Ok, so I usually try not to get too preachy on my blog because most people who read it are wanting to catch up with our work and our family. However, I felt compelled to post two links today that are inspiring to me. When I read or talk about joining in the fight against poverty in a pure and untainted way, it ignites a spark within me. So the first link is a short article by Alhaji Ado Bayero that promotes optimism for Africa while acknowledging the complexity of poverty (although I feel te definition he gives for poverty is a little over simplistic and would reference Ruby Payne’s A Framework For Understanding Poverty.) As a big believer in holistic ministry, I appreciate his viewpoint. The second link is by Colin Firth, and I appreciate his explanation of celebrity role in activism. He does not seem to have an over-inflated sense of importance in world matters, nor does he exempt himself from the responsibility of doing what he can to speak for those who have no voice.
Blatant propaganda on fighting poverty…
July 13, 2009 at 10:48 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: activism, poverty
All Play and No Work…
July 12, 2009 at 3:53 pm (Uncategorized)
When I was in college I was the epitome of a type A personality. I had a planner and followed it religiously. I scheduled out my day and if something didn’t work out at the appointed time I immediately sat down to reschedule. After college, I entered the working world, got married, had children, and encountered several experiences that made efficient work of teaching me to lighten up. At some point I got tired of never being able to measure up to my own standards and realized that my own standards are one of the few things I can actually control.
Because of all of this, I am not often tempted to continue to work on something (a project, house cleaning, or work) after dinner. Dinner signals the end of the work day and the start of sacred family time, and aside from dinner dishes I don’t violate that. I am not the kind of extraordinarily productive person who never slows down, instead I work during the day to get things done so that I can slow down in the evenings and on weekends. I have the mindset of “Get done what you have to do so you can do what you want to do.” I keep in my mind a small list of things I’d like to do if I am given free time and I look forward to the opportunity presenting itself.
However, this week I learned something new. This was the week for the orphans from our clinic to be gone to Camp Espoir, and with them went a large portion of the clinic staff. This left me with a week off from my responsibilities there. Also, my allergies hit me full force this week so I was trying several medications, and feeling tired and yet not relieved of my symptoms. All of this led me to having a week of doing almost nothing at all. I hardly cooked any dinners, I didn’t do any language lessons, I didn’t do any of the things on my list of things to do when I have free time. I took long hot baths, read, checked Facebook 50 times a day, and I don’t know what else. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not upset with myself for any of it, I just have come to realize that like any commodity, it is the scarcity of down time that makes it so valuable. So after many years of learning the value of down time and relaxation I am also learning to appreciate work time in a new way.
