Why I am A BeadforLife Volunteer

My love and passion for BeadforLife began in the summer of 2009.   I vividly recall the overwhelming emotion swelling inside my heart as I carefully unpacked my first sample collection of beautifully colored, handmade Ugandan jewelry in my first-floor office at local, family owned fine jeweler in Las Vegas, MJ Christensen Diamonds.

20120905__20120906_C2_FE06STBEAUTYp1.jpg

The intense afternoon sun beamed like a laser on the recycled-paper beads the way light strikes the table of a diamond and disperses an extraordinary display of rainbow colors .   Many years came to pass before I understood how this journey would unfold, but I knew one thing for certain: we were destined to be together.

BeadforLife’s mission is to create sustainable opportunities for women to lift their families out of poverty by connecting people worldwide in a circle of exchange that enriches everyone. 

Benefits of BeadforLife.

B.   A breakthrough in finding BALANCE in life.

Serving as a voice for the 1.7 billion people surviving on less than $1.95 a day undoubtedly introduces a more balanced perspective.

E.  The gift of EXPLORATION.

Find hidden talents as you learn to advocate for the eradication of poverty by speaking to community groups, sharing the vision of entrepreneurial freedom, and creating marketplaces for their incredible handmade jewelry.

A.  Go on an ADVENTURE of a lifetime.

As a Community Partner volunteer, every step of the way is an absolute adventure complete with new friendships, new ideas, and new awareness!  Your journey will be unique, and your story unlike any other.

D.  DISCOVER yourself, the women in the programs, and your true potential in life.

F.  It’s FUN and FULFILLING to volunteer and join hands with like-minded changemakers around the world!

O.  Receive and give the gift of OPPORTUNITY.

Not only will you be providing hope and inspiration to deeply impoverished women across the globe living on less than $1.95 a day, you will receive unlimited personal growth opportunities in exchange.

R.  The RECOGNITION that we are all connected as global citizens.

L.  Surround yourself in LOVE.

This is an organization oozing with love.  From the moment I first met co-founder Torkin Wakefield, to the time I spent with her daughter, Devin, on the ground in Uganda, it was apparent:  LOVE fills every space of the work they do.  Love for serving others, love and honest appreciation for the volunteers and Ugandan staff,  love for the bold mission that drives their work everyday.  Love is rolled into each and every bead, and love is rolled into the hearts and minds of the women who are served by the numerous life-changing programs.

I.  Realize the IMPACT your contribution makes.

Friends and family of the generous Las Vegas community have raised nearly $200,000 to date for BeadforLife, directly impacting over 40,000 women and families in Uganda and East Africa.  This brings them closer to reaching their ambitious goal of providing           1 million deeply impoverished women worldwide with entrepreneurial training by 2017 via a 6-month mobile classroom called Street Business School.  

F.  Practice your FAITH, and FACE your FEARS.

Traveling to Uganda as a volunteer communications correspondent was the result of ground-breaking, fear-busting intention!  After grappling with the inherent anxieties of a lengthy overseas journey, coupled with my personal struggle with anxiety disorder, I learned there was no way around it, only through it.  I just had to do it and “do it afraid”.   It took 6 years for me to take that step, and I am so glad I did.

E.  EMBRACE your inner truth.

We cannot deny that to which we feel called.  Are you longing to serve in a particular capacity, using your unique gifts and talents? What would you do? With whom would you like to share these gifts to serve a higher purpose? I invite you to ask yourself these questions and when you discover the initial answers, ask “why?” to each layer and you may just discover a little bit about your inner voice waiting patiently to be released to the world!

Stand In Love,

xo, Jen

Jennifer Miller is a Las Vegas-based dōTERRA Wellness Advocate, Speaker, and Marketing Consultant.  She volunteers as a Community Partner for global nonprofit BeadforLife, whose mission is to provide entrepreneurial training to 1 million impoverished people globally by 2027.   Click here for a listing of upcoming events, or Follow her on instagram or Facebook @standinlovejen .  To host your own BeadforLife fundraiser or dōTERRA Essential Oil party, please email: deboughjl@gmail.com .  

 

New Year, New You!

 

“If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one”….  Russian Proverb

Happy New Year!

What do you dream of?  What would you like to create more of this year in your life?  How would you like to feel this year? Can you imagine it?  Can you feel it and touch it in your mind’s eye? I invite you to close your eyes, take 3 deep breaths and see what surfaces as you contemplate these questions.

As we cross the threshold into an abundant new year, may our hearts, minds, and guts- often referred to as our 3 brains– invite us to consider realizing our deeply held dreams in life.  We all begin with the same number of days in the year, and it’s what we choose to do with each and every day that will determine it’s fruitfulness.  How are you intending to spend your 365 days in 2018? How do you want to FEEL each day?  Are you ready to claim those intentions?

Recommitments.

One of my favorite new year re-committmentsas I like to call them, is to read more.   Reading is incredibly stimulating to our brains, not to mention empowering, as it instills in us newfound information that helps shape the way we interact daily with ourselves and others.   In Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s, “The One Thing”,  the notion of simultaneously having MORE and LESS is laid on the table for our consideration.  This notion is echoed in the following question repeatedly posed throughout the book:

 What’s the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

The leading chapter asks us to consider the idea of life with purpose.  Keller pushes us to consider our definitions of happiness, fulfillment, and success, asking us to take a realistic view of our driving force in life.  That ONE question.

What’s the ONE Thing I can do with my life that would mean the most to me and the world, such that by doing it, everything else would be easier or unnecessary? 

What comes up for you when you read this question aloud?

New Beginnings

The beauty of a new year is the feeling within of getting off to a fresh start.   Ah, the joy of a clean slate.  A do-over, or do-differently.   (insert your name) 2.0 , 3.0, or 4.0.   Yes, an opportunity to begin again.  What is it that you would like to do differently this year?  How would you like to feel?  Is this the year that you are ready to uplevel your health and wellness?    Is this the year you are going to push fear aside and choose LOVE in it’s place?  Trust your intuition, knowing you are right where you need to be.

Are you ready for a change? Are you open to learning more about natural health solutions and claiming the gift of emotional wellness? If so, I invite you to do ONE THING: consider attending one of my upcoming two classes this month to create new capacity for change in your life!  I promise, you won’t regret it!

xo, Jennifer