What you really want for Christmas

Christmas is - at its historical heart - the celebration of a life;
namely, the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Mary.

But even in its contemporary form, Christmas is a celebration of life and living; for even those that do not celebrate Jesus at Christmas do celebrate the memories and warmth of family, the assurance of another year successfully completed, and the hopefulness of a year ahead.

There is no gift greater than the gift of life.

All the decorations, the songs, and the gift-giving are meant to say one thing: “Life is worth living and it’s great living it with you!”

This season, share that message in a meaningful way with your loved ones and with Iraqi families on the other side of the world. With an inherent emptiness to so many of the gifts we reach for at Christmastime, this Gift of the Heart is assuredly one of the most impact-making gifts you can give this year, providing hope, real medical relief, and peace to mothers, fathers, and their children waiting in Iraq for a spot on the coveted Surgery List.

All Gifts of the Heart funds will cover medical, travel, and hospitality expenses for an Iraqi child and mother.
Give Life!

When you make a donation in honor of someone you will receive this "In your honor" gift certificate. You will also receive a:

- Softcover coffee table book of Preemptive Love Art commissioned and culled from Kurdish artists supporting PLC in Iraq

- Free PLC 3X4" vinyl stickers

- Free "Buy Shoes. Save Lives." campaign bracelet.

So, click on over here and give the gift of life this year.

963 Coffee

Our friends over at 963 Coffee have started this wonderful business to facilitate the fair trade of coffee so that you get your daily Joe and coffee farmers get their fair share of what would otherwise be a $5 cup of coffee. Instead of beans on the dollars, they get a fair wage, good working conditions, the right to organize themselves into unions, and a host of other benefits not afforded by other coffee companies.

In addition to what is already a great product, the 963 Coffee guys have set up an affiliate program through which all of your purchases made by linking from I Heart Community 4 Life will go into an account with the Buy Shoes. Save Lives. name on it. Buying coffee and helping South Americans and African will now fund heart surgeries for Iraqi kids to boot!

Here's our coffee campaign: We get 40% of sales from the store through this affiliate program. If you buy 10 bags of coffee for $10 each children in Iraq will receive $40 of your purchase.

If you are an addict, we recommend you to sign up for the Monthly Obsession (like a subscription to coffee!). If we get 63 friends signed up for 2 bags of coffee a month, that would be $6,000 to children in Iraq in one year alone! That's an entire heart surgery funded by drinking coffee!

That's a great cup of coffee!

So forgo your Starbucks today and drink some 963 Coffee instead.


I have personally been a 963 coffee customer and have been very pleased with the product... and I'm kind of a coffee snob (starbucks = gross). I also have written Starbucks (and spoken to several store managers) about brewing fair trade coffee in their stores. Due to the amount of money it would cost them to make a significant investment in fair trade coffee, they are currently unwilling to switch to fair trade. While they sell some fair trade coffee in some locations, they do not currently brew it in their stores. So - not that I'm saying Starbucks is bad or you should not go there...but maybe you could think about investing in the lives of coffee farmers and their communities simply through choosing fair trade, and while you're at it you can help fund a heart surgery for an Iraqi child. Have you had a better cup of coffee than that? ... I didn't think so.

In honor of 40 years...

Today is the 40th anniversary of the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr. He is someone I GREATLY respect, admire, and want to learn from. In his death (and because of his life) he accomplished something that changed America forever. Much like the Saints worldwide who have died for their faith and convictions, the people who knew their lives and their deaths were changed, which changed a community, a culture, and sometimes even a nation. I wanted to share some quotes from this man, both from letters he wrote and speeches he gave. If you've never studided MLK, I encourage you to read a speech, read some letters... he will challenge you not only as a follower of Jesus, but also as a human being created to love God bring glory to Him.

