Charity or Justice or Both?

I love the intentional charitable choices Les and I make at Christmas. We give coats to a clothing closet so someone will have a warmer Christmas. We buy gifts for someone we know in need. We put together shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. And because of my parents' Salvation Army background, I have trouble passing a kettle without dropping a little something inside. This year we added the alternative gifts for the family.

Giving to others in need reminds me of the real reason behind Christmas: Jesus came because we needed him. He gives to us and so, in his honor, we give to others.

Two articles in the latest PRISM magazine—the magazine published by Evangelicals for Social Action—reminded me, though, that giving isn't the only reason Jesus came. An arresting phrase turned up in the first article and then was the title (and subject) of the second: Charity is not justice.

Justice involves using the power you have to provide fair treatment for others, especially the most vulnerable. When Jesus announced his own mission in the synagogue, he used a passage from Isaiah that says:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me 

to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 

and recovery of sight for the blind, 

to set the oppressed free, 

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

There are both acts of charity (giving sight to the blind) and of justice (freedom for the prisoners, setting the oppressed free) spoken of in those verses. When God, through Micah told the people what true religion was he said it was "to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." To truly follow God, I cannot just "do charity." I must also "act justly."

I always say that I want the spirit of Christmas to be evident in my life all year long, and so I try to ensure that I continue to do acts of charity. But how committed am I to acting justly? And to doing my part to require those holding the reins of power—governments or corporations—to act justly?

That's harder, and to be honest, it doesn't usually supply the warm, fuzzy feeling that my charitable giving does. It often means slogging along for the long haul. It might mean writing e-mails or letters, making phone calls, choosing inconvenient shopping options, recruiting others to do the same. It can take years of work (think about the calls to end apartheid). I may never meet the "recipient" of my act of justice; they may never even know that anyone acted on their behalf. But it is still the will of God for me.

So I'm thinking. How will I "act justly" this year? What will I commit to? I can sign petitions through change.org or send an e-mail through bread.org when an important vote is on the table. Will I take the second step to make a phone call to a politician to make my voice heard? Will I use the power I do have—my money—and write a corporation and then choose not to buy their product or shop at their store when I hear of unjust practices, not just for a week or two until it gets inconvenient, but until they change? Will I regularly pray for justice to become the norm and listen to God's voice telling me where I need to work to implement it?

I hope I will consciously choose to support justice, to remember that charity is not justice, and that God desires both. How will you join me in the quest for justice in 2011?

Gifts That Give Hope

This year the adults in our family are giving alternative gifts for Christmas. To make it more meaningful, we are choosing a charitable gift that somehow represents the person the gift honors. It’s been fun trying to figure out what to give that says, “I understand what matters to you.”


And sometimes it's just frustrating. I chose one gift for a certain relative (no specifics since some of the family occasionally check out this blog) that seemed perfect. I couldn't figure out how to make the targeted donation I wanted on the website, so I called the charity. I explained what I wanted. The pleasant young woman who answered said she would figure out how to designate the specific project; however, in order to make such a donation, the minimum amount was almost twice what I had planned to give. Since it was a charity donation (not just some overpriced knickknack), I decided to bite the bullet and make the donation. 


Relieved I went to run some errands. When I returned home, there was a message from the charity chick, asking me to call her back. Of course, by the time I was able to do so, she wasn't there. I got another lovely representative of the charity. She read the first's notations and explained that I could only donate to the project, not a specific person. I assured her that was fine. She promised to process it and send a gift card I could give.


A few minutes later the phone rang again. It was the lovely woman, who had now talked personally to the charity chick. Apparently unless I was a monthly supporter, I could not donate to a specific project in a specific country. Of course, if I was a corporation doing a major gift (say, a minimum of $1500) they would have found some way to process it (yes, they told me this). Needless to say, that wasn't happening. I could donate to a generic pool that would go to some project similar to the one I wanted, somewhere in the world. It was possible it might even go to the project I wanted. Frustrated now, and realizing I could make that donation online in the original amount, I told her I would make a decision and take care of it online if I decided to go for it.


All that frustration and no further toward the gift. ARGHH!


Do you want to give a meaningful gift with no frustration? Back in September, I had Jennifer Knepper guest blog about the Gifts That Give Hope Alternative Gift Fair. Even though the one-day fair is over, you can order online through December 17. You can easily and simply choose one of 90 gifts in support of one of 30 organizations. Your gift will give hope for years to come. (And you won't be frustrated at all!)

A Little Child Shall Lead Them (to Compassion)

We opened our Christmas presents from Joy while we were together in Williamsburg at Thanksgiving. Both Les and Ashlee got flannel jammy pants (I already had some). Earlier this week I bought us all new slippers with my $10 coupons for a couple of stores. It's been so cold here this week, we've all changed into cozy pants and slippers as soon as possible each evening.

When I am cozy, I love curling up with a book. (It's why I don't have an e-reader yet; it doesn't seem curl-up-able.) Books make me forget the cold. They take me off to another world, transporting me to someplace fun, warm or at least interesting. I get to live someone else's life for a few hours. And I learn so much. (I'll never forget learning from one of Gilbert Morris's fiction books that West Virginia came into being during the Civil War, when the western counties of Virginia refused to secede from the Union.)

Alyssa Deraco knows what I'm talking about. A 12-year-old who loves to read, she feels books can help us forget our troubles and she wanted to share that experience with others. So she started Alyssa's Bedtime Stories, to collect kids' books, uses and new, to donate to kids living in shelters who could use something to help them forget how difficult life can be. Worried that they have no "cozy pants," she decided to bundle the books with a pair of pajamas.

She and a few friends choose the pjs and appropriate books for each child, wrap the presents, handwrite the personalized cards, and deliver the gifts so they can meet the recipients. This year their handing out 124 pairs of pjs and over 300 books. Want to know more? Read the newspaper article about Alyssa.  Donations are always appreciated, whether of books or pjs or money to buy them.

Or you could just allow Alyssa to lead you toward your own unique service. What makes you cozy? What helps you relax and forget your troubles? Maybe it's a hot cocoa and a family game night. Can you invite another family or a widow over to join you? (Don't forget to tell them to bring their slippers.) Maybe it's soothing music or a warm bath. No, don't invite someone over for a bath. But you could put together a gift basket with bath salts or bubble bath, a CD and a beverage for a single mom and give it with a voucher offering to take her kids out for a few hours so she can indulge.

The point is to share with someone in need something that nourishes you. What will it be?

