If you know me personally, you know how much I love jeans. I'm firmly in the jeans and T-shirt camp most days, preferring comfort and simplicity in my wardrobe choices. In the summer, I trade in my jeans for shorts, and enjoy being able to be active or to veg out without an outfit change. So when my mom suggested that I join her in Dressember, I was hesitant.
First of all, I had no clue what Dressember even meant. I did some research on www.dressemberfoundation.org and found out that it's a month-long event to raise awareness for human trafficking and social injustice. Usually, women commit to wearing nothing but dresses all month to raise awareness and funds for International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org). While International Justice Mission is a fantastic ministry that I highly recommend supporting, only a portion of money raised during Dressember goes towards IJM. My mom wanted to make the maximum impact with her choice to partake in Dressember, so at least for this year, she decided to wear dresses all month, but raise awareness and support for my upcoming trip with Kingdom Journeys. And she convinced me to join her.
Only two days have passed for this month, and already I'm learning a lot from participating in Dressember. One of the biggest lessons I've learned so far is how blessed I am with freedom of choice. I have freedom to choose my wardrobe, food, living situation, and more. And most importantly, I have freedom to choose Christ. But I don't want to just abide contentedly in my freedom; I want to share my freedom, and the resources that come with it, with women around the world. Every time I don a dress this month, I'm reminded of how much Jesus longs for freedom for all of His daughters. I'm reminded of why God is calling me to go on Kingdom Journeys, to proclaim freedom over the captives around the world who are caught in trafficking, abusive situations, sin, and shame. Whenever I put on a dress, which is far from my first option of clothing, I am reminded to pray for all the women around the world who have no choice or freedom in their lives, much less in their clothing options.
As God prepares my heart to leave once again to minister to the nations, I'm asking again for partners for my journey. If God is laying on your heart a desire to partner with me financially, please donate through the Support Me! button to the left. I also need prayer partners as I step back on the mission field! As you see pictures of me in a dress on Facebook or Instagram (vallorym), let it be a reminder to you to pray for me, pray for my Kingdom Journeys team, and pray for the women who we will be ministering to. I know God is already preparing the hearts of the women He wants to shepherd into His Kingdom! Thank you for your support, love, and prayers!
