The best birthday gifts.

The world's best cooking club!
 (we gave Jay a free pass for missing the party so she could bring little McKayla into the world!)

  I showed up at monthly cooking club last night to a surprise birthday party- for me. I so love celebrating others and am truly working on accepting encouragement and being celebrated by others without feeling awkward or minimizing it. And you know? I feel so so loved last night. Five of my absolute favorite friends went out of their way to just love me well and they succeeded. So if this is what my 30's are going to look like, I love it already!

  My birthday isn't until next week and I know it's really just a day and nothing magical will happen when I wake up as a 30 year old on Monday morning. But at the same time, it is still a big deal. At 30, I've settled into myself and how God has created me. I am less concerned with being cool or popular or making every single person happy and more committed to simply loving God and others really well. I'm more aware of the passions God has put in my heart and more confident about boldly sharing those passions.

  So, for my 30th birthday, I'm continuing my 30 for 30: Gather, Grow & Give Back goal for myself. I'm inching along! (and if I make to to 30 combine Noonday Collection orders/trunks shows this fall- I'll likely be able to visit our artisans in Uganda or Haiti or Peru next summer! Talk about extra incentive!) But truly- its been so fun watching people get excited and be bold about doing something outside of themselves. Ethical fashion, supporting artisans around the world to help them earn a dignified living, raising money for a friend's adoption, and sharing about social justice with their friends.

  And what if we didn't stop there? The best birthday present I could think of is for others to do good. Obviously, supporting Noonday Collection and our artisans is a great place to start- but think of all the awesome other ways, too! Sending a care package to your local children's hospital. Dropping off diapers to the nearest women's shelter. Baking cookies for a neighbor. Paying for the person behind you in the Starbucks drive-thru. Calling a friend you haven't talked to in a while and asking them how they're doing. Guys. It's easy and often free and always feels so good to love others well! So if you think of wishing me a happy birthday in the next week, how about just doing something good for someone else? 

And if you need a place to start, I still need 24 brave souls to help me reach this huge goal by making a simple Noonday Collection order OR hosting a Trunk show between now and November!

And know that I'm talking to you- not the whole of everyone reading this blog post. But you specifically- the one thinking that hosting a Trunk Show is not your style or you have no one to invite or you don't want your friends to think you're being sales-y. You- who are thinking this is great for me or someone else but not yourself. Think of the impact even little ole you can have by sharing just the concept of using our purchases for good! Think of the awesome way you can support that high school friend you don't really keep up with by helping them raise money for their adoption (they don't have to come! We just need their agency name and we can donation from your Trunk Show!)

So, if you even have the smallest inkling that this is something you should step out of your comfort zone and do it- email me! (katie.n.rush @ gmail .com) It doesn't have to be fussy. We can just meet up at a local coffee shop with two of your favorite social justice loving friends or host a play date with your mom friends or do a ladies' night at your church. Big, small, easy, detailed- whatever works best for you. If you're up for the excitement of helping me celebrate my 30th birthday over the next few months- I would love it!

{We can find the perfect idea that fits your style, circle of friends and calendar best! Ps. Who doesn't love planning ahead? And don't worry if you don't live near me at all- we can work around that!}