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.)