Back to the Everyday Whining

Okay, Thanksgiving and the parades, football and overeating are finished for most of us. Now we're in Christmas shlepping, I mean shopping, mode. And that leads to whining when the store is out of stock on the sale item you drove there especially for. Or sarcasm when the salesperson is less than interested in helping you. Or complaining when the crowds push you around.

To combat the ho-hums that have already begun to replace the ho-ho-hos, let's take a moment to list 5 things we're grateful for. I know Thanksgiving is over, but gratitude isn't just a Thanksgiving tradition. It's a daily exercise that lifts our spirits and reminds us of all the good things God has provided us with.

Be creative and list things other than your family, your relationship with God and your house and food. Here are 5 items off the top of my heart:

1. Books, and the ability to read them
2. Laughter, because it makes life bearable
3. Scones, especially with clotted cream
4. Climate control, in houses and cars (not too hot, not too cold, just right)
5. Socks, in a glorious array of colors and patterns

Put 5 things you're grateful for today in the comments section. Or at least name them to yourself, and maybe make naming 5 things a part of every day this Advent season. It may just change your attitude about the whole season of giving.

Picture Perfect

I'm not much of a photographer. I took some photos with my phone when I was at the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico last year. Les made fun of me because most of them have my finger in them, as you can see in the photo at the right where it looks like a giant balloon is attacking the mountain.

So calls for photos don't usually interest me. However, I saw a newspaper article about GE's Ecomagination Photo Project and had to play along. You upload up to three photos and tag them with wind, water or light.

For each photo, GE will make a donation. Water photos bring donations of 480 gallons of drinking water. Wind photos, 4.5kW hours of wind energy. And light photos, 175 hours of solar power. It's a cool simple way to give. Here's one of the three light photos I uploaded. Taken on the same New Mexico trip, I might add, and nary a finger in sight.

So if you have an opportunity to upload a photo, your effort could help power clinics in rural Peru, give families in East Timor solar-powered lanterns or help build clean-water wells.

Now that sounds like a picture-perfect investment.

A Victim For Life

Several weeks ago Ashlee's Sunday school class took on the Heifer Read to Feed program. As part of the program, which raises money to buy animals for families in need, the kids were to read books and ask for donations for each book read. Heifer provided a suggested list of books that would help kids learn about other cultures and needs. Unfortunately, the books on the list all seemed to be picture books geared for younger kids.

So Ashlee and I spent some time at the library, using key words like "poverty," "justice" and "hunger" to try to find appropriate books for her age. We ended up reading two that told of children who were sold into sexual slavery. Both books—Sold by Patricia McCormick and They Called Me Red by Christina Kilbourne—were written for preteens. We read the books out loud, so I could deal with anything awful that came up. Both authors did a great job of communicating what these children dealt with as child prostitutes without graphic sex. Ashlee was captured by the stories and appalled to realize that each year 2 million plus kids are exploited in the sex trade.

The heartbreaking stories made me more sensitive when I got an e-mail from change.org about Sara Kruzan. Sara was "befriended" by a man when she was 11, who ultimately raped her and then made her a prostitute. At the age of 16 she killed him. A judge sentenced as an adult in 1994 to life in prison with no parole. Watch the video in which Sara tells her story.

Then if you agree that Sara has paid her "debt to society" over the last 12 years (plus the three years in sexual slavery), sign the petition asking Governor Schwarzenegger to commute her sentence. Does she need to be a victim for life?

What Do You Know?

A few weeks ago we attended a missions conference where one of the speakers was Kurt Graff. Kurt and his wife Nancy spent years in Russia and Central Asia starting churches. Now they are working with an organization that encourages young people to invest their lives in countries within the 1040 window. (If you want info on the 1040 window, watch this video. I would suggest you turn off the sound, because I found the music very annoying.)

Anyway, Kurt had this quiz for us about Central Asia, Russia and a few other mission questions. Try the quiz yourself. Send me your answers. Anyone who gets them all correct, I'll have a prize for you. (What? I have no idea!) Maybe you'll learn something—like I did—even if it's how little you know about Central Asia.

1)      What are the names of the 15 countries that made up the former Soviet Union?

2)      Rank in order from the most to the least popular Russia Leader.

            Putin         Lenin         Stalin        Gorbachov        Yelstin      Czar Nicholas       Catherine the Great

3)      How many different people groups, live in the former Soviet Union?

             10           30           50            130           300               1000

4)      What country is the only one that that has all of natural elements listed on the periodic table?

              America       China      Russia       Kazakhstan       India     Brazil

5)      What country is sending out almost as many missionaries as America?

              Canada       Korea        England      Germany     Kenya      Brazil 

6)      What percent of those who live in Central Asia claim to be believers in Jesus?

              50%          25%          10%          1%         .01%

7)      What percent of the states in the country of Kazakhstan have at least one church?

              100%           90%       75%         25%      10%

8)      How many bibles can a one have in his possession in Uzbekistan?

                 0                  1                 10                50              unlimited

9)      What is the major religion of Central Asia?

               Atheism          Orthodoxy        Christianity        Islam        Buddhism        None

10)    What percent of the population are under the age of 18 in Central Asia?

               05          15            30            50             65

11)    What is the average life span for males in the former Soviet Union?

               35              45                58           65           73           82

12)    The most popular type of programs on prime time TV in Russia are?

             Political shows         music channels          comedy       Spanish soap operas       Russian dramas

I Can't. Really?

How often do I make excuses for why I can't do something for the world? I am easily overwhelmed by the immensity of the problems. Really, what kind of difference can I make anyway?

Take the Haitian earthquake and the new cholera epidemic, for instance. I don't have any medical skills, and I don't do body fluids. (God was wise not to give me babies.) I couldn't build if my life depended on it; just ask the people who worked with me on my occasional Habitat for Humanity forays.

And so my default mode is to pray and if, especially moved, to make a financial donation. At least that way my little bit combines with others' little bits to support those who actually have the skills.

It takes only a 10-year-old to shame me. (No, not my granddaughter Ashlee this time.) Alexys Palmer saw video of the Haitian earthquake at the Creation music festival and decided she had to do something.

She came up with a great idea. She would make dresses for girls in Haiti. 100 of them. Out of pillowcases. She wanted them all done by November to ship them to Haiti in time for Christmas. There was just one tiny little hiccup (my apologies to Sam in Love Actually for stealing his line). Alexys didn't know how to sew.

