Our Christmas Blessings

In late 2010, God began really working in my heart and life concerning how we did Christmas.  It was a long and difficult journey for me and if I was honest, I would say that it still is.  Although it led to my amazing assignment with Apparent Project, there has still been some difficult struggles. After being exposed to Haiti and extreme poverty, I'm just so much more conscious of how and what we spend at Christmas time - and throughout the year for that matter.  But, it is still so difficult.  Needs vs. wants - it's a constant battle in our consumer driven culture.

I think it's worse at Christmas time because of expectations.  Like most people, we live on a tight budget.  We came into fall with a fair amount in savings and a car repair took ALL of it.  So thankful that we had it in savings, but it took away all freedom as we came into Christmas.  As the holiday approached, I once again, found myself angry and frustrated.  So many things that I wanted to do for people and no funds to do it with.  I wound up being on a big emotional roller coaster, just wanting to skip Christmas all together.

In the beginning of this journey, in 2010, I read this in a blog written by a facebbook friend who lives in Haiti:  "I find great inspiration in the simple, dingy, gritty, humble celebrations of those who struggle and toil without access to our unstained images of Christmas. I long for their stripped down total dependence on God. I pray for spiritual wealth like that of the materially poor. I want their depth. I want their undying hope. I want a Christmas less like Oprah’s and more like theirs."   That's hard stuff!

This was re-posted again this year (You can read the entire post here) and I was reminded about how it had affected me three years ago.  I remember praying about that.  Longing for their "stripped down total dependence on God."  Praying for "spiritual wealth like that of the materially poor."   But did I really know what that meant?  Was I really willing to go through what it would take to get me there?

We experienced this when we were on staff with Crusade.  We depended on God for EVERY penny.  Now that regular paychecks come in every other week, it's easy to become more relaxed in the financial area. So I've come to realize that He still keeps us financially dependent in some areas.  And it always seems to happen to us at Christmas time. 

EVERY YEAR!!!  

I'm starting to see a pattern.  Seriously!!!!  

No matter what we save, how we plan - it gets stripped away every year and we are left wondering how we are going to pull Christmas off.  We've cut back tremendously.  Russ and I haven't purchased for each other in years.  Instead of things - we focus anything extra into getting away as a family.  Relationships and memories are more important to us than "stuff."  But, we still want to get a few things for the kids and recognize other friends and family members with a little something as well.  And every year, I wind up angry and frustrated because it doesn't seem like we can even do that.

So when I put all this together, I realized that I was angry with God for trying to answer my prayers from three years ago.  I prayed to be dependent on Him - to gain that spiritual wealth.  But each year when He attempts to draw me in -  to rely on Him and Him alone, I get really angry.  And grumpy.  And downright Scrooge like.  It's NOT pretty!  Ask my husband - and my closest friends who get to hear me complain.

But - EVERY year - in His grace - He provides anyway.  He lets me gripe and complain and whine and cry and be a big old baby about the whole thing and He still steps in and takes care of my desires. Especially when my desires/worries don't even compare to the concerns of the majority of the rest of the world. You would think that I would learn by now.  His provision always blindsides me.  Oh - to just blindly trust with no other thoughts or cares.  To not get caught up in the expectations of others. 

"For He is able to do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY above ALL that we ask or imagine..." Eph. 3:20

This year, of course, was no exception.  We wound up with an extra paycheck this month (I was so stressed out, I didn't put that one together!  Gee - I'm a mess)  But things were still going to be tight. We were not even going to get to go away like we usually do.  Everyone was bummed about that.  So the extra paycheck was going to help with the food and gifts - but we would have to be careful.

One of the things that we wanted to do was replace Jarod's basketball goal.  It had been stolen in the Spring and we had not been able to replace it.  I had been praying that the Lord would somehow make it happen.  Jarod had his eye on a nice, new one from Academy but it just was not going to fit into our budget at all.  I got on Craig's list and emailed a few different people - several times.  No one would respond to my inquiries.  I thought that was really weird.  

