|
|
A thoughtful look at other
websites that I use, have impacted my life and I admire.
Inspiring Messages
Listen
to messages online from EagleBrook Church. These teachings have had a
great impact on my life and I would encourage you to check some out.
There is also a video of my husband, Jeff Gacek, and I on our personal
story of transformation. Visit eaglebrookchurch.com.
To view our video, click on: past messages, then click on: ebc videos,
then click on: My Story-Gacek family. For a good laugh, my favorite is
the Halleluia Hoedown video! (a promotion for the kids Halloween event
at church)
For
the last two years I have attended the leadership summit produced by
Willow Creek Church. Led by Bill Hybels, it has truly inspired me to
lead where you are and in fact, had great influence on our decision to
start our Healing Haiti Mission. Visit willowcreek.com
and explore all the exciting and relevant information to bring your
relationship with Christ alive.
Bible Resource
I
continually rely on biblegateway.com
for insight to bible verses. The site is a great resource to provide
several translations, or to search to find a passage that you may only
know a few words of.
Favorite Charities
I must
admit there is some personal bias to my top two choices....buya.org
and within that site Healing Haiti.
Buya.org is the non-profit my husband and I have started to help other
great grassroots charities raise funds and awareness of the wonderful
work they do. Our dream is that the buya.org site become the ebay of
charitable giving. Please take time to check it out and understand the
purpose and impact it can have on the world, one purchase at a time.
All my profits go to fund this charity. Healing Haiti is our own
mission we started to help provide clean water, food and education in
Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. To be honest, I
have a hard time understanding how the things that I have seen in Haiti
can be happening in a place that is just 90 minutes by plane from
Disneyworld. I recently worked with a 1 year old that weighed 9 lbs,
and a 7 year old that weighed 28 lbs. Children are dying there from
curable diseases. And those that live, the life expectancy in Haiti is
only 51 years. It was after hearing Bill Hybles ask: what is “your holy
discontent?”, that my husband and I decided it was Haiti and started to
do something about it. We ask that you please keep us and our efforts
in Haiti and with buya.org in your prayers.
Recovery
With
the disease of addiction being so widespread, I’m sure many of you have
been affected or know someone who has suffered from alcoholism or
chemical dependency. I feel very strongly that knowledge is everyones
responsibility and encourage you to become more educated on the disease
of addiction. If I were on a soapbox and could tell a parent one thing
it would be: If you have suspicions that your child is using, address
it head-on, right-now. The sooner the use stops the better. Don’t be in
denial, a user will hide and protect their use at all costs. Addicts do
not have to “hit bottom” before they can be helped. Get them in
treatment. Seek help and support, you are not alone. Having a child
addict has nothing to do with being a good or bad parent. Check out quest180.com
for information about addiction and how Christ-centered recovery brings
true healing through God’s grace.
Art
I
would encourage everybody to get involved with the arts. Using our
imagination and creativity (and everyones got it) is so important. I
joined my community arts center that has given me the opportunity to
learn, volunteer and watch kids thrive. Visit www.whitebeararts.org
for some fresh ideas and class listing.
Do you speak
Equine?
A
great lifelong friend has been on this jewelry journey with me (we call
it playing together) and has focused her jewelry art on horses. If you
love horses, or know someone who does, you can’t miss www.horse-tribe.com.
D’Arcy also has an online community created in the spirit of the horse
+ human relationship at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/horse-tribe/.
Hope and
Horses
http://hopeandhorses.blogspot.com/
An
informal Christian group joined together by a love of horses, a desire
to enjoy horses in a spiritually nourishing environment, a call to
contribute to the community and a yearning to be in a closer
relationship with the Lord.
Our
activities include:
- Day rides
at local parks
- Weekend
horse camping
- Christian
book discussions/Bible study
-
Volunteering at a therapy riding center for individuals with
disabilities, the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue
- Potlucks,
movies, dinners
- Attending
rodeos and other horse events
-
Kindness outreach activities that demonstrate God’s love in practical
ways (cleaning picket lines, bagging groceries, filling water buckets,
etc.)
Hope
& Horses welcomes individuals and families of all ages,
Christians
or seekers, who simply want to enjoy horses in a moral setting. Many of
our activities don’t even require a horse!
|
|
gs2before
PLEASE
READ: All
pieces are designed by me and made by my hands. I will create more than
one piece of most designs, but because my silver pieces are not casted,
but made individually, every piece is an original. No two will be
exactly alike. And because the semiprecious stones I use are made by
God, no two of them are alike either! So please understand that your
piece may vary slightly from the photo and from each other if you order
multiples.
|
|
| ©2008 Alyn
Shannon • 2629 South Shore Blvd, White Bear, MN 55110 •
651.426.0202 • alyn@gs2studios.com |
| PLEASE NOTE: Your respect for
the protection afforded to artisans regarding trademarks, copyrights
and creative rights is appreciated. Please note that no part of
this website, including all jewelry, photos, artwork or names/titles my
be copied or reproduced in any form without prior written permission.
Please also check out gs2studios privacy policy.
Thank you. |
|
|
|