It didn't stop her. She had her mom teach her to sew. Now she's halfway to her goal. On each dress she's sewn a pocket, and in the pocket she places a Bible verse translated into Creole. She calls her ministry Lexy's Pockets Full of Sonshine. After she fills her Haiti quota, she plans to make more dresses for a group called Angels in Africa, which cares for impoverished children in African countries. You can watch a video about Alexys to learn more.

Creativity is a beautiful gift from God. Alexys is using hers to meet the needs of his children. May she inspire each of us to use our own creativity to find ways to serve.

Wandering Back Into the Light

Debby Howell-Moroney, her husband Michael and their, at that time, small children Maddy and Ian, were part of our Delaware church while Michael was getting his PhD. They moved on to Birmingham many years ago, but we were so thankful to see them this summer when they visited the Mid-Atlantic region. Debby is a tireless advocate for social justice, so I asked her to do a guest blog. It’s different from what I expected, but I believe you will find it as challenging as I did.

I am finally coming out of a long dry spell, spiritually speaking. If you’ve been a believer longer than a week, you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Never one to see things as “half-empty,” I like to reflect on the children of Israel being led into the wilderness. God rescued them from Egypt, but this wasn’t exactly the Promised Land either. There was—and still is— a purpose to the wilderness. God doesn’t intend to leave us there either. That is what keeps me going. God had something better, awesome, amazing, planned for the children of Israel on the other side—they just couldn’t see it from where they were.

God has something better for you and God had something better for me too, and I think I caught a glimpse of it today. Back when I was feeling loved and special and basking in His glow (while I drove my minivan to ballet practice, changed diapers, and did mountains of laundry), my spiritual life consisted of daily conversations and meditations with God in the most unlikely places: the shower, while driving, or sitting in the car-pool line at preschool. I am, and maybe will always be, a completely undisciplined and rebellious Bible reader. I don’t want anyone making me feel guilty about how and when and with what frequency I “do” a “quiet time.”

Thankfully, God finds a way of smooshing in through the cracks and the spilled cans of soda. Bless Seeds Family Worship and The Donut Man—they are largely responsible for my knowledge of Scripture, with their catchy little jangles and funky little beats. (Those and my sweet childhood friend who dragged me along to every VBS and Awana meeting they held at her church.) God takes snippets of Scripture and puts meditations in my mind—often during “McPrayers” or while humming praise music that has stuck in my brain from Sunday morning worship.

I don’t know when He stopped speaking to me or, more likely, when I stopped hearing Him.

Somewhere in there we stopped leading a small group at our home on Sunday night. I stopped attending the playgroup that I have been going to since we moved to Alabama in 2002. I no longer have a preschool age child to use as an excuse to show up, religiously, for a recharge. Money got tight and we got busier with the busyness of life. Our desire to be foster parents ground to a halt as the certification process was inexplicably prolonged by bureaucratic inefficiencies. My 2½-year tenure of hip-hop dance fitness ended right as I was completing the process of becoming an instructor. What does it all really matter anyway?

Sometimes I think we get lost in similar “what does it matter” funk. We get to feeling as though we can’t make a difference on our own in the world around us or in the world at large. It’s not that I ever really felt like what I do doesn’t matter; I just felt like if I didn’t do those things, that wouldn’t matter either. After all, what is one Bible study group, more or less?

I received a note in the mail this week that began the course of my redemption from this dry place. It was from Alabama Youth Home. AYH regularly uses telemarketing to raise money for the youth they serve in several group homes. I typically pledge 10 or 20 bucks when they call and faithfully write a check when the pledge form arrives.

But this wasn’t a typical mailing from them. Inside was a letter reminding me of a $10 pledge I made back in January 2010 that I hadn’t mailed in. “Unbelievable,” I thought. Can you imagine—they were collecting on a commitment that I had made back in January and neglected to fulfill. As I am sure you can imagine, our budget was tight in January in the post-holiday crunch. I had made my usual pledge, but by the time the collection envelope had arrived, our money was nearly gone for the month and I had blown it off. What is $10, anyway? No big deal. Right?

Why on earth would they be collecting now? That seems crazy. Surely people make pledges and don’t pay them all the time, right? Maybe, but it struck me as incredible, brilliant. Assuming they are coming up on the end of their budget year and with a tightening economy, what an interesting thing to count unpaid pledges as assets. I love it. I made a pledge; I needed to honor it. I was convicted, and so I wrote a check—for $20—and dropped it in the mail.

I don’t know when it happened. Maybe it was last night when I was washing dishes and God shared the phrase, “Be a person worthy of respect, because it is the right thing to do. Don’t do it for recognition because you will largely go unnoticed.” Or perhaps it was in the car today when I clearly heard Him say, “No act, done in love, is too small when it’s done in my name.” That’s when I realized I had really missed hearing His voice. I am glad it is back or that I am listening again.

Déjà Vu

Ever since Ashlee won the whole series of Little House on the Prairie books in her first month with us, she has been fascinated with Little House. We got the first season of the TV series and have been watching it together.

Last weekend we arrived at an episode called "Plague" about the spread of typhoid in Walnut Grove. As we were watching, I was flipping through the newspaper I hadn't gotten to the day before. And there before me was the plague in our time. No, it wasn't typhoid but cholera, spreading quickly in Haiti. Officials are worried about how the numbers will jump when—not if, they say—the disease hits the tent cities of Port-au-Prince.

Living our insulated lives, it's hard to remember that plagues still ravage the world, plagues that can be prevented, in this case by proper sanitation and clean drinking water. While officials try to find the cause, and some blame the U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal, the goal should be to eradicate this disease and other plagues from the planet. In most cases we have the know-how. We just need the will—and the funding—to do it.

If you want to help with the immediate need in Haiti, you can support Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in English, Doctors without Borders, or Partners in Health. If you want to work toward long-term solutions, consider a donation to The Carter Center's health programs or UNICEF's Achieving Zero Campaign.

If only plagues were relegated to old TV shows about an olden time rather than reality. (I guess I can be thankful that at least it's not yet on reality TV.)

The Potters’ Chin

Jenn Potter and her husband Dan were members of our church in Delaware about 10 years ago. As Jenn puts it, we “share a love of reaching out beyond the church walls to be a light to the nations for the sake of the gospel, a light that Christ has made us and called us to walk in.” We still keep in touch, and I knew about a unique ministry Jenn is passionate about. That’s why I asked her to do a guest blog. I am sure it will encourage you in your search to make a difference.

