WVU Final Four Rally Video

I wasn't sure time would permit me the opportunity to post this, and many have already seen this video, but as we come down to the final hours before our final four appearance with Duke, I thought it might be cool to allow folks to have one more look at what WVU Basketball has done since February 22.

I'm in California with my brother right now, and we were talking briefly last night about what it means to be a West Virginian. If you aren't from West Virginia, this video, and Coach Huggin's words at the very beginning might not have the depth of meaning that WVU alum and WV residents experience when when we hear those words.

We have a lot to celebrate in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia. As I sit in my brother's house to write this post, I can't help but think how difficult it is at times for West Virginians who are dispersed abroad. If I were not in California for a conference, I would probably be in Indy watching tonight's game. It's been a pretty phenomenal year, and I'm glad my brother will not have to watch tonight's game by himself! (As a tangent, we've been reppin' dub-V and wearing Gold & Blue everywhere we go out here! . . .& it ain't gonna stop!)

Enough about me and my brother for now, let's talk about West Virginia. Tonight, virtually every television in the state will be tuned into the game. Just like back in 1959 when virtually every radio in the state was tuned to listen to WVU playing Cal for a national championship. The games are being broadcast in workplaces because this is something special that all West Virginian's get excited about.

I'm hopeful for tonights game. It's been a pretty incredible season, and we just have 2 more games to win to make history.

Wherever you are watching the game, I hope you are able to soak up the fullness of this special time for Mountaineers everywhere "From Morgantown to Matewan and all points in between!"

Let's Goooooooooooooo Mountaineers!!!

Thirty-Six Years

As of this morning, I’ve been living outside the womb for thirty six years. That’s half a lifetime for some, and more than a lifetime for others. I’ve officially outlived Jesus’ time walking the earth by about three years, and I thought it might be a good exercise to step back and reflect a bit.

I can remember being plagued my senior year of high school with a nagging fear that I wouldn’t live to be eighteen, and now I've lived to twice that age. Looking back, it probably came from listening too much to the Doors and to Jim Morrison’s “An American Prayer” album. I never shared this with anyone other than my folks (and now you). But hey, I lived through that (and lots of other music as well).

I remember in high school one of my teachers shared that my generation was predicted to change careers at least six times in our lifetime. Since college, I’ve experienced three career changes, and during high school/college I had three other jobs, so it looks like I’ve met my quota a few years early. For comparison purposes, many in my parents generation have stayed in the first job they ever accepted and worked at it until the day of retirement.

A few years ago, I left a job working as an analytical chemist to pursue a career in ministry (which I left last fall to become a full time fighter of extreme poverty!). When I left my job at Mylan Pharmaceuticals, one of my bosses/friends bought me a book called “There’s Always Time For Greatness” (As a side note, it’s kind of cool/rare to be able to say that in every job I’ve held I have felt like my bosses were also my friends—I still connect with old bosses from previous jobs--just to talk about life).
So this book/gift I received lists off accomplishments that people have made at different ages, and I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the accomplishments made by different folks at age 36.

William Shakespeare writes Hamlet
Albert Einstein announces his general theory of relativity, revolutionizing physics and astronomy.
Francis Crick (along with 25 year old James Watson) discovers the structure of DNA.
Johnny Carson debuts as host of The Tonight Show.
Edgar Allan Poe publishes his most famous poem, The Raven.
William Penn, English Quaker leader, founds Pennsylvania.
Estée Lauder sells her first cosmetics at Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC.

As I look back over the last 36 years, the one word I would use to describe my life is blessed. Now that term can often feel a bit trite and overused in religious circles these days, but it describes at it’s core the feeling I have as I take a few minutes away from my work to write this note. I have a deep and growing relationship with the Creator of the universe. I have a strong sense of who I am, what I was made to do, and why it is significant. I have been given an incredible array of friends who live and work in various places around the world and who feel more like family to me than just “friends” whatever that term means. And my family, well they are nothing short of incredible. I live daily with an unshakable desire that my life and my time on this earth will make a difference in this world. I’m filled with gratitude, and again, I feel incredibly blessed.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings on this 13,149th day of my life. I want to thank you for the way your time, your care, your friendship, and your support have helped me to become more whole, more purposeful, hopefully more of a servant to others.

I also hope that today that you will take the time to reflect on the good that you have seen in your life as well. It’s amazing opportunity we have together—we can be a part of bringing a little more beauty into this world. I hope that I have many days left to live and bring beauty to this earth, and I hope that we can work together toward that end.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to read, and may your life be enriched with gratitude, satisfaction, and blessing as well!

