little people can take big steps too.

I'm 5' 2 1/2".

And yes, the half counts.

To many of my friends and family members, I'm short. To little babies and toddlers, I'm tall. And to my husband (who is 6' 6"), I'm perfect ... or a midget, depending if he wants to be sweet or funny.

Despite of my height, I have big dreams. Dreams that every now and then come out of hiding, and I find myself daydreaming for hours in my office wanting to live them out. I tend to daydream ... a lot. I remember specifically when I was younger --- I daydreamed all day, err day. What I would be. Where I'd be living. Who I'd Marry. If I was famous ...

In college, daydreaming went to a different level. Being away from home, I grew up some. I was an adventure-seeker. I thrived for risks (sometimes, ha). And I wasn't afraid to take a leap of faith. I daydreamed a lot about living in Africa and becoming a missionary, ever since the summer after my freshman year. I had it all planned out.

I still daydream when I get the chance, but with reality slapping me in the face (as it often does), I find myself dreaming less and less. The idea of living out my dreams grow slimmer and slimmer as I submerge myself into reality.

For a season in my life, I found myself jealous and envious as I saw friends living out their dreams. Missionaries overseas. Working at a non-profit. Event coordinator. Living in a different country. Traveling the world. Teaching English in a non-English speaking country.

"Count your blessings," I tell myself. I'm blessed to have married my best friend, grateful to have the kind of job at my age, and thankful to be surrounded with a community of friends and family. All of those, and so much more, I don't regret. At all. But sometimes, I ask myself, "When is it my turn to live out my dreams? My passions?"

And then I realize, it's not my turn yet.

There's a reason why we're not created to control how our lives should look like. It's too much for us to handle. It's not worth the disappointment and heartache. Now and then, I'm reassured by Him.

And am I comforted by His Word:
"Trust in me with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to me, and I will make your paths straight."

Trust. It's the first step to following your dreams. The next step? Seeing the opportunities that God reveals to you. And then? Go.

he's 29.

This is my husband. He just turned 29 this past Saturday. Such a cutie.

If you know him, then you know this: He doesn't like celebrating his birthday. And to some extent, I agree with his reasons. Don't want to be in the center of attention. Just want to keep it simple. 

But if you know me, then you know this: Everyone deserves a celebration for his/her birthday ... whether it's a big or small one. I've noticed each year for birthdays, it gets harder and harder trying to be creative with the presents I give him. One year, I gave him presents throughout the day. Another year I bought random knick knacks that reminded me of him with cute little post-its describing each one. And another year I bought him tickets for Wicked (can't beat that one!). This year, I flat out asked, "What do you want for your birthday?" Most married women can agree: It's better to ask him what he wants. But of course, the creative side came out and I found myself finding other pieces to go along with his present. And it worked. And he loved it. 

Toms. Johnny Cash. Dress socks. "Oh the Places You'll Go." 

For his birthday, we went to the place filled with art and lush gardens ... otherwise known as the Getty Museum in LA.

We went with a couple of our friends that day, and just spent a few hours admiring the scenery and artwork located on this hill. My personal favorites were paintings by Monet and Van Gogh. Being a history buff, he enjoyed reading the stories behind the different types of artwork. I loved how excited and intrigued he got reading each description. 

The day was just perfect for his 29th birthday. Worried that the couple days before filled with rain and not-so-fun weather would influence this day, the sun peaked out. I love celebrating each day with him, but I more so love spending his birthday with him. Who wouldn't want to treat their best friend out on their special day? 

I'm blessed to be his wife. 

Side note: The first time we went here was during our first Valentine's Day together.

my saturday mornings look like this.

Most people have the privilege to sleep in on Saturday mornings.

Not me.

It's soccer season for my hubby.

 

There's always blood

He absolutely loves soccer. Even more than his UCLA Bruins (whoa).

Before we dated, I was never interested in soccer. When I was younger, I'd flip through the channels on tv and always stumbled soccer games on espn, telemundo, or whatever. Even though it was for a few seconds, I was easily bored at watching both teams pass the ball to one another.

When Brian & I were dating, he'd told me how he loved soccer and would start naming players, both international and national, that I had no clue of. When February came around in our dating relationship, I learned he played soccer for a church league. As a good girlfriend, I went to watch his games showing my support (even though 3/4 of the time I had no clue except to scream and shout when our team mad a GOALLLLLLLLLL!). During this same season, we would go/watch L.A. Galaxy soccer games where I learned a lot of the technical terms, how the game really works, and the names of the players. This has gone on for four years, and I'm proud to say I'm a soccer fan!

Krystle & I aka Soccer Moms

Another plus side of going to these games are these two cuties:

a bit of paper, yarn & paint

So as stated in my earlier post this year, I've dedicated to at least creating something once a week. If it wasn't for my work environment, being exposed to arts and crafts of all mediums, I'd be screwed.

How many times have I gone on Pinterest and pinned endless amounts of pins for my [board]...and have done nothing?

A coworker of mine gave me the extra push to set out and just create.

Here's a look of what I've been creating thus far:

I helped my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law throw a beautiful, retro-style baby shower for my sister-in-law, Tamara. The theme was Mustache Bash, a popular favorite on Pinterest. Though it was post acid trauma, I still managed the energy to help out with decorations. Creating the banners were especially my favorites!

For one of my upcoming issues, Haute Handbags, I asked some of the editors and photographers to with me in creating altered totes for an upcoming challenge. I was super super nervous and stressed, afraid of what the outcome would look like. Despite the disadvantage of time, I was able to create this guy. Hopefully sometime in the future, I'll add some other embellishments before I can comfortably walk around with it.

