Change

Sometimes I sit and contemplate the enormity of how much brokenness there is in the world. I start to think, "There's too much. I'm only one person. I can't possibly hope to make any difference." But that is the very thinking that stops the world from changing for the better. However little a change is, it's still a change, and it adds up.

I am only one person, and I can only make small changes, but multiply that by the amount of people in the world, or even in America, and we've got a massive movement with the capacity to change the world. It isn't about individual initiative, it's about rallying together to do great things. So don't get discouraged. And don't give up. Because apathy is the biggest obstacle we have to overcome in the fight for change, for peace. The first step is learning to care for others as much as, if not more than, yourself. Because a life lived for yourself isn't worth living. We weren't created to do life alone.

I'm awake.

I'm starting to remember how to see beauty in the world. It's really as simple as looking up but sadly I had forgotten that was an option. Trees are my favorite. They are so incredibly imperfect, so crooked, twisted, rough. It's beautiful. The unpredictable curves of the branches form exquisite compositions and my eyes can't get enough of tracing the lines. Everything is art, and it fills me with an overwhelming desire to create. I need to respond somehow; I can't be a mere observer.

How did I forget this awe, this wonder? When did I close my eyes? I guess all that really matters is that I can see now, and I can't let myself shut down like that again.

Beauty is made on the journey to find it. It's as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. And once you've got the rhythm down, look up. Look around. Let your heart be filled with the beauty that surrounds you and when it starts to overflow, make something with the excess. It will be beautiful because it is made of beauty and you will love it because your heart produced it.


So, what are you waiting for?

   Get up.
                     Start walking.
   Look up.
                     Start seeing.
   Wake up.
                     Start smiling.

A Prayer

[This is a prayer I wrote about 3 months ago that I just found. I thought I would share, because I feel that God was speaking through me.]

"As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more." Psalm 102:13-16

God, help me remember that my days are fleeting; that my lifetime is but a breath. There's no point in pursuing money, success, all that worldly stuff. What IS worth it? You are. It's so hard to wrap my mind around my life and my death. I used to have only one wish: to be remembered after I die. I never realized how selfish that wish was.

God, when I die, I want people to remember you. And if they do remember me, let it be me as a woman of you, first and foremost, nothing more. There is nothing in me, in my flesh, that is worth remembering; only what you have made me. Make me someone who shines for you even after I'm gone. Or if that's too much to ask, make me someone who shines for you while I'm here. As long as you help me glorify you at some point in my life or death, I'm good. That's all I'm here for anyway.

"O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you." Psalm 39:4-7

Where you live shouldn't determine whether you live

The events of last night and the reactions of Americans and our President have been bothering me. In his address to the country last night, Obama praised the dedication of the American people, talked about how hard the military has worked to catch Bin Laden, stuff like that. I don't want to cheapen that, but I can't help but think of Joseph Kony's child soldiers.

The war in central Africa has been going on for 25 years now, and has effected Uganda, DR Congo, Central African Republic, and the southern Sudan. The Lord's Resistance Army has murdered an estimated 102,291 people in these countries in the last 25 years. Not to mention the approximately 99,116 children they've abducted and forced to become soldiers. This is an atrocity! Mass murder and abduction should not be allowed to continue for 25 years! And yet most people, especially Americans, don't even know about this war. Why should death be more poignant when it happens on our soil?

As Jason Russell said in one of Invisible Children's videos, "We believe that where you live should not determine whether you live." No life is more or less valuable than another. Just because we haven't seen the faces of these children doesn't mean that they aren't God's beloved children! Here's one of their faces. Does that make you uncomfortable? Good! The children and people of central Africa have been suffering in silence for over twice as long as we have fought the war on terror. It has taken this long to get our government to even take notice of the war and finally pass a bill in the interest of apprehending Joseph Kony.

