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

"We're both emotional" - thoughts on fear

So I love our Netflix streaming and lately have added some random titles to the instant queue for later viewing. Recently I ran across a delightful foreign film and have to share some thoughts with you. The move Romantics Anonymous features two people crippled in their fears of everything who, against all odds, find each other. Here's the trailer:

Adorable right? As I watched, somewhat painfully, at the awkward exchanges and misunderstandings I grew in empathy toward them and their "emotions" that get the better of them. The anxiety they live with to do normal everyday things was incredibly compounded when they met each other. While I could entertain  you with my own set of awkward moments or anxiety ridden thoughts, that's not this blog post (if you're lucky, maybe some day soon). Instead, this post discusses fear.

Fear is defined as:
1: an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger
2: anxious concern
3: profound reverence and awe especially toward God
4: reason for alarm

Here are a couple thoughts by other, more brilliant folks who share their words with the world:

1. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."~Marianne Williamson

2.“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”~ Francis Chan

3. And on the back of my car this bumper sticker:







Fear shows up in my office everyday in the form of -

• students who stopped dreaming because they are simply terrified of not finding a job
• students who plan to go to graduate school out of fear of looking for a job
• students who are crippled with indecision about their major for fear of the wrong choice
• and even students who fear succeeding

Fear is underneath a LOT of our other emotions - anger, jealousy, stubbornness, arrogance, self-deprecation, and more. I think it's important to be a student of fear in order to recognize it at work within us. I've been someone who lives in fear. I've also seen it guiding people in my life. And it makes me indignant. God has used the scripture below from 1John to push me out of my comfort zone and into places where I must face my fear. I want us all to change our default settings from fear to love. (As noted above, love always wins). I want us to refuse the luggage of fear and insecurity and instead bear the light yoke of Jesus who is perfect love and works out His perfect love in this world though His people. Friend - let today be the beginning of taking risks in the name of love.
 

All because of 2 candlesticks

On Christmas day my family likes to go see movies at the local theater. This year my sister and I were already preparing to go see the new Les Miserables and took my parents along. Just before we went I ran across this Gospel Coalition blog on Twitter - Law and Grace in 'Les Mis'  and probably cried more in the movie than I would have regularly.  This post is definitely worth a read!

It's truly a beautiful story of redemption, set in a backdrop of obvious social injustices. It moved me to tears because I see truth in it. I see our broken world and the unbalanced rules we are subject to, even in our present day world. It motivated me once more to speak out when I see injustice, to examine what I can do in my life to fight injustice, and to search for God in our world so I can be a light and part of His story.

I see in Jean Valjean someone who must overcome his past and choose to accept the grace given him in the form of 2 candlesticks. The lavish grace God gives to his children if only we will come to him. I see that in my own life and in the lives of so many I know and have heard about. Grace is freely given, yet how hard it is for some to take hold. His character shows that so well.

This movie came at a time where I was reading Kisses From Katie, a story of a young girl who chose to live a life in Uganda as a single mom to 14 children rather than the life of comfort and predictable mediocrity in TN. So my compassion and empathy radar was on high alert as I watched the story of Les Mis unfold and heard the timeless songs. I was also more moved by the sweet love of a father for his daughter that develops, given Katie's love for her adopted children and God's adoption of us into His family.

fanpop.com

I was reminded of my love of good literature, themes, and how a good story can speak on so many levels at once. It can reflect our own souls in each character. I saw myself in Jean Valjean as he sought to live the blessed life he was given. I saw myself in the inspector Javert as he was blind in his pride to uphold what was law. I saw myself in Eponine as she struggled with unrequited love and in Marius and Enjolras as they sought ways to bring about change.


This movie reminded me of how compelling emotions can be and how terrific Broadway and song are ways of expressing those emotions. I was truly impressed with the actors abilities to sing and cry at the same time. :) Check out this video on why it was so profoundly moving. Ah I love it and want to see it again.

Fishing as a metaphor

I don't know anything about fishing from first hand experience. Anything I know comes from movies. Even people I know who have told me about fishing fail to say it in a way that has compelled me to participate or with enough illustration for me to grasp it. Recently though I saw Salmon Fishing in Yemen and was delighted. I'm adding fishing to my life list as of today.
So here's 1 part movie-review and 1 part metaphor-for-life.

Linda while camping

Ewan McGregor plays a fish expert with a boring marriage who gets suckered into an unlikely project. A rich sheik asks him to have faith and work with him on creating salmon fishing recreation in Yemen, a mostly desert place. Emily Blunt gets to manage the project as a consultant who doesn't know anything about salmon. It's a beautiful and funny tale and I found myself smiling the whole time. I went to see it by myself at Aperture, our local indie theater. I thoroughly enjoyed the shared experience. Here are my take-aways:

1. Salmon swim upstream and its in their nature to do this. So while it's "normal" for them, it's not normal for other fish. They swim against the current when it's time for them to leave their mark and procreate. They are highly adaptable and go in both sea and river water. It seems the life of a salmon is quite the adventure with multiple names throughout their life span. I learned that here. Upon learning that and having the story from Yemen running through my mind, I felt even better about going to the movie alone. I didn't go to movies alone until just a couple years ago after a friend told me how much she enjoyed it. It's super liberating to go alone because it's a cultural expectation that there would be others with you.
2. Ewan's character Fred has a moment where he wants to "go upstream" to change the course of his life. To do the harder thing for the potential added value it could bring. He takes a risk. Salmon do that all the time. Ever seen those pictures of Alaskan bears eating sockeye? Those fish are bold instinctively and are great role models for us. 
3. Like any good story, there is romance in this one. I love how they integrate it into the plot. Without giving anything away, I just want to point out how attractive it is when someone swims upstream, against the norms. We are drawn to people who think independently and are driven by a passion to live for something more. The sheik is such an appealing character for his confident faith - it draws people in.
4. The movie reminded me how sweet it is to have hope in something, faith that something can be realized even when the odds are against it. I have unmet desires and unrealized dreams, as do we all and this movie is a sweet reminder that the faith in those dreams spurs people on to do extraordinary things. In the words of Donald Miller - live a good story!  The hope in this story was in the salmon and the sheik, but we should all pause to think what we put our faith in and examine our actions to see if they line up.

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in that grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. - Teddy Roosevelt