Eight days to Running a Half-marathon and Raising a $1000 for our Sisters in Gulu.

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Next Sunday, Sept. 25 I will be lacing up my gray running shoes, put on my favorite Lululemons (the lone outfit I’ve been training in for the past three months) and drive to the South Surrey Athletic Park for my first ever half-marathon.

Gulp.

Half-marathon. Running twenty-one kilometers. Not words I ever thought I would say in a sentence associated with my activity level.

Backstory

About three months ago, my gf (and a partner-in-#Roar) Tina Francis and I took a roadtrip to attend Donald Miller’s Storyline Conference in Portland. We were inspired to live a better story. But there was something burning very deep inside of Tina. I watched her wrestle … There was something big she needed to do. Then one Tuesday, not long after, she emailed and said she’d signed up for a half-marathon and wanted to raise enough money to sponsor the reconstructive surgery for one woman in Northern Uganda.

Boom.

Why Northern Uganda?

Gulu is a place where woman’s bodies are weapons of war. While many get raped, some women get their faces, ears and noses chopped off. It’s a gruesome reality and the kind of thing we’d rather keep out of polite dinner or Skype conversations. But it’s happening and Watoto’s Living Hope Project has brought rescue, restoration and dignity to these women.

Fakeleft for Watoto

We’d heard about Watoto’s Living Hope project at LifeWomen conference in 2010. Marilyn Skinner spoke passionately and beautifully as she shared the story of these women … our sisters. I remember Tina having a very profound experience even then. She knew she had to do something, but a year later—as we heard how women had taken action to raise money for this cause—we hadn’t done anything.

So, Tina signed up for her run and emailed me. I called her right back and said, I’ll do it with you. BUT: let’s not just us do it. Let’s see if any of the SheLoves readers want to do it with us. Let’s see if ten women want to do it and let’s raise $10,000! Let’s make this bigger than ourselves. We set up an ice cream date with Pastor Helen and asked if she thought it would be a good idea. She cheered us on and thought we could have at least 20 women or more sign up.

That Friday Tina wrote a historic TGIF column. (If you haven’t yet read it, do yourself a favor and click on the link.)

Over 50 women signed up to run! Tina’s courage and action inspired so many of us to jump in with her and run. Very few of us are runners. Heck, I didn’t even run in high school. The one time I did a bi-athlon, I threw up afterwards.

$50,000?

But with 50 women signed up, we thought maybe we could raise $50,000. (I might throw up again.)

Meanwhile I already had a fundraising project on the go, plus I was on my way to Europe on a Sisterhood trip to learn more about human trafficking.

But I started training faithfully. Week after week, three to four times a week. One minute after another of putting one foot in front of another. This past summer I’ve run in Berlin, Jasper, Victoria, Summerland, Banff, Surrey and Point Roberts. (O, and there was one epic night I ran with my amazing gf Jodi through much of North Delta, including that humongous hill up Nordel Way.)

Now it’s crunch time and our goal is to raise $1,000 per person.

Just like every kilometer is step by step by step, every dollar counts.

Would you consider giving something? $10, $25, $50, $75, $100, $200, $500 … Whatever is in your heart to give.

To those of you who have already donated—thank you so much!

I am nervous, but also kind of excited. It’s been a big learning curve for me—physically, emotionally and socially. (Mostly: I am learning to step out of my shell and run with others.)

But I’ll unpack more in this week—hoping to write through my pre-race jitters and do my bit to reach our fundraising goal.

So, I’m asking: Would you please sponsor me and my SheLoves sisters who are running for our Living Hope sisters in Northern Uganda?

(Writing that actually brings tears to my eyes. I know. So girl-y.)

Three months ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of becoming a woman who runs (albeit slooooowly). But I now have a “Running” folder on my iPhone, “powersongs” on my playlist and a Nike+ chip in my shoe. Who knew all this would happen when I dared to step out.

Would you please consider sponsoring our race? This is so much bigger than any one of us and we couldn’t do it without you.

Here’s how to donate:

  • You can send a check or a cheque. I’m not fussy about the language it arrives in. (Email me at idelette (@) shaw.ca or leave a comment and I’ll send you my address.)
  • Flag me down and hand over cash. It’s not for me, so I’m happy to ask.

This is a big deal for me and the girls I am running this with. Your support would mean so much—even more than a shot of Gatorade at the 18km mark or the loud cheers I’m imagining for the victory lap.

With Love and gratitude,

Idelette

xoxo

Connected: The Power of our Social Networks

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On real influence, Nicholas Christakis, and what transmuted the world for me just yesterday.

Here’s my Hypothesis: Sisters are meant to turn up the Light in each other.

Process: I don’t have a sister. I am five years younger than my brother. Meaning: I grew up pretty much like an only child. I had one girlfriend, Celeste, I played dolls with when I was little, but she moved away to a different part of town. I didn’t go to the same school as the kids in my neighbourhood and my own school was a car ride away. I always needed my mom to drive me anywhere I wanted to go.

Let’s just say I spent a lot of time with books. And I spent years praying for a friend who “got” me. Fast forward many years now, and I am still the girl who treasures close girlfriends.

Two weeks ago, I got an email from Tina saying her sister (Sherrine) had signed her up for an event. And o, by the way, she registered me too.

