Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Gaw-jus Fall Colors!
Well, as much as I hate the cold and do my best to hibernate all winter, the Fall colors in Southern Maryland are to DIE FOR! It's God's paint brush and I made a special effort this fall to take pictures cos it's my last year at school (both :-D and :-( ). My college is located right on the river so we have a lot of rural (a.k.a countryside a.k.a not much else lol) scenery to admire. Here is a taste of it or as much as can be captured in images, that is cos what I see is definitely a 100 times better. Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
L’Afrique dans les yeux des autres
Title: Africa in the eyes of others
I’m sitting in my francophone class watching a video on Cameroon where cultural dances and yelling is going on. I hear a few snickers (a black American girl at a white man dancing) and most of what is being shown is life in the village in Yaoundé so the usual smattering of dust, huts, and people in a half state of undress (but of course) and basically where the contrasts are greater with life in the western world.
I want to ask but I do not think that I will like the responses cos I think that what they are seeing on the screen right now reflects their preconceptions of nothing/very little existing in Africa (and yes, the continent as if it were a country). Right now, the white man on the screen is taking photos of the kids in the village and showing the captured image back to their mystified faces (objectification?). Another girl in the class is dawdling away in her book, having glanced at it at the beginning and barely since then (boredom?). I think this reinforces my notion that you either have a passion for Africa or you don’t. There are those seeking the safari experience, those who want to aid humanity in making a difference, those who end up there by chance, and those just learning as part of a course. The last being what I think is happening now. And then those with no interest whatsoever like I’ve heard expressed (Teeyah’s coupe decale is playing right now on the screen amongst screen shots of a red landscape).
Part of me wants others to know of the Real Africa but what is that exactly? It’s the conceptions and visuals captured by others that allow us to view places we’re never gonna go (the same reasons why I want to go to Gabon, Iceland, and the other gazillion places) but it is definitely that the negative outweighs the good- of children clueless about technology, of the man bringing the riches… has colonization ended?
My answer is no. And one of the things that gets to me the most is the idea of the ENTIRE continent as a child; it’s not given respect as an adult in the room, even though it has its own children it is bringing into the world and nurturing. Certainly a lot of the continent and my country, in particular, are late bloomers- I don’t deny that. So the question is that for how much longer does our hand have to be held? We can’t do it all by ourselves cos of the lack of resources (I speak of Gambia directly) but then that directly perpetuates and reinforces the benefactor/beneficiary relationship...
I’ve been part of a tourist group that went to James Island and a site before my eyes (and in plenty of places) upon the arrival of the tourist group is the site of children running towards the group, hands outstretched. Outstretched to receive another hand perhaps but mostly with the hope of receiving that which they have to offer. My opinion is that we have to start teaching our children to not expect handouts. One could argue that I’ve been born into opportunity so of course I don’t really know what it’s like to be without, that I have the luxury of pride… perhaps to be continued on another note. The video is over and we are about to start discussing so yeah, pretty disjointed (but definitely not new thoughts here) but feel free to comment on anything I’ve said.
I’m sitting in my francophone class watching a video on Cameroon where cultural dances and yelling is going on. I hear a few snickers (a black American girl at a white man dancing) and most of what is being shown is life in the village in Yaoundé so the usual smattering of dust, huts, and people in a half state of undress (but of course) and basically where the contrasts are greater with life in the western world.
I want to ask but I do not think that I will like the responses cos I think that what they are seeing on the screen right now reflects their preconceptions of nothing/very little existing in Africa (and yes, the continent as if it were a country). Right now, the white man on the screen is taking photos of the kids in the village and showing the captured image back to their mystified faces (objectification?). Another girl in the class is dawdling away in her book, having glanced at it at the beginning and barely since then (boredom?). I think this reinforces my notion that you either have a passion for Africa or you don’t. There are those seeking the safari experience, those who want to aid humanity in making a difference, those who end up there by chance, and those just learning as part of a course. The last being what I think is happening now. And then those with no interest whatsoever like I’ve heard expressed (Teeyah’s coupe decale is playing right now on the screen amongst screen shots of a red landscape).
Part of me wants others to know of the Real Africa but what is that exactly? It’s the conceptions and visuals captured by others that allow us to view places we’re never gonna go (the same reasons why I want to go to Gabon, Iceland, and the other gazillion places) but it is definitely that the negative outweighs the good- of children clueless about technology, of the man bringing the riches… has colonization ended?
My answer is no. And one of the things that gets to me the most is the idea of the ENTIRE continent as a child; it’s not given respect as an adult in the room, even though it has its own children it is bringing into the world and nurturing. Certainly a lot of the continent and my country, in particular, are late bloomers- I don’t deny that. So the question is that for how much longer does our hand have to be held? We can’t do it all by ourselves cos of the lack of resources (I speak of Gambia directly) but then that directly perpetuates and reinforces the benefactor/beneficiary relationship...
