Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Get the Sharpie's Out...

...cause we're drawing on ourselves!!!

You may be like "HUH?  What are you talking about NOW Rebecca Jo?"... well let me tell you!

One of the girls in my youth group turned me onto this & I am excited & pumped & want everyone to join in!  To Write Love on Her Arms is a campaign that I really am interested in that I've been looking into it.  Working with the youth, it seems so important - & even more so, women, yes, grown woman, still struggle with these issues as well... this is not an "age" related thing... love is for everyone!

Their "Mission Statement" is this:  To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope & finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self injury & suicide.  TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire & also to invest directly into treatment & recovery.

All you have to do?  This Saturday, write LOVE on your arm.. however you want!  I've seen some pictures & some people are AMAZING artists that have beautiful drawings on their arm.  Others simply have the word LOVE written plain across it - others may have it small across their wrist - however it is, its uniting in a cause together.  And if some people see it on you, they go & donate to this cause... or even better, if someone asks what that is on your arm, you have an opportunity to share about this cause.

For me, its falling on a great weekend, because I'll be at a Jr. High Conference & plan on having Sharpies in all the girls hands before we take out to the conference Saturday morning!

This is Christian based & I encourage you to read the Vision they have below... its inspiring!  I'm going to highlight the points that really touch my heart & hope you find something in this vision that inspires you as well - inspires you enough to get all crafty on your arm anyways!!!
_______________________
VISION:
The vision is that we actually believe these things…

You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world. My friend Byron is very smart - he says that life is hard for most people most of the time. We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know that you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.

We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know that pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption. We're seeing it happen. We're seeing lives change as people get the help they need. People sitting across from a counselor for the first time. People stepping into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it's worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it's possible to change.

Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence.

The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.

The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.

The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.

The vision is better endings. The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships. The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change.

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.

15 comments:

  1. I did this last year and it was funny because I sang in the choir (southern baptist church) and I raised my hand up to worship and all the old ladies thought I got a tattoo (they freaked-which was HILARIOUS) and then EVERYBODY was asking about why i tattooed the word love on my arm (i used blue and black sharpies)

    definitley an AMAZING way to spread their campaign and the youth LOVED that I was in on it with them :) They felt like they had the support from an adult in the church

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your blog is really interesting.I'm waiting for your new post.
    Have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i love this! my kids are very interested in the TWLOHA stuff. they buy shirts quite often. my daughter has her own story about this ...you can read a bit of her testimony on her music page.
    www.myspace.com/missdevynrocks
    or click on the picture of my kids on my blog and it will take you there. i am interested to hear how the weekend goes, it's a great cause and so VERY REAL.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i realized that her entire testimony isn't on her music page, just a bit of it...sorry. but it's something we are very familiar with. life is hard like you said, for most people, most of the time. it's good to be reminded of that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. very profound mission - wondering if your drawing will be Disney inspired??

    BTW, are you still doing the grocery game - do they provide links to the coupons too? I was quite impressed with your savings. Wonder if it works for Walmart Supercenter??

    ReplyDelete
  6. that is pretty neat. I hope you have a wonderful day.. Round Robin is tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my goodness. I just went to the site and read the story of Renee. I sat here and cried.

    Thank you for sharing that. I missed your blog, friend :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm in! Thanks for sharing this and for helping to support such an important cause.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love what they do - thanks for sharing this! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so sad I will be missing this year!!! Take lots of pictures for me.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very inspiring and beautiful. I love it.

    ReplyDelete

I am thankful for each comment & like to respond to every one of them....
If you noticed I do not respond to your comments, it is because you are a "no reply" blogger and I am unable too!
How to enable your e-mail: BLOGGER ACCOUNTS: To do this, click on your Dashboard, click on EDIT PROFILE and place a check mark next to SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS, and finally scroll to the bottom and click SAVE PROFILE.**

Social Media World

Come Follow Me