The mastermind behind the 40 Day Fast, Kat, has another brilliant idea to wrap up the 40 Days: Get a Goat.
The idea is that everyone donate 5 minutes and 1 dollar and we come together to purchase a goat through World Vision to help a family in need. A goat can help to provide cheese, yogurt, milk, and a source of income for a family, and it only costs $75. Learn more from her post.
The response has been so great that she's already been able to purchase one, and she's over halfway to a second one. She's taking donations until 11:59 tonight.
I hope you have enjoyed the 40 Day Fast as much as I have. And not only enjoyed it, but have been heartbroken as well. And hopefully you've discovered some incredible blogs and writers out there as well. I know it has been something I feel honored to be a part of. It's exciting to see this new age of connectivity being used to make a difference.
Lately I’ve been talking about what the Church could be in a different way. We could be like the mafia, I’ve been thinking. If anyone in the “family” needs something - just imagine - someone else in the “family” pipes up with, “I Gotta Guy...”
I gotta a guy that can fix your back, put in a hot water heater, mow your yard while you’re out of town, help you cover your kid’s college tuition...do what you need done.
Well, I need a guy and I’m hoping you are one or you know one. We’re family afterall.
A friend of ours, Judy, has been told she has only a few months to live. She wants to try to extend her life with chemotherapy to six months. Before the chemicals make it impossible for her to travel, she’d like to take a trip with her kids and husband, to Disneywhatever in Florida. Our church and friends have already taken care of Disney tickets and hotel accomodations but they need our help with airline tickets.
Brian and I fly a lot and are donating the American Airline miles we’ve accumulated to them. They’ll need a total of 125K American Airlines advantage miles to cover the five airfares. We need to make this happen quickly. If you have some miles or would like to donate some money toward a ticket, please email my friend Brian at bseay@us.ci.org
And yes, that is the proper spelling of "shenanigans."
The time required for amnesty, as well as my personal safety, has finally elapsed, and I can now with ease of mind post these scandalous pictures. That's right, this is what happens when you are an RA at Belmont and have loving friends.
The full slideshow has been posted on my facebook. Befriend me if you have yet to already!
Oh man.... September 29th can't come soon enough...
In addition to Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Adrien Brody, Bill Murray and Natalie Portman will also grace the cast list.
And a little trivia information for you as well: Wes Anderson, the director, and Owen Wilson were actually roommates together at the University of Austin, TX. This will be their 4th movie together. Small world, eh?
I watched the CNN YouTube Democratic Debates last night, and was thoroughly impressed by the process, if not the candidates.
The entire debate is posted by question on YouTube here, and I would really encourage you to check it out. It makes a big difference when people get to ask personal questions directly to the candidates like this (check out the first question. Strike one, Obama). Plus, it simply adds some humanity to the whole thing. Whatever your opinions, it certainly can't be denied that technology isn't constantly changing the way we do things. It's exciting to see all the opportunities this brings...
It's been far too long since the words of Frederick Buechner graced this blog. This one's from Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation, page 93.
Words--especially religious words, words that have to do with the depth of things--get tired and stale the way people do. Find new words or put old words together in combinations that make them heard as new, make you yourself new, and make you understand in new ways. "Blessed are the meek" are the words of the English translators--words of great beauty and power--but over the years they have become almost too familiar to hear any more. "Heureux sont les debonnaires" are the French words--blessed are the debonair--and suddenly new beauty, new power, flood in like light. Blessed is Fred Astaire in white tie and tails. Blessed is Oliver Hardy in rusty black suit and derby hat as he picks his dapper way toward the unseen banana peel on the sidewalk. Blessed is my old friend as she tries to let me win at Aggravation, rattling her dice in the cup which the pills that keep her alive come in. Arrange the alphabet into words that are true in the sense that they are true to what you experience to be true. If you have to choose between words that mean more than what you have experienced and words that mean less, choose the ones that mean less because that way you leave room for your hearers to move around in and for yourself to move around in too.
I never really got that phrase. Partly because I like rain so much. So if its pouring, all the better, I say!
All that arbitrary introduction to tell you that since I posted about TOMS on Sunday, I've been seeing the company pop up everywhere, including on the good ol' blogosphere.