West Virginia Community

In a night during which number one seeded Syracuse fell to the Butler Bulldogs, the mighty Mountaineers of West Virginia University persevered and prevailed over the Washington Huskies and is now the last remaining Big East Conference team in the NCAA tournament as they move toward the elite eight.
Across the mountain state (and across the entire Mountaineer Nation), family and friends gathered around televisions to watch the Mountaineers play one more game on the road to a national championship. I sat with about a dozen others in the home of my first college roommate, Jimmy Shreeves, and really enjoyed the night and the victory.
For people outside this state, it’s hard to understand what it means to be advancing in the tournament like this. West Virginia doesn’t have a professional sports team, and for many people in our state, we rally behind the Mountaineers with the tenacity and passion of fans of pro teams.
Our state is victim to a number of stereotypes, & maybe sometimes it feels like we get a lot of negative press and sand kicked in our face. But when something good happens in this state, we all share in a sense of pride. In a manner of speaking, we can stick out our chests and say, “That’s our team!” People here care about the team like they care about their own family. There’s a special sense of community we have that permeates this state. Together, we celebrate the fact that we are Mountaineers. Together we celebrate the successes and the positives that emerge from the Mountain State.
It may be hard to understand for people outside this state, but there is a sense of solidarity here that is hard to imagine. People who routinely could give a rip about basketball are celebrating the success of our team--not because of a newfound love of basketball, but because of a deep sense of pride in our wonderful home in the hills of Appalachia.
And for our growing mass of mountaineer fans abroad. Come visit this state. Visit Morgantown. Come see why we believe this place is special. And keep rooting on the Mountaineers!!!

Nuru Update from CEO Jake Harriman

Nuru Farmers' Huge Maize Havest from Nuru International on Vimeo.


I just watched this video, and had to share it with you. This video was released to everyone who has signed up for the "I Am Nuru" recurring giving program Nuru initiated late last fall. Jake is sharing some incredible results, and it's incredible to think that the granary in which he is standing didn't exist six months ago. Local Kenyan's contributed to the building of it, and they grew 200 tons of surplus maize this year as a result of Nuru's work in the community.

I want to share it with you because this is incredibly exciting to see--lives are being changed because of Nuru's work in Kuria, Kenya, and I want you to be part of it.

I'm personally incredibly humbled and thrilled to be part of what's happening. If you haven't gotten involved with Nuru (I've been mentioning it from time to time for about three years now), I want to invite you to be part of this great organization. Check out Nuru's fan page and cause page on facebook. Visit Nuru's website and find out even more about this great organization, and maybe consider making a donation too.

Together, we are working to make a tangible difference in the world. Thanks for letting me share this incredible news with you today!

Saint Patrick's Day Fun

It's been a few days since my last blog post, and today is Saint Patrick's Day. I thought I'd share a couple of fun videos with you to celebrate the day. But, if you are interested in a more serious look at the holiday, here's an older blog post that explores a bit of who Saint Patrick was.

The first video is a news story from Mobile, Alabama. It appears that the residents may have discovered a leprechaun living in a tree in their suburb. Enjoy.



And for those of you who missed the wonderful dance moves of WVU basketball player John Flowers, here's a little video to get you ready for the NCAA Tournament. Oh, and in case you've been living under a rock, or in a cave. WVU won it's first ever Big East Tournament this year.




Personally, I'm really proud of our team, and I'm looking forward to watching them play and win six more games before their season is over. Let's go Mountaineers!!!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!

Where Am I Wearing?

Recently I had the privilege of reading a book by an author named Kelsey Timmerman. Kelsey’s not the typical writer, and his book is far from ordinary. As far as genres are concerned, you could consider it a mix of travel writing, exposé, biography, and socially conscious advocacy.

The book’s roots come from curiosity. The author was simply reflecting on the fact that his clothes come from many faraway places, and he had no idea what life was like for the people who made his clothes (and I imagine the same is true for us). We hear a lot about sweatshops, child labor, and the horrible conditions in which those who make our clothes often work, but the truth of the matter is that very few of us ever really delve into what’s happening in the places where our clothes come from.
What I like best about Kelsey’s book is that it’s not an angry rant of a protester, nor is it the apathy of the person who is simply resigned to “that’s just the way it is, and their’s nothing we can do about it.” Instead, he advocates a third path.

