My computer has a horrible speaker system. David and I used to try to watch movies and podcasts on it. Not a chance. It’s too soft. The sound has to be directed toward your ears, usually requiring a hand cupped around the speaker. It’s annoying. My computer obviously needs an amplifier, something to make the sound easier to hear.
I’ve decided that being an amplifier is one of the roles God has called me to in this next phase of life. There are stories out there that need to be amplified so we can hear them. There are people all over this world working for the kingdom. These stories would and could inspire us if we just knew about them, right?
I don’t know how this is going to play out in my life yet, but for now I thought I’d share some links to people and events that are inspiring me these days
Plywood People is a collective blog that profiles people going out there to make a difference in the world, the people who would show up with plywood and nails in hand to actually pitch in and get the work done. I was inspired today by their profile on Coury Deeb, a photographer who went out to capture the lives and plight of the Sudanese. He has a new film, The New Sudan. Go to the site and read about him.
Sometimes small actions can add up to huge results. The Body Shop is one company that consistently champions the causes of human trafficking and child trafficking. Right now they are running a campaign to donate cash to stop trafficking in response to tweets. Make those tweets count! Read about it here, then click through to the Body Shop to participate. It’s a small things to do. Do it. While you are at it, take some time to browse the rest of the Change.Org site. Good stuff.
Do you want a picture of what trafficking actually looks like here in America? Go to Kristi Stephens’s blog and read her Redeemed series, a series of blog posts to raise awareness. I was shocked by some of the stories. Yes, the stories of the Cambodian girls or Eastern European women touch my heart, but the stories of young girls HERE IN OUR OWN CITIES who are tricked into virtual sex slavery just wreck my heart.
That’s probably enough for today. My own heart is heavy even researching some of these issues! But God’s been dropping a thought into my heart lately: we aren’t responsible to change the world. We’re only responsible to sit at his feet and do what we hear him telling us to do. The goal of prayer, of the gospel, of our churches is not to “save” the world or feed the world or free the world. The goal is to become like him, so that HE can use us to do all those things. That makes it a little easier, doesn’t it?
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Thanks for the kind mention! Keep telling others about how you are learning! We all gain from it.
Thank you so much for the article. Really interesting. Added your blog to bookmarks