I finally put a shameless plug out on Facebook - I explained that his had been stolen, we were looking to replace it and asked if there was anyone out there willing to sell theirs or if they knew of someone who was.   Almost instantly I had a private message from a friend, willing to sell theirs.  I was so excited!  I drove by their house that afternoon to look at it.  It was in good shape - but it wasn't like the one Jarod had his eye on.  I called Russ and we chatted about it.  Russ suggested we wait and see if anyone else responded to the post.  If not, we would purchase it the next day.  Sounds like a plan.

Then about 6:30 that night I received a private message from another friend, wondering if we had found one yet.  Our conversation went like this - 

Friend - Hey Cami - did you ever find a hoop for Jarod? We have been blessed with some extra money this season, and we'd like to contribute to replacing his hoop. How much would a new one run down there?

Wow - how do you respond to that????

Me -  Wow! A little speechless here. The one he wants is about $$$ new. I did find a used one today (a smaller sized backboard than he wants) for $$.

I mean - when someone says they want to "contribute" you don't know exactly what that means so you give them options.......

Friend -  We'd like to send you (full amount)  so he can get the one he wants. (We've made it our mission to bless pastor's families that we know, and this certainly qualifies!)

Do you guys have a Paypal account? If so, send me the email it's under.

Me -  Oh my goodness! What a blessing! You have no idea. It's been an emotional struggle for me this year. Trusting God to provide. I'm in tears. Thank you so much!!! My paypal address is ........

Friend -  Transfer sent. You should have the funds in your Paypal account shortly.

And stop crying!

Me -  That's just what I do. Lol   They are happy grateful tears!

So once again - God did exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or imagine this year.  He totally blew me away with His provision.  This gift freed us up to be able to surprise Jarod with something very unexpected and still be able to bless others the way we desired to.  So much worry and stress when God had it all planned out. 

Russell went and picked up the basketball goal and hid it at my brother's house.  That night, everyone came over to decorate Christmas cookies and a certain redheaded, 4 year old - who will remain anonymous, just could NOT keep the secret ANY longer! Ha Ha!  The benefit of this was that Jarod got to help Uncle Marc put it together on Christmas Eve.......

                                Soooooo thankful for Uncle Marc!  This was a heavy project!!!!

 

                                                               Finishing touches!

                                                                     Very excited!!!!

                 Of course, there was a brand new basketball under the tree Christmas morning!
Jarod knew we were tight and wasn't expecting this at all.  He was so excited and shocked at the same time.  It was so fun to sit down and tell him the story.  So he could see what God had done.

A special thank you to our friends for not just blessing Jarod with a basketball hoop - but for being obedient to what God had asked you to do.  Sometimes, our obedience has nothing to do with us - it's about someone else.  This time it was about our family - our journey (ok - maybe mostly crabby old me) MY journey in allowing God to continue to make us ME dependent on Him so that our MY faith will grow.  (Even with my kicking and screaming the entire way!)    


Funny - the things He uses to teach us with, huh?  It is so much more to us than just a basketball hoop.  It is about our faith.  It is about trusting God.  He'll do whatever it takes to draw us closer to Him.  I'm so thankful for that.  That is the best gift of all.

Maybe next year I'll have a better attitude!!!!

The Return of Butticus

Last year, I wrote this post.  I let you all in on one of the secrets of the Franklin household.  If you haven't already done so, you probably might want to read it so the rest of this makes better sense.

Ahem......

So - Butticus never showed up last year.  In hindsight, I really believe that he was thrown away.

Upon seeing all of the Elves return to Facebook this year, I was determined to find a new Butticus!  I thought about calling Anne's former Sunday School teacher, but explaining why I wanted to know where she got her tiny babies was going a bit too far.  She may read this blog - who knows?  But, ya - didn't want to talk about how Baby Jesus has been turned upside down, been re-named Butticus and used to play a crazy game all through the holidays.

I did the next best thing - I went online!  I looked at all the images of "Miniature Plastic Babies" (that was a little creepy at times!) and found one that I thought was the same.  (It has been two years.)  Ooooh!  $1.99 for 6 of them!  Perfect!  If he got lost - I would have spares!

I ordered him (them) and they arrived yesterday.  I said nothing to the kids and waited until they went to bed.  I opened the box and this little guy was in it.

