Road Trip Therapy

There is nothing, I mean NOTHING, like a road trip with a good friend.  I am feeling blessed in so many ways.  The Lord has been teaching me abundantly lately, and for the most part I have been receiving the lessons with open and willing arms.  It is so freeing when we just go with the flow and do not force life into our own skewed idea of the way things are supposed to be.

That being said, I am learning to let go.  Let go of my ideals.  Let go of my agenda.  Let go of my expectations.  Let go, and be free.  What is more fitting than a road trip with no real agenda?  Part of it is planned, loosely.  As a Seventh Day Adventist woman that resides in Michigan I am richly blessed to have an amazing church camp.  This weekend marks the first of three weekends this month that Camp Au Sable will host Women's Ministries.  It is an amazing opportunity to feed your soul.  Women, Adventist and not, gather from all over Michigan and beyond to fellowship together.  We eat, we laugh, we cry, we worship, we learn, we connect, and we grow.  There is so much beauty at Camp Au Sable, in the natural surroundings as well as the people.

So, the Women's Ministries Weekend is the planned part.  Well, loosely.  Normally I am packed and ready to go by now, but alas that is not the case for me with this journey.  I just determined when check-in is last night, and I've no real clue what the real topic of the weekend is, or what the seminars are, or what the schedule is, or what the special plans are, or what I want to do in my spare time.  I mean nothing.  I just made my packing list last night.  Last night!  Our washing machine is broken and will not be fixed until next week, so I still have to go out and do laundry.  This is SO not me!  But, I am okay with it and just going with the flow.  It is almost surreal.  It's like I'm looking in from the outside wondering who it is that I am.  In years past I would be so stressed in this circumstance.  Not now.  It is what it is, right?  It will all work out.  It always does.  No biggie!

So, the super unplanned part begins when we leave Camp Au Sable for our return journey home.  Guess what?  Not going home!  WOO-HOO!!!  This mamma needs a break, and my best gal pal and I are taking one.  You have no clue, or maybe you do, just how much I am looking forward to a full 24 hours to do just as I please.  See, we extended our weekend through Monday evening.  Yippee!  What do we plan to do?  I am really not sure, and that is uber cool!  Will we leisurely browse through a used book store?  Will we eat lunch while gazing out at Lake Huron, will we lounge around at a hotel as long as possible, will we find a cool cottage somewhere, will we, will we, will we?  I have no clue, and it is SO beautiful.

My time has been consumed with illness, school lessons, house cleaning, errand running, bill paying, cooking, and the slew of other things that have landed in my lap.  Responsibility has reigned, so I have spent ZERO time planning for my much anticipated extended weekend of freedom.  How refreshing!

A quote worth pondering:

God is looking for imperfect men and women 

who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. 

Christians who have come to terms with their inadequacies, fears, and failures. 

Believers who have become discontent with ‘surviving’ 

and have taken the time to investigate everything God has to offer in this life.

- Charles Stanley

May your weekend be richly blessed, 
your soul wonderfully fed, 
and your spirit lifted high.

The Way of Women

Another trip down memory lane; this was originally written on August 23, 2006, and it still stands true for me today. I'm not sure who these women are, but they sure look like they're having fun. Hope you enjoy:

Back in the day women knew how to survive. Women knew how to be supportive of each other and fed the fire of community. Families knew each other. They cared about the success and survival of those they shared common space with. I don't mean sharing property or actual living space. I mean the community itself. The connection was seen between their lives. A woman's world stretched past her front stoop.

With advancements in technology and Women's Liberation, as women, we have managed to shoot ourselves in the foot. The art of our lives has become endangered. A certain confidence and security has been lost. Rather than struggle in the chaotic, over extended lives we have managed to create for ourselves it is our duty, if to no one but ourselves, to change the direction of our lives.

In the above spirit I have made that decision, very consciously I might add. I have learned to ask for help and even pay for it if need be. I have learned to actively seek out the desires of my heart. I have learned to find and honor my spirit. I have learned to connect, really connect, with the women around me. I have learned to better manage my time with my best interest at heart. I have learned that there is always a curve to learning. I have learned to be diligent and patient with myself.

Please do not misunderstand me. The above things are positive. By no means is anyone suffering because I want to be the true and real me, the best me that I can be. When we are honest with ourselves we will understand that our loved ones, our community and our health can only benefit from sincerity. What better example to set for our families, communities and anyone we may come into contact with? One need not feel guilty for finding a way to truely live.

Be true. Be real. Be sincere. Be happy. Really be.

Away for the Weekend!

This weekend marks the first of three Women's Ministries weekends that will be held at Camp Au Sable. This is an amazing annual event that has grown over the years from one weekend to three! It is the most wonderful weekend for women that consists of seminars pertinent to life as a woman, life in Christ, family, food, and friendship. They really do pull out all the stops, and I look forward to it every year.

It is tradition, a tradition that started before I joined in the fun, with the ladies I will be traveling with to leave first thing in the morning and stop at Birch Run for breakfast, shopping, and lunch then head the rest of the way to Grayling. God has blessed me immensely by the women he has been putting into my life. The majority of the friends I seem to make are usually 20 years my senior, and what a gift! There is so much to be learned from a mature, Godly woman that has traveled 20 years before you. Oh, the wisdom!

I will most cerainly have things to share upon my return. In the meantime, keep stopping by. If you never have checked out my archives, have a look. I'm headed toward my 200th post, so there's bound to be one that will speak to you. Have a wonderful weekend, a Happy Sabbath, and be sure to hug someone you love.

Poverty Free World?

Is it possible for the world to be without poverty? Can people be empowered to rise above financial constraints? One man believes it is surely possible, and his name is Muhammad Yunus. I watched an interview with him on the Canadian show, The Hour, last night. It was compelling.

It is the vision of Muhammad Yunus to totally eradicate poverty from the world. He started the Grameen Bank Project in 1976 with a mere $27 from his own pocket. Owned by the poor borrowers of the project became an actual bank in 1983 under a new law created especially for its creation in Bangladesh. Now the Grameen Bank serves more than 7 million families in over 81,000 villages.

Muhammad Yunus recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for his unique concept of micro credit. Micro credit has been used in Bangladesh, India to dramatically change the lives of many families. The concept is to empower families with small loans to get out of debt and become entrepreneurs. Women make up 97% of the loan holders through Grameen Bank.

The difference is changing our thinking from consumer business to social business. Consumer business benefits the company and it's share holders. Social business benefits the community at large. The commitment of a social business entrepreneur is to make a difference in the world as opposed to the consumer business entrepreneur whose sole purpose is to maximize profits. Which kind of entrepreneur would you like to be?

For further study read, Creating a World Without Poverty byMuhammad Yunus.