Picking up the fixings for Thanksgiving Dinner in a week
Taking close ups of the mountains
and revelling in the cool breeze.
Yesterday I
1The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
[On my way to town]
[Getting closer to the mall]
[Looking across the street to a 2nd mall]
I also felt very hungry as a I passed by a place called "Senor Froggy's", a local Mexican restaurant. I decided to stop and have a taco and some Mexi-fries. Here is my window view of the busy traffic from my table.
Once I placed my order, I quickly grabbed a few small pots of salsa for my Mexi - fries. I was so hungry (I was having a low blood sugar attack) that when my order arrived I forgot to take a photo until half way through so this doesn't look so appetizing.
The snack break also gave me a chance to enjoy this casual restaurant's decor and furnishings. I like this new location for the restaurant. The former location was just across the street but this new place feels much more spacious with it's very high ceilings.
[There are all kinds of lovely plates adorning the walls].
I went into a home one day just to see some friends of mine
Of all their books and magazines, not a Bible could I find.
I asked them for the Bible. When they brought it, what a shame!
For the dust was covered o'er it, not a fingerprint was plain.
Chorus
Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word
The words of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.
Oh, you can read your magazines of love and tragic things
But not one word of Bible verse, not a scripture do you know.
When it is the very truth, and it's contents good for you.
But it's dust is covered o'er it
And it's sure to doom your poor soul.
Chorus
Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word;
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.
Oh, if you have a friend you'd like to help along life's way
Just tell him that the Good Book shows a mortal how to pray
The best advice to give him that will make his burdens light
Is to dust the family bible trades the wrong way for the right
Chorus
Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds.
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.
We also managed to sort through a few tubs of clothing and decide what to giveaway and what to keep. I then sorted through the bed linens and transferred what she will keep from a laundry basket to a nice wicker basket which I had originally purchased for clean bath towels but has now served several useful purposes. Mom can't sit and work for long but we managed to put together a total of 4 giveaway bags so I feel like we are making some progress at last. Tomorrow, I hope we can sort some of her personal papers..about 2 big garbage bags full and one large leather electrolux vacuum cleaner storage box. I also have to do all my laundry as I am running out of clean clothes. I have cooked some beef brisket tonight so we have something ready to eat tomorrow and I won't have to spend as much time in food preparation.
One of my main tasks here at mom's is to shop for daily and weekly food needs. I often walk several blocks to the nearest food store and take my recycling bags for whatever I buy and try to catch the city bus home.
[Beautiful sun peeking through the trees]
[It is such a glorious day and a sky to match]
[Strolling along the sidewalk on to my destination]
[Roadside flora ~a hint of yellow in a sea of green]
[Pine branches]
[More roadside flora]
[A lovely hint of orange]
In a day or two, we plan to clean and sort all the clothing in the master bedroom and then begin sorting all the books and videos in the living room and kitchen. At the same time, I must try to find out what housing options are available and I also have some coming business of my own in Vancouver and meetings here where mom lives to sort out my niece's housing needs.I love children but I've never had any of my own. I guess this means I have more love to share with children everywhere.
I always thought I'd have children but it was never the right time so it never happened. Recent events and surgeries now make it impossible from a human perspective for me to have children. For awhile it made me sad, but it didn't take too long to realize that this isn't a hardship. I can love the children that God created. There are so many that need our love and care. There are so many needy children in the world who need our love. Many of them are right here in North America, but there are also countless others across the waters, in places like India, Asia & Africa.
God has given me a burden for the children of Africa. He gave me this burden when I was a young child who had yet to see much beyond the backyard. From as long as I can remember I've had a heart for these children and I could only dream of far distant places like Africa. Back then I wanted to be a missionary and after years of the dream lying seemingly dormant, it seems God is now granting me this wish. Perhaps now it is God's timing for the vision to be fulfilled. I am ready to do as He asks.
[Children of Kericho, Kenya]
My specific leading has been a great burden to help orphans and widows in Kericho, Kenya. I'm privileged to be a part of what they are trying to do in a number of small ways, one of which I would like to tell you about now. Before I do that I want to share what a fellow blogger, Tom Davis had to share about why orphans are important to God. He puts it far better than I could ever hope to do.
Pastor Jonah of Kericho provides the photos and updates and I do the design, editing and uploading. We would love to have you visit the Missions of Hope and see how you might also be inspired to help. Now let me tell you about an exciting small project I've begun to help the villagers. It is so delightful how this project came together.
It is a small knitting project to make sweaters, hats and scarves for the orphan children & small village of Kericho, Kenya. The children own very little in the way of clothing and bedding. Often they must sleep on the hard floor with no covers. I thought how wonderful if we could provide a small comfort to them to keep them warm and let them know that someone cares.