Nope - not the same.  Not near as cute and much bigger then I remembered.

I went ahead and put him out.  I started easy - so he could be found quickly.

But something just wasn't right.

Jarod found him first.  He came into our room and said, "Uh - why is there a weird baby on the faucet in the bathroom?  That's NOT Butticus."

Great.  That was a waste of $1.99 (plus shipping)

Now what?

Jarod was a good sport and hid him on Anne's backpack so she could find him easily.

She found him and the first thing she said was "Butticus!!!!  Let's do this all year - not just at Christmas!!!!"

Okay - well, obviously the deformed Butticus didn't bother her.  But I was going to Hobby Lobby today and I thought I would check there and see if they had any babies.

Sure enough!  Butticus!  The REAL Butticus!  Should have just gone to Hobby Lobby to begin with!  They are awesome!

Another $1.99 and I could have the REAL Butticus (complete with the crazy mohawk looking thing on his head) and a whole litter of 15 more!  Yay Hobby Lobby!!!!

I came home and secretly switched him out.  Anne discovered him first and said (with the brightest and most excited face) "Ah!  The REAL Butticus!!!!  The other one was just wrong, Mom."  Well, at least she was a good sport about it earlier!

We like this one so much better!  He's probably half the size of the other (Only slightly larger than my thumb nail) and his butt is so much cuter! Don't you think?

Anne went off immediately to hide him and I could hear her giggling at herself from the other room.  Here's where I found him -

Ugh!  This girl!!!

As a friend said, "Nothing says Christmas quite like Butticus being eaten by a Giant Nutcracker!"

The Butticus tradition is in full swing!  Here are a few places he's already been spotted today - 

 He's just so much cuter on here than the other one!!!!

 Joseph's head.  Really, Jarod???

Nothing like being mooned while reaching for the Wii remote.....

So - this is Butticus!  Prepare to see photos on Facebook.  If you can post your elves, we can post our Butticus.  Besides, I was told today that, "He's so awesome that Elf on the Shelf wears Butticus jammies!"  I think I agree!

Until next time......

"And God is Able....."

"And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, 

so that in every way, always having everything you need, 

you may excel in every good work."    

2 Corinthians 9:8

I LOVE this verse. This was part of Russell's sermon yesterday.  I love how God's word comes alive.  You can read a verse for years and then one day it strikes you deep.  Differently than all the other times before.  It parallels so nicely with  Ephesians 3:20, our life verse.  I'm kind of amazed that  it's never caught my attention so deeply before.

For a few weeks, I have been feeling like I am on the verge of something.  God has obviously been working but I couldn't put my finger on anything specific. 

I have been praying about returning to Haiti.  Discussions were floating about a Board Meeting at the Apparent Project House.  When Shelley and I were in New York, we discussed bringing a team back, but the dates we were looking at were already taken.  Nothing else was really working.  I've always had clear direction when it has come to this and it just wasn't clear yet.  I felt like I was continually trying to put a square peg in a round hole.  My mom used to always say - "When in doubt, don't."  So, I waited.

Some very exciting changes are happening with Apparent Project right now - but I'm not at liberty to share all of that just yet.  But these changes have made it clear as to why my taking a team wasn't really feasible right now.  The Board Meeting didn't fruition either but I still knew that I was supposed to go again.  I feel that I represent Apparent Project best when I visit.  Things are growing and changing quickly there. Visiting makes it so I can better answer questions and explain things when speaking to churches and groups. 

I spoke with Shelley about some dates and began looking at flights.  It still had not become clear to me as to how I was going to fund the trip.  Last year, all three of us (Jarod, Russ and I) went with the team so raising support was needed.  Our savings account has been depleted this year because of car repairs.  I was willing to do whatever (letters, using AP's Fund Raising Bracelets and Christmas Ornamants, etc) but wasn't sure yet.  I had not even really mentioned the trip to anyone.  I just continued to pray about it and wait.

