Wednesday Photograph: Tree of Light…

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Virginia

“You are the light of the world...”  (Matthew 5:14)

Last week when downloading recent cherry blossom pics from the camera card, i found this completely forgotten pic from a dark & stormy (& COLD) winter night’s outing.  As the storm clouds swirl around, the lights continue to twinkle… (barely in some places, which is how i feel sometimes: operating at a Very Low Twinkle Wattage.)

It’s Lent…

“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.”  Madeleine L’Engle (from “A Ring of Endless Light”)

 grace, peace & (brighter) Twinkle Wattage

Virginia : )

p.s. for a real treat, if you’re into trees (i most definitely am so. very. into. Trees!)  check out Uncle Tree’s recent post – the picture & quote are a quick view but the kind of thing i’ve been back (& back) to contemplate, meditate… absorb (whatever!)

Definitely thought provoking ART…

Here’s the Link:   uncletreeshouse.com – your life comes in right here

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Aung San Suu Kyi …on Love & Action…

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Virginia

What a woman of incredible courage who has fought, non-violently & tirelessly, for human rights in her country of Burma (Myanmar.)  Nobel Peace Prize laureate, mother, daughter, widow, persecuted political leader, devout Buddhist, friend of the people- “The Lady”- Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration to her country & millions around the globe.

Before heading out to Hawaii last year to teach an Advocacy course (it’s a long flight), I picked up “The Voice of Hope,” a captivating book by Alan Clements comprised of  conversations with Aung San Suu Kyi on a range of topics.  Reading it was like sitting down with her, listening to her dynamic voice of freedom, hope, and wisdom, all while she lived for years under house arrest.  ‘Listening’ to her in this book is a learning experience that I highly recommend(!)

Today here are two quotes from this book for reflection (& hopefully, some action?)

“You can’t just sit there & hope that things will happen. You’ve got to work at it. I am a great believer in action, endeavor and effort…

…Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions.”

“Love is an action, not just a mind state.  It is not enough to just sit there and send thoughts of loving kindness. One must put that love into action.”

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi (2011) photo: Htoo Tay Zar (from Wikicommons)

grace, peace & courageous Roses

Virginia : )

p.s. here’s a link to an inspiring YouTube video from Amnesty International:

www.YouTube – Aung San Suu Kyi:  Her Burma

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…on saying ‘yes’ (& The Annunciation) ….

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Virginia

Today we honor Mary’s open heart of faithfulness when the Angel Gabriel appeared with the Good News of God’s love for us & of her special role in bearing His son into this world.

“…you will be with Child…”

“…Yes, I am the handmaid of the Lord; may it be done to me as you have said.”

i don’t think many of us realize what Mary risked with her ‘yes’ – not just her dreams of future happiness as the wife of her fiancé, Joseph. It was a very different time(!) Pregnant, unmarried women faced harsh death by stoning.

Mary risked DEATH…

 

 

 

But she believed the angel’s words:   “…NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.”

…& then she looked at the impossibilities & saw possibilities

…with confidence in God.

Trust.  Faith.  Grace.  Love.

 

 

Confident in the love of God,  Mary kept saying ‘yes’ to God  – to the foot of the Cross where she stood by faith in her sorrows …& beyond…

May God strengthen our faith to say ‘yes’ like Mary, in joyful times & through sorrows.

grace, peace & saying ‘yes’

    Virginia  : )

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… on having the Sunday Blahs(!) …

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Virginia

i woke up this morning with a bad case of the Blahs(!) …  it’s rainy, damp & overcast (a good day to hide under the covers & Not Get Up!)  … but it’s Sunday …

“Kai, Kai, KAI!!!” (very loud) my Blahs could have something to do with this 4:00 a.m. Summons …my Papa’s strongest speech exercise is often utilized to galvanize me from wherever i might be located in the house (in this case, very sound asleep next door) …

…dashing (in a stumbling sort of way) to find that Mama had fallen while trying to help Papa (with various issues she manages during The Night.) Hearing the ruckus, my brother also stumbled out of his room to the rescue…

Party on at the Woodwards (at 4:00AM?!)  …actually yes, our grateful hearts rejoiced that Mama is OK (nothing broken, Thank You God!)  BUT…after everyone fell back (ooops, gently nodded off) to sleep – I COULD NOT GET BACK TO SLEEP.   aaaaaahhhh!

7:00AM rolled around & It Was Time for the Savvy Saints Sunday getting up routine (they have church piped in via video feed at 9:00AM every Sunday & Must Be In Place, breakfast & all)  …my brother opted to join them (vs. Actually Going To Church or attending Bedside Baptist / Pillow Presbyterian..)

