God has been preparing me for tonight's message. I've been moved. For quite some time I have had this all-consuming feeling of "not enough". I simply wasn't doing enough in the face of world hunger, the AIDS epidemic, child trafficking, modern day slavery, child soldiers, etc. There is so much corruption in this world that has forced people into unthinkable circumstances, horrific abuse and unimaginable deaths. I've laid awake many nights wondering how I, a nobody stay-at-home-mom could make a difference. It's overwhelming. It's daunting. It's scary to think that I am making a choice to take it on. Because with this choice, comes a whole new perspective. It's been something I've been processing for a while now. It's letting go of the "me & mine". My world, and all the details that I have put so much energy into, truly are insignificant when compared to the world's injustices. How can I worry about the huge stain on our new rug, when children this very minute are being sold into the sex slave trade? How can I spend one more ounce of energy thinking about my outgrown highlights or outdated wardrobe, when there are child soldiers forced by rebel groups to perform heinous crimes against one another? When I know that 25,000 children are dying EACH day from malnutrition? This is a dangerous road to go down. It is going to be a tricky process to find balance between my life as it is now, and the actions I am being called to. I don't know what all this means right now. But I'm putting it out there in writing. I am being called, and I will obey.
Tonight at
Cornerstone we had a guest speaker - Gary Haugen from
International Justice Mission. He was a Washington DC lawyer who was sent to Rwanda after the genocide. 800,000 people were killed in the course of 8 weeks. Gary was there to prosecute the perpetrators. Part of this process was going through the thousands of corpses, and interviewing the survivors. It was during these interviews that he understood God's call for us to stand against injustice.
International Justice Mission is rescuing people. They are taking legal actions through the courts to free them from their oppressors. They have rescued children from brothels, widows who have been forced off their land, child slaves, and many many more. Please check out their website to see all that they are doing.
On Tuesday October 14th there will be a
BENEFIT DINNER at the Fairmont in San Francisco (there will be others nationwide too, check the website). We will be going - and I'm planning on being a table host as well. If you would like to go and be at my table, leave a comment in this post. (Leave a comment even if you aren't going - just to say hi if nothing else!). The cost is $100/person. I believe this will be an eye-opening if not a life-changing event.
I'm tired of sending checks. For every worth-while cause out there, the answer always seems to be to send a check. This is one of the first times I am EXCITED about sending a check. And also finding out what I can do beyond sending money. I think this is one of those times where we NEED to inform society about what is happening in the rest of the world (and here too), and take a united stand that we will not let this go on anymore. We can no longer burry our heads in the sand. If we won't stand up for these people, these children, who will?
So there it is. For everyone to see. Now I HAVE to do something :)
Please come back to see where God leads me. And please pray about how He can use you. Because now you know too.
only with a thinner face, and possibly...handsome beneath all that hair. And he was wearing layers and layers of...what looked like large cloth bags.
cs. I made the big Lemon-AID sign. I sliced a dozen lemons to put on the side of the cups. I was well-prepared. Loaded up my 3 helpers, and down to First Street we went. We didn't do the stand at our house because we are probably one of the least travelled roads in our town. So we went to our downtown green area near Main Street to set-up (oh yes, I did), BUT found out that there was a little fair going on put on the Old Firehouse. Unfortunately we could not set-up because there were concession stands there that we would be competing with. So we had to go with Plan B - which was driving all over town looking for another prime location. Or any location that would get a decent amount of traffic, AND have a place cars could
safely pull over. And we struck out. I wasn't willing to put for the set-up effort and spend a couple hours sitting there for just a few patrons. So we came home. I told the kids I would take them to the little carnival air that we saw - but by the time we got back there it was being torn down. I didn't have the heart to go back and get the lemonade stuff at this point.
t of the Lemon-Aid stand was to raise money for clean water in African villages. We have been talking with the kids a lot about this, and they were ready to take some action. I thought this was a tangible thing THEY could do. I'm sure I was more disappointed than they were in the failure of the day. However Genevieve did say she was 'sad about not raising money for the people without water, especially the kids, because they weren't ready to die.' That was touching. She really is getting it in her little 6 year old mind.
both. It's the latter that I am jealous of. I've tried FlyLady, I've tried systems, and much to my husbands dismay, nothing works long term. I fall back into my chaotic, barely keeping my-head-above-water ways. 
(okay, I never actually had one of those, because they were on their way "out" before I got up the nerve to buy one).
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