Me? I felt giddy that someone would think of me and sign me up for something she thought I would get a kick out of.

It was like she had given me tickets to Game 7.

So, I organized a babysitter, picked up California rolls and ran a few errands for beloved Husband. Then I took off my Mommy clothes, imagined what I could wear to a downtown professional event and hopped on a skytrain to Waterfront station.

Brain Buzz

Walking into Canada Place’s  Exhibition Hall A, I already had the biggest smile on my face and the event hadn’t even started. I was with a girlfriend in a room full of thinkers and someone handed me a glass of Merlot. Hello!

There we were in the back third of the hall, listening and sparking off Dr. Nicholas Christakis, author of “Connected” and listed as one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2009. (PS: He’s got two TED talks!) As we heard the research, interesting charts and cool sentences with words like computational, social induction and homophily, we kept drawing it through the lens of SheLoves: this beautiful social network we are pouring so much heart and soul into.

We learned that even though Alyssa Milano has a million followers on Twitter and tweets a link to your book on Amazon.com, which is then retweeted and goes out to a million more people, it doesn’t necessarily translate into booksales. In fact, on the day she tweeted a link to Christakis’ book “Connected,” their sales actually went down.

Meaning: Information does not necessarily equal Influence. For our connectedness to carry influence, our interactions must be real or actually feel real. Otherwise, something must be at stake in the relationship, eg. two smokers trying to quit together. Plus: We need both leaders AND followers. (ie. sheep are important!)

He ended with this little zinger: “Social networks are required for goodness to flourish.”

No kidding.

Conclusion: As I sat there, thinking on SheLoves + what Sherrine did + sharing it with a brainy girlfriend = I didn’t just hear a speech on the power of our social networks, I was right smack dab inside of it. I felt it.

And that made me think: It seems like such a simple act from a girl who rose up on behalf of her sister and her sister’s friend. And yet, it’s exactly these kinds of small acts of great Love–of getting each other–that can really can set the world ablaze for very very good.

Thank you, Sherrine. You turned up the Light for me.

Question:

  • When last did you feel like someone really got you? How did that make you feel?
  • When last did you do something like this for someone else? (I know I’m feeling challenged.)

 

Loving Myself, A Woman

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On rugby balls, Caterpillar boots, patriarchy, a piercing whisper from God and a red dress.

In October I said Yes to a project created by Jonathan Brink of Civitas Press called The Practice of Love: Real Stories of Living into the Kingdom of God.

I knew I had to write something. We had launched SheLovesmagazine.com a few months earlier—my life revolved around wanting to tell stories of Love: love for God, love for ourselves and love for others.

The Practice of Love sounded like it needed to be another piece of growing my Love consciousness.

There was several categories to choose from, but the thing I knew I needed to write through, was my story of loving myself, a woman.

It was one of the scariest pieces of writing I have ever committed to. It felt heavy inside of me … a part of my story not quite perfectly shaped. Not quite figured out.

The first draft was due in the middle of December: days after my daughter’s birthday, in the last days of Christmas concerts and goodie bags and gifts for teachers, in the midst of decorating and preparing.

I felt stretched and it was one of those moments when I just had to sit down, get quiet, bite down and push through.

Jonathan came back with great suggestions to draw out the story. Again, for the next deadline, I remember having to walk away from family visiting from Nanaimo and locking myself into my office. I sat on my green chair deep into the night, while others laughed in the kitchen.

I was so aware how these words come with that tenacious commitment to ship.

Now that I’d done that

Then, after I submitted the second draft in January, I haven’t wanted to look at it again. It felt so raw. Not ready. Not finished. But I had hit send and the words were out of my hands.

Last night, I finally had the courage to open up the file again to see what I had written. It’s the story of growing up in South Africa–where patriarchy feels like it’s seeped into the water and airways–and looking at how I believed I needed to sacrifice my femininity in order to be strong.

It’s also the story of connecting with a group of beautiful and powerful women and finding my place in the world as a woman.

It’s the story of changing shoes: arriving in Taipei with Caterpillar boots and leaving, four and a half years later, in fun girly gray boots.

There was a moment when I learned it was OK to be a woman, and in fact, it was more than OK, it was something God intended for me … My womanhood was not a mistake and it looked very different from what I had seen around me growing up.

My Practice of Love

Writing this piece was a practice of Love for me … It was written for me, to help me sort through the question of my femininity, the discomfort I used to feel reconciling my feminine self and my strength. It was about remembering the girl I used to be and a very precious whisper from God straight to my heart.

It was also written with the hope that anyone else who may need it, will find permission to be her full glorious, powerful, beautiful, feminine self.

There are so many contributions in this book, from wonderful writers like (one of my favorites) Kathy Escobar. We are also participating in a synchroblog (a first for me!) I hope you’ll check out the book. *deep breaths*

The Practice of Love is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Kindle.

Cooking with Words and Sitting at the table of community

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On writing, solitude, community and how our freedom is tied up in each other

Writing, for me—even when I worked as a reporter—has always been solitary. Bum on chair. Stories on paper.

Words were written either into a private journal or into black ink that printed off on presses and got shipped into houses somewhere distant. They got shipped out and were removed. I didn’t know the hands that held the newsprint as they read them. I didn’t know their stories. I couldn’t see their faces.

