Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad?"
Alice: "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret; all the best people are... The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."
Thank you Jack Kerouac for being fabulous.
I've seen this quote on a number of blogs and I've of course seen Alice in Wonderland multiple times. Sure, a lot of people think it's overrated and over quoted, but I just love it.
So thank you Kayla for sending this quote my way and reminding of it.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
We have lots of owies
This literally makes me sick. I announced the 300 missing Congolese to our IC club a while back. I knew it was one of the largest abductions in LRA history. It unsettled us because we generally focus on Uganda and don't realize the havoc they are wreaking everywhere else.
But to know for certain that 321, possibly more, were brutally murdered and 250 abducted...
BBC, NY Times, CBS. This is the exposure we've wanted, but why does it take 3 months and 320 bodies to get people to start talking? As if the 24 years and millions affected wasn't enough to talk about? How much longer will we let the death toll increase until something is finally done?
I'm thankful for the work being done by IC, Resolve and a host of other organizations. I'm thankful for the progress the bill has made in just a year. But a few organizations and a signature on a bill can't do everything. It's gonna take an army of dedicated people who refuse to cease fighting until everyone has gone home and peace has been restored to all the nations affected.
I'll end with the prayer of my Community Development professor's daughter:
"Dear Jesus, please come back soon, because we have lots owies, and they hurt."
But to know for certain that 321, possibly more, were brutally murdered and 250 abducted...
BBC, NY Times, CBS. This is the exposure we've wanted, but why does it take 3 months and 320 bodies to get people to start talking? As if the 24 years and millions affected wasn't enough to talk about? How much longer will we let the death toll increase until something is finally done?
I'm thankful for the work being done by IC, Resolve and a host of other organizations. I'm thankful for the progress the bill has made in just a year. But a few organizations and a signature on a bill can't do everything. It's gonna take an army of dedicated people who refuse to cease fighting until everyone has gone home and peace has been restored to all the nations affected.
I'll end with the prayer of my Community Development professor's daughter:
"Dear Jesus, please come back soon, because we have lots owies, and they hurt."
Friday, March 26, 2010
Holdin' Out
I'm sleeping on the floor tonight.
I know a guy, John, who got to go to the OKC Hold Out and was inspired by the people willing to sacrifice comfort to ensure that the bill progressed through Senate. After 11 days on the streets, Coburn lifted his hold. The bill passed through Senate the next day.
But why stop there?
John created a facebook group to encourage people to sacrifice something big until this bill passes the House. Most people are giving up the comfort of their beds, so I am joining them.
At first I thought this was crazy. I said to myself, "Ok, I'll give up soda" but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I truly care about this bill's passage as much as I say I do, then why not give up my bed? One of the biggest things I kick myself over is my complete ignorance of the Rescue event which took place one year ago next month. I always tell myself that I'll be ready for the next big thing, and that I will sleep outside in the cold and in the rain for 7 days if that's what it takes. But I won't sleep on the floor in my room, with my blankets and pillows and bathroom nearby and roof over my head and running water and electricity? I tell my club the importance of this bill, but I'm not willing to get dirty for it? Yeah, I think it's a bit hypocritical too.
50% of my roommates think I'm crazy, 25% thinks it's something I should do, but probably won't join, and the last 25% (whose reading this now) will probably end up on the floor with me.
One of my roommates didn't see the point. (But the irony is she's coming to the Sleep Out to End Malaria with Kayla and I in Nashville.) What's the difference really? Sure, one has hundreds, if not thousands, of other people, music, speakers and a jumbotron, but they both require sacrifice, but one quite possibly requires more.
Sometimes it's easy to forget to act. If I'm not in a meeting with senators or reps or hosting a national call-in day or getting people to write letters (all of which are pretty rare occurrences), then I'm really not doing much else regarding this bill. Abandoning the comfort of my bed will force me to remember each morning why this bill is important and what I can do that day to help see it's passage.
People will ask questions and call me crazy. I'm okay with questions and I'm okay with crazy, but I am not okay with slacktivism.
So here goes night 1.
I know a guy, John, who got to go to the OKC Hold Out and was inspired by the people willing to sacrifice comfort to ensure that the bill progressed through Senate. After 11 days on the streets, Coburn lifted his hold. The bill passed through Senate the next day.
But why stop there?
John created a facebook group to encourage people to sacrifice something big until this bill passes the House. Most people are giving up the comfort of their beds, so I am joining them.
At first I thought this was crazy. I said to myself, "Ok, I'll give up soda" but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I truly care about this bill's passage as much as I say I do, then why not give up my bed? One of the biggest things I kick myself over is my complete ignorance of the Rescue event which took place one year ago next month. I always tell myself that I'll be ready for the next big thing, and that I will sleep outside in the cold and in the rain for 7 days if that's what it takes. But I won't sleep on the floor in my room, with my blankets and pillows and bathroom nearby and roof over my head and running water and electricity? I tell my club the importance of this bill, but I'm not willing to get dirty for it? Yeah, I think it's a bit hypocritical too.
50% of my roommates think I'm crazy, 25% thinks it's something I should do, but probably won't join, and the last 25% (whose reading this now) will probably end up on the floor with me.
