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Compassion

My Trip to Nicaragua with Compassion {links to posts and video}

June 27, 2013 by Edie Wadsworth 15 Comments

Morning sunshines!
I’m still trying to recover. I thought painting my daughter’s room would help to , you know, make me feel normal again. Which is why I can hardly open my right hand this morning. (#canyousaygranniehands?) But I wanted to peek in and say hi and tell you that I’ve put all my Nicaragua posts in one place so they’re easy to find and share. We’re getting ready for lots of company in the next two weeks so I’ll probably be sparse around here. I have a few scheduled/sponsored posts so I won’t be totally absent, just a little busy with cooking and fluffing the guest rooms. I’ve almost got my menu for next week planned, which means you might wanna head on over to Bean Station. Just sayin’.  Thank you for sharing these posts with all your friends. Kids are getting sponsored because you care! And this song, ( I Cry by Thad Cockrell)? Currently the soundtrack to my days.  (Thank you, Keely!)
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Sonny and Memaw and Other Ramblings, pre trip post

‘Twas the Night Before, pre trip post

A Good Place to Start, Nicaragua Day 1

When a Father Loves His Daughters, Nicaragua Day 2

Open My Eyes, Nicaragua Day 3

Obediente, Nicaragua Day 4

I’ve Got You, Nicaragua Day 5

Home

My favorite posts from the other Compassion Bloggers:

The Whole Story (Shaun)

The Cost of Being a Sponsor (Bri)

Never Forget Us (Traci)

 Because He Loves Me (Kelly)

When You Know It’s Real (Christy)

I’ve Seen Best Again (Shaun)

Welcome to Moisesitos (Keely)

I’d love to know what you’re up to so far this summer and what music and food and books are coloring your days?

Hugs and smooches!

xoxo

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Compassion, Nicaragua, poverty

Obediente (Nicaragua, Day 4)

June 22, 2013 by Edie Wadsworth 62 Comments

obedient

My dream when I graduated from high school was to be a missionary and have six kids.  I was pretty sure that was what serious Christians did. And if you were really obedient to God’s call, you’d go to Africa.  Obviously.  Don’t be jealous but back in the day, I was what we liked to call a soul’d out Christian. I was a bonafide Jesus freak.  Despite the fact that I was a basketball player, cheerleader, volleyball player, softball player, and  straight A student, I was also president of the FCA, attender of every church camp known to man,  quoter of the Romans roads, and Bible thumper in the kindest sense of the word.  I carried my Bible to school and witnessed to people in the hallway.  I just knew I was destined for full time ministry.  Or at the very least Amway.  I upped my game by learning the smoky eye, in honor of Tammy Faye.  Because Africa needs more missionaries from the South with a tendency for big hair and heavily applied eye makeup.

Fast forward 25 years and none of those dreams came true.  I didn’t go to Africa.  I birthed a measly 4 kids (wimp) and I went to medical school instead of Bible college.  In my defense, I continued to perfect the smoky eye and am considered the resident hair and makeup artist in my circle of influence.  It’s really too sad that my talents with beauty products never reached Africa, but many a Southerner have enjoyed the fruits of my smoky eye labors. Pardon me, I digress, good people.

When I said yes to Shaun to come on this trip, that dream that I had the courage to write down in ink on the first page of my senior book all those years ago bubbled right to the surface.  To be honest, that dream has haunted me more times than I’d like to count, especially when the insecurities of quitting my job as a physician began to mount.  Okay, so let’s get this straight, my inner smarty pants would say, “So, you first dreamed of becoming a missionary and having 6 kids and you didn’t do that.  Then you spent 13 years in school to be a doctor and now you’re not doing that either.  Instead, you’ve taken to  making cornbread and apple butter, knitting dishcloths, and making your girls watch videos of  D.Ray White, clogging on a piece of plywood. It all makes perfect sense.  To no one in the history of ever.”

God silenced that voice in my head this week, and replaced it with the laughter and squeals of little girls putting on lip gloss a half a world away.

He made me a missionary and gave me two more daughters.

He redeemed the dream.  In His own good time and His own perfect way.

Today, I met Julissa for the first time.  I’ll let the photos tell the story but be forewarned:  her deliciousness may cause  fireworks to shoot out from your computer and if your computer crashes from the cuteness and volume of the photos, that’s on Keely.

Love at first sight, if ever there was such a thing.

julissa

 

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We were privileged to walk her home and meet her mom and siblings.

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And then all my training in beauty products made us bff’s.  She’s a pretty quick study with the lip gloss.  Maybe a little globby at first but she’s got potential, this one.

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Girlfriend’s got this.

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I told her to keep practicing and when I come back in a few years, we’ll start smoky eye training.  She’s on board and willing to do the work!

It was a life-giving visit, full of fun and joy and hope.

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We prayed with her family before we left and her momma told me that she prayed God would bless my family, too. (Cue the waterworks.)