Since our time in Delaware, God has brought us to the Dallas area and through a series of wonderful events, lead us to a ministry that is the answer to a cry of my heart since I was a teenager and a prayer for my family since we were married. I want to share with you a bit about our story for two main reasons: #1. to encourage you to persevere in prayer, especially if you feel called to serve in a certain area but see no way to do it at present, and #2. to let you know about a possible way to affect and interact with the nations without ever leaving your town.

Let me start in the present and tell you a bit about what #2 looks like in our lives. Dallas/Fort Worth is one of the six officially recognized resettlement sites for refugees in Texas. The resettlement has moved outward toward the suburbs, and today in the area I live (about 30 minutes from downtown Dallas), it is estimated that there are 2,000 refugees from the country of Burma who live, work, and go to school here.

They are a people group called the Chin, a group that has been persecuted for racial, political, and religious reasons in Burma since the early 1990s. They are a rural people, mostly living in villages where they farm, and have no indoor plumbing, little education, and none of the paperwork our country seems built upon.

The Chin have left Burma by the tens of thousands, largely to Malaysia where they have waited for years to be resettled. I met a Chin family yesterday who arrived in the U.S. in early September—they had been in Malaysia for eight years, waiting for a country to take them in. They come with one suitcase, little to no English, and limited government resettlement support, which ends after 8 months. Perhaps you can begin to imagine the culture, language, and way of life shock they live in, literally for years, and the massive need they have to make American friends who can help them navigate this complicate world we live in with all of our systems, paperwork, busy-ness, computers, etc. That is where “we Americans” come in!

There are countless ways you can help a refugee including donating items, assisting with paperwork and, more than anything, just taking the time to care about who they are, to smile and welcome them, to pray for them and their families back in Burma and Malaysia, and to continue to be there as a resource as they come up against more and more things they do not understand.

Sometimes we have volunteers who wonder about the danger of enabling them, or treating them as if they don’t know anything, and so on. I had a good wake-up call to the reality of what they are up against when my sister spent a morning with me visiting some Chin apartments. She had recently returned from teaching English is China for 18 months. She is a college-graduate, who has lived abroad before and speaks three languages (although not Chinese). She was so intrigued by what we were doing because she said, “This is what we had in China—someone to help us ‘figure out’ how to do things there because it is so different than in America.” The university she worked for had provided a “cultural liaison,” if you will, for her while she was there, someone who helped her know when she needed to reapply with the government for various things, how to find her way around, how to cook, how to live in China. So if my bold, educated sister needed help from the Chinese while she lived in their country, how much more do these refugees, who are mostly illiterate even in their own language, have little to no schooling, and are beaten down from years in refugee camps, need our help to navigate life in America?

I could go on and on about the Chin, and refugees in general, but if you are interested in more information about them or the specifics of this type of ministry, you can visit this link: hv.thevillagechurch.net/chin-refugees

If this resonates with you at all, I would encourage you to look for refugees in your area. You could try to find connections through schools or churches near lower-income apartment complexes. You could look up resettlement agencies located in your area. You don’t need a large ministry to get involved with—just find a family (sometimes the hardest part) and begin a friendship with them. Ask to help them with their mail. Or cook a meal together—I’ve found the Chin love spaghetti! Once you develop a friendship and they know you are going to keep coming back, they will open up to you and the ways you can help them will be countless.

And don’t give up. Whether it’s helping refugees or whatever your passion is, hang in there if connecting with it is not coming easily. I knew I wanted to serve the poor and oppressed, and I especially have a heart for those from third-world countries. But I didn’t know how to do that where I was living, short of mission trips.

My husband and I wanted to serve together, and once we had kids, we wanted to serve as a family. So for the 13 years of our marriage, we tried about everything we could find locally in addition to international mission trips: nursing homes, Habitat for Humanity, student mentoring, inner city ministries, ESL for Spanish speakers, soup kitchens, Thanksgiving and Christmas outreaches. But we always found the ministry wasn’t exactly for us, wasn’t where our hearts were, or wasn’t close enough for it to become a lifestyle for us.

But we kept praying and we kept trying. It wasn’t until 18 months ago that we got connected with the Chin Refugee Ministry, and it was actually through contacts made during those years of trying out various ministries. I am overjoyed to be able to use my gifts and passions in a ministry that feels tailor made for me (thank You, God!) but I still remember that frustration of desperately wanting a way to serve and not finding it.

If that is you, hang on—keep praying as the persistent widow of Luke 18, keep trying out things that might be a possibility, and trust that God will guide you to that place He has for you and equip you with everything good for doing His will.

Visit a Christian Bookstore; Help Haiti

I love books. I know you know that if you've read the blog more than once or met me in person. Even when I try to swear off buying books for a season—"I'll use the library!" "I'll not buy a book until I read every book on my to-be-read shelves" (yes, it's way beyond a to-be-read pile)—the resolve only lasts until I enter the next bookstore or see the next book advertised.

So I'm thrilled to announce a compassionate reason to visit your local Christian bookstore on Saturday, October 23.

CBA, the Christian Booksellers Association, is hosting Christian Store Day to celebrate the service Christian stores provide to the community. The day will “include unique in-store product specials and appearance from authors and recording artists at a number of CBA retailers,” according to the website.

But rather than just celebrating themselves, they've teamed up with Compassion International, Operation Christmas Child and World Vision to raise awareness and funds for continued relief in Haiti. A special CD compilation will be sold in stores that day to raise money for Haitian relief. The artists on the CD have donated their royalties for the project, and music companies are foregoing profits to help support ministries in Haiti.

So you don’t even have to love books to help. Go buy some music. Show up and let your local Christian bookstore know you appreciate their business. And I suppose if you’re the type who can actually stay out of a bookstore, you can simply donate cash directly to Compassion, Operation Christmas Child or World Vision. Me? I'm off to buy a book. (Okay, a lot of books.)

A Cast of Thousands

Today is Blog Action Day for water issues. I'm one of thousands of bloggers in 125 countries who will be posting today to help create awareness and action to solve the problems resulting from lack of clean water. Take my little quiz to see how much you know about water and the world. (Answers are at the bottom.)

What do you know about water?

