A world where everyone matters

I just finished reading a book (“The Red Letters”) that challenges believers to intentionally focus our lives on ministering to and helping those around us. The author has a particular fondness for any ministry that seeks to alleviate the suffering of AIDS patients and AIDS orphans in Africa. I was challenged to realize that I’ve become too entombed in my own world to even pause when I read horrific stories of suffering, genocide, starvation, or violence. I’m so used to reading about the Darfur crisis, the unrest in Palestine, bombings in Afghanistan, earthquakes in the Pacific Rim and AIDS in Africa that I barely scan newspaper headlines before turning the page. But I don’t want to be that person.

I want to be someone who sees that my little life in Virginia can impact the life of a child in India. That I don’t have to be Ghandi, Billy Graham or Mother Theresa to help someone. And distance isn’t an excuse. Plenty of organizations are working in countries that I may never visit, and they need my support.

But the worldwide concern goes beyond a desire to do good and help others. It’s rooted in the knowledge that if I truly believe all people are created in God’s image, then all people are worthy of dignity, justice and compassion. Everyone. Even Bin Laden.

Today, I read a heart-wrenching story from Italy. Two Roma girls drowned near a beach, were pulled on shore and covered with towels until emergency personnel could arrive. Meanwhile, beachgoers continued to eat, mingle and sunbathe within feet of the girls’ corpses. I’m tempted to be outraged at their complacency, but to accuse them would be to condemn myself, too.

Heidi Goes to the Groomer

Before:

After:

My favorite detail is the lion-like tuft at the end of her tail. I know, I know. I need a hobby.

Motown Philly

Mike and I had a few extra days off from work for the Fourth of July, so we headed north to Philadelphia. The first afternoon we toured Independence Hall and enjoyed a Phillies baseball game. Saturday we toured the city and got to see some interesting sites - including a house that was used in the movie The Sixth Sense. We also caught a Boys II Men concert and fireworks show. Sadly, I have to say that I left the city not really feeling the Brotherly Love. Nothing specific happened ... except the constant club thumping we could hear from our room from midnight until 4 am each night ... but I never did feel a connection to the city. Sorry if that offends any Philly lovers :) I did like their cheese steak subs!

Mike in the room where the founding fathers signed the Constitution.

At the Phillies game.

Near the Rocky statue at the art museum.

Can you see the head of one of the Boys II Men singers? Hint: it's illuminated.

Pretty fireworks!

Spain Wins!!!!

GOOOOOOOAAAALLL! And with a score of 1-0, Spain won Euro 2008. The excitement is more than we can bare.

Soccer Ecstasy

In case you've just emerged from a bunker, today was the final game of Euro 2008. Some have described the Euro games as second only to the World Cup. Spain and Germany are in the final (game is still going on) but I think we're enduring all the stress, ecstasy and joy we can handle :)

Oooh, Torres just scored. Go Spain!

Eating Rubber

In the past few days God has laid before my eyes the story of the woman caught in adultery. I read it in a devotional, heard it in sermons and came across it in various readings. So you'd think I would have been asking God, "Why are you teaching me about not judging others?" You'd think.

This week we had our company's trustees in the building, and I immediately was on edge. I've not always agreed with some of their decisions, and I tend to fear them. Part of me wanted to skip our weekly meeting because I assumed I couldn't benefit at all from hearing from the guest speaker, one of our trustees. I really had to eat humble pie afterward, though, because the speaker was not just inspiring but he also was humble, spot-on and deep.

So I really put my foot in my mouth this week with some of my judgmental thoughts and words. It would have been so much easier if I had simply learned the lesson when God tried to teach it to me from His Word.

Love is ...

Last week Mike and I had an intense conversation - not quite a fight - probably tied to me losing my ring. And it's not why you think. Mike wasn't upset that I lost my ring; he was upset that it took me 3 days to tell him. There's a really long answer for why I hid the mistake from him, but the short answer is that it has something to do with insecurities.

But that's not the point of this post. After our intense conversation, I worried the next day about how Mike would respond to me: would he forgive me, resent me, suspect me? I was tense and uptight ... until Mike called me at 9:30 to ask me to meet him at the front desk. He had gone and bought me my favorite drink, a grande caramel macchiato. 

The moral of the story: it's possible to fight with respect and love. And I am easily bought.

Current favorite photo

A friend spotted this lovely shot just as the sun illuminated this single flower. So nice :)

Lost and Found

This past Wednesday, I did something that's even clumsy by my standards. I lost my engagement ring at the gym. I had placed them in my shoes thinking, "surely I'll see them there and remember to put them in my bag before I leave." Somehow I remembered to get my wedding band but not the diamond ring. Thankfully, a kind, compassionate soul found the ring that night. She left a message with the gym for them to pass her phone number to whoever came looking for the ring. Problem - the gym lost her name and phone number. 

The gym allowed me to post fliers in the ladies' locker room on Friday, and by Saturday morning I received a call from Jennifer. Thank God for kind finders who take pity on hapless losers.

