We are generation between constantly up and coming, but never arrived. We have been raised instilled with anticipation for the future but never the now. “I can’t wait for vacation, for a break, for the party tomorrow night, for [insert your desired gratification here]. We have learned how to look at the future like movie previews and advertisements: all the build up but none of the follow through. What happens once the movie is seen, once the party is over, once the goal is attained? Are we looking forward to the right things?

“The man who does not permit his spirit to be beaten down and upset by dryness and helplessness, but who lets God lead him peacefully through the wilderness, and desires not other support or guidance than that of faith and trust in god alone, will be brought to the Promised Land.” --Thomas Merton

We should know well enough that no one here can offer wisdom or understanding better than God. So Lord, help us place our faith in you and lead us by your mysterious power into an understanding of the future that is whole and a present that is filled with the peace of knowing you.

Not sure what to get for the person who has everything. Give a goat! Heifer.org makes it possible to give (or share the gift of) goats, llamas, water buffalos, pigs, sheep, ducks, and more on the behalf of a loved one to families who really need them. Here's a novelty gift that really serves a purpose. A very creative way to remind friends and family about the Christmas spirit.

Yeah its over but the concept applies even more as Christmas approaches. We don't need the stuff we get, and they don't need the stuff we give. SO how can wemake our gifts mean something? Thanks Katie for the image.

Kingdom Reconstruction

Kingdom De Reconstruction
For too long my outwardly expressed ideals have been defined as a series of nots. I am not a member of the religious right. I am not giving my money to a church that turns around and spends it on its members. I am not supporting an economy that ignores the poor. Yes, these nots are important in venting my frustration and identifying with others who are also dissatisfied with similar things (not the best matter on which to base a friendship), however, they are not getting anything done. I've spent my life in the negative for way too long waiting for others to show me how to positively live out the alternatives to things I am opposed. Without actively engaging in a positive construction of an alternative I am only complaining and I am probably making things worse.
Don’t get me wrong I have been a part of some very positive things at with Jason and Brooke’s church, and also at the Sharp’s House but for the most part in these groups I feel I have left the constructing to others. When left on my own, I am all talk. Why is that?
So, in order to keep this blog from becoming another not (what I am not doing well) I want to brainstorm ways to translate these negatives into positive ways to live out the kingdom that I have seen or thought of. So here goes:

• Buy nothing day = make something day  


• Not buying from sweat shops = buying from co-op, sweat-free clothing companies,  union made clothing


• Hating corporate America = becoming a teacher and educating kids about it


• Frustration about the wealth gap:


• Locally =  volunteering at Bread of Life (they need volunteers for the winter (760) 722 0800


• Nationwide = donate to poor college students


• Abroad =  contribute to third world, or find out about people trying to change the system that perpetuates the gap


• Hating yourself = sit in the company of those who don’t (friends, parents, Him)

It’s a short list but it is a step towards making a positive contribution to the kingdom feel free to comment with additions or call and we’ll talk.

For those of us who must buy dresss clothes here is a list of union made clothing brands who pay workers fair(er) wages:

Brooks Brothers, Hickey Freeman, Hart Shaffner Marx, Ted Baker, Kenneth
Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Austin Reed, Evan Picone, Pierre Cardin, Coppley,
Burberry, Gieves and Hawkes, Jack Nicholas, J. Press, Matteo Maas, Givenchy,
Talbia Uomo, Alexander Julian, Hilton-Oak if made in the U.S.