1. How many people in the world lack access to clean water?

a. almost 350 million    b. 625 million    c. nearly 1 billion   d. more than 3 billion

See answer info here

2. How many children under age 5 die every week from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions?

a. 38,000 children a week    b. 2,000 children a week    c. 1 million children a week

See answer info here

3. How many liter(s) of water does it take to produce one hamburger?

a. 0.5 liter      b. 1.4 liter    c. 2.8 liters      d. 24 liters

See answer info here

4. How many liters of water does it take to produce one pair of jeans?

a. 5 liters       b. 61 liters      c. 522 liters     d. 6,813 liters

See answer info here

5. How many liter(s) of water does the average American use per day?

a. 0.8 liter       b. 52 liters      c. 465 liters      d. 1,144 liters

Discover how much you use here

Visit the blog action day website for ideas of ways you can help conserve water and ensure that people the world over have access to clean water. If you or I become one of thousands making a small change, we can make a huge impact.

And now the quiz answers 1. c, 2. a, 3. d, 4. d, and 5. c. Be sure to read the answer info pages to learn more about the correct answers. How did you do? Let me know in the comments which answer surprised you most and why. 

Forgetting the Power

A few weeks ago I blogged about Max Lucado's new book Outlive Your Life. It was a book I received free from Thomas Nelson via booksneeze.com. At the time I ordered Outlive Your Life, I also ordered the companion book for teens, You Were Made to Make a Difference, which was written by Max and his daughter Jenna Lucado Bishop, with help from Natalie Gillespie. I had hoped to review both books together, but You Were Made to Make a Difference was back ordered, and so I only now finished reading it.

It follows the same conversational arc that Outlive Your Life does, with the book of Acts as the basis for how to make a difference in the world. But the design and copy are teen oriented (although I feel it is geared more for young teens), and the stories told of people making a difference are all about teens and preteens. It even shares more of the story of Alex and Brett Harris, whose "rebelution" and book Start Here I blogged about back in March.

The user friendly content and the stories of people their own ages should keep kids interested and hopefully give them confidence that they, too, can change the world. Practical ideas for doing just that decorate the pages, and it also provides ways for teens to raise funds to do God's work. I look forward to sharing You Were Made to Make a Difference with some of the teens in my church. I want to see if it inspires them to do big things for God as they allow him to use them.

As I read the book, it reinforced many of the points that struck me in the adult version of the book, including the idea that we don't have to be anyone more special than we already are (as God's child) to be God's  hands and feet in a hurting world.

This passage really hit me:

Prayer is our foundation for making a difference. Trying to change the world without prayer is like trying to use a new iPod without charging the battery. You have to connect to the power source before you can start rockin'.

How often have I tried to do something without first accessing God's power? Way more than I want to admit. Yet I'm a weakling. I have little strength and even less commitment and motivation. If I am going to impact my world, I need to first spend time in prayer. I need to seek God to change me and to change the world around me. I must have his power to make a difference.

Let's start right here:

Father, you are the all-powerful one. I'm useless without you. Too easily turned aside to other interests. I ask you to show me your heart for the world, for children in need, for people caught in a cycle of despair. Show me the helplessness of my own condition (even when I foolishly think I am self-sufficient) and lead me to you often so we can talk and you can share your plans with me. I want to be used of you; keep me plugged in to you as my source.

Hoping you, too, are seeking God's power to change the world.

And while your at it consider buying You Were Made to Make a Difference for a young teen in your life so they, too, can change the world.

An Alternative Guest

One of the people I’ve gotten to know who is committed to making a difference here in Lancaster County and around the world is Jennifer Knepper. She is a staff nurse in the medical ICU at Hershey Medical Center, an adjunct clinical instructor for Lancaster General College, and a volunteer RN at Water Street Health Services. I’ve asked her to do a guest blog on an event that’s dear to her heart.

During a work shift at Hershey in 2007, I had some downtime at about 2 a.m. and decided to pick up the Patriot News. My eyes immediately went to the article that asked if your grandma really needed another sweater for Christmas or if your dad needed another tie. And I said “NO!”

My parents had actually been telling me for years not to get them anything for the holidays because they had enough “stuff,” so I began giving them gifts to honor them based on the impact that they’d had in my life. For example:

·      I gave the gift of education for a child in Africa through World Vision in their name. I choose this for my parents because my education was always something that they wholeheartedly supported and encouraged. I have come to realize how the gender disparity that exists throughout the world would not likely have afforded me an education had I grown up elsewhere.

·      One year, in honor of my sister, I gave to a cause she feels very passionate about—fighting human trafficking. I had heard the president of International Justice Mission speak at my church about the atrocities of modern day slavery, human trafficking and the like and decided to give the gift of aftercare to a young girl who had been rescued from a brothel for forced prostitution.

As I read the article, I discovered that a group of women in Harrisburg were hosting an alternative gift fair called Gifts That Give Hope. The best way to describe an alternative gift fair is to essentially think of a live version of a gift catalog that you may have seen or received around the holidays to further the work of various nonprofit organizations and to promote meaningful gift giving.

I immediately contacted and subsequently met with them in December of 2007 to brainstorm. In January of 2008, I gathered a small group of vibrant, committed volunteers to put this concept in motion for Lancaster. We hosted our first annual gift fair in November of 2008 and sold over $30,000 worth of gifts that benefited 30+ nonprofit organizations.

We’re now planning for our 3rd annual event and are excited to see how things have grown. We’ve worked to make this event unique to Lancaster with a celebratory and community emphasis. We will be featuring local flavors of well-loved cafes and restaurants unique to Lancaster County: Café Chocolate, Cocina Mexicana, Rachel’s Creperie, Spyro Gyro, Square One Coffee, Rafiki Café and Wendy Jo’s Homemade. Children’s activities are available from the following organizations: The Lancaster Science Factory, Heads Up Lancaster, Your Language Connection, Music for Everyone, and Kids and Cultures.

In addition to the alternative gifts, holiday shoppers can purchase fair trade gift items for loved ones, teachers, coworkers, and the like. Gift items range from “Bead for Life” jewelry made from magazines by women in Uganda, to “Delicious Peace” coffee (organic & fair trade) grown by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim farmers in a co-op in Uganda, and items from “Made by Survivors,” where every piece is handmade by a woman who has been removed from human trafficking and is now involved in respectable and dignified working conditions.

This year’s event will take place on Saturday, November 20, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., at the Farm and Home Center (Penn State Cooperative Extension building), 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster. We are still looking for volunteers to help with this year's event. Could you be one of them?

To learn more, check out our website or our blog. "Friend" us on Facebook. Contact us with any questions or to volunteer.

Hope to see you there.

