People Move Me

The more I trawl around the internet, the more amazed I am at people who are proactive about doing something that changes the world. It doesn't matter how small the change seems. And it doesn't mean nagging people to give money to something. There are incredible organisations out there, and I wanted to share just a few of them. Don't just go to the websites, but buy something knowing that your money is being used for something great. THE BEST Christmas presents are on these sites.

1. Got Your Back Movement
This non-profit organization exists to distribute school uniforms to children who need them. Buy a t-shirt online (they are lush) and you fund a child's education. Literally.
Nearly 1 billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. For many of those individuals, finding a job to support themselves & their families will prove to be a daunting, if not impossible, task. Education provides the necessary tools to not only advance in today's work place but it also helps to create lasting and sustainable change for the good of communities worldwide.
I remember the first time I went to Africa and I realized that in most places, a child cannot attend school if they don't have a uniform. We take our education for granted. They don't.
www.gybmovement.org

2. TOMS
Sometimes, ethical clothing lines aren't quite up to our taste. They look, well, funny. Not these bad boys.
Proceeds from the sale of these shoes goes to build 3 wells in Ethiopia, in a region without access to clean, safe drinking water, and where long barefoot walks expose people to soil-transmitted diseases. And with every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need.
www.toms.com

3. Freeset
In India, prostitution is big business and thrives on exploitation and slavery, robbing the poor of dignity and innocence. At Freeset, women have the opportunity to leave prostitution, are trained with new skills for a new job and empowered with life-skills needed to appreciate freedom. They are paid around twice the going rate for an equivalent job elsewhere and as part of their employment package have health insurance and a pension plan.
As well as wonderfully recycled bags, clothing is another item which can be bought online at their site. Buy one, set one free.
www.freesetglobal.com

Always hope

I have discovered a new found love of intercessory prayer! For a while now, I’ve put off spending time with God, bored by the routine and selfish with my time. But now I enjoy praying for other people and trying to listen to what God might be saying. What’s strange is that I don’t enjoy praying for myself much. Maybe because I ‘pray’/think/talk to God so much about my life throughout the day, that there is no need to have a specific time for it.

Is it right to pray for specific things? When an alarming situation arises, I will always choose life and wholeness and healing rather than whatever God wants! Should I always pray for that? Should I always expect it to happen? I know that God loves those things; doesn’t mean they’ll happen. Is it wrong to pray that my friend gets the job she’s going for? Is it selfish to pray that my friend’s unborn child won’t have anything wrong with it? I don’t know what God wants. We pray for His will to be done. But the disciples knew His will; they were sent out and then did stuff. They didn’t pray over people, “O Lord, only if YOU desire it, then shall it be.” They said, “Be HEALED!”

At the moment, I’ve been praying a lot for hope. That hope will be obvious in the situations; that hope will rise out of the moment, and that it will calm and protect. Hope is good. It reminds us that although things aren’t as we might want them to be right now, anything is possible. I like that.

Romantic films are bad for my health

So I came home today and popped on the tv while doing some stuff on my laptop. The film 'Hope Floats' was on and gosh was it gushy. I knew it was bad when I heard Brian Adams singing, but it was slightly redeemed hearing the Bob Dylan classic 'Make You Feel My Love'.

I have mixed reactions to romantic films; I HATE HATE HATE that it gives me a false impression of love and relationships. It says that there will be someone who sweeps me off my feet and we'll live happily ever after. It actually sometimes makes me sad because that is not the case in my life. However, it also gives me a little bit of hope.

And then I become melancholic, and go and sit at the piano to try and express how I'm feeling. I don't get me sometimes.

The Glass Is Half What?

There is so much in me which needs to be changed that I lose sight of other people. I forget that anything is possible, and I start seeing the glass as half empty. WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?

I find it easier to talk about people negatively than positively. I let people down and am hypocritical with the way I live. As soon as I stop thinking about myself, things change. I begin getting excited about life and what adventures are still to come. I start to believe that I can be involved in seeing change, rather than just moaning about it.

But the key thing that I'm learning is that I need people around me to help. I want to be part of a community - literally living together, learning together, changing together. I need people around me to inspire me and help me grow. I can't do it by myself. I don't think I was even built to struggle through life on my own. We were all meant to have people who walk beside us.