One of my roommates didn't see the point. (But the irony is she's coming to the Sleep Out to End Malaria with Kayla and I in Nashville.) What's the difference really? Sure, one has hundreds, if not thousands, of other people, music, speakers and a jumbotron, but they both require sacrifice, but one quite possibly requires more.
Sometimes it's easy to forget to act. If I'm not in a meeting with senators or reps or hosting a national call-in day or getting people to write letters (all of which are pretty rare occurrences), then I'm really not doing much else regarding this bill. Abandoning the comfort of my bed will force me to remember each morning why this bill is important and what I can do that day to help see it's passage.
People will ask questions and call me crazy. I'm okay with questions and I'm okay with crazy, but I am not okay with slacktivism.
So here goes night 1.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Forecast for the Week Ahead: Perpetual t-storms with a chance of tornadoes, hurricains and, well, death
Here are my big plans for the weekend:
Submit Invisible Children application tomorrow, which means reviewing once more and making final edits.
West Side Story tomorrow evening.
Church on Sunday morning.
Uganda team meeting Sunday afternoon.
Carter Council's second installment of "Dinner With" series Sunday during dinner.
Carter Prayer and Praise Sunday evening.
I'll also need to find the people, time and a place to practice for Mountain Aire.
And of course, any necessary preparation for the storm that is next week-whether it be finalizing event details, reading, writing papers or studying.
And here are my big commitments for next week:
Monday: CHOW course paper due. Seminar with the IJM's Director of African Missions. Meeting to help plan Move for Uganda.
Tuesday: Com Dev paper due. It's only 1 page, but there's heaps of reading I need to do in order to write it.
Wednesday: Missions midterm. Screening of When the Night Comes. Carter Council meeting.
Thursday: Com Dev exam. Human Wrong Initiative-man table at lunch and dinner. IC club meeting. Alicia's birthday.
I'm already severely sleep deprived. I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the next 6 days.
Please pray for strength.
Submit Invisible Children application tomorrow, which means reviewing once more and making final edits.
West Side Story tomorrow evening.
Church on Sunday morning.
Uganda team meeting Sunday afternoon.
Carter Council's second installment of "Dinner With" series Sunday during dinner.
Carter Prayer and Praise Sunday evening.
I'll also need to find the people, time and a place to practice for Mountain Aire.
And of course, any necessary preparation for the storm that is next week-whether it be finalizing event details, reading, writing papers or studying.
And here are my big commitments for next week:
Monday: CHOW course paper due. Seminar with the IJM's Director of African Missions. Meeting to help plan Move for Uganda.
Tuesday: Com Dev paper due. It's only 1 page, but there's heaps of reading I need to do in order to write it.
Wednesday: Missions midterm. Screening of When the Night Comes. Carter Council meeting.
Thursday: Com Dev exam. Human Wrong Initiative-man table at lunch and dinner. IC club meeting. Alicia's birthday.
I'm already severely sleep deprived. I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the next 6 days.
Please pray for strength.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Kayla and I are famous
Well, not really. But I was excited to see our article on the World Vision ACT:S website.
Read the full thing here.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Just a bill..for now.
I'm not on my way to Oklahoma right now. But the good news? I don't need to be.
Turns out Senator Coburn lifted his hold on the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act yesterday morning! And today it was unanimously passed through Senate! This means it moves on to the House for a vote, then to Obama for a signature, at which point it becomes a law. He then has 180 days to come up with the strategy to apprehend Joseph Kony. There's no guarantee that the strategy will be legit, but with enough pressure from people like us, I think it will be. As long as our government knows that this bill is important to us and that we will not step down from seeing its passage, then I don't foresee any more major challenges.
Praise Jesus for softening Coburn's heart and letting it pass through Senate. Pray that it makes through the House with little trouble. Pray for the strength of those working tirelessly to see an end to this war. Pray for the millions affected in east and central Africa. Pray for the children forced to kill and torture. Pray for the families whose children have been abducted or murdered. Pray that somehow, someway, Joseph Kony and his commanders would cease their terrors in Africa.
Here's some links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ
http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/?p=5815
http://www.resolveuganda.org/node/978
http://www.resolveuganda.org/legislation/currentstatus
Turns out Senator Coburn lifted his hold on the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act yesterday morning! And today it was unanimously passed through Senate! This means it moves on to the House for a vote, then to Obama for a signature, at which point it becomes a law. He then has 180 days to come up with the strategy to apprehend Joseph Kony. There's no guarantee that the strategy will be legit, but with enough pressure from people like us, I think it will be. As long as our government knows that this bill is important to us and that we will not step down from seeing its passage, then I don't foresee any more major challenges.
Praise Jesus for softening Coburn's heart and letting it pass through Senate. Pray that it makes through the House with little trouble. Pray for the strength of those working tirelessly to see an end to this war. Pray for the millions affected in east and central Africa. Pray for the children forced to kill and torture. Pray for the families whose children have been abducted or murdered. Pray that somehow, someway, Joseph Kony and his commanders would cease their terrors in Africa.
Here's some links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ
http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/?p=5815
http://www.resolveuganda.org/node/978
http://www.resolveuganda.org/legislation/currentstatus
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