Questions as We Approach Elections

Is it ok to kill babies if they aren't wanted?

I don't really think so.

But that's not the only question I have as I consider the up-coming elections.

I don’t know but... Do you that think that slashing forests and mutilating mountains and killing oceans is ok with the one who carefully created them?

I sometimes wonder if unilateral decisions to go to war might possibly feel to the Prince of Peace a little like rebellion?

And when we keep our neighbors in inner cities trapped in cycles of under privilege and lack of hope, does this feel to the Father of the Fatherless like an overt ignoring of Biblical mandates, not to mention a brazenly revealing flash of hearts of stone?

Personally, I’m against abortion. I’m particularly appalled by partial birth abortion, which is just a tidy term for “Kill the baby as she comes out but before we look into her face.”

Yet to say I will kill other people’s mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and other people’s babies with the bombs I drop, or to agree to knowingly ravage Creation to support my lifestyle, or to leave my neighbors in drastic want-- this doesn’t actually strike me as a more righteous stand.

To pillage the earth, ignore the poor and willingly go into war are issues that, along with the killing of unborn babies, I have to take very, very seriously. I just cannot pretend that this is a one issue election.

Maybe I’m mistaken. Maybe these issues don't all need equally careful consideration. I don’t pretend to have a brilliant mind.

I would, however, aspire to have a brilliant heart.

Our Stuff

The Story of Stuff is a cleverly made and very well done little video that helps us understand where our stuff comes from and where it goes. More importantly, it points out how our stuff impacts people, economies and the environment along the way.

Please, please take an earth friendly break and watch it. The video is 20 minutes long so make a cup of something you like and pull up a chair. The pause in your day will be good for you :-)

Watch it HERE

PS It's going to be easy to watch where there is fast internet. It was a bit more of challenge here in TZ.

Love Notes

I think the best thing about a birthday is the love notes. I turned 46 yesterday and I received a few.

Love notes from my kids. Some in the form of emails. Some drawn with pink colored pencils. All perfect and beautiful, if you ask me.

Love notes from Byron. Yesterday's was in the form of unbelievably good marinades that he carefully prepared 24 hours ahead of time and soaked the chicken and beef fillet in. (I'm telling you, that boy makes a killer bbq.)

Love notes from friends. Many little mails or Facebook notes to cheer up my inbox and a carrot cake from Gina. Two communications in particular deserve special mention--

The outstandingly cute and sweet podcast that Nelly sent
entitled "46 Things That Jenelle Loves About Lisa (pause) Borden." Very adorable and made me laugh and smile A LOT!

She doubled the dose by also posting a lovely photo of our regular coffee date spot in Portugal. Nice.

Then there was the phone call from Barbara.
Barbara is at home in the Portuguese countryside where our favorite
Shanti Pilgrim works the magic of loving people and land into a simpler and better life.

I happen to know that Barbara likes using the phone about as much as she likes going into conflict so the fact that she
loaded her phone with credit and dialed my number is precious to me.

I'm wracking my brain trying to think if there is anything better than knowing you are loved.

How about we all remind someone that we love them today? (Even if we think they already know it.)

I'd like to think my birthday could set off a global love bomb.

That would be a new and nicer kind of global warming, eh? ;-)

Twin Daughters of Different Mothers

Skyler (Russell) took this photo of Heather (on the left) and Sianna on Sunday when the sun was sinking over the last few minutes of our picnic.

The girls met as babies when I would hold Tammy's little Sianna on my lap and she would lean against my pregnant tummy. Heather was finally born when Sianna and her twin brother were 15 months old.

We are a team of 2 families with a lot of brothers filling up both homes. I think it's nice that Heather and Sianna have each other :-)

Passing Notes

This whole blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Skype and SMS thing has got me thinking.

My friends and I passed a lot of notes to each other in high school.

A LOT of notes.

We had a lot to talk about. Boys mostly. That could fill pages.

And other things. Not many other things, though, come to think of it. Didn't all of life revolve around something that, in the end, got back to boys?

