Dressember 2016 Kick-Off + Giveaways

Dressember 2016 kicks off in just two days! I can't believe it's almost here. As I look to this next month, I am excited for what's ahead, and I'm hopeful that many of you will help me make this Dressember a great one.

Dressember happens because of generosity. Because people believe in a cause and give what they can to make it happen. As I'm typing this post, Dressember donors have already given a combined $70,000 to the cause. That's 70k to fight human trafficking, to restore the lives of victims, and to prosecute those who make a living on exploiting the powerless.

I know during this time of year, money can be tight. But I also know that this season encourages us to be generous with what we have. It doesn't take a lot to make a difference. You don't have to give the largest amount of money to take a stand. Any amount you give goes toward the ongoing work of anti-slavery organizations International Justice Mission and A21. No amount is too small to be a voice for those who have none.

I am asking for your help to kick off Dressember 2016 well. Help me get started on the right foot as we head into the month of December. And to say thank-you for your generosity, I have some special giveaways. (All I need is your address so I can send your thank-you item on its way!)

Donate $30 or more to my Dressember campaign on Giving Tuesday (November 29, 2016) and I will send you one of my mini splatter paint journals! I have eight of these cuties to give away, and they make a great little gift for the journaler or artist in your life.

 
Each one-of-a-kind, hand painted, 3.5 x 5.5" Moleskine journal is filled with 64 pages of blank paper with 16 perforated sheets at the back. Each features a flexible navy, black, or grey cardboard cover and back pocket for lose papers. The front with be adorned with a fun splatter paint design in a surprise color! The small size fits easily into a pocket, purse, or backpack and is easy to take on-the-go.

Donate $20 or more to my Dressember campaign during the first week of Dressember (December 1-7, 2016) and I will send you a piece of my "famous" brush lettering artwork! This has been a beloved thank-you item in the past and once again I will be creating these original works of art for my donors. Each quote is selected and hand-painted by me, so you will be receiving an original piece, not a print.

Be one of the first 10 donors to give $10 or more to my Dressember campaign and you will receive a limited-edition thank-you card featuring one of the images from my #DressemberCollection of photographs. These images are also available for purchase, with proceeds going to Dressember. Please contact me directly if you are interested.

I will be sharing my Dressember Collection on my Instagram account throughout the campaign. My hope is that the images will cause viewers to reflect on the differences between young people who are free, and young people who are not free. All are deserving of the best life possible--full of dignity, vibrancy, and autonomy--and that is something worth fighting for.

Please consider what you can give to my Dressember campaign. Simply click the link below to donate. Thank you for your consideration and support. Let's do this!

Donate now

5 Things You Should Know About Dressember

In a couple of months I will be participating for a third year in Dressember, a campaign that leverages fashion and creativity to fight human trafficking. As I'm getting ready to participate this year, I want to make sure you all know what this whole Dressember thing is all about. That's why I'm writing this post on five things you should know about the campaign.

1. It's about more than dresses.

Yes, Dressember involves wearing dresses throughout the month of December, but it's about so much more than that. It's a way to declare dignity and worth for the estimated 45 million people trapped in modern-day slavery. It's a way to raise awareness and funds for an issue that many of us too easily forget about. It's a way for the average person to make a difference in a global, billion-dollar industry affecting the lives of men, women, and children.

2. It benefits the work of some great organizations.

Every donatation to Dressember goes toward the work of two anti-slavery organizations, International Justice Mission and A21. Check out their websites to learn more about the work they do, and exactly what your donation will help fund. You can also follow them on social media to get the latest updates on their ongoing work. In addition, donations to Dressember are tax-deductible within the U.S.

3. It's not as difficult as it sounds.

Wearing a dress every day in December can sound difficult. But the truth is, the "sacrifice" of wearing a dress is nothing compared to what victims of human trafficking face on a daily basis. (Read stories of victims, survivors, and the work of IJM.)

Rather than focus on the parts that seem difficult, I encourage other participants to think creatively about what they can do to stay warm and still participate. The more you challenge yourself, the more solutions you'll be able to find. A simple solution to help you participate can help lead to bigger solutions for victims of slavery.

