Sewing for the Kingdom

3 years ago, I was given a sewing machine from my grandma for my birthday. It was 2 weeks late, but was shipped to me in the mail. A simple machine, nothing fancy. A Singer, super basic and pretty perfect for a beginner like myself. That day I decided that my humble sewing machine would be used somehow to further the Kingdom of God. I had no idea how, or when or how God could use a silly Singer Sewing Machine, but I gave it to Him anyway.

And now, here I am, 3 years later, and in about a month, ALL that I've learned on this machine will be used to teach young girls in Uganda how to sew.

I had no clue how this Singer would further the Kingdom back then, but look how faithful God is; He's making that dream of mine come true.

As the past 3 years went by, I have to be honest, I kinda forgot all about my dedication of my Sewing Machine to the Lord. Not that I didn't want to, but as I was learning, the idea of using it to bring people to Jesus slipped to the back burner. I still sewed, still learned, still worked hard on projects.
It wasn't until 3 months ago that the idea came to me: teach girls in Uganda how to sew. Out of the blue, I was cooking dinner one night, this idea just came up and I knew it was from the Lord.
So, I ran with it. I sold scarves to fund-raise for sewing machines to purchase in Uganda. I put together a plan of how to make this become a reality. I got approval where I needed it and open doors everywhere I knocked. A crazy peace would overcome my heart when I would think about how this would come to pass. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that this is what was my Sewing Machine was meant for and how it would be used to reach the young girls in Uganda.

In about 3 weeks (omgsh I can't believe it's so soon!), all my boys and myself will be heading to Uganda for a month. While I am there, I will be starting a sewing club for some of the young girls there at the school we work with. More than just teaching these girls a tangible skill, I'll have the chance to pour into them- I'll get to hear their stories, build relationships with them, love on them & show them the love of Jesus in a real way.

How blessed am I that God will use me in this capacity!

I am reminded of the story in the Bible with the Widow's Mite, and how this woman gave literally everything she had to Jesus. And because she gave it all, He said that her gift was worth EVEN MORE than what she had actually put in.
I hope to be like this widow. I want to give all I have, that what I give to God would be multiplied and be counted as EVEN MORE than what I gave. I gave God my humble sewing machine. I've given Him all that I've learned about sewing. I've given God my heart, my dreams and my goals. I believe that He can do EVEN MORE with that than what I could ever give.

Pray with me that this club would help inspire these girls to dream big. That the time I spend with them would be beneficial and a time of growth in their lives. That the Holy Spirit would be in my heart and shine through anything that I say and do. That potential, dreams and worth would be unleashed in these young ladies lives.

Thank you Jesus for taking my little sewing machine and using it for your Kingdom.

xoxo
Sunnee Lynn

*If you'd like to give to this project, please click here and be sure to write "sewing club" in the purpose box! All gifts are tax-deductable. Thank you!

Beauty by Shynna & Chloe + Isabel

Hey friends! I am so excited to partner my Chloe + Isabel business with my friend Shynna's video blog, Beauty by Shynna! She and I both have a vision and goal to inspire women to be beautiful both inside and out. Check out her beauty video blog!

Also, right now my boutique is having a big sale...buy 2 get 1 FREE. My goal this month is to sell 5 wrap bracelets. You can help me reach my goal by buying 2 for you and getting something sparkly for FREE! What a deal ;)
Be sure to check out my boutique and treat yourself to some bling!

all my love

xoxo

complaints & worship

While growing up, I was pretty active in church. I was very involved in my youth group, went on the summer mission trips they had, taught in the nursery, and attended every weekend. However, my favorite way that I served at my church was leading worship for our youth group. I loved leading worship. It was something that I really treasured and felt honored that I got to do. I, by no means, was the best vocalist or was extremely talented, but my heart to worship and lead others into God's presence was something that stood out. It meant a lot to me that my leaders trusted me to be in such a leadership position and I worked hard not to take it lightly.
As I grew up and moved away from my hometown to college, I remember promising myself that I would find a church to continue leading worship with, even if it was totally different than what I had been used to. But something happened....it didn't happen that way. I tried out for one vocal team, wasn't selected & I struggled to find a church that didn't feel like a chapel service from the university I attended (and by this I mean, I struggled to find a church were there weren't 100s of students from my school). This now was over six years ago & much has happened since. It's been so long since I have sang on a worship team or led worship. & sometimes I would wonder if that gift I once had has been taken away from me, or that's not what I am supposed to be doing anymore. While I know that now in my life, I have other responsibilities that need my attention; such as being a mother and a wife and a homemaker. And to be honest, I've come to terms with this gift that I once had not being prominent in my life (at least not in the way that it was). I think that over the past 6 years I have been able to realize and accept that a worshiper doesn't just worship when people are watching, but they worship with their life. I know, I know, I've known this for the whole time I led worship, but I feel like I'm finally getting to know this truth.
Currently, life is tough. And quite honestly, I don't want to share with the world the things my family is facing often. But what I can share is what God spoke to my heart about worship recently. Something I've heard a million times but it was made personal while facing a challenge. You see, it's easy to praise God when life is good & when things are going smooth. It's easy to worship and sit in God's presence when the sailing is easy & there's not much to complain about. But what about when the tough times come? What about when you don't know why you're still going through challenges that you've faced for months? Not so easy to offer up praise from your mouth, huh? I know this reality all too well. But the conviction I felt was close to my heart. You see, regardless of being on a worship team or whatever not, I still consider myself a worshiper. And it's easy to be at church. But today, I could hear God challenge my heart and say, "but if you're a worshiper, you'd be able to truly worship me at all times; good and bad." Ouch. I thought about it and realized how right he was. I remember times in high school when things fell apart for me. I wasn't sure if I would be able to go to the college I wanted to attend, my on-again off-again boyfriend were having troubles and my mom had just left for Teen Challenge. I struggled that season of life. But even while I was hurting, I still praised. I remember praising God. I remember a specific time of singing and crying in the car as I drove away from my mom with pain but also with a joy that I couldn't ignore. I suppose older Sunnee can learn a thing or two from younger Sunnee!
It's so much easier to offer up complaints from our lips than it is to offer up praise & worship in hard times. Our hearts can be so fickle! At least I know mine can me. I see myself complaining, whether it's in my heart or aloud, instead of praising God when things are tough. That isn't what worship looks like. Praise should continuously be in my mouth, not complaints
Maybe this post is just ramblings & won't make sense to anyone but me, but I can't help but know that what I am going through, what God is allowing me to go through, is making me a better person...a better Christ-follower...a better worshiper...which is all I aim to be.

xoxo
Sunnee Lynn

DIY [Paris] Scrapbook

Back in December, my sweet husband surprised me with a trip to Paris for my 25th birthday/graduation gift. It was quite the surprise! We had a grand time and I have to say that I left a little piece of my heart there while on the trip. When we got home, clearly I had to find a way to preserve all the memories we made and with being done with school and a stay at home mom, I started exploring my different options for scrapbooking. Honestly, scrapbooking is not my favorite crafty thing to do, so I really had to find some inspiration. I knew I wanted to do something unconventional, unique and different. I wanted this scrapbook to be an adventure of sorts. So, after a long time searching, I figured it out!
For the binding, I went to a local thrift store and picked up an old book with a vintage feel cover. Mine happened to be an old copy of Huckleberry Finn. It was perfect! I cut out the text of the book and the binding and used the front and back covers as the covers for my scrapbook.

Next, I evenly marked where the metal eyelets would be put to hold the guts of my scrapbook in place. This was a tough process. I used an x-acto knife to cut the holes and then hammered in the eyelets with the eyelet kit.
After that, I just began to sort and decorate pieces from our trip! I used receipts, maps, cards, pictures, brochures, etc. that were memories of our time in Paris.

Materials used:
-Vintage book
-metal eyelets
-binder rings
-'hello' name tags
-hole punch
-washi tape
-scrapbooking items (paper pieces, flowers, stickers, things like that)
-and of course, pieces and artifacts from our trip

I really had a blast on this scrapbook! It turned out just the way I wanted it to. It's unique and creative, while sharing the memories we made while in Paris. The vintage book cover gives it that traveling feel, too. As I worked on this project, I realized quickly that there was no way I could mess it up-which is perfect because I am crafty-clumsy sometimes! ;) So my advice would be to just go at it and have fun!

One other thing that I did that gave this scrapbook a little more of heart was I included descriptions of and quotes from the journal I kept while on the trip. For instance, I wrote what I wrote in my journal about seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time in my scrapbook. That way my words weren't only in my journal!

I hope this inspires you to scrapbook some of your favorite memories or gives you ideas for how to make a unique and fun scrapbook of you own :)

xoxo
sunnee lynn

Welcome to #CraftyGirlProbs!

About 2 years ago, an idea came to me - to start a blog of sorts, sharing craft projects and thoughts from my heart to encourage others who love people & crafts like me. For you ladies who love to craft, you know the problems I face; glue strings from my glue gun getting everywhere, having to clean & oil up my sewing machine, being in love with a new stamp I bought, glitter somehow ending up in my hair or trying to pick a method to scrapbook favorite memories. And while these aren't huge 'problems', they are still pesky issues that us crafty girls deal with. With that, #CraftyGirlProbs was born! I will warn you that while I am not a witty author or fabulous with words, & it's hard for me to come up with an intriguing title for a blog post, I can't shake that there are other crafty girls out there who need to be encouraged, just like me. I hope #craftygirlprobs can lift your spirits, make you smile & encourage your very own crafty girl heart!
xoxo
sunnee lynn