The point is: all these communication tools tell me that people still really like to stay in close contact.

It's interesting to me that my sons who are (almost) 19 and 21 have become big fans of handwritten letters. In their circle of very wired friends, the time it takes to actually write a letter and mail it is a gesture worth quite a bit. The handwritten notes are uniquely expressive and carry with them a value that cyber mail cannot duplicate.

I've produced hundreds (probably thousands) of handwritten letters in my life and received the same in return. I treasure the letters my sister and I wrote to each other during my first 15 years in Africa. I find it a bit sad that we only have email now.

I know that notes, cyber or paper, can't replace real time and I can't see there ever being a substitute for a coffee date, a shared tea or a walk together.

But since my life has carried me far away from quite a lot of people (scattered all over) that I love, I'm thankful that there are clever little ways to continue passing notes.

So I Caved (or lisa gets facebook)

I kind of hate to admit it but I've finally caved to the inevitable domination of Facebook.

Yep, Ms. B. got herself a Facebook account.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

So said THE BORG whenever they confronted life forms that tried to avoid being conquered. (So many life lessons were learned by watching Star Trek ;-)

I have valiantly resisted FB for over 2 years. Even the clever, persistent and sweetly persuasive Nelly could not get me to join.

So what did it?

England.

Dang it. We were there with almost 300 people in the 24-7 family and as we left that gathering I thought,

"I care way too much about way too many of these people to NOT opt in and make staying in touch that much easier."

It's not that I think FB is easier than email. It's more that I just have to join the current MO if I'm to have a hope in hades of having any hazy... (searching for an H word here. Nelly, what H word could be inserted for 'connection' or 'relationship' ?)

I'm not getting sucked in, (she said like a true addict.) But I do think having a new FB account is a little like having a new baby. It needs a lot of attention as it makes those initial steps of growth. At least you don't have to get up in the night to take care of friends requests.

I'm hoping it settles down and takes care of itself a little more now.

BTW, there is ettiquiette to follow if you're the parent of other FB users. First of all, don't be writing on their wall all the time. That's WAY out of line.

I got a land-line phone (that's a TELEPHONE with a cord that attaches it to the wall, for those of you who don't remember those) with my own number in my own bedroom when I was 16. It was the absolute height of communication technology.

That and passing notes in the hall.

I always loved passing notes.

Here we go, then.

Skinny Band becomes No Band (but we escape to the beach)

We've had no internet for most of the last week. That lovely broad band (which we call skinny band as it can't do a whole lot at a time or with much speed) disappeared altogether.

I'm telling you, it just makes me grind my teeth when I have a pile up of work that needs done and needs done on line.

Big sigh. Cleansing breath. Patience. Oh yes, didn't I just say it was a good virtue to grow?

On a happier note, we had an unexpected 3 day trip to the Indian Ocean with friends. Picture us with sand between our toes, too much sun on our nose, (which should be noses but that doesn't rhyme,) salty hair and much pleasure taken in the warm air, warm water and warm friendship.

Oh, Africa (or The Art of Patience)

So yesterday Byron went rushing out with his big list of things to get done. I can't say he went zooming away as he was driving the old beauty of a Land Rover. As if that wasn't enough of a slow down, he was pulling a trailer of barrels filled with water. His first stop was the water delivery run to care for the hedge we have planted on Wild Hope's land outside of town.

Well, he didn't get very far when the trailer's axle broke and her rear differential ground into the dirt as the wheel fell off and rolled down the way. It was sudden death for the trailer as well as for Byron's hopes of accomplishing his list.

Most all of yesterday was then given over to getting the trailer road worthy again. It was no small feat to secure a new axle in our town that was mostly closed up tight for the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. Most of today has gone into this same unexpected project.

Days take sudden changes of course and the highly driven learn to use their flexibility muscles much more often than they would maybe like to.

Ah, well. I've heard that patience is a virtue.  May as well let it grow :-)