4. Men can participate too.

I love seeing posts from different Dressember participants on Instagram--the cause brings together a great community of women and men who find creative ways to participate. A quick browse through the hashtag #DressemberMen on Instagram will give you a glimpse into how men can join the cause. Some wear bow ties every day of the month, others create and sell art, and others pose with signs that say "Real men don't buy girls."

5. It's easy to join.

Every year I have more friends talk to me about participating and I love that! It's a simple process to join the cause and participate in Dressember. If you don't want to raise money, you can participate by wearing dresses (or ties for the men) and sharing the cause with your friends face-to-face or on social media. You can direct them to an individual page if they want to donate, or to dressember.org/give.

If you want to raise money, you can follow this link and click on the "Become an Advocate" button, then click "As an Individual." The process to set up your page is quick and simple and the site will walk you through it step by step. After you've set that up, if you want, you can join the team I created, called World Changers. Just go to the team page and click the "Join Team" button.

If you decide to participate, however that looks for you, please let me know! I would love to support you and maybe come up with some creative ways for us to raise awareness together.

{Check out more of my posts on Dressember here.}

A Command for Husbands: Looking at Ephesians 5

This year I've been tackling some different topics surrounding faith and relationships. I've had this topic on my mind for even longer and I'm finally getting around to publishing my thoughts on it.

We all know marriage is a common topic within the Church in America, and within in that conversation, the topic of submission. It's a hot-button subject that many churches don't shy away from, and it has the potential to become the focal point when studying Ephesians 5. In my experience, churches sometimes camp on the topic of submission, what it looks like, how to do it, etc. But it's not the only important topic to consider when looking at biblical marriage.

Also in my experience, I've found the lack of dialog on a husband's calling--in the same Ephesians passage--disheartening. I think it's beyond time for leaders in the Christian community to step forward, and truly challenge married men to model the Ephesians 5 husband. It's not enough to simply be "in charge," there is a larger, more encompassing command present. I've also seen young women get a poor concept of biblical marriage as they are left with the command to submit, and not much more.

Married members of the Christian community should be seeking to give an accurate representation of both the roles of wives and  husbands within marriage. The call is not for women to blindly submit and men to tyrannically rule, but for there to be a two-person relationship that paints a broader picture of Christ and the Church. How can we model that if we don't earnestly seek what we are called to?

In an effort to do just that, I'm looking into the instruction of Ephesians 5:22-33, specifically looking at what husbands are called to. Based on the comparison and the position in which husbands are placed, I believe they have the greatest responsibility within marriage, and that is to model Christ. I will, for the sake of study, not ignore instruction for wives.

The Breakdown

Right away, this passage starts off with submission (v.22), but it is not devoid of a reason. Submission is a natural response to the husband's role, which is to mirror Christ's headship of the church. (v. 23) Wives are called to submit to their own  husband (not all  husbands/men), as to the Lord, because of the husband's role and position in marriage. Husbands are called to be a living picture  of Christ's headship over the church and His role as Savior of the body  (i.e., the church at large). (v. 23)

Immediately there is a picture being painted--God has intended for the husband-wife relationship to mirror that of Christ and the church. Marriage in and of itself is a God-ordained symbolism. Within that picture, there are distinctly defined roles. Just as the church submits to Christ, so wives are called to embody that by submitting to their husbands. (v. 24) The next six verses go on to contain instruction strictly for husbands.

Husbands are called to love their wives (v. 25a), and before you think that is a simple, easy calling, the rest of the verse explains what that love is to resemble. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. (v. 25b) In other words, to love their wives, husbands are instructed to lay down their lives. Christ died for us, the church, to make us holy, cleansed, so that we could be presented to Him in splendor, holy and blameless. (vs. 26-27) His sacrifice is life-giving and selfless, with a goal of reconciliation to bring us close to Him. This is the type of sacrifice husbands are called to, to love is to give of oneself as Christ gave of Himself. He is the very definition of love. (1 John 4:8)

Ephesians 5:28 goes on to detail another aspect of the Christ-like love husbands are to emulate, loving their wives as they love themselves. Just as a man would provide and care for himself, so he must provide and care for his wife. (v. 29a) Again, this is to be a picture of Christ's provision and care for the church, because we, as the church, are members of His body. (v. 29b-30) And if you look at Christ's example, He gave up His literal, physical body on the cross, so He took it a step further  and valued the church over His own life. (John 19:16-30)

The passage wraps up by discussing how the husband-wife relationship is set apart and unique. A husband is called to leave his parents and be united to his wife in a profound mystery, mirroring Christ and the church. (vs.31-32) In that we see that a husband's responsibility is to his wife, not his parents, or extended family, or others. His primary role is to love his wife, and she is called to respect him. (v. 33)

The Response

I think a lot of women get hung up on this passage right out of the gate. It begins with wives and submission, and if you stop there, it can seem frustrating and one-sided. But you have to read the entire passage to find what is paired with that calling. With the call for wives to submit is the call for husbands to live like Jesus, a huge and challenging command that husbands cannot take lightly.

