Jesus Christ

I have been thinking about him a lot lately. I wish that wasn't something so new that it was worthy of a blog post, but that is where I find myself.

The sermon series at church has been about Jesus, and the Gospel (a novel concept, I know). Two weeks ago, Pastor Rick talked about how one of the problems with Christians is that we are not fully convinced ourselves, of some of the basic truths that we claim. Deep inside we're not entirely sure if Jesus is really our only way, our truth, and our life. We're not fully convinced that he is our only hope for this life. We keep thinking that we can come up with a better solution to fill the emptiness that we feel, or to heal the hurt that we see in the world.

It seems like an elementary concept for someone like me who has been following Jesus for as long as I can remember. But yet I seem to make a game of seeing how far away I can get from Jesus, while still being a part of the religion that is named after him. All of my life I need to be surrounded by friends and family, and a church that points me back in the right direction.

What my little sister has to do with human trafficking

Kolkota, India is home to some 10,000 sex workers, and also, my baby sister. Hannah is currently working with an organization called Word Made Flesh, trying to reach out to the women in the red light districts, in the city best known by outsiders as the home of Mother Teresa, and prostitutes. Many of the sex workers have been trafficked from Nepal, or Thailand, and are trapped in their lifestyle by debt, or physical force. Word Made Flesh is trying to build relationships with the workers, and connect them with organizations that can help them escape, and build a better life.

I am so proud of Hannah, I could bust. Here is a picture of her and her little buddy Sanju.

The Vote

Here is a confession: I don't usually vote, and I am very embarrassed about it. I mean to. I want to, and I believe in doing it.
The one and only political act in my life has been to march in the peace rally in Portland this year. Even then, I felt a bit ignorant, like a second rate marcher, who was going to be found out, and kicked out, because I wasn't wearing a shirt that says "Bush is the Antichrist". I don't find myself championing for any one political candidate, or party, and I feel horribly uninformed, so I bow out in a very cowardly way.
Today in my Gender Communications class we were discussing the history of Women's Suffrage, and how so many women and men fought a long and hard battle, so that I would have the right to vote. I was humbled, and grateful.
It means the world to me to have that opportunity. It really does. Almost as much as it means to me that my mother has stuck out a tough few years as a female youth and family minister, within a church tradition where the female part of that is a problem for many.
She does it because of God's call on her life. She has a message about Jesus that she wants to share through her work, and so she is willing to take the heat, and carry on.
She also does it for her daughters, and granddaughters. So that we might not discount God's call on our lives, or our spiritual experiences as less than valid within our church families.
I am so thankful for people who see a bigger picture than just what is acceptable in the culture around them. I shudder to think about where we would we be if no one was willing to question the social norms of their day and age. Let me throw out a word like....slavery, for example.
(On a side note...sex slavery and human trafficking have not been eliminated from the world. At all. Not even close).
So.....I am going to make a conscious effort about becoming an informed voter. Not just for the presidential elections, but in local things that affect the schools and people who live in my community.

"The Wild Rose"

Here is something that I did not write. But it says something that I find to be very real. I shared this with my husband Bryan. He is the one that I choose every day.

by Wendell Berry
for his wife

Sometimes hidden from me
in daily custom and in trust,
so that I live by you unaware
as by the beating of my heart,

Suddenly you flare in my sight,
a wild rose blooming at the edge
of thicket, grace and light
where yesterday was only shade,

and once again I am blessed, choosing
again what I chose before.

Sweet Boy

Jonah in the Fall

Here are some pictures of my best friend Kara's beautiful baby boy. His name is Jonah Julius Young.
These were taken at my parents house, by my husband,

shortly after Jonah celebrated
3 months of life.

Bryan took this picture.
of a leaf,on the sidewalk,
in Portland


Hannibug, this is for you, since you don't get to see the fall colors this year.

5 Reasons Why I Started a Blog

1. I was at work late, and trying to distract myself from my taks.
2. I have friends and family far away who I would like to keep updated on the life of Bryan and I. You won't be receiving a mass Christmas letter update from Bryan and I, so consider this as a substitute. (maybe next year).
3. My little sister has one, and I would like to be like her when I grow up. Actually, I would like to be able to post on her blog, without being anonymous.
4. I need some writing practice, as I am getting a little rusty. If you want to know the truth, I was invited into a writing group this summer, only to realize that I would have nothing to actually bring. I am not the only person in the history of time to think of herself as a writer, without actually ever having written anything. I know this, because one of my friends has confessed to me that she is in the same boat. We are currently recovering, and trying to be more honest.
5. I can't think of a fifth one, and its dinner time. I wrote the title before I actually had five reasons.