Live Life to the Max

You know I consider myself ordinary, average, and that's why I named my blog I'm No Superstar as I explained in a post a few weeks ago. But I do believe we ordinary people (and there are a lot of us) can make an extraordinary difference in our world. I've been trying to get the message out through this blog and some articles I've written for Christian magazines. I've even (unsuccessfully) pitched a book on the topic for years.

Now, thanks to a free book I received from Thomas Nelson via booksneeze.com, I am confident that the message will get out to a far wider audience than I could ever reach. After all, I'm no Max Lucado.

Outlive Your Life has all the hallmarks of a Lucado book: The witty wordplay—"He walked on water but never strutted on the beach." The retelling of a Bible story so vividly, you think you were there—I especially love the retelling of Saul and Ananias. The alluring alliteration—"We—who came to Christ as sinful, soiled and small—accomplish things." The personal illustrations.

But this book includes a premise I have to admit I didn't expect to see in a Lucado book, the idea that, as Max tells it, "God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the course of human suffering." The way for us to outlive our lives is to use them to make a difference in the world today, so others who live after us, have better lives.

Taking an unusual approach to social justice, Lucado uses the first 12 chapters of the book of Acts to illustrate how and why God wants us to impact our world. Short chapters (6 to 8 pages, plus a prayer of application) provide for easier digestion and time to ponder. A discussion guide at the end contains not only questions, but a few practical action ideas to push us in the direction of outliving our lives.

And to put his money where his mouth is, Lucado is giving the royalties of this book to World Vision, which will use it to drill wells in northern Uganda. So buying the book helps you to already outlive your life. Go for it! And feel free to tell me what actions you're taking to outlive your life.

Are You a Butterfly?

You've probably heard of the butterfly effect. No, not the Ashton Kutcher movie; the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in South America affects the weather in New York City. It has something to do with Chaos Theory, which might be a good descriptor of my life if it was instead called Chaos Reality. Truly, I have no idea what Chaos Theory is (and if you know, don't tell me; I'm not that interested).

The point of the butterfly effect is that small, seemingly inconsequential actions can affect the world in amazing ways. And so Andy Andrews, the teller of parables whose book The Noticer I reviewed last year on my blog, has crafted his newest book, The Butterfly Effect, around this phenomenon. When the publisher, Thomas Nelson, offered me a complimentary copy through BookSneeze.com, I couldn't resist a peek.

Andrews is a masterful storyteller, and this book is no exception. The Butterfly Effect reminds me of It's a Wonderful Life, but with historical facts. And instead of tracing how one life affected his world, he traces how one wonderful outcome arose from many people who took one bold or brave action. He gets to the people behind the hero, those whose actions in the past allowed the superstar to become a superstar, to make a world of difference.

A beautifully sculpted gift book with exquisite pacing of copy and art, The Butterfly Effect makes an outstanding gift to a recent graduate, an uncertain teen, an adult trying to decide life's next step. If George Bailey had read it, he might not have needed the angelic review of all his life had meant to others. Who do you know that needs its message? (Read it yourself before you give it away.)

What results will your actions have? Is the thought that each small, insignificant choice you make or action you take can, and will, affect the lives of countless others enough to keep you moving? It drives me to my knees to ask God for wisdom to choose well. As Andrews says, "You have been created in order that you might make a difference." What difference are you making in your world? Every step is a small but powerful one. Make it purposefully.

Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Ever feel like God is targeting a certain message right at you? It can be scary, but I love when that happens. It reminds me that I have a personal God, not just a rule book from an out-of-touch deity.

Yesterday I had to choose a new book of the Bible to start reading for my morning Bible reading time. Like most people, I tend to gravitate toward books I love for their practical application (Do this! Be this kind of person! Avoid that!) or at least to shorter books so I can feel I've accomplished something. And okay, usually the New Testament because, hey, all that talk of animal sacrifice and wars can get downright wearisome. 

I'd just finished Mark, the shortest Gospel, to be sure, but still longer than most of the Epistles. Prior to that I had read the Psalms—great for the emotions I was dealing with as Mom became ill and was, as the Salvation Army says, "promoted to glory." So where to now?

For some reason (God, I'm guessing), I was drawn to Isaiah. Old Testament, 66 chapters, lots of prophecy (hate that) and curses. What was I thinking?

Well, God was thinking. In chapter one I came across these 3- to 4-word power-packed punches:

Cease to do evil,

Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Reprove the ruthless,

Defend the orphan,

Plead for the widow.

They come right after God tells the people he's kind of sick of their sacrifices and religious traditions himself. “Straighten up!” he says, and then gives them these specifics.

It struck me that learning to do good, and seeking justice are intentional, conscious choices. It’s not going to happen when I am operating in default mode. I need to choose.

And it occurred to me that meant choosing harder, more expensive and less convenient things like fair-trade chocolate and tea. Could I justify the extra expense?

I picked up my devotional book (Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler) and heard God laugh. In talking of Christ being our Lord, it read, “Instead of striving to do what we want when we want, we will strive to do what God wants when he wants. As we do, we will begin to understand that his lordship will not diminish or impoverish us but that it will bless us in surprising ways."

Okay, okay, I get it. Later in the day, I went to Ten Thousand Villages to pick up my fair-trade tea. Um, harder than I thought. No decaf (which accounts for more than half the tea I drink). And only small quantities of regular tea, not the bulk bags I need.

The salesperson suggested I try Equal Exchange online. That led to a futile hour-and-a-half Internet quest. And now I am overwhelmed. First, very little decaf black fair-trade tea is available in the U.S. Second, the names of all the teas are very complicated; I have no idea what translates to the equivalent of basic Lipton tea. (Blah, blah, blah; yes, I know how much better the fancy-schmancy tea will supposedly taste.) 

Third, it is very expensive. (I know, I am not supposed to worry about obedience “impoverishing” me, but when you go from a gallon of iced tea costing you about 40¢ to it costing between $1.60 to $4.80, that’s a huge difference. Especially if you drink at least a half-gallon a day as I do.) And finally, what is available is loose, not bagged tea. So now I have to deal with shlepping tea leaves?

Not sure what I’m going to do. (Drink more water?) If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know. In the meantime, I’m asking God to continue to be personal and lead me to the right tea. Is that too much to ask? (And don't even get me started on the chocolate.)

What Are You Up To?

I wish I were more disciplined to blog more often. I try to blog at least once a week, but it doesn't always happen. Life happens instead—work projects, fun times, granddaughter activities, church stuff, writers conferences, sleep, doctors' appointments, executor responsibilities, bill paying and budgets. You know the drill.