My friend Bri aka Big Bri had her birthday a couple of weeks ago. Also her and her friend Dannah started a new wedding consultation company called Cafe I Do. So to celebrate her 23rd year of birth and her new endeavor, I made these little guys. I bought most of this stuff from my company's Shoppe at Somerset. 

I've been getting into calligraphy and doodling lately. Maybe I'll put some more on here. Eek.

Yesu Wakanaka (Jesus is very Good)

Dear Family & Friends,

This coming July, we are amazingly blessed to return to Mozambique. We have the opportunity to lead a team of Vanguard University students to serve on a three-week mission trip. As you probably know, God has placed Mozambique on our hearts for the past seven years. Through our trips there, God has revealed so much of His presence to and love for us in ways that still resonate today. We have been praying for the past two years for God to provide an opportunity to return to this beautiful place we’ve called our second home. We are so excited to obey God’s call to mission in a place that has already been such a blessing to us.

Throughout Scripture, we see that God’s heart is broken for those who need Him the most — the poor and the forgotten. He has called His followers to be His hands and feet to reach the orphans and widows of our world. This trip to Mozambique provides us the opportunity to play a part in God’s story by partnering with a ministry that is dedicated to caring for and nurturing orphans.

We will be working with Iris Ministries at the Centro Arco-Iris Machava located outside of the capitol city, Maputo. They are steadfastly committed to living our greatest commandment: love God with everything by loving all people. They have over 10 centers across Mozambique that provide homes for orphans, healthcare for the sick, and food for the hungry, all while spreading the Good News (They are affiliated with over 10,000 churches!). For more information about Iris, click here. The center in Machava is first and foremost an orphanage. They currently house and support over 80 children from the ages 4 to 18. Secondly, the center is the church for the surrounding community and has lived out the Gospel there in life-changing ways for the last 15 years. Lastly, the center is a community school that is currently educating over 400 students. The heart of the center is to be a blessing to a poverty-stricken community. God truly has His hand on this place.

As a team, we will be involved in the following aspects:

• Church. There will be opportunities to share testimonies, take part in leading worship, share the Word, and perform skits.
• Outreach. Several times during the week, we will be visiting the community through prayer walks and local church outreaches. We will be participating in the monthly service called Som do Céu (Sound of Heaven) in Maputo. We will visit the site of a future center located in Catembe, an area where they are laying the ground work for a church/orphanage plant.
• Education. We will be a resource to the school on a daily basis ranging from teaching Bible lessons to assisting the teachers in any way.  
• Children. Our most common action will be spending time with the kids. Our goal is to build relationships and to love them unconditionally as Christ would have us do. 

In order to go, we each need to raise approximately $3,800. This amount will cover ground transportation, food, supply costs, and ministry expenses. We will need both prayerful and financial support throughout this process, and we are writing to ask you to prayerfully consider whether or not God would have you be one such supporter. We would greatly appreciate your financial assistance, and hope you would consider contributing towards the necessary funds. However, we covet your prayers even more so. We truly believe in the power of prayer, and would ask that you would partner with us in that aspect of the trip.

We look forward to what God is going to do in and through us on this journey. We trust that He’s going to use us for His ends, and we are excited that you get to be a part of it. God has called all of us to play a part in His Story, and we look forward to sharing what He is doing in Machava, Mozambique.

For His Glory,

Brian & Christine Stephens

If you do choose to financially support us, you may do so in one of the following ways: 

***Write a check, payable to Vanguard University, add a note with our names in it, and mail it to the following address:

Vanguard University

Attn: Outreach Ministries

55 Fair Dr.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

OR

***Contribute to our team online by filling out our 3-step online secure form on Vanguard University's website.

All donations to our team are tax-deductible as allowed by law, and to aide in the issuance of receipts, please do not write our names anywhere on the check, if you choose this payment method. If you choose to pay online, please type our names in the box labeled “Team Member Name.”

fishers of men

As I mentioned before on my post here, Brian & I will be returning to Mozambique in the summer leading a team of amazing Vanguard college students and alumni. Last weekend we camped out in the beautiful area of Lake Cachuma located in Santa Barbara. Despite the oh-so-cold/freezing weather, it was a weekend filled with team bonding, ministry, and observing God's creation.

There were times during the weekend that I stood back and watched our team. My heart filled with joy as I tried to hold back tears. I feel blessed to be a part of this team that God put together. I now see why He made us wait...

It was to take these amazing people on this journey, to walk with them through trials and joys, and to celebrate what God is doing in our lives.

From Left to Right
Alex & Camille McClure, Maggie Carranza, Korynn Whitaker, Naomi Rivas, Liz Guevara,  me & the hubs

thoughts on a quarter of a century.

A few weeks ago, I turned 25.

For once I almost forgot it was my birthday. The week prior to turning a quarter of a century, I was balancing two jobs, preparing for our Mozambique team meeting, involved with church, etc. I knew the day was coming; I just didn't have time to "enjoy" my final days as 24.

I've also come to a realization that I'm not a fan of my birthday. Maybe it's because of age. Or maybe I'm just realizing how silly of an idea that is. We invite people to spend the day with us, to spend money going out with us, to buy presents for us ... to celebrate the day of our birth. Pretty selfish right? I was almost tempted to not have a birthday dinner; a part of me just wanted to rest and do nothing.

But as many people reminded me, 25 is big deal. It is one of those monumental markers. So, despite my original plans, I had a dinner; I kept it simple, had some of my favorite people with me, and, of course, had some grub.

Despite how January started off crazy, I have a good feeling about this year. 25, get ready for this one!

(And yes, after two years of begging my hubs finally bought me a banjo.)