Every Christmas, Americans spend over $450 billion on gifts. Yes, that's right $45o billion. Instead of buying that ugly she won't wear or investing in the newest electronic of the year, how about blessing someone with a gift that reaches out to those in need? Many great non-profits put out gift catalogs every year that help you give back to the poorest of the poor. Buy your friend a goat, a share for a deep well, malaria nets, a cow for a whole family (so they can also earn an income), etc. etc. You can even buy a gift in honor of your friend or family member.
Here are a few great organizations to check out:
World Vision
World Concern
International Justice Mission
Oxfam
Christmas shopping just became fun again!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
For goodness sake!
Today as I was walking home I saw a bus go by with an ad that caught my eye:
This was the first time I'd seen this ad that has hit the DC area so I went home and looked it up and found several news articles as well as the actual website dedicated to this campaign. The First Amendment assures people the right to post advertisements like this and everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but that's beside the point. The reason why this makes me both angry and sad is not because the American Humanist Association has embraced their right to exercise the First Amendment, but because of its timing and thrust behind it.
In many DC-based news articles, Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group was quoted as saying,"Our reason for doing [the ad campaign] during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."
Wow. When did our society become so obsessed with making sure people aren't offended during a sacred time for celebrating the birth of Christ? I'm sick of the double standards society throws at Christians and I'm tired of Christians apologizing for their right to exercise their faith (and even the belief that many Christians have that this is okay because we deserve it given the Church's history). I know the Church hasn't always done it's best representing Christ, but that doesn't mean Christianity should be the target of jabs from non-theists. It's not acceptable or just for Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, or any other religious groups to be ones that everyone loves to criticize, so why should it be any different for Christians? Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of God through the birth of a child- our hope, the Word becoming flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. But of course AHA even misses the boat on the reason behind Christmas, describing on its website that the holiday is centered around winter solstice, not the birth of Christ. I find it incredibly sad that so many people are hungry to point to anything else but God.
Edwords goes on to say that the purpose of the ad campaign isn't to argue that God doesn't exist or change minds about a deity, although "we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people's minds." The group defines humanism as "a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity." I have a few thoughts on that Mr. Edwords and company. Have you thought about the fact that God might just transcend rational thought? God cannot be put in a box. Logical reason cannot keep Him. Look at the Biblical narrative and you will see reversal after reversal! He never chooses what seems rational. He constantly shows us this. He uses poor speakers (Moses), prostitutes (Rabab), the weaker underdog (David), the most well-known persecutor of Christians in the early church (Paul), the one that denied Christ three times (Peter), and of course, the reason we celebrate Christmas, God chooses to make His glory incarnate through a baby in a stable. The way down is up. Weak is strong. Poor is rich. It is one of the greatest common threads in the Bible. Why? Because it teaches us time and time again that He works best in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9) so let us become less as He becomes more (John 3:30).
AHA's basis of "doing your best for the sake of being good," not only disregards what God has already laid out in Scripture as to what is right and wrong (because let's be honest, if you're all defining what's good in this world, we're in for a deep mess), it also puts all the weight on an individual to make sense of every question and situation before them. Why are people so afraid to let go of their logic card and embrace the desire for something more that has been in our hearts all along as human beings (Ecclesiastes 3:11)? This doesn't mean dumbing yourself down (trust me, as a Fuller grad I can hook you up with more intellectual and academic resources than you'll know what to do with), but it does mean letting go of ourselves and recognizing that God's ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). Leaning into Christ and depending on God instead of ourselves is the beginning of freedom and celebration.
This was the first time I'd seen this ad that has hit the DC area so I went home and looked it up and found several news articles as well as the actual website dedicated to this campaign. The First Amendment assures people the right to post advertisements like this and everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but that's beside the point. The reason why this makes me both angry and sad is not because the American Humanist Association has embraced their right to exercise the First Amendment, but because of its timing and thrust behind it.In many DC-based news articles, Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group was quoted as saying,"Our reason for doing [the ad campaign] during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."
Wow. When did our society become so obsessed with making sure people aren't offended during a sacred time for celebrating the birth of Christ? I'm sick of the double standards society throws at Christians and I'm tired of Christians apologizing for their right to exercise their faith (and even the belief that many Christians have that this is okay because we deserve it given the Church's history). I know the Church hasn't always done it's best representing Christ, but that doesn't mean Christianity should be the target of jabs from non-theists. It's not acceptable or just for Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, or any other religious groups to be ones that everyone loves to criticize, so why should it be any different for Christians? Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of God through the birth of a child- our hope, the Word becoming flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. But of course AHA even misses the boat on the reason behind Christmas, describing on its website that the holiday is centered around winter solstice, not the birth of Christ. I find it incredibly sad that so many people are hungry to point to anything else but God.
