The Austin Journals

"has lost her ever-loving mind" is my middle name.

2011-01-10T18:37:00.002-06:00

so...
today was day 6 at the gym.

i took a two day "rest" instead a one day one on my plan because i wasn't feeling well.

those two days felt like a glorious month. but i'm paying for it today.it was an uphill battle the whole time.

by that i mean i literally did my run in the "uphill" mode the whole 3 miles. It was awful.

at some point, i thought "i might die on this treadmill, and that would be unfortunate because i'd rather not have skid marks on my face at my funeral. i'll have to be cremated and my friends and family can hold a memorial service instead."

a little melodramatic maybe but there it is.

running uphill is awful.
swimming when you hate to put your face in the water is awful.

i've been doing both.

i am out of my ever-loving mind.

whose idea was it to do a mini-triathlon?
who thought this would be "fun"?

me.
stupid me.

tomorrow i'm going to swim and spin.
wish me luck.

I'm a Cali girl..in Cali again!

2011-01-03T19:44:00.002-06:00

SO....I moved! About 4 months ago from lovely Austin, Tx to lovelier Santa Rosa, Ca.

I'm still working on my Doula Business, Miranda Birth Services, and now I'm really focusing on getting that off the ground. BUT what I'm REALLY excited bout...and thus, what this blog will consist of, is my 2011's Resolutions:!

They are...

Joy - a year of looking for it, having it, spreading it and not letting anyone steal it!

Mini-Triathlon- 15ish Miles of biking swimming and running = raising money for my beautiful friends at Mission Year

Today:

Day 1 of Mini-Triathlon Training.

Let's say this, I'm glad I went. I got to see my fancy new gym (24 Hour was totally remodeled AND they have Towel service!) and work out for the first time in months. I'm sure I'll hate myself in the morning but I finished my 3 mile run and my 3 mile bike!

It's a long ways from race day distances of:

.5 Mile Swim
12 Mile Bike
2.5 Mile Run

Those numbers kinda of scare me but at least I know they're doable.

Anybody want o join me on this crazy venture? That would be sure to bring me joy!

love y'all,

Linda

p.s. know of exciting places to swim/bike/run around sonoma county for sunny days?

a real update this time!

2009-08-27T13:22:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends, I’m so sorry for my absence. I’ve been a busy girl this summer and I still see no signs of it slowing down! At the moment, I’m waiting in my Mom’s hospital room as she gets her right rotator cuff repaired. It is so cold here and I have a lot of time to catch you up on my life’s story. What a luxury to have time enough to reflect! Gosh, I’m a tired girl.

So what’s bee keeping me so busy, you might ask?

Well, I’m still the nanny for one of the best families in the world., but I’ll be leaving them in October. Until then we have A LOT of travel lined up and a new nanny to train. I am hoping and praying she loves these kids as much as I do. They have become family, and it’s been an honor to be part of their little lives. I will not however miss spending hours discussing princess shoes and the finer points of railroads and trains.

I am leaving my job because as of November this year I will be a small business owner. And by small, I mean, tiny. I’ll be the only employee. I have been feeling for sometime that I’d love to go back to doula work. I got a taste of it when I was living in Santa Rosa several years ago but have always been afraid that I couldn’t do this work as my only means of support. But as it seems, the only way to be ready to do this full time is to just dive in headfirst. So far, I’m learning all kinds of things I never wanted to know about owning a business. Who knew that paying taxes, marketing and networking could be so stressful? Who knew I’d ever need a website (www.mirandabirthservices.com) and spend my days worrying about contact forms and contract wording? I am simultaneously terrified and excited to get started. I can’t wait to work with birthing families as their birth and postpartum doula!

I’m such a jumble of emotions. I just moved “back home” (to a place I’ve never lived before) with my mom and Adolfo so I can save money and feel free to start Miranda Birth Services without rent and other expenses hanging over my head. Yesterday was my first morning there and my mom greeted me with a fresh cup of coffee in hand! I felt so well loved. After all these years my family is still happy to have me with them! At the same time, Last night I went to my old apartment to clear out a few more things and take out the garbage. It felt like home too. I still feel as if I’ll go back there this evening, even though I know that’s not true. It has been the longest I’ve lived at any place in my adult life. I am really going to miss it.

