Encouraged In Heart

Do less and be more!

stephfink — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:38:51 +0000

We women, we know how to get thigs done. And, I'm not sure it's always in our best interest. I've shared here many times the comfort I take in getting stuff done. The Finkster often jokes that he married a Jersified version of the southern slogan, "Git er' done!"

I passed on a school volunteer opportunity last week because it'd be to close to an important scheduled meeting this week. I could have done it. Ummm, I could have franticly done it. I emailed the volunteer organizer last week that I could do one, not two volunteer days. Suddenly, I felt like I could breathe again. When I squeeze more in, I behave less. Less in God's desired shape and more in the world's shape. Have you seen the loons on the road and their road rage?

I would have been tense, stressed and for what? How is God glorified when all I am is a stress ball?

After my meeting yesterday, I took myself to lunch and read for about 20 minutes. Really, it felt like 20 hours. I then leisurely shopped the stores for an hour. I didn't buy anything but I did bring home more than my meeting notes. I brought and bought peace.

I want to encourage you today, on this fabulously springy Wassup Wednesday to DO LESS and BE MORE. Invite peace into your daily life and watch your day...watch your life dramatically change. This stress ball found relief yesterday with one powerful, "No."

What's just one thing you're not going to do this week to BE more? WASSUP?

Blog tags:

do less

be more

stress ball

Sense from the senseless?

stephfink — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:15:34 +0000

“The world just needs a whole lot of prayers.”

My eighteen-year-old friend Melanie wrote this sentence on her Facebook wall. This sentence makes some sense of the senseless.Isn’t that what our humanness needs? Some sense from the senseless?

I woke today the same way I went to bed last night. With a heavy heart from the Boston bombings yesterday.

Shocked. Heartbroken. Surprised. I believe God was only one of the three. Heartbroken.

An eight-year-old little boy died.

Why? For what?

My Caleb’s eight and I honestly can’t imagine. I can’t imagine and thankful that I don’t have to imagine.

I grieve for this family.

Today is also the anniversary of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Again I believe Melane's sentence makes sense, “The world just needs a whole lot of prayers."

The boys and I prayed at breakfast for God to comfort those that grieve and that God, not evil, can triumph.

I know it’s a struggle but I want to encourage you today…don’t try to make sense of the senseless. There's just no sense in pouring our energy into the senseless. But rather, pour our energy into prayer, talk with the One that comforts, directs and grieves with us, Jesus.

I just want to use our space, this space today, to let us all vent, process and even write a little prayer. I believe prayer, talking with God, is the conduit to peace in times when there is just no making sense of the senseless.

How are you doing?

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BLOG CAST: Colleen's choice and story!

stephfink — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:05:34 +0000

Two Sundays ago, Colleen was BAPTIZED at Bay Area Community Church in Annapolis, Maryland!!!

Here's the Finkster, Colleen and I about ten minutes before she took the plunge!

WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!

The below video played before she was baptized.

I had to share it with you because once Jesus gets in your heart, He moves...BIG TIME.

Yes, I leaked...a lot.

The Finkster said that he, "Got a little misty." (He's crazy about Colleen too!)

Her last sentence still makes me leak.

I wanted to share this with you because I want you to share this video with someone you know!

WE (Colleen, you and I) can make a difference together!

And, if you're interested in listening to the series Colleen talked about in her video, click on the pic below!

Colleen mentioned that she was bribed with food (she's hilarious and honest!) to go to a church service.

What brought you to your current church home?

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BLOG CAST: A great teacher.

stephfink — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:23:21 +0000

Since it says in Ephesians 4:26, "In your anger do not sin”, what's a girl to do with anger?

I pray today's blog cast encourages your heart!

What's something that anger's taught you?

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BLOG CAST: Wassup really, "Wassup?"

stephfink — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:32:25 +0000

Well, "Wassup???"

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wassup

Wassup Wednesday

BLOG CAST: Be strong and courageous ladies!

stephfink — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:23:39 +0000

Going back to marriage counseling...

Leaving my Pop...

Confronting a difficult neighborhood situation...

Shutting down negativity to go forward professionally...

has required me to be strong and courageous.

When have you needed to be strong and/or courageous?

Blog tags:

be strong

courageous

marriage counseling

Instead of...

stephfink — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:36:05 +0000

Do you have an, "Instead of..."?

Finish this sentence, "Instead of..." WASSUP?

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instead of

I Pity the FOOL...

stephfink — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:36:22 +0000

It's a big day here today at the Fink home.

And in preparation for today, I spoke boundaries last night.

Do. not. touch. my. coffee. pot.

I pity the fool that messes with my coffee drinking.

The offspring went to bed looking a tad disappointed.

I foiled one of their plans for today.

Jake had a boundary too.

"Don't touch my orange juice, Mom."

He knows how his Momma rolls...yo.

Cal said nothing about his mango juice.

