Ethiopia I love you

It's true, I love Ethopia. I love the people, I love the countryside, I love the amazing history of thousands of years, I love the wildlife, I love the flowers and stately trees, I love the avocado mango juice! But I don't love the poverty and the great needs of so many people. I want to fix it, I want to make a difference in lots of lives.... but I can only do my part to help.

I hope you have had time to look at the pictures I have posted on Facebook. I put them up so everyone can look. Even if they are not a "friend" of mine. Please take a moment and view them as if you yourself lived there. As if you yourself had to drink the water and wear the tired and dirty clothes. As if you had to wash your clothes and your body in the brown dirty water.... meaning your clothes and hair and skin are never clean and you are always sick with diarrhea.

The people of Ethiopia are amazingly resilient and hard workers. So many live in poverty with very little to live on. Mud huts and stick homes are the norm, apartment buildings and homes as we know them are few and far between. Our partners, who may live in apartment buildings still have to do their laundry by hand and cook all their food from scratch. Just to make the bread staple, Injera, takes 3 days.

A friend suggested that I should put my pictures on note cards to help raise money for the project in Ethiopia and I think that is a great idea. SO.. if you are interested in something like that just let me know what pictures you would like on your cards and I will work on making it happen. email me at
ms.lisazisa@gmail.com

As you can see by the pictures I have posted on Facebook; water is a great need and along with it training in basic hygiene, water management and sanitation. Yes, open deification is very prevalent not just animals, but people too. Somehow, over the last generations, these very basic habits have been lost. In talking to our partners they are aware and very puzzled as to what happened and when. But they are committed to working hard to make the tide turn!

The project that Lifewater is doing in Southern Ethiopia is almost fully funded. One of the stipulations of the grant is that for every $8.00 funded Lifewater needs to raise $1.00.... Maybe you could consider making a donation to help reach that goal?

Lifewater has recently been blessed with the ability to upgrade the website - here you can read lots of information and stories about projects and see the progress of what is happening. I hope you will look often.

As you can tell, my heart has really been grabbed by the needs of people around the world, I was so humbled and felt so sad when I thought of all I have at home. We are truly a rich people.

Thinking it through.....

I have been doing some reading and really felt compelled to share this. As a point of reference, the author was British.

"I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F. an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, 'I've no use for all that stuff. But mind you, I'm a religious man too. I know there's a God. I've felt Him, out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that's just why I don't believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who's met the real thing they all seen so petty and pedantic and unreal!'
Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he was really turning from something real to something less real. In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousand of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America."
- C.S. Lewis


I find this so compelling... what do you think leave your comments, please.

Kefir, Kefir, Kefir

My newest healthy thing.... and one I will never leave Kefir. I used to drink it when I lived in Northern California. It was so hard to find though - you know those were the days when health foods were looked down upon and there was no such thing as a health food store. People that grew their own stuff were considered out of the mainstream and raw milk was impossible to find.... unless you bought Alta Dena and people were getting sick from it.
With the economy bottoming out and people waking up to what is local I am excited to suddenly find healthy food available in abundance. My next quest is to find raw, unpasteurized milk from a small farmer and make my own kefir. Check out this article and actually the whole site. You won't be disappointed!

Health benefits abound... including it is wonderful for lactose intolerant people. The health benefits list is so long that you should just copy and past this into your browser -
http://www.yourkefirsource.com/category/kefir-benefits

You will be amazed - Oh and if you have a source of raw, unpasteurized milk that you trust, get some kefir grains and make your own!

A sense of peace

Yes, it's true I am surrounded by a sense of peace. I like it, who wouldn't? I recently had a scare when I went in for my yearly check-up... fortunately no, there is nothing to be concerned about. But in the process I, of course, did a lot of research to see what I would be facing IF and what I could do to make sure that IF didn't happen I at least could make some changes that might help out with keeping the old body functioning.

Low and behold.... there were several things I found out.... one chicken if it is not natural, range, organic and every other healthy word you can think of, produces something called xenogestenes and those in turn can make a woman produce fibroids. Not good for any woman at any age, but in particular not something a woman my age wants, needs or hopes for.

