Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
I just read that the average American uses 15 GALLONS of water per day!
How much do I waste?
How much do I use in the shower? Flushing the toilet? Washing gross things down the kitchen sink? Drink?
I cannot fathom what 15 gallons would mean to someone in Africa, India, South America... Where do I waste? How do I stop? How will the world ever change without little movements?
How much do I waste?
How much do I use in the shower? Flushing the toilet? Washing gross things down the kitchen sink? Drink?
I cannot fathom what 15 gallons would mean to someone in Africa, India, South America... Where do I waste? How do I stop? How will the world ever change without little movements?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Birth Place
I was reflecting recently on the significance of where we are born.
Had I been born at 02°31'S 29°52'E- I may have been murdered in one of the world's great tragedies- the Rwandan Genocide.
Had I been born at 28°37'N 77°13'E- I may be living in an Indian slum, wondering whether I will get another drink.
Obviously where we are born says a lot about the path our lives will take. I have been thinking of where another baby was born, and the path that his life took. I think that Jesus was the ultimate defier of latitude and longitude. He travelled far away from his "home" to change the course of the world.
I know my impact will be nothing like Jesus'; however, if I could just defy my coordinates and change my future than perhaps the course of history would change and a person who was born at less advantageous coordinates would have a chance.
Had I been born at 02°31'S 29°52'E- I may have been murdered in one of the world's great tragedies- the Rwandan Genocide.
Had I been born at 28°37'N 77°13'E- I may be living in an Indian slum, wondering whether I will get another drink.
Obviously where we are born says a lot about the path our lives will take. I have been thinking of where another baby was born, and the path that his life took. I think that Jesus was the ultimate defier of latitude and longitude. He travelled far away from his "home" to change the course of the world.
I know my impact will be nothing like Jesus'; however, if I could just defy my coordinates and change my future than perhaps the course of history would change and a person who was born at less advantageous coordinates would have a chance.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving Reflection
When Ben and I pray together, we always acknowledge how blessed we are with love and resources; whenever we acknowledge this, we also entreat God to sow us ways to bless others with our resources. Since Ben began working at Sierra and we moved down south, we have been able to truly see how God works in the areas of greatest need. I feel incredibly blessed that God has shown us to people who need his intercession.
How blessed we are! Each day I thank God for his presence in my life and his constant refining of my heart. Today I am thankful for my husband, he is the most amazing man I have ever known and his heart for helping others is infectious, I am thankful for my family who are always supportive and present in our lives, finally, I am thankful for our friends who have been good about lifting our spirits and supporting us.
I hope that everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving and that the spirit of thankfulness continues from this day until Thanksgiving 2010. Love you all!
How blessed we are! Each day I thank God for his presence in my life and his constant refining of my heart. Today I am thankful for my husband, he is the most amazing man I have ever known and his heart for helping others is infectious, I am thankful for my family who are always supportive and present in our lives, finally, I am thankful for our friends who have been good about lifting our spirits and supporting us.
I hope that everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving and that the spirit of thankfulness continues from this day until Thanksgiving 2010. Love you all!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Inadequate Gifts
As I continue to read There Is No Me Without You, I find myself encountering my own inadquacies.
Greene offers a story of when a man requested rocket balloons and she believed that he was going to give them to his own grandchildren so she gave him only one balloon, judging that he was taking it to children who were well loved. She says, "Later that day I learned that Haj, in his home village, ran a hole-in-the-wall orphanage like Haregewoin's. He was a surrogate grandfather to about 80 older boys. I gave that nice man one balloon." (160, Greene)
How many times have I judged a persons worthiness? Probably each and everyday. And I am sure that I have given a thousand angels just one balloon because I thought I knew better what they actually deserved. This was a conviction for me today. This was God saying, "Who are you to judge what people deserve?" and here I am knowing that I am no one, yet unsure how to break my own chains, the chains of my own selfishness.
Greene offers a story of when a man requested rocket balloons and she believed that he was going to give them to his own grandchildren so she gave him only one balloon, judging that he was taking it to children who were well loved. She says, "Later that day I learned that Haj, in his home village, ran a hole-in-the-wall orphanage like Haregewoin's. He was a surrogate grandfather to about 80 older boys. I gave that nice man one balloon." (160, Greene)
How many times have I judged a persons worthiness? Probably each and everyday. And I am sure that I have given a thousand angels just one balloon because I thought I knew better what they actually deserved. This was a conviction for me today. This was God saying, "Who are you to judge what people deserve?" and here I am knowing that I am no one, yet unsure how to break my own chains, the chains of my own selfishness.
Monday, November 2, 2009
~there is no me without you~
I have recently begun reading the book There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene and I wanted to share a few quotes that really struck a chord with me. "America wrestles with the obesity crisis to such an extent that Americans forget there are worse weight problems on earth than obesity." I believe this quote needs no explanation.
The other quote has to do with a country's reason for opening adoption of its children to foreign countries. "'Adoption is a last resort,' I would be told in November 2005 by Haddush Halefom, head of the Children's Commission under Ethiopia's Ministry of Labor, the arbiter of intercountry adoptions, 'Historically, close kinship ties in our country meant that there were very few orphans: orphaned children were raised in their extended families. The HIV/ AIDS pandemic has destroyed so many of our families that the possibility no longer exists to absorb all our Ethiopian orphans.'"
I know that this book will take me a while to read, because it is always harder to hear the truth about the world than to ignore reality.
The other quote has to do with a country's reason for opening adoption of its children to foreign countries. "'Adoption is a last resort,' I would be told in November 2005 by Haddush Halefom, head of the Children's Commission under Ethiopia's Ministry of Labor, the arbiter of intercountry adoptions, 'Historically, close kinship ties in our country meant that there were very few orphans: orphaned children were raised in their extended families. The HIV/ AIDS pandemic has destroyed so many of our families that the possibility no longer exists to absorb all our Ethiopian orphans.'"
I know that this book will take me a while to read, because it is always harder to hear the truth about the world than to ignore reality.
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