Blue milk and green mango juice were just two of the many ways we Finks celebrated APRIL FOOL'S DAY!

I opened my bedroom door this morning to this.

Dangling snakes.

I'm deathly afraid of snakes.

The offspring and Finkster know this.

YES it freaked my out!

YES my pits sweated!

The thing is, this prank's height is too tall for the offspring.

Which means only. one. thing.

They had height help.

And the Finkster will pay.

Hope he has fun brushing his teeth (or taking a shower) as his faucet's wrapped in tape.

So. proud. of. my. offspring.

They're learning the ways...

How'd you "celebrate" April Fool's Day?

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April Fool's Day

pity the fool

God IS Great!

stephfink — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:16:26 +0000

This was my childhood mealtime prayer.

This is my sons' childhood mealtime prayer.

All my sons...two and four legged!

(Isn't this SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SWEET!!?!?!?!?)

Jake was SO proud to lead his puppy in mealtime prayer again this morning!

(Momma was too!)

*I know not all of you follow my Encouraged in Heart Facebook page - but wanted to thank all that have prayed for my Pop and family this week. We had a very scary weekend as Pop had a heart attack, pneumonia, sepsis and some other medical issues. He remains in the hospital and true to form keeps punching (and being allergic to rap music). The heart attack did not effect Pop's charming sense of humor!

Would you please continue to pray for my Pop, specifically for his continued improvement, healing and protection?

THANK YOU!

I'm taking this next week off from blogging as the boys and I are heading north to take care of some family business and get Pop settled into the next stage of his life with my mad awesome sisters, family and friends!

I will probably put a couple Facebook encouragements and tweet a little (yeah, I'm tweeting now...who can stand my technical strides this year - texting AND tweeting...wha???)

My tweet handle is @StephanieFink

I'm confident Pop will produce some "gems" that I'll find necessary to share with you!

I leave you with two questions:

1. Did you have a childhood prayer at meals, bedtime or now?

2. Do you tweet? If so, please leave your handle!

See you in a week!

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A21 on 21 - GUEST POST - One little black dress makes a BIG difference!

stephfink — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:26:12 +0000

This is my absolute favorite day of the month - the 21st!

I love sharing about women that are making a difference to end human sex trafficking.

Today, my friend Elisa (@AverageAdvocate) guest blogs today about human sex trafficking in my area (Northern Virginia), which very well could be just like YOUR area too! She also shares about how one little black dress can make a BIG difference (and I'm not talking about a cocktail party here!)!

You are invited to subscribe her other posts at www.AverageAdvocate.com where she is “Inspiring the average American to change the world.”

In the Washington D.C. area, there are domestic workers and farm workers who are trapped in labor trafficking. But the most common type of trafficking in the United States (not in the world at large, though) is Sex Trafficking 101. In Northern Virginia where I live, there are different types of brothels, some disguised as massage parlors, some we believe are in homes, and others are services where girls are dropped off at requested locations. Gang related sex trafficking is likely at the top of the list for types of trafficking in Northern Virginia, such as has been happening in Sterling and at our Fairfax metro. There is a problem in Loudoun County, Northern Virginian the D.C. area and all over the United States. Although we've begun to prosecute for some of these cases, human trafficking is still very underground in the Northern Virginia, just as it is elsewhere in the United States. In Virginia, there was only a law passed a couple years ago, requiring that training should be offered to police to learn how to recognize human trafficking. Our social services, judges, and other professionals needed are still mostly rather unaware. The result is that there are individuals, mostly women, living within miles of us who can't get free.

Working Together

But, we are doing something to stop this. There are groups of people in Northern Virginia who are working to end human trafficking both locally and abroad. For example, I work for the Loudoun Human Trafficking Task Force. We are an organization put together by a group of Loudoun pastors at the end of 2010 at the request of our representative, Frank Wolf, for the faith community to step up and fight this injustice in Northern Virginia. Recently, with the backing of the Loudoun HTTF, we supported the Little Black Dress Project 2013, a project I did last year and talked about in my blog, but this year focused on raising money to support anti-trafficking efforts. The group of people who did this with me was small, starting as 12 individuals but we understandably lost a few along the way.

For a month we each wore the same black item of clothing over and over and over again, reminding us that we usually have a choice with everything, even our clothing, but those in slavery do not have choices. After months of research, we realized that a lot of people working to end human trafficking were not working together, or did not have the resources, volunteers, and awareness to work as effectively as possible. We believe it is our role to be the hands and feet of these organizations, serving them. We network, create awareness, and are beginning to discover how to guide people who want to help into ways they can help. And, in doing so, we invited people in to learn about human trafficking with us and donate $5 to help end slavery.

