Bathroom

Day Twenty-seven - Ahhh. The bathroom. A place that I go for five seconds of uninterrupted peace. You may think it crude that my photo today is of a toilet but today I have something to say and the toilet picture is key. (And there will be no potty humor, I promise!)

The bathroom is a place I take for granted. I've always had a bathroom, with a toilet and a sink to wash up. I've never really thought about what it's like to not have one. I am privileged more than I know. I turn on the tap and water magically appears. I flush the toilet and all is well. I can have a shower and the water is hot with lots of pressure. The only time I ever have to use anything but a toilet is when I'm camping and I'm not overly fond of that. I am spoiled on top of it all.

I read a statistic that caught my attention. Forty percent of the world lacks basic water sanitation, resulting in disease, death, wastewater for drinking, and loss of immunity. That's crazy. I read another stat that made my jaw drop in comparison to the first: Ammericans consume 26 billion liters of bottled water a day. That's a lot of water. Here's some sad stats: 42,000 deaths occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation. Ninety percent of those deaths are children under five years old. At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-related disease. More people are affected by the negative impact of poor water supply and sanitation than by war, terrorism, and weapons of mass desctruction. Wow. These stats may seems like a downer, but we need to know these things so we can do something about it. That's the purpose in sharing them. I truly can't stand that I just gave you some numbers because people are not numbers. The people that are affected are someone's child, someone's mother, someone's uncle. These are real people with stories and history and a future. Hopefully a future that we can do something about.

A few years ago our church partnered with an organization that drills water wells in the desert of northwest Kenya. We raised money to build a well. The organization is called Nehemiah Construction Ministries. Their heart is to "reach out to the widows, orphans and the underprivileged of our world." Their "passion to help comes from Jesus' words in Matthew 25:40, "As you have done unto the least of these brothers of mine you have done unto me."" These people have changed lives by drilling water wells where there is very little water. Tens of thousands of people now have access to clean, fresh water. This is a miracle for them. This is life-changing. It's more than just water to drink. It also means that agriculture can be viable. People not only have water, they also improve their diets and can create a business. This is huge! These are the people in the statistics whose situation was altered. But there is more to do.

I don't write today with the intention of making you feel guilt. The opposite actually. I want you to glimpse the possible. I want you to see how these statistics can be changed...how people's lives are forever altered when we care, when we reach out in compassion to brothers and sisters around the globe that we just haven't been privileged enough to meet yet. We can make a difference. Together we can make something that seems hopeless; beautiful.

I cannot finish this post today without this powerful quote by Robert F. Kennedy: "Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills - against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence...Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ....

It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples will build a current which can sweep down on the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

Wow....all that from a picture of a toilet. Who knew? If you are interested in partnering with Nehemiah Construction Ministries to bring water, hope and life to people in Kenya, check out their website: http://www.nehemiahconstruction.ca/. Together we can change things.

Where I Shop

Day Twenty-six - So this morning Coen and I made a whirlwind trip to town to get some groceries for us and some supplies for the games at Elle's class party this afternoon. The "Where I Shop" part of today may seem boring but you can find all the things that you need to have a really fun time. So as bland as a trip to the grocery store may seem it can lead to this....

Needless to say, this was really fun. If you ever want to give it a try you'll need shower caps, shaving cream and Cheetos. On person gets to get messy and the other one throws Cheetos at the messy one's head...pretty hilarious! I think the party was a hit!

 On a side note, Elle's class is one terrific bunch of kids. It's been so much fun getting to know them and their parents over the past two years. I look forward to many more class parties with these awesome kids!!

Something Cute

Day Twenty-five - This is Darla. Darla is one cute kitty. She's also a survivor. When she was just itty bitty she was separated from her mama. She lived on her own for three days before she was found. Even now, she's small and independant. Her brother, Alfalfa, lives with us too. He's huge in comparison. He's also a lot more needy. Falf is always in your face wanting attention. Darla's a lot more subtle. She's my kind of cat. She keeps me company when I'm working outside and I don't have to keep swatting her away. On hot days she likes to lay on the deck in the shade...kind of where I'd like to be too but the weeds are beckoning.

On my mind....

Day Twenty-Four - These girls have been on my mind today and lots of other days too. Neither of them are close by so I had to scrounge up a photo from a few years ago with both of them in it. Their names are Amy and Autumn. They are two very special girls to me and my family. The word special sounds so lame trying to describe what they mean to me. Long ago, I was their youth pastor. I watched them grow up from teenagers to women. Now, I am privileged to say, they are my friends. They inspire me. They make me laugh. They are wise. They are beautiful on the inside and out. They are strong and courageous. They love God deeply yet differently. They shine. I am so blessed that they keep in touch as time goes by. Amy leaves for Africa next week to work with children for a month. Autumn is in Saskatchewan doing an internship for the summer in children's ministry.
 I am always so excited to see them and to hear what is happening in their lives. I have listened to them share their hearts. I have heard their dreams and plans. The time spent investing in their lives is priceless to me. When I see them now investing their own lives into others, especially kids, I am moved....
They are in my heart along with so many other amazing young people that I've had the privilege to know. Today my thoughts and prayers are for you, Amy and Autumn.

Movement

 Day Twenty-Four - I played today...mostly with shutter speed and then some editing...movement is hard to capture. It's not something I usually try to do. Usually the words that come out of my mouth when the camera's in hand are more along the lines of: "Can you please sit still for just a sec?" This was fun. This was different. Today the words were: "Elle, just keep jumping!"

 I couldn't pick just one to show you. I love the shot above. She looks like she's suspended above the grass. Floating in time...forever.

This shot is all about the hair....so fun!

Here's a shot of the monkey girl. The look of joy on her face is one that I am so glad I captured. There is so much fun to be had in life. It takes energy to go and find it. And yes, it requires MOVEMENT. Embrace fun today! Jump, run, wiggle like a monkey, move...

From a High Angle

 Day Twenty-Two - I know not a fabulous photo...Jeremy did offer a trip up in the man lift to take an incredible photo from a VERY high angle, but I was busy doing this instead....mixing my potions....I mean making apricot jam. This is the yummiest and most apricoty jam I've ever tasted. I've used this same recipe since the first time I tried it five years ago. I wish I could take credit for the genius of the recipe, but alas I cannot. The credit goes to a lady named Jen. Her recipe and her words can be found here: http://thought-palace.tumblr.com/post/24291685286/apricot-jam-recipe. It is definitely worth the twenty-five minutes of stirring, I promise. I wish that this photo was scratch and sniff so you could smell what I'm smelling!! Tip: Grab a book and wear some oven mitts so you don't get sprayed with the hot lava while stirring! The end result is fantastic!!! Oh, and one more thing...use the apricot pit like she says...

Where I slept....

Day Twenty One - I have to say this has been the strangest photo yet. I'm actually kind of weirded out that you all now know exactly where I sleep every night. You would think, Lisa the Blogger, who shares her thoughts and feelings would be okay with this. But I'm not sure I am!! So let's change the subject! This is where I sometimes sleep. On the right side. Close to the door where children sometimes saunter in at all hours of the night. Last night in fact was one of those nights. 12:47 A.M.
Enter small child saying: It is too dark.
Me: Yep. It's the middle of the night.
Small child: I know, but I can't see.
Me: Neither can I. (sigh)

I pulled my cozy self out of my warm bed turned on the blinding interrogation lights and went to find a light bulb for the night light so it wouldn't be too dark and so the small child could close his eyes, that didn't need to see anyway. So goes parenthood. Lessons in zero logic at ONE A.M.!