Enklings Studio

Seeing God - A Morning Poem

After 50 years of evangelical prison
and two years of freedom
I can finally see God
Clearly 

No more "supposed to's"
and guilty penance
for wrongs done
in my life and somehow before

Religion is the filthy rag
Trying to wipe clean
a clear window to God
Leaving streaks of confusion

Doing right, because it's right
Doing good, because it's good
Being love, because of love
We don't need sermons or books to tell us this

We can all see God
Theology won't help you
Religion won't make it more clear
Just open the window and crawl through

simply,

Tim

What's To Come of Your Digital Legacy?

Will your great great grandkids read what you wrote if you put it on Facebook or blog it.  How permanent is your digital legacy?

Not that I have much that is profound enough to be considered legacy, but should we be keeping a physical version of some of our writing for future generations?  R U?  I'm just sayin', how permanent is WordPress?

I do have a stack of Moleskins going back to the 90's with business and personal thoughts. I also have a suitcase of old lyrics stuffed in the closet and I did write a non-fiction book I hope no one reads and a few children's books yet to be published, yet if I don't capture the last 5 years of blogging with ink and paper, where will my digital thoughts be in 20 years, 100 years, 200 years.  

Does it matter?  Perhaps not given that most blogging is mind diarrhea, but for those one or two gems every one or two years, my guess is when blogging is boring, the thoughts will be lost.

Thoughts?

simply,

Tim

The Blue Sweater - Jacqueline Novogratz

Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The subtitle for this book is "Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World." You can tell Jacqueline Novogratz has done that very thing with her life.

This book is a wonderful and spell binding story of the beginnings of the Acumen Fund and Ms. Novogratz's journey from International Banker to being a world leader in helping the poor. Not just giving them a hand out, but truly giving them a way to pull themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship.

I've read several books in this vein and it's clear to me that blind charity, money thrown at a problem, will not fix it. A plan, that includes helping the poorest of the poor find a way to build on their own initiative is the only way to bring lasting change.

Particularly poignant is the section regarding the Rwanda genocide. Ms. Novogratz worked in Rwanda prior to the genocide and truly gives an insiders view to what happened including interviews of some women in prison for contributing to the massacre.

For anyone interested in helping the poor, the "least of these", this is definitely a book you must read.

More here: http://www.acumenfund.org/bluesweater/

Simply,

Tim



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