Seth Godin, the marketing guru, has a post about it here. Which raises some interesting conversation, I think.
I personally don't think Blake has set up his business model this way to be able to create a market buzz. I believe he genuinely cares about the cause, partly because I have a friend in NYC that knows him personally.
But I do think it's interesting how attractive it does look to the world when Kingdom ideals are put on display. It's so revolutionary it's something that people WANT to talk about. And THAT makes great marketing, even if it wasn't completely on purpose.
I wonder at the potential of the kind of buzz that would result in this world if we all put Kindom ideals on display.
Just a thought.
Some GOOOOOOD posts have been put up in the last few days from the 40 Day Fast. See the links on the sidebar to the right!
First of all, it would be a bit presumptuous of me to assume that most readers of this post today have visited this blog before. In that case, I must begin with proper etiquette: Greetings, and welcome to my small corner of the internet. It is a modest corner, I am aware, but I like it, and I hope you enjoy your stay as well.
Today is my turn in the 40 Day Fast. For those that know me, I am sure they are expecting some post about Invisible Children and the ways to get involved. And while I do love the spirit of that organization and must admit they are up to some pretty neat stuff lately, I decided to spread my wings a wee bit and learn about something else, something that I think fewer people know about but that more people should.
But to get there, I will start with a friend I have who works at Invisible Children. He was staying at my house in Franklin, TN, one day because he was in town doing some promoting for one of their events, the Global Night Commute, in 2006. When he came downstairs for breakfast, I was a little taken back by the words that were written across the shirt he was wearing:
"Africa is the new pink."
It really made me stop and think. Poverty and suffering are not new phenomena. They have been around for thousands of years. One only needs elementary sunday school and a few Old Testament stories to know this. I saw this poverty and suffering first hand when I visited Kosovo a few years ago and saw the devastation left behind from the Balkan genocidal conflict in 1999. I worked with Invisible Children and understood the barbarity of children much younger than I was (at the time 17) being forced into the violence of terrorist rebel groups. And perhaps what had the most profound and sobering effect on me was a course at Belmont I took in the fall called "Confronting Genocide." What an introduction to the real world. Despite my previous experiences with the issue of genocide and suffering, I think I am still just recovering from the shattering effect that had on my perspective of the world.
But if poverty and suffering are so ancient themes, then why is it now, just now, that they are getting so much attention? Why has the picture of Africa become so... so trendy lately?
As I sat at that kitchen table, I had to quickly examine my heart. Why was I focusing my energy on this activist cause in Africa? Was it because I genuinely cared? Was it because I wanted to take care of the least of these? Or was it because an Irish rock star told me to and I wanted to look cool, hip, and "trendy"?
There are a lot of debates right now about this whole topic, but my opinion is, even if the Africa and poverty are the cool wave right now, let's ride that wave and get as much as we can out of it while we can. If "Africa is the new pink," let's take advantage of it! We can argue that the RED campaign is misguided because it is using consumerism to fight the nasty effects of... consumerism, but the fact is that in its very first year, it contributed five times more money to the Global Fund as the private sector had in the previous four years. And that will make a difference to poverty. And perhaps, after some initial "trendy" exposure, the whole Africa theme might just transform hearts as well, as I believe it did for me.
As a business student in college, that gives me hope. I believe it is the redemption of capitalism. I can be a business owner and make a difference in the world in which I live. That is why the organization I wish to highlight today is TOMS Shoes. It's a business founded by Blake Mycoskie with a simple, yet revolutionary idea. For every pair of shoes purchased, Blake will personally donate a pair to a child in need. It's that simple. Buy one pair, another gets donated. The shoes are stylish, the website is glossy, and the cause is legit. For only $40, you can be incredibly cool AND provide a kid in need with a new pair of shoes (not to mention you are already cool for helping out a kid in need). I bought the olive pair, why don't you consider buying your own? If you don't feel like you need another pair of shoes, if nothing else, they are a great conversation starter and a way to spread the word to others about this great company.
Here's a clip that showcases what they call "Shoe Drop '06." It is definitely worth a watch:
Click on the banner below to bring up the designer's/Chief Shoe Giver's blog. It's got a lot more info on TOMS Shoes that I left out, as well as some of his really interesting thoughts.