That path? The path of the informed consumer. In fact, he encourages his readers, to take trips similar to his own. In an Appendix, he warns folks about possible pitfalls and roadblocks to completing the mission, and encourages us to go for it anyways.

At times as I read the book I would find myself laughing out loud because I could relate to Kelsey’s wit and life experiences (and you probably can as well). At other times, I would find myself in tears uncertain if these tears were as a result of morning the difficult life of those who make our clothes, or mourning the loss of community and family that garment workers cherish, but that is quickly eroding in areas in the west.

Another aspect I enjoyed as I read was that there was a transformation taking place within Kelsey as he traveled. He was realizing that the more he learned (and he admits that he’s still not an expert), the more he realized that the issues surrounding the clothes we wear are highly complex, and it behooves us to be better informed.

Among other things, he points out that it’s often not as simple as protesting or boycotting a clothing company. Even where work conditions are extremely challenging, at least there are jobs and opportunities for the people. Rather we can advocate for improving those conditions by writing congress as well as the companies we buy from. We can also choose to support companies that are regularly auditing and seeking to improve conditions.

If you can get a copy of this book, I would recommend taking the time to read it. Kelsey’s journey around the world is not necessarily something we can all do, but we can all be better informed about the people and the places that make the clothes we are wearing. It is a reminder of a truth that we can often forget in a global marketplace There are people who make the things we wear and the things we use. These days they don’t live down the street and we are growing more and more disconnected. Perhaps, we could use a little more connectedness to our brothers and sisters around the globe.

If you are interested in reading the book or finding out more about Kelsey, read his blog here. There's a link to order the book from amazon too.

If you’ve already read Kelsey’s book, I’d love to hear your thoughts as well. Thanks for reading.

Another World Is Possible 2010

I’m a little bummed that I’m writing this post after the fact, but I’m really excited to be able to share this with you. Last week, for the third year in a row, a group of ministries, churches, and individuals on the campus of West Virginia University hosted a week of events called Another World Is Possible. You can read previous blog entries to find out more about the event if you like, but the essence of the event is this.
Each night features an issue that deals with brokenness, injustice, and the great needs of this world. We all agree that we live in a broken world, but this series of events seeks to mobilize people to make a difference and contribute to being part of the solution in some small way.
In the past organizations such as Invisible Children, Nuru International, One Voice To End Slavery, Eleho, and others have been part of the event. What’s really cool is that each event gives people not only exposure to issues in our world, but also opportunities to do something about it.
The blurry photo above (I think I just have a dirty lens) was taken at a screening of International Justice Mission’s new documentary film At The End of Slavery. If you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend watching this film. International Justice Mission works to rescue slaves, free trafficked individuals, and work toward justice on behalf of people being oppressed.
It’s cool to see so many people coming out to learn more about these issues. At the end of the event, people were given an opportunity to write a letter to their congressional representative to support a piece of legislation working toward the end of child slavery. Here’s a link to the letter.
I love the title of the series of events, and I love the thought of people being mobilized toward action. Another world IS Possible. And we have an opportunity to be a sign of that world to come. I believe there will come a day when every injustice in the world will be put to rights by the Creator of the universe, and I look forward to that day. In the meantime, I’m grateful for the opportunity to work toward being a sign of the time to come.
Wherever you are, I hope you will take time today to consider how to be part of the solution and maybe you will check out some of the organizations I listed above. Whatever you do, get involved. Life is too short to just be a spectator, and maybe there’s some unique contribution that only you can bring—so bring it!

Something Special

I don’t know if you had the opportunity to hear WVU Basketball Coach Bob Huggins postgame interview after the team’s loss to UConn, but if you have twelve minutes, you might want to give it a listen, here. Also, I’d recommend reading his comments on MSNsportsNET.com.

Huggins made some comments to his players about the special place they have in the hearts and minds of the people of the state of West Virginia. He said that the state really rallies around Mountaineer sports. He said, “You have very few times in your life when you are special—very, very few. A lot of people never have a chance to be special.”

I’m a huge WVU Basketball fan. I think this is probably the best team we’ve had since the team that lost the national championship. And I like what Coach Huggins shared with these guys. They have the potential to be really special.

He told the team, “You guys have no idea. When you get older and you say ‘I wish I would have listened. I wish I would have . . .’ We all do. But this might not happen again.”