Continue reading →

On the Ground, into the Heart of Sexual Violence in the Congo

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She went from Colorado College graduate to volunteer rape crisis counselor in Chicago to stepping into her bigger story: entering the dark world for women in the Congo. Now Amy Ernst is even guest blogging for The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof at On the Ground.

Honestly, I can’t quite imagine the pressure of knowing you have to write and submit a piece to Pulitzer Prize-winning Nick Kristoff (but bring it on!) Yesterday Amy Ernst did it beautifully. The women and the story of the Congo is so close to my heart already and with her piece: Notes from a young American in Congo: Rape continues Amy brings the Congo headlines and rape statistics close. We get to step right into the room with her where she conducts the interviews … and meet these beautiful women with such profound stories.

Here’s an excerpt from her On the Ground post:

“C’est ca,” as everyone says here. That’s how it is.

When the 20 year-old woman sitting in front of me tells me her story, what I notice most are the frills on her white shirt. “It was seven soldiers who kept me in the forest for four days and raped me,” she says.

Her name is Joan. As she tells me what happened, she says the words without looking at me, and I can see that she is working hard not to cry. Joan explains that she was with three “mothers,” during those four days. She was 17 at the time, and now has a three year-old son. Her nostrils flare, and she stares at the ceiling as she answers my questions. Asking how many soldiers is a question I despise, but having interviewed several girls before Joan, I know the question is necessary.

Her story is not new to me. I’m doing “identification” for COPERMA, a small Congolese organization trying to help the multiplying victims of violence, including rape, in North Kivu, a province along Lake Kivu in Eastern Congo. As the soldiers move through the region, they leave thousands without homes, without food, and many people, regardless of age or sex, with the horror of rape in their minds. “The soldiers shot my father and stole all of our things,” Joan continues.

Read the rest of the story here.

Image by Amy Ernst via On the Ground.

Human Trafficking: What will we tell History?

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The United Nations launched a Global Plan of Action against human trafficking yesterday. What really got my attention, however, is this remark by General Assembly President Ali Treki (emphasis added):

“As this heinous crime flourishes, thousands of men, women and children are robbed of their safety, their freedom and their dignity. Human trafficking devastates families and tears communities apart. When the history of this horror calls, we cannot let this period be remembered as one in which the global community knew but did not act.”

Read the full announcement here: United Nations launches global plan of action against human trafficking.

I wish somebody would have said this to me at my weakest point …

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“Homeless girl” remains anonymous, but writes to put a new face on homelessness. In effect, her own story helps us understand some of the realities behind the men, women and teenagers, we see on our streets.

“Homeless girl” became homeless on May 18, 2007. ”The best analogy I can give is, it was like a snowball,” she says. “It started small until I couldn’t control it anymore. I have been kicked out of various houses and slept on the street but I haven’t lost my hope.” While she is not “technically” homeless any more, she now writes to raise awareness and understanding of homelessness. Her story has turned her into an activist.

Yesterday she wrote this post: You are not a “bum,” you are a person,” saying it might be the most important post she will ever write.

“I wish somebody would have said this to me at my weakest point,” she adds. Her words are beautiful and a true lesson in Grace for every one of us.

Homeless girl writes:

“You are not your circumstances and you are not your mistakes.

You are not the choices you made or the decisions you would change.

You are not a bum, you are a person.

You are not the missed bills or the late payments.

You are not what your mother said or what your father did.

You are not a bum, you are a person.

You are not the needle marks in your arm or the medication in your pocket.

You are not the one more drink you said you wouldn’t have.

You are not a bum, you are a person.

You are not the things you’ve had to do to survive.

You are not the night you slept on the street.

You are not a bum you are a person.

You are not the names they yell as you pass by.

You are not what they see you as in their eye.

You are not a bum, you are a person.

We all have the same 24 hours and we all have  one life.

You are not hopeless.

You are not ignored and you are not invisible.”

Follow her blog at thehomelessgirl.com

Question: What do you wish someone said to you at your lowest point?

Today I'm Gonna Try and Change the World

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This song takes me to young girl family car rides through the Karoo, listening to “Hooked on Country” and ABBA. Now I especially love it for its message. This little bit of Johnny Reid might just have to be part of my morning ritual now. (Thanks to Sue-Ann for the heads-up.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9BaIMc8XaI&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&border=1]

My Birthday Wish: The Journey for 12 women

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Last year, on this day, I sat on this same red couch and took a big leap of faith. I asked you to join me in supporting the City Harvest School of Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy, based on the outskirts of a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Little did I know that seven months later I’d walk into the school and meet the students we, together, have been able to bless. Thanks to YOU we were able to help subsidize the monthly rent, so the students’ school fees could be lowered. At the time there were six students enrolled in the school. Many of the students, while pursuing their dream of opening their own salon, still have to go work after school, selling rice, fruit or potatoes on the side of the road, to pay for their own very basic needs plus school fees. Today there are about thirty, because the school fees are simply a lot more manageable.

In May, walking into the Hairdressing School and spending time with so many beautiful, hopeful girls was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life. I could see generations of change sitting in those chairs with bright green T-shirts, Hope and Courage glistening in their eyes. Thanks to YOUR support, we could help make that happen and I had the great privilege of seeing it with my own eyes. It was a birthday gift that kept on giving all year round.

No Global without Local

This year I have another story on my heart. This year I have learned that there is no global without local. I learned I can’t make a difference in places far far away if I am not making a difference right here in my own community. My neighbour lives in Nairobi, Taipei and Tehran, but also in my own city’s back alley.

God reminded me that I have been placed here, in Vancouver and Surrey, for a purpose. I have been placed in my family for a purpose. I have been placed in my church family for a purpose.

So this year, I am asking on behalf of my sisters and my friends in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Every month women from Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood have an opportunity to spend three days at beautiful Linwood House. It’s called The Journey. Women who know mostly hardship and suffering, harsh words and rejection, get to spend three days experiencing the extravagant love and grace of God. They can feel God in the soft cotton sheets, the smelly soap in the bathroom, the hot water in the shower, flowers in every room, deep baths, a grand piano in the Great Room … They are near to God as they sit on a plush, soft couch or as they go hang out with Grandma in her room to watch CNN. They eat the most beautiful, healthy meals. They get Grandma’s blackberry pie with real whipped cream, served on wedding china. They get manicures and pedicures, do art, go to the beach and get big hugs. In all of these things they can hear the intimate, powerful whisper of Jesus, saying: I love you.

When women go on The Journey, they are invited into the family. They get a taste and a glimpse of what it means to be loved and accepted right where they are.

The Journey is one of the most beautiful, practical and life-changing experiences for so many women who only know life in the Downtown Eastside. These women, many of them now becoming my friends, are teaching me so much. (Most of all how much of a brat I can be!)

The truth is, my freedom is as much tied into their lives as their freedom is tied into my life. I need them as much as they might need me. It’s a beautiful symbiosis.

So today, this year, I am asking on behalf of The Journey and Linwood House Ministries. Would you be willing to join me in supporting this amazing work, please?

I would love to send twelve women to The Journey. It costs $300 per woman per three-day Journey, so in total it would be $3,600. That’s my birthday wish and my hope for this year. I would love it if you would join me in blessing Linwood House Ministries and The Journey. As my three-year-old would say: Pretty please with a cherry on top?

This year there’s no chipin account, but you can donate directly on the Linwood House Ministries website (through CanadaHelps) and Canadians can get a tax receipt to boot! It would be great if you indicate that this is towards Idelette’s Journey wish, just so I can keep track. Also, if you’d like to become a monthly donor, that would be amazing and really help the ministry.

It’s a little scary, but again, I’m jumping in and asking. I really hope you would join me on behalf of my gorgeous friends and sisters in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Click here to donate or let me know if you have any questions or ideas. We’re so on this Journey together.

Being the Change: A Story Behind Homelessness

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I wrote over on SheLovesmagazine.com yesterday, as part of World Homeless Day. Here’s an excerpt:

 

 

“I spent the afternoon at The Front Room, the only homeless shelter in Surrey, BC. Volunteers from Relate Church served a yummy turkey dinner, complete with milk and pumpkin pie, while I shook hands and learned that even the most intimidating streets have names.”

Read the rest of the story here:

SheLoves Magazine » Being the Change: A Story behind Homelessness.

Benjamin Perrin launches Invisible Chains in Vancouver: the first book on human trafficking in Canada

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I sat in the lobby with a few others, making notes, while Benjamin Perrin, UBC Law professor launched his brand-new book Invisible Chains: Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking at the Chan Centre last night. Not getting a seat, even though I pre-registered, was still worth it. (I was able to go in during the Q & A session to take this picture.)

This book is a moment in Canadian history: three years of research and the first to address Canada’s story in this global crisis that is human trafficking.

Now it’s 1:23am and I still have to make three school lunches. (I also just sent in my TEDx Vancouver application.) I guess that’s how I balance, or not balance, motherhood, justice and my life’s work.

A more detailed report on tonight’s launch will need to wait. Time for bed. Now If only I can resist the urge to start reading it tonight …

The Candy Shop: Creepy Fairytale/Movie with a Powerful Message about Human Trafficking

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I still have goosebumps after watching this trailer for the upcoming release of The Candy Shop, a fairytale-style short film about child sexual exploitation.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/15468391]

The line that gripped me? “If there wasn’t such a need, there wouldn’t be so much business, now would there?”

Reminds me of something Benjamin Perrin said Monday night at the launch of Invisible Chains: “We need to get serious about demand.” While this movie is set in a 1930s candy shop and was shot in Atlanta to raise awareness of this city’s dirty secrets, it’s the reality for millions all over the world: Girls (and boys) are lured into the Candy Shop and they don’t come out.

Check out the official site for this movie. You can also read more about it at humantrafficking.change.org.

Outside the Realm of Acceptable: How TED 2010 Prize Winner JR colours the world

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Love this video of JR, an anonymous French artist and photographer and the 2011 TED Prize winner. I love how he lives and works outside the box. I love what happens when we take the boundaries off what is acceptable and possible and do something really great.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xVNFEvC5ns&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]

(HT, Mike)

'Women for Sale' store highlights sex trafficking in Israel; Taking Action in Canada

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An installation of real women for sale is getting many second looks at a mall in Tel Aviv. WomanToGo is a display of women with a price tag that includes age, weight, measurements and country of origin to draw attention to Israel’s problem with human trafficking.