Before I go any father, I want to affirm that, unfortunately, not all husbands model Christ in their marriages. A husband is not automatically Christ-like just by getting married or by being male. Nor is a husband godly in his words and behavior at all times. Because of sin, men and women are fallen, sinful, unable to do good on their own, which is why we need Jesus all the time.

To be able to live like Jesus, we must be in constant pursuit  of Jesus. It doesn't come naturally, it's not easy, and honestly, it's not always fun. But it is the best, most rewarding, most fulfilling  way any human being can live. (Please know: If your husband, or any man for that matter, is treating you poorly--physically or emotionally--you are not  called to be a doormat and accept abuse. Please tell someone whom you trust, who can help you, and give you godly advice and council.)

The challenge for husbands is to singularly be in pursuit of Christ-likeness. Only through seeking Jesus--to know Him and become like Him--can a husband honor his God-given mandate within marriage. That mandate is, as stated in Ephesians 5:25-32, to love his wife as Jesus loved the church. To get a full grasp of that, I encourage you, read through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and study who Jesus was, how He lived, and what He did to bring people to Himself. Really the entire Bible will point you to Christ, but the Gospels are a great place to start.

The Results

If husbands truly seek Christ-likeness and strive to emulate Him within their marriages, I believe they will begin to see certain, specific results.

• Denial of self. Jesus said in Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many." Jesus' very mission was to give up Himself. To be like Christ is to deny your selfish desires, to put the needs of others before your own. Within marriage, this manifests itself when a husband looks to care for the needs of his wife over his wants, desires and needs. To be truly Christ-like in marriage, a man cannot be selfish.
  
• Elevation of others. When you spend less time concerned with your own needs and more time serving others, you begin to elevate others. You see their value and worth and your actions help to underscore that value. In the marriage relationship, the husband elevates his wife to a place of honor and esteem. This is an equalizing position, one where a wife is highly valued, both for who she is and what she does. (See Proverbs 31:10-31 for an example of a man honoring his wife.)
  
• Strengthening of the family and the church. A relationship that exemplifies that of Christ and the Church will have a profound impact on both the family and the church body. A husband and wife who are striving after Christ together will set an unmistakable example of a godly marriage for their family and their church. This example can help guide others in marriage and in ministry by demonstrating a singular focus on Christ and His calling.

I also believe that if a husband is truly striving after Christ-likeness, submission becomes not merely a requirement but a joy. It becomes a natural response to the love and sacrifice of a godly husband. (For more on the topic of submission itself, check out this blog post.) And what is better than mutually encouraging each other toward a life, a marriage, that honors the Lord above all?

Dear Future Moody Student: An Open Letter

To be totally honest, this letter is more to my brother than anyone else. But I like to think that anyone heading off to Moody, or a Christian college in general, could find something of truth in these words. I hope I can pass on a bit of advice that, maybe in the good and hard moments alike, will stay with you.

To Michael (and other incoming Moodies),

Part of me is questioning why I'm even writing this. If I were honest, I'm not sure that 18-year-old college-bound me would've paid much attention. My head was in the clouds--I was just excited to be striking out on my own, to see what I would become and what I would do. At this point in life, you feel limitless. You can become anything, go anywhere, do anything. The world is at your feet.

But eventually, in four short years you will (hopefully) be an alum, like me, with a real-world job, real-world experiences, and real-world problems. You'll have wisdom and advice that you'll want to share with those who follow, and you'll hope that they will listen. Because life is fast--it's gone before you know what it has been. And you'll have the rest of your life to think about all the things you wish you had (and hadn't) done as an 18-year-old college student.

So this is my advice, the few things that I think are most important to pass on from my experience at the school that D.L. Moody founded.

