Fair Trade Friday

Fair Trade Friday

Ruth Schwenk

Fair Trade Friday...what is it?

Simply put, fair trade is a paying people in impoverished countries fair wages for their work,  are working in fair conditions and being certain a child isn't sacrificing their education to do the work.

When we purchase products that are fair trade, we help keep food on the table, roofs over heads, and children in school of the artisans who made them.

The Fair Trade Friday Club was created so that we can enjoy the beautiful products regularly; and families can receive an income regularly.

Trusting God In The Face Of Legitimate Worries

Jessica Smartt

I have spent a large portion of my life worried about ridiculous things. I hover in the coat closet during thunderstorms (you know, for tornado protection). I'm first in line at Urgent Care when I detect a suspicious-looking mole. Things like that.

Well, somehow, in His omniscience and wisdom, God saw fit to give me, the already-frantic worrier, my little son Sam, who has life-threatening allergies to foods we are around every day.

For the first time, a real reason to worry.

When Your Marriage is a Shade of Grey

guest

It was a blinding, radiant white the day we got married, me floating down the aisle bathed in gold and candlelight. I was draped in lace, the flowers woven into my hair as fresh as my love as I gave everything to that “I do.”

He wore a pinstriped tux that we got for free by coercing his unsuspecting groomsmen into also renting overly expensive suits for a fancy dinner.

We stood at the altar in black and white and we loved each other and there were no shades of grey.

When it broke it broke hard, slipped right through our fingers and shattered as we stood next to an incubator and watched our only child struggle to live.

In Defense of Motherhood: Pass the Swords

In Defense of Motherhood: Pass the Swords

misty krasawski

In her amazing reflection on the horror playing out across news and social media streams this summer as Planned Parenthood is exposed, Sarah Clarkson has called what’s happening a “Failure of Imagination.”

Ann Voskamp adds that it is both a failure of community and “a failure of humanity: failing a human being in crisis and a human being in utero.”

The images rolling across my stream turn my stomach, turn my head, turn my heart pale, compel me to turn off the screens. 

Running From Hard Things

Natalie

His voice is shaky and his eyes fill with tears. "I don't want to go to school. I don't ever want to go to school again!" I take a deep breath and buy some time as I take another bite of my bagel and a sip of my coffee. My throat tightens and I blink away tears. The first week of kindergarten has broken my heart and left me feeling unsure and unsettled.

I remember what my husband said to my son. "Do we run away from things that are hard, or do we face them?" 

4 Truths to Remember When I Worry for My Child

Rachel Wojo

What if she doesn’t find new friends? What if this is not the sport for him? How will she ever pass this test? When will he find the time for that project? 

As mothers, it’s easy to worry over our children. The initial thought creeps in as a concern and then before long, a small parenting care has grown into a full-blown fretting fit.

Cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you. I Peter 5:6-8 NIV

 

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