...think about it!

It's so expensive!!!

How often do we say that? In my mind, anytime I'm in a retail establishment, that statement is like a skipping CD over and over and over as I shop and compare and decide what to leave on the shelf and what to take home ... and how do I determine what is expensive and what is affordable? By comparing items to each other, of course. I do this all the time!!

But I was just doing a little surfing (explained once again by the fact that I'm supposed to be writing a research paper!) and I was on the Me to We site... I heard Craig Kielberger in Winnipeg a while back, at the Delta (where all the best breakfast meetings were always held with the tastiest orange juice in the city!.. and a parking lot that took me ALL the years I lived in that city to figure out!)...anyway, Me to We is marketing clothing now, so I was having a look. and of course, it ran through my head.....These t-shirts ARE SOOOO EXPENSIVE. and then a post began to form in my mind.

I was remembering a video I watched on Jeff's site, all about the product chain from production to consumption to disposal ... and one of the things mentioned was EXTERNALIZING COSTS. -Fancy phrase for something that retailers and manufacturers conspire to do in order to make other (poorer) people pay so the wealthiest people in the world can have more stuff for less money. (Thats the kelly interpretation)

Think about it.. I'll tell you a little of my journey with thoughts like this. I have been thinking about it. You know those shoe boxes we send to children in developing countries? Our family did them for years, some years we'd do 5-6/year. Then, one year, there was this great new store to help us with the shoebox items... Dollarama. I shopped at the first one in Winnipeg, on N. Henderson. It was awesome! They had much better selection than other dollar stores we'd bought items from, and I could get stuff for boys or girls, all ages, all in one stop. Great! Doing good deeds and convenience all wrapped up in one nice package with big green and yellow lettering. Makes me all ready for the holidays.
But hold on... how can these toothbrushes and pens and puppets and books and flashlights and crayons and socks and dolls and masks and toys all be $1 each?!?!??! How can the overhead, the wages, the shipping, the marketing, the manufacturing, everything be covered by my measly little loonie?

Something is fishy here... It just doesn't make sense. Someone, somewhere is paying for this because there is NO WAY that the costs and profits (and you can bet your very last loonie that Profits aren't the thing being sacrificed for me to pay low prices!!) are being covered by the retail price I'm paying.

Hey... wait a minute... I wonder if the economic circumstances in all those countries where the thousands and thousands of shoe boxes are being sent are helped or hindered by my ability to buy goods for $1 and ship it back to them in a nice Christmas-y box? ... Hmmmm...

So back to Me to We... that 'expensive' clothing? Here's some info about it...

"Our product line is domestically produced, sweatshop-free and made using certified organic cotton and bamboo. In addition, 50 per cent of our profit goes to our charity partner, Free The Children, to support development projects in rural and impoverished areas across the globe. It’s responsible clothing for responsible living."

Not really that expensive, now that I think about it.

... when something is INEXPENSIVE for me... its likely EXPENSIVE for someone, somewhere. So comparing items on the shelf to each other... probably not really the right considerations to determine what is or is not expensive.

Happy Shopping.. and Merry Christmas.

hilarious conversations

I just read two very funny accounts of Kindergartners funny suppertime conversations. Very entertaining.
Yes, I am supposed to be writing a paper... Thats usually when I waste time blogging, when I'm supposed to be doing something else ... anyway, I thought I'd post about some hilarious conversation in our house yesterday...
Owen was supposed to be home around 9pm and didn't waltz in until about 9:35. He comes banging loudly into the house (think Kramer...) and says...

"Hi, I'm late. Tall tale or truth?"

dad says, (of course) "tall tale, please"

O begins... "Well there were these deranged monkeys - orange and black ones - in the trees by the church. Just as I was walking by, ON TIME, they lunged at me and Trevor. LUNGED at us! They had machetes!! We were so shocked! Well, not that shocked, because they're the same deranged monkeys we ran into last week... and we thought we'd defeated them then. But they've been lying in WAIT for us all this time, just bidding their time. I wonder what they've been eating?! Anyway, we tried and almost had them beat. But then, they took our shoes and cut our heads off with their machetes. (he is a teenaged boy) We'd have been almost on time, except that we had to run all the way to Saskatoon, (with no shoes)to the hospital, to have our heads sewn back on. To tell you the truth, its a miracle I'm only this late...I hope those monkeys have gone to torment some kids in Hague or something..."

Mom: truth, please?

O: I was in the middle of a good video game. I didn't want to lose.

Collaborative Journals and Advent

Lisa and I spoke at the Hepburn Ladies retreat. The planning committee told us that women were loving the yearly retreat, but often felt like busy-ness kept them from deeper connections on a regular basis (...everyone's life is so full) So, we asked ourselves what could be done to make the retreat to last longer than a weekend.. how connections made could continue, and women could keep 'journeying' together.

We came up with this idea of Collaborative Journals. In preparation, we did one together from the beginning of Sept. to the end of Oct. The way we did it was to pass it back and forth on Sundays... each having the journal one week on, one week off. Each week, each entry was different and unique. Some entries were prayers, some reflections, some poetic, some incorporated pictures and scrapbook-like pieces... sometimes we talked back and forth through the pages...

At the retreat, there was a sign-up for any women who wanted to do their own collaborative journals. All four we brought were spoken for, and even more women took the idea away and added their own creative twists. We've heard about lots of collaborative journaling taking place: spouses , mothers and daughters, small groups, even families.