So, I will pay excruciatingly high prices for fowl and just eat a bit less.... actually as someone I know pointed out to me, grocery chicken is shot full of water so when you buy an "everything healthy" bird that weighs 5 pounds you will get 5 pounds of bird (including bones). Now doesn't that make us all feel better? I mean really that means that our dollars really do go further purchasing "everything healthy". Overall, I do purchase very wisely and almost "everything healthy" but there is more I can do so I will. And while I do that I will be thankful that I can afford to do so.

Right now, I am having a great time visiting my nephew Jesse and his fam. We have been having a lot of fun, and laughing a lot too. My next hope and dream... to get a Wii and Rayman,; oh my it is hilariously fun. Tomorrow we will get ready for the Battle of the Bands they are putting on for the high school kids and Rise Up International and Meg and Andy will be here too.

Saturday, evening I fly home and get ready to go to Palm Springs with girlfriends next week for a couple of days. Off-season = CHEAP. Ye-Ha more fun ahead!

Then to top off all this "comp time" we will see Les Miserables at PCPA's outdoor theatre in Solvang. Followed by a mad dash to get ready to get back to work!

Learn new - keep growing

I heard a report on NPR the other day that was really interesting -
The story? Well, let me just say, as I listened I was amazed.

The topic was Relationships - Saudi Arabia and the United States - the commentator was tracing from present day back to the interest the US has in the country. He listed off presidents from Bush to Clinton to Bush blah blah back and back. I almost turned the radio off but am so glad I didn't.

It seems that FDR, yes FDR, that is how far back the relationship traces... was flying over the country and looked out and thought.... Hmmm, looks like this is a country that could become a big agricultural hub, we should connect with them.

Now I don't know about you but my mind does not, repeat NOT work that way when I am flying and look down. What kind of an amazing mind, a creative mind, an entrepreneurial mind is that that God created!

- So FDR then went home and set to work looking for a way to meet with Saudi King Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud, warrior king of his country.




After a lot of amazing negotiations FDR managed to get the king to meet him on a large destroyer, the U.S.S. Quincy in the Great Bitter Lake, Egypt.

The king, being a king, had certain things he wanted to bring with him.... for instance; a few of his special wives and 100 of his finest sheep. Now don't roll your eyes, this was his culture, his life and this is what warrior kings did/do. Don't expect that he should just be happy that the President of the United States wants to see him and on a big ship no less.

The two met and FDR noticed something.

You see he was looking for a way to connect with the king and he didn't know what or how he could figure that out. Until he saw the warrior king.... who was in his 70's and had difficulty walking... FDR seized the moment and presented the king with his back-up wheelchair. The result? The beginning of a friendship. FDR recognizing the need to respect the Saudi culture and knowing that smoking was taboo chose to smoke in the recesses of the ship, so as not to offend the king. i.e. respecting his culture.

And that's the story of how the United States of America and Saudi Arabia first became friends. The rest is let's just say an "oily history".

Hilarious Girl

I love that I am getting old and I am still learning! HA! That's good.
So I have been taking an ounce of acai juice with a teaspoon and a half of flaxseed oil every morning for the last couple months... well I just added the oil two weeks ago. But hey I have a lot more energy and my dry eye is going away and my skin feels better. So good.

I also realized today that as I was listening to the local news hearing all these younger people being mentioned for either arrest or awards, etc. That as each name was said I was rehearsing the names in my mind; hoping that if it was an arrest I would NOT hear the name of a former student. I mean for heaven's sake, I was holding my breath! Love and caring runs deep. And by the way no arrests and one award for the home team! good. but not good for those who were arrested. sad.

I got one of those exercise balls. very fun.

Ha ha, I just noticed that every paragraph starts with "I" - I guess this is a self-centered thing these blogs.

Tomorrow should prove interesting. That's all I can say right now.
Peace

The Geography of Bliss

I can't take credit for this title... it's the title of a book I am reading by Eric Weiner. He took a trip searching for the "Happiest Places in the World". http://www.amazon.com/Geography-Bliss-Grumps-Search-Happiest/dp/044669889X/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236562274&sr=8-1

So far, I have read about a third of the book and he's having difficulty! It seems every country defines it a bit differently, happiness that is. It is often tongue in cheek and has caused me to chuckle out loud a few times.

