Bayside Community Church Resources Fair for Families with Special Needs
I was blessed today to attend and network with many generous people! There was a special resource fair held at Bayside Community Church specifically for families and folks with special needs. I am so grateful for the time they all spent teaching me what is available for the community. Each organization had delightful people that listened and offered help to many families attending including ours. I hope the following links will be helpful to many of our readers and fans.
God Bless you always!
Jamie
Kid Potential Learning Enhancement Center
My thoughts on Digital Art, AI and Pencil to paper.
Hello Fans and Faithful Friends! We have been busy just trying to keep up with all things Brave and Book alike! I hope you had a Blessed summer! I wanted to write a short blog to let you in on a truth you may not know. You are very talented. You can create without the aid of anything that seems to “fix” your work. Please be encouraged that in the ever fast paced changing world of art and illustration, there is nothing unique or even interesting about perfection. As we strive to produce at the rate of commerce and fundraising there are so many temptations to short cut and even short circuit our creativity. Just don’t do it. Take your time, embrace the crooked feet, imperfect strokes and or not so ideal skin tones after mixing various paints ( me) ! God had given you a gift. Do not hand it over. It is yours to steward. If you hand it over it’s like tiny diamonds falling through the crevasse of your hands. There may be some left but it’s not your original design or thought. Gods timing is always better than our frenzied rush! Oh and the process of creating has always found me in surrender to Jesus over my imperfections and HIM always revealing HIS Glory in the finished piece.
-Blessings-
Jamie
Read Pirate Lydia and The Dragons…as we Write! Chapter reveal on Kindle Vella!`
Hello everyone! We have been working at becoming digital in some areas but as you know we will always come out in print as well. The time frame between books has been quite lengthy as we had some major changes in location, illustration format and the ever important updates on equipment desperately needed to stay current.
We are so excited to introduce a connection tool that we hope you will enjoy as much as we have as a family. First let me advise parents and those connecting on the platform Kindle Vella that any author can write and be read. With that being said, please accompany your young readers while seeking us out on Kindle Vella as some content is well …..gross. I’m just being honest and forward. Our commitment to bring The Gospel in every platform does not keep us away from such social reading venues and in fact we love being light in dark places.
With all that being said I will attach a link for you to read while we write! Yes, there will be mistakes, changes, and an ever forming story until we reach the end! I will also be illustrating with my very talented co-authors and illustrators that have pen names now! I think you may know who they are though. I will post those amazing illustrations here and on our personal social media page for current fans and supporters
( we LOVE you and Praise GOD for you. )
When we do wrap up the whole story it will be sent to print and ebook for you to purchase yourself, as a gift or even a tool to teach in your classroom at home or abroad. Now, sit back, enjoy the adventure and READ as we Write on Kindle Vella!
Click on the ship to begin The Adventure!
With God All things are Possible.
Pirate Lydia and The Dragons in the works!
A little sketch Digitally while we write…its so much fun to create!
It has been a whirlwind year of abundance and blessing! We have been graciously hosted by two incredible local businesses, opened up our pages to children all over Springfield IL, Bradenton FL, Orlando FL, Kenya, China and Nigeria ! It is our constant prayer that the Lord will use us in mighty ways for The Good News to spread throughout the nations! Thank you for praying, sending books, sharing and purchasing our gifts to help maintain publishing money and students in Kenya! We are grateful !
As our next book we have chosen to publish a chapter book! There will be illustrations and characters you recognize as well as some new ones! I hope you will celebrate with us by sharing, purchasing and visiting our book readings and events for special gifts that will accompany the book! We are so excited to produce great stories that introduce Faith, Courage and love to children and families! You are a Blessing!
Stay posted to our site for sneak peaks of illustrations in progress, characters new and familiar, events and new gifts, updates on release dates and FREE Audio books!
speaking of sneak peaks…this little girl wants to say hello before she is edited and hand painted…
Brave Enough Books
Copyright Jamie Nikole
Little Tooth mama
Your Invited, yes you.... Piper And Arrows Boutique Holiday Open House
If you have ever shopped in a boutique setting like this you would get it. The music is the perfect volume and blend, the staff is friendly and relaxed, just letting you totally unwind. There is a total peace about the place and it feels like a mini vacation! This is exactly what you needed to find on your little adventure! Did I also mention that the family owned place adopts beautiful and medically fragile children as TREASURES into their home? Your pocket money just found its purpose, so shop on y’all!
This is the boutique we are BLESSED to have Brave Enough Books Items in! I cannot imagine being anywhere else!
Please come in and shop! We have an event this weekend with beautiful home goods and authentic hand made items by local families that really could use your support. Brave Enough Books will have special gifts and updates on future books for their biggest fans as well as new friends! Here is a little sneak peak!
A map for you to look over while waiting on our next book… Pirate Lydia and The Dragons!
You will not be disappointed by the warm and joyful Christmas spirit and experience! We hope to see you there!
What your Book purchase does.
