Jesus, Friend of Sinners ~ Casting Crowns

Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they're tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours

Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand
Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did

You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet

'Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever

"Every woman has a story. . ."

Last week on CHVN, I heard about a woman named Jessica.  She has a story.  She was inspired by Village Artisan (www.villageartisan.com), an eco-friendly fair trade company handcrafting jewelry, sari scarves, paper, soaps and oils by artisans from North India.  Jessica was so inspired that she created a t-shirt with the message "Knowledge is Power".  All proceeds from the sale of the shirts (available directly from Jessica at sales@tradefairimports.ca or at McNally Robinson in the Grant Park Mall) go to sending a Village Artisan's child in India to school for one year.  Certainly knowledge is power for these kids, but it's also power for us when we understand and support fair trade ventures.  The t-shirt campaign will continue until August - adult shirts are $25 (taxes included) and children’s are $15.

I was so excited to support this cause that I headed into Winnipeg to check things out for myself.  I ended up buying 2 t-shirts, a sari scarf and a necklace, which had this written on its tag:

". . .Every woman has a story. . .
Uniquely yours, the VA jewelry collection has been carefully designed and handcrafted to create an expression of you and your story.

By wearing this piece (as only you can!) you are also telling the story of the artisan women in North India whose hearts and dreams are carried within this piece.  Their story is one of HOPE, DIGNITY and EMPOWERMENT that comes from the opportunity to be trained at a skill and to work at a fair wage in a caring community.

Hand in hand with you for change,

The Village Artisan Family"

"Every woman has a story. . ."

The Proof of Your Love ~ For King & Country

If I sing but don't have love

I waste my breathe with every song

I bring, an empty voice

A hollow noise

If I speak with a silver tongue

Convince a crowd but don't have love

I leave a bitter taste

With every word I say

So let my life be the proof

The proof of Your love

Let my love look like You

And what You're made of

How you lived, how You died

Love is sacrifice

So let my life be the proof

The proof of Your love

If I give to a needy soul

But don't have love then who is poor

It seems all the poverty

Is found in me

When it's all said and done

When we sing our final song

Only love remains

Only love remains

If I speak with human eloquence

and angelic ecstasy but don't love,

I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God's Word with power,

revealing all his mysteries and

making everything plain as day,

and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump,"

and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

If I give everything I own to the poor

and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr,

but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere.

So, no matter what I say,

what I believe,

and what I do,

I'm bankrupt without love.

(1 Corinthians 13:1-7, The Message)

"Our Children will not be Bought or Sold"

Check out the following article from the Winnipeg Free Press:

www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Smith-condemns-recruiting-teens-for-porn-strip-clubs-as-slave-trade-164036666.html

A Creed For Those Who Have Suffered

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. . .

I asked for health, that I might do great things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. . .

I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise. . .

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. . .

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. . .

I got nothing I asked for - but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among men, most richly blessed!

~Unknown Confederate Soldier

Raspberry Jam ~ A Photo-Essay

I have been pet sitting for friends this month and was told to help myself to their raspberries.  So last week, I picked them and made raspberry jam for the first time!

The raspberries were huge,

and the morning sun was beautiful!

The picking was easy -

4 cups of berries in 1/2 hour.

Mashed berries, ready to cook, just

add sugar & lemon juice -

a cauldron of bubbly sweetness!

Now Certo & skim off the top -

into jars & wait for the pop!

My first batch of thick raspberry jam!

She Has A Name

I previewed one of the plays featured at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in an earlier blog (called She Has A Name).  I went last night and, after having seen it, I would especially recommend it.  It is a powerful play with strong acting and a moving message for our time.  It has 5 more showings:  tonight at 11 p.m., July 23 at 8:30 p.m., July 24 at 12 p.m., July 25 at 5:15 p.m. and July 26 at 3:30 p.m., plus it will continue playing in other Canadian cities until October.  The show is playing at MTYP at the Forks and tickets are $10 at the door.  For more information, check out:  shehasaname.net

CNN: Teen Escapes from Brothel Nightmare

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com

Creation & Humanity

"The world is not as it should be."

That was one of the opening lines from yesterday's sermon at church.  This summer we are going through a series called "Confessions:  Echoes of the Divine Truth".  Each week we are looking at topics of faith, as broad as those universal to Christians around the world and as specific as those to our conference and church.  In the past 2 weeks we looked at God and the Revelation of God.  Yesterday's topic was the Creation and Humanity.  When you boiled it down, what we really talked about was stewardship.  Stewardship is not only how I use my money or take care of the things own, it's about caring for all of God's creation.  I blogged recently about going organic/local/fair trade this summer and so the sermon really resonated with me.  The pastor used the example of knowing how the animals were treated before they hit my plate.  And that God, creator of all things and giver of all good gifts, should be worshiped as we take a bite of food or as we bask in the warmth of the sun or smell the fresh rain or hold a child in our arms.

