Happy New Year friends!  2014 blessed me big in many ways, not the least of which was here on the blog. I wrote all about that on my year in review post, in case you’d like to see the cliff notes version of She Lives Free in 2014  😉  Thank you all so much for being a part of the Make A Difference Mondays community – it’s hard to believe at the start of last year it was but a dream God put on my heart, and now it’s become this great big, thriving community of dreamers and doers!  I am sending you all much love and wishing you all a year of much joy, peace, and prosperity!

Ladies, I am so excited it’s another Make A Difference Mondays interview day around here!  Maybe you saw the recent features with the ladies of The Ruth Experience and Kola from Beta Motivation? Well this time I got to chat with Beck Campbell from A Shiny Reflection.  It’s been such a joy for me to get to know Becki – first from Instagram, then through Facebook and I have to say – I love her heart.  I believe you will too and I hope you will take time to visit her blog and get to know her in our MADM facebook community and everywhere else she hangs out online!  Now to hear from Becki herself!

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Tell us about yourself and your family?

I am a wife to an amazing man, Jay.  We will be celebrating our 16 year anniversary this month. We have four kids.  Ages 14 all the way down to 4.  Life is pretty crazy, but so much fun. I am a stay-at-home mom, but before our kids were born I used to be a Language Arts teacher at a middle school in the inner city of Los Angeles County in California. I volunteer at my church’s community center as an ESL teacher for adults. I love my students and I am so thankful to be be back in the classroom. In my free time (ha!), I write on my blog A Shiny Reflection.

Where did you get your passion to make a difference?

I grew up in a mission’s minded church where the church’s motto was : Where every member is a minister.”  From a young age, we were encouraged to reach out through loving service to our community. I grew up in a home where my parents always gave of themselves to those in need. They demonstrated to me that we need to love like Jesus loved, reaching the poor, the weak, and the forgotten. In the last few years, my passion has specifically focused on those women who feel cast aside, depressed, weak, and who struggle with their purpose and identity in Christ.

Tell us about your blog and it’s mission?

My blog, A Shiny Reflection, was created out of a bit of frustration of what is on the web and in social media. The constant pressure placed on women to do more, to be more, and to hide their flaws. I wanted to create a safe, authentic place for women. To share my story of my journey from people-pleasing to God-pleasing. I am passionate about sharing to women that they are enough…scars, weaknesses, and fears. It is my prayer that I can point women back to scripture reminding them that the God of the Universe is crazy about them, that He can’t keep his eyes off of them. He loves us with a lavish, gentle, and unconditional love. That only in our weaknesses that his glory can be revealed to a dark and hurting world.

How do you hope to change the world for the better through this mission?

I simply want to be real and authentic about God’s moving in my life. It is my prayer that this tiny little corner of the blogosphere can be a quiet place where women can find a bit of peace. I pray it can be a place where they can be reminded of who they truly are in Christ. A place where they are reminded to daily bathe in the word of God. To cling to His goodness and truth in a world that daily tries to pull us down into discouragement. Every weakness we may feel we have is a facet of our life that God wants to shine through to reveal His glory in our lives. That is His true purpose for us- to shine through us to a world that so desperately yearns for hope.
My favorite quote is from C.S. Lewis is the prayer of my heart: “Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine so that through you others can see Him.”

Where can we find you online?

You can find me blogging at A Shiny Reflection. You can also find me on Facebook (  http://www.facebook.com/shinyreflection ), Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/campbellbecki ), Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/shinyreflection), and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/beckikcampbell).  I will also be sharing my story in the Spring Issue of Thryve Magazine.

 

Make A Difference Mondays is a weekly linkup designed to encourage and inspire us to live each day on purpose by making a meaningful difference in someone’s life in even the smallest of ways. Five women regularly co-host this link-up and will appear on all five of our blogs along with three wonderful co-hosts who fill in as guest hosts on the occasional day that a regular co-host is not able to post. Read on to learn more about our vision, mission, and how to link up!

Mission
Our mission is to provide a consistent gathering place for like-minded women to build online connections, share inspiration, and provide mutual encouragement and accountability as we seek to live intentionally and make a difference in the lives of those around us.

Vision
Every Monday we will invite bloggers to link up any blog post that encourages women to live life on purpose. This could include testimonies or goals from your own life, small acts of kindness or service, creative tips or ideas for showing consideration to others — the possibilities are endless. Our objective is to use our God-given time and resources to His glory!

Also, just a heads-up: the Make A Difference Mondays team has created two fun new ways to keep us all connected! Now we have our own Facebook community group to stay in touch beyond the blog posts AND we also have a new #MADMlinkup group Pinterest board and we will be pinning our favorite posts from the linkup that inspire and encourage us to make a difference. We are so grateful for you and would love for all of you to join us for fellowship in the above linked community group and you can follow the Pinterest board right here to watch for your posts:

Add your post here!

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