Kiva

At Leadership Summit 2009 I had the privileged to sit and listen to a young woman, who is a Stanford graduate, be interviewed. Her name is Jessica Jackley. She is a co-founder of a company called Kiva.org, which means "agreement" or "unity" in Swahili. This company is "the world's first peer-to-peer online micro-lending website which allows individuals to lend as little as $25 to specific entrepreneurs, providing capitol to help them start or expand a small business. On average $100,00 is loaned on the Kiva website every 24 hours." Their payback percentage on these micro loans is 98.5%. It was started in 2005.
Here is a video clip http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/uganda-601.html?&c=4qt
I was captured by her and her heart for people. I was also captured by the concept. It was so simple and so amazing. It goes along with all that Shaun and I have been learning and seeking out. It helps to alleviate the poverty by not just handing over money but by "teaching someone to fish" as it were.

Take a look at http://www.kiva.org/

Liked Quotes from Leadership Summit 2009

“”When something is missed it’s not because it was unforeseeable it’s because it was unpalatable.”
–Gary Hamel- (really loved how he articulated things)

“The Longer you’re down in the trenches it becomes easier to mistake your rut for the horizon”
-Gary Hamel-

“It’s ironic that most churches have been trying to turn themselves into organizations while organizations have been turning themselves into causes.” –Gary Hamel-

“Relationship trumps vision. We don’t need more visionaries. We need more relationaries.” –Dave Gibbons-

“Forgiveness does not mean: forgetting or that it’s ok, release from consequences, or reconciliation. Forgiveness does mean: that you give up your right for revenge.” –Wes Stafford (Compassion president…the book that we got at the Summit is called “Too Small To Ignore”)

“Not every reader is a leader but every leader is a reader.” –David Gergen-

“It’s easy to confuse motion with progress” –David Gergen- (this is the guy who served 4 US Presidents)

Chip and Dan Heath are 2 brothers who are Stanford and Harvard grads...one is a prof there...I loved how they worded things. They were talking about "change and problems"
-They mentioned something called "bright spot therapy". It's where a counselor will not delve into all the problems of a person but look at the things that ARE working...the strengths. "Big problems are rarely solved by big solutions"
-"we owe it to people to prepare them for adversity in change...how to deal with failure (which they called "the valley of insight")...have a growth mindset and built into this mindset is a tolerance for failure. It's not something to be avoided- it could be an early warning sign of success."
I really liked them.

“Irreducible core” Tony Blaire
He was talking about this "most people like to be liked as a leader. There are things to take a stand on and not be flexible. This is your irreducible core...even if it's uncomfortable for other people stand and possibly fall by it... Be prepared to walk away. " I just liked how he put it.

Getting Settled In To My Calling of This Season

Hi my blogging friends. It's been awhile since I've had time to sit down and think. To be honest, I really don't have time today but I am taking it anyway. Sometimes you just gotta! The girls are playing happily for the moment. The dog is annoying the guy who is laying carpet in one of the bedrooms. Shaun is off working hard on someone else's house. I am putting aside all my mega tasks that I have on the table at the moment to just sit down and think for a few minutes.

Last week Shaun and I had the privilege of going to the Leadership Summit. Last year I had found it intensely frustrating. We were leaving a great church that we were involved in leadership in a few areas and moving to a church unknown. I was feeling a need to be a leader outside of my home to get away and have a break from motherhood responsibilities. And while I think that is all good and well, one year later I have a bit of a different perspective.

