September 20

"...a birthday is a special moment in your life" according to Golden Spoon, sender today of my first "free food" birthday coupon of the year. Why yes, my birthday month is arriving in 1.47 hours. Thank you very much!

Two years ago I began a tradition of "donating" my birthday to nonprofits dear to my heart. It's not that I'm not a big fan of the Quest to Uphold, Advocate, and Cheer Katie (QUACK); it is admittedly a cause that receives much of my preoccupation. Yet, as attention, money, and care are regularly lavished on me, there are literally millions of people in desperate need.

This year I want to draw your attention to Heal Africa, a hospital working in the crisis region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ongoing wars in their region are largely caused by different factions vying for control of incredibly valuable minerals used to manufacture (wait for it) cell phone parts. The Congo has been called the worst place in the world to be a woman because of the unfathomably high occurrence of extreme violence against women. Rape of females of all ages is used as a weapon of war and has become commonplace from civilians as well. Many women are attacked in front of their families and subsequently abandoned by their husbands. Other women are brutally attacked and also left widows. There is no need for this post to attempt to describe the level of horror experienced by the people. Suffice it to say that I think it is one of the areas of the world in greatest need of our prayer and support, and there are not many aid organizations working there. Heal Africa is one of the few hospitals, and people travel for hours to reach it.

Last week a chatty Trader Joe's clerk asked me where I worked, and I gave a brief description of Joni and Friends. He asked what motivated me to work someplace like that. Not an unusual question, but my stock answers failed. It was a strange moment. How do you explain ten years of calling, routine weeping for people you'll never meet, foolishly particular job searching, mixing up your personal pain and compassion, and the utterly deep connection when giving your best for a stranger? Particularly to some random, slightly too friendly guy who's bagging your Mochi and chocolate soy milk? Usually my train of thought is two or three steps ahead of my conversation, but this time I slowly started in without knowing where I was going. 

Me: "You know, there's a verse in 2 Corinthians that says, 'The love of Christ compels us.' It's my faith that makes me want to help people." 

Clerk: "Yeah, I know that verse. My mom is really into that. She's always reading Isaiah."

Me: "'Is this not the sacrifice I have chosen?' -- to care for the poor and needy. Isaiah has a lot of wonderful things to say on the subject."

Clerk: "Yes, you really know your stuff."

The conversation continued only a few more moments, but my ruminations are ongoing. Friends, I might be called to work in nonprofits as a career, but we are all called to care for the poor and needy.

Okay, here is the handy guide to the underlying messages of this post:

1.) My parents wanted kids, their love spilled over, and I was born. The anniversary is coming up.

2.) If you want to commemorate the occasion, donate to Heal Africa.

3.) International relief, development, and justice work is a driving force in my life. It is a true gift to me when people join to help "the least of these."

Quoteables V

License plate of a snazzy Honda with a frame reading "Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Alumni" (driver--male): SMUFFY

My friend: "Aaah, Katie--there's a bee! Do you see it? It's coming straight at me. Aaah! I think they can read fear!" 

My evening mental rapture: I love goat cheese! I am so rich that I get to eat goat cheese! I am one of the world's elite. Boy, Heidi had it good. Good thing she had to clamber around the mountainside or her waistline would have expanded with all of that delicious bread and goat cheese.

On a serious note...

From Thabiti Anyabwile's review of the book The Help (which I highly recommend, as I do the movie):

In this swirling context of potential change and life-threatening danger, 13 maids in Jackson, MS decide to participate in a clandestine expose.  Might not sound like much to us now, but then it was mortally risky.  They dress their courage in white maids’ uniforms, not capes and superhero costumes.  We’re reminded that small acts of defiance and courage have their own way of working change.  I appreciated these heroines far more than the so-called fallen superheroes appearing on movie screens around the world.

My father's profound typo

This morning as I was glancing at my song sheet for "Hear these Praises" or "Love You So Much" by Hillsongs, I caught this marvelous typo. Instead of saying: 

"Hear these praises from a grateful heart." 

my father typed

"Hear these praises form a grateful heart."

Yes, I am a nerd, but did you catch that? Truth, my friends. Truth.

Shenanigans

This blog has been bereft of shenanigans, so here are some that have occurred since my last post:

• Purchased 25 pairs of pants at the Goodwill for $2 each 
• Consumed 1/3 of a Chevre goat cheese log with whole grain pita crackers
• Posed for three hundred pictures
• Hiked seven miles
• Tried Barg (Persian beef)
  
• Combed Craigslist for used Honda Civics
• Consumed rosewater and strawberry cheesecake gelato
• Discovered that Mozilla does not recognize "gelato" as word. Poor, deprived Mozilla!
• Won a professional teeth whitening service AND an over-sized umbrella from my company health fair--shaded napping in the park with dazzling teeth here I come!

Sadly accomplished very little:

• Reading
• Sleeping
• Cleaning
  

But?

Tonight I prayed, "God, I know You will take care of me, but..."

