to fight without fighting...

lauralee farrer, who is a filmmaker/artist/woman i greatly admire, told a story in a talk she gave to a group of women at her church...i found the story incredibly inspiring...i hope you will, too...

"How do women fight by not fighting, advance simply by not backing down. It reminds me of the mothers of the desaparecidos, which is my butchered Spanish for "the disappeared." For thousands of Argentine families this word symbolizes a truly terrible occurance in the late 70's and early 80's when thousands of dissidents and innocent civilians unconnected with terrorism were kidnapped in the middle of the night, illegally detained, tortured, killed and their bodies hidden---never to be seen again. On a day in 1977, fourteen mothers of young desaparecidos met in the Plaza de Mayo to hand a petition to the President Jorge Rafael Videla. In protest of their disappeared children, they embroidered their childrens' names on white head scarves and stood mutely in the square, embarrassing the government, shaming it and finally toppling it.

Here's how they fought without fighting. When a policeman demanded to see a woman's papers, 300 women stepped forward. If one woman was threatened with arrest, others demanded to go with her. Once in prison, they would start to pray or yell out prayers, calling on God to vent his wrath on their persecutors. It's courageous, it's strategic, it's powerful. And it is female. Videla was ultimately prosecuted for large-scale human rights abuses and crimes against humanity and the world learned about this issue because of those women. They have been gathering every Thursday afternoon since---for 3 decades---once they gathered in protest, now they gather in memorial.

I shall not be moved. Tom Petty sang, "you can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." On the surface, in the flesh and blood, those women were standing in silence, there in the public square where they could not be ignored. I see them, armored in light, a long great line, side by side, facing the gates of hell. We may or may not be afraid, but we shall NOT be moved."

i find courage and strength in this story...i hope you do, too...don't give up...no matter how big the opposition, no matter how impossible the situation...it can be conquered...it can be changed...God always gets the last word...

...hope is real...

"...to write love on her arms..."

TWLOHA began because friends cared for a girl, who was addicted to drugs, broken, abused...who saw so little worth in herself, she cut her arms with razors, just to feel...something...

they decided they would help her detox, when the treatment center turned her away...they would walk through the dark nights with her...would love her...would help her understand that hope is possible...that it is real...and that she mattered...

they sold tshirts to pay for her treatment, once she was admitted to a center...they are now a huge non-profit, known worldwide...they are a testament to the desperate need in this world for love...real love...and to the power of hope...

to read more and to support this amazing work: www.twloha.com/vision/story

hope is real...help is possible...you are loved...you matter...

using up your buffalo

i had the privilege of attending an art, music, justice conference at the falls church last spring...i was so particularly impacted by charlie peacock and sara groves, their talent and wisdom...

sara groves really challenged me with her telling of a trip to africa that changed her perspective and the way she lived her life...(partially explained in the video above)...she also talked of watching "dances with wolves" and a scene where the Sioux come up on a herd of hundreds of buffalo, all slaughtered...and how that was irredeemable, because when they killed buffalo, they used every part of it, so as to waste nothing...

she talked of how she wondered, in her own life, if she really was making the best use of her resources, her time, her talent...her buffalo, so to speak...was she using it all up to have the most impact on the world around her...

her honesty really spoke to me and planted the question deep in my heart...am i using up my buffalo? i sure hope so...i know i am trying...thank you, sara groves for allowing yourself to ponder those harder questions and for being transaparent enough to share them with me!

sister-friend~*

i have to be honest...i have been putting this post off...it was inevitible that i would be writing about my katy~*...but words seem so inadequate or maybe i simply lack the skills to express with words just what her friendship means to me...

katy~* would i agree, i think, that she's really the one who pursued friendship with me...i was quite busy at the time we met and didn't have a lot of free time...there was a bit of an age difference with us, which added to the fact that while i thought she was great, i didn't really seek her out...

over the years i have come to appreciate that she listened to her gut and kept inviting me to be a part of her life, because she has become one of the dearest, most precious friends in my life...one who understands me better than most anyone else...who gets me at my core, which is not easy to do, because i, to my discredit, am a very guarded person, to the point people think i don't care about them at all, at times...but...this isn't about me...

