"The poor will always with be with you."

... and so will our opportunity and responsiblilty to respond to them!

I was just reading the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY site and read the about the difference the $4billion Howard promised to overseas aid over the next five years, a promise he made at the UN Summit in September, will actually make. Read the pdf by clicking on the purple words "boost in aid" on the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY site.

I am somewhat baffled by Christians who use the phrase "the poor will always be with you" as a cop-out to not doing anything about poverty (spiritual, physical, emotional, etc)!

From my understanding, Jesus said that as a response to an ignorant group of people that judged a woman's worship. The Jesus I read about in the Bible was revolutionary in the fact that He modelled actually doing something about poverty: HEALING people so that they could work and earn, EXCORSING people to release them from spiritual torment, FEEDING people spiritually and physically, RAISING people from the dead physically and emotionally.

Jesus talks about the kingdom of God being like a man holding a lavish banquet and sending his servant to gather people from the streets, the waysides, the lonely and outcast places, and bringing them in to eat, be accepted and valued, to be without want.

Yes, the poor (collective) will always be here. But what about the child the dies this moment, and the one that dies in three seconds time, and the one that dies in three seconds time, from poverty, that we can do something about???

The dying art of letter writing...

This week Stephen and Steph in jest commented on the formality of a thank you letter I sent them: it "sounded like a had a chicken up my bum." I was somewhat taken aback, though amused, by the comment.

Recently I decided to uptake again, what I percieve to be, the dying art of letter writing. In a world of business and technological communication, we have lost the sense and sensibility of handwritten cards, notes and letters. We have forgotten the etiquette of writing a thank you note for a meal shared or a kind deed rendered. We have lost the significance of prioritising the time to write a letter, or make a call to a friend or family member as a sign of love, care, responsibility and friendliness.

I was brought up writing thank you letters for gifts, and writing letters to friends and relatives, most significantly for the purpose of respect: of the person and of the social "to do". Language was also very important. When I was quite young, my letters were to be written first as a draft, so I could be checked for and rehearsed in the conventions of correct grammer and language. I still take particular note of the conventions and elegant language when writing. I have set aside Monday nights to write, looking forward to writing letters of friendship and love, cards or notes of thanks, and expressing my heart to those separated from me by distance. In this I am unapologetic.

How lovely it is when we open the mail box to find a personal letter, with a handwritten address, from a relative or friend! Let me leave you with some other's thoughts on the matter...

"What cannot letters inspire? They have souls; they
can speak; they have in them all that force which expresses the transports of
the heart; they have all the fire of our passions. They can raise them as
much as if the persons themselves were present. They have all the
tenderness and delicacy of speech, and sometimes even a boldness of expresion
beyond it." Heloise To Abelard

"It is the immemorial priviledge of letter-writers to
commit to paper things they would not say: to write in a more grandiose manner
than that in which they speak: and to enlarge upon feelings which would be
passed by unnoticed in conversation." C.S. Lewis

"Something happens to our thoughts and emotions when we
put them into a letter; they are then not the same as spoken words. They
are placed in a different, special context, and they speak at a different level,
serving the soul's organ of rumination rather than the mind's capacity for
understanding." Thomas Moore

And now, I will bid you good health, and continue to take up my pen (a beautiful Venetian Murano glass ink-dipping pen my father recently brought me back from Venice) and continue on my merry writing way... adieu

This time Matt inspired me...

Matt posted a blog on Religious Barbies. This reminded me of one of my fav sites, and a chick I really want to buy.

Introducing... Feral Cheryl

"Here she is, the anti-Barbie, fresh from the rainforests of Northern New South Wales, Australia.
This 34 cm vinyl doll runs barefoot, dreadlocks her hair with coloured braids and beads, wears simple rainbow clothes, has piercings and a range of tattoos, and even a bit of natural body hair.
Feral Cheryl is modelled on the green extremists, known as ‘ferals’ from Australia.
In contrast to the ‘fashion doll’ mentality, Feral Cheryl does not have an extensive wardrobe, or high heels, or swimsuit, or gym gear, or wedding dress or cheerleader outfit. She needs no sports car or hairdressing salon, no disco stage or shopping mall.
Her motto is "Live Simply, Run Wild". Her only accessories: a bag of home grown herbs*, a sense of humour and a social conscience.Each Feral Cheryl doll is individually crafted with a variety of coloured beads, bindis and a range of tattoos, so there are no two exactly the same.

* the doll comes with a small stash of dried basil."

Isn't she fabulous!!

Semianniversary

David and I will be celebrating our semianniversary this Saturday (6 months anniversary, but anni means year, so have adopted semi make up my own word). Yeah! Should be a good day & weekend.

(All smiles)

The scariness of "inspiring" Matt

Matt Stone is such a funny man, especially when he is "inspired"... you never quite know what to expect!

Matt said my last post, When the joke is no longer funny..., "inspired" him. Check out the crazy stuff he found: Thank God these guys weren't gospel writers!

Oh Matt, you make me laugh.