my heart... pictures can speak louder then words

I would like to say quickly that these pictures represent a few things... 2 of them deal with love, and the other 3 deal with aspects of life and God.  The tree is important to each and represents the Life that grows out of love/ our Love from God. 

like stealing candy from a baby.........

First off I want to know WHO GIVES CANDY TO BABIES! Don't they know what it does to their Teeth! Developing teeth too! 

Speaking of Candy. I wrote Hershey's about the coco bean farms they use.  In the past years there has been much talk of slave and child labor in this area. It still is very real and is a very sad thing .... They wrote me back a good letter on what they are doing and it sounds as though they have implemented some "real" plans to bring about change and monitoring in these areas. Which makes me happy .... I can eat their chocolate again I guess...  not that I stopped yet but as soon as I learned this info I had to do some research to know ... 

But there is so much "bad" chocolate out there... today I was eating an ice cream with a YL girl and of course the ice cream was covered in chocolate.  Now every time I eat chocolate I think " does this coco have a child's blood in it?" Sorry I know its horrible imagery but thats what I was givin to picture from the things I read and a direct quote from a child slave that said" when you eat chocolate think of me b/c my blood is in it."  something to that degree....

which brings me to the point where I think " I should only eat chocolate when I know its "good", fair trade or organic ( they say organic chocolate is mostly from  Central America and the slave labor problems are mostly in Africa so your chances are "good that, that coco is "good" ) 

I was made aware of child labor issues and slave labor a few years ago in college and have never thought the same again about things...  the problem is its SO HARD to figure out what and where things come from and how to know what is good and what isn't.....   which I have had to come to grips with and be "ok" with trying to make the best choices based upon what I know....  

But when something like this comes up! Where I  can write companies to know.. b/c  FACT OF THE DAY: over 60% of the World coco beans come from Africa's West coast . for more info:   http://www.chocolatework.com/choc...

There are over 27 million slaves in the world today.  Of them over 9 million are children.  At least 179 million children are exploited by hazardous work; 246 million children aged 5-17 are child laborers.  Between 2000 and 2004 the number of slaves worldwide decreased worldwide by 11% while during the same period the number of people used as slaves in Africa increased by 49%. 

I had the same problem when I saw "Blood Diamonds"....  I went home and did research , looked up things about the "kimberly process" which is suppose to certify " conflict-free diamonds".... but doesn't really do that good a job... I end up writing companies, and sending emails to friends.... And I swore that I would not have a diamond wedding ring Unless it was a "conflict-free" one.... not that I need to think about that now..... 

But I was thinking today... about the coco and the diamonds and what they represent more so as a whole.... both are luxuries... neither is a necessity for life or living.... one is pure status and the other is self indulgence...... do I even need to par-take in these ares at all... I mean  if 

I do eat coco and get a diamond wedding ring- and EVEN if I make sure ALL these things are " fair and conflict free"... no one knows by just looking at me.. they just see me eating chocolate and wearing a diamond....  I'm just adding to the social and cultural norms, and reinforcing that " everyone" has it or eats it......... in this moment I envy people who don't like Chocolate or who live in cultures where "wedding rings" don't add to civil wars. 

And lets not even get started on gold!  ONE gold ring = ONE TON of waste thats harmful to the environment!!! 

I will say that Tiffany & Co has really good standing in the gold and diamond arena ... 

I feel like the more I learn the more I am faced with moral and ethical questions about my habits or choices...  does that mean I should stop looking? that I should chalk it up to a crappy world and just "enjoy" what I can and not feel bad about it? ... does that mean I should just live on a farm out in middle of nowhere and live completely locally till I die........

I have no idea, but I do know that I can't pretend I don't know about these things! And I wont stopped learning.... which means I wont stop being faced with moral and ethical choices..... but I do know that I SHOULD CARE... b/c I believe GOD CARES ....

All I have to do is look at the book of Isaiah in the bible and I know God cares and he wants me to care too. 

Isaiah 58   " True Fasting" (just a few vs but you should really read the whole chapter) 

 ² For day after day they seek me out;         they seem eager to know my ways,         as if they were a nation that does what is right         and has not forsaken the commands of its God.         They ask me for just decisions 

       and seem eager for God to come near them.

 ³ 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 

       'and you have not seen it? 

       Why have we humbled ourselves, 

       and you have not noticed?' 

       "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please 

       and exploit all your workers.

.....

6. " Is no this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

        and untie the cords of the yoke,

        to set the oppressed free

        and break every yoke? 