The other day I put the idea to a friend of mine in Missouri if she would be interested in making some hand knit sweaters for the children. She said "yes"! I offered to purchase some yarn for her and to send what I could by mail. The very next day (yesterday) I found a wonderful bargain on wool so I snapped up a number of skeins.
Here are some lovely pastel colours
Here are some lovely black and gray shades
Here are the ever faithful natural colours
And here are some white skeins for accent pieces.
I am so pleased with what I found. In Kenya in the village, it is best to have darker or neutral colours that won't show dirt so quickly so these colours are just right. I also have some baby blues, pinks and yellows to begin crocheting some small blankets.
Maybe you have some talents and skills you could share with the children and women? Things like quilt making or making small clothes for the children. Perhaps you would like to donate Bibles, or books, or perhaps you are travelling to Kenya and want to donate something directly? If you are feeling inspired or motivated, please let me know.
In closing friends, let me say that I won't be posting for awhile now as I will be travelling and won't have that much time to access the computer. In the meantime, I pray you will pray and consider if you can help. Please drop me a comment or an email if you want to help out and let me know where I can reach you back!
Take care now til we meet again dear reader. Big hugs
Did you know that 2009 is the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)?
[One of Pastor Jonah's "adopted sons", Missions of Hope]The Convention is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too.
The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services. Read the full text of the CRC here
1989-2009:
Convention brings progress on child rights, but challenges remain
By Dan Seymour
In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child became the first legally binding international convention to affirm human rights for all children. While great progress has been made on child rights in the past 20 years, much work remains to be done. Dan Seymour, Chief of the Gender and Rights Unit of UNICEF’s Policy and Practice Division, offers his assessment.
NEW YORK, USA, 30 June 2009 – The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) represents a major milestone in the historic effort to achieve a world fit for children. As a binding treaty of international law, it codifies principles that Member States of the United Nations agreed to be universal – for all children, in all countries and cultures, at all times and without exception, simply through the fact of their being born into the human family.
The treaty has inspired changes in laws to better protect children, altered the way international organizations see their work for children, and supported an agenda to better protect children in situations of armed conflict.
Worldwide impact
In every region of the world, we find numerous examples of the CRC’s impact on law and practice. In 1990, Brazil followed ratification of the Convention with a new Statute of the Child and Adolescent based on its principles. Burkina Faso created a Children’s Parliament to review proposed legislation, in response to the principle of participation set forth by the Convention.
The CRC was the first international convention to be ratified by South Africa, leading to changes such as the prohibition of corporal punishment and development of a separate juvenile justice system. The Russian Federation also set up juvenile and family courts in response to the CRC, while Morocco established a National Institute to Monitor Children Rights.
Finland took a number of new measures for children inspired by the Convention, such as a plan for early childhood education and care, a curriculum for the comprehensive school, quality recommendations for school health care, and an action plan against poverty and social exclusion.
And Eritrea issued its Transitional Penal Code, with penalties for parents or guardians who neglect, abuse or abandon their children.
Challenges ahead
This wide acceptance of the CRC can give the misleading impression that it is neither challenging nor new. Yet the very idea that children are the holders of rights is far from universally recognized. Too many children are considered to be the property of adults, and are subjected to various forms of abuse and exploitation.
The recognition that children have a right to a say in decisions affecting them, articulated in Article 12, is not only disrespected on a regular basis; its very legitimacy is questioned by many.
Nor can we claim that we live in a world where children's best interests are the primary consideration in all decisions affecting them – as demanded by Article 3 of the Convention. In fact, the contrary is evidenced by the way the humankind allocates its resources, the limited attention it gives to ensuring the best for its children, the way it conducts its wars.
Foundation for change
Like all powerful ideas, the CRC reflects a demand for deep and profound change in the way the world treats its children.
That the world fails to respect the rights of its children – even to deny that children have rights – is clear in the alarming numbers of children who die of preventable causes, who do not attend school or attend a school that cannot offer them a decent education, who are left abandoned when their parents succumb to AIDS, or who are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse against which they are unable to protect themselves.
We cannot claim that the Convention has achieved what needs to be achieved. Rather, it has provided all of us with an essential foundation to play our part in ch
Power of the Convention
Effecting that change requires us to use the CRC in its fullest sense, and to take advantage of its three fundamental strengths.
• First, it is a legal instrument, defining unequivocally the responsibilities of governments to children within their jurisdiction
This 20th anniversary of the CRC reminds us, most of all, of what we have left to do. The Convention demands a revolution that places children at the heart of human development – not only because this offers a strong return on our investment (although it does) nor because the vulnerability of childhood calls upon our compassion (although it should), but rather for a more fundamental reason: because it is their right.
• Second, it is a framework for the duties borne by different actors at different levels of society to respond to the rights of children, and it helps us understand the knowledge, skills, resources or authority needed to fulfil those duties
• Third, it is an ethical statement, both reflecting and building upon core human values about our commitment to collectively provide the world’s children with the best we have to give.
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