One of the things that was a new addition this year was the Little Black Dress Fundraiser Party, thanks to the genius of one of my team members, Aubrey, and her friends. Although we collectively invited hundreds of people, only between 20-30 showed up. But it still was awesome! Those who came were so generous and we had so.much.fun! Most of us dressed up, eating fancy cupcakes and sipping sparkly drinks while browsing from each other's goods and learning about sex trafficking (knowing just by being there we were doing something to stop it). That night transformed these women, and that was just one evening, one party! What if we had parties like this all over NoVA? How many more people would be awakened to act? Another woman who participated in this project, is a public speaker for Christian conferences. She was able to add the topic of human trafficking to her repertoire, awakening more people and even teaching teens preventatively about this evil.

Is it Hard?

But I know you are all wondering if wearing the black dress daily is horrible (because it is what EVERYBODY asks). But, honestly, it isn't too hard to wear the same piece of clothing every day. Sometimes it is annoying, but sometimes it is easier to get dressed and it can be a creative challenge (see some of our outfits below).

But what's difficult is feeling like you are getting no where. That getting $60 donated wasn't worth the trouble of wearing the stupid dress (or shirt) to work daily, or to wear it when your at school, or to wipe the kids' runny noses on while you yourself just want to lay in bed all day sick. It is discouraging to be aware of something really bad happening around you (human trafficking) and have your best friend not even want to talk about it, let alone give the project $5.

With the Loudoun HTTF, it is difficult to know how to connect people and get all the pieces working together. There is the constant time challenge to get everyone to work together. Also, to reach unaware people trafficking to open their eyes to the fact that it is actually a real issue, right here! These things are difficult.

Doing Amazing Things Together

But, the work, the little bits of sacrifice on our parts, are totally worth it. Because right here in NoVA, just a handful of people together did AMAZING THINGS!

At least, I think raising the amount for a rescue operation for modern slaves is an amazing thing. Raiding a brothel, giving teenagers (and sometimes even the little 1st graders found in brothels) a new life? Or pulling groups of families with children which are required to crush rocks all day in bonded labor out of this terrible existence Yes, freeing them is worth it. Because our combined efforts have been enough to actually pay for a raid operation which rescues women from brothels or closes down a brick kiln.

I don't know for sure if International Justice Mission (based in the D.C. area) will use the funds for this. Maybe they will use it to provide counseling for victims, or pay court fees to knock down the ringleader of seven brothels. But, whatever these funds are for, we can be sure they are both people's lives and changing our world. It is also pretty amazing that we were able to sell about $800 in pretty purses, scarfs, and other lovely accessories for Sak Sauma, a social business which gives women jobs and helps them rehabilitate after being victims of sex trafficking. And lastly, we were able to participate Love146's Celebrate Love campaign. This money goes towards preventive education for teenagers in America, giving them understanding about sex trafficking so that they don't become part of the statistic of 100,000 kids exploited yearly within our borders. So, yes. Just a few people working together can do something amazing. And we only did a fundraiser and created a broader awareness about human trafficking! But by dedicating ourselves to this for a month, wearing the same black dress (or shirt) we literally set some enslaved people free, provided for those formerly enslaved through training and jobs, and prevented other kids from falling into the same trap of modern slavery. I am blown away by how much we have raised and how much people have changed through this project (for example, read one of the participates thoughts, here). I really believe this is something that God has been guiding and is honored by, as I know He is in the business of setting people free!

Ideas for Action

*First of all, if you are a local, please “Like” and add to your news feed the Loudoun Human Trafficking Task Force Page to stay up with what is going on here and how you can help. We might not have jobs for all of you yet, but we can betcha, we will! We need people who can manage projects, people who can teach, people who can work with law enforcement and people who can counsel. We need others to open up their church, do graphic and web design, or work with policy. *Also, PLEASE consider helping us make our goals which we are just shy of reaching for the Little Black Dress Project. We are almost there and would love to go beyond our goals!

You can donate here- we need $134 to meet our $4500 goal (the cost of a rescue operation) for IJM Little Black Dress Project 2013.
Or you can donate the $90 left we want to meet our goal of $500 for Love146 Little Black Dress Project 2013.

*If you are a local and want to visit IJM, we are hopefully planning a trip on a Friday, likely April 12 at 10:30 a.m. Let me know if you want to come! *Also, consider donating to A21 Campaign every 21st of the month along with Steph and those following Encouraged in Heart. *Pray for what we are trying to accomplish locally! Being part of a global prayer network of Christians involved in stopping injustices such as human trafficking, trust me, we are all asking for prayer. Pray that God's kingdom to come to earth as it is in Heaven (so purely loving and just)! Thanks for being part of loving the vulnerable in Northern Virginia!

By Elisa (@AverageAdvocate). You are invited to subscribe my other posts at www.AverageAdvocate.com “Inspiring the average American to change the world.”

Who knew a little black dress could make such a BIG difference!

Please leave an encouraging comment below to encourage Elisa!

What's something you learned or feel called to act on after reading Elisa's awesome post?

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