America is an incredibly prosperous nation. We have everything, and yet we only reach out to help others when forced, or if it directly benefits us. If we took the dedication that Obama praised last night and decided to take action in the interest of people other than ourselves, can you even imagine the impact we would have on the world? We have been so blessed! Why do we insist on holding this gift so tightly in our fists? I especially appeal to those of you who are Christians. James 1:27a says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction...." We are called to selflessness, to help our brothers and sisters in Chr*st. 

I'm not being unpatriotic, I'm just letting my heart speak.

25

I can't talk. It's been 17 1/2 hours. I just read a Mother Teresa quote about how nature is silent and God is in silence. The crickets sure aren't silent right now though.

What about the wind? It doesn't really make any noise, but I can hear it. I hear it moving, but it has no voice. No voice, and yet it has the ability to destroy homes, knock down trees; wind is strong! But it is silent. We say we hear the wind whistling, but that's nothing more than the sound of its movement reacting with the environment. 

This event is all about speaking out without speaking. The wind is a good example of what we hope to accomplish. Even though we are silenced, we are as loud as ever as we interact with our environment, our society. Our silence is strange. It merits reactions, responses, action! Words are cheap. Action, on the other hand, action... it makes waves. One drop in the ocean. Change isn't initiated with empty words and promises; it happens when we ACT. Right now 90,000 supporters of Invisible Children are silent. That has generated more change than even the most eloquent speech could have generated. When we break the silence tonight, I can't even imagine the wave that will start. Thousands of voices simultaneously silenced, then simultaneously unleashed, each with renewed passion for the cause they went silent for... we're going to change the world.

Find out more about 25

Donate on my fundraising page!

What happens when it's all too much...

Wow. This has been a rollercoaster of a day. I won't go into it all, but in a nutshell I've been extremely stressed for the last week or so, and it's just been building up more and more until today, it finally reached its peak. I lost it. I cried. That's a big deal for me. I felt totally and completely hopeless. It was just too much. I didn't even want to take the next step. But I did.

In the hours that have passed since that moment of utter despair, God has slowly instilled a sense of peace in me. I know that he closed some doors [rather brutally] on me for a reason, and I know that he knows what I need better than I do. It's odd, in the past I've tried to make myself believe that kind of thing, but this time it just happened.

This is a verse that I cling to a lot, but the last part has never been real to me until today: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." [Philippians 4:6-7]

The peace that I feel right now truly does surpass my understanding. It must be from God. I'm too neurotic [there's the psych major in me] to get there on my own. It's funny how it had to build up to the point where I had no choice but to accept that I was powerless before God stepped in and rescued me. Maybe he wanted to teach me a lesson. He is in control, not me. And when he does let me have control, my life is a mess. Thank goodness I have him. I cannot handle this life all by my lonesome, that's for darn sure.

One Drop

So, I've been really inspired by Mother Teresa lately. As you could probably tell from my last post. But the quote that's stuck with me the most is the one that says, "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."


So often I feel like there's so much hurt in the world, so much brokenness, and I'm only one person. I can't even make a dent in the world's trouble, so why even try? But that's not what it's about. If everyone had that attitude then nothing would ever change. But when every person has the attitude that any change is worth making, no matter how small, then the small bits of change add up to something bigger, and slowly but surely we help make the world a better place. Together. I know it seems cliche but it's a truth that I've been clinging to.


Who knows how much change you can effect in the world! Even planting a seed in one person can lead to a chain reaction in hundreds of people. You never know what the smallest act of kindness will grow into! If you want to be a world changer, start with people. Go out of your way to be kind and civil towards them. If you see an opportunity to effect even the smallest bit of change, take it! Don't be too big for the little stuff. It's just so exciting to think about how much we can do together. I believe that God has great things in mind for my generation. We will be world changers. 

So go out, change the world. 
Hold the door open for someone. 
Smile. 
Do something for someone other than yourself. 
Don't wait for someone else to step up. 
BE the someone else. 
Step up. 
I can't wait to see what we're able to do. 

Mother Teresa

So we've all heard of her, but she's just an icon to most people. I was looking up quotes from her today, and I was blown away by how awesome they were. Here's some of my favorites:

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."

