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A Voice In Ramah

Month: November 2009

  • I’m Exhausted….But His Supply is Not!

    avoiceinramah
    “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
    Philippians 4:19

    When it gets really tough — what do you really need — deep down in your soul — to keep going? To keep moving? To keep working, witnessing and being light, salt and love?

    A friend, a fellow co-laborer in the Gospel, called me today and shared with me that he felt like he was running on empty.  He wondered if he needed a vacation or some other kind of change of pace.  When I reflected on how many times I had heard so many of my colleagues express the same kind of exhaustion (and me too!) just within the space of a week, I thought “what do we really need to keep it going?”
    I know some of what we may want:  we want for things to be a bit easier, for the schedule to slow down just a bit, for time to play.  We want for folks to “ack right!”
    We want a nap!
    We want to feel as if we are making headway….sometimes, we just want to stop for a moment and take a breath, and while we are taking that breath, please, please, don’t let something “crazy” happen to the movement!
    But what do we need?
    Every day brings more focus to the incredible odds stacked against us — the incredible challenges facing the people, the communities for which we fight.  They are always outnumbered, outsmarted, outwitted, outplayed, out-“somethinged”! And we are always working to re-group, lift a new strategy, organize and mobilize more people, lead the people to celebrate the little victories that we too often forget about, and work to bring meaning and definition to the losses.  We carry the weight of “defining” reality — drawing bold lines around what’s really at stake — and then, pointing people’s hearts forward toward hope — praying that their minds and their bodies follow.
    I’m exhausted!
    For people who are committed to Kingdom — what we have is a lifestyle.  Because the world we live in is broken and will be until Jesus comes, the most important thing we can can do is witness against broken-ness.  We can be light in the places where shadows reign.  We can speak truth to power and challenge systems — and sometimes we can even change systems.  We can give our lives to the battle, and even though the battle is not ours to win or lose — it is still lonely, painful and exhausting! 
    If I am to be exhausted, I want to be spent for Jesus. In fact, though I complain at times about being tired in the work, I have yet to tire of the work.  I could get tired if I was alone, but I echo Paul — “I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”  In other words –this is not just me working it out. Not just me.  No lone voice here….nothing special or genius about this life, except it be yielded to Him.
    Or — consider how Charles Spurgeon reflects on exhaustion:

    “If by excessive labor, we die before reaching the average age of [man], worn out in the Master’s service, then glory be to God, we shall have so much less of earth and so much more of heaven…it is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of [men] in fine preservation, but living sacrifices whose lot is to be consumed.”

    “We can only produce life in others by the wear and tear of our own being. This is a natural and spiritual law — that fruit can only come to the seed by its spending and being spent even to self-exhaustion.”

    Now — of course, I don’t mean that we are to be workaholics. I don’t mean that we are to eschew balanced lives.  I certainly don’t mean that we are to neglect the care of our selves, our bodies.  That is ridiculous.

    But if we are to be exhausted — then by God’s power and grace, we should strive to be exhausted for Him.

    If my eyes are to be bleary and tired — let them be because of a laser focus on God’s beloved, God’s smallest ones….and not because I have been looking so intently at my own navel.

    If my shoulders are to ache, let it be because I found a sister or brother in need of them….and not because I am carrying my own ego, excess or wealth.

    If my feet hurt at the end of the day, let it be because I have walked with someone who was lonely and in need of companionship, or because I went in search of someone lost — and not because I have been stepping on others.

    This is what I know: when I am empty God does supply.  I may get anxious sometimes, wondering…when, Lord?…but God does indeed supply.

    Water
    Respite
    Dew
    Rest
    Peace
    Mercy
    Grace
    Laughter
    Inspiration
    Friends
    Perspective
    Unconditional Love

    I called my friend back to share with him Philippians 4:19 — and he just laughed.

    He said, “I just read the whole letter again….with each verse, I felt like I was caught up in a song that was modulating upward. With each modulation, I felt lighter, weaker…and if you can believe it, more powerful, stronger at the same time.”

    I guess that’s what he needed.  Of course, my response?

    “So, get back to work you slacker!”

    Amen.

    The Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson
    Brooklyn, NY

    Matthew 2:18:
    A Voice In Ramah
    http://avoiceinramah.blogspot.com

  • Calling all Children’s Champions to the Floor!

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    A Children’s Defense Fund
     Children’s Health 
    Stroller Brigade Update!

    Millions of child lives depend on what you do today!

    These photos were taken at the Children’s Defense Fund Champions for Children’s Health Stroller Brigade when it came through New York City on November 5, 2009.  Marian Wright Edelman, President of the Children’s Defense Fund was joined by some of New York’s leaders in the faith — Dr. Serene Jones (President of Union Theological Seminary), Dr. Dale Irvin (President of New York Theological Seminary), Rev. Calvin Butts, Senior Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, Dr. James Forbes, Pastor Emeritus of Riverside Church and Founder of Healing for the Nations — to raise their collective moral voices to demand that children’s needs be addressed through this nation’s current health reform efforts.

    Dr. Manel Silva of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center outlined how 66% of the patients who come through her center do not have health insurance, and how many of these children have been traumatized by community violence, family violence, sexual violence and the like.

    Actress Lynn Whitfield, Richard Buery (CEO, Children’s Aid Society) and Dr. Drew Giddings (Act for Children) also joined their voices to those refusing to abide with children being left worse off after health reform.

