We’re Serving Onboard the Logos Hope January 2026!

We’re so excited to share with you that we’ve been given the opportunity to volunteer onboard the Logos Hope in January for 30 days. Nick will be working in Project Maintenance (think construction) and I will be helping in the school as Ivy attends classes with the other kids that live onboard. We’re eager to be part of what God is doing through the ships ministry and to learn what He has planned for our family.

Joining the Logos Hope in 2009

In each port it visits, the ship opens it’s bookfair for hundreds to thousands of visitors each day, offering over 5,000+ titles at discounted prices, including Bibles, resulting in many people buying quality literature for the first time in their lives! The ship also offers practical help like dental and construction teams and partners with local churches, according to the needs of each port. But most importantly, the ship offers hope to each person who comes aboard because they are given the chance to learn about God’s love for them. Click HERE for a 60 second clip about the Logos Hope.

This trip is especially meaningful to us because we served with OM Ships from 2009-2012 in both the Florence, SC office and on this same ship, the Logos Hope. If you’ve followed me since I began blogging in 2008, you may remember this blog used to be titled, ‘Sailing with the Stewarts” during our years with OM Ships! Nick and I have always shared a heart for missions and, since Ivy was born in 2020, we have felt a calling to return to overseas missions. During these years we have been going on short-term missions trips and praying that God would reveal where he wants us to serve. This summer, we felt God giving us direction when we found that the Logos Hope can use Nick’s skills in construction. We’re excited to volunteer with the ship ministry again, this time bringing Ivy with us!

***To make this family missions trip possible, we’re raising $1822 to cover our room and board, plus airfare and emergency medical insurance on top of that. We’d be so grateful if you’d consider partnering with us—through your prayers and, if you’re able, with a financial gift. Every gift, big or small, helps us!

👉 How to Give:

• Click HERE to give online
• Check – Payable to OM USA and mailed to OM USA Finance Dept. PO Box 444 Tyrone, GA 30290.  Put “Nick and Emily Stewart - 2261134” in the Memo Line.

Random things you may be wondering…

-The Logos Hope is the world’s largest floating bookfair, but I like to explain it’s like a floating city. Just like in a city, there are engineers, electricians, plumbers, nurses, teachers, cooks, bakers, a finance department, event planners and many others. It’s a great way to combine a career you enjoy with a calling from God.

-There are about 400 volunteers from over 60 countries serving onboard!

Nick and I with our “ship family” 2010

-Nick and I will serve as volunteers, we will not be paid and Nick will pause his construction company’s projects during these 4 weeks we will be away.

-Nick, Ivy and I will be in a family cabin. It’s basically 3 rooms: Ivy’s bedroom, a bathroom and a family room with a couch that converts to a bed for Nick and me. It’s extremely tight, but living in a small cabin was actually one of my favorite memories of ship life. 

-We will eat all our meals in the Dining Room with everyone else.

My Reception Class 2009

-The school is on Deck 9, the top deck. When Nick and I lived on the ship previously, I was the Reception Class teacher, which is ages 4-5. Ivy will be 5 as we join the ship, so it feels really special to have the chance to experience the school again with my own daughter being the same age as the sweet little students I loved!

-While I worked in the school during our time onboard, Nick worked in the book-hold. His days were spent driving a forklift to unload containers, unpacking and organizing, inventory and restocking the Bookfair. This time, however, he will use his skills as a builder to help in Project Maintenance!

Nick driving the forklift in Jamaica 2010

-The ship is scheduled to be in Trinidad during the month of January. Just like returning to the school, this also feels very special because we visited this same port during our time on the ship and have good memories of how much we enjoyed that area.

Thank you for considering being part of this journey. We can’t wait to share how God works through this trip!

Please reach out and keep in touch:

nickemily07@gmail.com

Nick (843)245-4936

Emily (843) 618-1447

***UPDATE: As of November 3rd, we have raised all of our $1822 for the ship costs…THANK YOU! Now we continue to raise money to cover our flights ($2,784.39) and emergency travel insurance costs ($333.96).

👉 How to Give:

• Click HERE to give online
• Check – Payable to OM USA and mailed to OM USA Finance Dept. PO Box 444 Tyrone, GA 30290.  Put “Nick and Emily Stewart - 2261134” in the Memo Line.