What I like is that this campaign puts a lot of emphasis on demand. “It aims to collect enough signatures to pressure the Israeli justice ministry to back legislation that makes it a crime for men to go to prostitutes,” CNN reported..

Here in Canada, abolitionists are also pushing for the Swedish model for change.

Sign the Petition
Speaking of Canada, I am still boycotting Craigslist. And it really sucks. I’ll just say that. But girls being sold through this “Walmart of sex trafficking” is way worse than my convenience. So, if you could please sign this petition for Craigslist to end their erotic services section in Canada now, not only would I appreciate it, but the women and girls sold as commodities as we speak, would too.

Please sign the petition here now.

If I forget them, I will become just a man without feelings, just a man who is using a very precious life in vain.

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Meet Serghey, a staff member at ESCAPE magazine in Moldova. This pop culture magazine is published to educate and protect youth in Moldova, one of the greatest source countries for human trafficking in Eastern Europe. I love this “Out of the Box” tool, featured in Love146.org’s Fall Update. And what Serghey has to say resonates deeply: He has turned the stories and pain of his family and friends into powerful Action.

“Lots of my friends and relatives began to leave Moldova to go abroad to work. I realized that my very close relative was one of them (a victim of trafficking). She lied to me so many times about what she had done abroad but she had been entrapped and sold by her best friend while abroad but was eventually rescued. (The conversation) was just twenty minutes and then her soul closed and she never talked about it again…

Since working at ESCAPE magazine, all the people I’ve met have felt on their skin the story of human trafficking. They have influenced me.

The numbers and stats are empty but when you see the real person you understand that this person suffered a lot, they continue to live with their past all of those awful nights and days and all of those faces they’ve seen. I’ve been provided with this opportunity to see their eyes and to know these people. I have to remember them because

via Out of the Box | Fall Update 2010 | Love146.org.

What's your Sentence?

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I’ve taken some of the pressure off myself the past two weeks. It was confirmed in my (first ever) yoga class last week when I took a moment to actually feel my body. To notice where there’s pain. I felt the tension on my back, lower back and hips and in that very moment, I heard/perceived/knew: You’re carrying too much.

So I stopped. For a little while at least. Just took some of the pressure off, most of which I put on myself.

This space I’ve created–where I haven’t pushed myself to publish daily on SheLoves or here, has been pretty sunny. I’ve slept more. I’ve been kinder.

While I do have certain needs–like expressing some of the gazillion thoughts, facts and emotions swirling around in my ideation-intellection-input-learner-achiever head, I am also surrendering to the rhythms of Grace.

Like allowing myself a moment this afternoon, sitting on a wooden rail with my son, waiting for his eldest sister at school and feeling the October afternoon sun on my skin. (Oh, yes, and with a cup of tea and a copy of Tribes on my lap.)

Last week a friend/mother/mentor sent me this link. I finally opened it tonight and it has led me to write all sorts of things on the black board in my Creative Womb, aka office. Daniel H. Pink, best-selling author of A Whole New Mind has a really great project going on, based on p. 154 in his latest book, Drive.

First, Ask a Big Question …

Pink writes: “In 1962, Clare Boothe Luce, one of the first women to serve in the U.S. Congress, offered some advice to President John F. Kennedy. “A great man,” she told him, “is one sentence.” Abraham Lincoln’s sentence was: “He preserved the union and freed the slaves.” Franklin Roosevelt’s was: “He lifted us out of a great depression and helped us win a world war.” Luce feared that Kennedy’s attention was so splintered among different priorities that his sentence risked becoming a muddled paragraph.”

The big question Pink calls us to answer is this: What’s your sentence? Plain, simple, powerful.

Now there are still a few days left to participate in the experiment he launched to have people say their sentences on video. Check it out:

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/14888034]

I want to sleep on my sentence tonight. (That’s what I’ve learned is wisdom with my Ideation-personality.)

Meanwhile, think about your sentence and write it down.

I’ll share mine. I’d love it if you’ll share yours.

UPDATE: You can watch my One Sentence here.

My One Sentence

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I just sent off my video entry to Daniel Pink as part of his “My Sentence” project. (I wrote about it over here.) He asked this:

1. Your name
2. Where are you from? (A little more than a sentence for me, but I tried.)
3. Your one sentence, ie. the thing you want to be remembered for

Here’s what I said:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8K-N6zr8q4&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]

Amazon & The P–ophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure

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Update: 10:39pm: Yes, yes, yes! We did it! A collective ROAR through the various networks did it. The link no longer works, so Amazon must have removed the content in question. Jody, in the last comment on this post, reported over 1,200 negative reviews on the Amazon.com site, so yes, yes, yes! (At the time I checked it and wrote this, there were about 400.) Thank you to everyone who called and commented: together we CAN change the world.

Thank you also to Lisa Thompson of the Salvation Army Initiative Against Sexual Trafficking who sent out the first email and Sue Todd who followed up and became the tipping point for me.)

* * *

Yes, you read that correctly. Amazon is selling a third-party’s Kindle edition of The P–ophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure.