A few weeks ago, we had a "Family Gathering" at church.  (Basically a quarterly business meeting) and I got up and gave an update on Apparent Project and all that was happening with our cereal box shipments, the bridge we were collecting for, etc.  I had to break the news that we were not taking a team in the Spring - but would look at it again in 2015.  I BRIEFLY mentioned that I would be going in February and that I would give more details about it at a later date.  (I really did not have anything narrowed down.)

It was never really discussed again.  I continued to pray about it and stayed busy with my Open House preparations this past week.  Last night, completely out of the blue,  we were told that my entire trip would be covered by a family in the church!  Needless to say, all I could do was cry!  Completely and totally overwhelmed by God's grace and provision.  Amazing how I didn't even have time yet to "worry" about all the financial details!  He just took care of it.  The verse above immediately came back to mind.  He has poured his grace out to me, providing all that I need to continue in his work.  And for now, that's my next trip to Haiti. 

One thing that I have learned over and over in the last three years is that everything I do with Apparent Project is the building blocks for the next thing.  Always growing, learning, stretching my faith, moving forward.  I am continually overwhelmed that God has chosen me to be a part of all that he is doing in and through AP - both in Haiti and here in the states.  It is humbling and amazing at the same time.

This really has been a wonderful week!!!  Friday and Saturday was my 3rd Annual Apparent Project Open House.  People came from all over Jacksonville and my house was a buzz!  I moved furniture and completely morphed my house into an Apparent Project store and in two days time, raised just over $4000!  What a huge blessing!!!

Many of the "shoppers" brought cereal boxes that they had been collecting and on Sunday afternoon, several volunteers at church came and help me pack another 29 boxes to ship to Haiti!  All of that in about an hour and 15 minutes!  What a great team!  They are becoming pros!!!!  Putting the new boxes with ones that were previously packed - we have another 43 boxes to ship.

And to top everything off - I received a call this morning that we collected the remaining balance of the bridge yesterday!!!  For details on that - click here!  Goodness!  God is so good!  He truly is "able to make every grace overflow to us, so that in every way, we will have everything we need to excel in His work."  He has proven that over and over this weekend! 

All I can do is weep.  I am overwhelmed again and again by His great love and care for ALL of us.


To Him alone be the glory!!!!!!

So - exciting stuff is happening!  I look forward to filling you in on all that lies ahead.  I KNOW it is going to be good because God is ALL OVER IT!!!!!


Until next time......

Apparent Project Open House

This weekend is the BIG event!!!!  2 days of shopping fun!

Due to my schedule this year, I have narrowed down my Apparent Project events.  This one has been being plugged for the past 2 months.  Flyers have been passed out all over Orange Park and Green Cove.  People are carpooling from all over Jacksonville.

You've seen the Fundraiser bracelets - but have you seen the rest of the beautiful things Apparent Project has to offer?

100% of your purchase goes directly back to the artisans!  What a wonderful way to help someone in Haiti and give a beautiful, unique gift at the same time.

Come on out - bring your friends!  Spread the word.  You do NOT want to miss this!!!!

Tons of NEW Christmas items!
Dresses
Purses
Jewelry - NEW DESIGNS!!!!

It's going to be awesome!!!!!

Support the Artisans this Christmas!

I have cut my Apparent Project sales down to a few large events instead of SEVERAL small ones this year.  So - if you are interested in shopping - here is where I will be!!!!

 

SHARE! SHARE! SHARE!!!!!!

 

The Open House will be the biggest - with the most inventory available.

 

 

Oh Tooth Fairy, Where Art Thou?????

Anne lost a tooth several (ahem) ....... months ago.  The Tooth Fairy has yet to come so she resorted to her own methods to get her attention.  I found this taped to her bedroom door this evening when it was time for bed.

Cracks me up!  Guess I need to find a few dollars - maybe more to cover her wait time. 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - Literally!

So after a fun wedding weekend at the Jersey Shore, I took the commuter train into New York's Penn Station.  Having never ridden a train before (besides the one at Disney or the Zoo) I was very excited for this experience.  It would be a four hour ride into Boston. 

Since I was already up North, I decided to combine my trip and head on up to New Hampshire for my annual Fall trip to Emily's.  What a fun and relaxing way to travel!  Not to mention spacious.  I had a nice window seat with electrical outlets and WiFi.

