With all the new things I am believing in for this year, 2013, I thought it was only right to get a fancy drastic new hair do as well, many say I look a bit more sophisticated, what do you think?!!
Friday, February 22, 2013
A new Adventure
Job- a word that has not been fulfilling in my life for the past 18 months...
don't get me wrong I LOVE wake up coffee, but I'm about to be 31 and being a barista is not my life goal... I love the mission behind wake up and why the owner does what he does...why all of us that work there do what we do... but my strengths lie more in the networking, communicating, wooing and educating people about the stories that are behind the reason for the shop... but being the small business that it is...paying me to do just that is easier said than done.
In October I started working at a daycare/after school program...and it was great except for the fact that I had 25 kids, ages 4-12 all by myself and it was insane... anyway it was difficult to say the least, but the staff there was great, they wanted to make it better, but I kept dreaming and telling Junior if only I could just stay home, do my Etsy shop, TRUST in the Treasure and a couple shifts at wake up... but I knew we couldn't financially afford it.
The Lord orchestrated events to make those desires in my heart come true....despite me being ready or not. However like the good Father He is, He prepared me for it! The week went like this..Monday the only thing that kept me from quitting was that I knew we needed the money, Tuesday a friend called and asked if she could do an article on me, my art, and TRUST in the Treasure, then Wednesday I was let go at the daycare.
It was the first time I have ever been let go in my life...at first I felt shame and wanted to lie to everyone and say that I just quit. But when I stopped and listened to Papa God, He reminded me of how He loves me and that this was what had to happen for the new season He has for me. A season that will take me trusting Him in new ways. After that I was excited and felt the peace the passes all understanding.
Thankfully I have such an amazing husband, who knows the Lord will provide and wants me to go after my dreams of making TRUST in the Treasure my day job! Since the let go, I have had moments of telling Junior I can get more hours at wake up, or look for the another job and he kindly just says..."I'm not worried about money"
This year my new adventure- declaring that my etsy business will become a success! An amazing, faith filled, yet scary start to the new year!
wish me luck, better yet pray for me... i don't really belief in luck..
don't get me wrong I LOVE wake up coffee, but I'm about to be 31 and being a barista is not my life goal... I love the mission behind wake up and why the owner does what he does...why all of us that work there do what we do... but my strengths lie more in the networking, communicating, wooing and educating people about the stories that are behind the reason for the shop... but being the small business that it is...paying me to do just that is easier said than done.
In October I started working at a daycare/after school program...and it was great except for the fact that I had 25 kids, ages 4-12 all by myself and it was insane... anyway it was difficult to say the least, but the staff there was great, they wanted to make it better, but I kept dreaming and telling Junior if only I could just stay home, do my Etsy shop, TRUST in the Treasure and a couple shifts at wake up... but I knew we couldn't financially afford it.
The Lord orchestrated events to make those desires in my heart come true....despite me being ready or not. However like the good Father He is, He prepared me for it! The week went like this..Monday the only thing that kept me from quitting was that I knew we needed the money, Tuesday a friend called and asked if she could do an article on me, my art, and TRUST in the Treasure, then Wednesday I was let go at the daycare.
It was the first time I have ever been let go in my life...at first I felt shame and wanted to lie to everyone and say that I just quit. But when I stopped and listened to Papa God, He reminded me of how He loves me and that this was what had to happen for the new season He has for me. A season that will take me trusting Him in new ways. After that I was excited and felt the peace the passes all understanding.
Thankfully I have such an amazing husband, who knows the Lord will provide and wants me to go after my dreams of making TRUST in the Treasure my day job! Since the let go, I have had moments of telling Junior I can get more hours at wake up, or look for the another job and he kindly just says..."I'm not worried about money"
This year my new adventure- declaring that my etsy business will become a success! An amazing, faith filled, yet scary start to the new year!
wish me luck, better yet pray for me... i don't really belief in luck..
beauty-full truth
If you know me or follow my blog you know I have a heart for the enslaved, and justice! For the past year I have been volunteering with a wonderful group that works with women in the sex industry. This spoken word exudes my heart for this evil industry....full of BEAUTY-FULL TRUTH!
Doubled
I never really shared about my Christmas gift from my parents this year...it was an amazing thing...