This stirs Mother Bear, and not in a good way. Here’s my roar:

I just called Amazon to state my concern and ask them to remove it from their inventory. I spoke to an Amazon representative on the phone who was kind and sympatethic, but had to tow the company line. I asked her to email me the company’s official statement. Here’s what it says:

“As a retailer, our goal is to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item they might be seeking. That selection includes some items which many people may find objectionable. Therefore, the items offered on our website represent a wide spectrum of opinions on a variety of topics.

Let me assure you that Amazon.com does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts; we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.

Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain titles because we believe their message is objectionable. Therefore, we’ll continue to make controversial works available in the United States and everywhere else, except where they’re prohibited by law. We also allow readers, authors, and publishers to express their views freely about these titles and other products we offer on our website. However, Amazon.com doesn’t endorse opinions expressed by individual authors, musical artists, or filmmakers.”

There are over 400 comments on the book itself, but obviously this is not getting the attention it needs.

Please continue to call Amazon and let them know your concern.

  • You can call Amazon at 1-866-216-1072, or at 1-206-266-2992 if you’re outside the US.
  • Kindle support can be reached at 1-866-321-8851, or 1-206-266-0927 from outside the US.

Please let your voice be heard.

Question: What is your response to reading this?

A Powerful Question for God

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I shared something–a question I learned from a friend–that feeds my soul over on sheloves magazine.com today:

A good friend told me how her daughter’s Kindergarten teacher is instilling an intimate prayer life in her young students. The teacher gave each student a heart balloon, set in paper feet with the words, “How did I bring You joy today?” It’s a special prayer they get to ask Jesus every day.

Read the rest here: SheLoves Magazine.

All I want for Christmas is a brand new world.

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In the past 24+ hours, it’s felt like Heaven has been downloading a story to my heart. Background music to this story is Chantal Kreviazuk’s “Invincible” and specifically the words:

I’m not the same old girl, no.
I want a brand new world.

(Can you hear her just belting it out? Love that girl. But, I digress.)

1. The story starts with a post by Mike Todd over on Waving or Drowning called The Theology of the Lottery of Life.

These images are incredibly powerful. Piercing, in fact. There are more. Combined with some crisp, articulate thoughts from Mike. So go read it first, please:

The Theology of the Lottery of Life

2. Ok, now that you’re back; moving on to Phase 2:

My friend and neighbour Alie posted a video on her facebook page last night. It follows the story of Narayanan Krishnan who happens, as I googled him, to be one of CNN’s 2010 Top Ten Heroes. (I can’t find the original video to embed it, so this link will have to suffice. My apologies. Please stay with me … )

Click here to watch the video: Videos Posted by Chennai Expats: Dec 2, 2010 7:40am.

Narayanan talks about the purpose of his life. And I can’t help but think about my own purpose on the earth and then my friend Ellie’s comment this morning: “I didn’t know Jesus was from India.”

3. Follow that with a blogpost by the lovely & candid Laura Parker who lives in Thailand, caring for orphans with her family. She’s raising awareness around the global orphan crisis. Her blogpost is stunning–do yourself a favour and read the whole piece:

We were wrong {The Orphan Crisis}

Two parts grip me:

a. Two years ago a church in Texas ran a full-page ad in The Dallas Morning News with a public apology:

We Were Wrong

We followed trends when we should have followed Jesus.
We told others how to live but did not listen ourselves.
We live in the land of plenty, denying ourselves nothing,
while ignoring our neighbors who actually have nothing.
We sat on the sidelines doing nothing while AIDS ravaged Africa.
We were wrong; we’re sorry.
Please forgive us.”

Wow. I can’t tell you how much this makes me want to cry and sing at the same time.

b. Laura then relates this exercise in missing the point to the orphan crisis and our indifference now. The video that nails it, making me shake at my core, then is this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWHJ6-YhSYQ&fs=1&hl=en_US]

That’s my Hudson … Or: That’s my Shay. That’s my Daniel. That’s my Caleb. That’s my Adam. [Insert the name of your own child.]

Now, I ask you … What do I do with this, the pile of Christmas presents on the floor, the sick feeling in my stomach and the question in my heart: What if we are living the completely wrong Love story?

I’m not the same girl, no.
I want a brand new world.

Advent post for Christine Sine's Godspace

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I recently wrote a piece for Christine Sine’s Advent series: “Jesus is Near, How Do We Draw Close.”

It really is about how I’m looking for Joy in my minivan life: “Joy in the Glorious, the Ordinary & the Dry.”

I put a lot of heart into it and I’d love it if you’d check it out here.

(Also, here’s a list of the other contributors for last week with links to their stories. It’s so worth a read.)

Three Deep Desires for a New Year

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This morning I am thinking through what I desire deeply for this new year that lies ahead. Praying. Asking. Planning. Wonder-ing.

I love fresh beginnings and I love that in North America I get TWO fresh beginnings annually: one in January with a new calendar year, and one in September, when school starts. In South Africa, where I grew up, there was one chance to start over. The new school year began in January and stretched through December. (It still does.) As a kid, the year seemed long.

Here, in Canada, I get to think through a fresh start twice a year and somehow it makes 365 days seem less daunting. It feels like there’s more room for Grace … more chances. I feel like the year says: It’s going to be okay.

