I'm in SD for the next 8-ish days

1000 Wells Project (clicky the linky-poo)

* Did you know that millions of Africans lack access to clean water?

* Did you know that people living with HIV/AIDS are dependent on clean water to survive?

* Did you know that $1 provides one year of clean water for an African?

I'm of the persuasion that we should all do something to help the situation in Africa. Despite the controversy or who's at fault, I think we should all find an organization that we can get behind and support work in Africa particularly when it comes to the AIDS issue.

This brings me to a movement God is doing in my heart around giving. I don't know that I can totally put into words right now. But God has been expanding my heart and pushing the boundaries of my faith in this.

One thing I feel He's begun to put on my heart is to give money when crisis comes up in the world like the issue in Lebanon, or a hurricane. Sometimes that can be hard for me because I feel like it's such a small amount that it won't matter or I'd rather give to something I'll continue with. But I'm beginning to feel it's a habit I want to develop and perhaps in many ways it's more about my heart than the impact the money itself will have.

Even though my heart is for the Muslim areas of the world, like I said in a way I believe we should all have a heart for Africa. The AIDS crisis is so dire that we should all do what we can.

My ideas have been all over the place in this entry....but it's my blog so I don't have to my sense! :-O

and Happy Halloween...

I was wondering how the Kazakhs were feeling about the movie "Borat"...

note to self: i really need to remember that i live near fuller which means i can be a wanna-be student and go to a lot of the cool events they have going on.

darn, i missed lauren winner author of "real se.x: the naked truth about chastity" and "girl meets God". she was speaking tonight...that would have been interesting. but i can still catch the first lady of Nigeria on Nov. 4th. hehe

anywho, just got back from portland as i mentioned in my last post. i just unpacked this evening. it was a pretty absorbing time in portland, i was quickly assimilated into the groove of living there. everytime i go back, i'm struck by the number of close friends i have in one city and the depth of connections i have there.

i was reflecting on why this is and i came up with a couple preliminary thoughts. one being that post-multnomah people are some of the most real people there are. i have dabbled in american evangelicalism all across this nation and honestly post-multnomah-ites stand out in this regard.

these are the kind of people that tend to skip trying to impress you with their credentials/accomplishments, by-pass idle chit-chat and pretty much dive into the stuff of life from the get-go.

right away people i wasn't even that close to in college were telling me about their struggles and triumphs over the last couple years. Despite my criticisms of multnomah and portland culture, this characteristic of post-multnomahites and portland in general is very admirable.

bed time...maybe more on that later.

hey ya'll....I'm in Portland, OR. Just in case you're wondering where I've disappeared to. I'll be back Wednesday...more then.

so exciting.....

see what Christians are doing in this area...

Turkish Writer Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

Sounds like an interesting interview with Moby (I haven't listened to all of it yet)

wow, scary!

Ps. 131: 2 (NIV)-But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Ps. 131: 2 (The Message)-I've cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother's arms, my soul is a baby content.
Ps. 131:2 (Amplified Bible)-Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting]

BSB-I want it that way

It's time for a repost. I can still watch this video again and again. There's something so hilarious about it. I think it's also refreshing to see these guys be totally free and silly. Reminds me of the good old days...

So I'm listening to the audio book of "Wild at Heart" in my car right now. Over the years I've heard men speak very highly of this book and some have even claimed that if a girl wants to understand a man she should read this book. However, I've also gotten the vague impression that there has been a backlash reaction to this book as well.

I've been looking for a reason to waste my time making a fun survey and here the occasion has arisen. Sorry this survey is for men only but like I can control who votes anyway. But for those not familiar with the main thesis of the book, here's my humble attempt at it.
All men long to have:
a battle to win
an adventure to live
and a damsel to rescue

And according to John Eldredge these are pretty universal truths about the heart of a man. So I'm curious what you men out there think...

Is John Eldredge's book "Wild at Heart" right on or out in left field? Take the survey...

Goodness. I don't know what's gotten into me. Usually whenever I'm in my room, I become a workaholic. There's always something that needs to be done-right? But I've just been lounging around in my room all day watching good movies and reading devotional books just for pleasure.

I love Rich Mullins. I was thinking-him and Amy Carmichael are two of the most influential people in my life (not counting those people I've actually known).

I'm revisiting, An Arrow Pointing to Heaven, a "devotional biography" of Rich Mullins life. I was touched anew by both his love of God and his frailty.

"If my life is motivated by my ambition to leave a legacy, what I'll probably leave as a legacy is ambition. But if my life is motivated by the power of the Spirit in me-if I live with the awareness of the indwelling Christ, if I allow His presence to guide my motives, those sorts of things. That's the only time I think we really leave a great legacy."
-Rich Mullins

I finally had the pleasure of watching, "Motorcycle Diaries". A beautiful movie-I found Gael to be an arresting and singularly emotive actor. And I also thought Rodrigo gave a powerful performance.