I’ve been part of a tourist group that went to James Island and a site before my eyes (and in plenty of places) upon the arrival of the tourist group is the site of children running towards the group, hands outstretched. Outstretched to receive another hand perhaps but mostly with the hope of receiving that which they have to offer. My opinion is that we have to start teaching our children to not expect handouts. One could argue that I’ve been born into opportunity so of course I don’t really know what it’s like to be without, that I have the luxury of pride… perhaps to be continued on another note. The video is over and we are about to start discussing so yeah, pretty disjointed (but definitely not new thoughts here) but feel free to comment on anything I’ve said.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A chance to know me better
1. I love my friends and family a lot. I didn’t realize how much I missed my family since I have been here. I have some here as well, which is great but a larger number are out there and so don’t get to see them often.
2. If I don’t seem excited or REALLY happy to see you sometimes, it doesn’t mean that I am not. I am not excessively expressive so it may seem like I don’t care that much but that is not the case
3. I love people and learning about other cultures and places. I’m looking forward to being able to help those less fortunate than myself and help them maintain a better standard of living and have simple things like shoes for going to school. This is why I would like to work for an international NGO- yes this all sounds cheesy but it’s true.
4. I am a walking contradiction- like I have just said I love people, I am also at the other end of the spectrum, which is that I’m afraid of people. Not afraid-afraid but that I don’t always know what to say. There are times that I will be with people and I don’t have anything to say at all and other times, you can’t get me to shut up!!
5. It takes a while for me to warm up to people in general- that’s just the way I am but I try to be more sociable
6. Another contradiction is don’t like tomatoes but I eat ketchup and can eat a sandwich with a thinly-sliced tomato
7. I’m driven and ambitious and would say I have a one track mind cos I focus on my goals. Sometimes it seems I don’t care about much else but I do- read no. 8
8. I love life and all the simple things in it. I love warm (not hot) weather, love it when it rains, thunders, snows, when the sun shines, when there’s a cool breeze or the sky is blue. I love landscapes, sunsets, when there are clouds & u can see the sun’s rays coming thru, doing nothing, doing a lot, NAPS!, MUSIC!, the beach, desserts esp cheesecake, dancing til the early hours, yoghurt, reading, a good workout, etc.
9. I wish I could travel the world RIGHT NOW!!. Not even gonna name all the places I wanna go to cos the question would be- where DON’T I wanna go??!! But I will work through this education thing first and then the rest will work itself out
10. I really want to play the guitar! It is fun and a chill thing to do when u want to do nothing. I took a few lessons b4 and boy, ur fingers hurt after a while. it may be my next b-day pressie to myself so we’ll see
11. I don’t understand why it’s hard to call me Marie- not Mary, not Maria, not MaryRose, not Rosemarie, not Rosemary, etc
12. Some of the nicknames I have are Maz, Mazzabella (Rach), Mazimamoto (certain people), Rose, one beginning with A and some others that I won’t put here.
13. I love red hair and would have different shades all the time but have black sometimes just to look “normal”- lol
14. My favorite all-time song is Lovely day by Beres Hammond. Then there’s also Everybody knows- John Legend, circle of life- Lion King, One moment in time (grammys) Whitney Houston, I can only imagine- MercyMe
15. I do not like plastic bags- yes, I use them but they are just so bad and trust me, if you’ve seen how they can really spoil a landscape and be just EVERYWHERE, u would hate them too. I wish we could get rid of them
16. Animated movies are one of my faves- Incredibles, anyone?? And Disney movies (with all their stereotypes- it’s just entertainment). And musicals are pretty great- loved the Lion King on stage and would see it again in a heartbeat!
17. I’m blunt to the point of rudeness cos don’t beat around the bush. I am realistic about things but also eternally hopeful!
18. Can’t stand mayo! Smell, taste or anything about it. I eat fish or tuna sandwiches with either ketchup or butter
19. I write fairly well and used to write for myself, only a few people have seen stuff I’ve written. I haven’t done it for a while now but who knows, I’m trying to pick it up again and may get published one fine day… don’t know what the book will actually be about lol
20. Sometimes I don’t say anything and will simply sit with you guys and listen to what is going on. I just don’t feel like talking and just want to listen
21. Based on the last one, I’m a good listener
22. I am a fairly active and get up and go person. I like things like hiking, kayaking, going to the gym, swimming, bowling, whatever gets you moving
23. I can be very sarcastic or very silly- depends on the mood
24. I don’t drink soda/fizzy drinks because it hurts my stomach. This has been for about 3 yrs now.
25. I am very opinionated and know where I stand on a lot of things. Sometimes when we are deciding what to do and I don’t have a particular opinion or say whatever, it’s cos I’ll be happy whatever we decide to do as you should not knock something til you’ve tried it. But I would like to know what we are going to do so that I’m not caught off guard, only a lil spontaneous
:-)
2. If I don’t seem excited or REALLY happy to see you sometimes, it doesn’t mean that I am not. I am not excessively expressive so it may seem like I don’t care that much but that is not the case
3. I love people and learning about other cultures and places. I’m looking forward to being able to help those less fortunate than myself and help them maintain a better standard of living and have simple things like shoes for going to school. This is why I would like to work for an international NGO- yes this all sounds cheesy but it’s true.