7.   Is it not to share your food with the hungry

       and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-

       when you see the naked to clothe him,

       and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

 Do I really want to have more "labels" placed upon me? I am already so " strange" to people for certain issues I've made choices that " change my living standards"....  and almost impossible feat stands before me... b/c if I chose to know more endless information that is always changing ends up coming at me non-stop and I will have to think about everything..... its overwhelming... but if I chose to only know the things that are thrown at me or that are easy to find ... then "others" will say I'm not really serious ( though I doubt they will be doing more- mostly less but feel guilty and want me to feel that too).... is it pointless to try?   If I don't try can I face myself? 

" I have come that they may have life and have it to the full..." Jesus said that... I talked about that earlier.... More.... I said I wanted it....  then MORE it must be... 

p.s. if you know anything about target or old navy... give me a month before you crush my favorite stores... but do tell me... crap the fact that i wrote this will me IT WILL BE ON MY MIND.. now i have to go dig.... boo for consciences!  I'm glad that my theology convicts me...  it just wish it wasn't SO convicting! haha 

Social commentary on "How to make new friends"

 This entry is dedicated to all my "introverted" friends:

I have been given “the gift of gab”, I can talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything.

Doesn’t mean the conversation is good, or even interesting but its a conversation and it starts things, which is the most difficult part for people in general. 

SO here are a few quick tips on how to START conversations with potential new friends:

1# Use things that are in the environment to talk about -  like if you are in a class together, or a meeting, use whatever the event is about/  or  the topic (however boring it may have been)  You can use things they are holding or wearing as well... Example:  if they are holding a purse or a book bag- comment on its color, style or need for. 

2# Don’t be negative, even “funny negativity”  can be bad  

          ex: “ Wow did that really only take 1 hour it felt like 5”  - you

                “ Ummm actually I really liked the meeting....” - person your trying to start a convo with. See now its awkward! So don’t be negative! 

3#  Ask questions about the person’s opinions or anything about them. 

 REMEMBER : Everyone likes to talk about themselves and their lives, even if they say they don’t they are either - lying b/c they feel its prideful to be talking about self or they are strange....... (There are always an exception to the rule) .

4# For every way to ask a “normal” question there is a “strange” way to ask it, so be careful.... like make sure they sounds like questions NOT statements.. this has to do with the tone of your voice and the volume. 

Ex.  “ So thats your  purse” 

             -said at low volume with a bit of attitude - sounds negative and accusing.

 said in a happier/ higher pitch with an inquisitive tone- makes it sounds like you are  interested b/c you like the bag or want one of your own

DISCLAIMER :  These are just a few tips.. try them if they don’t work don’t blame me, blame yourself for bad timing.  This advice is for “friend making” not “picking up” on people

IF MAKING FRIENDS Talk to people who are on your same “level”.... don’t try and talk to the “cutest” boy , or the “hottest looking girl”. This might sounds dumb but I feel this is a problem- people are drawn to talking to people that are attracting but when they get there they don’t have anything to say b/c you are distract. (Unless of course you happen to be just as attractive or hott- b/c then you are on the same level.)  Start small talk to the nice looking but maybe not “best dressed” girl or boy- you’ll find them more receptive to conversation  a good amount of the time. 

Kingdom....

So I wont lie, I started this blog thinking it would be more of my political, social issues ranting and raving, and yet lately I seem my desire has been to rant about rave about the radical things Jesus has put on my heart... and well since I don't have any "followers" I guess no one will be disappointed haha ...

" The kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a feild. When a man found it, he hid it again and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Matt 13:14

Last night at homegroup, I lead the time on chapter 2 of Daniel.  We're going threw a book , but I can never just use the questions they give me... I don't think them much haha , so I improvise a little. 

Daniel 2: 44-45

" In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands- a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the sliver and the gold to pieces."

Daniel is interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar dream.... and in the dream God is telling the future of multiple kingdoms that are to come after Neb's.  And then God tells of HIS kingdom that is to come- its a messianic prophesy  telling of the kingdom that Jesus will establish here. 

Jesus said in 

Matthew 9:35  Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

So if the kingdom is here? why aren't we living like it! Why aren't we in awe of this "Mountain"  that God has established......... 

MORE.......

John 10:10

             “... I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

I was listening to a Mars Hill sermon today as I was making homemade apple-pear-banana-mango sauce ( I know be jealous! ) And one of the great points was how the Jews missed who Jesus was because they we’re looking for the Messiah that fit “ what they wanted”, not what the Messiah actually was. The speaker went on to say how Jesus said in John 10:10, that he has come to give us a “full” life, or abundant life some bibles read.  Yet what we take from this verse, what we “want” it t mean are sometimes very different from what it does mean. It doesn’t mean that we will live a easy, covenant life, that allows us to live out our dreams surround by happiness and wealth.  The speaker went on the say how  a full life or an abundant life with Jesus, is a life full of joy, pain, struggle, failure, peace, strength and truth but all “more” then our life without Christ would allow us. 