Special Olympics

Thanks to a friend, Mike and I got connected with the Special Olympics' summer games which were held in Richmond June 6-7. We had the extreme honor of escorting a group of 11 pentathletes to their various events, and even with the brutal heat we had an awesome time! Here are some shots from the days.

Jo-seth clearing the high jump bar.

Tony (in back) and Amir run for the finish line.

Carlos the kangaroo. This guy was awesome! He ran the 100 in 13.1 seconds, jumped 4'7" and won every event in the pentathlon. 

This guy was last in his heat during the 100 meter race, but the crowd cheered as though he were the first to cross the line.

Katie (in back) and Abria head for the finish line.

Shakib, Danilo, Jonathan, Carlos and Michael - friends more than competitors.

Camera fun

I'm trying to learn how to use the aperture and shutter speed features on my camera, so I took it out this evening to see what I could capture.

My only complaint with the Canon Powershot is that it tends to focus on what it wants when I zoom in. Not so great when there are multiple objects in the shot and you are wanting to focus on only one item.

Night of the Bat

You can't make this stuff up! Last night we were chilling in our living room with Ethan the intern, when lo and behold we were swooped upon by a bat. Yes. A friggin bat. We have no idea how the thing got into the house. But thanks to Ethan's quick thinking and a pair of sturdy work gloves, he was able to remove the bat from the house.

I should mention that my husband ran from the room like a girl. I hid under a blanket.

My Doppelganger

This video is great for 2 reasons:

1. the lady looks like me on a bad hair day

2. the lady makes things up, just like me :)

Language Barrier

I think what we have here is a failure to communicate!

Hiking Ft. Pickins

We rode the sea doo a few miles from our hotel to an old fort that originally was constructed during the Spanish-American War. Ft. Pickins also played a role in the Civil War and WWII (it's interesting to see the varying construction/architectural details from each era). Sadly, the fort also served as a jail to a few dozen Apache Indians during the late 1800s. Here are some shots from our excursion ...

As a note, to obey the cannon's orders to "keep off gun" I crawled beneath the cart it is sitting on and stood up in just the right place to be photographed. I also didn't actually touch the gun just in case it was rigged with alarms :)

Photos of Beach and Croquet

Mike's Transition to the Sea

Hit that ball!

Yay, mom!

Dad distracted by Willie

Group shot

We played 3 rounds, and I think my dad won 2 of them. Yeah, we won't hear the last of this for a while.

Fatal Dinner

I inherited my odd sense of humor from my dad. That should tell you something about him. Anyway, last night we had some excess spaghetti sauce, so my dad decided to create a safari. Here are the results.

Unfortunately, one didn't survive.

You Asked for It

Mike has been banned from work. Despite the fact that his dr says he most likely doesn't have noro, they still won't let him in the building due to his continuing symptoms.

Yesterday, I began developing a sore throat with lots of icky sinus junk. As is typical for me, the ick began trickling down my throat and into my belly. I started getting nauseated in the afternoon and had to make a mad dash for the loo. Thus, I too was blacklisted from work. I tried explaining that the nausea was tied to a cold, not noro, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.

I felt really bad for the maintenance folks who were called in to quarantine the bathroom in which I had relieved myself. They had to do a thorough scrubbing of every surface. THEN they had to go to my desk to clean everything there, too. Geez. I guess I understand the need to be super cautious, but I didn't think so much fuss would be made over one little expulsion. I did hear that someone else in my area got sick today, but I claim no responsibility for it!

Oh, and we made local news. Yay for us :) 

Prayer for Pets

I've been racking my brain for topics to post about. I guess I could show you the stack of paperwork we received from the adoption agency so you could see the 10 lbs of information we have to provide - but that's boring. Or, I could tell you all about the Norovirus that infected 100 people at work, forcing us to close down for 2 days so they could decontaminate our work area. Oh - and my husband got it, too. But that's kind of gross. 

Instead, I thought I'd share with you photos of my dogs. Hey, Mother's Day is around the corner, and right now these mongrels are all I got in the way of children. I will offer this prayer request, too. Mike and I are talking about going to Spain next year for 2 years, and we'll need a foster home for these mutts while we're gone. So please begin praying now that we'll find the right home for these lovable critters (they really are sweeties!)

Heidi, who is wild at heart

Rolling in the dirt is her favorite past time

She can get so filthy!

Dakota is a few years older than Heidi, and is her complete opposite. Dakota is camera shy, and tends to be timid. Whereas Heidi would jump first and look later, Dakota is very cautious. In many ways, Heidi reflects my personality and Dakota mirrors Mike.

Could we be Wrong

Global warming and being "green" are all the rage now, but it seems like we may have jumped too early onto anything that hinted at helping the earth. Case in point, Time magazine reports that ethanol may not be the boon we thought it was. I think National Geographic had a similar report not too long ago. In fact, Time has this chilling information:

" ... by diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices and endangering the hungry. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year. Harvests are being plucked to fuel our cars instead of ourselves."

I am all for saving the environment, but it seems like there should be a way we can do that without stealing food from the hungry.