A Girl + Education =

I am excited. I saw this movie several months ago and now have the opportunity to share it with you! On Oct. 13, 2013 at 3:30 p.m. my church, First Presbyterian in downtown Winston Salem is hosting a showing of Girl Rising, an awesome film that follows several girls' stories and the impact that education can have on them, their families and entire communities. It's beautifully done and both realistic and hopeful. I hope you can come watch it with me. 

2012 EFA Global Monitoring Report

Education in our country is free for our children. Our girls get to learn which gives them SO many opportunities for a bright future in America. Regardless of the problems in our education system, it is one of the things that immigrants come to this country for. In so many other countries in our world, education is more precious than our favorite possessions. I am thankful for my education everyday because it shaped who I am in the world and how I can help people. But as I progressed through K-12 education I didn't think about what a gift it was. My parents didn't tell me it was different in other countries. My friends and I complained about school work and getting up early. We expected to get new clothes each fall and to be rewarded for good grades. My worldview was so limited as a child. 

In the last few years I've been learning more and more about life in other countries and how much of what I take for granted is someone's life wish. The movie Girl Rising was one of those awesome tools for God to use in my life to expand my mind and prompt my heart to stop living just for myself. 

In addition to seeing this movie, I read a bit more and realized just how instrumental education is for girls worldwide. It's not just for them to be smart or get a job. It keeps them out of some devastating circumstances. In our country, by and large, we protect our children. We are hard on criminals when they commit crimes against our children and we uphold the value of their innocence. Of course the United States has its blind spots and shortcomings that end in tragedy as well, but it is not as commonplace. 

UNFPA, 2012

National Academies Press, 2005

As I prepare for this showing on Oct. 13, I'm praying for others to be spurred on by some of these numbers and stories. I simply want 100 people in my community to see the film and pray about what God is asking them to do. There are several local opportunities to help girls realize their place in the world as well as getting involved globally. For example, be a running buddy with Girls on the Run at the YMCA Mistletoe Run this year in Winston Salem. Or ask me about child sponsorship with World Vision or Food for the Hungry. There are little ways that each of us can affect these statistics and I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that I was involved. 

I want to end with 2 things. Thanks for reading. 

1. A quote (you know how I love words) that I ran across in an article today. It is from one of my favorite abolitionists, William Wilberforce. 

“You may choose to look the other way 

but you can never say again that you did not know."

2. The title of my blog is unfinished because I'm still trying to wrap my head around the impact education can have on girls and on our communities worldwide. So I challenge you to also consider how you might finish this statement: 

Girls + Education = ________

Link to Evite: First Pres Showing of Girl Rising

Amazing Grace - Lessons for today

I love the movie Amazing Grace. And recently when watching it again I noticed a couple things I want to emulate about William Wilberforce.

1. His good friend spurred him on. Willam Pitt became Prime Minister during the period Wilbeforce was up against slave traders in Parliament. His friend indulged his thoughts and ideas. He brainstormed along side him and even did some work while Wilberforce was out sick for a period of time. Without his friend's help in soliciting votes, the law might not have passed. His friend was instrumental in his success and in his life as a freedom fighter. Pitt believed in Wilberforce's call to this mission and sought to propel and help him as much as he could.

2. He had a mentor. John Newton provided wisdom, guidance, and the needed push to keep Wilberforce going in a life of politics. Wilberforce wavered with pursuing a religious life rather than a political one and needed supporters who had his back throughout the tumult of getting the motion to law.

3. His spouse challenged him. While he didn't marry until in his late 30's, he did so to a woman who was already behind his cause. She encouraged his persistence and reminded him what he'd accomplished thus far.

4. He persevered through physical  illness and carried the burdens of many he'd never met.It's believed that William Wilberforce suffered from ulcerative colitis which was only treated back then with opium. It was stress-induced and with him most of his life. In addition, he was plagued by nightmares of slaves in their slave quarters on ships.

These choices and relationships were critical to him fulfilling the mission God gave him. He was surrounded by God's love in the form of these people who provided challenge and support at just the right moments. I recently heard the president of International Justice Mission at the Justice Conference. Gary Haugen spoke about how the work of justice "is long and boring" and the great persistence of the people who work with his organization. It's not a glamorous thing to do, but it's a worthy thing to do. I think about that phrase often - the work of justice is long and boring - it is reflected in the life of William Wilberforce, Lincoln and many others who allow the work of justice to sink deep into their souls. Thank God for them. May we all learn from their work and grow in our ability to persevere as God seeks to use our lives for His glory and to love a world that doesn't acknowledge him.

