Name:ginny Country:United States State:Florida Metro:Orlando
Interests:spiritual journeys, family, writings, expressions both ancient and new; visual arts--painting, drawing, computer graphics; people; learning, reading, music. Expertise:simply on a journey. Occupation:Artist
A friend sent us a Black Gold Movie dvd. I watched it today and haven't been able to get it out of my mind. While we've been aware of the issues raised in the film, the visual images from some of the poorest areas in the world that supply the best coffee in the world, just reminded me how much opportunity there is to make a difference. Admittedly, I was a bit reluctant to watch the movie...mostly because of delays and divided attention, some of which involves additional requirements that we still need to work through to obtain nonprofit status.
What the movie did remind me of, however, was the reason we started imagocoffee.com. Our goal...our focus...has always been to raise awareness about fair trade so that the people in some of the world's poorest countries could get paid a fair wage to educate their children, have access to clean water, and go to bed with a full stomach.
Monday Sar and Em had off from school so we made plans to visit Jim's parents on the west side of FL. Jim's parents live about 2-2.5 hours away. They'd purchased a new house way back in April and this was the first time we all could synchronize our schedules to see them as we really wanted to go together. Our day became a bit compressed when we found out that Sarah had to work later in the afternoon. Em had a friend sleep over the night before which made it fun for her. We got out of the house a little later than we wanted to but still made it out before 10am.
As we called them to make sure they were available for a visit, we found out that my mom-in-law's sister and 2 cousins were there visting them as well with their spouses. Not only was I glad to be able to see Jim's folks, but I was happy to be able to see his aunt and uncle that we hadn't seen in about 3 years--and they're so awesome. As a bonus, the cousins that were there we hadn't seen in about 15 years...I know! Well, the other thing is that the cousin, Gordon, now a retired minister, married Jim and I, 18 years ago.
I can't tell you how grateful I am to have been able to spend time with Gordon and his wife, Wanda. While we were there, I just felt such gratitude for both of them being so instrumental as Jim and I began our life together. And then to have the opportunity to share our dreams for the future, once again so many years later, meant so much more than I can put into words. While we were only able to spend a few hours there, each moment was, and is, precious to me.
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. --The Message
Last week I started my first class at Asbury Seminary. As soon as the syllabus and reading list was published, I ordered the books I didn’t already have. My husband had taken the class, ‘Vocation of Ministry’ early on and so we had 2 of the 6 books required. Book list
Holiness for Ordinary People, by Keith Drury
The Call, by Os Guinness
The Other Six Days, by Paul Stevens
Habits of the Mind, by James W. Sire
Becoming Good, by David Gill
Beyond the Scandals, by G. Lloyd Rediger
I’ve read the first three and about half of the fourth and I highly recommend them all. If I could give one quote that would describe my spiritual journey and this new path that I’m now walking, it would be from Soren Kierkegaard as quoted in The Call:
“The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wants me to do; the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die.” –Soren Kierkegaard
These words of Kierkegaard’s really resonated with me as I see them as an allusion to living passionately for reasons that are beyond myself, and authentic to who God created me to be.
last week began with news of a local 19-yr-old that had died of natural causes during the night. news of robert's death flew through our area as well as myspace and facebook. this young man was respected and known by many teens. when we heard of his death, i was surprised by all of the relationship connections. in my previous job, i worked with robert's dad and have such a high level of respect for both of his parents--they are remarkable people completely devoted to their family.
the memorial service this past saturday was so moving. robert's twin brother, jared, friends and family, shared scripture, memories, poetry and songs dedicated to robert. there were more people in attendance than there was room for.
this was a young man who lived his faith in such a strong way--and this was so eloquently communicated by those who spoke of robert's impact on their life. please keep his family and friends in prayer as they keep robert alive in their hearts.