    They all came to stand outside of the offices of New York Senators Charles Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D) to say — thanks for the work you have done, but your work is far from done! Children need Champions for the health on the Senate floor!  

    We need to keep putting the pressure on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and demand that they include affordable, comprehensive and simple children’s health coverage in any health care reform.
     The House of Representatives has just passed a bill that would leave millions of children worse rather than better off after health reform.  The same dangerous outcome looms in the Senate – unless you raise a mighty voice – demanding that all children must be better off after health reform; that the successful Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), New York’s Child Health Plus Program, is kept and strengthened in the Senate bill and in the final health reform bill and not killed as the House bill would do to CHIP in 2013.
    The voices of so many powerful special interests have been heard in Congress: powerful insurance and drug companies; other business interests; doctors; unions; and many more able to spend many, many millions of dollars on lobbying. Vote-less, powerless children need youto raise your voice for them if their far too invisible health reform needs are to be heard.
    Children need your voice today!  
    We must stop Congress from eliminating the effective and cost effective Children’s Health Insurance Program program and sending millions of children who benefit from this program into a new, untested, and far more expensive Health Insurance Exchange where parents will have to pay more for their children to receive fewer benefits. Why should we sacrifice the health of millions of children to enrich private insurance companies in the Exchange?
    What can you do to ensure that millions of children are better rather than worse off in health reform legislation?   
    Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) will offer an amendment on the Senate floor to: 



    1.  Keep and strengthen the Children’s Health Insurance Program;
    2.  Make the Children’s Health Insurance program simple for parents to access;
    3.  Guarantee children in the Children’s Health Insurance Program the same comprehensive benefits as children get in Medicaid; and,
    4. Provide a health safety net for children in families of four earning $66,150 (300 percent of the federal poverty level) wherever they live in America. We must end the unjust lottery of geography.

     Please call your senators and ask them to support and vote for this amendment!

    Speak up today and everyday until the Casey CHIP Children’s amendment is passed by the Senate.
    Call:
    Senator Schumer at (212) 486-4430
    Senator Gillibrand at (212) 688-6262
    Tell Senators Schumer and Gillibrand the following: “Hi, my name is [your name] and I’m calling from [your city and state] to tell Senator [your Senator’s name] to co-sponsor and support the children’s amendment Senator Bob Casey will introduce in the health reform debate.  The amendment will improve CHIP, protect millions of children from being worse off after health reform and is cost-effective for children, families and taxpayers.”
    If you are not from New York — Visit www.congressmerge.com to find out the phone numbers for your Senators in their state offices.
    Keep contacting your Senators until there is a Senate vote, and until a final bill is enacted that protects rather than hurts children. Call, visit, and email your Senators and get your family, neighbors, and congregation members to do so to!

    Millions of child lives depend on what you do today! 

    Thank you for being a voice for children.
    The Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson
    Brooklyn, NY

    Matthew 2:18:
    A Voice In Ramah
    http://avoiceinramah.blogspot.com

  • The Champions for Children’s Health Stroller Brigades are Coming!

    avoiceinramah
    Unless You Act Today,
    Millions of Children Could Be Worse – Rather than Better – Off After Health Reform
    Children Need Real Health Reform Now!

    WHAT:
    On Wednesday, November 4th, the Children’s Defense Fund is organizing a Champions for Children’s Health Stroller Brigade to the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Children, parents, grandparents and champions for children will “stroll” to the Capitol to ensure that millions of uninsured and underinsured children are not left behind in health care reform.

    CDF is also announcing that “The Strollers Are Coming” to Congressional districts across the country on November 6th through 8th to demand that Members of Congress stand up for critical changes needed in health care reform to protect our children. So far, stroller brigades are being planned for Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, New York, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas. Other states may be added.

    WHY:
    Join us in demanding that Congress and the President support real child health reform that leaves all children better off. We need to tell Congress that it is indefensible for children to be squeezed out of health care reform by powerful lobbyists and insurance companies. If our leaders can bail out irresponsible bankers to the tune of nearly $1 trillion almost overnight, they can afford $10 billion a year for ten years to provide our 8.1 million uninsured and millions more underinsured children a simple, seamless, affordable and accessible health care system. Children need an effective national health safety net now.

    Congress must:

    • End the bureaucratic barriers that keep 2 out of 3 of the 8 million uninsured children who are already eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid from actually getting the care they need. A simple, seamless enrollment process like older Americans have forMedicare would ensure our children are cared for and covered.
    • Guarantee every child access to the full range of child health benefits they need which are now provided to children in Medicaid but not to children in the CHIP or the proposed Exchange. All children’s lives are of equal value.
    • Eliminate the unjust lottery of geography and provide an affordable national health safety net for all children whose family income is below 300% of the federal poverty line ($66,000 for a family of four). A Mississippi, Montana and North Dakota child is no less valuable than a Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York child.
    For more information,
    or call Scott Jacobsen at (202) 662-3641.

    Let’s Care for All Children by Providing a Comprehensive,
    Accessible Child Health System that Works!
    Millions of Children’s Lives Hang in the Balance!
    You Can Save a Child’s Life by Taking Action Today!
    The Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson
    Brooklyn, NY

    Matthew 2:18:
    A Voice In Ramah
    http://avoiceinramah.blogspot.com