…but i go to church across town (yes, different churches, we are a Very Ecumenical Family & it’s a long story why…)

Must confess that I (seriously) contemplated blowing off church today (God does understand about these things, surely He doesn’t want a Red Headed Zombie dragging herself just To Be There?!)

But it IS Sunday… (and it IS LENT – 2 weeks to go, thank you God!)

so… to church went i (a bit late, the decision made at 10:45 which required a 2 minute shower + 1 minute outfit maneuver to Make It by 11:00! … which didn’t happen, but was OK because Church Started Late with some pre-Easter Goings On.. )

…all the way there, praying Lord, please Heal Me from these Blahs!

Then the Gospel was about Lazarus & Martha & Mary (i always resonate with Martha, ‘but Lord, the stench, the stench!!’ – Virginia’s paraphrase)

ok, so my blahs are NOTHIN’ compared to Lazarus being in the grave four days (Fr. John David said, “that’s REALLY dead.”)

…and then there’s the Shortest Verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.”  Jesus was sorry to see Lazarus dead (altho He could have come or sent word for Lazarus to be Zapped with Healing before the whole dying ordeal..)

The thing is, maybe sometimes Jesus cries over us, because we put ourselves into graves of our own making? we deaden our spiritual hearts with The Blahs, Despair, (or worse) …   Or maybe our tombs are built with stones of circumstances We Can’t Control (suffering, illness, deaths of loved ones, loss of livelihood, loss, loss, loss of any kind…)

But, as with Lazarus, Jesus can Zap us with New Life (the spiritual kind) no matter how long we’ve been festering in our tombs… and with His fiery Love that can burn out what’s dead in our hearts to Make Something New…

… and listening closely, we might hear a bit of sage, spiritual advice:

GET MORE SLEEP(!)

just kiddin’ (altho, God did feed Elijah & make him rest after the Big Ordeal on Mt. Carmel – where oh where is my Chocolate Stash?!)

No seriously, today while praying for healing of The Blahs, this verse mindflashed (& hung around my mind’s thinking corridor awhile)  –

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”   Proverbs 3:5-6

amen.

God knows i sure as heck sometimes don’t understand, but He does… so, i will squash these Blahs with TRUST & FAITH & ask Jesus to call me out of whatever deadening tomb is encasing my heart – to be Free to BE all i’m created To BE.. in HIM!

…  “Be not afraid, I go before you always…”

grace, peace & Spiritual Fortitude

Virginia : )

(…and a nap would be good… zzzzzzz….)

...Sunday Blahs under the Wisteria....

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”  Pope John Paul II

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Movies! Basketball Cinderellas (vs. The Big Teams!)

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Virginia

Another rainy day, perfect to curl up with a good book (you should see my stack -why do all these authors put out new books at the same time? so much to Read, so Little Time!) or take in a movie… 

The Mighty Macs (2011)   (themightymacs.com)

Just out on DVD (if you missed it in the theater) last week we watched this rousing Inspirational movie based on the true story of Coach Cathy Rush & the girls basketball team at Immaculata, a small Catholic girls college in Pennslyvania.  Set in 1971 as the NCAA organizes the 1st National Tournament for collegiate women’s basketball, Coach Rush (Carla Gugino) & the ‘Mighty Macs’ face overwhelming odds: starting from scratch, no gym to play in, very little support, the desperately dire financial straights of their college vs. Big State University programs…

… and it was a Very Different Time for women (!!) – even Cathy’s husband, NBA referee Ed Rush (hunky David Boreanaz of ‘Bones’ fame ) doesn’t get it (at 1st!)

… and the girls themselves must undergo a transformation as they become a team, learn to trust each other & play the game of Basketball through the challenging ups & downs that lead to the tournament.

… and Coach Rush is TOUGH… woah (almost Over The Top!) but… maybe you should watch the movie & see the results before making hasty judgements.

… and Mother St. John (Ellen Burstyn) is also TOUGH …as she faces the potential loss of her Order’s home & the responsibility of ‘what-to-do’ rests on her shoulders.

Actually, there’s lots of transformational goings on that push up the Inspirate-a-Meter…

When Coach Rush realizes she Can’t Do This On Her Own, she enlists the aid of Sister Sunday (my favorite character, played by  Marley Shelton) a new novice-almost-nun who is struggling with her vocation; but somehow (very creatively) God Answers Her Prayers as she becomes Assistant Coach…

You don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy this movie – there’s so much for everyone, especially women to see How Far We’ve Come (my 1980s high school girls basketball team went all the way to the State Championship & was Much Better than our guys team. As captain of our cheerleaders, i cheered at every girls basketball game to packed crowds – we all loved it because they were great gals… and WE WON! : )

…but there is lots of Catholic fun –

… In her ’70s fashionista attire (very HIGHheels inclusive) Coach Rush raises a few eyebrows, but later Sister Sunday tells her, “you’ve taught us that angels can wear heels.”