Well, friends, I’m going to grab a bite to eat but will be back this afternoon with more!

Love to you,
Linny

Updates:

2009-08-18T18:00:00.000-05:00

HAPPY FOURTH!

2009-07-04T14:10:00.001-05:00

get to "baking" !!

Fwd: Help America's most vulnerable farm workers

2009-05-11T18:38:00.001-05:00

Hi Friends,

I just wanted to pass along a chance for you to be a voice for those folks who see to it that good food ends up in our stores, and on our tables. Join me in asking your local representitives to support the agjobs act!

I hope you are well and full of joy!!

Much, MUCH LOVE!

Linda

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Tim Fullerton, Oxfam America Advocacy Fund" <action@oaaf.org>
Date: May 11, 2009 1:07:03 PM CDT
To: thelovelylinda@gmail.com
Subject: Help America's most vulnerable farm workers
Reply-To: "Tim Fullerton, Oxfam America Advocacy Fund" <action@oaaf.org>

Dear Linda,

Life expectancy: 49
Annual income: $13,000
Chance to get ahead: 0%

The farm labor crisis is real
and this is our chance to help.

Tell Congress to support AgJOBS.

For over 30 years, they've worked in substandard conditions for wages far below the poverty line. They've lived in decrepit housing and struggled to get by without health care or the chance to earn a decent income.

Who are they?

They're America's farm workers and they're among the most vulnerable people in our nation.

There's a bill before Congress that could drastically improve the lives of these men and women who pick our country's food, but we need to act fast.

Contact your representatives in Congress today and ask them to support the AgJOBS Act.

The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act ("AgJOBS") is a bipartisan compromise to help resolve the farm labor crisis and it is a crisis:

The real wages of America's farm workers have not increased in nearly 30 years, with the average laborer making just $13,000 per year, with no health care or time off to seek medical care for themselves or their families. Unsafe working conditions and injury on the job are common occurrences, and these workers' average life expectancy is only 49 years.

The AgJOBS Act represents a critical opportunity in our nation's history for farm workers and agricultural employers to finally address this crisis with a compromise that at the same time provides America with a stable farm labor force and helps ensure that farm workers are treated fairly, by giving them an opportunity to earn legal status and fair wages in safe conditions.

America's farm workers can't wait another year please tell Congress to support AgJOBS legislation today.

Thank you for your support.

Tim Fullerton
Oxfam America Advocacy Fund

If you'd like to unsubscribe from Oxfam America's eCommunity, please click here or respond to this email with "REMOVE" as the subject line.

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Fwd: IJM & Storyville Coffee Co. - Give It All Away In May

2009-05-01T15:04:00.001-05:00

My favorite coffee lovers,

Wouldn't it be great to support our friends at the International Justice Mission just by buying our coffee from Storyville this month? I hope you'll join me in this tasty way to make a difference for those who need a voice and are trapped in slavery! The details are below!

love.

Linda

Begin forwarded message:

From: International Justice Mission <contact@ijm.org>
Date: May 1, 2009 2:54:36 PM CDT
To: thelovelylinda@gmail.com
Subject: IJM & Storyville Coffee Co. - Give It All Away In May
Reply-To: International Justice Mission <contact@ijm.org>

If you have trouble viewing this email, please click here.

Dear Linda,

This month, drinking great coffee can literally change lives.

During the month of May Storyville Coffee is dedicating 100% of its revenue to IJM — up to $1,000,000 — to stop slavery, human trafficking, and other forms of violent oppression.

Simply go to WWW.STORYVILLE.COM, purchase coffee, receive fresh roasted coffee beans in the mail, brew and enjoy — or consider a gift of gourment coffee for Mother's Day or to celebrate graduations this month.

Storyville is based on the idea that coffee is a ritual that gives us time to think, create and dream. In dreaming, we remember those who cannot. Your support can enable victims of modern-day slavery to dream again and to build new lives.

Spread the word by forwarding this email to a friend.

