Do you want to focus on families?
Let us focus on them for a moment. Let us think about your children, your grandchildren, their children and grandchildren. Let us think about the world in which they will live in fifty and one-hundred years. Let us think about the world we are giving to your family, the world we are forcing your great-grandchildren to inherit.
Let us think about the families in New Orleans, Haiti, France in 2003, families experiencing floods, families experiencing drought, families living on the coast, families living in the desert. Let's take a minute to focus on them.
focus...
Should we do something about it? Should we care for these families? Should we consider their circumstances? Should we help them? Should we care about the world that we are destroying? The impact that our current actions could have on the environment that our future family will live in?
YES.
YES we should care.
And as a Christian I should be ANGRY about the way I, the church, and humanity have been completely irresponsible with the world we have been given. We have been poor stewards with the life God entrusted to us.
Dr. Dobson, I want you to know that I agree with this letter.
Maybe you should read this article.
Maybe you should focus on those families.
Maybe you should focus on all the families that are being affected by our inability to care about this world.
Well dang shoot, I think ALL the families are affected by this.
Hmmm, that's a problem, don't you think?
(and yes, I did just post two blogs in one day!)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Practical Justice
I've been reading some good books lately, and I recently thought to myself,
"Self, these books have been good. You have learned quite a bit from them. You have a lot of friends that would like them too. You should tell them about it."
So here it is. The beginning of my books-that-you-should-read list.
The first book on my list:
Practical Justice, by Kevin Blue.
Why should you read this book?
First of all,
Kevin Blue wrote it. He is the head honcho for the internship that I am doing with Servant Partners. He is an amazing man, and an important leader and mentor in my life. Want to know more about what I am doing? Read a book written by my mentor.
Secondly.
This book is very practical. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the injustices occuring everywhere, all the time, next door, across the street, across town, in the city, in the country, in the world, etc. I want justice to be brought to the entire world. I want poverty to end. I want people to work with each other instead of against each other. And in my state of feeling too small in the midst of an extremely large problem, I find myself not knowing where to begin and thinking about giving up. Kevin Blue lays out some very practical ways to face injustice and kick it in the shin. He writes:
"There are plenty of issues, plenty of opportunities to work for justice, plenty of work to go around. We can't all do everything. The concerns are many, but we need not be overwhelmed by them. Rather, we should simply recongize that everyone cannot do everything but we should all be involved in addressing injustice."
three:
Kevin gives a very clear explanation of the call to Christians to live and fight for justice.
Jesus followers: It is a good word to read. I've heard, read, discussed, been convicted by, and changed my life because of the call to live justly. I've been there and done that. But this book brought me there again. Whether you don't understand how justice, Jesus, and your faith-life correlate, or you don't understand how people couldn't understand, this book is good for your soul.
Not a Christian?: This book is a good look into the part of Christianity that I know and love, and the part that I mournfully acknowledge is not well known or loved. You might find it interesting and completely different from the Christian religion you have seen. And of course, the call for justice is a call that does not discriminate, it is a call for everyone.
4th
There are some great words of wisdom throughout this book. One that stands out to me in particular is this:
"The most persistent temptation for those who seek to live a Christian life is simply to quit, because a real life of faith is difficult. It is painful. It is uncomfortable. There is real joy, peace and provision in following jesus - these and many other blessings are part of the journey. But the real Christian life encompasses sorrow. It is a life of losing life, of giving it away in sacrificial service like the Master. And in so doing, we find the life of God strengthening us, giving us the peace, joy, provision and purpose we long for."
V
i like this book. not too long. well written. worth my time. and worth yours too.
Thanks, Kevin Blue, for the sacrifices you have made. I can personally testify that your devotion to Jesus has been a blessing, encouragement, and help to my life and the lives of many, many others.
"Self, these books have been good. You have learned quite a bit from them. You have a lot of friends that would like them too. You should tell them about it."
So here it is. The beginning of my books-that-you-should-read list.
The first book on my list:
Practical Justice, by Kevin Blue.
Why should you read this book?
First of all,
Kevin Blue wrote it. He is the head honcho for the internship that I am doing with Servant Partners. He is an amazing man, and an important leader and mentor in my life. Want to know more about what I am doing? Read a book written by my mentor.
Secondly.
This book is very practical. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the injustices occuring everywhere, all the time, next door, across the street, across town, in the city, in the country, in the world, etc. I want justice to be brought to the entire world. I want poverty to end. I want people to work with each other instead of against each other. And in my state of feeling too small in the midst of an extremely large problem, I find myself not knowing where to begin and thinking about giving up. Kevin Blue lays out some very practical ways to face injustice and kick it in the shin. He writes:
"There are plenty of issues, plenty of opportunities to work for justice, plenty of work to go around. We can't all do everything. The concerns are many, but we need not be overwhelmed by them. Rather, we should simply recongize that everyone cannot do everything but we should all be involved in addressing injustice."
three:
Kevin gives a very clear explanation of the call to Christians to live and fight for justice.
Jesus followers: It is a good word to read. I've heard, read, discussed, been convicted by, and changed my life because of the call to live justly. I've been there and done that. But this book brought me there again. Whether you don't understand how justice, Jesus, and your faith-life correlate, or you don't understand how people couldn't understand, this book is good for your soul.
Not a Christian?: This book is a good look into the part of Christianity that I know and love, and the part that I mournfully acknowledge is not well known or loved. You might find it interesting and completely different from the Christian religion you have seen. And of course, the call for justice is a call that does not discriminate, it is a call for everyone.
4th
There are some great words of wisdom throughout this book. One that stands out to me in particular is this:
"The most persistent temptation for those who seek to live a Christian life is simply to quit, because a real life of faith is difficult. It is painful. It is uncomfortable. There is real joy, peace and provision in following jesus - these and many other blessings are part of the journey. But the real Christian life encompasses sorrow. It is a life of losing life, of giving it away in sacrificial service like the Master. And in so doing, we find the life of God strengthening us, giving us the peace, joy, provision and purpose we long for."
V
i like this book. not too long. well written. worth my time. and worth yours too.
Thanks, Kevin Blue, for the sacrifices you have made. I can personally testify that your devotion to Jesus has been a blessing, encouragement, and help to my life and the lives of many, many others.
Monday, March 19, 2007
February
So if you didn't notice, I didn't write much in February. And I know some of you are dying to know what happened while I was gone, so here it is.
A lot happened in February, and the funny part is that I can't talk about a majority of it because of confidentiality laws and simple respect for a family's privacy. But I can talk about what I learned - and what I am still learning - from my experience.
I need Jesus.
I've always known that I need Jesus. My life has always been better when He is in it, when I bring Him into my life, but I realized this need in a new way, or maybe a way I once new but completely forgot.
I have always turned to Jesus for joy. If I'm sad, depressed, angry, upset, sick, tired, neutral, or even happy or content, I turn to Jesus to bring me true joy or to make it complete. I thank Him, I praise Him, I love Him. And this, I think, is great. Receiving joy from my relationship with Jesus has been a huge part of my life that I am very greatful for.
But many times, maybe more often then I would like to admit, there is a time to mourn.
I ran into one of these times of mourning and sadness when the *event that I can't talk about* began to unfold.
And I almost ran right past it.
I'd get up, complain about being tired, eat breakfast, go to work, realize again how great work is, read or walk during my lunch break, work some more, try to be more helpful in the office and grow friendships with my coworkers, go to the gym, listen to my music, eat a big dinner, relax a bit, laugh some, read the news, maybe read some more of my book, or watch some LOST, maybe pray with my roommates, then go to bed with the hope that I would be rested enough for the next day.
It was always when I went to bed that I would realize that I hadn't taken the time to think about the family that was struggling. I hadn't taken time to let their situation affect me, upset me, move me. I hadn't felt love for them in the way that I thought I loved them.