I’m really happy to announce that your generous outpouring and book purchases have made the difference in the lives of many. Thank you first and foremost for keeping the fire burning that could so easily be snuffed out in current times. It is so easy to turn away from missions and those waiting to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ by taking care of “ our own.” I can understand the fear to give and go in these really tough times all over the world. Im so grateful for those in a season able to go into the world and tell those waiting to hear about Jesus and receive Hope in the midst of the mess we all seem to be in together.
A Commit Ministries International team is headed out to Kenya really soon just after returning from Romania. That is in part because you showed up to book openings, bought online, sold lemonade and gave with joyful hearts!
Thank you! Piper and Arrows Boutique!
I am so grateful to partner with you and see God equip those going and helping in hard places. I have included below the total in gifts given and look forward to continue writing more books, fundraising, praying, ministering to children and families here in the USA as well as sending missionaries and advocating for the students in Kenya!
K9’s for Kenya Abe Fest bandana sale, Lemonade Stand, Book sales, Moonlight Market Sales, Piper and Arrow Boutique Book Sales, Original Pieces Sales, $1200.00
God Bless these gifts and God speed Greg and Mona Crawford and all of our Commit Ministries team and staff, we love you so very much! Thank you for being the love of Jesus for all the orphans and widows across the globe. We see you. We thank God for you.
Love,
Jamie Nikole
So GOOD to see you all!
A big THANK YOU to Piper and Arrows Boutique and the beautiful families that came out for the book release and reading of The Tooth Mama! I absolutely loved seeing each one of you and talking with each little hero! What a beautiful group of people to enjoy the day with. A million Blessings on each of you and your families and I sure hope to see you at:
The Greater Treasure Book Release and reading
On Wednesday evening at 6 PM September 22, 2021
and
Saturday morning at 11 AM on October 2, 2021
There will be a unique gift included with your book purchase only at these Events!
Book Signings, Readings, Libraries and more! Events for you and your family!
Photo Credit : Hannah Schafer
There have been many a costume party around the school room as we celebrate the open doors and opportunities that God has given us recently! We are truly humbled and grateful!
We are in a beautiful boutique called Piper and Arrows located at 627 East Adams Street in Springfield. IL You can find The Tooth Mama in Paperback with a little surprise just for shopping there only to accompany the book! If you can’t find your way there, Amazon will deliver The Tooth Mama to your door!
The Tooth Mama officially gained her Library of Congress ID number in November of 2020 ! We are in several Libraries now that have been so kind to the local author scene! Thank you to Athens Library, Rochester Library, Chatham Library and Pleasant Plains Library! We are very honored to be in your circulation as we have continually found your bookshelves as our families happy place indeed. Thank you so much!
Here are a list of Events, Book releases and Workshops by Brave Enough Books, we hope to see you soon! Thank you for your support and prayers. - Jamie
A reading and book signing by Jamie Nikole of The Tooth Mama with gifts and surprises for your family on July 17, 2021 Saturday @ Piper and Arrows Boutique 627 East Adams Springfield, IL
I want to publish myself- An in person workshop that will give you some simple starting steps to become a self-published author.
Coming Soon TBA Stay Posted for venue and details
Greater Treasure Book Release, signing and reading
September 22, 2021 Wednesday at 6 PM and October 2, 2021 Saturday at 11 AM
@ Piper and Arrows Boutique Springfield, IL
Lemonade Stand Fundraiser for Commit Ministries Students in Kenya
Coming soon TBA Stay Posted for Venue and details
The Tooth Mama Book Release!
There is a buzz in our sunlit school room as papers shuffle to the floor from our table and giggles consume the joyful young illustrators at my table. Im a teacher of the most high and His Faithfulness is obvious in the giddy completion of our first book!
I work side by side with the most encouraging little people you could imagine. They inspire me and bring out a creative free spirit in me that has often been a target for many a pitfall. Im grateful that this has all come together and more nervous than a one eyed abandoned cat that needs a family ( One Eye Cat book Launch 2021 ) ! Im excited too! God has pulled all three of us from the mud and mire and managed to lift our heads. He is good to see us through. He is Faithful and He keeps all of His promises. We release our book on November 20, 2020. It seemed fitting to redeem the year by picking that day as a physical effort to rise up and continue our dreams to adopt again. I know it seems like an impossibility but that has never really stopped us before!
So, off we launch into this creative world of writing, illustrating and committing to Tell of Jesus Christ and His Faithfulness to the abandoned, the needy, the unnoticed. I salute all the single Mom’s out there stuffing pillows and spinning stories because you can’t imagine it any other way. Your love for your kiddos is genuine and unyielding to the doldrums that threaten to steal your joy. You are the tireless and beautiful mama that refuels off of giggles and takes in a deep breath so settled in a pile of warm laundry on the bed. You are simply amazing. You have met all of God’s expectations and He is so proud of you!
This book is a compliment to your efforts and an adventure waiting to be adapted to only the limits of your loving imagination. Enjoy it with your littles and spin your own stories about the toys on the bed, creatures in the background and that one time when your Tooth Mama came for that first Tooth!
She started me on a Destiny only God could navigate. God Bless you Kayla! I love you!
Our K9’s can change the world.
