so i have this beautiful cousin.

so i have this beautiful cousin who does beautiful things in the world to make the world a little... well, a little more beautiful. you can follow her work on the Harambee Arts Blog or at real deal web-site: Harambee Arts.





In case you need a quick synopsis before you head on over to their web-site, we have one for you!

Harambee Arts: Let's Pull Together partners with African grassroots programs to train local caregivers to provide art programs for vulnerable children in an environment that fosters their sense of joy, creativity and exuberance. Through its arts programs, Harambee Arts strives to promote the well-being of homeless, orphaned and other neglected children, enhance the stability of their families and support systems, and develop their sense of self-worth and positive personal ethics by creating opportunities for children to help other children.

Really, you should trust us on this one - take time and check it out: Harambee Arts

Hand & Cloth

if you're looking to give a most beautiful gift for a most wonderful occasion or to a most wonderful personwe really strongly suggest you consider visiting Hand and Cloth and purchasing one of their handmade throws.


Some quick facts about how amazing of an organization this is:

our mission
Through creative enterprise and the transforming love of Jesus Christ, we seek to empower women to begin new lives.

our work
Hand and Cloth works holistically with young women from Calcutta (Kolkata), India to address their needs as they seek to begin new lives outside of red-light areas. One of our starting points is to provide alternative employment. Using the kantha stitch, the young women create kantha dorokha, a traditional two-sided quilt made from recycled sari material. These kantha throws are then sold in the United States. Hand and Cloth provides school fees and tutors for the young women and also offers regular Bible studies.

our vision
Old Testament writers used the Hebrew word רפא (rapha) to refer to healing, especially divine healing. More literally, rapha means to sew together or to stitch. And so our name, Hand and Cloth, is an image not only of the creative work these women are doing, but also of the creative, healing work God is doing in their lives. As each product is handmade by a woman, our hope is that she would come to know that she is handmade by God.

Really, think about it. Great people are doing great things for great people and it would be an honor for you to join this circle of love.

Charter for Compassion



Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

http://charterforcompassion.org/

Home Again.

After a most wonderful two week road trip we're back in the saddle again and into the daily routines of life. More later - but in the meantime, here are a couple of pictures from our adventures (not necessarily in order).

Twin Falls, ID

Somewhere in our travels in Idaho.

Devil's Tower, WY

I just love this shot - good ole' wildlife breaking the barriers in WY.

Jake @ the Badlands in SD.

New Year's Eve with our homies in the Springs.

Tina and Superman (in disguise).

Scrambling has to be one of our favorite activities.

Horse-thieves, all of them!

Knee-deep in luscious mountain style love.