DAILY in (y)our marriage

Charles and I went to our first marriage conference this past weekend. It was a good chance to be reminded of the important foundational tools for a healthy marriage. Yeah, we're only 10 months in, but we know intentionality in this area is a good habit to create. These 10 months have really flown by and they have been filled with a whirlwind of decisions, learnings and adventures.

There were some great, and yet simple things to be reminded of. One of the first sessions included "The Power of Daily."

DAILY:
Deal with your stuff - be ruthlessly honest about your own brokenness.
Attitude is everything - self care is crucial, be flexible, minimize frustrations (not maximize).
Intentionality - Be willfully committed. This takes effort.
Like vs. Love - mutual submission. We often love each other but do we like each other?
Yahweh reigns - Is Christ the center?

This might not make sense without the full context, but it was a good simple thing to remember. 

It was great to be in a room full of people choosing to be healthy, heal, and love each other well. I know there was also a room full of brokenness, hurt and struggle. Charles and I don't have it all figured out (not even close), but I do know choosing to be intentional and engaging in real honest community is so important. I'm trying to do my best in these areas and would encourage you to do the same - married or not - with what life brings your way.

Keep on keeping on, friends.

Can we end slavery?

Today Jessi and I got to go to the annual Justice Conference at Vanguard. We've both been fired up about this issue of injustice and excited to expand our opportunities to contribute to the end of slavery. What's happening in our own city? How can we help raise awareness? Hope can we contribute to the end?

Today was only a half day and yet packed full of inspiring, heart wrenching, and moving conversations. One of the sessions was with Stephan from World Relief and it was incredible. Not only is he doing much, well educated in the issue of trafficking and a great speaker but it was great to hear a man speak up so much about caring for, protecting and empowering women. Less than 10% of the room was men but Stephan brought such heart and passion to the topic. I can't even sum it all up well right now but one of the best pieces was the list of 10 things that make this fight against slavery possible. We're not all called to fight in the same way but we can all do our part, even if it is just paying attention around us (more on this to come..). These are quick bullet points from a session packed full of noteworthy items but hopefully they make sense.

So, 10 things that make this fight against slavery possible:

1. Lament: Let your heart tear apart. Don't be afraid to feel. This all begins with empathy. Enter into suffering & don't lose hope.
2. Create economic solutions: micro-financing, inner city urban gardens, etc.
3. Support the creation of John Schools: Education for men who bought sex and got caught. These schools inform them of the reality of this issue and bring change. Talk to local enforcement agencies, mayors, etc. to make sure this is happening in your area.
4. Shout: Blog, tweet, facebook, share stories. The collective matters. We have the tools to talk and share with the world.
5. Clean up supply chains. Free children matter more than free markets.
6. Advocate for legislative change. Politicians, congress, senators. Immigration reform: immigration is ripe with trafficking.
7. Call forth the creative people in our midst: use your gift & calling to shake up this issue.
8. Take on pornography. Allow men and the church to come out of hiding. Because we love our sisters and want to release them. If the church can't talk about it, then who can?
9. Become a foster parent. From an FBI raid on 70 US cities 60% of freed victims were from the foster system. We need parents to love! (Note: churches must support marriages and families to be healthy foster homes, not just promote fostering).
10. Come together. Collaborate. Partner. This cannot be won alone. 

 I love all of these. I particularly love #1, #4 and #8. We have to be wiling to feel in order to do anything. And then we have to share. So many have no idea slavery still exist and we must bring awareness. And then there's #8. I am so glad he mentioned that. There's such a huge connection between porn and trafficking. The consumption of porn is far too high in the Christian world. We have to be willing to talk about it, to provide a place of freedom and healing and to care enough to stop consumption because people are not items for our use. 

I am stirred up. But also so tired as I write. So, that's it for now. Thoughts welcomed.

Let's end this.

Photos for Kenya.

Back Story:
I have been mentoring one of our Eastside High Schoolers for her senior project. She has begun her photography career and she asked me to be her mentor in this field. It's been so fun to connect with her, see her grow and share in her journey. She came up with a great idea to raise money for our trip to Kenya this summer where we will be doing portraits for kids and families in the Mathare Valley schools and slums. Her idea challenged me and I will be joining her..

So, Taylor and I will be offering our photographs in exchange for donations to our trip. It just made sense. We take pictures. We're going to Kenya to take & print pictures (and love on all we get to interact with) for this project. Why not include pictures in our fundraising process? I am really not sure which of my photos would interest anyone but worth a shot!