….& a bunch of elderly Nuns (wearing black Converse sneakers with their habits) become the Mighty Mac’s Booster Club, boisterously cheering them on with their songs (big LoLs!)

Highly recommend this inspirational movie that had us boisterously cheering by the end!

grace, peace & Inspirational Basketball

Virginia : )

p.s. If you like this kind of movie, here are a few more suggestions:

Believe in Me (2006) Jeffrey Donovan, Samantha Mathis, Bruce Dern

Glory Road (2006) Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols

Invictus (2009) Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

Hoosiers (1986) Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper

… &  “Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team”  (2007)   i just watched the very inspirational documentary (as a Soccer Player in high school i had to try out for the boys team- there was NO GIRLS TEAM at the time!!) this film is Awesome… so glad these ladies blazed the way for soccer to be an opportunity for girls all around the country! : )

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Beauty & a Lenten Friday quote (from Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Virginia

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”   Ralph Waldo Emerson

(our Japanese cherry tree this week in the fog)

“This Bud’s for YOU!”…

grace, peace & wayside sacraments

Virginia : )

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More (from Virginia) on WATER…

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Virginia

As we commemorate World Water Day there is certainly lots to celebrate. Since this day began 19 years ago many more people (2 billion) have access to safe water globally.  Yaaay! However, 11% of the world’s population (mostly in the poorest countries) still do not have access.

11% of 7 billion people. Do the math. That is still too many people.

There are many reasons for this: drought, arid regions made more arid by desertification, polluted natural water resources, expensive price tags (where people live on less than $1/day the costs of wells & water systems are prohibitive), conflict & water apartheid (in some places one group fills up swimming pools while the other group has barely enough to drink!)

Do you think about the scarcity of water as you fill your tub, wash your car, or flood your swimming pool?

Or hey, how ’bout that glass of cold icewater you slurp down when you’re really thirsty (especially after a workout!?)

For some folks, that glass of clean water is a luxury of the rich, or something they spend hours & hours to bring home (on foot) by bucket.

Then there’s water needed for crops.. For this year’s World Water Day the FAO is focusing on Food Security & how much water it takes to grow the food we eat. Where water is scarce (like the Middle East where I lived for 5 years) that is something that must be considered very carefully.

I’ll never forget an Israeli economics professor from Hebrew University stating, “Oranges are little sacs of water!  We’re exporting little sacs of water that WE NEED!” (Of course, the oranges there are the sweetest ever!)

With water a precious resource there are many ways to make it go further: permaculture, crop rotation (& drought resistant crops), better irrigation systems, planting trees to keep the water table working, and conservation.

We can all do our part. Run the shower a little shorter, fill the tub 1/2 way, don’t let the kitchen sink run & run(!)  And, be aware as you fill your glass, what a precious resource you have in your hand.

To close, here’s more from a younger Virginia (another cheery Christmas letter!) :

“Visiting communities in areas with lack of safe water access has been a humbling experience.  After listening to women in a drought-stricken community of Rajasthan (India) describe the struggle of spending up to 10 hours a day collecting water, they asked me: ‘how do you get water in your country?’  Gee, I just turn on the tap. You can’t imagine the health problems, the deaths of children caused by contaminated water. In East Timor I spoke with Aurelia, a 35 yr old who looked like she was 50. After the birth of her daughter, Rosa, she couldn’t breastfeed so the doctors in the refugee camp put her baby on formula. When Auralia returned to her village, the community’s carefully constructed water system had been destroyed, so she made the formula with river water. ‘I had no choice,’ she told me, ‘I knew it was bad water.’ Her baby died 2 weeks later from diarrhea, an ailment solved so simply here that kills over 2 million children a year, most from unclean water…”

grace, peace & Water

Virginia : )

p.s. There are many great organizations doing lots globally to facilitate safe water access for communities – WaterAid (& most on the list in the Relief Links page above.)

There are also great resources on this UN Water/FAO site, if you’re interested to learn more…

“When you give a cup of water to the least of these, you have given it to Me.”  Jesus Christ

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Wednesday Photographs: Water, Water, WATER (!!!)

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Virginia

Since this week we commemorate World Water Day, today’s photographs are all about WATER, a resource many of us (myself included) often take for granted. After living places where every drop had to count (managing a ‘shower’ & washing my hair with a 1 litre bottle of water) & then coordinating a safe-water initiative for 14 countries (during a globetrotting job) I so appreciate that water is a lifeline for people & communities.

After visiting Uganda & seeing this water source that served a village (not safe water by a long shot), I took this picture & then put it up on my office wall as a daily reminder when the going got tough (writing proposals to raise $18 million for every kind of water project you can imagine.) How would you like to drink from this source?