Warm regards,

Pamela Livingston
Vice President of Communications
International Justice Mission

Change your email preferences / Unsubscribe
Forward this to a friend

www.ijm.org | PO Box 58147, Washington, DC 20037
All text and images © 2009 International Justice Mission.

my best friend gave me the gift of being at this show...and i'm giving it to you!

2009-04-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

if this doesn't make you happy i don't know what will!!

2009-04-03T02:49:00.001-05:00

2009-03-16T16:29:00.000-05:00

Today I conquered my fears of chairlifts, and gliding through the snow
at dangerous speeds. I think I may be in LOVE/hate skiing!!!

Input please!

2009-03-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

I want to read something wonderful. I want to read something you've
read over and over ( or wanted to) that really left you full of
wonder. Or I'll settle for just "very good".

Bring on the suggestions for your favorite history, biography, how
to, novel* or children's book!!!!

Thanks & love,
Me.

*But no Tolstoy, I can never get through those!

some of my favorites ...

2009-03-06T02:00:00.002-06:00

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2009-03-05T23:58:00.002-06:00

What I've been talking about lately..

2009-02-13T23:23:00.002-06:00

Read this. Let's talk!

December 27, 2008
As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God
Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset
Matthew Parris
Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.

At 24, travelling by land across the continent reinforced this impression. From Algiers to Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, then right through the Congo to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, four student friends and I drove our old Land Rover to Nairobi.

We slept under the stars, so it was important as we reached the more populated and lawless parts of the sub-Sahara that every day we find somewhere safe by nightfall. Often near a mission.

Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers - in some ways less so - but more open.

This time in Malawi it was the same. I met no missionaries. You do not encounter missionaries in the lobbies of expensive hotels discussing development strategy documents, as you do with the big NGOs. But instead I noticed that a handful of the most impressive African members of the Pump Aid team (largely from Zimbabwe) were, privately, strong Christians. “Privately” because the charity is entirely secular and I never heard any of its team so much as mention religion while working in the villages. But I picked up the Christian references in our conversations. One, I saw, was studying a devotional textbook in the car. One, on Sunday, went off to church at dawn for a two-hour service.

It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were. What they were was, in turn, influenced by a conception of man's place in the Universe that Christianity had taught.

There's long been a fashion among Western academic sociologists for placing tribal value systems within a ring fence, beyond critiques founded in our own culture: “theirs” and therefore best for “them”; authentic and of intrinsically equal worth to ours.

I don't follow this. I observe that tribal belief is no more peaceable than ours; and that it suppresses individuality. People think collectively; first in terms of the community, extended family and tribe. This rural-traditional mindset feeds into the “big man” and gangster politics of the African city: the exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader, and the (literal) inability to understand the whole idea of loyal opposition.

Anxiety - fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things - strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won't take the initiative, won't take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders.

How can I, as someone with a foot in both camps, explain? When the philosophical tourist moves from one world view to another he finds - at the very moment of passing into the new - that he loses the language to describe the landscape to the old. But let me try an example: the answer given by Sir Edmund Hillary to the question: Why climb the mountain? “Because it's there,” he said.

To the rural African mind, this is an explanation of why one would not climb the mountain. It's... well, there. Just there. Why interfere? Nothing to be done about it, or with it. Hillary's further explanation - that nobody else had climbed it - would stand as a second reason for passivity.

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

I love you more than I love chubby babies!

2009-01-28T18:22:00.004-06:00

go here:

http://iloveyoumorethanblank.com/

spread the love!

If you read this blog (and there are only a few of you) I love you a lot. Since I dicsovered "i love you more than blank" I've been thinking up new ways to say it everyday! join me it's fun!

p.s.

i love you more than corndogs at the fair

i love you more than a fire in the fireplace when it's raining out

i love you more than I loved degas ballerinas

i love you more than new books

i love this story!!!

2009-01-28T18:09:00.001-06:00

Donkeys boost Ethiopian literacy
By Elizabeth Blunt
BBC News, Awassa

In a bamboo and matting shelter on the edge of the town of Awassa, rows of tiny children are struggling with Ethiopia's fiendishly complicated Amharic alphabet.
"Huh - HUH! Hoo - HOO! Hee - HEE! Ha - HA!" they chant in unision after their teacher.

