{guest blogger :: Coconut Robot}

Kacia is the lovely gal behind Coconut Robot, a fun blog + shop full of adventures and handmade items. Kacia has such an energetic personality and I just love chatting with her :]

She and her Ho. {hubby} run the Coconut Robot shop, home to some darling knit and sewn baby accessories & clothing.

Follow her updates on Twitter?

When I received a note from Maggie asking me to write a blog post, I responded with a “yes!” before really thinking about it.

Then I got nervous.

I wasn’t sure what I would write about, so I tried to undo my sent email [one of my favorite gmail features!], but gmail told me I was too late. Eeks!

My nervousness continued, but I got to thinking about the inspiration + encouragement that I receive. The encouragement that blesses me + pushes me to continue.

Who is it that covers us with these loving words?

Acquaintances?
Family?
Friends?
People we don’t know?

I love when strangers say something nice about me or the work I do. It feels good. It makes me blush. It humbles me. + I feel undeserving.


But there is a different kind of inspiration that stays with me through the ups + downs: the words from people close to me. People I’ve known forever.

My family.
My mentors.

Ever find yourself giving out the advice that was given to you in the past?
Maybe you find yourself coming back to it? Over + over?
Yes. Those words.

Would it be okay with you if I passed along some of my favorites? I hope you are as challenged, encouraged, inspired, + “wisdom-ized” as I am every time I talk to any of these fabulous people!

Meet Kelly.
Kelly became an amazing friend to me when I was in high school. She truly became one of my great friends, even though she was 10+ years my senior…but who’s counting?

Kelly has an incredible story, + now shares her story with women of all ages: encouraging them with her words. I have to say, she + I kicked some rear: back when “mafia” was all the rage.

One day, when I was talking to her about… well, what else do high school girls fret about? Boys. She said to me:

Never settle for anything less than what you can’t get.

She told me these words to me, so that I’d always remember to respect myself, be myself, + know that I’m someone special.

At that time, I was dealing with a lot of insecurities. What teenage girl doesn’t?

I had an opportunity to be a camp counselor at an amazing camp: Camp Barnabas.

No one can describe it better than they can:
Each summer we offer acceptance and love to more than 1,300 campers with special needs… They leave Camp Barnabas knowing they are uniquely created to live lives of ability.

I went that year for a week of camp having no idea what to expect. Little did I know how much I would learn…

Meet Sarah.
Sarah is 21.
She’s never walked.
She’s never talked.
She can’t feed herself.
She can’t paint her nails.
She can’t control the muscles in her mouth to smile, but you can see it in her eyes.
But Sarah is probably smarter than you + I combined.
But Sarah? She changes the life of every person she meets.
Sarah can flex one muscle in the bottom of her foot. Only one. Using that muscle, she taps Morse Code on a sensor, which communicates with a computer.
That computer is how she speaks. And using it was just one way that she impacted my life.

Sarah told us the story of her life. How she struggled with bouts of depression + tried starving herself at times just to end things. But then she told us about how she decided to quit focusing on her “small problems,” + focus on loving the people around her. She began doing things that so many people told her she would never be able to accomplish.

She did poetry readings.
She started a shuttle service for friends needing assistance.
She made people around her smile: she radiated joy in everything.
+ She thought boys were cute, and she wasn’t afraid to tell them.

Sarah blew my mind when she said to me one evening:

Don’t let the little things get in the way: dream big + make it happen.

I’ll never forget those words, or the girl who told them to me.

Meet Kelli.

Kelli was my camp counselor: lucky me! And when I was an awkward + zits-on-my-face teenager [haha, what’s changed?], Kelli believed in me.

She believed in me, when I didn’t have the strength to believe in myself.

Kelli told me a little saying the she aimed to live by. And let me tell you: she does. I pray that someday, I can live it out the way she lives her life.

I am third.

The rules of this life goal are simple:
God first.
Others second.
I am third.

Meet Elizabeth.

I often tell people about my little Elizabeth. Sometimes, I describe her as “A little Italian lady with the wisdom of a 90 year old.” I think that description fits her well. :]

I had the joy of rooming with this crazy-cat during college + life was never boring. Elizabeth never let me settle in life. She always challenges me: through her words + actions.

And it’s because Elizabeth does.
She isn’t someone who claims that she is going to do something and doesn’t.
She does it.
Elizabeth also doesn’t tell the world about the things she does for others.
She just does those things:

Elizabeth became friends with an 80+-year-old woman in Upland, Indiana named Millie. Elizabeth would go keep Millie company a few times each week.
And she never told anyone she was doing it.

Elizabeth put into practice placing others before herself, + she always challenges me to do the same. She goes out of her way to encourage + inspire others without ever drawing attention to herself.

She deflects attention instead of absorbing it.

I want to live my life the way Kelly, Sarah, Kelli + Elizabeth are living theirs. I get frustrated when I fail, but I just remember that: