Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

  • productivity...

    That's the word of the evening.

    I feel very accomplished, because after work:
    - I got my haircut.
    - Peij got her bangs trimmed.
    - Ruth, Peij, and I met for dinner to catch up.
    - They came with me to help me with my purchase of a really cheap designer suit.
    - All in less than three hours!
    Then I came home and prepared for half an hour for my meeting tomorrow, with Ruth gchatting me with brilliant ideas.
    If I can shower/read/pray and get to sleep by 1AM, tonight shall be declared a success.
    Here I go!!!!

Friday, October 12, 2007

  • another contest!

    It's been awhile since my last post. Life has been pretty crazy! I'm appearing online again to ask for another favor, from all the facebookers who read my blog. I know that includes 99% of you!

    Yes, we've entered WorkUp into another contest - this time, on the most popular, time-consuming, and maddening social network website ever: facebook. First of all, thank you for all of you who have already voted - we are so grateful for your continued support!

    If you haven't voted yet and you have a facebook account, please vote now! It's super easy - only takes a few seconds. Just go to this link: http://tinyurl.com/2juwzs. You'll need to add the application - but you should do it for the kids.  You can even uninstall it right after you vote, and your vote still counts!

    Why should you vote for WorkUp, you ask? Because we make good use of the $500--and most of it goes directly to at-risk youth! Thanks to a small group of generous individuals who have invested so much of their time, energy, and love into the youth in DC, we have no administrative costs to delivering these programs to the community.

    Keep reading if you're interested in the proposal that we submitted (notice that the last paragraph is the same text as the American Express competition--the projects are one and the same!). Thank you for your help!!

    The Problem / Need / Situation:

    In the United States, between 2 and 3 million young adults aged 16 to 24 are disconnected from school and from work. In Washington, DC, there are approximately 18,000 "disconnected youth"--10 percent of the District's low-income, low-skilled, working-aged population.

    Many low-income young adults struggle to live from one paycheck to another just to make ends meet and do not have the time, energy, or access to needed resources to improve their living circumstances. They often have difficulty finding and keeping jobs because of low workplace skills, poor physical or mental health, or limited options for childcare or transportation. Young workers who have seen some success in achieving upward social mobility are usually able to draw upon family supports and networks of acquaintances with desirable employment prospects.

    The Pitch:

    With Razoo's first generous $500 speed grant in May 2007, WorkUp launched its pilot financial literacy program with a six-week youth employment program this summer, educating 35 youth on basic financial management concepts, including goal-setting, budgeting, banking, debt, and long-term financial planning.

    A $500 grant from Razoo enables WorkUp to assist 25 youth in opening and maintaining savings accounts and provide a dollar-for-dollar match for the youths' savings deposits. During the 2007-08 school year, WorkUp is partnering with after school programs to bring an enhanced version of its pilot curriculum to at-risk youth, expanding the workshops to include a youth-run fundraiser that focuses on entrepreneurship.

    WorkUp takes a comprehensive approach to ease persistent barriers to social mobility for hardworking low-income youth. Youth "pay" for services by regularly contributing part of their paychecks to a program-run savings account. Their investments give them access to supports for their specific training, healthcare, or logistical needs; workshops on financial management; opportunities for civic engagement in their neighborhoods; and guidance in setting and planning to reach their life goals. Youth withdraw their savings balances with accrued interest and use their earnings to improve their lives.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

  • Currently Listening
    See the Morning
    By Chris Tomlin
    How Can I Keep From Singing
    see related

    sacrificial giving

    Back in June 2005, I had written about what God was teaching me about money, and trusting him to provide:

    I've been very blessed so far not to know what having more than enough money to get by means, and to depend daily on God's always faithful, always abundant provision.  But receiving large regular paychecks enables increased materialism and can obscure the sense that everything we have is not by our merit but only by God's graciousness to us.  "Blessed are the poor..." having less than enough money yet keeping a loose hold on what I have has truly taught me the meaning of those words.  It is much easier to appreciate and trust in the abundance of God's material blessings if you do not have the resources to obtain those things yourselves.  And the physical gifts He gives are only a glimpse of the abundance of His love and grace that we receive through His Son.

    And then I prayed:

    Lord, give me a heart to use my finances solely for Your glory, and keep me from clinging onto money or material things that take me away from recognizing that I am as dependent on You for life and sustenance as I ever was...

    In the past few years, God has taught me to and blessed me through giving of whatever financial resources I had--He has called me to give to missions, ministries, charities, and to individuals for various purposes from what little or what plenty I had. And He has never failed to provide for me. That is what I thought sacrificial giving was--that if God called me to give so that it hurt my pocketbook, that He would somehow provide for my financial needs in the other areas of my life. And this is all true. But the past few weeks of processing and reflecting on specific circumstances that He recently put in my life made me realize that this is not all. This view of giving to God and being blessed in return is too narrow a view for a God who is so much bigger than I can even imagine, and who is sovereign over the universe.

    On Thursday morning, on my way to work, I came to a realization that nearly stopped me dead in my tracks, because it was so obvious, yet struck me so deeply. I realized that God, through so many circumstances in the past few weeks, has been bringing me to this revelation:

    Sacrificial giving is much more than giving even if it hurts my finances. It is giving, and continuing to give, even if it hurts any of the other areas of life. Sacrificial giving means continuing to give even if it is received thanklessly, even if my heart is trampled upon and broken in the process, and even if giving means that everything I've ever feared would happen to me actually happened as a result. Because ultimately, it is not me that matters at all. Whatever I'm called to do is all for God's sovereign and grander purposes--His will is done regardless, but He commands me to give so that His will is done!

    Ironically, when my mind and my heart finally connected on this point--that it wasn't about whether I benefited or lost from doing His bidding, but it was about His will being done--this brought a much deeper joy and peace than any tangible blessing on my life could have brought. I am God's pawn, but being His pawn is such an incredible privilege. In the middle of my short walk to my office building, I was so overwhelmed by the love of God. He rules the universe, yet He uses flawed people like me to carry out His ultimate plan for the world! And regardless of whether I want it, or realize it's there--His amazing love for me is constant and unending.

    How can I keep from singing Your praise
    How can I ever say enough
    How amazing is Your love
    How can I keep from shouting Your name
    I know I am loved by the King
    And it makes my heart want to sing

    *** EDIT: some language borrowed from my dear panda-loving roommate. ***

Friday, August 17, 2007

  • Currently Listening
    Everything Glorious
    By Passion Worship Band
    I Stand Amazed - Chris Tomlin
    see related

    Awesome God

    When you realize that you have been specifically created to do His will, that He uses you to accomplish His grander purposes and to bring glory to Him, you can't help but to stand in awe of His sovereignty, His grace, and His eternally unfailing and overwhelming love.

    When with the ransomed in glory
    His face I at last shall see,
    ’Twill be my joy through the ages
    To sing of His love for me.