Moving

Sometimes we stop and we sit

Sitting
Sitting overwhelmed
Overwhelmed facing the ocean of need
Crying

And it moves forward without us

Sometimes it continues on and we are blind

Blinded
Blinded unaware
Unaware of the dark injustice of our world
Comfortable

And it moves forward without us

May we be moving

Moving
Moving forward
Forward into the dark injustice of our world
Forward with the hope of the gospel

Together we hold lonely hands
Educate hungry minds
Feed swollen bellies
Stand by each other
And nurture souls

One step at a time
One voice
One word
One touch

Alone so small, but together facing the ocean
And moving forward

http://www.dalitnetwork.org/

Last week missing snow, this week dreaming of gardens

So, a few days ago I was planning this funny post about the (sometimes crazy) things that I sometimes miss about the average 13 feet of snow back home in the UP:

• The smell of snowblower exhaust
• Cleaning your car off in the morning
• Snowy roads
• The sparkling like diamonds
  
• Shoveling snow
• Your eyes hurting because the sun on the snow is so bright
• Walking through snow covered woods

But it's funny because right now we're having a warm spell here in PA, so now I'm dreaming of spring and gardens. Thursday it was in the teens, but yesterday was in the 50s and I worked in the garden in shorts.

Here's to sitting on the front porch in the sun, feeling the fresh air coming in an open window, listening to the birds singing, and planning this summer's veggies!

Just Do...Something

I often find myself overwhelmed in light of realities like this:



In the words of Edward Everett Hale:

I am only one but still I am one. I cannot do everything but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.

For too long I have been waiting for the someday and that something bigger, but I am beginning to realize that God has placed me where I am for a reason, and I need to be faithful to that, responding to the opportunities in front of me.

Let's just do something, and together we can do much.

Maybe for you, that something is giving an hour or two of your week here in Lancaster for one of the many organizations extending love by investing in the lives of middle schoolers, serving meals, counseling, offering shelter or AIDS relief, educating, or giving in one of many other ways.

Maybe for you it means packing peanut butter and jelly for lunch instead of eating out as a commitment to begin living more simply to have more freedom to give.

Maybe for you it means allowing God to mold you into an awesome neighbor, friend, or spouse.

Maybe for you it means prayer and advocacy, giving a voice to those who are so often ignored.

Or maybe it looks like one of the infinite other creative ways we can begin partnering with God to bring healing in our suffering world.

These are the things I have been taking steps toward in my life. Will you join me?

I Can't Help Crying Sometimes

This morning, all the leaders of this weekend gathered together for one last time. We touched base on some logistical details and then created some space to share about the memorable moments from the weekend.

As leaders shared about students encountering the person of Jesus, I began to cry. These students are bearing more than their small shoulders ever should--grandma's dying from cancer, self-doubt from acne and from mental disabilities, a mom who passed away just weeks ago, and I could go on and on. But this weekend, they encountered Jesus and saw him beginning to put their worlds back together again. They began to trust how they are brilliantly created, how God is close in our darkest moments, and how he is in control and working in our world to put all this sh** back together again (sorry, sometimes ordinary words just don't carry the weight of the pain, brokenness, the sick things in our world that never should have been). They encountered him as they talked late into the night in their cabins, as they sat listening to Matt share the art, the teaching he has crafted from his soul and the truth he knows about his God, and as they stole moments to gaze up at the starry sky.

We saw a little bit of heaven this morning as leaders shared, a little bit of heaven coming to earth...

Sacred Moment

A while ago, we had one of our PA winter snow (i.e. sleet) storms. The next day, as I was driving to a meeting for work, the sun had come out and was transforming the icy winterscape into a wonderland of diamonds.

A response slipped from my lips: "It's beautiful--thank you, God."

At that very moment, a sense that I was in the middle of a sacred moment made my breath catch and my soul tingle. It felt like something was suddenly right in the world.

What made this moment sacred?

Cold Engulfing the Nation...and Me

Reports of frigid temps are all over the news. A work contact in Chicago today informed me the wind chill there was rockin out at -51!

Last night, I decided to stick to my rhythms and take zuri for a run. The "real feel" temp was -3, so I layered up hardcore. I was still afraid of freezing though, so decided to cut my run shorter than usual. Good thing I did because:

1) My toes are still sore from getting too cold in those 15 minutes
2) I still had to stop and thaw my dog's paw 3 times
3) It was so cold my earbud wires immediately froze, making a thumpy, cold-creaky sort of noise as I ran

I was still glad I went, but tonight the real feel is -7 and I decided to stay inside curled up on the couch with a blanket. :)

Origins of the Internet

Wow, who knew the foundations of the internet were being laid all the way back in the 1950s!? I get a little lost toward the end, but so it's a super sweet and interesting overview of how thing thing we depend so much on now came to be. Thanks to my friend Adam for sharing this sweet--albeit maybe slightly nerdy--video! :)


History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.