Tuesday, July 22, 2014



Today a new Bible study starts on SheReadsTruth.com and it's coming at me again - Justice.  

About a year ago, I was stuck in a place of apathy, mommy-brain, inertia. I was keeping my children alive, my home fairly clean, a smile on my face. But I wasn't IN it. I wasn't paying attention to life. Then we started a women's Bible study at church.  My very first grown-up lady study!  Whaaaat?! I started reading the Bible almost every day.  Around the same time, (maybe earlier) one of my best friends started an anti-sex-trafficking ministry here in Portland. "Good for you," I thought. "I could never do something like that." My favorite bloggers started posting things that were more than pretty, they were pretty and powerful. "That's great!" I thought, "I can post your pretty words on my wall." And somehow, slowly, my eyes and heart began to open. I felt like I was being tackled by truth! "This is real." My apathy transformed to curiosity, then from curiosity to desire, then from desire to movement. I wanted to do something! Even if I can't go someplace exotic or work in the trenches, I can do SOMEthing.
Then I started hearing about Noonday.  From their website:  "Noonday Collection's mission is to create economic opportunity for the vulnerable. We partner with artisans in the developing world, empowering them to grow sustainable businesses. By creating a marketplace for their goods, we create dignified jobs at living wages. This allows our artisans to earn more in order to support their families. We also offer no interest loans and make advance payments on orders. This way we are able to shoulder the costs of materials and build a lasting relationship based on trust. We offer scholarship programs and emergency assistance. Noonday Collection also donates a portion of sales to place orphans in forever families.
Noonday Collection is not a charity and we do not believe that providing a hand out is a sustainable long-term solution to poverty. We aim to be a sustainable business that gives women across the United States a way to make a lasting difference in the fight against poverty and injustice." 
I'm still a stay-at-home mom of two little ones. But this, I can do this. Shopping? Jewelry? Accessories?  Pretty, shiny things?  That I can handle. I can - WE can - join with Noonday artisans. WE can walk along side these amazing people and make a difference in their lives in a fun, beautiful, deeply meaningful way. YOU can improve someone's life and look smashing while you do it! These artisans put their hearts and souls into their designs and it shows. So I dove in and am going thru the training to be an "ambassador."  (Them's fancy words for "sharing about their mission and their jewelry"!)
Honestly, early this year, social justice sneaked up and slapped me in the face. I've been tackled from every angle with truths.  And now comes SheReadsTruth, digging in to Biblical Justice... Okay!  Alright already!  I'm listening!
This study, Justice:  Let's Begin at the Cross, is exactly what I want to read and study right now.  It's exactly where my heart is right now.  How do things like this happen? Stars align?  Good fortune?  maybe.  I think it's God's leading.  I think I have a new path to follow, and I think it is starting NOW.

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