:: long time gone ::

that's all, really.  been a long time.  miss you.  miss writing here.  life is good.  moments of quiet contemplation (and attractive alliteration), but not many moving the pen to paper.  life is moving. 

:: breach man's mind ::

classic. favorite.  frightening.  important.  beautifully so. 

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said.  A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there.  

It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.”

:: letters home - favorite son ::

 

9 April 1945

Dear Mamma,

Well here is your favorite son again.  I haven't had as much time to write as I would like but maybe before so very long.  I can't see how this war can last so very much longer & it would be over this month, I hope.  Wouldn't it be funny if it should end on my birthday?  If we get some nice weather so that the air corps can operate it will speed things up an awful bit. 

You said in your last letter that I never mentioned receiving your letters.  I'm sorry if I haven't but then you'll have to remember that I have been unusually busy and my letter writing hasn't been under the best of conditions.  I'll try to tell you each time that I get one of your letters but if I forget don't think that I don't appreciate & enjoy them just the same.  I haven't received a package in some time now but should get one any day now.  I could really go for some fried chicken, say about a gallon can of it.  How to you like the way my German pen writes?  I have 3 now all brand new. 

Lots of love

Arthur Jr.

:: carlos, kelly and jolene ::

i love this story. 
(hate the layout, love the story.)


enjoy. 

:: happy anniversary ::

11 years ago i graduated from college and started working full-time at mountain entertainment. i'd been working toward my career for four years before that - talent buying, stage managing, promoting artists and shows.

...back when "cutting and pasting" really meant "cutting and taping" (and xeroxing) to make event calendars. which i distributed via CPO boxes.

...back when band newsletters were postcards that came via snail mail. there were no eBlasts.

...back when radio would play (even break!) local & regional bands. and i was one station's Gig Gal.

i had heard scary things about the music business - about backstabbing and underhandedness. but i didn't see those things. or chose not to focus on them, perhaps. instead, i saw people taking me under their wings. sharing experiences, advice, wisdom. giving me opportunities. i was like the little sister of the industry and through all the ups and downs, it's been a true blessing to grow up in this crazy, dysfunctional, yet wonderfully passionate family.

it hasn't always been an easy road (not even close, at times!) but it's certainly been a blessed one. immensely grateful for the relationships, art, experiences and lessons God has given me throughout this career.

:: new media marketing thoughts ::

i don't really like to complain without having some sort of helpful feedback or solution for the issue i'm complaining about.  a few minutes ago, i was about to gripe about something on facebook and it occurred to me i could, instead, post some suggestions that might actually help some of the culprits who were inspiring the gripe.  

figured i'd post the update here, too, in case someone comes across this who's not a friend on fb.  feel free to leave a comment with feedback, questions, or..well...even complaints! 

some thoughts on new media marketing: not a fan of shortened links from twitter on my newsfeed. especially from a business and when linking to images/videos. you lose the visual of the image/video that you get when you post directly to facebook (plus, the shortened urls look spammy).

if you're a business that links twitter to facebook, be more selective with which tweets automatically update to fb. push copy-only tweets to fb but manually enter any posts containing images/videos/links. there is an app called "selective tweets" than can make this easier for you.

and never ever tweet something and then post it as a status (too) if you have your twitter/fb accounts linked. redundant back-to-back posts are a quick way to be hidden.

:: a children's story ::

a few years ago, i answered a call to teach in Children's Ministry on saturday nights.  i was placed in the Clown Fish class (2-3 year olds).  there were nights of utter chaos.  nights of being late to Big Group because of dirty diapers and potty training.  nights of a teacher learning about balance.  learning patience.  there were nights when i left feeling like i was nothing more than a babysitter with a well-thought-out lesson plan.  nights i questioned whether anything i read, anything i said, any craft i glued/stapled/stickered was sinking in. 

i doubted, I questioned, i worried. 

but i loved, laughed, danced, sang, and hugged, too.  a lot. 

so at the end of the year, i asked to be promoted with that crazy crew.  we moved on to Sea Turtles.  and then on to Kiwis. 

at times it felt those years were much of the same – only we were all just a year or two older and wiser.  but there was much, much more going on:  i watched the kids learn to write their names, to use scissors and the stapler, to peel and stick their own stickers.  (oh, the joy!)  i watched them come to know one another by name and to learn my name.  i found myself partnering with their parents in various areas.  community was forming right before our eyes. 

and now we are Blue Jays. 

now they can write more than just their names.  they can read.  they enthusiastically volunteer to read or recite the memory verse each week.   and they actually remember the passages now.  they ask questions.  they want to understand and want know more.  i am seeing them wrestle with and come to love the Word of God. 

admittedly, sometimes we're still late to Big Group, but not because of dirty diapers or potty training, like the old days.  now it's because the students themselves are reading the Bible story (which takes a little bit longer than when I do.)  or because we are wrapped up in a prayer circle, thanking God for the blessings in our lives or confessing our sins.  Children talking to God.  a good reason to be late.     

this past November, we were teaching a unit about the prophets.  one Saturday night, my group of five and six year olds were listening to me tell the story of Isaiah.  they heard me read,  

Then God said from heaven, “Who will take a message to the people?” And Isaiah, who had seen that God was the greatest Holy King said, “Here I am. Send me." It’s like he raised his hand and said, “God, please pick me.” [Isaiah 6:8]

i stopped speaking.  i silently re-read those words.  i've seen them many times before, but this time, there was a weight to them i'd never felt before. 

we've all been asked the same question.  we've all been called to take a message to the people.  and those of us in Grace’s Children’s Ministry have all raised our hands and said, "here i am.  send me." and have committed to taking The Message to the youngest of His people. 

and we can rest assured that it is, indeed, sinking in.