We have partnered with Missionaries at Commit Ministries International to raise funds and awareness for students and orphans in Kenya. Your purchase can change the life of a needy student in Kenya and also employ those on the front lines of orphan care! Your K9 has just found a fashionable way to change the world! Thank you for blessing others with your purchase. Please enjoy the music video of a concert done in Kenya for our students!
Photo credit Hannah Shaffer @ HJS Photography
Helping Paws
There isn’t much our incredible and mighty little pugalier won’t do for my kiddos. I first recognized the qualities of the mixed breed on websites and groups in the UK and Ireland. He is a mix of pug and King Charles Cavalier spaniel. I knew right away that he was going to make it to full service dog after seeing his father, Cooper tend to his master, a paraplegic with many daily challenges. Our little hero has enabled kids with social delays, Cerebral Palsy vision impairments, ADHD and even severe autism overcome major obstacles. It isn’t any wonder that God created dogs to be our best friends. Don’t forget to reward your four legged hero today with nothing less noble than a gift from K9’s for Kenya. I’m sure that heroic hound wouldn’t have it any other way!
( as seen below )
Mona Crawford of Commit Ministries International holding a child with CP at one of the homeless women and children’s Ministries in Mexico. She is a front line missionary with an incredible heart to show God’s love.
A cup of water and some JOY!
I have often wondered about the reward we reap in heaven when we offer that “cup of water?” What do we actually see as a result of that offering? Does Jesus smile? Does He remember and we talk about it as we walk along those streets of gold? Well, either way, it sure does feel good to give that cup and see the change from thirst to refreshment. Are you ready to be refreshed by giving? We have some incredible ways you can give generously by simply sponsoring a student, shopping in our store or even stepping out and going on a mission trip. Whatever your offering, it will be a great gift to refresh your soul and those that receive it!
My Offering
A thankful offering even in 2020….
When I was last in Kenya I saw three funerals and a wedding in a course of two weeks. Life can change in an instant. We can feel secure at one moment and completely loved and then suddenly circumstances change and wreckage makes its way. If you dig deep enough you can relate to the loss and abandonment that our Kenyan students have felt. Some of us need not dig very far at all and many of us are still sorting the wreckage.
So, why not sort through it and be a lifeline for one another? You can look into the eyes of our students and see much of that loss and be the change they need. The healing always comes closer and overcasts the loss when we come alongside and help one another.
Counting your blessings may be an old saying but it is true. We can all stop for a moment and hear our heart beating to know God has good plans for us. Be encouraged by the ability to help no matter how big or small. You are the change for one or many of the students reaching for Hope. Thank you!
Blessings,
Jamie and Commit Ministries International
There are people behind the scenes that sacrifice a great deal to simply put a voice to the fatherless, the poor, the widow and the broken. Commit Ministries International has willingly stepped into that megaphone to advocate for so many like this. There have been teams of people from Romania, China, Japan and the USA who set foot in schools and communities simply asking, “ How can we help?” The reply was always the same, “ Please help our kids in the community to stay in school, eat well and change their future.”
There is no greater investment than people. I believe the return is far greater than we see in our lifetime. Come with us and see into all that you can invest in the lives of others. God has a great treasure inside of you that needs to be shared. You can visit the students you sponsor and encourage them as you change the face of a community. We are ready to talk to you and match you with students today just waiting to attend or finish school. Please call us or sponsor online.
Blessings,
Jamie and Commit Ministries International
The "Kids"
When I was a little girl my parents sponsored a foreign child through a non for profit organization every month. We would get letters about four times a year with rough sketches surrounding the translation and maybe an updated photograph and social workers report on the family or lack of family situation. I immediately bonded with the far away child in the photo. I would count my cabbage patch kids and dream of adopting twenty- four real orphans someday. In a funny way, God has made that dream a reality. I compose this letter to you with a file swelling of photos and numbered “ kids” just waiting to gain a little help, prayer and encouragement from across the globe.
My “ kids” are not so little. They were once. We all were right? When they were little, school was affordable, parents were living and working and uniforms were easy to afford. Now, due to AIDS, increased school fees and the ever pressing social pressure, they wait to have a chance just for one meal a day and tuition. I held them in my arms once. I waited with them in line to our medical clinics, dug up termites for a snack while waiting for cement to dry on a freshly poured slab that another team would finish. I remember not being able to even dream of a future for these kids. I was just praying that the ones laying in my lap would make it past the malaria. So many of them did, but they are not so little anymore.
They still need you though. They still look to you and believe that the promise of Hope spilled over to them from the Bible is true. They need you as a sponsor. They have come so far and just long to graduate and change the cycle of poverty in their families. They can pour back into the community and be world changers but first we must keep our commitments, even if they are not so little anymore.
We are a platform of sponsorship. K9’s for Kenya was started to sell products that will raise Prayers, awareness and desperately needed funds for the Kenyan students. Your shopping is just the beginning but your sponsorship is the Hope of Commit Ministries International. Please sponsor, Give, Shop and change the world for our Kenyan students!
Blessings.
Jamie and Commit Ministries International
