Genevieve's first day of FIRST grade

Mrs Gunn

New blog

I've decided to start a new blog for all my "changing the world" posts. You can visit it HERE if you are interested. Actually, please do visit it, as I have some exciting ideas I want to share with you. In the very near future I will have some ways you can help change the world too!

I've never cared about blog readership before.  Meaning, my blog has been more for me and documenting my life, more than anything else.  But I really hope to gain some readers with the new blog.  I am passionate about making a difference for the lost, forgotten, oppressed, and abused; and I hope that my blog will help others realize that there are things we can do to help them. 

Changes

I know these are small changes, but they are something, and I want to move with my momentum.
I am going to resist the fashion frenzy. It's such a waste of resources. Time, energy and money. Those of you that know me are probably getting a little worried right about now. There really isn't much fat to cut in that area of my life. Sometimes I am barely above the long braids and homemade smocks our sisters on the compounds wear. Even so, I find myself thumbing through magazines and checking out what Hollywood has deemed worthy for this season, and sometimes even make a lame attempt to "be in style". So the first thing I am going to do, is not buy the magazines (which I don't very often anyways). The funny thing is I randomly started receiving Glamour magazine about 3 months ago. I didn't subscribe to it. I mean really, I'm 32 with 3 kids, and I don't think I have even looked at that magazine in like a decade. After the 2nd one came I started to get paranoid that someone in my life thought that I looked THAT bad, and thought if they sent me this magazine I would get some fashion tips out of it. I don't think that anymore (although here's your chance to fess up whoever you are!), but I still don't know where it came from. So I'm just going to recycle it. And instead of trying to keep up with the trends of high-waist vs.low-rise, wedges vs. heels, (and well, that's all I can think of because I am not fashion savvy), I'm going to find my own style and stick with it. So if you see me rockin my cowboy boots that are oh-so passe from like 4 seasons ago, I'm wearing them because I like them. And heck, maybe I'll drag out that off-the-shoulder poncho that's still hanging in my closet from 3 years ago (okay, I never actually had one of those, because they were on their way "out" before I got up the nerve to buy one).
I don't think I'm going to just let myself completely go (although it is tempting, and what better excuse than to do it in the name of fighting social injustices!), but I'm going to spend a lot less time worrying about it. I'm going to try to be healthy, but not be so focused on the 10 lbs I would like to lose. Because in the big picture - it really doesn't matter.
Okay, that's it for now! 1 change a day is good. But the day is still early so you never know what kind of crazy stuff I'll come up with as the day wears on.

Inspired, to say the least.

God has been preparing me for tonight's message. I've been moved. For quite some time I have had this all-consuming feeling of "not enough". I simply wasn't doing enough in the face of world hunger, the AIDS epidemic, child trafficking, modern day slavery, child soldiers, etc. There is so much corruption in this world that has forced people into unthinkable circumstances, horrific abuse and unimaginable deaths. I've laid awake many nights wondering how I, a nobody stay-at-home-mom could make a difference. It's overwhelming. It's daunting. It's scary to think that I am making a choice to take it on. Because with this choice, comes a whole new perspective. It's been something I've been processing for a while now. It's letting go of the "me & mine". My world, and all the details that I have put so much energy into, truly are insignificant when compared to the world's injustices. How can I worry about the huge stain on our new rug, when children this very minute are being sold into the sex slave trade? How can I spend one more ounce of energy thinking about my outgrown highlights or outdated wardrobe, when there are child soldiers forced by rebel groups to perform heinous crimes against one another? When I know that 25,000 children are dying EACH day from malnutrition? This is a dangerous road to go down. It is going to be a tricky process to find balance between my life as it is now, and the actions I am being called to. I don't know what all this means right now. But I'm putting it out there in writing. I am being called, and I will obey.

Tonight at Cornerstone we had a guest speaker - Gary Haugen from International Justice Mission.
He was a Washington DC lawyer who was sent to Rwanda after the genocide. 800,000 people were killed in the course of 8 weeks. Gary was there to prosecute the perpetrators. Part of this process was going through the thousands of corpses, and interviewing the survivors. It was during these interviews that he understood God's call for us to stand against injustice.

International Justice Mission is rescuing people. They are taking legal actions through the courts to free them from their oppressors. They have rescued children from brothels, widows who have been forced off their land, child slaves, and many many more. Please check out their website to see all that they are doing.

On Tuesday October 14th there will be a BENEFIT DINNER at the Fairmont in San Francisco (there will be others nationwide too, check the website). We will be going - and I'm planning on being a table host as well. If you would like to go and be at my table, leave a comment in this post. (Leave a comment even if you aren't going - just to say hi if nothing else!). The cost is $100/person. I believe this will be an eye-opening if not a life-changing event.

I'm tired of sending checks. For every worth-while cause out there, the answer always seems to be to send a check. This is one of the first times I am EXCITED about sending a check. And also finding out what I can do beyond sending money. I think this is one of those times where we NEED to inform society about what is happening in the rest of the world (and here too), and take a united stand that we will not let this go on anymore. I can no longer burry my head in the sand. If we won't stand up for these people, these children, who will?

So there it is. For everyone to see. Now I HAVE to do something :)

Please come back to see where God leads me. And please pray about how He can use you. Because now you know too.