I am glad I can say with confidence I have a lot around me that makes me happy. Good friends and all that, fun job and all that, good fam and all that. I am pretty sure that at the end of the book he is going to know what a lot of us already do. "Um, home is where the heart is, um, mom knows (knew) best, um love your work and be happy." Seems like the next line should be "love the ones you're with" or some other line from an old song.

On another subject I went for a couple of walks this weekend, nothing too huge, but the wildflowers are popping so I have to be among them. And I am glad that it is in the mid-60's and sunny. I like it cool, I like needing a sweatshirt when I walk. It won't last for long... the wildflowers or the sweatshirt weather - enjoy 'em while you have 'em I say.

Things I Know

Thinking a lot about how life keeps on moving - I know I am still hung up on time. It is so interesting to think about though.
I am very fortunate, I have 3 friends that I would trust my life to. I mean if we were in a really bad situation I think we would all do our best to help each other out of it. That is something that a lot of people don't have.
So when I get uncomfortable with the things that I think should have happened in my life and didn't it is good for me to think on that.
What are the things that make me uncomfortable, that I think should have happened... or not happened in my life? Here is my list:
1. I should not have had to go through a divorce. It wasn't my plan when I said,"I do". My advice - don't live in a fog when you are young and think that everyone is thinking like you and has a healthy outlook on life; even when they talk like they do. If you do that you just might wake up on the first day of your honeymoon and say, "Oh my God what have I done?" But I didn't bail, I really tried and prayed and fasted.
2. I shouldn't have ever had a man look me in the eye and say, "you make too much money" - especially when it was when I was investing my life in the lives of families with young children. And especially because I don't have any retirement or own a home, etc. And especially when he was being paid probably almost 4 times what I was making at the time. (at least that is what someone said to me after they heard him say that to me.) His job? - pushing numbers around spreadsheets. Outcome in my life: that's proof - we live in a broken world.
3. The rest of my list is really to private to share here - so sorry.

Here is my list of the things I love that have happened in my life:
1. I made it this far and am happy and full of peace.
2. Ya, I am still proud of my kids. Speaking of which, if you are a mom whose kids are out of the house... you should watch Diane Keaton in "Because I Said So". I don't like the fact that her kids seem to be encouraged to sleep around, but there is one scene on her birthday where she is absolutely spot on in describing what it is like to be a mother whose kids are grown and what moms are supposed to do now. It is hilariously true.
3. I have been given a cool sister and despite our differences in life and lifestyle we really love each other and help each other - and like she said last week when we were saying good-bye on the phone: "when i started talking to you my back was really hurting and now I guess some good endorphiens were released while we were talking cause my back feels so much better!" Now that's cool and makes me think... I hope I have that effect on a lot of people, as opposed to being a pain in the behind!
4. I have discovered that I really like color, even more than I realized. And light. and the beach. and the mountains. And most of all. that I get to go and experience all those things most anytime I feel like it. I am so blessed to live here.
5. I have had many careers. And I have loved them all. Department Store Buyer, Caterer and Baker, Mother, Teacher, founder and director of a Christian preschool, and now managing volunteers for an international organization that cares about the people of the world that don't have even safe water, sanitation, effective hygiene or the knowledge of Jesus love. Which one did/do I love the most? Absolutely impossible to tell you. I do know that the ones I used to do I don't desire to do now... except baking, I love baking bread. But I don't because bread is fattening and I like to eat it.... while it's still HOT with real butter.
6. I have truly loved a few times, unfortunately they weren't capable of that too. But I have still loved truly and honestly and that makes me glad.

I hope your list like this one is long.

Time keeps on slipping into the future

Lately I have been thinking a lot about time and how elusive and slippery it is. I don't know why, maybe because I am closer to 60 than 50 - which in itself is ridiculous. Trust me on this, you don't feel any different in your spirit, in your very being when you are older than you did when you were, um, 9 years old. The year, for me, that I was very aware of my own thoughts and observations and future. It was a year, actually a summer, I remember, of, the only way I can describe it is - crystalization. Did anyone else out there have a similar moment in time? I mean I suddenly was aware of my thinking certain thoughts and drawing very definate conclusions about life and people and seeing into their hearts. It was, kind of freaky actually.