- An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

- Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

- History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

- Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

- A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

- I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Foolishness

Jeff & I are trying to read through the Bible in a year. It is something I have tried to do annually for the last 7 years. I don't think I've been successful every time - but each time there are very familiar passages that come alive in a new way. I love that about the Word - that it is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword (Hebrews 4:12 ... and I had to look this up, it seems no matter how many times I read these verses memorizing references is not my thing). I've used a different translation every year for the last 4 years of doing this and this year we're using the NLT, it is more of a paraphrasing of scripture in more modern day language than it is an exact translation of the original language. I remember being strongly cautioned against using such 'fluffy' translations in one of my freshman religion classes at Baylor - but I decided to take my chances, and I really like it. It makes the old testament much more readable (for me).
One of my favorite themes throughout the Bible is foolishness - I mean really, if Jesus Christ isn't who he said he was, then this whole thing is pretty dang foolish. The Bible is full of fools who obeyed God in his seemingly foolish requests.
I was reading in Deuteronomy about generosity:
'Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need. ' Deut5:10-11.
I like this passage because God acknowledges that the poor will always exist but instead of it being a point of resignation he commands us to give generously to support them. To not do so is to be 'hard hearted' and 'tight fisted' according to verse 7 of Chapter 15. All that we have is God's provision in our lives anyhow isn't it? I am reminded that 'He owns a cattle on a thousand hills' said the Psalmist. I've seen a lot of poverty in the Dallas area (like any major city I'm sure), it is on the news, co-workers talk about it (usually in a negative, dangerous kind of way), and in this time of economic crisis I'm reminded that it is okay to be foolish and 'give to everyone who asks you, give and do not hold back' (Luke 6:30). All I hear on the news are tips for protecting yourself and your finances, and this was a good reminder for me to not become 'tight fisted' or fearful because God has always faithfully provided everything that I've needed and I've never given to someone and not had what I needed for myself. So, my advice is get a little foolish, don't buy into all the media hype about protecting yourself and your money - we can trust Him to satisfy every need we have, but how will we know unless we respond in faith and let ourselves need Him?

Get em while they're hotttt

Not that saving lives ever goes out of style... but these shirts are hot off the... place that shirts come from. If you haven't heard about buy shoes save lives, allow me to inform you (and inform yourself at www.buyshoessavelives.com)
There are these awesome handmade shoes called 'Klashi Kurdi' that are made in Northern Iraq by the Kurds. They are beautiful, not to mention stinkin' cool looking. I hear Justin Timberlake wishes he had some Klash...
So, the saving lives part...Medical care in Northern Iraq is not up to par and there are TONS of kids that have heart problems and without a heart surgery they will either die or suffer from an otherwise curable heart condition.
In collaboration with Brothers Together (www.shevet.org) Buy Shoes Save Lives is using the proceeds from the shoes and T-Shirts to fund heart surgeries for these Iraqi children.
What is even cooler... The doctors doing the surgeries are Jewish and the children receiving the surgery are Muslim. It is a really incredible way to bridge the cultural and religious gaps that have historically existed. So buy some gear - the T-shirts are brand new and even cooler in person and the shoes are custom made to fit. What are you waiting for? go to www.buyshoessavelives.com NOW

recommended reading

I have a series of blogs I check almost daily and this is one of them. It is Jim Wallis's blog, the director of Sojourners and author of 'God's Politics'. This article articulated the 'UGHHHH' I've been feeling inside, for lack of a better way to articulate that. Check it out... and also notice how the author has 22 children - that is cuh-razy. So here's the article...



Also, I am reading this book by the director of International Justice Mission, it is called 'Terrify No More' and is all about sex trafficking in Cambodia and their rescue operations. Reading about what goes into rescuing these victims makes me think, 'THAT, that is exactly what I would love to do!' It just stirs my heart to hear about people who have the opportunity to go into the darkest, ugliest, most horrifying acts of injustice and to be able to bring children out of it - that is such a picture of God's heart. This passage was chosen for the title of the book and I LOVE IT:

You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. Psalm 10

It is difficult to read about the horrendous crimes committed against children all over the world but it has been really valuable for me to understand the huge scale on which this is occurring everyday and it gives me hope to hear about how people are standing up for Jesus and risking their lives to rescue these girls. Read this book! (Team I'll bring it with me when I come so you can pass it around)

Living More With Less

I've been spending this month meditating on, learning about, and trying to practice simplicity in my life. First of all let me dismiss the myth that living more simply is simple because that is just not true. It takes a lot of intention, time, and discipline. Because our world is so fast paced, convenient, and impersonal, trying to go against the flow is really hard! I got this book, 'Living More With Less' and have read about half of it so far. It is really incredible, it was written by a Mennonite woman who compiled stories and testamonies from around the globe of people who have chosen simplicity out of their desire to honor Christ in all things. One of the biggest things so far that this book has helped me hold onto is that my life, my every day decisions make a WORLD of difference. I am not going to change the world by my life and that is not the point; but every time I choose to do something like walk instead of drive, buy with integrity by not giving money to companies that don't pay their laborers a living wage or have poor working conditions, or the thousands of other choices I make that honor others and God above myself and my comfort -- this is obedience. The earth is the Lord's and all it contains -- this means something to me like it hasn't before. This is something I am still definately growing in, but it has been really freeing to let go of some of the things that I feel like I 'need' but really they only detract from the things that are better. I wrote this the other night as a kind of response to all these things that I am feeling and thinking.