I’M OVER THE HILL

When I turned 30, I recorded all of my accomplishments from my 20’s in this blog post. So, as I’ve been approaching 40, I’ve been eager to repeat the process. Last week, a friend pointed out that I’m a reflector and it’s true! I always love to complete something, reflect on how it went, usually blog about it and then move forward in confidence that I’ve grown and I’m ready for whatever comes next. Now that I’m finally over the hill, I’m excited to share the things that meant most to me and shaped me in my 30s:

I kayaked in both the Caribbean and Murrell’s Inlet, crossed the finish line during the Cooper River Bridge Run, hit Gold with Young Living Essential Oils and walked across stage with 20,000 people in the audience to shake Gary Young’s hand and receive my award, got purple highlights in my hair and chopped it all off and donated it again two more times, cheered Nick on as he won his age group in a Triathlon, enjoyed several family cruises to the Caribbean, hiked all over Hawaii with my friend Emily, road-tripped to Texas with my sisters and visited Magnolia, hiked Pinnacle Mountain twice and decided it’s my favorite hike ever, saw my real life cowboy, Ben Temple, compete in a few Rodeos, attempted my own Triathlon but was brought back to the finish line in an ambulance instead, completed our renovation and enjoyed living in the most beautiful home we’ve ever owned, road-tripped most of January-July of 2018 seeing everything from touring DC, camping on the coast in Maine and eating lobster, getting soaked in Niagara Falls, relaxing in Oak Island, avoiding sharks at New Smyrna Beach, getting motion sickness on rides in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, riding an airboat in the Everglades, looking at my reflection in the Chicago Bean, touring the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter, being underwhelmed by Mount Rushmore, taking a Maker’s Mark tour, driving to Canada to see Banff and hike to the Lake Louise Tea House, making it all the way over to the Northwest corner again, walking through the Japanese Garden and Rose Test Garden in Portland, relaxing on a two week Alaskan cruise, hiking in Colorado with my cousins, white water rafting in Spokane on the Young Living Gold Retreat, and then we wrapped up this trip of a lifetime to come back home and see our two baby sisters get married and just as we felt that life couldn’t get any better, found out we were pregnant, but miscarried and buried our sweet little nugget in my parent’s backyard.

This was followed by a series of losses over some difficult years in which we found out that Nick’s dad had cancer and our niece was diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome and they both passed away soon after, while at the same time we were struggling to get pregnant and found out through our own genetic testing that Nick also carries the Sanfilippo gene. Our lives slowed down significantly, but I still enjoyed a trip out west with my mom to the Young Living Beauty School and then again, another trip with my mom, when I earned an Alaskan Cruise and invited her to join me and we even got to treat ourselves to High Tea in Canada. A sweet friend gave me my Labradoodle Lucy and she became my quiet little companion and soon after, we sold our perfect home in Florence, bought a Fixer Upper in Greenville and were thrilled to find out we were pregnant again, just in time for COVID to shut down the world, but the months at home gave us time to finish our renovations and spend quality time together before becoming parents. 

We delivered Ivy with a midwife and without any epidural or pain medications and after her 1st birthday, rented out our house and took her on her first big roadtrip, going all up and down the east coast making stops in Oak Island, Wilmington, all over the outer banks and camping on the magical island of Ocracoke, visiting family in NJ, walking around colonial Williamsburg and hiking around Gettysburg, taking her to Animal Kingdom, the Biltmore, to the Cabbage Patch Kids Hospital right outside of Helen, GA and so many places in between that I struggle to remember. In her short little life, she’s cruised the Caribbean, been to an all-inclusive in Cancun and still asks to go back to the kids slide, been to the Dominican Republic twice on missions trips, spent a week in London, played at Dollywood, countless weekend getaways and girls trips, hiking, camping, swimming, boating, bike riding, walks, baseball games, trips to the beach, family outings, yoga classes, playgrounds all over, horseback riding, paddleboarding, dance camps, church camps, scootering, hugged Anna and Elsa at the Epcot Frozen ride, loved going to school in 2K-4K and she couldn’t be happier to be in Kindergarten now. She is extroverted, adventurous, full of energy, happy, an amazing traveler and the perfect addition to our family.

A couple years ago, I got off social media and haven’t missed it one bit, we bought another Fixer Upper, which we still live in now, purchased our first rental property down the street from us, enjoyed more than $30,000 in FREE travel since learning how to travel hack and we are getting ready to celebrate 18 years married on (another FREE) trip to Cancun! Over the weekend, as Nick and I were both reflecting, we agreed that other than the first year we were married and the first six months of 2018, this year has been our best year yet. We’re both 40, in good health and happily married, we have caring friendships, supportive family, are involved in our church that we love, Nick's business in thriving, we're involved in missions and travel often, live in a very friendly community, Ivy is wonderful, happy and healthy and we both recognize how blessed we are and how quickly things can change. So, as I sit here, days into 40 and everything going for me, I’m reminding myself to enjoy the moments because these are the days that I’ll look back on and wish for when they are gone.

