“Working hard beats talent when talent won’t work hard.”
(from True Vyne’s blog)
Sometimes t shirts can have such great sayings, or cool designs, and sometimes they are just really different, or maybe I don’t get it….either way, when someone is wearing a t shirt that says something, I have to read it.
~I love watching the show “Gilmore Girls,” and on one of the shows one of the quirky characters makes a t shirt “quote of the day,” and decides to sell them. Throughout the rest of the show you see random people wearing a shirt with a quote like, “Babette ate oatmeal,” on it. I thought that was funny.
The quotes that could come from my house would be entertaining… and would be less about eating oatmeal, and more like, “baby threw oatmeal, all over the kitchen wall.” or, “I’ve retrieved 3 toys out of the toilet today.”
I know it looks like I am writing about myself, but I actually have a good friend whose name is also Kristin and it’s spelled the same.
She has such a long history with Brody and his family, that she is considered a part of the family.
She was kind to me from the first day that I met her, and has since then, has been a permanent friend in my life. We stay in touch through e mail, because we are so far apart now, and we’ve attempted bible studies together, through the distance. She is a person who is so good at listening, and caring about whatever it is that I am talking about.
She is a person that is faithful, loving, kind, patient, forgiving, and incredibly encouraging.
It is the last 5 days of the 40 day fast! It has gone by fast, I can’t believe it’s already down to the last 5 days.
The posts have all been so great, and I hope that it is also stirring people into action. I know for me personally, after spending this much time focusing on all these different things, I have moved from the feeling of sadness that there is so much bad going on in the world, to a feeling of hope, because there are SO many people doing things. There are organizations all over the world, helping people, stopping injustices, feeding people, bringing clean water….it’s so amazing!
I hope that you continue to read these posts, and pray along with these people, and find an organization that you feel good about financially supporting, and hopefully you will move and act when the opportunity comes.
Stay tuned at Inspired to Action, also, where we’ll bring the 40 day fast back there, and you will have the chance to participate!
Ok, I must confess, I have a fear of public speaking. I flop up my words, I get all nervous, and when I mess up, I can not get my thoughts back on track.
I even took a speaking class, and was told that I used the words “you know,” and “ummm” way too much.
I am not totally sure that I’ve improved much. We’ll have to see.
Charley of Cross Driven Radio, has been doing interviews with people involved the 40 day fast, and after much thought, I agreed to do it. (how often have I been asked to do an interview? ummm, you know,- never.) He was a great interviewer, made me feel at ease, and all in all I think it went well.
If my answers don’t make sense, and my voice sounds shaky, just know I’m not that way in real life. (I hope?)
I am just glad that it was not a video interview, because I didn’t know what to do with my hands. (if you didn’t get that joke, you have to watch this video clip..)
The interview is scheduled to air on Thursday, July 31st, along with Euphrony’s interview.
(please click on each picture to see the descriptions)
*This is my contribution to the 40 day fast. Please also read Alex’s post!
I wanted to talk about two things that have really helped me and my family keep our focus on doing something good, and keeping our perspectives outward.
We are all citizens of the world, and it is our duty to do something- even something small- to help another human being. We are all capable of doing something. The most important thing is to draw ourselves out of our own worlds and realize that the choices we make, the things we buy, and the words we say, do affect those around us, and sometimes even affect people across the world.
One thing that has been great for everyone in our family has been sponsoring 2 children through Compassion. These kids have grown, and are excelling in their schools, and it has been amazing to cultivate a relationship with them, and know that we have the opportunity to help these kids’ throughout their lives, and to pray for their specific needs. I love the work that Compassion is doing.
For this 40 day fast, I really wanted to grow some more, in my own personal way of living. I wanted to start doing something, that was tangible and realistic for me. So, I began to research the topic of Fair Trade, and I found that it is really something amazing!
Fair Trade is, a system of trade- of products, that is enabling farmers, and people in other countries to improve their own economic status. ”Fair Trade helps farming families across Latin America, Africa and Asia to improve the quality of life in their communities.” (USA Fair Trade Overview)
As stated by one of these farmers, ”A bite of fair Trade chocolate means a lot to farmers in the South. It opens the doors to development and gives children access to healthcare, education, and a decent standard of living.” ~ K. Ohemeng-Tinyase, Managing Director of Kuapa Kokoo cocoa cooperative, Ghana
Fair Trade offers:
Fair Price
Fair Labor Conditions
Community Development
Environmental Sustainability
and more…
Fair Trade products are found in most grocery stores, and online. While shopping for your coffee, chocolate, bananas, etc. familiarize yourself first, with the logos, and then purchase these products, and you are helping people in underdeveloped countries. It’s easy for us to do. It keeps our minds on something more important, and is making every cup of coffee, or bite of banana count for something.
I encourage you to research Fair Trade, and start purchasing something that you would regularly, with the Fair Trade logo, and actively help improve the lives of people, through a simple small purchase.
“We can choose to do nothing, but we need to acknowledge that this choice is not a neutral action, but rather a continuation of unsustainable behavior that will result in the world being a little worse off each day…. If most of us choose to do something to make a positive change, then the world will be a lot better off.” ~Dave Rochlin