So,  here is the deal..
Every $100 donation = 1 5x7 matted image
Every $200 donation = 1 8x10 matted image
Every $300 donation = 1 11x14 matted image
Every $500 or more donation = a 30 minute local photo shoot

You can choose an image from this gallery or you can wait until after our Kenya trip and choose an image from our Kenya gallery. If you want to learn more about the trip Charles and I are taking you can view our Kenya page here.

I hope this is a way I can share a special piece of my journey with you.

The Stoicus go to Kenya

Charles and I are really excited to go to Kenya this summer with Eastside. I went in 2007 and somehow have not been back. Charles has traveled to Australia and Thailand for other mission trips. We both wanted to embark on another journey and thought it would be great to do this together in our first year of marriage. 

I decided I wanted to pursue Kenya specifically after a conversation with Arty (the Kenya team leader). I was telling him about a project I wanted to do locally for the community and he almost instantly said, "Let's do that in Kenya!" He had been wanting a new project for the community and this felt just right (I'll explain the project in a minute). I told Charles about the conversation and he was excited about taking the journey to Kenya as well. 

So, I will be leading a project in which we will be taking portraits of the kids (and families) in the slums and printing the photos for them to keep. We're working on some little things for them to pick out (hair flowers, etc.) to feel loved and special as we spend time with them before their turn for a portrait. When I went to Kenya in 2007 the kids were so fascinated by seeing themselves on the back of my camera. I can't wait for them to take home a special portrait and hopefully remember the love we were able to communicate and more importantly the love that comes from

Christ. It may seem small but I think God can use it in big ways. 

Also, we found out quite a few young adults were signing up for Kenya. This was exciting since we've been leading Ethos, the young adult ministry. We're stoked to serve alongside them and support them on this journey as well as the many other team members of all ages and points in their journey. 

Anyway, if you want more info or want to support our journey you can check out our Kenya 2014 page (http://grouprev.com/thestoicus) or send over questions. We'll update more along the way. Thanks for journeying with us through reading about this. 

PNW2013: Seattle.

So we made it to Seattle! And we're finally feeling better. You might be able to tell by the much larger amount of photos that I was much more alive. 

For Seattle we stayed at an Airbnb rental - a cute little back apartment of a house in Ballard. It was a little walk and bus ride to most places we went but it was well worth it. The home owner was so sweet and provided fresh eggs from the chickens and other fun fresh items. 

Our first coffee in the city was the new bauhaus in our area. It's just so lovely to sit, watch people, drink coffee and enjoy the crisp weather.

This is our cute little kitchen.

Our first real meal was Pho, only the second time we've ever had it. The first time was also in Seattle. 

Our fresh eggs. I love it. 

This is the front of the house we stayed in.. I just love the neighborhoods.

New Years Eve.. about to hit the town.

Just waiting for the bus... keeping warm.

Seriously 5 minutes before midnight all the fog rolled in.  Pretty none the less.

#pnwnye

Reunited. Two years go by so quickly.

simple little moments.

A fresh, crisp, new years morning.

Everyone was starting the year off with a little fitness around Green Lake.

Mhmm coffee. 

Seriously, Portage Bay is so delicious. I need one here. Unlimited toppings bar...

Quiet moments with my man on our last day..

Here's our cute little place.

No! Leaving is so sad.

Alrighty, so that's it for our PNW adventure.. this time. The next one we wont be sick and maybe it'll rain too. I am thankful for exploring, friends, new places and traveling with my husband.

Until next time, pretty northwest.

PNW2013: Portland

We love the Pacific Northwest, although it never rains when I go. But it's so green and pretty, great coffee/food/beer and such fun areas to explore. We finally planned our first married trip. We booked our stay at McMenamins Kennedy School which I've wanted to stay at since my first PDX trip. The downside? We both got food poisoning the day we flew out. It was really rough but we made it through and found a few moments to enjoy Portland. We're gonna need a redo though!

Can you tell one of us was already feeling the food poisoning?

We rented a car and drove to the coast (my first time there). I didn't feel great but the drive was beautiful.

Plenty of modes of transit: plane, train, bus, max, walking. Next time we'll squeeze in a boat.

My first kind of real meal - all I could go for was tofu. 

IAll the houses are so cute.

Right about now we debating going home vs continuing on to Seattle. I am glad we finally felt better by the end of the day.

We made it to Seattle!

A pretty display in the sky.

A few weeks ago I had my camera with me at work and a group of us journey to the 6 story high rooftop to see if the sun would poke through the clouds for a pretty sunset.

Sure enough, it did. And it was beautiful.

There's been a lot of iPhone images of the sunsets roaming round but it usually takes filters to get them to somewhat represent what our eyes see. It felt good to grab shots with a real camera.

Here's a few images straight out of my camera.
Happy Wednesday.. Here's to getting through the rest of the week, whatever it brings.