This lasted maybe two or three days, and then I sunk like a rock. I'm still not quite sure what happened, but a lot of things came tumbling down. While realizing that I couldn't feel pain for the family, I realized a lot of pain within myself. The worst of it was that nothing horrible had happened. The family, while going through hard times, was still relatively okay - everyone was alive and as healthy as they were when I met them. My life was going really well too. I spent a lot of quality time with my friends, I had a really good review at work, my family was doing well, and life was "good" according to any outsider's perspective. I thought that I should be content, able to love and pray for the family with the hope that it would get better. Instead, I was a mess.
And this is when I realized I needed Jesus. If I was going to try and mourn and grieve, and feel the pain of suffering all by myself, I was going to die.
I am way too mortal to carry such a heavy burden.
Finding myself completely depressed, I started praying longer and harder than I have in a long time. I don't think I said much. I just asked Jesus to help me. Sometimes I would tell Him that this grief was too difficult. Sometimes I would decide that it wasn't worth the effort. The weight of the package wasn't worth what was inside. I would think about what it would be like if I stopped trying to follow this god that was allowing me to cry so much.
I probably wouldn't cry as much...
But I wouldn't be content as often either...
And then I made it to the other side. I decided to stick it through with Jesus, and the weight/wait was worth it. The last time I had felt that depressed, I tried to ride it out without God's help and it took me about 6 months. This time took me about 3 weeks. I have also been able to better express my love for the family and for others. I have been able to pray more deeply, to love more unconditionally, and to be sad and upset without being depressed and unhelpful. Of course, I have a long way to go and a lot of ways to improve, but its a start.
--------------------------------------------------------
And now I am to the part that I am still learning.
I guess I am learning how to be aware of when it is time to mourn, when it is time to celebrate, and when it is time to be somewhere in the middle, and how my relationship with Jesus fits into ALL of that. It's a really basic idea, but it is easy to forget.
My friend Aaron (hi aaron!) gave me a fresh perspective on joy and sorrow when he described to me two types of people:
There are those who see sadness as genuine. Wanting to be genuine, they look for sadness. I guess you could call them pessimists. Even when something is going well, they find something wrong with it. They might say something like "It could be better if this weren't like that."
There are those who see happiness as genuine. Wanting to be genuine, they look for happiness. Optimists. Even when something goes wrong, they say "Well at least its okay because this is like that."
They are both trying to have a true, clear perspective on life, but half the time they are running right past it. Neither of those people are grasping the fullness of life; the life that, according to my experience in February, God wants us to have.
A lot happened in February, and the funny part is that I can't talk about a majority of it because of confidentiality laws and simple respect for a family's privacy. But I can talk about what I learned - and what I am still learning - from my experience.
I need Jesus.
I've always known that I need Jesus. My life has always been better when He is in it, when I bring Him into my life, but I realized this need in a new way, or maybe a way I once new but completely forgot.
I have always turned to Jesus for joy. If I'm sad, depressed, angry, upset, sick, tired, neutral, or even happy or content, I turn to Jesus to bring me true joy or to make it complete. I thank Him, I praise Him, I love Him. And this, I think, is great. Receiving joy from my relationship with Jesus has been a huge part of my life that I am very greatful for.
But many times, maybe more often then I would like to admit, there is a time to mourn.
I ran into one of these times of mourning and sadness when the *event that I can't talk about* began to unfold.
And I almost ran right past it.
I'd get up, complain about being tired, eat breakfast, go to work, realize again how great work is, read or walk during my lunch break, work some more, try to be more helpful in the office and grow friendships with my coworkers, go to the gym, listen to my music, eat a big dinner, relax a bit, laugh some, read the news, maybe read some more of my book, or watch some LOST, maybe pray with my roommates, then go to bed with the hope that I would be rested enough for the next day.
It was always when I went to bed that I would realize that I hadn't taken the time to think about the family that was struggling. I hadn't taken time to let their situation affect me, upset me, move me. I hadn't felt love for them in the way that I thought I loved them.
This lasted maybe two or three days, and then I sunk like a rock. I'm still not quite sure what happened, but a lot of things came tumbling down. While realizing that I couldn't feel pain for the family, I realized a lot of pain within myself. The worst of it was that nothing horrible had happened. The family, while going through hard times, was still relatively okay - everyone was alive and as healthy as they were when I met them. My life was going really well too. I spent a lot of quality time with my friends, I had a really good review at work, my family was doing well, and life was "good" according to any outsider's perspective. I thought that I should be content, able to love and pray for the family with the hope that it would get better. Instead, I was a mess.