I have heard a lot of talks lately about this, about living the “full/abundant” life, and how in the midst of our broken hearts and world JESUS is there to help us experience the MOST of life.  The speaker today even said that when we live a full/abundant life that we stop running from our problems but turn and face them head on, we want to find healing in the wounds, and peace in our wars. .

I was driving the other day and I was thinking about my time table for the week and all the work I had to get done, and about a convo I had with friends the day before about how YoungLife isn't just a ministry- but its a way to live. And strangely I was thinking about the “walk-on character” (skit) I had done the week before and how that character was so ridiculous but would have to make a come back this week b/c the kids thought she was funny. So I was thinking about all these things all at once and it hit me.... The life I live is SO ABUNDANT with peace, JOY, sorrow, struggle, frustration, embarrassment, beautiful moments and failure ... b/c everything I’m doing matters...   Let me take a moment to say I know that not “everything” I do is great or good, or even right... but the point is I feel it with the same intensity,  because it all matters!  Its why when I say something dumb to a stranger or miss a golden opportunity to share Christ with a kid, I  feel so awful or regretful.

Its the same reason that when I come out as a “walk-on character” for YL and the kids are laughing and talking about it for the next week I feel joy and excitement that MAYBE just maybe my life, my humor will be something that kids remember and in that Jesus can grab them, or at least stick with them till something else opens up for them to grab Jesus! 

    

    I love C.S. Lewis’  The Chronicles of Narnia. I feel like I came away from reading them ( and re-reading them) with a sense of closeness and understanding of God’s heart for me in a way no sermon has ever touched me.  There is a a part at the end, in the very last book, where Narnia has come to an end and the children has entered into this new world. They are so sad that Narnia is gone, but then they start to notice that this new world is very much like the old one that just ended...

 

“ Why they’re exactly like. Look there’s Mount Pire with his forked head and there’s the pass into Archenland and everything!’  ‘And yet they’re not like,’ said Lucy. ‘ they’re different. They have more colors on them and they look further away then I remembered and they’re more.. more.. o I don’t know...’ ‘ More like the real thing’ said the Lord Digory softly.” (The Last Battle pg193)

Then somebody says this to them:

“ ...of corse it is different; as different as a real thing is from a shadow or as waking life is from a dream” ( pg 195)

I know C.S. Lewis is comparing this new world to Heaven, but I feel like this also can be used as example of life.... when we live a “full/abundant” life IN Christ the colors are so much deeper and life is so much more REAL. 

I take time to write this all out because I feel its important. I think that too many times we don’t life the “full/ abundant life”  with Jesus because we “want it to be something else”... we want to have our cake and eat it too.. we want to buy things and not think about where they came from or at what cost to the environment or to slave labor it might have taken.  I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty for anything, but what I’m trying to say is maybe.. just MAYBE the harder life, the life where we have to sacrifice, and feel pain and deal with the broken hearts and damaged environment in this world... maybe this life, this conciseness , would allow us to CHOSE more often the ABUNDANT life  that Jesus really has for us! 

I know I sounds a bit crazy... I know some of you are like “ well it started off nice..” haha But no really I’ve been reading the bible, looking for passages and stories for my YL talks so that I can tell kids WHO Jesus IS..... and I’m not finding the stories that make me feel like I’m “living too much”, in fact I am constantly being challenged by the words of Jesus...  AM I really willing to sacrifice everything to follow Him?  “ O but Fluffy, Jesus didn’t really mean that, he’s just using it as an example of commitment to him...”   Ya I know, but what kind of commitment am I saying that I’ll give him if in my heart I know I’m not willing to really care about the poor and oppressed b/c its so overwhelming and stressful and I’d rather just drink my coffee and play on facebook.... ouch 

Jesus,  I don’t want you to be “who I want you to be”, I want you to be WHO YOU ARE”, Please help me see you in that way! 

To come full circle I was listening Mars Hill and the speaker was talking about the book of Isaiah, and how the people  cried out and said ‘ Lord we offer sacrifices and prayers and yet you do not answer us.... and the speaker said in a modern para-phase ‘ Yes Israel, its b/c you do it upon the back of the under paid and neglected’.... 

O how I want to live a full/abundant life IN ALL AREAS, no matter how painful, or how convicting ... because I know it will be MORE..... and I want more...

(this is copied from my webpage http://web.mac.com/ylmoshi )

Is anyone listening?

I decided to get a blog after reading my friends, and then posting something on FB that I felt was just lost and buried under posts and super pokes.... I realize that part of writing a blog is the hope that someone is listening... that someone will be impacted, or at least made to think... but in that same thought I want to say that while these are my "soapbox's" issues, I know most people could care less about them... and b/c this is my soap box I might come across a bit hard or even lacking understanding for those who doesn't see the world as I do...  Its a blog people get over it, in the real world people have different opinions and ideas, be open minded, think about what new things people bring up....