This year as I listened to the various phenomenal speakers I realized that I was mentally applying it to my roles that I do every day, the roles of wife and mother...but mainly mother. We will be homeschooling this year and, I think, for the first time I am settled into being at home and doing these things as opposed to filling in time at home and wanting to be doing the things I spent the pre-mother years doing and that which I am trained to do...my passions. While many of my friendds have managed to do both I, I have come to find out, am an all or nothing girl. Whatever I am doing I am fully engaged and focused on and I cannot do other things well. That is my default. I am learning, slowly, how to work around this...first I had to realize that's how it was for me though. So for me to be at home but longing to be doing other things meant that nothing actually got done well. In a sense I freeze. I don't know what to do b/c I can't do everything with all my strength...so I just stop. You would not be able to tell this by looking at my life. It looks very busy and somewhat productive. But mentally this is what goes on. I am not sure that I am articulating this very well, likely, because this is a new revelation for me and so I have not fully processed nor conquered

Another thing that goes along with this is that I am not a multitasker...yeah I know I'm a woman and that people assume that a woman and a multitasker are one and the same...this is not the case for me. My mom is an amazing multitasker and still doesn't get how I am not. She often looks at me in bewilderment when I just can't multi-task. It is a detrimental thing when you are a mom. The job basically requires it as a starting point. Motherhood is a constant interruption of thoughts and tasks. There are days when I wonder if I will go insane! But by the grace of God the love of my husband and children I do not!

I have to say that over the last year I got SO frustrated with not being content with where I was at that I finally started praying. Imagine that! I prayed that God would give me a passion for all that I needed to be a mother to these precious PRECIOUS gifts that He gave to me for this season. He took me up on this request and slowly and graciously has begun to grow this passion. I know it will be a process but I am encouraged. He has grown it to the point that homeschooling the girls is not an overwhelming burden on my heart but I am actually looking forward too it. I do not know what this year will hold or the next. I am kind of glad about that. It would be overwhelming I think.

If you talk to any mother, who's children are already grown, they will tell you that these years go by so quickly and to cherish each moment. A friend once told me that "the days are long but the years are short". It is a bittersweet thing. On one hand you sort of long for the never ending barrage to end. On the other hand you never want it to end. It's the hardest and best job one could ever have.

I do not want you to think that this is the complete picture of my motherhood experience. For it is not by a looooooong shot. It's just that, at this point in the journey, this is what God is working on in my heart and life. These beautiful girls bring me SO much joy, a fresh perspective, and a river of love that I never knew existed before I had the privilege and joy to be their mother.

2 Conversations with the girls.

Today we were coming back from Victoria, the girls and I, on the ferry. We were eating and all of a sudden Portia says in a not so quiet (and yet not too loud) voice, "Look at that fat man mommy!" Now I knew someone was sitting down behind me about a foot away so I figured they heard. I whispered to her across the table that it's not nice to say stuff like that. She just looked at me quite unconcerned. About 2 minutes later that "fat man" asked me if I would like any of his ketchup packets as he had too many and he had noticed that we were using ketchup. Then about 15 minutes later when he was finished eating and leaving he stopped by the table and said "You girls are the 2 best behaved little girls I have ever seen" and then went on his merry way. At this point Portia started giggling quietly at first and then she burst out into a full giggle. When asked what was so funny she turned to Mercedes and said "MERCEDES he said we were BOTH LITTLE girls. I am the only little girl. You are a big girl right?" Mercedes agreed and they had a good giggle. As did I.

After we got off the ferry and were driving down the rode the girls saw a helicopter in the sky. Mercedes pointed it out to Portia and I. Portia said "helicopter". But she must not have pronounced it quite correctly because Mercedes started breaking down the word for her. She started with "Hell" "I" "Cop" "tor". started to repeat after her "hell" and then she stopped. "Hey Mercedes isn't has that a word 'hell'? Mercedes do you know what 'hell' means?" Mercedes replied, "No do you?" Portia "No but it is a word right" Mercedes said it was. At this point I jumped in and told asked them "Do you want to know what hell is?" They both said yes. "When we die we either go to Heaven or Hell. If you believe in Jesus and He knows you then you go to Heaven. If that is not the case then you go to Hell. Hell is where Satan lives and he is the most evil being. Hell is an awful place. " At which point Portia piped up VERY emphatically, "Well I am going to Heaven because God knows my name Mommy! He knows MY name!" I asked her if she believed in Jesus and she said "YES! And He knows my name". And then Mercedes and Portia went off the fact that God owns everything and had made the cows and the peacocks and the....everything! It was a lengthy list.

Those are the precious moments that I cherish.