And this is when I realized I needed Jesus. If I was going to try and mourn and grieve, and feel the pain of suffering all by myself, I was going to die.
I am way too mortal to carry such a heavy burden.
Finding myself completely depressed, I started praying longer and harder than I have in a long time. I don't think I said much. I just asked Jesus to help me. Sometimes I would tell Him that this grief was too difficult. Sometimes I would decide that it wasn't worth the effort. The weight of the package wasn't worth what was inside. I would think about what it would be like if I stopped trying to follow this god that was allowing me to cry so much.
I probably wouldn't cry as much...
But I wouldn't be content as often either...
And then I made it to the other side. I decided to stick it through with Jesus, and the weight/wait was worth it. The last time I had felt that depressed, I tried to ride it out without God's help and it took me about 6 months. This time took me about 3 weeks. I have also been able to better express my love for the family and for others. I have been able to pray more deeply, to love more unconditionally, and to be sad and upset without being depressed and unhelpful. Of course, I have a long way to go and a lot of ways to improve, but its a start.
--------------------------------------------------------
And now I am to the part that I am still learning.
I guess I am learning how to be aware of when it is time to mourn, when it is time to celebrate, and when it is time to be somewhere in the middle, and how my relationship with Jesus fits into ALL of that. It's a really basic idea, but it is easy to forget.
My friend Aaron (hi aaron!) gave me a fresh perspective on joy and sorrow when he described to me two types of people:
There are those who see sadness as genuine. Wanting to be genuine, they look for sadness. I guess you could call them pessimists. Even when something is going well, they find something wrong with it. They might say something like "It could be better if this weren't like that."
There are those who see happiness as genuine. Wanting to be genuine, they look for happiness. Optimists. Even when something goes wrong, they say "Well at least its okay because this is like that."
They are both trying to have a true, clear perspective on life, but half the time they are running right past it. Neither of those people are grasping the fullness of life; the life that, according to my experience in February, God wants us to have.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
what's wrong with this picture?
Nigeria's vice-president slightly injures himself and has to travel to the UK to get medical treatment.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6442855.stm
Good thing he has enough money to get there.
I'm not judging Atiku, I don't have much of an opinion for or against him, I don't know enough about him, but I do have an opinion about this little medical trip.
I wonder where all the normal Nigerian folk get medical treatment, and why Atiku couldn't go there. There could be a lot of reasons, but I don't think I would like any of them.
Want to know more about Atiku? He is running for president. He is part of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has a very admirable mission statement:
“Faced with the tragic consequences of underdevelopment, our mission is to qualitatively transform the Nigerian economy and society. Therefore, we shall tirelessly work for:
-The creation of a dynamic economy designed to serve the people’s interest and in which market forces are combined with the forces of partnership, solidarity and co-operation to create and produce goods and services for all.
-Establishment of a free democratic society in which powers and actions of government are lawful and where those in authority are held responsible and accountable to the people.”
http://www.atikuabubakar.net/index.php?page=static/pdmpdp.html&topimage=images/politics.gif&menuid=6,0
Really, I don't know much about the PDP, or Nigeria for that matter, but I thought this was interesting. If you know any more about Atiku, the party, the impact of this party, the country, or anything else related, let me know by posting a comment, because I'd love to learn more about this country.
Don't be shy. We are all friends here. I know there are a lot of you out there that read this blog. And I know that a lot of you know a lot of stuff.
That's all. Goodnight.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6442855.stm
Good thing he has enough money to get there.
I'm not judging Atiku, I don't have much of an opinion for or against him, I don't know enough about him, but I do have an opinion about this little medical trip.
I wonder where all the normal Nigerian folk get medical treatment, and why Atiku couldn't go there. There could be a lot of reasons, but I don't think I would like any of them.