One -- a single unit all alone
self contained and fulfilled
not knowing others or being known.
I don't need you in order to be me
I already decided who I am
and I am just fine -- can't you see?

'How appalling!' -- 'Why, how rude!'
'that is not me' we say assuredly.
But lives may say otherwise from our clothes to our food.
My momentary choices may seem small
like how I spend my time
or the things that I buy at the mall.

We are consumers and as such we say
who and what we stand for
in our manner of living every day.
I can't quite wrap my mind around
how my choices will affect the world
when they don't feel heavy or make a sound
It's not that I am so important and neat
but that I am not an island, so
when I take what could be yours it makes me a cheat.

To love mercy and do justice is no simple task
It takes awareness, intention, and death to myself.
But then, united, we can in God's glory bask!
I need you so I can be a better me,
because without you my joy is incomplete.
Thank you Jesus for the global Body that can't work independently.

The World

I've been praying about the world and the things going on the world a lot lately. I've been asking God to show me His heart and give me that same heart. I tend to get so riled up about world happenings that I can't see things with spiritual eyes and all I see is injustice and it makes me real angry. Anyway, this week it was cool to finally connect with God's heart and just find rest in claiming His ultimate justice and infinite understanding, because seriously... I just don't get it. Here is some Scripture that really helped me understand who God is in the world:
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. the counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations... the Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man, from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation and by its great might it cannot rescue ... our soul waits for the Lord he is out hope and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:10-11, 13-22.

The picture is a painting I did this summer as just an expression of where God was directing my heart and thoughts and the things I know that He loves and cares about. Sooooo... there ya go

july 4th

tomorrow will mark the first July 4th I've spent in the country in a long time ... naturally, this got me thinking, and well, here ya go.

I want to truly honor my country today, not write her off or blindly pledge allegiance.
Being patriotic isn’t about colors, fireworks, or picnics outdoors.
For me it is about owning my country and taking responsibility.
I am in the top 2% of the world that gets to go to college – therefore, I must educate myself and those around me.
My country is less than 10% of the world’s population consuming 2/3 of its resources. We have taken on a great responsibility as consumers whether we want it or not.

Because our consumer culture is spreading like wildfire around the globe, America can ‘afford’ to pay less than a living wage to over 60% of its workforce, ensuring that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
And every time we get to spend less money on things because someone isn’t getting paid a living wage – they are laying down their lives for us. Meanwhile, we just keep feeding the machine by demanding lower prices for our food and name brands while children and adults are enslaved so we can wear a ‘swoosh’ on our shoe or drink more coffee while the kids get beaten and the bean harvester can’t feed his family.

We have enough literacy and technology and available resources to know what we are responsible for … so why don’t we care?
What are we saying as the most powerful and ‘liberated’ nation in the world if 852 million people went hungry in 2002, (this rate only mildly improved today) and it wasn’t just across the ocean. Hunger and poverty is in every backyard of America with 36 million going hungry every year right here at home.
We have the cure you know? With the $13 billion we spend every year feeding our pets we could provide basic health care and nutritional needs for the world’s poorest people.
The world looks on America as a Christian nation and I have to wonder if Jesus would be ashamed. What about us? Are we ashamed?

We are truly a great and powerful nation… but what is the point of claiming our citizenship here on earth if we are not going to use it to further the Kingdom of God here? We could have been born in some ghetto of Africa, but we weren’t and for that we are responsible to the Lord. America is not my right … what do I have that God did not give to me? Christians of America we have a great responsibility to Jesus Christ and to the world to prove them wrong about us.

After the Holocaust, the wars, Rwanda, Darfur, and now Iraq – the world wants to know if America has any morals, any love, any standards? We do, I know we do and every voice, every whisper for truth and justice speaks louder than MTV or violence. I do not despise my country, I love her and I love justice and mercy. I hope and pray that this will be the generation that rises up to stand for Truth and Love and takes ownership of the world as Bonhoeffer described it -- “The concrete sphere of responsibility given to us by and in Jesus Christ.