Their teacher is a small boy, scarcely older than they are, but he moves his pointer confidently along the chart showing the 256 different characters, and the children shout back.

"Ma - MA! Meh - MEH! Mi -MI! Mo - MO!"

Reading is a real challenge for children here, and not just because of the script.

When they have mastered the basics, what can they practice on?

The range of children's books published in Amharic is limited, and for many of the children Amharic is not even their first language.

There are seldom any books at home, and often very few at school either.

But these children in Awassa are lucky.

Silly Mammo

If you leave them practising their letters and walk out through the garden gate, you will find another group of children, clustered under a shady tree, absorbed in their books.

Parked alongside them is a brightly painted wooden cart, with sides which fold down to display the shelves of books.

The two donkeys which pull it are resting in another patch of shade.

This is Ethiopia's first Donkey Mobile Library - the brainchild of an expatriate Ethiopian now living in the United States.

His Ethiopian Books for Children and Educational Foundation (EBCEF) is also a publishing house and has produced many of the books on the shelves of the cart.

Some children are enjoying the lovely illustrations in the foreign picture books, which the library also carries, but their English is limited or non-existent.

Mostly they prefer the locally published, Amharic language stories.

It turns out that everybody's favourite is the story of Silly Mammo, familiar to generations of Ethiopian children.

Mammo is a well-meaning young man, but very silly. When his mother finally finds him a job, he drops the coins he earns and loses them.

"Next time, put your pay carefully in your pocket," says his mother.

The following day the farmer, instead of money, pays him with milk, with predictable consequences.

"No, no, no," says his mother, when she sees his dripping clothes.

"When he gives you something like that, you should carry it on your head," she says.

But Mammo's next wages come in the form of fresh butter wrapped in green leaves.

The children giggle delightedly at the drawing of the blazing sun, and the melting butter running down Mammo's face.

Ill-treated

Silly Mammo is the first book that the EBCEF has published in three languages: alongside the pictures are parallel texts in English, Amharic and Sidama - the local language of the region round Awassa.

By mid-afternoon it is time for the mobile library to pack up and move on to its next destination.

The children help pile their stools into the cart and the donkeys are harnessed up between the shafts.

The donkeys are not just a gimmick - in rural Ethiopia and provincial towns like Awassa, horse-drawn buggies and donkey carts are a normal form of transport.

But the project also tries to teach the children about respect for animals.

Donkeys here are generally despised and often ill-treated, but these two working donkeys wear the colourful embroidered trappings usually reserved for riding horses.

Alongside them walks the project's mascot - Queen Helena, the queen of all the donkeys.

She is an old lady now, but is decked out in a red silk saddle cloth, and a red and gold crown.

Absorbed

The donkey cart moves off down the street, surrounded by a swarm of delighted children, and eventually turns into the gate of a local primary school.

More excited children run out to meet it.
Like many state primary schools in Ethiopia, this one has no library of its own.

The staff say the children have made great strides in their learning and in their behaviour since getting regular access to books.

Most are from poor families; for them, even the modestly priced picture books published by EBCEF cost something like two days' wages.

In the centre of Awassa, and in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, EBCEF also runs conventional children's libraries, busy in the late afternoon with school children reading and drawing and doing their homework.

All the children are completely absorbed in what they are doing and treat the books with great care.

Out in the countryside, projects are under way to provide school libraries in villages where there have been none before.

For those children with access to books, the ritual chanting of the alphabet can be just the first step on the path to a lifetime of reading and learning.

For EBCEF's project manager in Awassa, Mezrasha Kibret, books are the key to everything.

"If we are interested in changing the world," he says, "then we have to read."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7777560.stm

Published: 2009/01/08 11:44:03 GMT

© BBC MMIX

2009-01-26T23:43:00.001-06:00

"there is no remedy for love but to love more."

- henry david thoreau

Amen and Amen!!

2009-01-20T15:56:00.001-06:00

Rev. Lowery Inauguration benediction.

Tuesday January 20, 2009
Transcript courtesy Federal News Service

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone, with your hands of power and your heart of love.

Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right.

Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: Say amen --

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)

END.

all kinds of remembering and celebrating going on over here...

