The Rescue of Invisible Children

Saturday was a good time. Granted, the campout did little to evoke what these children actually go through, but walking through Atlanta to a campout location was a lovely symbol. Attending The Rescue event and seeing others who cared, as well as the celebrities who showed up, were nice. But I urge us to remember it’s not over. For those who did or didn’t go, I can promise you there will still be forgotten children, that a handshake or a promise made to solve the issue in Uganda and central/western Africa does not mean it is an inevitability. So keep prayerful, keep telling whoever will listen, keep caring.

Let’s make them more and more visible one day at a time.

For more on our day, and to see a speech given by John Lewis at the Atlanta rally, check out my husband’s blog.

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The path is narrow…

Clear my heart

Clear my mind

Clear my clutter

Clear my “To-Do”

The path is narrow, but it’s the only one to You.
So keep me clear Jesus. Free to follow you. However you desire.

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Emoticons: not for the truly emotional

There have been so many up and down emotions in my life recently that no online networking site, blog, or emoticon could begin to explain it. You know how sometimes you change your mind in a split second, or when anger instantly rises, or in a true act of God, completely dissipates. This is an everyday occurence in pregnancy. In some cases I believe that I should be left alone in my room with food delivery, other times all I want to do is to be out, not touching, smelling or breathing my own home.

It has occurred to me that my relationship with God is also a lot like this. There are times, maybe even I have been living in a period, where I have shut myself away. Neither wanting nor feeling like I needed to be bothered, there has been a good part of my active life that has been kept alone in a room. Not that I truly believed this was the best for me. But I think that I was not trusting God or people to understand the immense change that has happened in my outlook. Rather than being rejected on my principles I chose to stay at bay, not even asking God or fully seeking why this had happened to me. Many times we would rather just come up with our own conclusions, our own reasons for things. We might even say we’re “giving it to God” or “praying about it” but it’s all empty words.

I am really trying to change this…to allow God to work it our and actually work with him on what I should have been giving to him all along. Because my way has led to emotions that I am ill equipped to deal with- anger, resentment, all this for people not understanding what I wasn’t wiling to share. I know that I have slowly come to realize all of this, and some of it I have already admitted. I don’t think you can really move past something until it is admitted. You can move on, but not past it.

Being so emotional, having nowhere to put it, has helped me realize this. Perhaps pregnancy has more to give than illness with an end promise. Perhaps it is more of a journey to growing up than I thought.

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Global Food Crisis Day

Fight Hunger with Compassion

The sign around the corner from me says “Needed: Canned Meat and Fruits.” They’re a cooperative ministry seeing more new faces than ever before. They were also robbed last month. Maybe I don’t touch a soul when I stop by with canned meat and fruits, maybe they don’t even know my name. But somewhere a parent gets to provide for their children or make it through one more week without a paycheck. I’m not the whole difference. Neither are you. But together we can do something. Don’t let this be another day you do nothing. Be aware, give from your heart, remember how Jesus loved. And we love, because he first loved us. It’s not possible without that.

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Ouch.

Just read this title on CNN….

Can happiness be found online?

The question means little to millions living in poverty with neither electricity nor electronics. But there are also millions now weaving the Web 2.0 ever more tightly into their social fabric — witness the booming popularity of Facebook and other social networking sites — so the question seems worth asking.

Makes me sad. I know a lot of us *gasp* do use this tool to feel better about ourselves. “Happiness.” Psychologists would probably point out that it is almost the same security blanket that people use for religion. I am not saying it’s all bad….but what else could we be doing with that time? Human nature says that a message online from a person you barely know will not make the impact a face to face relationship will. Maybe it DOES work for monetary purposes….but what about our hearts? I know this is the pot calling the kettle black, but it turns my stomach to think about it in real terms.

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Searching for God. period. In Twilight?

I love the Donald Miller read Searching for God Knows What. I would agree that a lot of times in our lives we are just searching, and feel like we still haven’t found what we’re looking for… okay, okay, enough cliches now. But it’s true.