"Peace begins with a smile."

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

"Words which do not give the light of Chr*st increase the darkness."

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

"Live simply so others may simply live."

"I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world."

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."

"If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are."

"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

"Work without love is slavery."

"Profound joy of the heart is like a magnet that indicates the path of life." 

"A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, and must empty ourselves. Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in his love than in your weakness." 

"One filled with joy preaches without preaching."

Sorry that was so long, I just couldn't trim it down! What an amazing woman! I hope I can do even a fraction of the good she did for people. 

Hemp

So, being the psychology major that I am, I performed a little experiment on myself a few months ago. Whenever I felt sad, I decided to make a hemp bracelet and watch The Office. The idea was that watching The Office would cheer me up, and that eventually I would connect those and be able to stop the negative feelings by making bracelets. I realize now how random that is, but I just really love hemp :)

Who would have ever expected it to work?? I seem to have successfully conditioned myself to be cheered up, pretty much completely, simply by making hemp bracelets. Anyway, I've decided to put that to good use! I am participating in Invisible Children's 25 hours of silence for 25 years of war event on April 25, and part of participating is raising at least $25 for the implementation of the Protection Plan (download here). If you want more information about it, go to invisiblechildren.com/25 or watch this video.

Anyway, I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to raise money and last night I saw the tangled mess of hemp on my desk and the light bulb went on!So here's the deal: I won't ask for more than $1 for a bracelet (or it could be an anklet if you want). If I don't know you personally, you can shoot me an email (elsie.elise@gmail.com) with your address, and donate the money on my fundraising page here. And I'll mail it out to you as soon as I can! So. If you would like to help out, comment with your wrist size (take a piece of string, wrap it around your wrist, and measure how long that is) and whether you want the flat (see above picture) or spiral kind (pictured left). I would absolutely love it if y'all contributed! :)

Smile

Have you ever noticed that smiling comes naturally?
    Frowns are always contrived.
        Frowning is against our nature.
            It's a side-effect of our brokenness.

When we smile, we're defying that dark part of us.
    We were made for the light.
        We were created to smile.

It's no fun going through life without expression.
    Blank.
    Apathetic.
Try smiling at the people you see every day.
    Strangers on the street even!
        See what kind of reactions you get.
Be nice and cheerful in your daily interactions.
    Make someone's day!

Stand out.
    Be a light.
        Rebel against the darkness
            in you and in others.

I've found that, in trying to brighten someone, anyone's day,
    I brighten my own
        without even trying.

Let's just try smiling
    and see if we can start a chain reaction.
        and bring light to our broken world
            one broken person at a time.
                Starting now.
                    With you.
                        With me.
                             :)

Aspirations

Sunflowers.
    Bright, yellow, reflections of the sun that gives them life.

Me.
    Dark, broken, a poor reflection of the Son that gave me life.

I want to be a sunflower.

Butterflies.
    Fragile and beautiful, they still fly in the wind.
        They aren't afraid of breaking.
        They were made to fly and so they do.

Me.
    Terrified of breaking, I neglect the purpose of my creation.
    I was made for joy but live in darkness.

I want to be a butterfly.

I want to praise God with my very existence.

I wouldn't crush a sunflower or destroy a butterfly.

    Why would I crush my own spirit?

        It has the potential to be just as beautiful.

Car Karaoke

I had another post typed up, about how I was struggling with being positive the last couple days. But I just didn't feel right about it, so I gave up and decided to go to Wal-mart. It's a beautiful day so I rolled the windows down, blasted my music, and just enjoyed the drive. I even took the long way to get there. Oh, and I was rocking my new sunglasses, legit Ray-bans that my brother found and gave to me! I got to Wal-mart and discovered, to my great excitement, that Glee's newest CD was out! So I bought it.

