What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do

A little over a week ago, I woke up to the news that a massive earthquake had hit Nepal. I'm ashamed to admit that for days, I avoided the stories and pictures. I didn't want to know how bad it was. I didn't want to know how many people were trapped or how many lives were ended. I didn't want to hear about homes destroyed or people in desperate need of relief. Because once you now something, you can't un-know it.

Knowledge brings with it responsibility. I didn't want to hear the news because I knew I would feel compelled to do something, ANYTHING, to help, but when there's a problem as big as the one in Nepal, I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do. It seems that I've felt this way a lot in the past year. Every time a natural disaster decimates an area, Boko Haram steals another batch of little girls, or ISIS slaughters innocent people, something inside me cries out at the injustice of it all.

As a believer, I'm more than a little uncomfortable with the notion of going on with my same old everyday life as if nothing had happened. And yet, in the face of such massive problems, I can't help but feel small and insignificant. As if anything I do will be like trying to bail water out of a sinking ship with only a teaspoon at my disposal, but y'all, that's simply not true. I'm here to tell you that it's a lie, and sadly, it's a lie that I've fallen for more than once. So I'm writing this to remind us both that when we don't know what to do, there are at least two things we can do that matter.

We can pray. And I mean, really pray—not just in passing, but in earnest. We may be small, but the God we serve is anything but. When we come face to face with devastation, tragedy, and injustice, even when it's half a world away, we should cry out for mercy. Instead of just reading the headlines, we should pray over them. And when we finish, we should pray over them some more. We should pray for God's action and justice, for his mercy and compassion, for needs to be met and broken hearts to be mended, for homes and health to be restored. And when the news outlets have moved on and people stop posting links about it on twitter, we should pray even more fervently. We should pray for our brothers and sisters across the world to have perseverance for the long haul, and more than anything, we should pray that somehow, some way, God's name would be magnified. Prayer matters.

We can also give. And I'm not just talking about money, although that's always helpful. We can give our time, our efforts, and at the very least, our voices. We can use our own little circles of influence to make as much of a difference as possible. As much as I would like to haul off to Nepal and hand out bottles of water to refugees, I can't. I've got a couple of busy little girls to take care of. But there are other people who can go, and I can give so that they can buy the bottles of water to hand out. I can also call attention to their efforts (see video from the Baptist Global Response below). It may not be much, but it's better than nothing. And if all of us band together and give what we can, we'll be able to really make a difference. This, by the way, is just as biblical a response as prayer. When famine struck Judea in the days of the early church, the disciples took up a collection to send relief (Acts 11:27-30), and in his letters to Corinth, Paul talks of collecting money to meet the needs of believers. It's not a new idea. It's an old one that's tried and true. Giving matters too

I say all of this because I know how overwhelming it can be to see the problems of the world. It's easy to get caught up in all that we can't do, but it's far better to do the things that we can. My prayer for you (and for me) is that the next time the headlines are clogged with news of unspeakable tragedy, we'll do what we can to make a difference.

Until next time, grace and peace.

The End of an Era: Felicity Paper is Closing

Hello, dear friends! I'm writing today with some shocking news. Brace yourselves. Are you ready for it? OK, here goes. I'll be closing Felicity Paper at the end of the month. But here's some more news to help soften the blow: At the end of the summer, I'm launching a new store. It will be hosted right here on LAJ.com and will be filled with all sorts of products to encourage and inspire you in your relationship with God. Art prints, mugs, journals, t-shirts, and all sorts of goodness are headed your way.

This change has been a long time coming. For several years I've felt as if I've had a split personality. Some of you may remember that before I became a stationery designer, I was a seminary student with a heart for writing, but I had a baby shortly after graduation, and she changed everything. Though I had started regularly writing curriculum for a couple of different Christian publishing houses, I found myself lacking the time and attention to write curriculum anymore. So I put all of that on hold to return to later, at some point in the future when my babies didn't require so much of my attention.

In the meantime, I launched Felicity Paper. I've always had a thing for pretty paper and design, and designing didn't require as much of me as writing, so I went with it for the time being. I thought I would have a little business on the side...I had no idea that Felicity Paper would grow and prosper and turn into such a success. As the business (and my children) grew, I was caught in a quandary: Do I keep doing this? Or do I return to my first love?

I've hemmed and hawed around the issue for months. There was a part of me that wanted to give up design and focus on writing, because I have a calling, and I've been waiting for a long time to do something about it. But there was another part of me that wanted to keep designing, because good design makes my heart sing just as much as writing does. And so I've dragged my feet, unsure of where to go next.

I won't bore you with the details of all that has led to this point, but I finally came to the conclusion that God has made me both a writer and a designer. More and more lately, I feel God leading me to marry my two halves together. To bring my love for design and my love for the Word together. And so that's what I'm going to do.

Felicity Paper is closing. There won't be any more invitations or announcements or stamps. But there will be journals specifically designed to lead you in your Bible study. There will be cards for you to send encouraging notes to friends. There will be Scripture cards to help you tuck the word of God in your heart. And eventually, there will be Bible studies. The shop will be a companion to my writing, and I'm really, really excited about it.

I'm spending the next few months developing new products and getting everything set up with the new shop. Stick around with me, and let's see where God takes us. It's my prayer this this shop and this blog will bring honor and glory to God. That through it, women will come to know and experience God more deeply. That they will develop a passion and hunger for His Word. That this will be a place where truth is spoken and hearts are encouraged. Will you pray that with me?

Until next time, grace and peace.

Happy Easter, Y'all!

Easter is my favorite, y'all. Over the past week, we've celebrated with friends from preschool and church, hunted eggs more times than I can count, and decorated eggs with a handful of friends. We've opened our resurrection eggs, made (and enjoyed eating) resurrection rolls, and talked about Jesus' death and resurrection constantly.

Because for us, Easter is so much more than new spring dresses and chocolate bunnies. It's more than the baskets and the egg hunts and the peeps. It's the most important part of the Christian faith. It is central to the gospel message.

Without the resurrection, Jesus Christ is just another dead prophet. Without the resurrection, death wins, and we are hopeless. Without the resurrection, we who call ourselves Christians are most unfortunate indeed. That's what the apostle Paul says, anyway (1 Corinthians 15).

Thank God for the resurrection. Because Christ has been raised, we are confident that death doesn't get the final say. Life wins, and we have hope for a future where there is no more death, no more tears, no more pain. There will be no more sickness or suffering or sorrow.

And that, my friends, is what Easter is all about. It's the first ray of sunshine after a dark, dark night. It's the preview of the main event. It's the assurance we so desperately need that everything is going to be OK after all.

And so today, on this Resurrection Sunday, I wish you a Happy Easter. May the joy and hope of that first Easter morning flood your hearts today and every day from now until eternity.

Until next time, grace and peace.