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Then, she gave me the gift she had made for me —a hat that said “obedient” in Spanish.  Her teacher from Compassion said,

“Her family thanks you for being obedient to the Lord.”

I loved my new pink hat and put in on and gave her a big smooch.  But, there was an awkward silence in my heart.

Obedience.  The word that might be best translated submission or yielding.  The thing I wish I was.  But the pink hat tells lies about me.

I have not been very obedient in my life.  The sting of it sucker punched me.  I have not surrendered.  I have not submitted or let go of my own way.  I have been stubborn and selfish and hard-hearted.

I have broken the two greatest commandments.  I have not loved the Lord with my whole heart and I certainly have not loved my neighbor as myself.

I began to grasp for ways to justify myself, for ways to make the pink hat true.

What I realized is that despite my own guilty soul, I have the fruits of obedience in my own life.  Other people’s obedience, that is.

—in the youth pastor that faithfully took me to church every Sunday when I was a kid.

—in my own mother, who worked two jobs, trying to put food on the table.

—in my pastor, who preaches the Gospel every. single. Sunday., when the Christian culture around him is busy with flashy programs and flimsy fads.

—in Diana’s father, who picks through trash heaps, to piece together a living from everybody’s leftovers.

Perhaps leftover from my days tangled in legalism, I have a visceral reaction to the word obedient.  I immediately feel shame and guilt.  I know me. I know what I am.  I have done everything but yield.

It’s just like me, though, to want to write my own name on the little pink hat.  To think that I am the one the word is about. It’s the oldest sin in the book.

The truth is, He is so gracious.  He has been obedient in my place.  He submitted His will to the Father’s, even when it meant death.  He was God and free to do as He pleased, but Jesus yielded His power and freedom in love for mankind.  The pink hat describes Him, not me. I breathe relief in deep, like it’s air.

And yet, in His faithful love toward me, He has imputed His perfect obedience and righteousness on me, freely, by His death on the cross.

I am living on borrowed submission, on hand-me-down surrender. The song may be catchy, but I haven’t surrendered all.   I am just blessed enough to know the One who has.  And He clothes me in His obedience and gives me everything I need, to make me free.

The question is, what do we do in that freedom?

Since He has done everything for me, the only person left to worry about is my neighbor.

I am free to submit to my neighbor.  To ask what his needs are and if I can meet them.   We do this all day everyday, with our family and friends.

Today, I’m asking you to see the needs of little neighbors like Julissa; to release children from poverty, to give them a safe place, to give them the chance of salvation in Christ.

I’m not asking you to obey.

I’m asking you to trust in the perfect obedience of Christ, who gives his submission to you freely, in order that you might care for the least of these.

His obedience has freed you up to love and serve your neighbor.

And Compassion has made it so easy for you to do that, for less than you spend on one dinner out with your family.

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I’m asking you to take a child by the hand and walk her safely Home.  When you get there, you’ll realize He was carrying you both.

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Wanna change the course of someone’s life today?   Sponsor a child.  They are waiting patiently and they fully believe we’re coming for them.

(But be careful, that changed life might turn out to be your own. As it turns out, pink hats are kinda magical like that!)

 

i'mamissionary

 

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Follow the other compassion bloggers here!

My friend Kelly wrote an important post about the centrality of letter writing in Compassion’s program. If you are thinking of sponsoring a child or already sponsor one, read her post and be reminded of the power of the written word.

You’ll be in tears after reading Shaun’s post about how Nicaragua was changed forever by a boy and his nanny.

The more you share these posts with your friends, the more children will be sponsored.  THANK YOU so much.  I’m already a mess just thinking about how you’ve loved on us all this week.

xoxo

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Compassion

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“Do not waste time bothering whether you “love “Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone you will presently come to love him.” – C.S. Lewis
Grab your coffee because you do NOT want to miss t Grab your coffee because you do NOT want to miss this behind the scenes chat. ❤️❤️❤️

Me and a couple of my brave friends taught a class this week called Lucy Libido.  It’s in my private group but I’m downloading it so I can send it to you if you want it. It’s THE ACTUAL BEST.  Especially when you watch the faces of @candacecrabtree  and @kellylynam  as I teach.  Lemme know in the comments if you want the link by showing me your most used emoji❤️❤️❤️❤️
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Almost exactly 21 years ago today, we ran our first half marathon together in Strawberry Plains.  Right before  the race started , in the front seat of his Honda Accord, he gave me a steroid shot in my foot so I could actually complete the race. Don’t worry, he’s also an excellent podiatrist. The race folks passing by our car didn’t know that though. 😂🕺🏻 

The whole race he kept telling me to keep a steady pace. “You keep running really fast for a while and then slowing way down.” Little did he know that he was witnessing the cautionary tale of life with me. There’s 100 miles a hour and there’s in bed with my biomat.  I don’t have the steady pace gear setting.  Thankfully, he does and keeps me from running myself into the ground. I like to think I keep him entertained with my flashes of crazy woman intensity.  At least that’s what I tell myself. 💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼

Give me a ❤️ in the comments if you and your honey pie are exact opposites.  Happy love weekend.
As a physician and a long time skeptic of almost a As a physician and a long time skeptic of almost anything “natural,” including my hair color 😂😍, I’m no stranger to doubts and confusion and lackluster results around essential oils. And by the way, nobody thought they were WEIRDER than me:)) I bought my first starter kit so my friend would stop telling me how much I was sure to love the oils.  In other words, so she’d  hush up about oils already. (😂love you forever @fieldstonehill )

Honestly, I thought it was the craziest thing I had ever paid good money for.