2009-01-20T02:03:00.000-06:00

Urge a Gaza ceasefire now

2009-01-07T12:52:00.001-06:00

I just took action with Oxfam America in calling on an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire. I urge you to take action yourself and spread the word.

join me in my pro-life stance. visit oxfamamerica.org

love,
linda
To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
https://secure.oxfamamerica.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=k4XesI3d_jD94657DcsvJA..&id=949
If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser.

2009-01-05T18:34:00.001-06:00

I am more and more convinced that nothing in the world matters more
than loving the people you love very well. Enough so they know it
everyday.

Happy New Year!

Peace and Love.

2008-12-22T11:46:00.002-06:00

I can't help but cry every time I hear O Holy Night. I'm in the Phoenix airport waiting to to board a plane to Mexico. I'm going to spend some time with my family. During this time, I've heard O Holy Night four times. I keep crying at this verse

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name!

I am so grateful for the gift of God made flesh in order to bring us a gospel of peace and a law of love. I pray that you will be filled with that Peace and Love!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Joy

2008-12-13T12:31:00.001-06:00

Hope!

2008-11-30T00:11:00.003-06:00

this first sunday of advent, i am full of hope. I have hope that this journey "westward leading, still proceeding" guides us to "perfect light", i believe it will.

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T12:52:00.002-06:00

Thank you Lord,

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Hope!

2008-11-06T23:07:00.004-06:00

My roommate Emily, who has given a Mission Year in Atlanta, and on the Gulf Coast wrote this....I felt like her heart is my heart and i wanted to share it with y'all!

The times they are a-changing...
By:Emily Ling

This past Tuesday was easily one of the most inspirational nights of my life. Standing with a half dozen of my close friends, watching with hundreds of others in downtown Austin as the results of the presidential election were being announced, I wouldn't believe the history that was unfolding. I'd hoped so much that Obama would win, but my years of living in the South had left me skeptical that our country had progressed enough to elect a black man president. There is still so much racial inequality in our nation, so many wounds from slavery & segregation that are still being healed... and yet on Tuesday night it was obvious that change has indeed come. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever been more proud to be an American as I was when I saw that Obama had clinched the victory, and then watched as millions of people in cities all around the country celebrated the historic moment with tears of joy and shouts of triumph. Seeing MLK's dream come true, that one day our nation would judge people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character -- it made me more hopeful than I've been in a long time about the condition of the soul of America. Obviously this is not the end, not by any means. It was just one night in a long journey towards the United States becoming a more perfect union, which in all actuality is a journey that will never come to an end. But there can be no doubt that things were different on Wednesday morning, and that the change was a good one. It actually reminded me of the way New Orleans felt the morning after the Saints first post-Katrina home game back in the Superdome. After so much tragedy, the Saints had crushed the Falcons in their "Welcome Dome" celebration, and as I'd gone to get beignets at Cafe Du Monde the next morning, there was such optimism and energy in the air that no New Orleanian could do anything but smile. That's how it felt to be an American on Wednesday, except on such a grander scale, with so much more significance.

And yet this morning as I continued contemplating this epic change, I was struck by a sobering thought. As a Christian, my hope definitely doesn't lie in Barack Obama to save our country. No president, nor any individual person for that matter, is capable of bringing real redemption and healing to our nation - only God can do that. And how does God do that? Through the Church. And it's that thought that made my heart sink. Looking at the Church, the Church in America specifically, it's hard for me to feel much inspiration. We are so divided, so perverted by greed and hate, so lacking in embodying the Love of Christ. American citizens may have voted for a black man to be President, but it's estimated that only 5% of churches in this country are racially integrated. We as the Church should be leading the way in racial reconciliation and fighting injustice and alleviating poverty, yet in so many ways we fail to do as much as non-believers towards addressing these issues. When I hear fellow Christians spewing condemnation on gays, or touting the right to accumulating individual wealth, or belittling those on welfare for their assumed laziness, it makes me feel like "What's the point of remaining a part of this sick, sick Body? This is a lost cause." And yet, the Church is my family. I have pledged my fidelity to Jesus, which also means loving the brothers and sisters that He has given me. And it means that, while we may struggle and stumble in our efforts to love God and love each other, we know that in the end we will be victorious in overcoming the darkness -- not because we create good after-school programs, or plan the right mission trips, or pass the right legislature. We'll be victorious because Christ's Love will reign in our lives. As Jesus prayed, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:22)

