Zealous Love

I just started reading the above book called Zealous Love.  The book is about social injustice, helping us to better understand the injustice that exists in our world and how we can get involved to work against it.  Here is a list of the sections in the book:

• Human Trafficking
• Unclean Water
• Refugees
• Hunger
• Lack of Education
• Creation Degradation
• HIV and AIDS
• Economic Inequality

If you liked to get more information or purchase the book, click on the image above which will take you to its page on Amazon.  So, why am I tell you about this book?  Primarily, my main objective is to tell you about this great find that I discovered and I hope in doing so, you will be able to read it and learn more about how you CAN positively impact our planet and the people who exist on it, not just for this generation, but for generations to come.  The secondary reason is a prayer.  When you open the book and flip just past the table of contents, you'll find this prayer.  I thought it was so beautiful and powerful, that I would share it with you.  It is also quite appropriate for us to reflect on these words in such a season as this, the season of Lent.  I hope you find God speaking to you through these words.

A Prayer for Zealous Love

(Read the words in Bold)
"Lord, thank you for being a God of love, who selflessly surrendered to death by crucifixion for the sake of sinful men and women like us.  Thank you, Maker of Life, that you were not bound by death but that you rose again on the third day.  Thank you that you have made us your children, heirs to the promise of new life, and that our lives here on this earth can bring you glory.  Please use the following pages in a transforming, worldview-shifting way.  As we explore eight areas of need affecting billions in our world, move in our hearts and minds, planting seeds of love that will grow into a strong harvest.  Direct us away from selfish indifference and toward selfless action.  Only you can change hearts; only you can draw us closer to your heart.  Do that, we ask, through these stories.  Cause us to move and live and give and act as you direct your Body.  May thousands, millions, tens of millions - dare we pray - billions of lives be impacted as your people discover more of the role we have to play in our world.  Come quickly, Lord.  But until you do, teach us to live lives worthy of the calling you have given us.


Amen.

Create an AIDS-free World - Check it Out!!

Thoughts on Prayer

I was in the bookstore today and picked up a little devotional that in title is denominationally specific but the content can be deemed universal. Prayer & Devotional Life of United Methodists is written by author Steve Harper, who is a clergy member in the Northwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and is currently serving as vice president-dean of the Florida Campus of Asbury Theological Seminary. As I was reading the first chapter of this book, I came across a couple of paragraphs that I found profoundly important and I want to share them with you.

"Our fingerprints are a tangible reminder of our individuality and our unrepeatable value in the sight of God. It makes no sense to believe that God takes the time to etch into the ends of our fingers little lines which differentiate us from everyone else and then turns around and mass produces human souls. Rather, our fingerprints are divinely created evidence that we are a distinct and prized self, made in the image of God.

We are never more "ourselves" before God than when we pray, because when we pray, we bring nothing else with us. We are not "doing" anything at the moment, but paradoxically, we are doing the most important thing - we are giving God our selves."

Harper goes on to say:

"Prayer is exercising the muscle of the soul, so it can enable us to live for God. Prayer propels us into the world precisely because we know that the God who "wants us" is the God who "wants everyone." Prayer is not an exhibition of selfishness, but rather the energy of servanthood. The specificity of our soul-print relationship does not isolate us from others or insulate us from sensitivity to their needs. Rather, prayer reveals the loving heart of God for humankind and the broken heart of God for any persons who are failing to be the unique, unrepeatable selves God intended them to be. Prayer shows us that the basis of redemption is God's unwillingness to accept caricatures and counterfeits. Prayer reveals God's love for the whole world through the coming of Christ, and we are invited in the prayer relationship to become disciples of Christ in the service of others."

Of Twilight and Tweens

About a month ago I stumbled into my hair salon. I was weak and vulnerable all due to some excessive root visibility and I was in desperate need of a coloring. I wasn't strong enough to know what was happening or to even stop it. She may have even anticipated and planned for my arrival. It was a simple day that morphed into the beginning of a very intoxicating relationship. It was the catalyst of long nights, early mornings and an overstock of recorded television shows just beckoning for my attention. I didn't see it coming and I was so paralyzed by bad hair that I was unable to resist it. It - was a book. I thick, black, 500 page, stylist recommended book.

You see, I went in for color and came out with much more. While my color was setting, I pulled an academic book from my handbag and began to read. My stylist had this book that she couldn't put down and she asked if it would be okay if she were rude and read while waiting. I told her it was perfectly fine. No sense in straining ourselves in small talk when we were both deeply rooted in our texts. As we reconvened for the styling, she began to tell me about her book. She asked if I had ever heard of the Twilight series and I told her no. I now know how odd that must have seemed because apparently I was the only person on planet earth (vast exaggeration) who hadn't. More over, I was probably one of very few people who hadn't read all four books that make up the series by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn).

She said it was a book about vampires and teen romance. STOP! Stop right there...I don't do vampires. It's not my thing. I prefer to be able to sleep at night and I have learned that you don't feed the beast that is my over active imagination unless you are prepared to suffer the consequences and when it comes to things to horrify me in the night...I was not prepared. She kept talking and I had kinda tuned her out after the "v" word. I mean really, me, a Jane Austin type of reader, waste my precious personal time which I rarely get any of anyway on a book on teenagers and vampires. NOT!

Then something happened, she started raving even more. And this woman is well, not someone I would pick out as a vampire fan. I mean she's a mom of two little ones, owner of her own hair salon and always has her head in more mainstream romancie type of books. She tells me not to shoot it down. "Give it a try," she says. "Trust me," she continues, "you're going to love this." I'm horrified a bit as this woman has been doing my hair for over three years and she thinks I, of all people, will enjoy, not to mention, read, this book. Well, just to be polite, I ask her what the name of the book is and who the author is before I leave. I sweetly smile and wish her the best and I'm outta there.

The next thing I know I'm buying Twilight, the first book of the four. I make a covenant with myself that if things gets hairy and heads start spinning I'm putting it down and selling it on Ebay. Nice idea, but I couldn't put the stupid thing down. It possessed me. Let me just tell you...ADDICTED. I can't tell you exactly what drew me in the most: the great writing, the modern day Romeo and Julietish storyline, the image I had of vampires being totally wiped away or the suspense. It didn't matter, I'm hooked.

Then, oh dear Lord then...there is the movie. My sister-in-law is a huge fan of the darker side of books. I love murder mystery and suspense (my inner CSI and Law and Order girl must be entertained), but she takes it to another level and loves the spooky stuff too. So, I knew she was going to love these books. That and she's probably the only other person I know my age that reads as much as I do. Let me just tell you how much I cherish the fact that she reads.

Anyway, our husbands took us out on a date night last night. We had amazing German food and then went to the movies to see this book of ours come to life. I must tell you how many laughs we got at ourselves as I think we were the oldest people there by FAR. Teenagers and tweenagers were peppered everywhere and with that the loud, obnoxious screaming for this hunky vampire was inescapable. We felt like teenagers again. Here we were like giant dorks watching a teenager movie on a Friday night. SWEET! We are so cool.

Who cares!?!?!?! The movie was great. I mean, it wasn't the book, but it was great. It wasn't horror, gore, head spinning stuff which was fabulous for me because I just can't stomach it. But, it was a darker love story. It's a love story. Period. One forbidden love. Two star crossed lovers...who by the way, DON'T have sex. Yeah...a book about teen love that doesn't promote sex. Now, I'm only 60 pages into the 700 page book two, but so far...just the good old fashion kissing.

So, as this story of a brooding teenage vampire addictively draws me in, I will keep you updated. But I will tell you, this is good and I can see why it's not just a hit amongst the teen crowd. A lot of adults are reading these...apparently they just aren't brave enough to take on the movie scene. Here's a suggestion if you want to see the movie...um...rent it, or wait awhile. Late Friday night movies come with lots of screaming teenage girls Leonardo DiCaprio and Titanic style. Seriously...it should come with a tranquilizer.