1. People matter. You might forget this as you're sitting in new student orientation and they're telling you how much time you should devote to homework. Or when you're thinking about dating someone for completely selfish reasons. Or when you know and understand more about theology than most of your classmates. Or when someone is crying in your room but you're late for class, or dinner.

What they don't tell you, as a bright-eyed incoming freshman, is that ultimately, all you take with you are human souls. You get a degree for a few years, maybe 80-some if you're lucky. Maybe it helps you land your dream ministry job, or maybe it hinders you from securing the "secular" job you need to pay the bills. Either way, it's a piece of paper and you can't take it with you when you go. When "the roll is called up yonder" all you'll be seeing are people. And trust me, you want to see faces that you've cared for, not faces that you've walked over.

My advice is to make the most of your relationships and interactions. Remember that everyone is an image-bearer of God and immensely valuable, just like you. The people you'll meet, they don't care about how impressive your internship was, or how much you know about Calvin, or what your GPA was this semester. They will just long to be loved--Moody student and non-student alike--and you will have the opportunity to love them well. Don't miss out on that opportunity.

2. Keep your priorities straight. It will be really easy to get distracted, so set your priorities now and stick to them. There will be a million different groups and clubs and activities for you to join the moment your feet hit the plaza. And some of them might be really great things that you should definitely try, but not at the expense of what's most important.

I would rank priorities in this order: God, people, everything else. And within everything else will fall your classes, homework, a job or two, PCM, sports, clubs, the list goes on. And the thing is, lots of times at school, the priorities get shuffled to everything else, people, and then God.

Because at Moody, God is in so much of what you're doing every day, it can be easy to forget about making Him your top priority. You talk about Him in class, in chapel, in the dinning hall, in your dorm room, in your 20-page paper, at church, on the phone. And you read the Bible just as much. Eventually it will feel like the Bible is a textbook and God has enough of your time, He doesn't need any more. The struggle is in keeping Him the main thing all the time, and not losing your personal time with Him.

Fight for God to be a priority in your life, even when you don't feel like it. Even when you're jaded by Christian legalism, hypocrites, gossips, and unkind professors. Even when you're tired and just want to sleep. Even when you're not sure if this whole Christianity thing is for you. Even when everyone else is doing it, whatever it is. Don't lose your dedication to the Lord, He's what matters most.

3. Do your best. I'll be totally honest, some classes you'll be tempted to skate through. You'll want to take as many short cuts as you can find, especially when you're taking 18 credit hours, working 30, and sleeping four. But don't forget why you came to Moody. You're there to become a minister of the gospel, well-equipped and wise. You're there to be trained, to grow, to learn as much as you can and use it in the future. You're there to be sharpened and shaped into a better version of yourself.

Remember that when you want to cut corners, to sign off on the reading but not actually do it, to take a power nap in class. You might be able to pass, but it won't help you in the future. The less you dedicate now, the less you'll have to give later when you're relying on your training to do your job. And at that point, you'll wish you hadn't been texting through class, playing kitten cannon on your laptop, or sleeping instead of studying.

With that said, you can't do it all. You will have to let some things go. You won't be able to go to every party, every downtown adventure, every on-campus event. And trust me, in the long run, those are the things you'll want to sacrifice over your papers, projects, and grades. You don't have to be a hermit, but you'll have to know how to prioritize and when to say no.

4. Have fun. So yes, there are lots of really important things like grades and jobs, but you also need to have fun. Making time for friends, activities, and exercise will help keep you sane. My biggest stress reliever in college was going to the gym. Sometimes it would be playing basketball, other days I would just run as fast and as far as I could. I needed that on the days when I felt frustrated and out of control (aka, most days).

My other stress reliever was having a close friend or two who knew me really well and loved just the same. I made a lot of mistakes, before college and in college. Having a best friend to be around helped me to open up and be honest about myself and my feelings. And let me tell you, you go through a lot of different emotions and situations in college. Having someone to help navigate that means the world.

Life is really short and you've only got one shot at it. Make it a good shot. You may fail sometimes--on tests or in relationships or at jobs--but that doesn't mean life is over. All it means is that you have a chance to learn something, to grow, and to become great.

I hope you love your time at Moody and that it's everything you hope for and more.

- Elise