my loverly friend is an artist, who has pursued various forms of art, but who is a brilliant photographer, among oh so many other things...she has been diligent to learn her craft, to explore this art form and to find her "voice" in it...to find her vision...i am always amazed (and more than a little jealous) everytime i see something new...her creativity and inventiveness know no bounds...

katy~* is a risk-taker...she will put herself out there and try whatever she has in her heart to try...i say in her heart, because she is not impulsive in her decisions...and she thinks and prays about what she will take on...but whatever she does she does well and with abandon...and i love to see her pour herself into life...

her faith is so very important to her and she has such a tender and sincere heart...she's a pure soul and that cannot be said of many people...i've seen her reach out to those on the fringe...to those others might overlook and help them find their light, because hers shines so brightly...she prays and studies and grows and has a great depth to her life as a result...

i have watched her grow through the years into a beautiful, wise, gracious, fabulous woman...someone i admire...someone i am so grateful to have in my life...she lives her life with intentionality...she is real...she is amazing...

there are so many lists i could make...of her achievements, of her talents, of her wonderful qualities...but it is best, i think, to say that katy~*, my dearest sister-friend~* is a beautiful soul of whom the world is not worthy...

loveyoueversomuch...thank you for sharing your light...

hope is delicious...

through his soul foundation, jon bon jovi started a restaurant called the soul kitchen...there are no prices on the menu...everyone pays what they can...if they cannot pay, they can volunteer...

it affords families the opportunity to give back...to share a meal together...to meet their neighbors...to enjoy the simple pleasures we, who have more than enough, take for granted...

what a lovely idea...i wish more places did this...offered the option to barter...to trade...for people who don't have a lot, a way to feel human...to have dignity...

to learn more or make a donation:: http://www.jbjsoulkitchen.org/

grace in devastation...

http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/15/why-is-there-no-looting-in-japan?/htp=T1

facing complete devastation with dignity and grace, the japanese people are waiting patiently in long lines...there is no looting...no rioting...they are banding together to make it through this crisis...

thinking about past and lesser disasters here in this country, where our poorest are richer than some of the richest in other parts of our world...we have not responded so well...we who have the most, complain the loudest when we think our "rights" are being threatened...

today, i am looking at the japanese people and i am challenged to learn more of contentment...to learn more of kindness...and i am grateful...

...don't let the parade pass you by...

every year on new year's day, the goff family holds a parade in their neighborhood...the big catch is, no one is allowed to just sit by and watch...everyone must participate...

it is a wonderful example of a life well-lived...a life where no one sits on the sidelines...where everyone joins in the celebration...

too often we complain about our circumstances, about chances passing us by...but shouldn't we all step out, balloons and costumes and all and fully participate in the gift of each new day...shouldn't we begin to speak something into nothing...

you've been given this day...this life...don't let the parade pass you by...

to read more about the goff family:: www.donmilleris.com/2009/01/03/speaking-something-into-nothing/

freedom in creation::one person can make a difference

when andrew briggs traveled to uganda and learned of the atrocities committed by the LRA and the children who had been forced into soldiering...when he saw the need for rehabilitation for those children being rescued or released back to their villages...and the need for clean water for villages to help bring peace to the area, he wasn't content to simply feel sorry for the people and go back to life, as usual...

he made it his mission to make a difference...to change lives...to commit for the long haul...he founded Freedom in Creation, an organization which provides therapeutic art activities for war ravaged villages...as well as raising money and awareness to meet other practical needs of the community...

the work Freedom in Creation does internationally is remarkable and far-reaching...it is proof that one person can make a difference, when they are not willing to simply look away from suffering...

to learn more and to contribute to this VERY worthy cause:: www.freedomincreation.com

sheila farthing...

if any woman does it all...it's sheila...she's an amazing wife, mother, friend, preschool director...she volunteers at her church...she travels once a year to Zimbabwe and is an advocate for the people there when she's not travelling...

her last trip, she felt strongly that a school block at Masuie Village in the Victoria Falls region of Zimbabwe needed to be built and supplied for that community...she began raising awareness and money to see that project was started and completed...

