Tag Archives: Liz Griffin

November 7, 2012 · 10:48 am

The Morning After

I keep trying to write something about the US presidential election, but every time I get a few words down, I delete them.  It’s hard to say what I want to say, but this girl has done a pretty good job, so (for now) I’m going to defer to her.

Right after I share this quote, which I love, from C.S. Lewis:

“He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself.”

…

So, it is election day. I am not telling you who I voted for. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am one of those pesky independents that the campaigns are trying to woo.

I don’t know who will win today. But, I do know this:

I am thankful for men & their families who are willing to serve their country. Sure, there are perks to being President. There are also high costs. You couldn’t pay me to carry the amount of stress, responsibility or schedule that being POTUS requires. I am glad there are people willing to do it. It is tougher than it looks people.

I am thankful that they are willing to go first. I can’t imagine the obstacles Obama has had to overcome to be the first African-American to hold this office. Also, Romney is a Mormon. That isn’t the most popular religion in our country & I imagine all the scrutiny makes him feel so vulnerable at times. Both these men have guts.

I am thankful that they are doing what they believe is best for our country. Now I am sure you seriously disagree with Romney or Obama. However, I think they are suggesting what they think is the best solution for the issues facing our nation. I appreciate people who stand behind their beliefs…even if I disagree. Gotta give props for saying what you believe.

I don’t know who will win today. But I do know:

The Office of the President should be spoken of with respect. Voice your disagreement & complete despair if your candidate doesn’t win. Fine. But, be respectful. Otherwise you get annoying really quick. No offense.

Our voice matters after November 6th. If we stop voicing our opinion and trying to impact our country when the election is over…we all loose. The change we are looking for isn’t found in one election on one day. It takes continued dialogue and action on our part. We are all America. We are all a part of the solution.

Bumper stickers & yard signs should be taken down this week. Okay, this is just my pet peeve. No one driving behind you needs to know that you voted for Gore in 2000. Just take it down.

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Read more from Liz at Lark & Bloom.

 

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May 17, 2012 · 9:28 am

My Dreams are Sneaky

Today, I’m so thankful to have Liz Griffin from Lark & Bloom writing about her sneaky dreams.

Come on, folks, give her a warm Great Smitten welcome…

(I don’t know what a Great Smitten welcome is.  Maybe an aggressive high-five?  A screen-clink with your coffee mug? Do what feels right.)

It would be appropriate to say I have been a dreamer since birth. My childhood was filled with crazy ideas and a sketchbook of possibilities. Most of my dreams have been a bit ridiculous. I would go completely insane if I actually worked in a small bakery in a remote French village. Glad that dream didn’t come true.

As I matured, so did my dreams. By the time I was in college I dreamt of social change. I planned on attending law school & working for the U.N. I wanted to fight bad guys. My other dream was to have a family. Those two things seemed incompatible. I knew what I wanted to do, but had no idea how to do it.

After college I had a job offer to get into military intelligence. Basically, I would have been like the chick in Top Gun. Minus the sleeping with Tom Cruise part. Intelligence officer job, possible U.N. internship, grad school applications…my dreams were about to come true.

Or so I thought. Turns out God had a different plan. My husband & I ended up planting a church in Seattle & having children right away. Instead of helping solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I was changing diapers and discipling women.

It was a different journey, but one I followed whole-heartedly. Fast-forward seven years and a few moves. I now live in Texas. I have two kids and am adopting two more. The family dream is in full swing & the justice dream is waiting patiently.

My dreams got real sneaky this past fall. God began to merge the two and suddenly I was helping form an anti-trafficking organization called UnBound. Things began to happen in ways I never expected. After tucking my kids into bed at night I would head off to the university and speak to a group of students at anti-trafficking events. UnBound now works directly with law enforcement organizations & is going to be launching international efforts soon. I get to raise my kids and fight the bad guys while they nap. God is brilliant.

As you read this, you may think that sounds impressive. Don’t be fooled. It doesn’t feel impressive at all. I don’t have a high-rise office. There is no assistant to tell me I missed ten important calls while I was addressing Congress. Instead I spend my day potty-training & pushing kids on swings.

The other day I was making peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the kids’ lunches while on the phone with a maximum-security prison. Negotiating the release of a trafficking victim while loading the kids in high chairs wasn’t in the original dream.

Giving a phone interview while wiping poop from a child’s bottom wasn’t in the dream. In fact, this wasn’t the dream I planned at all. This is a better dream. This is the kind of dream only God could orchestrate.

He is sneaky with our dreams. In my mind, my dreams come true in a fantastic moment. Usually involving a rooftop terrace, a city skyline, and a soft breeze that blows my hair gently away from my face as I gaze into the distance. Cue swelling music and then I have my moment. The moment I realize my dream is coming true. I smile and the camera zooms out. The End.

But that isn’t what happens. Dreams creep. They hit the boundaries of our seasons, & wait quietly while we deal with life. God blends the unblendable and creates a custom built life for our dreams.

My dreams seem ridiculous at times. I’ve never stood before Congress. I don’t own a power suit. I only have 327 followers on Twitter. But I have God. I have a family who gets the best parts of me. In the middle of all that I get to play a small role in seeing slaves freed.

God’s dreams for me are better. God’s dreams for me are balanced. They aren’t based on my passion, but His destiny. I’ll take those dreams any day.

Even if it wasn’t what I expected.

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