An unfinished story: bookstores, Africa and my love of food.

When I started this blog I wanted to set it up to share stories - stories of my own or others that impact the world for the better. I hoped it would promote me to live a good story. I'd say that's still being determined, but in the meantime check out this series of events:

Spring 2012

• A friend of mine got pregnant and I was invited to her baby shower. 
• I absolutely LOVE the Jesus Storybook Bible and like to give to new moms, so I stopped in Barnes and Noble one day. 
• There, as in all bookstores and libraries, I got sucked in to reading the various titles and back covers of potential reads. 
• Once I got a smart phone I began the habit of adding book recommendations to my Amazon wish list so I don't forget them. I did this in the middle of B&N next to the new releases section.
• I added The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind to my collection of "to read someday" 

Summer 2012

• I participated in a Walk for Water Africa 5k with that benefited a sweet couple from WS who felt called to go and serve in Malawi.
• My friends and I stayed in touch with the couple and helped them create "dignity kits" for new mothers in Malawi to have some sanitation in the birthing process. 
• We started receiving their newsletters. I realized I'd met them at a Earth Day Fair in 2010. 

Fall 2012 

• My friend, Marissa Joyce, volunteered the youth group at my church to help facilitate the next run in Summer 2013. By way of being a youth leader, I'm also helping.
• I finally read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba which is a memoir of a Malawian youth who lived through 2 famines and through self-education provided electricity to his rural home. It's a truly profound story, especially when I think of his life in contrast to mine - he's just 4 years younger than me. His upbringing was drastically different than my own. And like most good books, it changed me. 

Winter 2013 

•  My small group and I started reading the book 7, a mutiny against excess, by Jen Hatmaker and we are going to do her challenges to help realign our lives to the Gospel rather than simply being products of our over indulgent materialistic culture. The first one is to fast and we are adapting it to eating food similar to what is eaten in poverty-stricken countries - rice and beans. 
• I instantly thought of William Kamkwamba and George and Phyllis with a Sure Foundation in Malawi and how I can purposefully sacrafice variety in my food for 7 days to further empathize with those who never get more than 7 options for their next meal. 
   
  It starts Sunday. I'm apprehensive about the whole - eating only oatmeal for breakfast (plain), rice and beans for lunch (plain) and a dinner that helps me understand what other parts of the world might eat. I resonate with the author as she struggled through 31 days of eating only 7 foods. She loves flavors and variety. This was difficult, and I anticipate that even in a week's time I will struggle through and hopefully come out a little more aware of others and less focused on myself.

Passion 2013

Passion as defined by Dictionary.com - any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate 

 Passion as defined by the 268 Generation - "for your name and renown are the desire of our souls" from Isaiah 26:8

This New Year's I went to Passion at the Georgia Dome with 60,000 other people, 90% who are between the ages of 18-25.  I attended along with students from my local church's college ministry. There we gathered together in worship and heard teaching from authors and pastors including Francis Chan, John Piper and Beth Moore. It was Biblical training with some of the leaders in this nation. 

We worshiped with Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and Kristian Stanfill. It was candy to the ears for all worship leaders, a glimpse of heaven (albeit a white, college-aged heaven), and a time to boldly declare the truths of God. The first night we were requested to yell as loud as possible in order to get those in neighboring Atlanta to wonder what's going on and listen in. Then we continued praising God and declaring his Truths for anyone who could hear. The worship was a sweet gift to God's people and I pray God smiled as he heard it. 

In addition to the worship and teaching Passion presented an opportunity for students to get involved in fighting injustice. This was my favorite part of the conference. I was older than the target audience, and tired quickly of being herded like cattle everywhere I went. But I was a sponge when they spoke of justice. As I've grown and experienced more in my Christian life I am convinced that we are compelled to fight injustice. So as we heard from the president of International Justice Mission, a girl rescued from a life of forced prostitution and  a man who requested we demand products not made by slaves, indentured servants or child laborers - I was all ears! 