And isn’t that the way life goes. We’ve got one opportunity. As much as we would like it to be different, we have very few times in our lives where we can be special. We have each been given skills, talents, and resources. And the truth of the matter is that many of us squander them. We bury our talents, we let the opportunities that could be just waste away.

As you read today, I’m asking you to consider your life. Think about the talents and resources you have been given. Don’t let opportunity to pass you by when you could be special. You could do something really great that will help others, will encourage others, that will make the world a better place. Or you could do nothing. You could waste what you’ve been granted.

Don’t let this life you’ve been given be wasted. Make a difference wherever you are. Don’t surrender to mediocrity when you have the potential to make a huge difference in this world.

You won’t get another shot at today. Make it count.

Jubilee Conference

Last weekend I had the privilege of traveling with a talented team of volunteers from Nuru International to participate in a conference called Jubilee. The name of the conference comes from an idea in the Torah which talks about a time every 50 years when all debts are cancelled, property returns to its original owners, and everyone enjoys a time of rest and restoration.

The conference itself is a faith based conference that is hosted by Coaltion for Christian Outreach and seeks to encourage students to live out their faith in a way that meets the deep hurts of this world and works for the common good of all. It asks the question of everyone in attendance, “what does it look like to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God—in the place where you live, work, go to school?” Personally, I find that to be among the most profound questions that any Christian can ask, & it’s one in which I believe the whole world will benefit as we faithfully answer.

I found myself challenged and encouraged by the words of other communicators and the passion and fire I saw in the faces of the students who were participating in the conference. It was wonderful to be present at the conference because I believe that one of the biggest humanitarian issues of our generation is the issue of extreme poverty. It’s not a problem we can ignore, and I believe future generations will look back on our generation and either celebrate or criticize our engagement over this issue.

Being at a conference full of students and professionals who were thinking deeply about how they could actively work to use their time, talents, and resources to engage this problem was hugely refreshing. Imagine being around two thousand people who are thinking about their degrees as more than a means to a paycheck. I think there is something special that happens in us, when we realize that we have the potential to shape the future. We have the potential to be part of the solution to problems that exist in the world. We can say enough, and get engaged!

Seeing so many people who are engaged in these issues was more than a little refreshing for me. And to think, the folks at CCO who have organized the conference for over 30 years have been helping people get engaged for a long time. It is humbling to be invited to be part of this tradition.

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you check out Jubilee, and register for their conference next year. And if you can’t make it to the conference, I hope you take the time to consider how you might be used in some way to help make the world a better place.

Through Songs I Was First Undone

Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending a conference in Pittsburgh, PA called Jubilee (more on that in a later blog). While I was there, I had a great opportunity to talk to Singer/Songwriter/Pastor/Philosopher Justin McRoberts and share a bit about Nuru, about music, about the church, as well as about what God was up to in each of our lives. It was a great conversation, and one I hope to continue in the future.

Justin has a new album that is getting released tomorrow, and he gave me a copy of it to listen to and so I wanted to share a bit about it with you. I'd recommend checking out his website too when you have an opportunity, and I would definitely recommend picking up the album.

On my way back from Pittsburgh I popped in the CD, and began listening to the album. I think I've listened through the album four times already--it's one of those albums that grows on you with each listening through. Of course Justin is an extremely talented singer/musician, but this album is significantly different from other releases. This is an album of cover songs and the original renditions cover a wide array of musical genre's. One of the aspects I enjoy most about this album is the fact that while Justin play's another artists song's he doesn't simply mimic every aspect of the original. Instead, Justin's voice and style emerge as unique variations on these songs that in no way denigrate the originals. For instance, when you listen to the cover of a song like Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like A Hole" you do not hear a techno-industrial style song and an impassioned imitation of Trent Reznor, but rather a song that sounds like an acoustic folk musician's re-rendering of lyrics that have moved his soul. I would actually draw comparisons between McRoberts cover of this song and Johnny Cash's cover of the NIN song "Hurt".

The quality of the recordings is great, and the content is highly varied. Not many musicians would attempt to cover artists as varied as Tom Waits, NIN, and Depeche Mode, and George Michael, but Justin McRoberts is anything but typical. I'm at a loss at a personal favorite, but I'd say my top three are "Freedom! 90", "No One Is To Blame", and "You Can't Always Get What You Want". The recordings as a whole were heartfelt, passionate, and thoughtful, and across the album I found myself singing along as much as I was listening and reflecting.