"Ultimately my lack of care for God's creation is about the sinfulness in my heart,

about my own self-centeredness."

I believe that God has created each of us with unique passions and gifts - it is our job to discover them and use them for His glory.  I also believe that my small acts of caring for what God has entrusted to me, whether by writing a cheque or giving of my time or picking up trash that's not mine, will add up to make a big impact on the world and will worship my Creator at the same time.

The Hurt and the Healer ~ MercyMe

Why?

The question that is never far away

The healing doesn’t come from the explained

Jesus please don’t let this go in vain

You’re all I have

All that remains

So here I am

What’s left of me

Where glory meets my suffering

I’m alive

Even though a part of me has died

You take my heart and breathe it back to life

I’ve fallen into Your arms open wide

When the hurt and the healer collide

Breathe

Sometimes I feel it’s all that I can do

Pain so deep that I can hardly move

Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You

Lord take hold and pull me through

It’s the moment when humanity

Is overcome by majesty

When grace is ushered in for good

And all our scars are understood

When mercy takes its rightful place

And all these questions fade away

When out of the weakness we must bow

And hear You say “It’s over now”

Jesus come and break my fear

Awake my heart and take my tears

Find Your glory even here

When the hurt and the healer collide

Global Girlfriends

It was just over a year ago that I stumbled over the Global Girlfriend website (www.globalgirlfriend.com) and I was waiting for the Global Girlfriends book to come out in softcover.  It finally did a few months ago and it's taken me a while to finish it between sub days and moving, etc.  I highly recommend the book for those of you who have an interest in fair trade, especially as it pertains to women.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and I learned a lot from it.  I will be using some of Stacey's information when I make Jolica presentations in the future, for example:

"And women are the backbone of the global economy.  According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, women do 66 percent of the world's work but earn only 10 percent of the income and own only 1 percent of the property."  (p. 3)

"Indeed, all too often people in developing countries and even in poor urban and rural America are limited not by their own capacity but by their opportunities. . .If you believe, as I do, that all people are created equal - with equal capacity to learn, earn, and live - then why are there vast divides on this small planet in people's income, health, and education?  Opportunities."  (p. 38)

"I often ask women [in America] what they would do if their income doubled tomorrow." [and then she continues to talk about what that means for women in developing countries]  (p. 50)

"And since in the United States 85 percent of all brand purchases are made by women [and I'm guessing that the number is not much different for Canada], she who holds the purse strings really can change the world.  I saw Global Girlfriend as a step toward a new 'she-conomy.'"  (p. 51)

"If we have no peace,

it is because we have forgotten

that we belong to each other."

~Mother Teresa

Travelling Back in Time

It's amazing how certain tastes and smells can take you back in time.  My love of Life (the cereal), marmalade and tapioca pudding came from my Grandma Siemens.  As a kid, I started many days at her place and she heaped the sugar on my bowl of Life (which I don't do anymore) - you can always find Life in my cabinets to this day.  I remember her making marmalade in the summers and thinking that it was so strange that the peel was included in jam, but it became one of my favorites.  And tapioca pudding (better known as "fish eggs" or "fish eyes") was something I had not enjoyed since I was a child and for some reason, I was craving it.  It took a bit of searching to find the pearl tapioca (not the minute) and I'm sure that my pudding didn't turn out the same as hers, but today it transports me back in time.

Going Organic

One of my goals this summer is to try and go more organic, which also extends to going more local and fair trade, where possible.  It's taken a bit of searching, but I have found organic milk, which comes from a dairy not that far from Winkler.  Organic bread was a difficult find, but there is bakery in Morden that uses organic flour in their breads.  For me, it's partly about putting my money where my mouth is.  I want to pick healthier options, not only for myself, but also for the planet - for people around the world and the environment that we all share.  It is more expensive, but I think that the long term effects of choosing otherwise is actually more costly.  And the message is no different than the one I share when I talk about injustice - we have to believe that little changes can add up to make a big impact.

She Has A Name

This will be my first year going to the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. And the real reason that I'm going is that the Fringe is providing a great opportunity for me to see the drama "She Has A Name", which gives human trafficking a face. It is written by Andrew Kooman (from Red Deer, Alberta) who was one of our speakers in Hawaii for YWAM. For any of you who have the "30 Days of Prayer for the Voiceless" booklet, he is one of the writers there as well. shehasaname.net

Fermin

www.jolica.com/ladawn.siemens

"So, What About Boys?"

becauseiamagirl.ca

CNN: Nestle Steps Up in War on Slavery

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com