Edwords goes on to say that the purpose of the ad campaign isn't to argue that God doesn't exist or change minds about a deity, although "we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people's minds." The group defines humanism as "a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity." I have a few thoughts on that Mr. Edwords and company. Have you thought about the fact that God might just transcend rational thought? God cannot be put in a box. Logical reason cannot keep Him. Look at the Biblical narrative and you will see reversal after reversal! He never chooses what seems rational. He constantly shows us this. He uses poor speakers (Moses), prostitutes (Rabab), the weaker underdog (David), the most well-known persecutor of Christians in the early church (Paul), the one that denied Christ three times (Peter), and of course, the reason we celebrate Christmas, God chooses to make His glory incarnate through a baby in a stable. The way down is up. Weak is strong. Poor is rich. It is one of the greatest common threads in the Bible. Why? Because it teaches us time and time again that He works best in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9) so let us become less as He becomes more (John 3:30).
AHA's basis of "doing your best for the sake of being good," not only disregards what God has already laid out in Scripture as to what is right and wrong (because let's be honest, if you're all defining what's good in this world, we're in for a deep mess), it also puts all the weight on an individual to make sense of every question and situation before them. Why are people so afraid to let go of their logic card and embrace the desire for something more that has been in our hearts all along as human beings (Ecclesiastes 3:11)? This doesn't mean dumbing yourself down (trust me, as a Fuller grad I can hook you up with more intellectual and academic resources than you'll know what to do with), but it does mean letting go of ourselves and recognizing that God's ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). Leaning into Christ and depending on God instead of ourselves is the beginning of freedom and celebration.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A tribute to Rachel
My dear friend Rachel is gettin' married this weekend. We've known each other for over 7 years and we've shared some great memories together. Some of my favorites include: Gospel Choir, Falconettes (caaawwcaaww), Quest, Point Roberts, 3rd hill shenanigans, Davis 5, bubble tea outings in the ID and on the Ave, and 7-11 moments with $1 cigars and paper bagged Smirnoff at the ghetto park on Queen Anne.
Rachel, I wish I could be there in Panama to witness you marry the man you love. I bid your single life a farewell with this tribute and welcome Horst to the rod pod. Just because you're getting married doesn't mean you have to grow up. :) Love you Rach!
Congratulations to the happy couple!
Rachel, I wish I could be there in Panama to witness you marry the man you love. I bid your single life a farewell with this tribute and welcome Horst to the rod pod. Just because you're getting married doesn't mean you have to grow up. :) Love you Rach!
Congratulations to the happy couple!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Good ole' awkward moments in a new city
So I've been in DC for over a month now and yet, I have no blogs to show for it. I'd like to lead you all to believe that I've been having tea parties with Michelle and Barack or dating some cute human rights lawyer, but unfortunately my life is not that exciting. As I've been trying to settle into every area where life exists- home, work, community, church, friends, etc., some parts feel comfortable, but I'm still trying to figure most of them out.
I'll start with the job. I have World Vision stories. A plethora of them really. Some of them involve classic awkward moments with "famous" people in this field. Others are more boring. My favorite awkward moment occurred during my second week. So my desk is near a corner with high cube walls. On the other side sits a man named Jai. He's rarely there because he's always traveling to some corner of the globe. He's kind of a big deal- the VP of Transformational Development and good buddies with Bryant Myers. Jai was also on the selection committee for the apprenticeship program that I was chosen to be a part of. Anyways, I'm tucked away pretty well back there in my isolated, cold cell, I mean cube. In fact, when my co-workers from the other side of the office skype me (lazy fools), sometimes I tell them that I'm not wearing any pants at my desk...no one would know the difference. But I digress. So you get the picture...my desk is isolated. I am setting up my webcam and to make sure the still photo feature works, I decided to test it out. What ridiculous thing did I do you ask? Well it just so happens that I have these awesome Jesus pencil toppers from another seminiarian (thanks Mike!):
I decided to take a few of these holy and transformed writing devices and take a picture with them...I may or may not have been kissing them...I cannot deny or confirm that. Just as this was all going down, Jai walks behind me and sees it all- the pencil toppers, the kissing, the ridiculousness of it all. I was mortified and if you know me well, you know that I do not get embarrassed easily. I started backpaddling and trying to play it off. Jai's a pretty reserved guy and I'm sure he thought, I can't believe I helped select this sacreligious, Jesus-kissing, weirdo! Two days later his assistant moved all of his belongings to another cube on the other side of the floor. She had it had been planned for weeks, but I think that Jesus and I may have scared him away.