All 60,000 of us were challenged with raising money to help established social justice organizations to further what they do and to bring an end to slavery worldwide. According to the State Department there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today. See what CNN said about this conference here. See tweet below to see how we did :)

 
As I attended, absorbed and contemplated all that happened at Passion I felt the need to pray. As someone who has been in multiple ministries, churches, etc. and seen conferences (I did help plan them for a year) of many kinds, I felt several times at Passion a criticism and judgement sneaking into my attitude. Do we need laser lights? Do we have to scream every time a song ends? Do I have to keep standing? Does it mean I love God less because I want to sit? I don't think so, but I do think I've aged out of the target audience and that I need to do a heart-check on my pride in having "been there and done that." It happens often that a mountain-top awe-inspiring kind of atmosphere like Passion causes people to come back and make changes to their lives, but it fades soon after the excitement and feelings they experienced are buffered with everyday life. So my prayer is that Passion really be the movement it calls itself (rather than a conference), and that the Dictionary.com definition not be what it was to these students - a fleeting emotion but rather a new positioning for their lives.

Dear Father,

Thank you for the students' energy and youthful excitement. Let it be a reminder to all of us. Jesus, thank you for igniting them ablaze in a desire to pursue justice and love mercy. Thank you for their passion. Now Jesus, as Passion (the conference) ends,

Take their energy and excitement >>>> Give them endurance

Take the spark of unity and the flame of worship >>>>Give them an all-consuming fire that leads to worship as a lifestyle

Take the 4 days of intense and in-your-face reminders of Jesus >>>> Give them a lifetime of worship in their decisions, actions and words

 give them endurance, turn that small flame into a sustaining all-consuming fire. 

Take their glimpse into the united church >>>> Give them a deep desire to seek unity in all believers and a hope deferred to heaven.  

God pour out your spirit on those students, all 60,000 of them and give them dedication to the causes that break your heart. Give them motivation from Your perfect love for them to change this world for the better. Let their enthusiasm and passion raise the bar for the rest of us as "adult" life can steal our joy.

In Jesus holy and precious name, Amen.

A Year with my Motto

So about a year ago I attended a seminar called Finding your Passion and Purpose at UNCG. One of the activities we completed was to create a motto for our lives. We spend 2 days doing self-reflection activities to help us discover our purpose. So this was the culmination of the 2 days. Our guidelines were to choose words that have meaning to us and for it to only be 7 words. Apparently there is some evidence to prove that 7 words is easy for us to remember. The result of that task was my motto which now appears in my signature line for any personal emails I send, and is referenced often. I thought it would be fun to look back over this past year of having this motto to see how it has been worked out in real life. So here ya go: 

  Live Intentionally. 

                                      Be For Others.

                                                                      Cultivate Peace. 

Live Intentionally: 

• I created a 30 before 30 list. and have been intentional about creating space in my life to do the things on the list (not always succeeding, because sometimes its easier to watch TV than to read a book a month...)
• This year I've heard several friends remark on my being intentional with them - seeking out time to spend with them or doing something specifically for them (again I am not sure I always succeed in this area, but that's what "they" say)
• I've paid more attention to how I am intentional. I really do have reasons for almost all the things I do. This year I've had some tough conversations with people who have questioned my intentions and I've had to evaluate them. This hasn't been fun, but actually very important. 
• I have noticed this year, since having a motto, that I do in fact live my life with intention in a way that some others don't. This can make my life more exciting sometimes, and more boring other times. But I noticed it most when I meet new people and they comment on something I do or say in a way that reminds me - oh yea, it's because I'm intentional...Ashley Porter knows what I'm talking about in this regard. :) 

Be for Others:

• I went to Greece to be a counselor for missionaries. So while Greece was awesome and traveling is one of the great joys in my life - I went to serve. I wanted to use my skills and education in counseling for the benefit of the body of Christ, and what better way than with those whose job titles are the body of Christ in motion. 
• I responded to a basic need for water by raising $1400 for Rwanda and a new project that gives clean water access to people living in Rulindo. This is exciting because as the project is completed we will get to receive updates on how the money was spent. I was able to get my network of friends and fellow advocates to be for others that we will most likely never get to meet. But we have changed their lives forever. 
• I am trying to simplify my life by getting rid of the superfluous stuff in my house. I've been to Goodwill more this year than any other. I have tried to find good ways of getting rid of stuff, and even paying more attention to what gets recycled and what doesn't.  So I hope I am able to be for others who buy the things I take to Goodwill.