I could have easily napped but I was too afraid of missing something.  We traveled out of New York, through Rhode Island, Connecticut and into Boston where I caught a bus to meet Emily in New Hampshire.  I was a month earlier than usual so the leaves weren't changing yet, but it was still beautiful and a fun experience.


Bruce and Emily purchased a new home back in the spring and I was excited to be able to see it first hand.  They have been busy painting, decorating and making it theirs for the past several months.

It's perfect for their large family.  Lots of space inside and out.

So happy for them to finally feel like they are settled in New Hampshire.  Owning your own home helps to put down roots and create a feeling of permanency.  God has provided so many things for them and continues to confirm that their move was His plan for their family.  It's been amazing to watch them trust Him through this journey and see all the blessings unfold.

So, I spent the first part of my week just chillin with Emily at the house.  It was so nice to just relax, chat and catch up.  Bruce took Thursday and Friday off so we could go play as usual.  The last two years we have headed into Boston and had a blast.  This year we wanted to do something a bit different.  Bruce suggested a road trip into Maine.  When we discovered we were only an hour from Kittery - we got so excited!!!  We got on the internet and figured out a day trip - we could travel up the coast, never more than about 2 hours away and search for lighthouses!  Eeeeeeek!!!!!

I love this kind of travel.  Russ and I do it all the time.  Just hop in the car and go explore. So that's what we did.  We took off on Thursday morning and headed to Maine.

 After a stop at the Visitor's Center to pick up maps and get directions along the coast, we stopped here in Kittery to see out first Lighthouse of the day.  The Whaleback Light. Such a beautiful area.

We took off driving again and came across this area near York Harbor.  We decided to get out and walk a bit.

We had lunch at an adorable restaurant on the water at York Beach.  The weather was perfect and the ocean beautiful!

 View of Boon Island Lighthouse from our table.  It's about 6.5 miles off shore.

Cape Neddick (aka Nubble lighthouse) 

Also from our table

After lunch we took off for a closer view of the Nubble Lighthouse

Like the others, the Nubble is only accessible by boat.

 

So many fun things to stop and see along the way.  We loved this church. So pretty.  I'm a sucker for stone architecture anyway.  Would love to have it incorporated into a home one day.








Our next stop was Ogunquit, Maine.

 Beautiful area.  And the beginning of The Marginal Way - a mile long walking path along the coast.

I had to walk down and put my fingers in the water.

We enjoyed this area so much.

Next, we headed into Kennebunkport.

Lovely little town with lots of shops.

And just outside of town is President Bush's home.  How cool is that?

Our last Lighthouse of the day - Didn't catch the name of this one.

 We knew that we had to try Lobster while in Maine.  I had never had it before - at least not like this:

Ya - a bit overwhelming.  Couldn't quite get past the thing staring at me.  Suddenly I felt like I was in Science Class again.

At least we looked cute while trying something new, right?

While the lobster was good - we both decided that all of that was way too weird and too much work.  I'll stick to my shrimp.

So - we had so much fun on Thursday, that we hopped in the car and headed back on Friday to hit all the shops.  This time we started in Kennebunkport and headed South.

I was the navigator on our trip and I did manage to get us off course a few times.  But sometimes those are the BEST times.  We got off the map a little and wound up at this beach area at sunset and had the best time exploring!

 I ventured out on the rock and soon discovered I was in the middle of wildlife!

These little guys covered every rock

The bigger they got, the prettier their shells.

And we soon discovered that they traveled!

 They are quite talented, don't you think?

We made one last stop where we began the day before.  At the harbor in Kittery.

Beautiful -

Between the layovers, the wedding, the train ride and our journey into Maine, I was in 10 different states this trip.  Kind of blows my mind.  The New England area is so beautiful and I am really thankful I was able to experience more of it this time around.  It really was hard narrowing down all the photographs.  I hope you enjoyed them.....

As always, time spent with Emily is so special.  Very thankful to have a friend like her in my life.

 We decided that next year we might want to try Whale Watching.  How fun would that be????

Until next time.....