One improvement I would like to suggest is an insert with descriptions of how each of these songs "Undid" Justin. Because we are around the same age, I found that the album was a bit of a walk down memory lane with a few songs across my lifespan that also stirred my soul. Maybe that's part of why I enjoyed the album so much. (On a tangent, after my third listening I found myself on youtube and iTunes listening to clips from several other songs from younger days as a result of my nostalgia!). I also discovered that the album gave an incredible opportunity to reflect on my life as I listened to these familiar songs in a fresh way and considered the profound shaping nature of music in my own life.

If you like Justin McRobert's other albums, I highly recommend making this addition to your collection. And if you've never heard of Justin McRoberts, I think you should look him up. He's an incredibly talented and thoughtful musician with a rich voice and a passion that comes through vividly as you listen. The album is available Tuesday February 23 via iTunes.

Ash Wednesday 2010

It is once again the lenten season, and this year, I thought I would take advantage of facebook and twitter to get some input on what people are doing for their lenten commitments. Of course feel free to read these blog posts from 2007-2009 to find out more about why I take time to examine my life during lent.

So people are giving up everything from red meat to sweets, and some are just drinking water so they can give the money they would have spent on other beverages to help make life better people in the developing world. Some are choosing not to eat out, or to maintain healthy habits like exercise. There are even a couple of people who are giving up snow (but there may be Someone else who has a say in that). It’s actually pretty cool to see so many people making commitments to yield areas of their life and practice self-control.

As for me, this year I’ve had a bit of difficulty. I mean the point of the lenten fast is to draw closer to Christ. We give up bad habits to know Christ better, or we commence new habits that help us draw more closely to Him. I’ve been trying to what things in my life distract me from knowing Christ more intimately, and I feel like it’s a little bit of everything, but none of it is essentially bad in and of itself. Part of the idea of lent is that we give up or add in order that we can better identify with Christ during his fast in the wilderness as well.

So here’s what I am thinking for myself this year. I think I’m going to attempt to make a habit of fixed hour prayer. In one sense, it’s nothing huge. I mean I’m not planning to spend 2 hours/day in prayer or read my Bible for 45 minutes or anything like that. Rather, I’m thinking about taking a few moments at 6AM, 9AM, noon, 3PM, and 6PM to just pause and reorient and center my life on Jesus. Just a few seconds—again it’s nothing huge like giving up soft drinks or caffeine, but my hope is that it will be pretty significant.

I don’t know if anyone can relate, but I feel like I can so easily get distracted during my day and miss out on the idea that whatever I do, I should do it with my whole heart and as an act of worship to God. Often, I find myself just doing tasks for the sake of people or organizations, or because they are good habits. I am also going to reduce my food consumption and do a partial fast during the week and increase my giving and service as I practice simplicity, but this year I just want to be intentional about knowing Christ better.

If you think of it, say a prayer for me as I strive to take a different tact with lent. I’m praying for you as I write this. My prayer is that if you participate in lent, regardless what you choose to add or take away from your life, that you would grow to be more like Jesus, and be more centered on Him.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great lent, maintain your commitments, and know Christ better!

More Snow

Well, old man winter keeps grinding forward here in WV, and it's becoming challenging to keep up with it. The tree in the photo looks really pretty arched over my driveway like that, but it typically doesn't look like that, that's just from the weight of the snow on the limbs.

There's a set of stairs that head downtown that run near my house. The other day, I tried walking down them and nearly feel four times. One of my roommates wasn't so agile--he fell seven times walking down those stairs. They were snow covered, but now they are packed snow and ice.

It has served as a reminder to slow down and simplify life, and it has limited my personal travel over the last few weeks as well. Most of my travel these days is on foot. The snow is coming down at just the right pace to make the roads near my house pretty treacherous. The main roads in town are staying fairly clear, but any other roads are becoming challenging to manage. The great thing amid this challenge is that most locations in town are within a 40 minute walk of the house.

Things are looking like there will be a break soon. Another 2-4 inches are expected by Thursday morning, but then the weather should be reduced to flurries . . . at least for a couple of days. I bet there is some great skiing right now somewhere . . .

As I was watching someone slip down the stairs near my house this morning, I came back to my computer to find this article about the snowfall in Preston County. I have a few friends who live out that way. One told me that there were 5 foot drifts across the long driveway leading to their house.

Be sure to pray for those living in rural areas who may be snowed in. Hope you are staying warm, wherever you may be.