And the truth is, I'm not just seeing changes for the good in America. I'm seeing changes for the good in the church too. I see Leroy & Sarah & Irvin and the other amazing leaders of Mission Year raising up a new generation of Christians who are learning how to be good neighbors. I see all the folks in St. Roch who are rebuilding New Orleans by bringing "beloved community" to the 8th Ward. I see Phil & Constance loving the people of Thailand, Jonathan & Lauren loving the Didinga in Sudan, Kelly & Mo & Annie & Travis loving the people of Cairo -- and so many more friends who understand that God's family isn't divided by borders and oceans. I see my fellow friends living in the St. John's neighborhood here in Austin - striving to share the Gospel with their lives, not just their words. When I see these lives, and the lives of so many more of you, I'm so encouraged to see so many others who are genuinely seeking the Kingdom. It may be a long, slow journey... but we are learning from those who went before us, and we are learning to trust in the only One who can make all things possible.

And so, I hope that with the dawning of this new age in America, that we as citizens will rise to the challenge of being the change we want to see (as Gandhi proclaimed.) But even more so, I hope that we as the Church will step up and become the Church that we want to see too.

Wow.

2008-11-05T19:38:00.002-06:00

I am so proud of my country. I am ready for change. I am excited for the future.

It's here!

2008-10-28T21:13:00.001-05:00

Our shiny new, HUGE single stream recycling bin is here! No more
sorting, no more dragging the tiny boxes overflowing with things to
recycle at risk of blowing away , and no more wondering if my
neighbors are judging us by the number of wine bottles in our bins!

I'm not a very "good" christian these days ...

2008-10-26T13:16:00.002-05:00

but THIS song echo's the things I'm hearing in my heart.

Instead of a Show by Jon Foreman (barrowed from Isaiah)

I hate all your show and pretense
The hypocrisy of your praise
The hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show
Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stomp on my ears when you're singing 'em
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show

Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turned your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in your plan
Quit playing religion games
There's blood on your hands

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show

Let's argue this out
If your sins are blood red
Let's argue this out
You'll be one of the clouds
Let's argue this out
Quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all, all
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show

My New Favorite Song!

2008-10-18T17:47:00.001-05:00

I love the chickens just back from the shore!

That's what you get when you hang out with toddlers all day!

Lots of Birthday Love!!

2008-09-26T01:12:00.001-05:00

I had been out of town (for work) for my birthday, and I was feeling
kind of down about it until this came in my mailbox!

my sister made me a birthday box of 26 things that start with the
letter L! I never knew i could love so many "L" things before but i
do! i love, lifesavers, lemon heads, lattes, lip gloss, lockets,
lashes (fake ones), scrabble letters that spell out my name, ect, ect!

i think i might start to be okay with being 26 after all!

Oh 26!

2008-09-13T13:23:00.001-05:00

It's official. I'm 26. Goodbye early twenties!

I'm stuck with 2 kids in the Dallas airport!

2008-09-11T17:36:00.000-05:00

Max is tired and cranky. Sarah is tired and cranky. I am going to lose
it!! Our flight was switched twice, we were flagged to have our bags
searched, and all three of us were patted down! Today I am earning
every penny I make!!!

26 and a year!

2008-09-07T16:26:00.003-05:00

It's been exactly year since I moved to Austin, and I'm less than a week away from my 26th Birthday. 25 went by too fast! And, it seems, I'm zooming along my way towards 30! I got to visit with some friends recently who being very close to 30 made a list of things they wanted to accomplish or experience by that time; I believe they have had quite a good time doing it!

"To Do" list (so far):

*Run a 10k (finish)
*Teach Abroad- maybe Thailand or Greece? (some place near the ocean!)
*Be Published (an article, book, whatever-I'm not picky!)
*Surf More, or Better ..or surf mo' betta!
*Finish my bachelor's degree
*Sky Dive
*paint a couple of murals, maybe just one in a public space!
*
*
*
obviously there is room for more dreams!
This is not my "bucket list", i don't think life ends at 30, and I think I am doing now what I would like to be doing if I were to die tomorrow: trying to love God and trying to love people, for me it comes down to those things. So, do you have a "To Do" list? What's on it?

