LA hook-ups!
Urban Health Ministry Conference 2006 (this weekend)
Brennan Manning at Bel Air Pres (this weekend)
Recovery classes at Eaglerock Christian Assembly (Have issues? Or think you don't? These classes are enlightening and I dare say life changing.)

How Borat Exploited Google

lilly gave birth to 5 puppies but one died :-( at around 3am Sunday morning. thankfully, she didn't give birth on the carpet cuz it is stinky and messy. i wanted to post a pic of her babies but for some reason flickr would't let me. But you can see the pic of lilly by checking out my photo links.

way past my bed time...getting up bright and early with joshua whether i like it or not.

aw man, my sis is going to kill me. while she's gone it fell upon me to be the dog-midwife for one of her dogs. i was supposed to not let Lilly nest on any carpets but now she is holed-up under their bed and is completely ignoring my pleas.

edit: yeah! she came out as i was writing this! i think i'm probably going to see pups by morning and it better be off the carpet!

i'm at june's house playing single mom for the next week. she and andre are on a cruise until wednesday. so i'm taking care of the kids and also hoping to work on my next newsletter for turkey as well as hang out with people here.

but i'm thinking now that i was a bit overly optimistic about what i could get done down here. i had these great expectations for everything i'd get done for turkey when i came down. now i'm thinking it's not going to happen.

so far it's been totally exhausting having the sole responsibility for the kids. it's fun but every night i'm ready for bed by 8:30.

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!