Each decade has been better than the last and I’m ready to see what 40 has got for me!

What I wish I knew when I was younger

Call me crazy, but I find myself eager to turn 40 next month.

In my teens, I had high expectations of where my life was going to take me. My 20s were when I started to joke that “I got everything I never wanted”. And in my 30s, I finally realized that what I got is most likely what God knew I needed.

All these decades, I have strived. Maybe not to be the best, but to be my best. 100% vegan. A minimalist. Always crossing things off my Bucket List. Climbing the ranks with Young Living Essential Oils. For my blog to take off. To bring Ivy into the world. Be the best wife. Take care of my health. Support world missions. Make an impact. The list goes on. And so do I, always trying my best. But often feeling like my best just isn’t enough.

However, through it all, I managed to create a life that I love. I still feel young. I enjoy my routine. I look forward to my future. And somehow it all worked out even though nothing really worked out. So, instead of spending all these decades striving, I wish I would have known to simply stop trying so hard and just enjoy them.

As I’ve moved through my years of expectation, disappointment and acceptance, I’ve confirmed many times over that hard times are inevitable and I’ve learned contentment through suffering. I can’t have it all, and that’s ok. I can’t be the best, and that’s ok too. But what I can do is choose to find hope in every circumstance because once I get it all into perspective, I’m reminded that God put me here, now, loves me and has a future planed for me.

Then my 40 years of working towards my goals fade away and I think of the quote “Only one life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” and I’m reminded, yet again, it’s not about me at all. It’s about Him. And I wish I knew that when I was younger, but I wish I knew that in this moment. Because tomorrow morning, I’m going to wake up, thinking that it’s all about me all over again and will continue to do so, until I am reminded, again and again and again, that I am nothing and He is everything.

So, as I graduate this decade and celebrate the next, I do plan to strive.

Strive to forget myself.

My starfish and me

Have you ever heard the tale of the starfish?

It’s about a girl on a beach full of thousands of starfish that washed up after a storm. She’s throwing them back into the ocean, one by one, when a man asks her why she’s doing this and points out she can’t save them all. She throws another back in, replies “Well, I made a difference for that one!” and continues returning more to the water...

And here I am, pulled in so many directions as a wife, a mom, a daughter and a friend. I have errands to run, groceries to buy, meals to cook, laundry to wash and put away, a house to tidy and clean, a little girl that wants me to play and take her on adventures, a husband I want to spend time with, friends and family I want to catch up with, an exciting city and active neighborhood I want to enjoy, a church where I attend and volunteer and a Bucket List I can’t ignore. On top of all that, I want to take care of myself, so that I can be the best version of myself for those around me for many years to come.

And so instead of saying yes to every need I hear of, I said yes to one…Marie.

Over the these past few years, I’ve watched as she completed requirements with Front Porch Housing and classes at Tech, always excelling and moving forward. I’ve learned about her life, what she has overcome and witnessed her baptism. I’ve seen that she loves her boys fiercely and makes decisions that are best for them. And now that we’ve celebrated her graduation from Front Porch Housing, I’ve been impressed as she’s reclaimed her independence and set up a fresh start for her family. Now, she’s healthy, in a good place and is using her experience and gifts to support other moms in crisis.

So, I decided that Marie is my starfish.

When I met Marie, our relationship started simply with me texting weekly and asking her for her prayer requests and showing up to meetings and events, not really knowing how to serve her, but trying to make sure she knew that I was there. Over the years, it became invitations to kids birthday parties, a dinner out together and a painting class, cleaning out and organizing her apartment, stopping by when I could and consistently keeping in touch about our lives. And now, today, I consider her a friend.

Marie has shown me what it looks like to be brutally honest and to keep pushing ahead, facing challenges as they come. When we met, I was a new mom who questioned what I had to offer and now, years later, I see that what I had to offer was myself. I came to Marie with no expectations, got to know her and listened to her needs. I felt inadequate, but made myself available, and our friendship rebuilt my confidence in my ability to help others by simply showing up.

Marie may have started out as my starfish, but I also became hers.