Momentum Building

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think…” Ephesians 3:20 NLT

When Pam presented her passion about meeting this need in women to me in May of this year, I do not think that either one of us quite realized just what God was going to do.  In fact, I think it is safe to say, that we have been completely blown away by God’s faithfulness and provision.   Since that initial lunch discussion, we have dreamed big and worked out numerous details.  We have filed forms, applied for this, researched that, and sought assistance from others in order to create Take Heart Ministries. 

These accomplishments are only logistics.  God continues to prove Himself to be faithful and true.  Over the past six months, God has done (and continues to do) such a marvelous work in each of us.  He has stretched our faith and reminds us that He is for us.  He continues to be faithful to prayers prayed long ago.  He is ever-changing our hearts as He continually draws us closer to Him by calling us out of the boat and onto the water. 

In a recent meeting with some important ladies, we discussed the foundation and intimate heart behind Take Heart Ministries.  It was at this time that God blew our minds again.  As we stepped out in faith, hand in hand as sisters in Christ and favorite friends chosen by God, to let God work through us, He did just that – in a mighty way!  Despite the fear found in being vulnerable and the tendency to be reserved in sharing our story of God's grace in our lives, we boldly stepped out in obedience to share what God laid upon our hearts to do.  After all was said and done, there was an immediate sense of peace and that still, small voice that said, “That’s all I required of you.  Leave the rest to me”.  As the affirmations came, the glory was His.   We gave Him what we had – which was only a little – and He was able to accomplish infinitely more than anything we could have ever asked or thought.   The mind blowing part is THIS is only the beginning.  I believe and am expecting God to continue to do more.

God was surely in the conversations, interactions, smiles, stories and lives of each woman there. The conversation had turned to questioning and defenses were written on faces, and I fought my own instinct to defend the situation.  But it was at that moment, I felt God’s hand over my mouth and my heart ease.  As I sat quietly and watched the conversation unfold, I waited for God to speak through us.  I found that as He quieted my heart, I was able to embrace His grace and timing.  When I spoke, it was not the aggressive, defensive attitude that I initially wanted to let out, but instead, it was God’s voice. We didn’t have to defend our passion, but simply remained true to it.  As we did, the evolution of the conversation changed and we were able to witness God working in and thoughout hearts.

Pam and I are beyond humbled and blessed to watch God use Take Heart Ministries.  We have committed ourselves to the work of God for no other reason than simply because He has called us to do so.  The heart behind Take Heart Ministries is to be honest with ourselves, with God and with others.  You do not know how you can help someone or maybe how they can help you, unless we are honest.  Break free from the chains of shame and guilt.  Rise out of the lies and brokenness.  Be brave, be free, and be honest. 

So, if we’re honest… I have never gone without.  Never been homeless.  Never known hunger.  I have never had to worry about whether or not I was going to have tampons for my period this month.  I have never felt shame because I couldn’t go to school when I didn’t have pads.  I have never known need. 

But, if we’re honest, I have made mistakes, I have lived in shame and guilt.  I do know what it’s like to be alone.  I have had an abortion, I have struggled with drug and alcohol addictions.  I have turned to sex.

And if we’re honest, I have battled depression.  I have struggled with low self-esteem.  I have fought God’s will for my life. 

But by the grace of God, I have been redeemed, forgiven and set free!   I have shaken off the lies and am no longer a slave!  I am a child of God.  I have come to know and accept that I lack nothing because of the love my Savior.  I am loved, accepted, complete and known by Him.

This is what we have been called to do.  To be the hands and feet.  To be the face of Jesus to women in need of love, restoration and hope.  To make a difference.   And what better way to say “lift your face from that shame and guilt because you are loved” than to meet the very real need by providing tampons and pads to women…women who have had their dignity and hope stripped from them.  Women who are hanging their heads.  If we’re honest, women just like you and me.

Our hearts’ desire is for all women to be free from the chains that are holding them down.  We want nothing less than for you to love others because of the restoration received through Jesus’ love.  Do you have a story?  Is your heart to give back because of what God has helped you overcome?  Partner alongside us, meet a real need, be the hands and feet of Jesus and restore the hope and dignity of women who are homeless.

The Untouchable

It's been about 4 weeks and you begin to not only feel the normal feelings of bloating and cramping as your period comes....it is fear you feel more inside yourself. Each month as you begin your period you are told to leave and go stay in a shed until you are done. Should you choose to step back onto the porch while menstruating, the people of the house and animals will get sick and be cursed. The gods will become angry and your hands will likely curl up and become deformed. So you sit in a shed not big enough to lay down in for 5-7 days, alone, dirty, and rejected.

