1.) I read this post at Fried Okra this week and it caused me to wonder, “Why do I blog exactly?” “What is it that I am trying to say?” Can anyone tell me?
No?
I suspect, after some thought, that it’s to make friends, to build relationships and form connections with other people out there.
But it made me think.
I’m looking forward to the rest of her posts on this.
2.)I miss knitting. I gave away all of my knitting supplies in November because I figured there wouldn’t be much point to knitting living in Thailand. I mean, it’s way too hot for that right? And now everywhere I look I see people knitting and my fingers itch to pick up needles and make something fun and I wish I still had some around.
3.) If I had something to knit I could use it to procrastinate some more from all the sewing that I have piled up. It’s to the point where I try and remember how it was I found time to sew in the past and I just can’t. When did I do all that sewing? How did I squeeze time out of my day for it? Of course,’m trying to get more sleep these days, so I guess that’s the answer. When you are trying not to stay up until 2am every night anymore it’s harder to find time to do things. But knitting is the kind of thing that can be done while doing something else, in the car, talking to children and neighbors, etc. It keeps me from feeling restless.
4.)I have another post up over at Blissfully Wed today. Click over to read about yet another thing husbands wish their wives wouldn’t do.
5.)I just read this article today. Thanks Veronica for sending it to me. It’s one of the things that comes up as we set out to improve the lives of children and refugee communities in a third world country. People ask if we are a Christian organization. I suppose we are, in the sense that we are Christians and are motivated by who we are to do the things we do and many of the people we work with are the same. We believe that love and care for each other, and forgiveness of enemies are a better way to respond to the crisis surrounding Burma than arms and vengeance. So far I haven’t seen that kind of thing accomplished without faith in God to empower it.
6.)I was asked recently how I got here. And by here I think the questioner was referring to the point where I am ready to move to a 3rd world country and try to help the people who are already there trying to help the poorest of the poor and the least of these, minority displaced children who have no parents. The truth is it was a pretty natural progression and therefore might be encouraging to other people who feel a pull in the same direction. I feel a series coming on. Anyone else interested, or would it just be me indulging a bit of navel gazing?
7.)I was not recently inducted into a secret society which does not exist and therefore does not have the express purpose of changing the world for the better by telling stories that change for the better the stories that people tell themselves about the world. There is nothing to say about such an event because such an event would never happen. Because such an organization does not exist.
The mundane, the philosophical, and the purely fictional, what else would you expect from a 7 quick takes post?
Be sure to go to Conversion Diary to read everyone else.
9 thoughts on “7 Quick Takes”
Hi Carrien. I’ve came across your blog several weeks back and just wanted to letyou know that I’m anxious to hear about your experiences in Thailand. I’d love to once again be doing some sort of int’l development work, but for now, I’ll have to live vicariously through you. A while back, I lived in the Philippines for 4 years and while there, did a ton of volunteer work with orphans (even wound up adopting one Filipino boy and subsequently, two Cambodian orphans). I think you will find your work to be incredibly rewarding and life-changing and at times, extremely frustrating. I can’t wait to hear all about it!
I, too, read Fried Okra’s post about knowing the purpose of your blog. I figure I don’t have to answer that question, because I have hodgepodge in my blog name. That way, people know from the start that I’m going to ramble about all sorts of things. I hope your move goes smoothly.
Somehow I missed the Fried Okra post, I’ll have to check it out. Must have been one of the days where I had to clear out the google reader because I was too far behind. 🙂
You’re a delight, lady. I’m so glad to have bumped into you through the Quick Takes. I’ll be back!
P.S. I absolutely LOVE what it says at the top of your blog.
Well, navel gazing or not, I am feeling pulled in a similar direction and I would REALLY REALLY like to hear how you got to that place yourself.
So, if you needed permission from someone you don’t even know (but who loves your blog and your mission), there you go. Consider it given. 😉
Just wanted to let you know that plenty of humanitarian aid and third world change has been accomplished by people who do not believe in God. For starters, most members of my church don’t believe in God, but we support an international service organization, http://www.uusc.org/
Plus, I’m certain other religions such as Buddhism and Hindus support such organizations and causes and they don’t believe in God either.
We tend to hear only about Christian organizations simply because that’s what gets reported on because most people doing the talking (in the US at least) are Christians so they talk about what they know and do. I grew up Catholic–the only orgs I knew about were Catholic ones, since that’s what I heard about and was asked for money for!
Oh, and what about The Red Cross?????
AnnMarie-I don’t disagree with you at all. There are several excellent secular organizations doing humanitarian work. I didn’t mean to imply anything to the contrary.
I don’t think I was at all clear in what I was trying to say up there.
I understood the article to be discussing the need for more than just aid and infrastructure. The author was discussing the need for a different way of thinking as well and, as I understood it, was saying that Christianity seemed to fill in the gaps where what humanitarian aid in itself is lacking.
For instance, in most of Asia a young girl’s virginity is considered a commodity, owned by her family not herself and therefore parents feel no moral qualms with selling their 5 year old girls and boys to westerners to be used as sex toys. Something we consider evil, they consider good business. Something besides aid work needs to happen to truly change this. Yes, helping families to survive economically without needing to resort to this option is a good part of it, as is education but it may not be enough of Christian families, in general, even if they don’t have enough money, don’t consider selling their children.
What I said was not that Christians are the only ones who do aid work. I said that faith in God is the only ideology that I know of that has been seen to practically work itself out in promoting forgiveness and healing in situations rather than bitterness and revenge. And I believe that those are better solutions.
Where we work it is Christians who have the ideas for building their communities, for change, for strengthening their tribes and someday returning to Burma to help build something better. Most of the others hope for arms and the chance to go back and kill all of the Burmese.
It is this kind of observable difference in ideologies that I had in mind when I wrote that.
And I found it interesting that a person with no vested interest in observing such things would in fact observe them.
The above may be closer to what I was trying to get out when I wrote #4.
My nearly 14 year old daughter discovered knitting 2 years ago – and it has been the best thing for her. This super hyper child suddenly becomes calm and listens. We even have let her do a small project knitting in church, and some of her scarf ensambles are quite the hoot! She wears them for belts, shawls, and does this sort of baby wrap thing. Plus the hats.
Thanks for blogging!
My nearly 14 year old daughter discovered knitting 2 years ago – and it has been the best thing for her. This super hyper child suddenly becomes calm and listens. We even have let her do a small project knitting in church, and some of her scarf ensambles are quite the hoot! She wears them for belts, shawls, and does this sort of baby wrap thing. Plus the hats.
Thanks for blogging!
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