've been rallying around are these: "But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help- how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let us stop saying that we love each other- let us really show it by our actions..." 1 John 3:17-18

If you have any questions or would like to help, email me or call me at 936-348-0301!

You can also make an unbiased donation online at our fundraising page here http://twv.convio.net/site/TR/30HourFamine/30HourFamine?team_id=24824&pg=team&fr_id=1310

30 Hour Famine

As our Back to School Retreat this year, our youth group will be participating in a 30 Hour Famine. Interestingly enough, this wasn't my idea. The students wanted to do something that would make a difference. They wanted to live out the Bible's commands to love others. So, we'll be fasting for 30 hours, sleeping outside in cardboard structures, and collecting supplies and money for those in need. Through our donations to World Vision, children all over the world will receive food, clean water and basic medical supplies.

This is the first time we'll be fundraising for something that doesn't benefit us in any way. We're not going to camp or Six Flags with this money. Every cent of it will provide for those in need.

Our guys and girls are competing to raise the most money before our 30 Hour Famine event. Help them meet our goal of $1000 by making a donation at our fundraising page- just follow this link to make a secure, tax deductible donation.

You won't just be helping our students win a contest (although they'll appreciate you for it), you're helping victims of natural disaster, children orphaned by AIDS, and the poorest of the poor survive another year.

http://support.worldvision.org/site/TR/30HourFamine/30HourFamine/1266804387?pg=team&fr_id=1310&team_id=24824&JServSessionIdr004=i2r3aafvr2.app332b

A Board Games and Brunch Bridal Shower for my bestest best friend!

This weekend I was absolutely thrilled to host a bridal shower for my best friend in the whole world- Miss Danae Sparkman! (soon to be Nelson :) ). It was hosted in Stephenville for a younger, more relaxed crowd and we had a greeaaaat time.

When you came in, the first stop was the guest book! There was an ornately framed engagement picture of Danae and Clay, a lovely arrangement of white and yellow daisies and orange carnations. The theme quote was also framed there- "Love is a game that two can play and both win." -Eva Gabor

Notice the signage! I worked hard to design labels made with Scrabble tiles- all other font is Girls Are Weird from dafont.com!

In the sitting room, we set up a faux-to booth- with a backdrop held over the fireplace by two oversized "Scrabble letters" (for Danae and Clay), s

ome instructions for the pictures, and flowers!

In the dining area, we hung a banner that said "Love is sweet" and put up our tissue paper poms!

On the serving side table, there were more tissue paper poms, and stacks of board games. Atop one stack were oversized "Scrabble tiles" that I painted and on the other was another flower arrangement!

We ate and played games in the living room. There was a matching banner that read welcome and the rest of the tissue paper poms.

We gathered the generous gifts from guests in the living room.

We also displayed the super cute favors here! I'm sad I didn't take a picture of the actual favor, but they were magnets made out of Scrabble letters, spelling out words like LOVE, TRUE, or WISH.

Danae's seat was specially decorated!

We played two fun games- first Wedding Candy Land! Danae drew a color and had to answer a question correctly to continue on the board. Each color had a different category of question including- her fiancé, their relationship, wedding tradition/culture, her parents' courtship/wedding, and household knowhow. For every wrong answer, she had to add a piece of bubblegum to her mouth... so it got pretty hard to answer by the end! But she did very well :)

We also played Wedding Taboo! I printed out homemade Taboo cards and all the words somehow related to weddings or love. Everyone got to play and it ended up being a VERY close game.

We also had a fun faux-to booth!

I was VERY lucky to have such amazing help preparing the brunch for the shower too! Let me show you our spread. We had a waffle station, complete with two waffle irons, butter and syrup, peanut butter, and whipped cream and fruit.

We also had a breakfast taco buffet with yummy tortillas, eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon, cheese and salsa. Mmmmm!

And Clay's mom brought a fantastic fruit tray!

And there were some fantastic desserts as well- strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, red velvet whoopie pies, and vanilla cake balls! (I sadly did not not get a close up of the cake balls- bad me!)

To drink, we had hot coffee, milk, orange juice, and punch. I loved the pitchers we used for the drinks!

notice our pretty, striped paper straws? love.

And here's the full table spread- it came together so nicely and everyone complimented how well everything came together. For my first bridal shower, I'd say it was a success. I am so happy for Danae and Clay and am super pumped for their wedding this summer!

Tutorials for the cake stands, tissue paper poms, and such to come!