New Year, New Look
“For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.”T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding II
Happy 2013!
It's a new year and my blog has a new look and a new voice. I am excited to debut my crisper, cleaner Wordpress blog. And am even more thrilled to announce that I will be getting back into the blogging routine.One of my new year's resolutions is to blog more consistently. Some bloggers I know are resolving to post less. To step back and step out into the real world. To connect with the real people right in front of them. To stay grounded.But the last couple of weeks of bloggerly absence has only reinforced my hunch that blogging, writing and processing and sharing my thoughts and fears and prayers with you, actually helps keep me grounded.Blogging helps me make sense of my world, forces me to slow down and reflect, teaches me to look for God and weave worship into my daily routine. Through blogging, I learn to see my best self, even when I'm scared and vulnerable. I learn that I can only become my best self by caring enough and giving enough to be scared and vulnerable.So here's to another year of sharing God's promises, seeking joy and kindness and compassion, and processing life and God and love together, though we may feel scared and vulnerable. ***
Follow My New BlogSince I switched blog hosts, you'll have to re-subscribe to stay updated. OR, you can decide to follow for the first time! It's super easy, just scroll down to the bottom of the page to follow by email, twitter, Facebook, RSS feed and all that good stuff.For simplicity's sake, the web address will stay the same: memoirsofalgeisha.com. Happy reading!*This blog brought to you by my amazing brother (pictured with me) who helped with the blog design and my tech savvy dad who restored my computer back to tiptop blogging condition. Thanks, guys!
What's Better Than Holding Foreign Babies?
Forget holding foreign babies, I have finally stumbled upon my most favorite volunteer activity. In fact, I enjoy it so much I almost wonder if I should be the one paying them to do it.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that my ideal service opportunity is what I do everyday here on this blog.
My happy helping? Blogging,what else?
I am proud to say I am officially a volunteer blogger for an organization based here in Guatemala called Roots and Wings International (RWI). RWI works in the very poor, very rural area of Nahuala, Solola, approximately 3.5 hours southwest of Guatemala City.
RWI creates educational opportunities to promote development as defined by the local communities themselves. RWI's work is rooted in recognizing the importance of culturally responsive education that empowers students to connect their cultural identity with sustainable social and economic development.
Winner.
I love the fact that they utilize all local staff from the communities where they work. Education is a major problem here in Guatemala and I am happy to use my words, my experiences in Central America, and my love of blogging to promote RWI’s programs and fundraising initiatives and raise awareness about development issues in Guatemala.
Learn how they're changing lives through education on their website and check out their blog and my first post, Seeking bright spots in Guatemala.
Raindrops and Whiskers
Here are a few of my favorite things from the interwebs this week:
On blogging as a spiritual discipline: In Which Sarah Bessey Writes a Guest Post for Introverted Church.
"Writing has given me permission to contemplate my life in a daily rhythm, looking for the touches and movement of God across the day."
"And sometimes the sharing of my life, especially the tender and still bruised parts of it, the parts without answers or neat bows of seven steps to whatever-it-is, is as much an offering to God as I can imagine, it’s sometimes the only way I know how to pray and worship."
On the Green Commission: Confessions of a Tree Hugger on Reject Apathy.
"God doesn’t want us to carelessly trash the planet in the name of progress, even if we think Jesus is coming back soon. He wants us to use it responsibly and to care for it."
"I for one hope my generation will do better at setting an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity -- beginning with myself. And I pray we'll humbly, eagerly and intentionally seek to learn from those Christians who have been at it longer than we have -- even if they drive a gas-guzzling Buick instead of a Prius."
"And then I am chiding myself, “You’ve not dwelt in the heart of worship for a couple of weeks. You could have repented and surrendered and returned to live in Christ so much sooner!” And I am sort of thinking, “I don’t really deserve God’s help and blessing….”
And then I realize, “When was it ever about my deserving?”
You barely listen to my statements of failure. Instead you clothe me in your best robes. You put a ring on my finger, and sandals on my feet. You have a feast and celebrate, serving the best steak. There is music and dancing."
On What to Get Pops for Father's Day: Careers, Yard Work, Grilling, and Porcelain Thrones…We Have the Perfect Father’s Day Gifts! at Plant With Purpose.
"Every family has a joke about dad’s “throne,” so why not help another father build a better and healthier future for his family by providing an ecological latrine."
Why not, indeed?
"The problem is that you, the grieving person, don’t know what you need and your loved ones don’t know how to help. This disparity often leads to a lot of conflict and unmet expectations, on both sides."
"My encouragement to anyone who is grieving is that when you are hurt by words, action, or inaction, to discuss your hurt as soon as you can with the person who hurt you."
"O God, since Thou art with me, and it is Thy will that I must now apply myself to these outward duties, I beseech Thee, assist me with Thy grace that I may continue in Thy presence. To this end, O Lord, be with me in this my work, accept the labor of my hands, and dwell within my heart all Thy fullness." Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God
And of course my favorite photos from my brother and my Flag Day Celebration:
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| And then our decorating took a turn for the politically incorrect: A People's History of Flag Day. |