Here are Three of my Deep Desires for this fresh year:

1. Intention:

  • Revamping this blog and focusing it around the destiny I was born for: standing at the Walls that separate us from each other, our stories, our purpose, justice.
  • Watering SheLoves magazine.com : the world I long to see (when the Walls come down); stories of Love that quietly, powerfully and beautifully transform ourselves and our world.
  • Keeping a list of the books I’m reading.
  • More poetry.

2. Togetherness.

With myself & God: quiet early mornings, yoga practice

Family: dates, playtime.

Others: space for old friends, new friends, new ideas, ancient ideas.

3. Expression

Asking/finding/organizing help, so I can give attention to the above.

Expressing what I learn, think, wonder, hope, pray. Also expressing the parts I am not so sure and clear about. Being more willing to be vulnerable. Being more open with my flaws and gaps and my own humanity. Taking the risk to be misunderstood and rejected. Doing it anyway. Repeating to self that being too much is … glorious.

Question: What do you think about two fresh starts? What are your deep desires for this new year ahead? What do you hope for in 2011? (What are you afraid of?) What do you look forward to in the new year?

The Year of I am.

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Today I am remembering some of the Big Moments of this year.

Like the day I stepped off the plane in Nairobi as if right into the skin I’ve always had and realized:

1. I am African.

I came home to myself in Kenya this year. I was both welcomed and sent off with words that affirmed my identity: “Oh, so you are an African!”

Yes, yes, I am. I can now say it confidently, proudly and with so much gratitude.

Then this morning Reggie Nel, a South African tweep I’ve never actually met in real life, but is a brother and friend, tweeted this:

“When I say Africa for African I mean those, of any colour, who accept Africa as home. Colour does not mean anything to me.” –Robert Sobukwe

I know this: I may not live in Africa now, but Africa will always live in me.

If you’d like to read more about my big African moment, here are three posts I wrote about it:

2. I am Canadian.

Then there’s the fact that I am an immigrant, Canadian and married into a wonderful blended family. One of the most joyous and significant moments of my year, was the day I spent with Grandma Linda (then 97).

Last Christmas we’d bought her tickets to go see the Women’s Curling at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. We had a date.

On that Tuesday we almost ran out of gas and I had the hardest time finding parking close to the venue. But Grandma wore Canadian red and we laughed our way through the day. In the end we sat an arm’s length away from the Canadian women’s team.

I soaked up Grandmas’s stories of curling with frozen jam cans when she was a teenager in The Pas, Northern Manitoba. She patiently informed me on the nuances of curling. We shared a hot dog and orange juice and we still talk about that day. I won’t forget it.

Grandma is one of the reasons I am so thankful to be Canadian.

3. I am … is enough.

This moment came early in the year. I think I tweeted it. More importantly, I heard the words: “You are enough” and cemented them in my soul. Knowing this–and believing this–go hand in hand with understanding where I stand, Whose I am. Knowing that I am rooted and established in Love.

I can’t hear this enough.

(Now, looking at this Halloween picture again, I might have to agree that I’m not only enough, but probably plenty.)

What’s next? Tomorrow I’d love to share a list of some of the Big Little Moments of the past year. I hope you’ll check back and tell me some of yours too.

On leaving a comment: You might not know this, but when you leave a comment, it’s like you’d just baked me a fresh cupcake, pulled an organic carrot from your own garden, or handed me a latte. Words mean a whole lot to me. They might even mean more than an iPad. (You get the picture.) So, thanks for connecting with your words and presence.

Kindred Spirit: While working on this post today, doing my best to stay somewhat focused through the tugs and calls of motherhood, I noticed a tweet by Sarah Bessey, aka @EmergingMummy. I read her post and I’m so glad I did. I think we’re tuned into the same Frequency. Do yourself a New Year’s favour and check it out.

Gloriously Big Little Moments of 2010

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I am a moment kinda girl. I tend to take notice when there’s Beauty. I’m okay with tears and deep sadness. I’m also okay with full on ecstasy. Not the kind in a pill, but the kind that reminds you that you’re fully alive. The stretch-out-your-arms-around-the-world-moments. The mystical God stuff. And the very real skin-on-skin people moments.

No coincidence then when I read these as my final night-night words last night, courtesy of Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet:

All these things you have said of beauty,
Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.

Ahhh.

So, as promised, I started this list yesterday, thinking through the little moments that really were Big in 2010, because even after a year they still linger in my soul. There really are many more, but in an attempt to not go on into 2012, here goes:

