Let it be to me

If I were a poor teenager and a scary angel appeared to me to tell me I would be having a baby, how would I have reacted? Nope, not me, no thanks, just NO! I know me, and I would have tried to hide and fight God all the way to the stable. But this woman held the Creator INSIDE of her for nine months. She literally had God's presence within her own body. I heard a story last night about a teenager who died of cystic fibrosis last week. He reacted like most teenagers would in that situation: he said it wasn't fair and was mad about it. As far as my friend knew, he never accepted Jesus--despite opportunity--essentially because he didn't like his situation. From my vantage point, it all seemed so silly. He wasted his pain--something that could have been use to give God great glory--and missed the greatest joy of all, an eternity with Jesus, all because the illness wasn't his plan for his life. If I think a child in such a truly hard situation made a silly decision, why do I do the same thing all. the. time?? Mary didn't just passively opt in to being Jesus' mother because she had no other option. She IMMEDIATELY said to the angel, "Let it be to me as you have spoken." She welcomed it, not because she thought it would be fun and easy and right in line with her own plan for her life, but because she knew it was the Lord's will. And she received God's permanent presence, and she is forever called blessed among women.

Lord, I desire your presence. It's so natural to want to fight you, but I don't want to be separated from you now or ever. I need your Holy Spirit to cause me to desire to do your will.

The LORD will fight for you. You need only BE STILL.

Monday, Tuesday, Bluesday...

In honor of today's event at the Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market, I'm posting the main poster for the event. If you happen to live or work in downtown Raleigh, Bluesday (an event with all things blue...kinda fun for a Carolina grad) is today from 10 am to 2 pm in City Plaza. There'll (I don't think that's a word, but it should be so I'm usin' it) be a live band, giveaways and more in addition to all the regular Market vendors.

I loved designing this piece. We have great foods in season (yes, there will even be pumpkins already!) so I was able to use these great photos. It was also pretty easy to incorporate the name of the event with the existing Blue Cross and Blue Shield logo. I messed with the placement of all the photos for a long time but am happy with the final result. And the background color is beautiful in print. Carolina--I mean BCBSNC--blue is pretty much the best. color. Ever.

Gospel in a Tee

I have received some questions about what exactly the adoption shirt says, so I typed it out for you here. The words in bold (which are the blueish color on the shirt) are basically the Gospel in a nutshell--that in the beginning was God but we separated ourselves from Him but He promised to make a way for us to come to Him so He sent His son to be our substitute and die a shameful death so we don't have to. And in light of that love and grace, we live our lives for His glory instead of our own. Is that considered a nutshell? Probably not. Anyway, all of the other words simply have to do with adoption and are in no particular order. The ones in bold tell the gospel story in the context of adoption because the gospel naturally comes out of adoption. Pretty cool how that works out, right?

You can have one of these of your very own for a donation of $20 here (or by contacting me). Let me just say that there are still a lot left but certain sizes are going fast. So if you want one that fits, go buy it now. Yes, I said NOW. ALL of the proceeds go directly towards international adoption!

Orphans
Forgiveness, Fatherless, Son
In the beginning GOD
Grace, Sacrifice, Family Give, Go, Tell, Prayer, Truth, Cross at Calvary, Peace
Created in His Image
Mercy, Blessing, Provision, Holy Spirit, Love
Dead in our trespasses and sin
Abba, Patience, Mother, Sister, Deliverer, Hope
The Promise: I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you
Redemption, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Joy, Africa
Redeemed through His Blood
Pure undefiled religion, inheritance, faithful
Adopted as His Sons through Christ Jesus
Father, Child, Faith, Brother, Daughter
To the praise and Glory of the King
Chosen, Life, Home, Ransom, Rescued
Marked with a Seal
Forever, Ephesians One, Thanksgiving, Salvation
Promise Kept

Thanks for reading!

Stacey

Real Adoption Shirt Photo

This is a real live picture of what the shirt actually looks like! I have literally been trying to get this uploaded for days and I thought the computer I am using was just slow, but I finally realized the file was huge so I reduced it and wa-la, you can see it! I am so excited to actually have them printed and see people wearing them. Mostly I love what the shirt says. It's very bold but so is adoption so it seems appropriate. There's nothing wrong with adoption shirts that may just have a cool design of Africa on them, but we wanted this one to communicate something to people. To say that we were once hopeless but are now "marked with a seal." To explain that adoption flows out of the gospel. To show that as Christians, we are ALL adopted as His sons and daughters!

Check out the Treece's blog where you can actually purchase the shirt! This particular shirt is a women's cut but we have regular crew cut shirts as well as kids sizes all available on the Trecce's blog. You can contact me directly to purchase one as well!

Does It Get Any CUTER Than This??

I love taking pictures, especially of beautiful children! This little one (who I absolutely ADORE) is two years old, which is my favorite age for cuteness. It was just the two of us hanging out for a little bit one afternoon, and I may or may not have bribed her to smile with M&Ms and then not followed through. She did a pretty good job of smiling, but her hair is my favorite part! These pictures really do not do her justice because she's even MORE cute and hilarious and sweet in person!

p.s. - Remember those t-shirts? Check back because I am definitely posting a real picture this week! And since I just typed that I really will do it. Promise!

Doesn't she looks sweet? I caught her on a good day!

LOVE the smile!!

Such a joyful laugh!

Just had to experiment with some black and white!

Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week

In between doing t-shirt fundraisers, going on vacation (I was at the shore when I first wrote this) and taking lots of adorable pictures of cute kids, I am a graphic designer at the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, where we produce a number of downtown events. THIS week is Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week, where you can order three-course prix-fixe dinners for $20 or $30.

I did design this postcard (not the event logo though). It's definitely not my favorite design, despite that fact that this was version 42-ish (not kidding or exaggerating about that number -- that's probably a conservative estimate). But I do get hungry whenever I look at all of the marketing material for this event, so that's good considering I don't even like lobster.

This event lasts for only seven days from August 23 to August 29. You can view the menus on the website, which are good deals for what you're getting. Last year's event was very successful, and we recommend you make reservations. If you've been wanting to try a nice downtown restaurant, this would be the time to do it. Enjoy!

How to Eat a Brownie

I baked homemade brownies with these kiddos tonight, and this is how it went:

A and M took turns pouring the ingredients and stirring. They were great at sharing the job!

You can't make brownies without licking the spoon. M licked this spoon 'til there was nothing left, and then licked it again!

And what evening would be complete without eating the brownies you just made off the floor in your diaper with the dog lurking nearby??