Then there’s the issue of accessing water sources, the time and labor spent mostly by young girls to carry water home for their families.  Often they don’t get a chance to go to school because the water source is so far away, sometimes 10 miles or more.

Then, it’s important to have water to BE CLEAN! (!!)

Even though during conflict militias destroyed a very complicated water source with a 12 mile piping system, this community in East Timor used bamboo trying to keep clean water flowing. I asked our driver to stop after spotting this young boy (who didn’t mind my quick pic) washing his hands in the bamboo ‘spicket.’  (Turns out he learned the importance of washing his hands in our project!)

It’s also important to have affordable filtration systems (like this one in Tanzania) to make sure water is safe to drink, given many diseases caused by polluted water.

When communities have access to safe, clean water like this bore-well, it does make everyone happy: there’s more time for women to engage in micro-enterprise, girls to attend school, and even time for children to PLAY!

grace, peace & WATER, WATER

   Virginia : )

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MOVIES: Amazing Grace (& the Abolition of the Slave Trade)

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Virginia

Last week Mama (the célèbre) chose ‘Amazing Grace’ for us to watch on her birthday.  As always, the true story of William Wilberforce’s tremendous efforts to end the slave trade in the late 18th century is SO VERY INSPIRATIONAL.

At that time the British Empire stretched from India to the West Indies, where many British leaders made their fortunes on the backs of slaves taken from Africa.  The whole economic system in England benefited from cheap slave labor with the slave trade entrenched in all levels of society.

As William Wilberforce and his small group of ‘itinerant preachers’ and activists take on the system, they need ‘Amazing Grace,’ the famous hymn written by former slave trader John Newton that figures prominently throughout the film. (At Papa’s request we played the Bagpipe version at the end THREE TIMES full blast on the Bose speakers – my ears are still ringing!)

There’s something in this movie for everyone: Taking on the establishment (Wilberforce must take on 200 MPs lining their pockets with the slave rrade); a love story (after submitting his bill again & again to Parliament & failing again & again, Wilber’s a bit worn out & needs something?!); drama (opium addictions & House of Parliament shenanigans inclusive); creative politicking (Lord Charles Fox asks PM Pitt to ‘play cards’ for Wilberforce); faith (Wilber has a conversion experience that drives his desire to transform society); friendship (Wilberforce & William Pitt the Younger); and so much more.

This movie also serves as an excellent example of what goes into an Advocacy Campaign. I’ve used it several times teaching an Advocacy Strategy course to university students (they didn’t seem to mind the evening session.)  Because, it’s all there – including the personal sacrifice & long-term commitment often required before things change. In the film, John Newton tells Wilberforce: “God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms. Drip. Drip. Drip.”  That’s often how advocacy works as each one of us in our respective spheres of influence seeks to influence change, one drop in the bucket at a time.

And, if you’re young, you can change the world. Wilberforce became a Member of Parliament when he was only 21 and William Pitt (the Younger) became the youngest ever British Prime Minister.  In the film, Wilber says: “No one of our age has ever taken power.” Pitt responds: “Which is why we’re too young to realize certain things are impossible. Which is why we will do them anyway.”

And, faith doesn’t mean you can’t manage your beliefs and engage in politics or advocacy. On the contrary, after introducing him to horrors of the slave trade, Methodist activist Hannah More tells Wilberforce: “we contend that you can do both..”

An outstanding cast delivers truly stellar performances: Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce, Benedict Cumberbatch as PM Pitt the Younger, Rufus Sewell as Thomas Clarkson, West African singer Youssou N’Dour as freed slave activist Olaudah Equiano, Romola Garai as Wilber’s wife-to-be Barbara Spooner, Ciaran Hinds as the opposition leader Lord Tarleton, with celebrated actors Michael Gambon as Lord Fox and Albert Finney as Wilber’s teacher & former slave trader, John Newton.

If you haven’t seen this movie, you will be inspired (trust me, it’s one of my favorite favorites, way up there with Chariots of Fire!)

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”  William Wilberforce

 grace, peace & Amazing Grace

Virginia : )

p.s. Here’s another great movie recommendation for Lent just out on DVD – The Way (starring Martin Sheen.) My brother blogged it last week on the Williamsburg Regional Library’s award-winning site “Blogging for a Good Book.” Check out this link to read his review:  The Way (2011)

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Monday Quote (…on cultivating Inner Peace)

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Virginia

“Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them.  He has kept you hitherto – do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms.  Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow: the same everlasting Father who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow, and every day.  Either He will shield y0u from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.”      St. Francis de Sales

grace, peace & Inner Peace (on Monday!)

     Virginia : )

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