:: a fine line ::

banff mountain film festival magazine [2011-2012]

"the line between badass and dumbass is not only fine, it is a grey, wavy line, and in a different place for each individual.  it's hard to recognise, easy to miss, and painfully clear when overstepped.  it's the concept of pushing hard and not giving up, balanced against blind ambition and getting in too deep.  basically, when you start to get really scared, you are probably approaching your line."

adventurer, climber, BASE-jumper and para-alpinist Leo Houlding, in response to being asked how he knows when he is approaching the "fine line between badass and dumbass." 

:: reminder ::

:: broken hearts & auto parts ::

by DetroitDerek Photography via luckyshirt

:: love it ::

free people via smashboxstudios.com

:: an invocation for beginnings ::

ashow.zefrank.com

let me think about the people i care about the most, and how when they fail or disappoint me, i still love them, i still give them chances, and i still see the best in them. let me extend that generosity to myself.

let me find and use metaphors to help me understand the world around me and give me the strength to get rid of them when it's apparent they no longer work.

and let me remember that my courage is a wild dog, it won't just come when i call it. i have to chase it down and hold on as tight as i can.

let me not be so vain to think that i'm the sole author of my victories and a victim of my defeats.

let me remember that the impact of criticism is often not the intent of the critic.

and when i eat my critique, let me be able to separate out the good advice from the bitter herbs.

let me not think of my work only as a stepping stone to something else. and if it is, let me become fascinated with the shape of the stone.

there's no need to sharpen my pencils anymore. my pencils are sharp enough. even the dull ones will make a mark.

and God, let me enjoy this.

:: my heart is beeping...still ::

i just had a major cry fest (of the good kind) over the response and attention to kony 2012. it's amazing. it's encouraging.

i remember a day many, many years ago when i was watching oprah and saw these three young guys sitting on her sofa, talking about a trip they'd taken to sudan. which led them to uganda. which led them to creating a movie about the war in northern uganda that this american girl knew nothing about. i was moved.

i ordered invisible children: rough cut and watched it and cried. like i'd never cried before. (or since, most likely.) i had no idea what change was about to happen in my life. what a long and amazing journey was starting. what beautiful and passionate people i was going to meet along the way.

oddly, i'd had a heart for africa for as long as i could remember. but it never made sense. how can someone have a heart for a continent? what does that even mean? what does that look like? what does one do with that? jason, bobby, laren and the rough cut made it make sense. finally, it made sense. i knew what i wanted to do. i knew what i needed to do. i knew the reason for the desire that God had placed on my heart many years before.

i watched jolly lead jason, laren and bobby to the bus park full of thousands of children in fear of being abducted in the middle of the night. i saw her passion, in that very first meeting, for ther community. an almost desperation in her desire for their story to be seen and heard and told.

i heard boni talking about his best friend, ojok, who had been kidnapped by the LRA and forced to fight in the war. boni didn't know if his friend was dead or alive. boni couldn't even cry for his best friend any more but his "heart was beeping." mine, too.

and then there was jacob. sweet, strong, tenacious jacob. he'd escaped from the LRA and they were looking for him. he spoke of his brother who had been killed. he cried, even though the LRA had conditioned them to never cry. cry and be killed. children. children killing and being killed.

heartbreaking.

i was moved and then i moved.

there was the global night commute.
and displace me.
and the rescue.

and then there came the obama administration's announcement to send advisors to central africa.

and we rejoiced.

and now, kony 2012. over 58 million views on youtube alone. astonishing. i think of all the links and videos that have been posted over the years. all the emails and letters sent. the phone calls to congressmen made. (the form letters received in response.) all the pleas for people to read, watch, listen. to see, hear, respond. and it's happened. little by little, it's happened. but now? now the response is huge. it's universal. it's happening. i am overwhelmed with hope and faith that it's happening. i pray that the end is near. that these children who are now adults will finally see justice for their tormenters. that these children who are still children will know peace before they're adults. that the beautiful, loving, vibrant, tortured Children of God in central africa will know peace.



peace.

:: kony2012 info and actions ::

i'm so excited about the response to the kony2012 video over the past few days. the number of views, likes, shares and comments on facebook alone has been great and i can only hope and assume that the off-line conversations and awareness are growing, too.

is it important to know that your efforts - from the smallest to the largest - do and will make a difference.

if you're new to the Invisible Children world and would like more information on what the organization does and plans to do, please visit www.invisiblechildren.com and/or take a look at the following links for much more information.

Hear from those directly affected by the LRA:
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/94226
IC response to critiques of financials & efforts:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html
IC / Resolve / Enough Project policy manifesto & letter to President Obama:
http://www.theresolve.org/blog/archives/3071032348
IC's Jason Russell interview:
http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/invisible-childrens-jason-russell-kony-2012

What next? Call on Washington:
http://www.theresolve.org/blog/archives/3071032361
What next? Donate to IC:
https://www.stayclassy.org/checkout/donation?eid=14711
What next? Or donate to Resolve:
https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2241/t/11194/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=6602
What next? Purchase an Action Kit and get involved on April 20: http://invisiblechildrenstore.myshopify.com/

And, of course, continue to share the video and spread the word:

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

:: not what i want ::

"you get used to it," he said. "that's what this place is all about, Edward. getting used to things."

"it's not what i want," he said.

"that, too," he said. "you get used to that, too."

[from big fish by daniel wallace]