2009 Year of Transitions

I realize most people have already contributed and written about New Year’s Goals and reflections on the previous year, but I wanted to make a better late than never contribution to the mix. I was talking with a good friend recently a little bit about the last year, and I realized that there was a lot happening in my life. Here are a few of the more significant events that made up my 2009.

I spent a full year dating a wonderful lady, and that single feat easily exceeds the longest I have been in a romantic relationship with anyone. And Jamie is truly a gem too! I’m amazed at her ability to put up with me.

Over the last year, I would say that I traveled more than I have in many years. I spent multiple days in the following locales. Most of these trips were directly tied to work, or were remote locations from which I was performing work.

Pittsburgh, PA
Los Angeles, CA
Joshua Tree, CA
San Francisco, CA
Palo Alto, CA
Washington DC
Charleston, WV
Parkersburg, WV
Columbus, OH
Elkins, WV
New York, NY
Winchester, VA
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Deep Creek, MD
Lake Floyd, WV
Muncie, IN
Blacksburg, VA

Aside from this, I spent an intense season in prayer, and emerged from that time of prayer with a clear direction that I needed to leave my long time vocation (8 years) in college and young professionals ministry at Chestnut Ridge Church as an employee of Great Commission Ministries to work in the realm of justice by joining my long time friends Jake and John more directly in a venture to end extreme poverty. I believe this issue is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation, and I further believe that future generations of people will look back on our generation and either applaud or critique based on how we respond to this issue.

In late April, I thought I was going to lose my dad. He had major blockage around his heart, and spent almost two weeks in a hospital after a massive heart attack. He is walking about 6 miles/day (at a 4mph pace) and exercises 3 days a week on top of that now. It was a pretty scary time for our family, and the emotional trauma has been hard on my dad too. All of this happened less than two years after losing my mom, but we continue to adjust and adapt.

In the Fall, my brother came to visit for the first time in two years. It was a huge surprise for my dad and sister, and we even had my best friend Willie bring his family down to join in the surprise and the joy. Our family is pretty tight, but it’s hard to get us all together very often. When we do get together, it becomes some of the most wonderful time of our lives.

Also in the fall, I started my full time role with Nuru International. It was a very event filled fall, and a challenging transition.

The year has been full of transition and change for me as well as for many people who are close to me. In fact I’ve heard many others refer to 2009 as a year of transitions.

I’m hoping that 2010 will be remembered as a year in which many good things happened, and will be a year of focus and progress in relationships, in vocation, and in the wellness of those who are close to me.

What was your 2009 like? May your 2010 be clearer, brighter, and more full of life than any previous year of your life. May you contribute to making the world a better place and to giving of your time and resources to better the world. And may you have a more intimate awareness of the sacred than you have ever experienced.

Winter Morgantown Views

Well, we received an additional six inches of snow in Morgantown this week, but as of today it appears people are starting to be able to move their cars. On the streets around my house there's only about two inces of crushed snow and ice on the roads, and there are two grooves that go down to the pavement in some places now. We are expecting snow for most of the next week, but nothing on the scale of what we have experienced this past week. It's just really cold and that makes it difficult to see this snow disappear.

At the same time, there has been a quiet over the city as fewer people are on the roads, and people are realizing that driving around on icy roads in a city built on a hill is probably not the best idea. It's quiet, and the views have been really stunning as I've looked around this town in which I live. The photos in this post were taken from my neighborhood, and as I walked to Starbucks the other day to get internet access, I snapped them to capture the moment.



I'm grateful for the fact that my house has had power over the last few days, and we've been able to stay warm. We've also been fortunate that we can travel on foot to most places we need to travel. There are still people without power as a result of the storm. Remember them. Our federal government closed for part of the week because of the snow that has fallen in the greater DC area.

Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be as we prepare for the next few days of snow here in West Virginia.

Lookin Out My Back Door

This past weekend (as many of you know), Morgantown received a heap of snow. I have heard a varied range for total accumulations, but I feel like 16" is a safe bet. Before the initial snowfall, there were several hours of rain and sleet that became a layer of ice in the early evening hours Friday night. While the snow covered the ground and seemed to cleanse the area with a mat of soft quiet white wonder, it also did a fair share of damage.

Much of the region was without power over the weekend, and some locales will not have electricity until this coming Friday at the earliest. At the house, we only experienced a cable outage for the weekend, but it came back in time for the superbowl. Oh, and the internet was out until this afternoon as well (so I'm writing this blog from Starbucks).