Others will spend this week of menstruation within the same house as their family, but not allowed to touch their family members that they just sat with the week before on the couch reading a book. They cannot meet at the table to eat with their family and share in their day. In fact, they cannot even touch the table that they will eat at or be in the kitchen during the times of menstruation. Go to church during your period and you will be seen as highly infectious and seen as a portal of viruses. You will be called impure, dirty, untouchable.

You may be reading this and thinking, sure, maybe this happened in some ancient culture but now we are informed and able to embrace this aspect of womanhood. However, these stories were recently told to a NPR reporter by two separate women in India who continually suffer under the cultural and religious beliefs that are present there. (http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/17/449176709/horrible-things-happen-to-nepali-girls-when-they-menstruate-15girls)

One may be quick to assault the thoughts and views of how these women are treated. How could a religion or a developed country be so barbaric and harsh? Let's realize that these countries have great values and see their gods and rules just as importantly as ours and value them. They are looking to use these to protect their families, their daughters, their homes and health. This changes the viewpoint a little when you see past the atrocities. For a moment you see humanity and that we are all working to provide the best for our families and believe in something higher than ourselves. 

And yes, I will fight for justice and equality for all but let us not be flippant but sensitive to the bigger issue of womanhood, not a judgment to who has the better infrastructure or perspective. Certainly we have come further than this in America. Texas. Waco. Or have we? Yes, we have become more resourceful in dealing with our periods. We will be able to address our issues within our homes and for the most part feel accepted and welcome. 

But what if you don't have a home to come to or access to tampons and pads? You are banished to the shed that our society calls homelessness. There you are left to bleed alone, and many times called impure, dirty and portrayed as untouchable. Others become untouchable to you as they quickly drive past you, as they hand you money but fail to look you in the eye or shake your hand and not allowed into the kitchen where you can be fed and restored. You are left outside, not allowed onto the porch because you may cause something to change inside our homes. 

There are women in this community that feel this very way as they not only fight the issue of homelessness or fighting to find a stable and safe place to live for themselves and/or their families. They also face having their period every month without resources and supplies to do so in a healthy and dignified way. 

Take Heart Ministries is seeking to be that voice to these women in Waco to say you can be clean, pure and restored. We want to touch these women not only physically with a Love Tote, a bag with a month's supply of feminine hygiene products, cleansing wipes, granola bars, and water. We want to seek out the woman behind the need and get on their level, lift their face and see them for who they are...a woman just like me and you. We want to be honest about these issues and raise awareness into the stigma associated with menstruation but also to begin to see a restoration of women in Waco to rise above and live their life with dignity and hope; everything we all want to be and feel.

Be a part of the excitement that is happening at Take Heart Ministries. We guarantee that 100% of your gift of time, products, finances, and prayers will go to changing the lives of women. And through each woman changed a voice of hope is spoken into her and the spark will become a raging fire of love and restoration. 

What will you do to help?

Lift Up Your Eyes

Yesterday I was out riding my bike, a normal weekend activity, and listening to my Pandora station. As I was rounding a corner in the country roads of Lorena, I became aware that I was just looking ahead of my front tire....just making sure I was dodging what was coming. My legs were tired, my breath was short as I was headed up another hill, and the sun was hot and making me weary.

I then began to tune back in and refocus on my music that was one and this is what I HEARD...





But if you lift your eyes
See it in a different light
Just a cloud up in the open sky
Let the rain, fall away
Cause today is beautiful


(Listen to the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFLgmvzk-ik)

 

 

And, this is what I SAW as I lifted my eyes from simply avoiding the bumps....

 

And then I stopped on the side of the road to truly reflect on what God was trying to teach and show me. Take Heart Ministries is not only a place for us to be honest about the issues of menstruation and how they effect the lives of those women in transition. It is a place to join ALL women together under the platform of "Let's Just Be Honest" and embracing the freedom and beauty that comes from that.

When I was riding I was again, focused on only avoiding what was coming. And the past few weeks of my life that has how I have lived as well. Getting through the day, going through the motions, and simply putting forth just enough effort to avoid disaster. Do you do that? Do you live that way ever? It's tiring, it's limiting and it's not the life we were intended to live. We were meant to thrive! Let me testify that a life of existence is simply that and there is a life that is full of joy and purpose. I had to get back to focusing on that.

I took a moment to think about how the plan is unfolding in my life, God has revealed Himself, and the rain of trial and brokenness has ended....What do I do now? I think a lot of times we, including me, want to continue to focus with our head down on just getting through. We pray for the beauty to come, we seek the connection in others, we stay humbled on our face for longer than designed and God is sweetly saying "Lift up your face! I'm up here and all that I have for you is up here."

