What are some needs that need to be met in your community?

Last Friday I went to a JJ Heller benefit concert. JJ and her husband Dave are amazing. Their music is so beautiful and inspirational. Ree Boado opened for them and she is wonderful too! I haven't felt so inspired in a long time. I walked away from their concert feeling like I had just had coffee with a good friend, one who encouraged me and challenged my faith. I cannot even describe the exhilaration I felt after this concert.

All this to say, this was a benefit concert to raise money for a ministry called Streetlight Phoenix a ministry working to eradicate child sex slavery.

Here are some facts on child sex slavery:

On the Streetlight Phoenix website they have numerous ways to get involved. From committing to donate monthly, volunteering, or hosting a screening of there documentary film Branded Streetlight Phoenix is empowering us to raise awareness in our community.

This is a need I see in my community.
By simply donating $13 a month you can be a modern abolitionist. Sex trafficking isn't just happening in Phoenix it's happening all over the country. Don't be afraid to get involved with ministry in your city. You might think that you're just one person and you can't really help anyone but God wants to use you in mighty ways. Make yourself available. Don't let your fears hold you back!

Write a letter to your future husband to encourage him

To the man who will one day be my world,

You are everything God created you to be and you are perfect for me. I am so in love with your heart for God and your heart for people. I want to serve the Lord by your side faithfully all of my days. When you feel like everything you're giving just isn't enough remember God desires to be your source of strength. When you are weak He is strong. You have been given everything you need to accomplish the challenges set before you. God is going to use you to change the world.

When you are sad, remember it's okay to be sad, it's okay to cry. One day there will be no more tears. So cry now and hope for the future. I am here to share in your sadness and grief as well as your joy and success.

When you are lonely remember I am your biggest fan. I will always be for you. I will support you no matter what because that is what God has called me to do. When God made you He didn't make any mistakes. He made you with a purpose and a destiny, and He made you to be my husband. Your love is such a strong manifestation of Christ's love. It's irresistible.

Thank you for loving God.
Thank you for serving others.
Thank you for taking care of me.
Thank you for being strong for both of us.
Thank you for being humble.
Thank you for trusting that God's plan is better than ours.
Thank you for learning and growing.
Thank you for laying down your desires to honor the Lord.
Thank you for dying to yourself that Christ might live through you.
Thank you for speaking truth.

You are the love of my life and I will stand by your side during the battles we will encounter. I will bind up your wounds. I will take care of you when you're sick. I will hold your hand when you are scared. I will cry when you are hurting. I will pray for you always.

I want to love you with all I have in me until my dying day.

Love your girl, MiaHelen

Write about your job and why you love it or hate it

I have always had a passion for working with children. My dream job when I was younger was to be a camp counselor or a nanny. Last summer I was a Childcare Camp Counselor at Mount Hermon and I am just now beginning to venture into being a nanny.

I love my job because I get to work with kids everyday.
I get to hear their little voices tell me stories.
I get to watch their little hands create things.
I get to help them play "make believe" and I get to be their confidant.
I love being able to empower kids to find their hidden talents and learn new skills. It's the best feeling in the world to be loved so unconditionally by a child. Children are so bright and wonderful. They are full of life and new ideas. Their enthusiasm for living seems to rub off on everyone they come in contact with.
In a word, I am addicted to spending time with little ones and I have been so blessed to call that my job!

Write about your favorite comfort food

The Definition of Comfort Food:
Food that is simply prepared and gives a sense of well being; typically food with a high sugar or carbohydrate content that is associated with childhood or with home cooking. Food that one eats to feel comfort or alleviate stress rather than to receive nutrition

Any kind of Asian food fits the "comfort food" bill for me. My mother is Chinese and whenever we spend time with family over the holidays we live off of Asian food. Home cooked, take out, or restaurant dining, Asian food always seems to set things right in my world.

Describe your personality.

I really lost some momentum this week with this post. It stumped me. It's so hard to write about your own personality especially when the term "personality" is such a fluid and subjective one. So I asked my mum if she could write up a little something about me since, well, she has known me longer and more fully than anyone else.
Here's what she wrote:

Mia is a remarkable person.

She is wise and her thoughts run deep. She is creative and able to think out of the box. She learns from past mistakes. She laughs at herself and maintains a mature and healthy sense of both identity and humility. She is incredibly good at learning what she is gifted in. She is naturally good at dance and cutting hair. She has spunk and determination, but is able to flex and give way for the greater good. She is an amazing cleaner-upper. I like to call her the white tornado. She can come into a room and make it clean and clutter free in a matter of minutes. She is able to save money and manage time. She has impeccable fashion sense. She is definitely artsy and listens to music that is simple, real and deeply felt. She is a hopeless romantic and rather earthy and down to earth at the same time. She is a loving friend and a great listener. She helps others with a caring heart and loves others just for who they are. She has persevered through some very hard times and has come out the other side holding the hand of Jesus. Her character has been built through adversity. She knows the way she needs to go and is wise enough to wait on God to help her make it happen. But she doesn’t sit around twiddling her thumbs, she is active in seeking and doing what God shows her to do. When she sets her mind to do something, she can make it happen. She is delightful to be with.