For the past several weeks, this line often crosses my mind, "she turned to look over her shoulder and watched the moment slip away" or other similar phrases that all for some reason begin with the first 7 words of the phrase I just wrote. Additionally, I see a picture of myself looking over my shoulder - eyes piercing to see what is there! I don't know why I have this picture in my mind of me, looking over my shoulder but I do. I am trying to figure it out.

Dancing across my mind are memories many wonderful and some so awful I don't want to acknowledge them as memories at all. I am a person that has felt in limbo for most of my life. Never really fitting in wherever I have been - I don't mean a misfit or wierd or anything like that, but there are only two times in my life when I think I truly felt whole. Yes, you guessed it... first, when I was nine and then agian when I was raising my children. The bottom line - life in certain moments brings such peace and fulfillment.

Now that I am well over nine and the two are making their own way and doing it well - ya know, I am just trying to figure out my role in life. What is the next thing I am to do that brings meaning ... to my heart? Don't get me wrong, there really isn't much missing from my life. I live a full life. Have an incredible job that I enjoy, work with great people. Thankfully, can pay my bills - Have many friends scattered around the US and even a few in other countries. I keep busy and never have enough time in a day. But there is something that eludes me. I have a faith that is deep and sure and an assurance of eternity, that is not a question.

I was told recently that I am accomplished and bring a lot to people and that that, at times, is overpowering to others. It was said to me by someone I love and trust and it was fine for her to be honest. But I burst into tears. I don't want to be overpowering, that is never in my heart. So I prayed and asked that I would be sensitive to that and not be that way. She said it is not that you do it on purpose it is that you are so self-actualized. And she said, "people don't realize that you are that you are just the same as everyone else... you have the same hurts and needs and moments of joy as we all do... am I right?" she said.... " Ha - said I , you are right!

That stopped me in my tracks and I had to go and look it up again.... Maslow... self actulization. http://psikoloji.fisek.com.tr/maslow/self.htm Upon reading - I actually laughed out loud. Yes some of it was true, but I am so far from ... it! Which made me feel glad.... and then thoughtful all over again. (Let me say that I do not agree with Maslow on many points....one; I don't think he believed in eternity and I do.)

So my conclusion? I will continue to reach out to others and do my best to see what their heart is saying and needs. And I will let others know when I need something, just not everyone, because for some people, its just not their business. And I promise myself that whenever I hear that phrase running through my mind; "she turned to look over her shoulder..." I will make myself look straight ahead and ask; "where to now"?

Seeping out of my bones....

Seeping out of my bones is a deep desire to create with color. So I will begin to paint soon. Color is something that makes me happy... A year ago I bought new chairs and chose kiwi green. I love them and every color you can think of goes with them. So since they do, I use a lot of them.

I am glad for music and the way it encourages me, calms me, agitates me.

Words Really Bother Me

Words really bother me. They can take on a life of their own.

I mean I have something I want to say, the right thing, you know? And sometimes it just comes out wrong or awkward. Especially when I want to convey something to someone I love, care about - I know, if you know me you are saying - "what, that's crazy - you've said some great, right, helpful, appropriate things to me, things I needed at that moment."
Maybe... good that is good.... but it is the times I fail to say that right thing, or freeze, or feel full of my own emotion over what the person has said and can't get the words out, or get scared of what the person will think... or I think - if I say that they will get mad and not speak to me.....
So if I say the wrong thing to you, please know it is not in my heart to do that. It is in my heart to bring everyone that is in my life joy and peace. That is what I really want to do.
So if I disappoint you, do me a favor and tell me. Cause the other thing I want to do is get better at this.

Once You've Looked In.... Look Out

Here we go another year... I know a boring beginning to an unknown blog. But come back again, join in and share your thoughts too.
Having experienced many decades of life, marrying, raising kids, a divorce and 4 careers I can look back and thankfully still look forward.
Dreams as yet unfulfilled but not stopping me in my tracks include - owning my own bread baking company, retiring to the mountains, creating beautiful stained glass windows.... contemporary and colorful, not pics of sea gulls and flowers thank you anyway.
Currently, as a woman of faith, I am praying for solutions and new doors to open... such as I never imagined. I have found that in matters of faith and prayer I only restrict myself if my "heart thoughts" are too narrow.
Hope you will come back, hope you may even subscribe... please don't be silent, because it is the conversation that makes life fun!