As I stood gazing into the sky and hearing these words simultaneously in my ears I became humbled and grateful that I worship a God that would not only put His hands on my face and lift my eyes but one that also guarantees beauty and awe the day that I look up. And if I do not lift my eyes...I miss it!

Today....not tomorrow or when the crisis is over...TODAY IS BEAUTIFUL! But we've got to choose to lift our eyes and see it in a different light and get caught up in the open sky! Try it, embrace it, and feel the freedom. I guarantee a smile will slowly creep onto your face which may be something you've been missing as the world had kept your face down.

Take Heart Ministries heart is to be instrumental in meeting women and through honesty and love helping them to lift their eyes to see the beauty of them, their situation, and their future. As God spoke to the bleeding woman and said "Take heart, daughter your faith has healed you" I can't help but imagine that he lifted her eyes from where she was touching the edge of his cloak, and saw her.

I pray you have a time to be seen by your creator and to feel the grace He lavishly provides you. And when you understand that for yourself I pray you give that away to someone else and see them and tell them that today is beautiful.

 

 



What Victoria's Secret Taught Me

This past weekend I took myself bra shopping at Victoria's Secret. For some that may not seem like a big deal and many times seems like a "necessity". I, however, have not been bra shopping, except for nursing bras and ones during pregnancy, for 7 years. Yep...you read that right. After we have kids, things seem to slip down the totem pole and priorities change in many ways. Going to buy new bras when I had ones that  would do just never really entered into my mind.

I found myself wandering around Victoria's Secret trying to navigate the store and people as well as  trying to figure out sizes, colors, and types of bras. I eventually chose a few that would work for me and made my way to the dressing room. It is there that I was reminded of Take Heart and our goal to work to provide every recipient of a Love Tote bag with a NEW bra and underwear as well.

This thought became even more humbling when I got dressed for work the next day and put on a new bra and new underwear and honestly, I felt I stood a little taller. I felt dignity and assurance in myself. There was not anything different about me except that I felt appropriately clothed in order to feel good about me.

Think about a time you felt good about how you presented yourself physically. Think about how as a woman there are pressures, comparisons, illnesses that take away the options to feel this sense of dignity. In regards to the women whom Take Heart will serve, their circumstances have taken the opportunity to feel dignified and hopeful away.

In a very black and white comparison, this is the same as me using my kids and their needs as an excuse to not go bra shopping for 7 years. They do not use this as an excuse but their priorities are shelter, safety, food, and getting through the next moment. How could providing not only for their monthly period through a Love Tote but also meeting them in person, hugging them, and getting them their own NEW bra and underwear help to build their sense of self to overcome the trials and obstacles they are facing. I chose to believe this would be a small gift with huge implications!

What can you do? A couple of things....

Join me in thinking honestly about how you feel as a "woman"...Do you feel safe? Secure? Pretty? Dignified? Presentable? Proud? How valuable of a feeling is that to you?

I invite you to partner with me to pray for an opportunity to speak with Victoria's Secret to collaborate with them in providing discounted bras for Take Heart. I also would like to encourage them to offer discounts and opportunities to donate to Take Heart at the store at checkout.

Would you consider buying one extra bra the next time you went shopping to donate?

Women are all unique and fearfully and wonderfully made. And ALL are deserving of basic needs to be met, to include the unique needs of women in supplies for their menstruation and bras and underwear. I pray you are not only made aware of a need but because you allow yourself to be honest see the connection and power in realizing we are all in this together.

Momentum is Building

"Our job is to love people. When it hurts. When it's awkward. When it's uncool and embarrassing. Our job is to stand together, to carry the burdens of one another and to meet each other in our questions."

-Jamie Tworkowksi

Take Heart Ministries is excited about gaining momentum and getting geared up to be an effective presence in the lives of women in Waco. Prayers are being prayed daily for this endeavor and people are becoming interested and willing to be involved. We received our first donation of products today and are ready to be good stewards of what God will bring.

We are sending out letters to community contacts and agencies to begin forming partnerships for distribution of Love Totes as well as spreading awareness of our mission. Many people have asked me what would be most helpful right now, so let me share a few ideas. 

• If you have an upcoming event that promotes women we would love to be a part of it. 
• We would love to share our mission at your church, Sunday School class, small group, business to spread awareness as well as form gathering sites
• We need products to help load up our bags. Items include tampons, pads, granola bars, bottled water, cleansing wipes. Any brand is fine and we thank you in advance for your help.

Join us! Share with us! We are excited to share how things will grow and expand. Please contact us with ideas, thoughts, prayers, questions at admin@takeheartministry.org, visit our website at www.takeheartministry.org or call or text to 254-717-0563.

Let's be honest with this need and come together to carry one another's burdens.