she leaves this weekend, with a team from her church, headed to help in the completion of the school block...they have been sending supplies and hired a local contractor in that area to help the villagers get started and by the time they head back to the States, there will be a new school in that area...

she is also involved in ongoing fundraising efforts through: http://www.buyabrickfoundation.org/

sheila has a full life, i think , because she's decided to be a conduit for God's Love...she keeps pouring out...God keeps pouring in...

al andrews::improbable philanthropist

i'd like to introduce you to al andrews from franklin, tn...he is the director of porter's call, "a non-profit that comes alongside recording artists with counsel, support and encouragement"...

his newest project is really quite an amazing undertaking...he has written a book, the boy, the kite and the wind and when this project becomes profitable, 100% of the proceeds will go to various projects around the world to "help men, women and children to 'take flight'"...

the sole purpose of this endeavor is to raise money to give away in support of other projects...pretty impressive...to read more and to buy a copy of the book, visit his website at: improbablephilanthropy.com

for lent...

i have never been one to give things up for lent...i try to moderate inner life on a fairly regular basis throughout the year, rather than randomly give things up for a season...i try not to be consumed by anything other than God's love...i want that poured into me and through me and spilling out into everything and over everyone i meet...

this year, however, i felt strongly the need to give something up for lent...and as i reflected on what might be best, i decided it would be a good idea to stop posting things on my life, on myself and instead, to shift my focus to reporting on others and their remarkable lives...i hope a very beneficial side effect of this will be that i will become more humble, more observant, more grateful, more aware...and others will be inspired and encouraged...

arthouseamerica posted this quote::"instructions for living a life. pay attention. be astonished. tell about it. ~mary oliver

this is what i am hoping to do...so...stay tuned :-)

Fleet Foxes - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Cover)

the nows...

"forever is composed of nows"

::emily dickinson::

what do you want your forever to look like?

better work on your nows.

if your nows find you settling, excusing, running, hiding, unfulfilled, miserable...

then you can expect that of your forever

.::live your nows::.

...on christian music as a type of music...

read recently of a debate that's taking place regarding christian music as a type of music...

apparently some people feel that christian music should not be considered a genre of music within the musical offerings of say, itunes and so forth...that it should be listed as "pop" or "rock" or "folk" or whatever...

and some are of the opinion that if you are a "christian" and an artist you must present the "gospel" in every song you write or you are failing in your duty as a "christian"...

i want to address this second view...

why is it that people expect artists who are also "christian" to present the "gospel" in everything, but no one expects a "christian" architect to design every building with a cross or doctors to have the "gospel" in everything they do...no one accuses an I.T. guy of failing in his "christian" duty if he doesn't program some sort of "gospel" code into his work...

why are artists the only ones required to live under such a ridiculous standard?!

isn't it enough that in most "christian" circles artists' faith or commitment is considered questionable, at best, simply because they are artists? but then to be considered degenerates if they don't create overtly "christian" art, whatever that is...it's incredibly hypocritical!

are you going to judge God by those same standards...because, every cloud isn't preaching the "gospel"...every flower isn't in the shape of a cross...the birds don't sing from the hymnbook...and yet the Bible says that "the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork"...meaning, the true heart of who God is, is woven into creation...God, the master artist, tells a story, not overtly, but ever so beautifully to those who take the time to stop and see...to listen and to hear...

and so it is with artists...the worldview of an artist will come out in their work...even if ever so subtly...makoto fujimura says that "art is always transgressive...we need to transgress in love...we...have a language to celebrate waywardness, but we do not have a cultural language to bring people back home..."

as artists create quality pieces...as artists wrestle with the deeper issues, that dwell in the shadowy recesses and fringe of our cutlure...they have the opportunity to shed light...to effect change...to offer hope...to create dialogue...and their only real obligation as a "christian" artist is to a God whose ways are "past finding out"...the best any of us can do is to try to express, in our own voice, what we have discovered of this Mystery...

...some spring fashion inspirations...

here i go again...

...seems my muse is working overtime these days,
so in an effort to stop annoying my fb friends with my posts there, i am going to attempt to collect my thoughts, inspirations, ideas, etc in one location, here on this blog...





stay tuned...