I'd love to blog more. I know a lot of great charities out there, but I certainly don't know them all. So here's my proposition: If you're involved in a compassion or justice organization, if you volunteer or give or petition or pray, send me an e-mail or comment below. I would love to either write about you or allow you to write a guest blog if you're up for it. And for some of you that I know are involved in cool stuff, I may contact you directly.

If I can't be more disciplined, at least maybe I can delegate. Let the guest bloggers arise!

What's That All About Anyway?

I've been blogging since 2005, and until this year my blog appeared on my website (where you can still access the archives). Maybe you are a newer reader, and you wonder why I called this blog I'm No Superstar. As I wrote my first day on the blog, I chose the title I'm No Superstar because it's true.

I've never been a superstar. I'm good at lots of things, but I am not great at anything, not a superstar. (It was a rude realization for the woman who used to have a poster on her wall that said, "To be good is not enough when you dream of being great.") And maybe you aren't a superstar either. But that's okay. I want us to be whom God made us to be and do the things God called us to do. I want us to discover together how we can make a difference in our world just as average people.

I spent time ten days ago at a writers conference, in a track on compassion, justice and advocacy writing. It was amazing to meet John Perkins, hear Tony Campolo, and interact with people who are on the front lines, leading the justice movement. But honestly, I am not there. I am a foot soldier, and sometimes a reluctant one at that, or really a supply line person. I believe my place is to support those who are in the trenches, whether financially or as a volunteer. 

It's taken me a lot of years to get to the place where I am (mostly) comfortable with being the person God created me to be and doing the work he has given me (including being a rural pastor's wife). I want to allow God to challenge me, I don't want to get lazy or too comfortable, so I read things on compassion and justice, look for opportunities I can be a part of and/or share with others through this blog.

I hope you find it encouraging, especially if you don't consider yourself a superstar either. Help us out; let us know what your favorite justice and compassion ministry is, so the rest of us can check it out. Maybe it’s a place we can shine.

No Care for You

"I'm sorry, we won't be able to see Ashlee anymore." Those aren't the words you want to hear from your child's (or in this case grandchild's) doctor. We're running into a little problem with Ashlee's insurance from Tennessee not translating to Pennsylvania.

I panicked a bit (okay, I had a meltdown on the phone with Les), but God had a sense of humor. Within hours of my call, Joy (our daughter and Ashlee's mom) got a copy of a form that had already been filed asking that the insurance be transferred. So I am hopeful it will be all straightened out soon and we won't be without a doctor for long.

But lack of medical care is a daily reality for millions of people around the world. On my last post I mentioned Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The organization deploys medical personnel to 60 countries to help those in crisis situations. Child sponsorship organizations like Compassion International and World Vision provide medical care as part of their community programs. World Medical Mission (a division of Samaritan's Purse) sends doctors, dentists and other medical personnel to assist in mission hospitals that need help. 

How can you help others get the care they need? First pray for quality medical care in areas across the globe. (One great way to do this is to pray specifically for countries you read or hear about in the news.) Consider sponsoring a child in another country. Offer to drive people in need of medical services through your church or area social services organization. Encourage parents to sign their uninsured children up for CHIP insurance in their state (here's the PA website; if you are in another state, simply google CHIP and the state name). If you have medical skills, take a short-term trip to volunteer your time. If you have no medical skills, donate to help others go. 

And remember, there but for the grace of God go you and I. So be thankful for the medical care (and insurance) you and your family have. 

Starved for Attention

One of the biggest adjustments to having a 10 year old in the house has been the constant need for attention. I know my husband thinks I talk a lot, but Ashlee makes me seem like a recluse. She wants you to be listening to her whenever you are in the same house, and even if you're not able (or, let's face it, willing) to listen right then, she is busy talking or singing or simply making mouth noises. I'm someone who rarely turns on a radio or a TV, so the constant noise is taking some getting used to!

Kids elsewhere in the world are starved for attention in a different way. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has created a global campaign called Starved for Attention to call attention to the 195 million children around the world who suffer the effects of malnutrition.

Visit the website, view some of the videos from around the world. Like the one from Bangladesh where mothers think malnutrition is simply a normal part of everyday life. Or read the one from the U.S. that talks first about our WIC program and then about the mush we export as food aid around the world—mush we would never feed our children.

Then sign the petition on the website asking world leaders to ensure that these children are getting fed and fed food that helps them grow well, food filled with nutrition.

Ashlee watched a couple of the videos with me, and even she would have to admit that she is never starved for attention when it comes to getting proper nutrition. We are the fortunate ones. Speak up for those who truly are starving and need our attention.

Owning the Pond

As I prepare for vacation, I am trying to organize my work, figuring out what I have to take along, supplying clients with hotel addresses for FedEx, and generally feeling bummed that I have to worry about work on my vacation. Ah, the joys of owning your own business.

But there are obvious benefits. I can work in my jammies. I set my own hours (though they may be longer than I like when I have a big project). I establish my own prices and get to keep all the profits. I know my own worth. It definitely makes up for the vacation-juggling issues.

I was reminded of that while reading John Perkins' book Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development. In it he reminds us of the old "give a man a fish/teach a man to fish" principle. And how obviously the teaching is better. But then he says it's not enough. Now, he says, we need "to ask the question: 'Who owns the pond?'"

It's a good question and one that has led to the rise of—and success of—microfinance in fighting poverty. When you own your own business, you're more committed to it. You work hard. You invest in your skills and your business. You treat your customers right because you know you'll lose them if you don't and that affects your bottom line. You're proud of what you accomplish.

Helping people run their own businesses can enable them to rise out of poverty, but it also provides them with dignity and allows them to serve as a role model for others. Many charities working in poverty relief allow you to fund a microloan for as little as $25. Kiva and World Vision allow you to pick the project you want to fund. World Vision provides updates on what your entrepreneur is doing. Kiva allows you to receive your money back when the loan is repaid (or you can reinvest it). Both allow you to give gift certificates so others can choose whose project to fund.

If you have a favorite microfinance site, please include it in the comments section so others know their options. Help others lift themselves out of poverty and enjoy the fruits of their own labors. They're still a long way from having a vacation to worry about.

Back to School with Justice

It's been almost 20 years since I had to shop for back-to-school clothes. Where do I even begin, especially if I want to live justly?

Ashlee is at that weird in-between stage—outgrowing girls clothing, but not really a junior size. I remember those days from my childhood. For more than a year, the only place I could shop was Sears' "Lemon Frog" shop (but at least the clothes were groovy).