“Now will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night and will He delay long over them? I tell you that he will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:7-8

Resources

I've been reading a lot of books lately about current social issues, some titles I recomend are:
The Revolution, a field manual for changing your world by: heather Zydek
The Irresistable Revolution by: Shane Claiborne
The End of Poverty by: Jeffrey Sachs
Nickeled and Dimed by: Barbara Ehrenrich

I've been doing a lot of research and there are some really incredible organizations out there and some really important ways we can get involved. I know it seems overwhelming to even do anything, so here are some easy ways to take a stand.

www.bloodwatermission.com
this organization was started by the lead singer of Jars of Clay and is commited to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic by building clean wells in Africa and fighting against poverty. Did you know that there are nearly 300 million people in Africa who do not have access to safe drinking water? Did you know that one U.S. dollar equals clean water for one African for an entire year?!

www.bread.org
bread for the world is a Christian organization seeking justice for the world's hungry people. Did you know that more than 852 million people in the world went hungry in 2002? Even in America 36 milion people went hungry. Did you know that the basic health and nutritional needs of the world's poorest people could be met for an additional $13 billion a year which is less than what the US and Europe spend on pet food each year.

www.ncadp.org
this is the website for the national coalition to abolish the death penalty. Tomorrow and Wednesday there are 3 men scheduled for execution and on this site you can send a letter to the government asking them to spare the lives of these men as well as send letters to the president as a man of faith to take a stand as a Christian against sending the message that any life is beyond redemption.

www.one.org
this campaign is about fighting global poverty and aids. Sign the declaration and send letters to our representatives lobbying for policies that support debt relief, aid, and other services to the poor worldwide.

There are hundreds of websites dedicated to loving others the way Jesus did. This isn't about patting ourselves on the back but about being reponsible for what the Lord has entrusted to us. What do we have that He did not give to us? And what do we have that should not be given back to Him? Let's learn together how we can actively care for our world and glorify the God who saves.

on the road again

well, sorry it's been so long since the last update. Apparently, I had this dream about having all this free time or something. I am in H-town now about to drive to New Jersey with my sister to get her moved in. So I drove a U-haul up here from Corpus and thought I was going to make it scott free when I backed OVER a 2 foot metal pole... I mean on top of it. The truck wouldn't even drive so we had to call a tow truck and get it to lift the truck up like an inch and move it over another inch. So, 1 metal pole, a pentecostal reverand, his friend the tow truck man, a few inches, and $80 later we were on our way again. When my dad asked what the moral of the story was I told him "never put a u-haul in reverse" ... I mean you can't see anything directly behind you unless it is at least 5 feet tall, that puts a lot of small people in danger.
I am really pumped about the road trip, I love being in the car, and my sister just made her first big purchase and got herself a brand new 2006 Jetta with xm radio and lots of other shiny things. Haha, we both graduate and she buys herself a car and I buy myself a laptop, we're in totally different ball games here!
Been doing a lot of summer reading. I read 'The Poisonwood Bible' by: Barbara Kingsolver, and that is a really great book, I really enjoyed it as a work of fiction. I also read 'To Own a Dragon' by: Donald Miller and that was also a good book... not my favorite of his, but that's probably because he wrote it to guys without dads.
I am currently reading 'Nickled and Dimed" by: Barbara someone and "Humility" by: Andrew Murray. I think everyone in America should have to read Nickled and Dimed, I am not really sure how you enforce that other than giving everyone a copy at their birth and letting them know there will be a mandatory test at age 15 or something. But seriously, it is a really great book for helping to learn about the economic system in America and the low wage system. The Murray book is INCREDIBLE. The biggest sin I struggle with daily (as everyone who knows me on any level can attest to) is pride and this book has been sooooooooooo great in unpacking humility in the life of Jesus. It has brought such freedom and joy and I am only on chapter 4. I wish I could make a mandatory reading list and force read people -- unrealistic? Maybe... well, gotta run but hopefully it won't be so long before my next update. If you haven't seen me in a while here's a pic from this summer annnnnnnd just wanted to let everyone know I am going to dinner at the melting pot tomorrow night!!! I've never been.... real excited though!

dusunme .... or thoughts

I am afraid to look, that I might see
the hurt, suffering, the world around me.

All the fences and locks, suburbs and blocks
can keep them away or just make me stay

Alone in a harbor that doesn't exist,
wasting away the time I just missed.

Jesus isn't a window, a shirt or the cross
He is THE GOD from the sky down to the moss.

The Earth is His, trees, people and money too,
He gives graciously today and each day anew.

Not so we can collect, hoard and build a nice life,
but that we would give beyond our kids and our wife.

To follow Jesus is to die to me -- completely
and go with him there to set people free,

Into the darkness, oppression, and evil, let's go,
trusting in Him who's faithfulness we know.

Fatherless, addicts, broken are we all, and
He wants each one at His wounded feet to fall.

Every injustice, cruelty and act of slavery
happens to us all because your pain diminishes me.

To come outside of our churches and stand
united to be Christ's own heart and hand.

It means we must touch, give, love, and recieve
living with the poor, rich, hurt, and diseased.

Through this is our cure and the freedom we seek,
Joyfully laying down 'rights' by giving strength to the weak.

At the end He will ask "What is it you see
in the face of the needy? -- Was it Me?"