Want to know more about Atiku? He is running for president. He is part of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has a very admirable mission statement:
“Faced with the tragic consequences of underdevelopment, our mission is to qualitatively transform the Nigerian economy and society. Therefore, we shall tirelessly work for:
-The creation of a dynamic economy designed to serve the people’s interest and in which market forces are combined with the forces of partnership, solidarity and co-operation to create and produce goods and services for all.
-Establishment of a free democratic society in which powers and actions of government are lawful and where those in authority are held responsible and accountable to the people.”
http://www.atikuabubakar.net/index.php?page=static/pdmpdp.html&topimage=images/politics.gif&menuid=6,0
Really, I don't know much about the PDP, or Nigeria for that matter, but I thought this was interesting. If you know any more about Atiku, the party, the impact of this party, the country, or anything else related, let me know by posting a comment, because I'd love to learn more about this country.
Don't be shy. We are all friends here. I know there are a lot of you out there that read this blog. And I know that a lot of you know a lot of stuff.
That's all. Goodnight.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
My Flesh and Blood
Do you ever feel like life is hard?
Do you ever wish that your life was better?
Do you ever feel unmotivated, or like you are doing anything worthwhile?
Do you feel like you are doing too much?
Do you ever wish your family was at least a bit more normal?
Do you ever wish you were physically or mentally different? Better looking, smarter, more athletic, happier...
If you answered "yes," "sometimes," "maybe," "not really," "no," or any other answer to any of these questions (get the hint?), then I suggest that you watch the documentary directed by Jonathan Karsh in 2003 titled "My Flesh and Blood."
This film is about an overweight, single, middle aged woman and her 11 adopted special needs children.
I have a lot of thoughts about this family, many of which I am still sorting out.
The mother is definitely doing way too much, and her decision to do so has a clearly negative affect on some of her children. On the other hand, she saw a need and she decided to do something about it, sacrificing her time, money, and life for these children. Then again, the children are not the only ones in the family with needs. The grandmother suggested, and I agree, that the mother has a deep need to help people, and the best way for her to feel loved and accepted is to help people who depend on her. Thus by helping these children who obviously need to be cared for, she is fulfilling her need to feel loved. I am not sure if this is a completely healthy situation, but no matter how flawed or imperfect the situation may be, I admire the mother's devotion and love for these children. I would personally go crazy under the same circumstances.
My favorite of the children, and the one I admire the most, is Anthony. I think he should be 24 this year.
Watch the film and tell me what you think.
(sorry if there are extreme typos in this post. i typed this entire thing once already and then the blog page lost it, so i had to write it all over again. I'm way too tired and lazy to read through it yet another time...) ;)
Do you ever wish that your life was better?
Do you ever feel unmotivated, or like you are doing anything worthwhile?
Do you feel like you are doing too much?
Do you ever wish your family was at least a bit more normal?
Do you ever wish you were physically or mentally different? Better looking, smarter, more athletic, happier...
If you answered "yes," "sometimes," "maybe," "not really," "no," or any other answer to any of these questions (get the hint?), then I suggest that you watch the documentary directed by Jonathan Karsh in 2003 titled "My Flesh and Blood."
This film is about an overweight, single, middle aged woman and her 11 adopted special needs children.
I have a lot of thoughts about this family, many of which I am still sorting out.
The mother is definitely doing way too much, and her decision to do so has a clearly negative affect on some of her children. On the other hand, she saw a need and she decided to do something about it, sacrificing her time, money, and life for these children. Then again, the children are not the only ones in the family with needs. The grandmother suggested, and I agree, that the mother has a deep need to help people, and the best way for her to feel loved and accepted is to help people who depend on her. Thus by helping these children who obviously need to be cared for, she is fulfilling her need to feel loved. I am not sure if this is a completely healthy situation, but no matter how flawed or imperfect the situation may be, I admire the mother's devotion and love for these children. I would personally go crazy under the same circumstances.
My favorite of the children, and the one I admire the most, is Anthony. I think he should be 24 this year.
Watch the film and tell me what you think.
(sorry if there are extreme typos in this post. i typed this entire thing once already and then the blog page lost it, so i had to write it all over again. I'm way too tired and lazy to read through it yet another time...) ;)
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