Now I move onto an awkward story about getting to know this new city. People here on bikes look like it's their first day off the farm. It's painful to look at. These people wear suits when they ride, role up their jeans, and the most appauling- they don't wear brain buckets! Well, I went for a ride around the city a couple weeks ago in full biking armor- padded spandex, bike shirt, gloves, helmet- the whole nine yards. That is how we role in Seattle. I rode around for awhile and made a stop at the Lincoln Memorial to whisper sweet nothings into Mr. Lincoln's ears. I thought the DC biking culture was bad enough to witness, but boy was I wrong. As I was approaching Lincoln, I was run off the road several times by a swarm of these:
These segway tours are everywhere and they are always made up of tourists that are more fascinated by the function of using a segway than they are about the historical sights they are seeing. Their use of these things cause them to abandon all common sense and totally disregard their surroundings. Plus they just look stupid. Like any responsible biking citizen, I had read up on the DC biking road rules posted online and yet somehow, I got caught behind a whole slew of these idiots with absolutely no way out. Every time I tried to pass them, their guide perceived it as a challenge and sped up. To top it off, one of the guys yelled to his wife, I knew spandex was back in...how come you won't let me where 'em outside of the house...she is? So awkward. I can't judge DC for that one. These people are probably from Kentucky or something.
So there you go. A couple random stories of awkwardness from my time in DC thus far. Stay tuned for more...
I'll start with the job. I have World Vision stories. A plethora of them really. Some of them involve classic awkward moments with "famous" people in this field. Others are more boring. My favorite awkward moment occurred during my second week. So my desk is near a corner with high cube walls. On the other side sits a man named Jai. He's rarely there because he's always traveling to some corner of the globe. He's kind of a big deal- the VP of Transformational Development and good buddies with Bryant Myers. Jai was also on the selection committee for the apprenticeship program that I was chosen to be a part of. Anyways, I'm tucked away pretty well back there in my isolated, cold cell, I mean cube. In fact, when my co-workers from the other side of the office skype me (lazy fools), sometimes I tell them that I'm not wearing any pants at my desk...no one would know the difference. But I digress. So you get the picture...my desk is isolated. I am setting up my webcam and to make sure the still photo feature works, I decided to test it out. What ridiculous thing did I do you ask? Well it just so happens that I have these awesome Jesus pencil toppers from another seminiarian (thanks Mike!):
I decided to take a few of these holy and transformed writing devices and take a picture with them...I may or may not have been kissing them...I cannot deny or confirm that. Just as this was all going down, Jai walks behind me and sees it all- the pencil toppers, the kissing, the ridiculousness of it all. I was mortified and if you know me well, you know that I do not get embarrassed easily. I started backpaddling and trying to play it off. Jai's a pretty reserved guy and I'm sure he thought, I can't believe I helped select this sacreligious, Jesus-kissing, weirdo! Two days later his assistant moved all of his belongings to another cube on the other side of the floor. She had it had been planned for weeks, but I think that Jesus and I may have scared him away.Now I move onto an awkward story about getting to know this new city. People here on bikes look like it's their first day off the farm. It's painful to look at. These people wear suits when they ride, role up their jeans, and the most appauling- they don't wear brain buckets! Well, I went for a ride around the city a couple weeks ago in full biking armor- padded spandex, bike shirt, gloves, helmet- the whole nine yards. That is how we role in Seattle. I rode around for awhile and made a stop at the Lincoln Memorial to whisper sweet nothings into Mr. Lincoln's ears. I thought the DC biking culture was bad enough to witness, but boy was I wrong. As I was approaching Lincoln, I was run off the road several times by a swarm of these:
These segway tours are everywhere and they are always made up of tourists that are more fascinated by the function of using a segway than they are about the historical sights they are seeing. Their use of these things cause them to abandon all common sense and totally disregard their surroundings. Plus they just look stupid. Like any responsible biking citizen, I had read up on the DC biking road rules posted online and yet somehow, I got caught behind a whole slew of these idiots with absolutely no way out. Every time I tried to pass them, their guide perceived it as a challenge and sped up. To top it off, one of the guys yelled to his wife, I knew spandex was back in...how come you won't let me where 'em outside of the house...she is? So awkward. I can't judge DC for that one. These people are probably from Kentucky or something.So there you go. A couple random stories of awkwardness from my time in DC thus far. Stay tuned for more...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Indonesia
Although I don't officially begin my position with World Vision until the beginning of October, I went on my first WVI trip serving as a documentor for a workshop model that I will become very familiar with over the next couple of years. Destination, Indonesia. It was a great opportunity to get my feet wet in this field and also meet other WVI employees in the peacebuilding network. The workshop was called Making Sense of Turbulent Context (MSTC) and it was held specifically for analysis of the region of Sulawesi. Here are a few pictures from my time there...