Thanks mum!

I also asked my boy to write up a little something.
If you want to read it hop on over here.

Story of my life

Write about 3 things that make you happy.

1) David Jolly
Yep. This boy loves Jesus, he is extremely thoughtful, and way handsome to boot!!!
He makes my cheeks hurt from smiling everyday!!!

2) The Ocean!
Oh how I miss you, California coast!

3) Good food!
I love food! Thank you Jesus for amazing food!
This is all food I have eaten in the last 6 months! I am so blessed!
And yes, I have an obsession with taking pictures of my food.

Valentine's Day 2011

Here's a little bit of my Valentine's Day!
It was truly magical!

Write a letter to your daughter, or a young girl in your life.

To my girls,

Remember that being cool is not about wearing the right clothes, knowing the right songs, saying the right things, or having the right friends.
Being cool is being comfortable and confidant in your own skin.
There is nothing you can do to rush this process. It simply takes time to grow, learn and mature. But don't be worried or anxious because we all grow a little more comfortable with ourselves each and everyday. It just takes a lot of time and growing up. It is a fact universally known that everyone can admire someone who is comfortable in their own skin.

There are going to be some people you meet in life that you are not going to feel a connection with. You may not even like them at all. That's okay.
You're not going to end up being "best friends" with everyone.
Find people who you really connect with, who really inspire you and vice versa and stick to them like glue! There is nothing so wonderful as finding a kindred spirit to adventure through life with!

Never be afraid to do what you love.
I used to think that because my mother was an artist I never would be. Then one day God opened my eyes to the fact that I had a gift for creating things and I found so much healing and assurance through that.

You have been fully equipped with exactly what you need to succeed.
God knows who you are better than you do. He knows the desires of your heart and what your strengths and weaknesses are. You need never try to be someone else. NEVER! God knows best and He will provide for you in EVERY area of your life!

Matthew 6:25-34

Tiny Woodland Terrarium Toadstool Mushroom and Butterfly Necklace

I featured this lovely little necklace last year here and now over at oh hello friend blog she is sharing a wonderful deal with her readers! You can buy this necklace for $33 with FREE shipping! This necklace normally sells for $50. If this little lovely has been on your wish list now is the time to snatch it up! just head on over here and click on the "buy it now" button in her post!

Write to encourage a friend. Inspire her beauty.

This is my lovely friend Erin.

She is beautiful, talented and full of life.
I remember when I first met her, I knew nothing about her, yet I found myself drawn to her quiet, brilliant spirit.
Erin is extremely artistic and original.
I love bouncing ideas off of her and learning from her vast knowledge of living creatively.
Her insight is always spot on.
Erin acts, sings, dances, writes and is an amazing photographer, but what has always stood out to me about Erin is that her life is her art form.
The way she lives just exudes intricate thought and intentional creative living!
Everything about her inspires me.
Her inner strength, her drive to perfect her art, and her desire to live a full and vibrant life for her Creator.

Thank you for constantly inspiring me Erin.
You are a gem!

Post an outfit pic!

I am so bad about outfit posts. For this one I just searched through my iPhoto till I found something that fit the bill. These pictures are from last April when my family and I went to the Wild Life World Zoo over spring break.

Outfit Details:
Hat: Hand me down
V-neck tee: Old Navy
Flannel: Thrifted
Belt: Gap, Thrifted
Capris: Thrifted
Keds: Ross

What would you like to change about yourself for the better?

I am a procrastinator.
I've been one since I was young. I always put things off until the last possible minute, literally.
So my motto this year is, "Just do it!" I know that's Nike's marketing campaign but that doesn't stop me from using it as my constant go to motto. Whenever I am dreading something, in my head I think "Just do it!" and before I know it, it's done. I spend so much of my time dreading things that I never get around to actually doing them until I absolutely have to. This is a major problem, one that I am just beginning to face head on. I cannot let this stop me from moving forward any longer. I need to face my fears and dreads like a warrior and fight with a passion everyday to do the will of the Father. I don't want to plop down in bed at night feeling like "What did I do today?" I want to slump into my bed exhausted from the fight! I realize now if I were to weigh my time on a scale of what really mattered, the "wasted time" side would be heaping full. Yuck! It is time to stop this now. Procrastination must be squashed and eliminated from my life!

Also read this!
It pretty much sums up how I feel quite often about being the ideal version of myself.