The snow shut down most of town, and the University is going to re-open tomorrow at 6AM. Interestingly, while I was writing this blog, I heard reports of an additional 5-9 inches of snow are to be expected tomorrow, and snow is in the forecast every day for the next ten days . . .

Hope you like the photo, and and I hope you are staying warm wherever you are!

Wii Fit

So my blog posts have become a bit more infrequent, but I’m attempting to change that over the coming weeks. There’s been so much happening in my life, but there hasn’t seemed to be any time to write about it. So this blog post is one step toward changing my current blogging trajectory.

So, for starters, this one’s not so deep. (Be warned though, a few I have in mind for the near future will be). I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to my new trainer, Wii Fit.

Now you may be giggling a bit as you think “How on earth could a Wii game do anything for increasing fitness, let alone serve as a trainer?” Well, let me tell you, I was a bit of a skeptic too, but here’s what happened to me.

Over the Christmas holiday, I visited my best friend in the whole world, Willie. His family has a Wii Fit, and using it combined with a change in diet, Willie has lost over 20 lbs since October. As a skeptic, I decided I would give the game console a try during the four days I spent with Willie and his family. And do you know what I found out—I was actually sore and tired after working out with the Wii as my trainer.

When I returned to Morgantown, I realized one of my roommates had a Wii Fit complete with balance board, and now our whole house (as well as a few friends) have started using the Wii for working out.

What are the benefits? Well, aside from a solid core body workout and a series of functional exercises and balance games, there are a few. One of my biggest problems with developing a consistent fitness routine is that my schedule is erratic. Wii Fit helps me make sure I get a workout in, even if it is late at night or early in the morning. The weather doesn’t impede me either because I do my workouts in the house. Beyond all of this, each time I work out, I see a score that tells me how I’m doing in the area of balance and development of strength as I do the exercises.

And, I can do this with my friends and roommates even though we all work out at different times. I can see how my roommates are progressing, and I can attempt to beat their scores and set goals with them. We can monitor each other’s workouts and trainings, and give each other a little accountability and encouragement along the way too.

And beyond all of those benefits, I’ve found my posture, core muscle strength, balance, alertness, and diet improving as well. Wii Fit has made exercising fun, and has allowed me to join a few friends to set short term weight loss and fitness goals for the new year as well.

If you have a Wii, I highly recommend using this program to increase your balance, posture, and core muscle strength and have fun while you are doing it.

Regardless, I hope you are setting and achieving some great goals as we are ending our first month of 2010.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

This is my first blog post for 2010, and I apologize in advance that I haven't posted for quite some time. I really wanted to share some perspectives on the new year, and other sundry thoughts, but I need to inform you about a major issue affecting our world right now. I don't know if you knew this or not, but today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Did you know that this month has also been designated National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month?

Actually, I don't know if you know what human trafficking is. Let me start by laying out a definition. Human trafficking is the practice of people being tricked, lured, coerced or otherwise removed from their home or country and being compelled to work with no or low payment on terms which are highly exploitative. You can find out more about the issue by reading this wikipedia article too.

Many of the victims of trafficking are women and children. They are sold, enslaved, and forced to work for next to nothing. There are some great websites with resources for reporting this issue to others as well. A quick google search is extremely helpful, as is this blog post by my friend Charles Lee. He has listed 11 practical ideas to combat slavery.

I'm writing this post because I believe we all really need to be more aware of this issue. I think sometimes we can be guilty of thinking that this kind of thing happens only in big cities like Amsterdam (where some reports state that up to 75% of the prostitutes "working" in the red light district are victims of human trafficking) or Los Angeles. The truth is that this is a multi-billion dollar industry, and it could be happening in your neighborhood. I was in a small town not far from Morgantown late last year when I saw a "business" that looked like a text book case for a trafficking and slavery operation. After doing some further research I called the National Human Trafficking Hotline. 888 373 7888. If you have a cell phone, store it in your phone in case you see something that looks suspicious.

I also recommend tuning in to television programs/news today that may have a focus on this issue. It is estimated that there are over 27 million slaves in the world today (as I have blogged before), but we can reduce that number by understanding the issue better, and taking steps to combat the problem.

I hope you will join me in taking a step today and maybe starting a conversation at work, at school, or at home about this issue, and what everyday people like you and I can do to prevent this problem from growing.

Happy New Year everybody! Let's make 2010 the year of fighting injustice!