Monday, September 1, 2008
Bringing home bronze
On Friday, August 22nd, history was made. For the first time in Olympic history, BMX racing became an Olympic sport and with that came the first set of medalists. Among them was cousin Jill taking home the bronze. Jill's been racing since she was a kid and has won just about everything she can in both BMX and mountaincross, including world championships se
veral years in a row. Although she started out with BMX and switched to mountain cross, she switched back to BMX just last year to train for the Olympics with incredible determination, making her the only female on the BMX US Olympic team. Even with a blown out knee she conquered the obstacles and fought hard and we're so proud of her! Congratulations Jill! Here are some Olympic highlights:
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
More ch-ch-ch-changes
Okay so this one is long overdue. The big news that probably isn't much of a shocker if we've had a conversation in the last couple of months...I'm moving to Washington, DC this fall! At the beginning of October I will begin a two-year apprenticeship with World Vision International working in the Peacebuilding and Reconciliation department. In this position I will be doing a lot of research and macro-context analysis for peace and conflict. Being part of a global network committed to making sense of turbulent situations around the world, I will have the opportunity to learn from leading practitioners and directors in this field. Although this field is a new area for me, I will be able to draw from my passions, training, and experiences with transformational development, advocacy, and children at risk issues in a global context.The way this all came about is pretty amazing. This certainly wasn't what I was expecting; just eight months ago I was planning to move to Africa this summer or fall, but God has surprised me with different plans. It has been so affirming to see God's hand on this process, to witness him guiding me the way that he has these last several months. I love how he showed up and challenged me to think beyond "my plan." It has also meant a lot to me to feel the support of faculty at Fuller during this process.
I am excited to work with such a solid organization and look
forward to finally pursuing my heart for the poor through my occupation; it has taken a long time to get here, but I am so excited for the journey before me. My heart hasn't changed; I still desire to live and work overseas with the poor and not just for the poor, but I know this is a launching pad for me to learn and grow so that I will be better equipped to serve and come alongside the poor when that season of life comes. Until then I am ready to embrace this new season and enjoy it for what it is.
forward to finally pursuing my heart for the poor through my occupation; it has taken a long time to get here, but I am so excited for the journey before me. My heart hasn't changed; I still desire to live and work overseas with the poor and not just for the poor, but I know this is a launching pad for me to learn and grow so that I will be better equipped to serve and come alongside the poor when that season of life comes. Until then I am ready to embrace this new season and enjoy it for what it is.The big move will be sometime later next month, but until then I have some more books to read in preparation for my job and I am even going to Indonesia next week for my first international trip with World Vision. Eeeeeee!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Playing catch-up
Clearly I've neglected the blogging world for quite some time now. The last several months have brought many fond memories for me, many of which deserve their own blog entry, but alas, that's probably not going to happen. This summer has been particularly busy with weddings, old friends returning, family trips to the cabin, camping trips, retreats, conferences, and new adventures around the Northwest. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this spring and summer...
Visiting Des and Ryan in Portland
Bethany Women's Retreat
Springtime walks around Greenlake
The girls at Holly and Ryan's wedding in Southern California
Lynessa and Matt's wedding in Montana
Best friend Kim comes home from Ecuador for a visit
Point Roberts with the family
Tulip Festival
Visiting Des and Ryan in Portland
Bethany Women's Retreat
Springtime walks around Greenlake
Celebrating Lynessa's upcoming nuptials
Africa Night at Bethany
Daphne, the little one I nannied this year
Africa Night at Bethany
Daphne, the little one I nannied this year
The girls at Holly and Ryan's wedding in Southern California
Lynessa and Matt's wedding in Montana
Best friend Kim comes home from Ecuador for a visit
Point Roberts with the family
Camping with Kristen and Lindsey
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