Star

There is a star that dances
On all that I see
In twinkling lights
Children’s eye
Skating rinks
Love’s promised rings
Floating in flakes falling from the sky
Rising in warmth
From crackling fires
Swirling in mugs of hot chocolate
It is there in the feasts
And tumbling among friends
It is bright in every family bond
It is ringing in laughter
Standing in memories of years gone by
In traditions passed down
In traditions starting new
It sparks when hands connect
And delights in each embrace
As I slow
And breathe
And take in the season around me
That star
Everywhere
The shine of hope
The spark of peace
The light of love
Born first
In a star that defied the darkness
A child born
A life for every heart
The star
Dancing in the world

Create a World of Hope — How You Can Help!

Once again I have been blessed with an opportunity to faithfully answer God’s call in my life. This July, I will be embarking with a team to Cape Town, South Africa with Horizon International. The mission of Horizon International is to “Create a World of Hope” for children adversely affected by the ravages of HIV/AIDS. Horizon International is a non-profit organization dedicated to caring for orphans affected by HIV/AIDS. We serve these orphans and their communities regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender, enabling them to break the cycle and live free from the bonds of poverty and disease. To learn more about Horizon International, why they are doing the work they do and about the different programs they offer, visit their website www.horizoninternationalinc.com.

Horizon is committed to helping us here become aware of and engaged in the battle for the lives of the millions of children in Africa who have been marginalized and who suffer due to the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. One of the vital aspects of educating people about this is Short Term Mission Teams. As a member of a Short Term Mission Team, I will be working with Horizon to come alongside local partners in Cape Town providing needed labor, materials and most importantly presence, love and hope to the children most often abandoned, forgotten and neglected.

There are many ways you can get involved and help support this critical mission without joining a Short Term Mission team. You can sponsor a child, ensuring they receive the basic necessities like food and education (for more on child sponsorship or to sponsor a child, visit the Horizon International Website). You can also support our Short Term Mission Team through financial donation and / or prayer support.

You can engage with me through financial giving and / or prayer support. Donations are tax deductible and enable us to purchase needed materials and resources in support of the local partners. Donations can be made by check or on line through the Horizon International website http://horizoninternationalinc.com/ – select Give Hope, Donate, and enter the amount and Designation (Go Team, Amber Stephenson Cape Town) under the “Give to Other” header. If you do give on line, please let me know so that I can ensure the funds reach the correct Go Team and so I can keep you updated and thank you for your engagement in this mission. Checks can be mailed to me, payable to Horizon International and should include “Amber Stephenson / Cape Town” in the comments section.

Prayer support is just as critical to the success of our mission as financial support. When we travel with prayer protection and support from home, our team is greater and we are able to accomplish so much more! Even if you are not able to financially or prayerfully support this Cape Town Short Term Mission Team, I would love to hear back from you and will gratefully share with you the work that we will accomplish with “the least of these”!

Thank you for being part of my life and for your support and love

Surprise

Surprise me
With your layers
Each new discovery
So different than expected
Hard
Yet not
In the world
But not of it
An orchestra
Full of rhythm
And melody
Not just a single beat
The difference
Intriguing
A mystery
I keep turning the pages
And discovering parts of the character
I could never have foreseen
New twists
Exciting
A story I don’t want to end
Surprise me
Entice me
To keep discovering
Keep uncovering
Treasures
Buried deep
But not lost
Or forgotten
Surprise me
For in the surprise
Is wonder
And happiness

Lens

Open eyes
Open mind
Different vision
I see ordinary
Transformed into beauty
Mundane
Yo vibrant
Life
To pure joyous living
It’s in the filter
Changing the view
Looking
Just a little different
Different eyes
Looking at the same world
Seeing new
Instead of usual
Whole
Rise out of broken
Love
Flowing in tears
Beginnings
Exploding from endings
Change the lens
The perspective
Capture it
New life

Home

Two homes
Two places held in my heart
One a memory
Nostalgic echoes
Where my firsts
Danced and played
Where I learned
And grew
Laughed
And cried
Forever the home that started me
Forever the home the rooted me
The home that launched me
Returning now
This old home haunts my being
It’s in me
Like I never left
In my being
A home that will forever be
A place my senses recall
And my hearts embraces
Like an old love
Woven thoughts
History but never forgotten
As my journey continues forward
In this new home
Where my life is flourishing
Where my faith is soaring
Where my heart yearns to return
Whenever I journey away
This home
Where life is exploding
I have two homes
Two places my heart holds dear
One a memory
One a future
Both integral
In me being me