I found it interesting that there are commercials now that advertise products as going back to the basics, banks as knowing that our families and friends are the most important thing to us and a general sense that America has somehow overstepped its boundaries into straight materialism without meaning.

Then there is the Twilight craze, while playing too much into the sexuality of teenagers and allowing that we can be grown up enough at 18 to make overarching life decisions, the thing that struck me most when I was reading is the belief in God by vampires. Their main concern for Bella is that she has a soul, and she must be moral to save that soul. Their main concern for themselves is that they do not want to take part in evil bloodshed, but would rather live a different controlled lifestyle that leaves other vampires wondering why they do it. While they are not necessarily trying to make “converts” they stay true to their beliefs no matter what the temptation. It’s mostly a silly and childish story, yes. But the implications of our culture are all there.

While the world around us seems to be getting worse and worse, I look at the world and realize, we don’t have to guess what they are searching for. We already know. Now what are we going to do about it? When are we going to start staying true to our beliefs?

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Have a little Compassion…

A lot of people are hurting right now. A lot of people are losing their jobs and wondering if and when homes are going to be foreclosed on. I overheard a very casual conversation last weekend in which a guy was telling a friend that at least his house wouldn’t be foreclosed on until August. It is becoming an everyday part of life.

So today. have a little Compassion for your neighborhood co-op, or the food pantry at your church. Also, don’t forget that there are children everywhere that are without. If you would like to sponsor or a child or just give a little bit, don’t forget to check out Compassion. They have a fund especially set up for children without sponsors!

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Stomp!

So last night Andy and I went to see Stomp! And he looked at me and said, isn’t it amazing that people were born with the God-given talent to do this stuff? And it is. The fluency and precision in all the movements to make music from trash cans, paint cans, rubber, and tapping.

Perhaps we all have the ability to do that….make something special from something that it hardly makes sense to use. We just have to think about it all. After all, the creators of Stomp! did take ten years to perfect the concept.

Either that or we could come up with a Christian version of Stomp… I think it is high time people stop seeing Jesus Christ Superstar and thinking that is what we’re all about. :)

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Obama, Abortion, and Mexico City

To me, abortion is a sad choice in many ways. Choosing whether or not to give a baby life when you do not think you are able to give him or her the life they deserve could never be a desirable experience. That being said, I choose to not sit on the pro-life or pro-choice side. I can honestly say that in my life abortion would not be an option. But I know that the banning of abortion would cause an uprising in home abortions and deaths or injuries of mothers who would try to get under the table abortions from unqualified people passing themselves as doctors. I definitely do not want to see that. I would like to see easier adoption options and more counseling and support for mothers who are faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Abortion should not be a substitute for birth control. However, like a local pastor who I recently saw on a Christian interview program, I do not think that not having abortions could be a solvent to our economic crisis. The thought is insane. In any case it would burden a system that needs more requirements and fights harder for justice to see its dependents turned around. Affordable childcare, better transportation systems, job placement, etc. There are ways to have a welfare system that does help care for our brothers and sisters and not enslave people to its pattern.

That being said, the one issue I have never been able to fully agree with President Obama on is his abortion stance. I simply cannot think of a world either way. My unrest leaves me unable to take a definitive stance. But, when I heard the Mexico City decision I was thoroughly confused. First of all, Mexico City’s population needs our help in more ways than one. Its overpopulation makes it a dangerous place to live not only for its crime but for its massive air pollution. Second of all, I did not understand why Obama would want to take a stand on international abortion. However, this article at Blogging Faith helped my understanding. Whether you agree with me, Obama, or choose a conservative stance I hope that you might find this article helpful as well. Our media rarely does a thorough job of relating multi-tiered news stories. Here it is.

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Have a little Compassion…

 Ay ay ay! i am very behind at work today, so let me be honest and say that I have not prepared ahead my Compassion post. So, today give a smile, give a hug. Show a little compassion to someone who does, or maybe even doesn’t need it. I think we can all agree we have been underserving at times, but still given so much!

Peace begins with a smile.  ~Mother Teresa

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