See last Christmas my parents had mentioned doing a family trip to Haiti, they had yet to meet many of Junior's family, including his mother and my sister had not been back since the earthquake...either had my nephew and now my sister also was married with a baby, my niece....
Long story short they gifted us with a family trip to Haiti this Christmas last time we were all in Haiti together it was a day before the earthquake in 2010 and it was just the 4 of us. At that point junior and I were just dating, and my sister was in process of adopting Isaac...and in 3 years we have gone from just the 4 of us, to now 8. Our family had doubled since we last were all in Haiti together...it was about time.
What amazing parents I have, they paid for all our tickets, my sister's family and mine. In the beginning of January we all spent 10 days in Haiti! Such an amazing blessing! I will say my sister and her husband are extremely brave- bringing an 8 month old and a 4 year old...what a whirlwind of sleep deprivation for them, but they did very well.
Junior and I planned the trip out, organized the transportation and did our best to facilitate where needed. I won't lie it was one of my more difficult trips to Haiti, as everyone seemed to get sick along with my dad getting the tip of his finger chopped off in an iron gate door. However everyone is healthy, my dad's finger is nearly all healed, everyone is back safe and sound.
It is always a blessing for Junior and I to be in Haiti, no matter the circumstances. I am so thankful for my family, i know like every family there is drama at times...but they are pretty amazing people. It was great to see how my family has grown and continue to share this nation together...it is truly beautiful to me...
See last Christmas my parents had mentioned doing a family trip to Haiti, they had yet to meet many of Junior's family, including his mother and my sister had not been back since the earthquake...either had my nephew and now my sister also was married with a baby, my niece....
Long story short they gifted us with a family trip to Haiti this Christmas last time we were all in Haiti together it was a day before the earthquake in 2010 and it was just the 4 of us. At that point junior and I were just dating, and my sister was in process of adopting Isaac...and in 3 years we have gone from just the 4 of us, to now 8. Our family had doubled since we last were all in Haiti together...it was about time.
What amazing parents I have, they paid for all our tickets, my sister's family and mine. In the beginning of January we all spent 10 days in Haiti! Such an amazing blessing! I will say my sister and her husband are extremely brave- bringing an 8 month old and a 4 year old...what a whirlwind of sleep deprivation for them, but they did very well.
It is always a blessing for Junior and I to be in Haiti, no matter the circumstances. I am so thankful for my family, i know like every family there is drama at times...but they are pretty amazing people. It was great to see how my family has grown and continue to share this nation together...it is truly beautiful to me...
Sunday, February 17, 2013
our dreams
I don't know that i have ever shared the dreams that junior and i have one day for haiti... i know it's clear that we will return to live permanently, when God gives us the go...and that we will have a work there that is no doubt from the Lord but the exact details and visions are just passions, and little tid bit pictures of what it could look like and dreams of what it could be....
however we know this.... that Junior & I have 3 main things we what to be a part of in this place we call home....whether we are physically there or not...
1. SCHOOL - junior's number one passion is education, his story itself could not have happened if it wasn't for the dedication of his mother to make school possible for him... this is part of his own story and heart...he believes that through education his nation will change.
2. VISION TRIPS- we both desire for people to know more of haiti, not just come once, only see one area and get stuck in the bubble that that is all of haiti... we want to meet individual passions and skills with the right need...we have many connections in haiti and we dont know what this will look like but we want to be a part of facilitating it...
3. BRINGING FREEDOM- my passion and heart is to bring freedom to the enslaved, the street kids and those that are being forced into situations that are not of the Lord.... i eventually will be certified in tramatology to help aid the rehabilitation of those on the street or living as a restavek. (this is something that many people still don't know goes on in haiti so i wanted to share a video about it)
video: Restavek Freedom Foundation
i don't know what it looks like but i do know that these are the areas the Lord has placed on our hearts as husband and wife, so we pray for more vision this year, more clarity, more connections and more peace as each year we are closer to the dreams we hold in this beautiful nation, Ayiti!!!!
blessings!
however we know this.... that Junior & I have 3 main things we what to be a part of in this place we call home....whether we are physically there or not...
1. SCHOOL - junior's number one passion is education, his story itself could not have happened if it wasn't for the dedication of his mother to make school possible for him... this is part of his own story and heart...he believes that through education his nation will change.
