Today:
A long shower
Partaking of my neighbor's market survey for green t-shirts
Steak and shrimp stir fry for lunch
Two episodes of Miles of Style with Carlene
Boggle to come
A good day :)
September 19, 2009
September 6, 2009
Living and Giving
Posts have been slow in coming as I have yet to purchase internet access for my new apartment and work blocks blogs. Lacking ready internet access has been a bit of a bother on a few counts but also an excellent discipline. Though I miss being able to send random and/or rambling emails, I find I have quite a bit more personal time. Work remains slow but should be picking up soon as school starts on Tuesday. I am mostly doing indirect social work for families living in motels in Anaheim. The perks of living in this location are ready access to excellent Thai food, proximity to my southern group of friends, and the availability of virtually any chain store should the need arise for a particular item. This is still not my favorite location, but once I am not engaged every evening, I plan to explore more and make the most of being here. Anatevka is still racking up the miles even though I no longer have a commute to work, merely a six minute drive instead. (Yes, that is a big "Yay!)
I know this communication is rather disjointed; it has been a lazy, heat-saturated day at home in Fillmore. My greatest accomplishments thus far have been completing three loads on laundry, getting my inbox down to the requiste amount, and bonding with my cat while reading a Dorothy Sayers mystery and Reading Lolita in Tehran.
On the off chance that any of you were planning to pass along a gift in celebration of my birth (notice how diplomatically I strive to avoid presumption), I am asking people to rather donate to Charity:Water, one of my favorite charities. You can learn more on this page: http://www.charitywater.org/birthdays/fundraiser/sept/view/2423. I appreciate their dedication and innovation in bringing clean water to hundreds of thousands of impoverished people worldwide since their humble beginnings three years ago. They have a really neat story. As some of you know, I once interviewed to work for Lifewater, another clean water organization. The more I learn about the need (including from organizations that do not focus specially on clean water), the more I realize the truth of what a fundamental need this is. Clean water access can revitalize entire communities, dramatically increasing health as well as education and work opportunties for people who otherwise spend hours every day fetching water. I think God designed us this way as an illustration of our need for Jesus, the Living Water.
As I balance between giving away items I no longer use and accumulating new ones for my first solo living experience, I am also trying to learn the balance between giving away my money to people who need it more while still spending personally. I haven't found a formula, but I do think that I (and probably all of us) am called to give away much, much more than I want to admit. Still, I have found that even on a small scale God amply repays whatever I give away, both in tangible and intangible measurements. This is an ongoing point of surrender for me, though do truly believe that it is better to give than to receive.
I know this communication is rather disjointed; it has been a lazy, heat-saturated day at home in Fillmore. My greatest accomplishments thus far have been completing three loads on laundry, getting my inbox down to the requiste amount, and bonding with my cat while reading a Dorothy Sayers mystery and Reading Lolita in Tehran.
On the off chance that any of you were planning to pass along a gift in celebration of my birth (notice how diplomatically I strive to avoid presumption), I am asking people to rather donate to Charity:Water, one of my favorite charities. You can learn more on this page: http://www.charitywater.org/birthdays/fundraiser/sept/view/2423. I appreciate their dedication and innovation in bringing clean water to hundreds of thousands of impoverished people worldwide since their humble beginnings three years ago. They have a really neat story. As some of you know, I once interviewed to work for Lifewater, another clean water organization. The more I learn about the need (including from organizations that do not focus specially on clean water), the more I realize the truth of what a fundamental need this is. Clean water access can revitalize entire communities, dramatically increasing health as well as education and work opportunties for people who otherwise spend hours every day fetching water. I think God designed us this way as an illustration of our need for Jesus, the Living Water.
As I balance between giving away items I no longer use and accumulating new ones for my first solo living experience, I am also trying to learn the balance between giving away my money to people who need it more while still spending personally. I haven't found a formula, but I do think that I (and probably all of us) am called to give away much, much more than I want to admit. Still, I have found that even on a small scale God amply repays whatever I give away, both in tangible and intangible measurements. This is an ongoing point of surrender for me, though do truly believe that it is better to give than to receive.
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