And as a certified skeptic who let her kit languish in the recesses of her china cabinet for a year, I hope to dispel a few of the myths that often surround oils so you can feel confident and empowered and EDUCATED to make these little gems part of your mama toolbox. We absolutely have no idea how we would live without them in our house. Just ask Stevie. 

So join me tomorrow for an  awesome online class where I shall bust the myths surrounding these little miracle drops.  Tell your friends, sisters, Momma's and bff's to join us for a fun, informative and jam packed online class!! I'll take you through the 7 Myths About Oils & the Truths that will surprise you ALONG with BONUS CONTENT about which oils you shouldn’t be without for use “after hours”💃🏼💃🏼🕺🏻🕺🏻

I’ll be streaming it live to You Tube at 
Noon tomorrow!!

Remember I’m giving away an EPIC diffuser tomorrow so comment below with your questions or thoughts about these unicorn tears or something you USED to think about oils before you actually tried them.  Your comment will enter you for the giveaway!!

Ps. I can’t  wait to share my own story with you about the absolute transformation those little bottles created in my own life🤓🍃💪🏼😍🤓

Pss. Giving a diffuser tour tomorrow in stories.  All 18 of them. 😳😱🥳🥳
Okay let’s play a game called how many diffusers Okay let’s play a game called how many diffusers does Ms Edie have going in her house on any given day??? (Not counting the ones in boxes in my Young Living hoard😂🤩)

Your guess will enter you for my giveaway of this AMAZING diffuser, only in white!! It’s actually still available for a VERY LIMITED time so grab it while you can!!

Also for your supreme entertainment, Tom did a polar plunge in the lake today at a chilly 35 degrees. Check out my stories for a good laugh😱❄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️
Let me brighten up your Monday with my favorite ra Let me brighten up your Monday with my favorite rainbow of magic plant juice!

This amazing diffuser (the one with the wood trim, which has been out of stock for EVER) has had a makeover and is now available in WHITE!!!!

AND???

I’m giving one away this week here on IG and here’s how you enter to win!

1. Like and comment on all 5 posts this week (Monday-Friday).

2. Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite YL product is OR what your curious about when it comes to oils or natural health.

3. TAG a friend on THIS post and if you end up winning the diffuser, I’ll send them the OTHER diffuser in this picture. (It’s called the Desert Mist and is also one of my FAVES!)

THAT is all.

Yay for diffusers and plant juice and magic potions.

Happy MONDAY!!!!

Ps. This will likely sell out fast so if you are already with Young Living you should grab it soon and if you are not you can get a basic kit to get started and then that will allow you to order this diffuser. Message me here if you need help!! You can go to ediewadsworth.com to order through my link and get added to my private education group❤️
“We are above all things loved--that is the good “We are above all things loved--that is the good news of the gospel--and loved not just the way we turn up on Sundays in our best clothes and on our best behavior and with our best feet forward, but loved as we alone know ourselves to be, the weakest and shabbiest of what we are along with the strongest and gladdest. To come together as people who believe that just maybe this gospel is actually true should be to come together like people who have just won the Irish Sweepstakes. It should have us throwing our arms around each other like people who have just discovered that every single man and woman in those pews is not just another familiar or unfamiliar face but is our long-lost brother and our long-lost sister because despite the fact that we have all walked in different gardens and knelt at different graves, we have all, humanly speaking, come from the same place and are heading out into the same blessed mystery that awaits us all. This is the joy that is so apt to be missing, and missing not just from church but from our own lives--the joy of not just managing to believe at least part of the time that it is true that life is holy, but of actually running into that holiness head-on.”
― Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons
2 years ago today, your world shattered into a mil 2 years ago today, your world shattered into a million pieces.

Sometimes I marvel at how we were blessed enough to be there holding you when it all came crashing down. I do know this—I can’t remember my life without you.

I do know that thousands of tears and meals and boo-boos and toy trucks later, we stand in awe of you---your courage, your brave big boy fight, your tender little boy heart, your hilarious old man ways. 

We know how sacred this walk with you is and we don’t take it lightly.

We are here for it all and we couldn’t be more grateful.

We have always loved you and you have always been our special gift.

 Love you little one. Let’s keep listening for Aslan. He will find a way to put everything back together. 

“Herein lies the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Do not be afraid.”
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