  • Sitting on a couch in a hotel room in Mexico with my computer on my lap, following the devastation in Haiti, not wanting to move. Feeling the earth-shattering deep sadness within me. And not running away from it.
  • Talking into the night with Jodi and Jenna, squished into our airplane seats, on our way to Colour Conference in Sydney, Australia.
  • My first visit to this other southern continent. I love firsts.
  • Singing “Awakening,” by Chris Tomlin with 5,000 women from many parts of the world.
  • Dancing my African worship to Creator God at Amahoro Africa in May.
  • Dancing in a Kenyan nightclub to “Give Me Hope, Joanna.”
  • Meeting Kelly Johnson (“Mama Amahoro”) in Mombasa and talking as if we’d known each other so much longer than the few months on facebook.
  • A beer with my friend, Mike, processing the many thoughts of Africa.
  • Breakfast with Renee and finding Afrikaans words to crash through the separation that Apartheid once installed.
  • Hanging out in Pastor Edward Simiyu’s living room with his kids and wi-fi. #Heaven.
  • Sharing the beautiful boxes of SheLoves in Nairobi, but most of all recognizing what a global Sisterhood is meant to look like.
  • Spending the day with the girls at the City Harvest School of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy: one of the top five days of my life. Ever.
  • Then, getting home, slipping on a pair of gold shoes and sharing the birth of SheLoves magazine at LifeWomen conference.
  • Spending a day in silence at a spa in Whistler with Jeanmari, my South African sis-in-law, restoring a mommy-weary soul.
  • A Three Cups of Tea date with my niece, Sarah and my six-year-old.
  • Malalai Joya in Vancouver
  • Letters from Emma for everyone of us when she moved out.
  • A weekend in the Downtown Eastside. Making new friends who are growing closer and closer to my heart with every encounter.
  • Vietnamese coffee with Trisha & Elizabeth, hanging in the Great Room, breakfast with Jacynta & Elizabeth in an East Hastings dive. Complete deliciousness.
  • A Skype call deep in the night with Reggie and Benita Nel in South Africa, talking about Discovering God’s Heart for Suffering Women after their church had prayed through the 40-day prayer journal in preparation for the World Cup. A moment of deep restoration of my story.
  • “My” Thursday night girls. Holy holy space.
  • LifeWomen. All year. Every time.
  • Moments with the children. A song for a prayer at dinner time. Dancing on the grass by the campfire in Point Roberts. Watching them rip around on the Barbie car. Girls sitting at their art table. A note for Mommy. The little little moments that help me keep breathing through the flurry.
  • Sipping a chai tea latte with Doug & Ellie Hagey.
  • Meeting Dani & Erin (@biscotti_brain) in person.
  • Ava’s (my one-year-old niece’s) night-night CD in the car.
  • TEDx Vancouver
  • Giving my mom a spontaneous hug and not being careful with words to say exactly how I felt, even though it hurts that we’re so far away.
  • Watching my dad play and be with our kids. It’s redeeming so much.
  • Watching Scott and Shay play hockey on the street. For that matter, watching Scott play with the kids at any time.
  • A tea & Zara date with my friend Diane.
  • Stepping out with another Ask on my birthday: The Journey for 12 Women.
  • Early morning visits in my mom-in-law’s room at Linwood House & a Ronnie hug.
  • Words words words–emails, fb messages, tweets, DMs, status updates, comments, words on walls, words online, words in books, birthday words, pillow words, words over tea and coffee … words that connected and soothed, words that encouraged and pushed me to the edge of my understanding. Spirit words. Holy words. Words that clothed me this year. I remember the words.

    • QUESTION: What were the moments for you this past year? Which ones linger in your soul?

    Here’s to being present to many Big Little Moments in 2011 …

    And here’s Eddy, just because I love this song and it brings back so many memories:

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNNfAuMq-M0&fs=1&hl=en_US]

    Love you.

    My One Word for 2011

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    I have been doing the One Word thing for many years. It’s the word I want to frame my year around … the word I believe God is wanting me to focus on for the year.

    The word I need to learn.

    The word I need to do.

    The word I want to be.

    I’ve noticed this wonderful swell of consciousness around choosing ONE WORD. Rather than New Year’s Resolutions or goals, one word is a place of focus. Obviously, this is a Spirit thing and I love it. Alece is doing it and a hundred+ with her. Lindsey is doing it. We’re doing it on SheLoves, thanks to Sarah. And Sarah was inspired by Ann.

    It’s beautiful.

    Which brings me to my word for 2011:

    ROAR.

    Yes, roar. For now I am just sitting with the word, swirling it around inside of me … getting used to it. Roar feels big and like I would have to really grow into it. I would have to open my mouth wide and put all my strength into it.

    I will unpack it more over here in the next while.

    But for now, I simply know it’s my word for 2011. I know that I know that I know.

    So … Roar.

    Question: Do you have your word?

    On Cruising Along & Leaping off Cliffs

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    Why I believe in jumping when it matters

    I still remember the three-minute phone call. Scott was in the middle of lunch rush at The Flying Beaver when I caught the tweet. Randy Elrod retweeted Michael Hyatt‘s offer to give the first 12 people who sign up for the Re:Create cruise an opportunity to pitch their book.

    Thirty minutes with the Chairman of the largest Christian publishing company in the world. Thirty minutes with the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. Thirty minutes with a man who has 95,000 followers on Twitter. No wait, that was last week. Make that 97, 868 followers.

    I wanted a spot. A chance. A moment.

    Continue reading →

    Hungry for my right size

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    Size? No, I am not talking numbers like 0, 6 or 16. I’m not talking about what I fit into, but rather the perception from which I live.

    My journey to freedom (a long walk, indeed), continues to surprise me with Spirit nudges that take me into the deeper realities of my heart and my identity. Last week on the Re:Create cruise (I fully recommend it for next year, by the way)–somewhere between the blue waters of Jamaica and Grand Cayman, I was reading Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere and it triggered a thought: Do I perceive myself as a lioness? And if not, what do I perceive myself as then?

    Continue reading →

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