After the move, I briefly read an overview on the life of "Che". Some criticized, some praised. The usual. Apparently, many in the Cuban exile community criticize him for being "personally responsible" for torturing dissidents of the revolution in Cuba.

Whatever the case is, it got me thinking about how in my meager, humble estimation of history it's always the same story. Well-meaning people, well-meaning ideologies often become the monster they originally were fighting against.

The line between "the right" and "the wrong", "the good" and "the bad" often becomes fuzzy. Unfortunately, the church is no exception to this. Catholics, Protestants, Atheists, Communists -humanity can't cloak its true face with any ideology or self-righteousness but through out the cycles of history continues to prove that we as a race need a savior from ourselves and the restoration of our most fundamental nature.

it's about time, baby!

for the first time since i've been LA, it's rained. normally by this time in the morning, it's in the 8o's. But right now it's a delicious 63 degrees. the grayness and perpetual misting brings a quiet sanctity to the morning. i love mornings like this. i don't want the calm quietness to break with the business of the day.

prayer thoughts~
God: I'm speaking to you when you wake up and stumble to the bathroom with your eyes half closed, I'm speaking to you through out the day, I'm there, I'm with you. but you often can't/don't hear me because how often is your mind really silent and your spirit still. your mind is humming with your world, your self.

those words caught my attention and for a moment i really understood those words of a lover that doesn't feel listened to, that feels their beloved is not really present with them. it's painful when you're sharing with someone and you feel your words are not being absorbed on their own merit but are only received as reflections of the listener's thoughts.

it's been a while since i've really focused on quieting my spirit before the face of God. But it's really so simple-isn't it. Be quiet and for one moment don't think of yourself and what you have to say but point your ears upwards and wait. Incredibly simple and almost basic etiquette for any relationship but amazingly easy to overlook in my relationship with God.

Lord, I'm sorry. I'm present with You. I'm here with You, too.

Welcome to Saudi Arabia (otherwise known as Pasadena). Yes, it’s been 100 degrees the last 3 days. Yeah and I feel like an air-conditioning refugee. There’s no air-conditioning in my building and usually it’s not that big of a deal. But when the weather is like this it is truly unbearable. I actually get nauseous if I stay in my room during the day.

Lord, please make it stop.

So after work I pick up my stuff in my room as quickly as I can and then take off for somewhere where I can camp out in a/c. I feel like I’m snowed in except I’m “heated” in.

It’s global warming I tell you!

I’m going to be running in the Long Beach half-marathon in October with a bunch of people from Mosaic. We’re doing it in conjunction with Worldvision to raise money for AIDS victims in Ethiopia. I’ll be posting more info on that later.

I haven’t been in the habit of running since I experienced grad school and Vermont winters. So I’m trying to jog at least 5 days a week (in the early morning, of course) so I don’t damage something when I run 13 miles.

Blogging is my Therapy

I miss blogging like I mean it. Blogging used to really help me sort out my thoughts. It was a place where I could be irrational, raw, ungaurded. I think it had to do a lot with how I started blogging in the first place. Long, long ago on a blog planet far, far away the only people that read my blog were my most intimate friends who could read between the lines and knew me first and foremost. My blog was a secondary source.

But these days I often get blog constipation and find myself worrying about what people would think if I wrote what I really wanted to write. I would venture to guess that the majority of the people that read my site don't even know me apart from the blog world. So I've just decided that I'm going to attempt to regain my first love and throw off my blog anxieties! *uhemm*

Okay, I'm off. I'm heading out to a training in Seattle with the organization I'm going to Turkey with.

Prayers appreciated and hopefully I'll give you an update when I'm back (one week from now).

blog drought
i would love to write more but i just haven't had the space or internet time i need to really get into things the way i'd like. i have faith this will change soon when a couple key things fall into place.
1) get a new laptop
2) finish the bulk of my support-raising stuff

as of now, all my computer time is used working on the latter and then by the time i want to do some serious reflecting I'm out of energy and out of time at the local library.

but how bout some highlights?
*i've been watching the Anne of Green Gables movie series. haven't watched these jewels since before puberty. i can't believe how much they've been making me cry. i just cry straight through them. i think part of it is their nostalgic value but i also think i relate a lot to Anne.
*nannying like a ninny (translation: i often work 9 hours a day. can you say "i love baby einstein!")
*learning from Him about holding loosely to material things and holding tightly to Him (ie-missing laptop)
*August is here...already!
*connecting and preparing...ya know...