Cultivate Peace:

• This year I think I've had the most trouble seeing this one in my life. Probably because cultivation can take a long time. I may be planting seeds of peace in small ways and won't know about them for a long time. I did put a cool bumper sticker on my car in hopes of helping - it says "Love > Fear" and goes wherever my car goes. So that's something lol.
• I hope I am able to cultivate peace through my work with the high school ministry at my church. I love those students and seek to show them God's love and grace in this world. I find a lot of my time is spent encouraging and reminding them that God's got this, hopefully in turn bringing about some of that "peace beyond understanding" that only God can provide. 

 So I'm very thankful for my motto. I am grateful to God for making me someone who loves language and finding words that resonate with my soul and provide a "soul check" on how I'm living. I like having a motto that makes me question -  Is what I'm doing in a way that fits with how God made me and living into my motto - or do I need to realign myself with who I really am and who I want to be.

If you're still reading to the end of this self-reflection - thanks and enjoy this nostalgic take on the importance of a motto.

Water - taking the plunge

I took the plunge and started something. I've been thinking about it for a while, praying about it even. I've been asking God - what should I do? I care about the world and there are so many ways its hurting. What are you asking of me?

For over the last 3-4 years I've asked those questions, learned more about social issues affecting our world, and made some small changes (give more money, buy more fair trade, tweet about it, etc.). But as I was thinking of how I might celebrate living n Winston Salem for 5 years, I remembered a friend who celebrated his birthday by "giving it away" to an organization called Charity:Water.  This was a few weeks ago and I came across their September Campaign. They do a major project every year around their "birthday" and this year it is in Rwanda. So I took the plunge.

I want to help them. My mission is to raise $5000 in the next three months. I started the campaign through Charity:Water because it's time for me to do something. And to watch God bless the effort. And to see lives changed for the better. There are millions of people who walk miles every day just to get water to drink. Consider the children who skip primary school to lug 40-pound Jerry cans on their backs. The family members who try to nurse their brothers and sisters back to health after a waterborne illness has infected them.

So I'm asking anyone who can to donate for clean water. Every penny you give will go straight to building water projects in developing nations. And just like I have all of you as friends in my own community, we'll be able to see the community we impacted when the projects we funded are complete!To give go to http://mycharitywater.org/lindapollock

Injustice Shuts Its Mouth.

I attended a gala last week. When I first heard it was a gala, I thought, how lovely! I'd been reading a lot of old English literature and I pictured a Pride and Prejudice type event. I invited my friend Tara and we planned to attend.

We arrived at Castle McCullough after a full day of work and enjoyed the sites and sounds as we bid on silent auction items (Tara won a painting) and listened to musicians. The program was a fundraiser for World Relief and to increase efforts to fight human trafficking. I honestly can't remember how I first found out about this event, I've just been telling people I follow a lot of "this kind of stuff" on twitter and like it on Facebook. The "kind of stuff" I am referring to are social justice issues and causes I care about.

The tone of the evening was hard to describe. But here is my attempt.

Maybe intense? - A survivor of trafficking courageously shared her story including more than a decade of forced prostitution, coercion by her pimp and drug addiction. I think everyone had tears in their eyes.

Maybe  inspiring? - We heard Spoken Word and a lament which point us back to God's faithfulness and love for His people.

Maybe hopeful? - The CEO of World Relief, Stephan Bauman shared his vision for a world free from slavery and reminded us of Wilberforce and the things we've accomplished thus far. 

Maybe igniting? - I spent a couple hours in a room full of people who care about making a difference in our world today. I ended up at a table with the former president and a regional director of World Relief. I signed up for a taskforce and found this other event I may attend soon. 

I've shared with several friends that one day I'd like to run or create a nonprofit and thus far have been looking for those clues God has so graciously revealed over the past several years. I think this even was perhaps a clue. I'm excited for this catalyst and want to keep seeking God's face for what He may be leading me toward. 

Stephan Bauman shared Job 5:16 as part of his vision and as our call to action. Let us pursue God and his love for all people so that injustice shuts its mouth!

According to the UNODC, Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. If you're wondering what World Relief (in High Point NC) does, check out Human Trafficking Advocacy

And to end things well, check out one of the performances Micah Bournes did at the event: