Zambian Organic Soap

July 23, 2015 by Jules 1 Comment

Fair Trade Friday Club is so much more than FUN MAIL once a month. FTFC is life. Life changed for the better. Life given for an entire family. Life Stories.

Maureen, Clothed in Hope, Zambia (Image: WomanSewingwithBaby.JPEG)

The women of Clothed in Hope, all vulnerable women who have completed or are currently walking through our skills-training program, are so very grateful for our partnership with Fair Trade Friday/Mercy House. The first time I told them about our big order for coin purses to reach the homes of over 500 women across America, over 60 women cheered, screamed, danced, rejoiced. Because to them it's not just some extra money in their pockets to feed their kids or pay school fees.

It's empowerment, it's someone who says "I believe in you. I am with you." It gives the message to these ladies, overlooked and oppressed by society, that they are worthy. That they have something beautiful to offer the world, a skill and a story that can inspire women thousands of miles away. Each product made for Fair Trade Friday boxes, from coin purses to earrings, is a way for women to rejoice in their story of hope and redemption that they've written as a part of our sewing and business training program in Lusaka, Zambia.

Maureen, the woman pictured with Regina on her back, is the brains behind much of our jewelry line, specifically a beautiful earring design headed out to women as part of the Earring of the Month Club. Maureen graduated our life-skills training program in September 2014 after completing a 12-month sewing and business curriculum with her daughter Regina on her back. Maureen is showing her children that work is good, and that no obstacle is big enough to keep her from pursuing her dreams for her family.

Learn more about The Zambian Soap Company and how to help change lives in Zambia!

Filed Under: The ones about the Rothacher Home

How Playing Fair Can Save a Life

July 21, 2015 by Jules Leave a Comment

For years I've been a women proud of my frugal ways. I enjoy finding the best deals and steals for practically nothing. But what if we could buy something, still at a fair price and yet it was worth so so much something to someone. What if buying goods at a fair price which allows artisans to be payed what their time is worth actually made our purchasing purposeful? Wouldn't that be amazing!

Living on mission for Christ can mean so much more than attending a self-serving church, all the bible studies you can find, shipping a OCC box here and there, or even serving in your churches nursery or on a mission trip. Living on mission means looking at every aspect of our life as an opportunity to further God's Kingdom. Purchasing jewelry, home decor, or gifts for friends can still be cute, fun, and quality while providing life-saving jobs for women in poverty so they can support themselves and their children.

Fair Trade Friday gives us the opportunity to live missionally via shopping!

FTF exists as an avenue for women to empower women. We are tackling poverty through job opportunity and empowerment rather than enablement. 100% of the proceeds support the artisans, more than 500 women and their children from all over the world. FTF is a ministry of Mercy House Kenya, a non-profit organization.

Ready to get involved? How much awesomeness you want?!

Start with a recurring box for $31.99 per month. Super Easy. Click. Enter info. Wait on your box. Done. We keep sending you a box of 3-4 fair trade items from one of our 18 countries involved (and, of course, billing you for it) until you cancel. What an amazing set up! {You should know that your "box" will likely be an awesome shipping envelope rather than a literal box. Just say'n}
Try out a box for $35 plus $10 shipping. This one is a great gift option!
Join the Earring of the Month club, where you’ll get a stylish and beautiful pair of earrings made by our artisans every month.

CLICK AROUND HERE AND LEARN EVEN MORE ABOUT FAIR TRADE FRIDAY CLUB

Learn more about some of the items that came in my box: Zambian organic soap, Indian Joyn purse, and Mercy House Kenya bracelet.

Filed Under: The ones about the Rothacher Home

Happy Dependance Day

July 4, 2015 by Jules 2 Comments

God bless America?

How arrogant can we be? What makes us think we have some spacial relationship with Christ just because we live in America?

Don't hear me wrong, I enjoying being an American citizen. I am so grateful for many blessings God has granted me with through living in this nation. The opportunities that have arisen because of where I live are innumerable but ALL of those still fall under the authority of Christ. Not the country in which I live. God had a "chosen people" in which His grand plan of salvation would play out through but after Jesus fulfilled that on the cross, the road to eternal life was opened to Jews and Gentiles alike. No amount of favoritism existed.

It's worrisome when we pledge more allegiance to our countries flag than we do to our King. When we do so, we are no longer Christians {Christ-followers} we are Americans {American-followers}. These words are NOT synonymous. A nation in and of itself can not be "Christians" and we are slandering the name of Jesus by claiming that America is a Christian nation. We Need To STOP! America is NOT a Christian nation. We are a nation like any other with good intentions, searching for a truth to live for. C

Can I tell you, achieving the American Dream is NOT God's blessing on you "living for Him"?! A team of individuals starting a new nation because of persecution a gazillion years ago does not mean this entire nation is chasing after the heart of Christ. Tagging the name of God to wars, political fights, flags, and our standards is self-serving and leading other nations to really think anything they see coming out of America is Christian.

Did you know that because of insistence to be labeled a Christian nation, citizens from other nations HATE the name of Jesus? They are not getting a correct view of Jesus via American TV, the U.S. in the news, and a lot of ignorant people who happen to live in America but don't follow Christ. The problem isn't media. The problem is trying to force moral standards on a pagan nation.

Enjoy the freedom we have left here in America because the Bible is very clear that FREEDOM in Christ is eternal but that doesn't mean following Him will ever be easy. Hug an amazing soldier who fight for those rights for us and thank them but don't loose focus on THE one who fought for our rights to be adopted into the family of God. The confederate flag, the American flag, or even the man-made Christian flag do not deserve your allegiance. Stop chasing the wind for a purpose to get behind and look up. Christ is there, behind all that muck we are blasting at one anther. None of that muck is worth the fight. Christ and His illogical love for undeserving humankind is what's worth the fight!

Happy Dependance Day!

Please break free from the idea that the American dream will save you and become a bond-slave to Jesus, becoming completely dependent on His every provision and not disillusioned with independence that will send you to eternal separation from the One we all need. I mean, just think of what would happen if Christians reacted to real issues like we do the distracting fluff issues!

Filed Under: as Jules is living, Holidays, The DeChurched, The ones about the Rothacher Home, The Ones about The Valley Church

Sickness and Sin

July 2, 2015 by Jules Leave a Comment

He cleaned her up after her second puking episode in this 2015 Puke-a-Palooza season. She looked up at him grossed out and sad to say, "Daddy, I hate that sickness is part of our world because of sin."

I don't do puke. Chop open the back of your head and gush with blood, I'm your girl but the smell of sickness is what I can't handle. My hubs has always been sweet enough to handle that nastiness but I'm sad I missed this beautiful recognition of how literally sin affects our daily lives.

The consequences of sin are all around us if we are willing to identify it. As Christ-followers, sometimes we like to pretend our 'silent' sins don't have any reactions in our world like those that are loud in the secular world. We somehow act as though gossip and unforgiveness are less harmful than homosexuality and idol worship. All those are self-serving perversions of God's original plan.

Sin is and will always be part of our world until all the nations have heard the gospel and Christ returns for His followers. It sucks but that's the truth. So what do we do with that?

Live.

We live in community with believers and non-believers in love while chasing after the heart of Jesus and eagerly awaiting his return that will end the madness that our sin started. God didn't ask us to hide, build walls, and protect ourselves.

I was taught growing up that you didn't hang out with "bad kids". You know, you might catch their sin. My prayer, as I surround my children with ALL those Christ died for, wither they have accepted that free gift yet or not, is that my children's lives are so overrun with the health of God's love that they don't catch too many sins. We're all gonna screw up and will never be sinless but if we are chasing hard after the heart of Jesus then we will totally sin less.

Are you scared of catching your own versions of the valley plague from doing life so closely with your local body of believers? Do you fear hanging out with non-Christians and catching their sin? What skewed view of God do we have that maybe needs to be realigned with the Bible so we can more fully love all those around us?

Filed Under: as Jules is living, Cleaning, Homemaker, Jesus Juked by My Kids, The DeChurched, The ones about the Rothacher Home, The Ones about The Valley Church

Want-To, the Key to Learning

June 24, 2015 by Jules Leave a Comment

This makes me so happy!!! I will spell things all day long for this child.

She is a strong willed learner, meaning she only learns if and when she wants to or sees a need. This entire school year she has fought me about learning letters. She would either pretend not to know certain ones or refuse to memorize them. I have been so nervous that she would struggle through school, especially since this was still her attitude finishing preschool/first semester of kindergarten.
Since being "out of school for summer" she has been begging me to spell all kinds of things with a little help from the alphabet reference on their preschool table. She pauses a little with a couple letters still but figures them out on her own. She makes menus for plea parties, birthday cards, and lots of random signs right now.
On the way home from camp the other day, Mags ask to finish the last two pages of her chapter before napping. When she had finished u looked back to see Izzie had snagged one of her two books and was flipping page to page. I ask her to put it down and nap to which she responded, "I'm almost finished with this chapter." I LOVE that she is finally developing a love for books and reading!

I am constantly nervous that I'm gonna screw up this educating-my-children thing and then God goes and shows me that He is bigger. I know that statistics, methods, standards, values, quality, quantity, and so on seem to be fluid or set in stone depending on who you ask so being a "homeschool mom" can be stressful. God continues to show me I'm doing exactly what He wants in this season and my children are fearfully and wonderfully made; each in their unique way, specifically designed to show yet another marvolous aspect of Himself.