I've tried the reusit shop, the yard sale and the hand-me-down route, and it works pretty well for tops, but pants, shorts and skirts are a disaster! Way too much energy expended for little or no return.

Ashlee and I have begun making the rounds of stores, trying on all sorts of sizes from both the girls and juniors. A JC Penney the girls-plus 16 1/2 fits, but at Old Navy she's a ladies size 6 if anything fits at all. At Justice for Girls she's a 14 or 16. Other places, nothing fits. There's no buying without trying it on.

I know from reading Green America's Guide for Ending Sweatshops (download your own here) that most traditional retailers are still contracting with producers operating in sweatshop conditions. Most use practices that harm the environment. Few pay fair wages.

A decade ago, I stopped shopping at WalMart and KMart because of their unfair trade practices, sending them letters telling them why. After a few years, as I began to read that every major clothing retailer has similar practices, I succumbed to the lure of the cheap: If they all contributed to the problem, why pay more? 

I was a buyer for Macy's, and I know that retailers all use the same factories. Let me say that I have been in some factories in the Orient, and they seemed fine to me. I've since learned, however, that many producers have "showcase" factories, where they take visitors, and other factories, or subcontractors, where working conditions are deplorable.

So if Justice for Girls offers no justice, and neither do other retailers, how do you responsibly outfit a preteen for school?

I went on worldofgood.com, which offers goods only by "eco-positive, people-positive" sellers, but there are no pants a self-conscious preteen would wear (little I would wear either). And since kids keep growing, and you need to regularly replace almost entire wardrobes, I can't afford to be spending big bucks for each item.

So what's the solution? I don't have one. I'm guessing we'll be shopping where all other preteen girls shop. If you have a more just solution, feel free to let me know. I'm certainly open to it!

Minding Micah

Micah 6:8 says, "What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." I love that verse. It's underlined in my Bible. I have it memorized. There's a cross-stitch sampler of it hanging on my wall. 


Now if I can only live it. I say I want to, but then my own selfishness intervenes. Last week I signed a petition (which I then posted on Facebook) asking big chocolate to stop using child labor, to become fair trade. It appalls me that so much chocolate is produced under conditions that amount to slavery. And yet on Sunday I was offering my friend Cyndi some chocolate-covered pretzel clusters (made with Lancaster County Hammond pretzels and Wilbur dark chocolate—a potent combination). Her reply: "No thank you. I try to eat only fair trade chocolate." 


Ouch! Why don't I? It's not that I don't believe in it, but Wilbur doesn't produce fair trade chocolate (it's part of Cargill now), and I love Wilbur chocolate. And that's the only way my pretzel clusters are produced. So it comes down to my convenience, my wants, my (let's be frank) selfishness.


If I am going to "act justly," I need reminders from friends like Cyndi. I need the reminder of my values.


That's why I am so excited about the new Faith and Justice Coalition of Lancaster County. The group "exists to serve as a site of encouragement to all . . . to live out the daily call to be the hands and feet of Christ to everyone we encounter through issues of justice, fair trade, alternative gift giving, and the like . . ." (Feel free to join the coalition.) I need friends like these who will encourage me, remind me, spur me on and help me not feel like a freak if I actually pursue living justly. It's so much easier to walk with others, especially on the narrow road.


Who are your friends like Cyndi or the Faith and Justice Coalition who help you make the hard—but joyous—choices required in Micah 6:8?

What Can Social Media Do?

I have loved catching up with old friends on Facebook (maybe you!). I've also blogged for five years because I wanted to share social action ideas with others, another use for social media.

But I wanted to know what else I could do with it. Could it help me in my speaking or writing ministry? Through a Facebook post, I found out about a free seminar on social media for small business. The best thing at the seminar was not winning a free book (and if you know me, you know I love free books) but connecting to Ken Mueller (the speaker) and his Inkling Media. Inkling Media's blog provides great resources, but Fridays are special. "Others First" Friday shares a need, a way to put others first.

Here's a link to today's blog about a little girl named Reagan with tough medical problems that have left her parents with big bills. There are ways to help (want to donate an item for an auction?) and I would add that we can certainly pray.

Social media is all about community, Ken says. Here's a way we can be community for a family in need.

Stuck in Afghanistan

Not literally, of course. At least not me (maybe our military).

I figure I must be the last person on the planet to read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, which is mostly about his building schools in Pakistan, not Afghanistan. But reading it made me immediately read his second book, Stones into Schools, which is about Afghanistan. Then because the foreward to that was written by Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner (another book I must be the last to read) and A Thousand Splendid Suns, I got those two to read. 

I'm still reading the first and haven't started the second, but I'm already thinking I want to buy Jeanette Windle's book Veiled Freedom, which is also set in Afghanistan and was a finalist for both 2010 ECPA Christian Book Award in fiction and the Christy Award. I've heard great things about it, but I originally thought I wouldn't be interested in a book on Afghanistan. Obviously I was wrong.

Mortenson's charity, Central Asia Institute, builds schools, primarily for girls, in some of the hardest to reach places in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His miracle producing team of rogue agents accomplish amazing things on minimal resources and are worthy of support, or at least prayers.

Then I read about the following way to help Afghanistan in Shelf Awareness:  "Penguin Group's Riverhead Trade Paperbacks is launching the Picture a Book Changing Lives campaign to raise money for the Khaled Hosseini Foundation, which was founded by the author to aid the people of Afghanistan. The Foundation supports projects that provide shelter to refugee families and economic and educational opportunities for women and children. The Foundation also awards scholarships to students who have migrated to the U.S. under refugee status and women pursuing higher education in Afghanistan.


Under the Picture a Book Changing Lives campaign, people may submit one or two still photos of themselves reading or holding a copy of Hosseini's The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns. For each such photo uploaded to the Hosseini group page of Penguin, Riverhead is donating $2 to the Foundation, up to $25,000. The campaign runs through August 31.

Geoffrey Kloske, v-p and publisher of Riverhead, commented, 'Khaled Hosseini's books have changed the way many around the world picture Afghanistan, so it's a great opportunity to give his readers a way to help raise money that will benefit the people of that country.'"

Here are the photos I posted, one for each book:

(And yes, that's what I currently look like; the professional shot was taken a few years ago with my hair was done by a professional.)


You don't have to own the books to upload your photos. So borrow them from the library or a friend and  make a difference in Afghanistan. More schools and help for the people there contributes to a more stable country and just might mean our soldiers can come home sooner. And that would make everyone happy.