Forgive my silence. I needed a break from blogging. Probably not the smartest move from a book marketing standpoint. But from a concentrate-on-writing-the-best-possible-book-and-still-see-my-family-standpoint? The break was necessary. It wasn’t easy. Because I enjoy blogging. I like distractions. But I needed to put my author hat on for a spell without letting unnecessary interruptions invade my thoughts. I also wanted all of my writing energy to get poured into the writing/creative process.
And that’s where I’ve been for the last five months, cooped up inside my house or zoned out in a corner at my favorite Starbucks writing my next book. And I’ve written a lot. I’m not sure how long the book will end up being, but in the process of writing it, I somehow managed to write nearly 132,000 words. And that number will go up, since I still have a good bit of the second draft to finish. (It’s releases next summer. And will be my first book in 4 years.)
Writing this book has been both exhausting and amazing, a writing experience that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. And I’ll be sure to share more about that once I’m finished the whole process.
All of that said, my break from blogging is officially over. Actually, it was over on September 1. But I forgot. It wasn’t until yesterday (maybe the day before) that it dawned on me that it was September, that Labor Day happened, and that I was leaving for Guatemala on Monday.
Next week’s trip will be my fifth adventure with World Vision, my second as the “official” photographer on the trip. I use the word “official” lightly. Organizing these blogger trips has been one of the highlights of my professional career. It’s not always easy rounding up a group of writers/bloggers for international travel, not for the lack of interest, but because so many of bloggers/writers live busy lives. But somehow, once again, I managed to gather a fantastic group—some of my favorite people who I’ve known or followed for a while with a few new friends who I’ll be following long after this trip—to venture with me to the mountaintop communities in and around Antigua, Guatemala.
This time, my fellow travelers will be…
Jamie Wright from Jamie the Very Worst Missionary
Roo Ciambriello from Neon Fresh
Zack Hunt from The American Jesus
Jessica Shyba from Momma’s Gone City
Caleb Wilde from Confession of a Funeral Director
And Shelby Zacharias who will be blogging at her mom’s blog, Karen Spears Zacharias
Amazing group, huh? I’m terribly excited.
I never grow tire of seeing how World Vision’s work impacts a community of people. It’s never the same. It’s always designed to fit the specific needs of a community. And it’s always created with sustainability in mind.
More than that, I love meeting the people-the children, the moms and dads, and the always brilliant World Vision relief workers. Each one of them shares a unique story. Sometimes their stories present joyful narrative, full of hope and life, and other times their stories are defined by darker themes, a life shaded in by the symptoms of poverty. And no doubt some of their stories will fall somewhere in between.
That’s why we go on these trips, to share their stories. So we never forget them. So you and I can know how to play a role in helping bring life and sustainability into their homes, their schools, their towns, and their communities. And we can play a role.
While writing/researching my book I became distracted (in a good way) by the wisdom and words of Reinhold Niebuhr, an American theologian, commentator, and professor at Union Theological Seminary. As a person of faith, Niebuhr was one of the few moderate/liberal Christian voices who challenged the stark fundamentalism of his time. Here are a few words from Niebuhr about pessimism and the Gospel.
“A Christian pessimism which becomes a temptation to irresponsibility toward all those social tasks which constantly confront the life of men and nations, tasks of ordering the productive labor or men, of adjudicating their conflicts, of arbitrating their divergent desires, of raising the level of their social imaginations and increasing the range of their social sympathies—such pessimism cannot speak redemptively to a world constantly threatened by anarchy and suffering from injustice. The Christian gospel which transcends all particular and contemporary social situations can be preached with power only by a church which bears its share of the burdens of establishing peace, of achieving justice, and perfecting justice in the spirit of love. Thus is the Kingdom of God which is not of this world made relevant to every problem of the world. ”
Perfecting justice in the spirit of love. I love that. What a beautiful and powerful idea. And something that should be the foundation of our social justice efforts. We should constantly making our justice better, purifying it, editing it, and shaping it with love, compassion, and mercy.
And I must say, that’s what I have witnessed World Vision doing in every single country I’ve visited with them, bringing individuals, families, and communities good sustainable justice and doing that with compassion and grace. The justice they pursue comes with the purest of intentions. And that’s why I’m once again ecstatic about sharing next week’s journey with you–through pictures and stories. I hope you will join me. And I hope you will consider sponsoring a child from Guatemala. Because theirs is a good hope. Not perfect. But good and always being perfected.
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