I pray today for those in need, yet I also pray for those who are able to empower. I pray that we will be courageous enough to make a difference, even when it may seem foolish, and have the perseverance to keep with it. I thank God for people like Blake, who creatively find a way to bring the Kingdom to earth in the context of the world they find themselves in. I pray that we all may find a way to do this with our lives.
Rainy days are keen to me. Especially when spent in a local coffee shop by a window. And in this particular one, the rain on the outside is being matched on the inside by the rain of some hip-hop beat of sorts falling from above. And listening to it reminds me of the newly discovered yearning in my heart to become a DJ. Yes, I said it. Or typed it, rather. It's a bit odd for me, I know, but it's true. I've had two very fateful encounters with DJs this summer, both of which left a lasting imprint on my heart. Followed by the stunning admission by one of my best, equally un-DJ-esque, friends, who knew nothing of my hidden desire, that he, in fact, too would love to be a DJ. And so, I ponder at these quickly evaporating puddles how long I will actually entertain such silly ideas, and when I will actually grow up and become boring and stale. Because that's what you're supposed to do, right? Hah.. how bitter I can choose to be. I'm really not like that. Or at least, I hope I'm becoming a person not like that. Because that's what is important, right? Not the person you are, but the person you are becoming. And that's why I will someday be a DJ and not boring and stale.
And I feel the need to come clean. And to provide some sort of proof of a logical thought process over mindless ho-hum hype.
And so, ladies and gents, I did, in fact, purchase an iPhone.
No, it is not like me to buy the newest and slickest, but in this case I crumbled. It was the perfect storm, if you will. I had been holding out on buying an iPod for about a year in order to get the next generation. I already had AT&T/Cingular, and my current phone had put in its 2 years and was due for a replacement. And his Highness King Steve announced the phone 6 months ago, allowing for ample saving time. And thus, the wee gadget became mine. And I walk around, listening to cool new tunes, browsing the internet, and talking on the phone with by nose in the air, sneering at the "inferiors" that aren't as cool, hip, savvy, etc. as I am. Because I have arrived. iArrived.
For what it's worth, I have had it for a few days now, and the complaints are null. It does live up to the hype, and I am still incredulous at what I am able to do with these metal pieces I hold in an orderly contraption in my hand. The battery won't die and the screen won't scratch. I still don't really believe that I really own it. But BAH, it's just a machine. Treat it like more, and that's when ye get in trouble.
So I guess that makes me cooler than you now? Something like that right? Or just a glutton for consumerism... you pick...
I survived my first camp counselor experience, and I actually loved it! Such an incredible time of fellowship with other leaders and a chance to pour myself out into some younger guys. I had no idea what was about to hit me..
But now, I got some catchin up to do.
The 40 Day Fast still wages on, and here is what I've missed:
June 29 -- Stephen writes about Blood:Water Mission June 30 -- Jeanine writes about The International Justice Mission, War Child, and Christian Children's Fund July 1 -- Truevyne writes about Compassion International July 2 -- Ryan writes about Living Water International July 3 -- Jeremy writes about the local church July 4 -- Steven writes about inner city ministries
And today it's Susanne's turn. There's been some incredible posts. I encourage all of you to read em!
I finally saw it. Once. And it fulfilled most of my expectations. It's quite a paradoxical movie. Heartbreaking yet soothing. Simple but not simplified. All the magic of a musical with all the elements of realism cinematography. Rough around the edges yet incredibly innocent. Complex characters yet we don't even know their names. The best of Irish culture yet transcending nationalistic boundaries. The perception that the movie could be made by any amateur with a camera yet the subtle knowledge that such a perception is only a testament to the complex detail and tactfulness the director must have employed. The fact that this low budget film shines in its brilliance as the big bucks flicks of Evan, Pirates, and Spidey leave much to be hoped for. The ability to connect with the characters yet have no idea where the next turn will be or how it will end.
And through the paradoxes, about three quarters through the movie, I decided that I liked it. It took me that long, but I can say now that it will not soon fade away from my list favorites. You should see it.