4. I am a walking contradiction- like I have just said I love people, I am also at the other end of the spectrum, which is that I’m afraid of people. Not afraid-afraid but that I don’t always know what to say. There are times that I will be with people and I don’t have anything to say at all and other times, you can’t get me to shut up!!
5. It takes a while for me to warm up to people in general- that’s just the way I am but I try to be more sociable
6. Another contradiction is don’t like tomatoes but I eat ketchup and can eat a sandwich with a thinly-sliced tomato
7. I’m driven and ambitious and would say I have a one track mind cos I focus on my goals. Sometimes it seems I don’t care about much else but I do- read no. 8
8. I love life and all the simple things in it. I love warm (not hot) weather, love it when it rains, thunders, snows, when the sun shines, when there’s a cool breeze or the sky is blue. I love landscapes, sunsets, when there are clouds & u can see the sun’s rays coming thru, doing nothing, doing a lot, NAPS!, MUSIC!, the beach, desserts esp cheesecake, dancing til the early hours, yoghurt, reading, a good workout, etc.
9. I wish I could travel the world RIGHT NOW!!. Not even gonna name all the places I wanna go to cos the question would be- where DON’T I wanna go??!! But I will work through this education thing first and then the rest will work itself out
10. I really want to play the guitar! It is fun and a chill thing to do when u want to do nothing. I took a few lessons b4 and boy, ur fingers hurt after a while. it may be my next b-day pressie to myself so we’ll see
11. I don’t understand why it’s hard to call me Marie- not Mary, not Maria, not MaryRose, not Rosemarie, not Rosemary, etc
12. Some of the nicknames I have are Maz, Mazzabella (Rach), Mazimamoto (certain people), Rose, one beginning with A and some others that I won’t put here.
13. I love red hair and would have different shades all the time but have black sometimes just to look “normal”- lol
14. My favorite all-time song is Lovely day by Beres Hammond. Then there’s also Everybody knows- John Legend, circle of life- Lion King, One moment in time (grammys) Whitney Houston, I can only imagine- MercyMe
15. I do not like plastic bags- yes, I use them but they are just so bad and trust me, if you’ve seen how they can really spoil a landscape and be just EVERYWHERE, u would hate them too. I wish we could get rid of them
16. Animated movies are one of my faves- Incredibles, anyone?? And Disney movies (with all their stereotypes- it’s just entertainment). And musicals are pretty great- loved the Lion King on stage and would see it again in a heartbeat!
17. I’m blunt to the point of rudeness cos don’t beat around the bush. I am realistic about things but also eternally hopeful!
18. Can’t stand mayo! Smell, taste or anything about it. I eat fish or tuna sandwiches with either ketchup or butter
19. I write fairly well and used to write for myself, only a few people have seen stuff I’ve written. I haven’t done it for a while now but who knows, I’m trying to pick it up again and may get published one fine day… don’t know what the book will actually be about lol
20. Sometimes I don’t say anything and will simply sit with you guys and listen to what is going on. I just don’t feel like talking and just want to listen
21. Based on the last one, I’m a good listener
22. I am a fairly active and get up and go person. I like things like hiking, kayaking, going to the gym, swimming, bowling, whatever gets you moving
23. I can be very sarcastic or very silly- depends on the mood
24. I don’t drink soda/fizzy drinks because it hurts my stomach. This has been for about 3 yrs now.
25. I am very opinionated and know where I stand on a lot of things. Sometimes when we are deciding what to do and I don’t have a particular opinion or say whatever, it’s cos I’ll be happy whatever we decide to do as you should not knock something til you’ve tried it. But I would like to know what we are going to do so that I’m not caught off guard, only a lil spontaneous
:-)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
New Insights By Rick Warren (author of Purpose-Driven Life)
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life?
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church..
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life?
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church..
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..
Friday, July 16, 2010
The Man in the Mirror
This sense of image and of who we are...it is maybe 45 percent who we think we are and 55 percent who others THINK we are. They may be other way round depending on just who you are and what your self-concept or level of confidence is. I just made those numbers up but unfortunately though, in this age of Facebook and YouTube, it has maybe become 90 percent of what others think of you. In order to always get the best possible appraisal, we seek ways to manipulate, as I said before, the image we present of ourselves to control our "rep." We all do it- molding ourselves to the crowd that we're with; it's just the way the world works.
A Facebook comment is sent all over before you even finish checking your notifications! I’m sure we've all heard the comment at one time of "don’t take a pic of me- I already have pics of this outfit up on Facebook." Oh lord forbid, you wear the same outfit twice! I think I should invest in a disposable clothing line since it only makes sense to wear an outfit once- ah, the possibilities are limitless...
But back to this reality- what prompted this post was the murder of an 18-year-old guy by his 16-yr old former best friend. They had swapped insults on Facebook where the victim called the other a “p***y.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/london/10372678.stm). To the 16 year old, he absolutely had to prove to everyone else that he was not a p***y and his solution was to stab his former best friend. So where do we draw the line?
Obviously, this guy went too far. I can think of it in the way that the insult to his image penetrated much deeper past the surface. And it is for that reason he made the decision to manipulate his image- by taking a life. The bottom line to this post is that I think we need to decrease the exclusive attention we are giving to the surface to the detriment to the interior.
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