2008-08-31T12:39:00.001-05:00

Father, all the elements of nature obey your command. Calm the storms and hurricanes that threaten us and turn our fear of your power into praise of your goodness. Be with these, Your children, as they try to escape from harm's way. And bring restoration and healing to those who have already suffered Gustav's power. Lord we thank you for we know that even in our darkest hours you are with us. Amen.

I love my family!!

2008-08-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

Last night, my brother, James,my cousin, Jonathan and my Best Friend
met me at the airport with homemade signs! This one James made is my
favorite!

I'm addicted to...

2008-08-24T04:21:00.003-05:00

Post Cards From Yo Momma!

i haven't laughed that hard/long in awhile!
check it out!

a related note:
Call your momma and tell her you love her...or better yet write!

Current Word?

2008-08-20T15:25:00.006-05:00

Last week I had lunch with someone who has known me since the fourth grade. Alea became my best friend that first day of school, and we've gotten in trouble every grade since then for talking with each other in class. I cannot fool her, She knows my family, She's seen me in all my awkward stages.I don't ever really censor myself with her because , even though we've chatted only about once a year for the past 3 years, i think she has a way of knowing what I'm thinking.

Alea gave me a pretty good scolding during lunch. we talked for awhile about our families, about her nursing career, about her lost loves and about the future. I told her about my crappy spiritual place and how I don't want to become a minister anymore. I told I wasn't cut out for the church and how I have no plans for the future, how I feel lost.

Alea would not have it! She took the time to remind me of who I am. Among other things Alea said this:

" This is ridiculous. How could you do anything else? You will always be in ministry, whatever that means, I mean, you taught me who God was in the 6th grade. I never forgot that. I still pray all the time, and I know I'm not perfect, but you also taught me he loves me anyway. I don't go to church because there are too many people who tell me otherwise, but i know that's not true because of you . You have to do this, you can't stop. So don't worry about how that looks to other people ".

The thing is, I think God is actually "speaking" to me again. I am hesitant to say that because I don't have a lot of faith and I'm still kinda angry at God for "abandoning me" in this silence....

But this past week, I heard the same words OVER AND OVER AGAIN from some of my dearest friends, from people i consider to be family. Not in a way that was audible to me but through the one aspect of Christianity that still makes sense to me , in community. My community has said to me that God loves me, has made me into the person that I am, and that's okay; better than okay- it's very good.

I think the other thing that has come out of it is kind of this thought that I thought I knew who God was- I excepted a constant conversation that i didn't really treasure. I thought I did.... But now I think that really I was acting like a spoiled child. I wanted God to always hold me, always talk to me, always stand one step behind me and in front of me without having to struggle or figure things out or really wrestle with what my life of faith should look like.The other day my Dad told me that He doesn't worry about me, He doesn't pace the floors wondering if I've managed to dress myself, tie my own shoes, feed myself, go to work, or pay my bills. Neither does he worry that I will be loving towards my neighbor or that I will seek the Lord (he does worry about who I will vote for). He said that although he loves me he doesn't worry about any of those things because he knows me and he trusts me to do the right thing, and to live life well. He trusts that I have grown up into a woman who doesn't need him hovering over my shoulder every moment of the day, that i might mess things up, but that I'll also fix them. He said that God might be a little like a father who trusts his daughter.

Both of those "words" make me feel at ease. I'm not sure when It happened that i wasn't freaked out by God's silence, or all the questions that have arisen in that time (and I may not be over this period either!) but for the first time in MONTHS I feel as if it's okay. That I'm okay, that God hasn't abandoned me, that I will figure out what I meant for and that this process is part of it.

I'll let you know how this goes..

Aviation Aversion

2008-08-16T14:37:00.000-05:00

I am waiting for my bags in the Austin Airport... And I just have to
say that there is nothing glamorous about getting in a small metal box
that is being thrust into the air for travel. I am begining to hate
flying! And today, for the first time ever, I had to use the "sick"
bag because of all the turbulence and a box of tissue because I miss
my people on the west coast SO VERY MUCH! Nobody likes to sit next to
the sobbing , and later, weak stomach girl!

