a hand stamped bracelet with a mission

I hand stamped the pewter bracelet shown with the words ‘Speak Life. I have 2 great reasons why I’d love for you to join me in wearing one, but first I’d like to share why these words hold a special meaning to our family.

We were blessed years ago with an impactful lesson that we learned during an extremely long & precarious car ride.

Learning to edify

My husband, myself, and our 5 girls (ages 2 to 14 at the time) were heading from Kansas to Pennsylvania to visit Gramma for Christmas. We left Kansas in milder than normal weather but learned that a winter storm was stirring. Trying to avoid poor driving conditions we made the decision to go a southern route, adding hours to an already long trip. Unfortunately, the storm turned out to be much larger than we realized. It was blanketing the south and rising straight up through our path. We quickly found ourselves in a bad situation with no ‘good’ way to go.

Our normal 22-hour, trip ended up totaling 54 hours, and somewhere around hour 9 or 10 the emotions in our vehicle were intensifying greatly, as emotions tend to do when stress is present. Feeling desperate to keep things as calm as possible, especially for my husband who was driving, I silently asked the Lord for help. In a still small voice He spoke the word “edify”.  I knew immediately the word came from Him, as I can assure you it was nowhere in my mind at the time.  And he reminded me of this verse…

Ephesians 2:29

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to use in edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

I read this verse to my husband & 5 daughters and added a little explanation so that the girls might understand what would (and would not) qualify as edifying words. Our new van rule was that we could only speak words that were edifying.

For a while, our van stayed quiet as we each calmed down and focused on guarding our words. As we gradually made our way along the snow-covered, roads, words of kindness and simple childish humor began to flow. The demeanor of our car transformed into a place of joy and peace. Nothing about our outside circumstances had changed. In fact later that evening we sat completely still for 5 1/2 hours in the middle of nowhere due to an accident further up the highway. Yet amazingly our car remained calm, loving and even enjoyable!

Had we transformed into superhumans,? It sort of felt that way! Yet truly the only thing that changed was that we had made the conscious decision to filter out any words that weren’t kind. Grumpy or sarcastic comments, even words that came to mind about the crazy drivers on the highway, were not spoken. It was a struggle at first yet as time passed it became easier. By the end of the 54 hours we all agreed that it was one of our favorite trips ever!
True. Story.

Speak Life

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, our words have power. No wonder the God who created us and knows us better than we know ourselves reminds us of this multiple times in His Word.

Our family word became the word ‘edify’ after that trip. I want to be reminded daily of the power that my words possess. The power to build up or to tear down. So I made a bracelet with the saying “speak life”. Simply a more modern way of saying ‘edify’. Toby Mac has an awesome song entitled ‘Speak Life’, and its lyrics remind me again of the message God demonstrated to our family so many years ago.

We would like to offer these hand stamped bracelets in our shop with the hope of accomplishing a twofold purpose:

One:  To daily encourage and remind the wearer to ‘speak life’.  Into the lives of their children. their spouse. their aging parent. their neighbor……

Two:  100% of the profits will be given to a ministry that is very dear to our family, the “Butterfly Project”. It is a home in the Philippines that seeks to transform the lives of children, primarily girls, who have lived through horrific circumstances. One by one, day by day, life is spoken to these children by sharing the love of Jesus with them. All while providing safety, nourishment, and schooling so that they may thrive.

Please consider joining with me in choosing to make a difference with our words. In our homes and in our world.

The Butterfly Project

*A few more facts about this mission as stated on their Facebook page***

The Butterfly Project is a ministry of First Love International Ministries which is based out of Rockford Illinois. It is a Christ-centered effort to restore children who have survived terrible abuse and neglect. The sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines is on the rise. Hundreds of thousands of boys and girls are being raped in their homes, sold as slaves, and made to perform online. First Love International is responding to this emergency by providing long term aftercare for child victims of sexual trauma. Our children are placed in safe, insulated homes where they can rest and heal. The aftercare process in a child’s life is like that of a butterfly; the time spent in a cocoon develops them into a new creature. The Butterfly Project is all about helping boys and girls begin a new life in Jesus.

• Current costs to run this ministry are $230/day.
• 75 kids have been helped since they opened their doors 2 1/2 years ago.
• Currently, 34 children are in their care.
• Children are received almost immediately after they are rescued. This then allows for the healing process to begin as soon as possible. Click here if you would like to give directly to the First Love Ministries/Butterfly Project
  To view our bracelets click here.