2. VISION TRIPS- we both desire for people to know more of haiti, not just come once, only see one area and get stuck in the bubble that that is all of haiti... we want to meet individual passions and skills with the right need...we have many connections in haiti and we dont know what this will look like but we want to be a part of facilitating it...
3. BRINGING FREEDOM- my passion and heart is to bring freedom to the enslaved, the street kids and those that are being forced into situations that are not of the Lord.... i eventually will be certified in tramatology to help aid the rehabilitation of those on the street or living as a restavek. (this is something that many people still don't know goes on in haiti so i wanted to share a video about it)
video: Restavek Freedom Foundation
i don't know what it looks like but i do know that these are the areas the Lord has placed on our hearts as husband and wife, so we pray for more vision this year, more clarity, more connections and more peace as each year we are closer to the dreams we hold in this beautiful nation, Ayiti!!!!
blessings!
Strengths
a little over a week ago i met with my friend Gina about the results of my strengths test...
(check Gina and her blog out here) to see more on my strengths click here)
Gina is a certified Strengths Finder couch and talking with her this morning brought me to tears as she explained my strengths and the ways they work together. What an amazing thing to learn that by the time i was 3 these strengths were more than likely already developed. God has big plans for my life and my strengths play a huge part of it, He plans things well. And the amazing thing is that this is the same for each of us, strengths He created in us when we were very young to work for the good in our life!
Learning this stuff puts things in more perspective...i was given so much information this morning, i will no doubt need time to process. i still have so much to learn about my strengths. Donald Clifton, who is the father of positive psychology and created strengths finder's believed that when we focus on our strengths and not our weaknesses we can achieve so much more. Instead of trying to be strong in the places we are weak, we learn what areas of strength we have so that we can focus on those and exceed to our full potential.
Gina put it into a simple equation for me...
i naturally will start at a 5 in my strengths, where someone who doesn't have them starts at 0... when i work at it i can reach 25 in that strength, where the other will only get to 5 with work because it isn't their natural strength...
right now in my strengths i believe i am walking in a 5, but i want to be at a 25 to reach my full potential!!! i believe this is where i will come alive and really make a difference for the Kingdom of God!!!
i have my BA in Psychology so trust me when i say i have taken my fair share of personality tests and the like, however this strengths finder test and coaching experience has been more revealing than any of them i have participated in. i LOVE that kind of stuff,exploring why we behave the way we do, exploring who we are and how it effects our story!
so with all this said...i am declaring 2013 to be the year that i start growing in my strengths and i greatly encourage you to explore your own strengths here!
blessings...
Natasha
(check Gina and her blog out here) to see more on my strengths click here)
Gina is a certified Strengths Finder couch and talking with her this morning brought me to tears as she explained my strengths and the ways they work together. What an amazing thing to learn that by the time i was 3 these strengths were more than likely already developed. God has big plans for my life and my strengths play a huge part of it, He plans things well. And the amazing thing is that this is the same for each of us, strengths He created in us when we were very young to work for the good in our life!
Learning this stuff puts things in more perspective...i was given so much information this morning, i will no doubt need time to process. i still have so much to learn about my strengths. Donald Clifton, who is the father of positive psychology and created strengths finder's believed that when we focus on our strengths and not our weaknesses we can achieve so much more. Instead of trying to be strong in the places we are weak, we learn what areas of strength we have so that we can focus on those and exceed to our full potential.
Gina put it into a simple equation for me...
i naturally will start at a 5 in my strengths, where someone who doesn't have them starts at 0... when i work at it i can reach 25 in that strength, where the other will only get to 5 with work because it isn't their natural strength...
right now in my strengths i believe i am walking in a 5, but i want to be at a 25 to reach my full potential!!! i believe this is where i will come alive and really make a difference for the Kingdom of God!!!
i have my BA in Psychology so trust me when i say i have taken my fair share of personality tests and the like, however this strengths finder test and coaching experience has been more revealing than any of them i have participated in. i LOVE that kind of stuff,exploring why we behave the way we do, exploring who we are and how it effects our story!
so with all this said...i am declaring 2013 to be the year that i start growing in my strengths and i greatly encourage you to explore your own strengths here!
blessings...
Natasha
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