I still have 4 flights ahead of me in as many weeks; Lord have mercy.

What?!?!

2008-08-14T12:18:00.000-05:00

Guess What?

2008-08-10T01:48:00.000-05:00

A sparrow is supposed to guide you home...

2008-07-30T18:35:00.006-05:00

I have been, for months now, been living in something like a spiritual sound proof space, in a far off place. I don't "hear" God's voice, I don't feel God's presence. I don't feel as if my prayers or songs of worship do little more than dissipate in to the vast blue Texan sky. I have tried all the tricks and tips folks have given me about how to "get back on track" and I have failed.
Or I guess I have failed because nothing much has changed despite my efforts.

Someone finally volunteered to go through this with me, because she has been through it. And she is calling me regularly. And giving me "homework" so i can put my thoughts in order. And she is praying for me.
She isn't asking me to list all my sin, in case that's why I am going through this time. She isn't telling me that this will pass in X amount of time. And she isn't short of admitting that sometimes we have no idea why God does or doesn't do things.

I'm really thankful for her.
And I' really thankful for other people who love me and are trying to understand how I feel.

I'm in the Gorge!

2008-07-28T21:05:00.001-05:00

I'm here a lot this summer for work. It is both a beautiful place
and frustrating to be so far from home!

Here's The Deal...

2008-07-28T13:36:00.002-05:00

I've been absent from the blogging world for awhile now for two reasons. The first being that my laptop decided to tun on me and the other reason is that I have so many thoughts that I can't seem to form one clear post. So, I guess what I'm going to do is just post things as they come to me, some days can be multi-post days and others not so much. Sounds fun, eh?

An American in Paris....

2008-07-02T23:35:00.001-05:00

2008-07-01T09:38:00.002-05:00

2008-07-01T09:36:00.001-05:00

Vangogh.

2008-07-01T09:35:00.001-05:00

2008-07-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's a Monet.

2008-07-01T09:33:00.002-05:00

2008-07-01T09:33:00.001-05:00

2008-07-01T09:32:00.002-05:00

Paris from Montemarte

2008-07-01T09:32:00.001-05:00

2008-07-01T09:31:00.000-05:00

Public transport and a 5€ bracelet, more on that story later!

2008-07-01T09:30:00.001-05:00

This bunny was pedaling "Free Smiles"; it worked!

2008-07-01T09:29:00.001-05:00

2008-07-01T09:28:00.000-05:00

Peace Y'all!

2008-07-01T09:27:00.001-05:00

nieghborhood flea market day!

2008-07-01T09:26:00.001-05:00

I almost bought these!

2008-07-01T09:24:00.004-05:00

2008-07-01T09:24:00.003-05:00

Traveling Fun...

2008-07-01T09:24:00.001-05:00

How am I supposed to take off my earrings and shoes while my plane
crashes?

2008-07-01T09:20:00.001-05:00

The airport feast, yes it tasted as bad as it looked; and was the most
money I've spent on food in Spain!

Toledo, Spain

2008-07-01T09:17:00.002-05:00

2008-07-01T09:17:00.001-05:00

2008-07-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

2008-06-29T15:45:00.001-05:00

More Madrid...

2008-06-29T15:43:00.001-05:00

2008-06-29T15:03:00.000-05:00

2008-06-27T05:54:00.000-05:00

I heart Madrid!

2008-06-26T07:42:00.000-05:00

Cafè life.

2008-06-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

Parque 2 de Mayo near my hostel.

2008-06-26T07:39:00.001-05:00

Madridians make their own art!

2008-06-26T07:37:00.001-05:00

2008-06-26T07:36:00.001-05:00

Painter inside the Prado!

2008-06-26T07:34:00.000-05:00

I was inspired to take a self portrait.

2008-06-26T07:33:00.000-05:00

The Prado.

2008-06-26T07:24:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Madrid!

2008-06-24T06:15:00.000-05:00

It's lovely here! I might not come home!

My Spanish Hostel, it's actually pretty nice!

2008-06-24T06:08:00.000-05:00

The Metro.