This process reawakened my passion for journaling... I haven't stopped since early Sept. My previous pattern was to journal through anxious or difficult times, but not otherwise. I've started a journal with my sisters (I look forward to getting it no later than Dec. 8, Lisa!!) and was inspired to start another one with a good friend I really miss -- Cory, it will arrive in your mailbox shortly!


I was planning a post about advent conspiracy, but Jess did a really great job of that, so you can just read hers. Our church is engaging in AC this year, and I am looking forward to how that will be. The season quickly approaches, and I am so looking forward to it. I LOVE this time of year. I have so many great memories of family times around our advent wreath, the kids doing little puppet shows, praying for friends and family, preparing together for Jesus' birth. I hope to decorate the house soon. Although I've heard our favorite tree, Sir Uglyton, may have been pitched, so I might be very sad when the boxes come upstairs....

I found this funny little thing here ---- Some signs and symptoms of The Advent Virus:

* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences. * An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment. * A loss of interest in judging other people. * A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others. * A loss of interest in conflict. *A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.) * Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation. * Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature. * Frequent attacks of smiling. * An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen. *An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

recently...

with mom at thanksgiving.

yes, I really did make them pull over on the #1 Highway.

i liked this in the store. Didn't want to pay for it, but I liked it...

Auntie Karen and Syd.

My kids in the same room, not fighting. On film.

"It's called a Ta-Too"... you know, like the guy on Fantasy Island...?

At Pine Ridge Hollow with Pepere Legault. I mean Haily.

TJ looking a little scared. Well, Eryka can intimidate anyone...

Owen and Haily at Grandmas.

I'm 11 years old all over again..

I'm typing this post from Winnipeg. I came unexpectedly, decided in about 20 minutes last Thursday that I was hopping a ride with Sheryl and her mom the very next morning ... right now, Karen is downstairs doing the dishes.. she is sort of conversing with me, but I don't want to do any more dishes. All of a sudden I felt like... hey, I can sit up here and do something else and by the time I get down there, she'll be done... hmmm. So, here I type. (I don't regularly shirk chores like that - I'm far too task oriented for that... but I also don't usually take off to another province with no forethought...)
So, I'll tell a bit about my weekend... I'm feeling quite restored, and I know I needed to be with my sisters. They know every story about me, every weakness, every background detail that leads to how I respond to any current reality. I needed strength that comes from them, and I'm feeling able to get on with things once I get back to real life.
Friday was a very fun day of driving, I ended up with Rick and Sylvia after a funny story involving pulling over unexpectedly on the #1 highway. Driving between Brandon and Elie was not very fun, but the ironic thing is most people have experience with bad conditions on that stretch. Saturday we went for Brunch at Lisa's (eggs benny, her specialty) with fresh raspberries on the side, I was spoiled.
Then we spent the day at Sargent Park watching Brads jr. boys team from Calvin Christian play in a volleyball tourney. I had time to take Lorries truck to Hulls for a quick stop - I don't think there is anywhere like that in S'toon. Karens in the evening, visiting and laughing....
Today Carol and I went to Mountain Bean, the new coffee shop in N. Winnipeg that I hadn't been to yet. (Sisters arent only biological...:) (Except the one that is downstairs saying "What are you DOING??!" most definitely IS a blood relative!!)
Tomorrow I'm going to take Mom out for coffee, and hang out with Cory and my niece Ally after school. And maybe I'll check out one of my favorite 2nd hand stores in Charleswood.... Oh! I hear the water draining... must be time to go downstairs for a game of scrabble...

surveying the cross

Mostly, surveying the cross results in feelings of overwhelming grief and overwhelming thankfulness... grief that it was necessary, thankfulness that there was a plan and Jesus was willing. Thankfulness too for what is available because of the cross.

Today though, I was standing beside my daughter in church, and i was the usual weepy mess during worship songs... (why is that, by the way? It is so rare that I am not moved by the words. It happens when I'm at home too, when I'm driving, or anytime I concentrate on the message... it drives my husband crazy. And why do I keep wearing mascara to church?!)

My daughter is singing. beautifully. She does that. I'm not just biased, she has an angelic voice. And I was gripped by the fact that i am so passionate, way down to the bottom of my toes and even deeper, about my kids knowing God. I mean KNOWING Him... for real. Not in a meeting anyone else's expectations kind of way. Not in a 'its what everyone around me does' kind of way. Not even in a 'its morally right' kind of way...

Nope, what I'm passionate about is that they end up walking through life side by side with Jesus, having no doubt that they're silly sheep who desperately need the guidance, voice, and wisdom of the Shepherd. Recognizing that there is something within them that can only be addressed by the cross of Christ. ... Laying down the wish to manage it themselves. I'm passionate that they become people of love and kindness, grace and forgiveness, purpose and passion, - and also that they accept those things from others and from God when they need it. I guess I'm passionate that they become Kingdom people; with a real and earthy love for God that doesn't need to be organized or structured, but is just deep and just true.

So today, I surveyed the wondrous cross... and realized that one of the most important things to me, of all things in the big wide world, is that these young ones who have been miraculously entrusted into my family, that they too would be awestruck by the wonderful cross.

"The Wonderful Cross"

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet

Sorrow and love flow mingled down

Did ever such love and sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross,

O the wonderful cross

Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live

O the wonderful cross,

O the wonderful cross

All who gather here by grace draw near and blessYour name

Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were an offering far too small

Love so amazing, so divine

Demands my soul, my life, my all

--Chris Tomlin

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