I rocked out the whole way home, windows down, hair going crazy, singing at the top of my lungs. Luckily I didn't pass any people walking that might have overheard my impromptu karaoke, so I didn't have to worry about how I sounded. Let me tell you, nothing cheers me up like singing to Glee while driving. Except maybe cats. Specifically Maru (youtube it). Weird, I know. But I'm sure everyone has those quirky things that make them happy.

Anyway, I got home and went to finish writing that other post, but just deleted it instead. No pity parties here. Yes, being home makes it hard for me to smile sometimes, especially when "home" isn't home. But fighting for my joy is just that: a fight. I can't give up so easily. This spring break is going to be tough, but I'll get through it. I just need to work a little harder. And after all, it's only one week. And I'll get to see my brother. And my best friend. And, before and after our spring break trip, I'll get to spend time with my kitty. Just keep focusing on the positives, Laura.

Here Comes The Sun

Look out your window. It's obvious that God designed the world to be a happy place. Why else would he make the sun so bright and yellow, flowers in every color of the rainbow, bright green grass and a beautiful blue sky? The world is bright and beautiful, and as creatures of it we're going against nature by being grey and dull. We were made for smiling, for laughter, for joy! And sure, every so often the dark clouds roll in, but the sun is always there behind the clouds. Clouds come and go but the sun is constant. In the same way, we always have the capacity for joy, but sometimes we lose sight of that when the clouds start obscuring our view.

Of course, the sun does set every night, but the moon is still there to give us light. Sure, it's not as bright as the sun, but it's just as good in its own way. Moonlight is cool and calming while sunlight is warm and energizing. And just like it isn't day all the time, we're not necessarily completely joyful all the time. But we never have to fall into despair. There is always the light of hope. It may not be as bright as the sun but it calms us and gives us just enough light to see where our next step will be.

We are all flowers in a field, all different colors, different shapes, and different sizes, and all beautiful. We have everything we need to survive: sunlight, water, and nutrients. The water and nutrients are literal in this metaphor, because we obviously need food and water to live. However, humans can definitely survive without sunlight. But not without hope, without joy. These are the things we cling to. All plants grow towards the sun. As we grow we reach out towards that hope and that joy, and it shapes us. And even when the clouds come and cover our joy, we hold our heads high because we know that it hasn't disappeared, it's only temporarily hidden.

There is such a thing as false hope. Artificial light has the same effect on plants as the sun: they grow towards it. But with a simple flip of a switch that light is gone. There is no switch that can turn off the sun. There is no power that can defeat our hope and joy if they are founded in God. He is constant, and he will never disappear. Sometimes we lose sight of him, but we never have to lose faith.

Holi

Today, I experienced joy. Joy in the form of powdery colors raining down from the hands of both friends and complete strangers, all different races and nationalities. There was nothing weird about walking up to someone you'd never met and attacking them with color, rubbing it into their hair or clothes or, even better, their face. One random guy wanted to take a picture with me, and we were laughing and smearing color all over each others faces while it was taken. I don't even know his name or what he looks like without a rainbow face, but I'm glad I got to share that moment of silliness and laughter with him.

Who knew that something so simple as a couple hundred people in a big field with plastic bags full of colored powder could be so incredibly fun? For those few hours things like race and skin color didn't matter, and even if they had, those slight discrepancies in pigment were totally covered up with the vibrant colors of pink, orange, green, and yellow! We were just a group of people celebrating beauty and life and dancing around in a field together.

And this joy and sense of unity didn't end when we left the field. The rest of the day we proudly flaunted the oddity of being completely covered in random colors, waving at everyone we passed, trying to make them smile, and more often than not succeeding. Today was just so beautiful in so many ways. No one cared about how they looked, because in a few seconds someone would inevitably come to spread green powder all over their face. When a newcomer was spotted, with their bright white, clean shirt, we all shouted, “Fresh meat!” And swarmed them until they were sufficiently colorful. I've never seen so much happiness, so many smiles and so much laughter over something so simple.

We need more holidays like this. Days for dancing in fields out in the sun, no inhibitions, not a care in the world, just beauty and joy and laughter and celebration.