Cries Among the Trash

I read a lot of social justice stuff in a given day. I don't always focus on it though. A lot of days I like to read, meditate for a second on whatever issue I'm reading about and then click over to a "happier" blog or to facebook or to whatever else will distract my mind from the hurts of so many in this world.

While reading Pete Wilson's blog today about a girl named Puja Ghosh, a sentence struck out at me and made me take notice of it.

"She lives with a family here in the Khalpar slum who found her in a pile of trash. Her mom literally tossed her out like you would a loaf of moldy bread."

Soak the reality of that sentence up.
That could have been me. That could have been you.
God has crazy plans that are for each of us. I don't know why I was allowed a loving, generous family while Puja, a sweet daughter of the King, is growing up with a different family than her own. I don't know why I don't have to deal with the pain of that situation and Puja does. I don't know why, but I am thankful that I got to hear her story. You should go read the rest and pray for Puja.

Pray for love. Pray for her future. Pray for her relationships. Pray for God to shine through her. Pray for her new family. Pray for her parents that tossed her into the trash. Pray.

I like funny things.

Inspiration

Last summer, I started a magazine project. I tore out magazine pages that inspired me in different ways to compose in a binder. I've never composed all of them in a binder because I need several as I am inspired by a myriad of things. I tend to write down intriguing websites and blogs that catch my eyes on the pages of these aforementioned magazines. I found the adorably creative blog called A Cup of Jo over Christmas break. Yes, the name of the blog did entice me because of it's allusion to coffee, however it was the creativity of Jo that caused me to keep reading.

She finds some of the coolest little trinkets on the web that just make me smile. Recently, she made my mouth water for some tea with this fine little tea thing from Monkey Business:




I have a horrible problem of not being able to just look at that one item at a little trinket store, so of course I found some irresistible salt and pepper shakers that could turn any gloomy day into a rather sunny one filled with laughter. They make me laugh at least.
I can just see the corners of your mouth looking upwards as a grin begins to spread across your face. It's okay, just embrace it.

The Ketchup Song.

I help out one of my friends by making a powerpoint with music on it for our college ministries. The youth minister I work with found out about this and decided to help me out by giving me all the youth slides to help me cut down time while making it. I was looking through for a particular song last week when an unusual song name caught my eye.


The Ketchup Song
So pick me up and take my cap off Lord
Won't you turn me upside down
Take you hand and WHACK my backside Lord
And pour me on the ground
'Cause I wanna be filled with your Spirit
I wanna be useful and free

But I can't be filled with Your Spirit
'Til I'm empty of me

I'm like a bottle of ketchup with the slow pourin' blues
In the race to come empty, you know I don't want to lose
I'm like a jar of molsaaes, on a January night
Though you try to remove me, I'm holding on too tight
I'm like a thick, rich milkshake, with a skinny little straw
though you try to extract me, I won't come out at all

Collections

I've found that I have a knack for collecting things: scarves, mugs, jackets, things relating to dinosaurs and other useful things along with some non-useful ones as well. Throughout the week, my internet collects tabs. Things that I have opened, liked and vow to return to. I don't know exactly why this happens. However, I thought that instead of keeping them open, I could pass along these fun things to y'all instead and close out of the majority of the tabs open on my browser.

I've collected two videos embedded below along with two blogposts. The first one is a blog that I ran across through via another blog I read however, I like how he made me think with his post about selfish Christians. The second one is completely different as it pertains to dating.





Hope you're having a great weekend!

Praying for Haiti

In 2005, I went on my first overseas mission trip (not including Mexico). I went to the Dominican Republic with FUMC Houston. During this time, we were working in Jimini, which is located on the border and is a site for Haitian refugees who have come to the DR searching for a better life among the natives who reside there. I can't remember right now if it was an earthquake or monsoon which had devastated that area years earlier. The team decided to cross into Haiti right at the border with our missionaries to hold a prayer walk through the marketplace as we got to see Haiti for the few minutes we were there. I can't begin to describe the heaviness which filled the air. It seemed as if the air held the Haitians inner thoughts of depression, failure, pessimism and overall darkness. It was a hard prayer walk to say the least.

During the past 2 weeks, there have been 2 massive earthquakes that have devastated Haiti. I'm not going to let you know about the statistics because with the constant communication in the world today, the stats are everywhere. There are things following this and previous national disasters that are overlooked. One of my friends posted a link to an article in The Atlantic called Island of Lost Children. Please go read it. It's necessary the world knows of what's really going on with those children who are separated from their loved ones and may be forced into a horrendous situation of slavery. It broke my heart this morning.

I didn't think I'd post about this up this quick, but here's a heads up on more Haiti related talk we'll be having soon. Shaun Groves, a Christian music artist who is a representative of Compassion International, is working with them to headline a one day event in three major U.S. cities in support of Haiti. There will be more about this as information comes about, but please be in prayer for Haiti as well as this event.

I said "Be back tomorrow" on the 3rd. It's the 20th. Close enough? Sure. My excuse? Well, I don't really have reliable internet at home, so I like places like Borders and Paradise Coffee that combine coffee and wifi. Brilliance. However, it's hard to get all I need to get done before they close.

Since we've talked last though, I passed the math test and failed the rest by a mere 2-6 points each. I don't really care though. I passed the math one and that's all that matters. Praise God!

Even more so, I have classes to take! :) Plus, I'll be a double major again soon! Spanish major, I miss you.

Now that I'm back in CS, I should be able to post more frequently, or as frequent as a college student on the go can. On that note, classes started today. Spring Break, come soon?

I can't keep this to myself. I have started to look at a lot of wedding related things since I know 31ish people that are engaged. (Yes, that is one of the most ridiculous numbers, I know.) This is a save the date from a blog called green wedding shoes. I absolutely adore it. Enjoy!