Things are still wild for me. Somehow I forget each year that the Christmas holidays merge with work deadlines and travel to create the perfect storm of busyness. I am back in my hometown this week, enjoying the bliss of doing nothing or next to nothing with my family. My dad has the week off and that makes it even better. I'm observing my strict, self-imposed rule that when I am here, I act like I am here by disconnecting from the online world and my cell phone. These visits are precious and rare and all the other stuff will still be there when I fly home. Speaking of which ...
When I get back home next week, a flurry of work will be waiting. But by the second week of January, I ought to be back to a slightly saner pace and more regular blogging.
Here's one item of note:
The movie Amazing Grace is now available on DVD. Go rent it, or better yet—buy it, and enjoy the movie that opened my eyes to the modern issue of slavery.
Showing posts with label Clapham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clapham. Show all posts
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Mostly Back to Normal ...
This is my first attempt to act like I am back on semi-regular basis. Had a work trip, which went very well, but then I was swamped with work more or less straight from Tuesday morning to Thursday night. Fortunately, some time to recover was offered in return, and I am working on that recovery presently. The wind is returning to my sails, thanks to some rest and encouragement. Being back at church after 3 Sundays away also helped.
Now that I am starting to feel like I live in this time zone, I'll try to appear here more often. We have a meeting of the Clapham Carolina Circle this week, and I hope that we'll hear good reports as some of our members have been able to get some ideas up and running. Perhaps we can put our heads together for a few more. ... And, of course, we'll pray that God will free slaves and use us to do it.
Now that I am starting to feel like I live in this time zone, I'll try to appear here more often. We have a meeting of the Clapham Carolina Circle this week, and I hope that we'll hear good reports as some of our members have been able to get some ideas up and running. Perhaps we can put our heads together for a few more. ... And, of course, we'll pray that God will free slaves and use us to do it.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
How Do You Keep Going?
This post doesn't really mean that I'm back. It means I am in the country again, but I have writer's block and am struggling to write what my publication needs right now. Not posting for so long has made me a little uncomfortable, too, as if I might begin to let this issue slip off the radar.
I've been wrestling with this thought: How do you keep going? When you're involved in a cause, how do you keep fighting for it passionately when the initial outrage wears off? When you're in the thick of things at home, at work, at church? How do you stay engaged?
Think about the amazing work that the Clapham Society accomplished. How did people like William Wilberforce keep it up year after year? Certainly they were all busy in politics, in church work, in their families and professions. Yet they fought seemingly unflaggingly for decades to see slavery abolished. When you read books such as Amazing Grace, you could get the impression that it was all abolition, all the time. But no one lives like that. What did they do to maintain that passion during the lulls of life?
So here's a question for the 10 readers out there: How do you keep the important things in your life from getting buried under deadlines from work, events at church and maintaining some sort of personal life? What brings you back to the most important things? And for those in the Carolina Clapham Circle, what can we do in our group to keep the fire burning when there's little action to take or we're pulled away by life's other demands?
Talk amongst yourselves. It could be a few days before I resurface again ...
I've been wrestling with this thought: How do you keep going? When you're involved in a cause, how do you keep fighting for it passionately when the initial outrage wears off? When you're in the thick of things at home, at work, at church? How do you stay engaged?
Think about the amazing work that the Clapham Society accomplished. How did people like William Wilberforce keep it up year after year? Certainly they were all busy in politics, in church work, in their families and professions. Yet they fought seemingly unflaggingly for decades to see slavery abolished. When you read books such as Amazing Grace, you could get the impression that it was all abolition, all the time. But no one lives like that. What did they do to maintain that passion during the lulls of life?
So here's a question for the 10 readers out there: How do you keep the important things in your life from getting buried under deadlines from work, events at church and maintaining some sort of personal life? What brings you back to the most important things? And for those in the Carolina Clapham Circle, what can we do in our group to keep the fire burning when there's little action to take or we're pulled away by life's other demands?
Talk amongst yourselves. It could be a few days before I resurface again ...
Monday, November 05, 2007
Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?
If you live in the Carolinas and want to fight slavery, join us this week for the third gathering of the Carolina Clapham Circle. Visit my friend Bob's blog and fill out the information box on the left side of the page. He'll send you details about the meeting. We are eager to discover what we can do in our own neighborhood to fight this evil.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Things That Make Me Angry
... and then reduce me to tears.
Tonight our local Clapham Circle met to pray, watch a short movie and brainstorm about things that our group could do.
The movie we watched is the sort of thing that fills me with rage and then tears. Even after reading a few books about the sex trade and what happens to women and girls all over the world, I wasn't prepared for how angry a dramatization could make me. The film was called Fields of Mudan If you're interested in this topic at all, find a way to watch this film.
And now for the post I've been trying to write for weeks.
Working as a writer for a Christian organization, I've been sent all over the world. Often, I go to third world countries and meet some of the poorest people in the world. I've been in sweat shops, orphanages, slums, homeless centers and soup kitchens. I've seen defenseless people firsthand. Some are defenseless because they have no opportunity to go to school or find a job. Some are defenseless because their families died or abandoned them. Some are defenseless because of the economic realities of our world that allow corporations to pay people pennies for hours of toil, all in the name of profits. I don't know for sure that I've seen enslaved people, but I probably have, as I have seen hundreds of street children and women doing whatever they could to survive.
After a few years of this, I got tired of doing nothing, of feeling helpless, of feeling guilty for not using my own resources and buying power to do something. But the problem always felt too big for me to make a difference. I've prayed about these situations and given some money, but it never felt like a complete response.
When modern-day slavery came to my attention, I had the same feeling. But I told God that if He showed me what to do, I would act. For months, this was just a thought in my mind. Eventually, I came across people who were also concerned. They were everywhere, even at work! Over the past few months, we've been putting our heads together and some ideas have come to the surface. There are local people for us to support. There are some ventures for us to consider. God is moving to do something and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Tonight our local Clapham Circle met to pray, watch a short movie and brainstorm about things that our group could do.
The movie we watched is the sort of thing that fills me with rage and then tears. Even after reading a few books about the sex trade and what happens to women and girls all over the world, I wasn't prepared for how angry a dramatization could make me. The film was called Fields of Mudan If you're interested in this topic at all, find a way to watch this film.
And now for the post I've been trying to write for weeks.
Working as a writer for a Christian organization, I've been sent all over the world. Often, I go to third world countries and meet some of the poorest people in the world. I've been in sweat shops, orphanages, slums, homeless centers and soup kitchens. I've seen defenseless people firsthand. Some are defenseless because they have no opportunity to go to school or find a job. Some are defenseless because their families died or abandoned them. Some are defenseless because of the economic realities of our world that allow corporations to pay people pennies for hours of toil, all in the name of profits. I don't know for sure that I've seen enslaved people, but I probably have, as I have seen hundreds of street children and women doing whatever they could to survive.
After a few years of this, I got tired of doing nothing, of feeling helpless, of feeling guilty for not using my own resources and buying power to do something. But the problem always felt too big for me to make a difference. I've prayed about these situations and given some money, but it never felt like a complete response.
When modern-day slavery came to my attention, I had the same feeling. But I told God that if He showed me what to do, I would act. For months, this was just a thought in my mind. Eventually, I came across people who were also concerned. They were everywhere, even at work! Over the past few months, we've been putting our heads together and some ideas have come to the surface. There are local people for us to support. There are some ventures for us to consider. God is moving to do something and I can't wait to see what comes next.
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