I stopped mid-thought. Did I honestly just say that? Ouch. Where was I going with that thought? Well, it doesn't matter.

There is a place for honesty. God is certainly big enough to handle my doubts, fears, recriminations, confusion, weakness, and pain. Just read Job or Psalms. Yet, tonight was more along the lines of "Couldn't You make this easier?" rather than "Please help me through." Aware of dangerous ground, I changed my prayer.

Tonight I prayed, "God, I know you will take care of me. Thank you."

What then shall we say to these things? 

If God is for us, who can be against us? 

Romans 8:31

I Dig Rock and Roll Music

What can I say? I love clothes from the '50's and '60's and music from the '60's and early '70's, especially acoustic duets.

Jim Croce (sigh)

James Taylor and Carly Simon (of course, their marriage didn't make it...)

Art Garfunkel and James Taylor (all grown up!)

Peter, Paul, and Mary (all looking stoned)

Bonus: Click here for one of my favorite Joan Baez songs.
Double bonus: Click here for a hysterical rendition of Peter, Paul, and Mary performing "I Dig Rock and Roll Music." That song always makes me smile.

Steak, please

I admit--the title doesn't have much to do with the video. The reference is that "All the Single Ladies" is to this poem what a McDonald's hamburger is to an Outback steak. Someone needs to write a version for men. Enjoy.

Water Dance

Fishermen in Burma

via National Geographic Photo of the Day

Sudan

Sudan has been on my heart ever since I was old enough to know that it was a country in turmoil. By "on my heart," I mean that I cared about the fate of its people. This is nonsensical. Why should I care more about Sudan than, say, Mozambique? This was before Darfur made the news and before I knew the immensity of the suffering or the length of its history. The divide between north and south has perhaps never been so pronounced as the present when the South has recently been declared an independent nation. Yet, how long will the tenuous peace last? Their version of peace means regional fighting rather than full scale war. Even now, thousands of people are displaced as fighting continues. Sudan can most certainly still use our prayers and attention.


Description from the CIA World Fact Book:
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming support for independence. (Dafur is a separate conflict.)


For the past twenty years, Christians have been brutally murdered for their faith and culture. Here is one of many stories I have read about the faithfulness of God's people in Sudan. This is a story of pain, redemption, and transforming forgiveness. Dear friends of mine made a documentary about another mind-blowing Sudan story of forgiveness. Extreme pain can birth the greatest beauty. Don't we see this with children?


If you want to support work in the Sudan, I suggest donating to Samaritan's Purse. They have worked there faithfully for years and were one of the few organizations allowed to stay when the government threw out aid agencies a few years back. They provide emergency assistance and also have a strong pastor training/church rebuilding program. (Many churches have been destroyed and pastors murdered by a concerted attempt to wipe out Christianity.) 


What countries has God put "on your heart"?

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

I have been pondering the phrase "the valley of the shadow of death." What poetry! Why the "shadow" of death? Perhaps it is because when you are in the valley, the mountains (death?) block out the sun. Death is near, but has not reached you. Of course, you and I face the reality of death but have not experienced it. All of our conjectures, musings, and portrayals on the subject are but shadows. 

I am also intrigued by the next line which says, "I will fear no evil." Death is a result of evil, but is physical death in and of itself evil? Again, I see it as more of a consequence of evil. Perhaps, the Psalm is referring to the evil that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). However, Satan cannot kill our spirits. All of the deaths that he causes are painful, but merely shadows compared to the death of our spirit.

Finally, I have always been comforted that we walk through the valley. (See previous post on a Ginny Owen's song referencing this topic.) We do not die there. The Lord comforts us with his rod and his staff. Did you catch that? Guiding and chastening tools bring comfort.

Multi-strand Cords

Noel Piper has recently written one of the best articles on friendship I have ever read. The potency of such a short piece is astounding. There were several paragraphs that I highlighted to share, but I soon realized I was copying the majority of the article. Please do yourself a favor and read it. 

As an open extrovert, I do not identify with Noel, who was sixty years old before she was "forced to have friends." Yet, the article captures my own experience of the ineffably transforming nature of friendships. Even at my young age, friendships have been a primary factor in shaping my reactions, aspirations, values, self-knowledge, and motivations. My friends have blessed me by sharing their talents, insights, and unique personhoods. I have been truly blessed and will end with particularly thanking Emily, Beth, Carlene, Kate, and Deanna for their patient kindness during a year when I did not have much to give.

“Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him — 

a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Proverbs 4:12)

I Love You, Lord

In honor of "Worship Wednesday" at Joni and Friends.

Ebenezer Day

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, 

the praises of the LORD, 

according to all that the LORD has granted us... 

Isaiah 63:7a

The word Ebenezer is actually a Biblical name meaning "Stone of Help." It was one of the remembrance stones. The story is in 1 Samuel, chapter 7. It also happens to be mentioned in my favorite hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." Here I raise my Ebenezer--hither by Thy help I've come.