Advent Conspiracy 2009

Back in October I attended a conference called Catalyst in Atlanta Georgia. Over 12,000 church leaders from around the globe were in attendance in the Gwinnett Arena. When I I say that I attended the conference, I didn't actually go to the conference itself, but rather had the privilege of representing Nuru alongside about a dozen nonprofit organizations of varying types. Among other nonprofits represented were Invisible Children, Compassion Intl, Hope Intl, and a really cool organization called Advent Conspiracy.

Advent Conspiracy is a really brilliant idea (if you couldn't tell from the video above), that encourages people to re-allocate their funds and their time during the holidays. Last year, this organization raised $500,000 that was invested in the drilling of wells and brought clean drinking water to thousands of people. Not only is this a brilliant idea, but the people who are running this organization are top-notch. While at Catalyst, I was able to talk with them at length about the work they are doing and it really is exciting to see what happens when people change their spending habits just a little bit.

Don't get me wrong, it is great to give and receive gifts during the holiday season, but what if we made gifts instead of buying them. What if we gave our time instead of lots of stuff we don't need. Buying gifts for friends and family isn't horrible thing, but what would happen if we spent a little less on gifts, and instead gave some of that money to save lives and bring a little joy to a stranger. Imagine people having clena drinking water for the first time because of you! Imagine people being rescued from trafficking because of your gift! Imagine entire communities being empowered to lift themselves out of extreme poverty because of you!

To me, that's a celebration that can keep going long after the holiday season. By spending less on ourselves and our families, we can be part of bringing lasting change to others. And beyond that, if we spend less money AND time shopping, we could actually spend some of that time with our loved ones.

If we become part of this "Advent Conspiracy" it means . . .less sitting in traffic, less standing in line, and less money owed on a credit card bill. And this can mean, more lives changed, more quality time with others, and more joy during the holidays!

It's really hard though. We feel badly if we don't spend money on gifts. We feel like there's something missing around Christmas if there aren't lots of packages to open. We can fill that space with our time. We can fill that space with our love. We can cook together and laugh together and make and share stories together.

I hope you enjoyed the video, and that you join in the Advent Conspiracy this holiday season!

Managing the Non Profit Corporation

A couple months ago I had a facebook conversation with one of my mentors, Jeff Kern. He was the CEO of Great Commission Ministries for many years, and he’s an extremely organizationally savvy guy. During the conversation, I asked him if there were any books he would recommend for learning how to work/manage a non-profit organization that consisted mainly of volunteers.

Immediately, he recommended Peter Drucker’s Managing the Nonprofit Organization and I was really thankful. I was thankful because I had heard of Drucker (he was an organizational/business guru), and I had just ordered the book from Amazon two days before so I was glad I didn’t pick a lemon.

So I started reading the book, and there is so much great stuff in it’s pages. Not only does it share great principles and practices, but each section includes interviews with individuals who have led some massive nonprofits like the American Heart Association and the Boy Scouts of America.

I really enjoy the book because it doesn’t just keep principles in the world of the theoretical. It gives very tangible examples of how organizations have grown and thrived in an environment where the bottom line isn’t products being sold, but rather lives being changed.

As I read the pages of this book, I could hear echoes of this book in virtually every other book I’ve read in the last ten years on the subject of leadership. This book is great, and it is among a handful I would recommend to anyone working in the world of non-profits. It’s not edgy and hip, but it is very principled, sensible, and helpful for folks trying to make a tangible difference in this world through their endeavors.

Just thought I’d share this brief review and recommendation for anyone out there who might be interested.

Ending Terrorism and Extreme Poverty? Jake's Story

The End (Jake's Story) from Nuru Media on Vimeo.


Today is Veteran's Day, it's a day when we honor those who have fought in the past, and we look toward a time when war will end. Veteran's day actually started as Armistice day and commemorates the end of fighting in World War I on November 11, 1918 at 11 a.m., known as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Today is also the day that Nuru chose to launch our latest video. The video tells the story of one veteran, Jake Harriman, and how he was forever changed by the link he saw between terrorism and extreme poverty. This video is being featured on a number of websites today (most of them much more well known than this blog), and many others are coming to similar conclusions to Jake. The end of terrorism is intrinsically linked to the end of extreme poverty.

Here's an ugly truth. If we don't do something about the issue of extreme poverty that makes a sustainable difference, not only are we choosing to ignore our neighbor instead of love them, but we are setting ourselves up to reap consequences through providing breeding grounds for terrorist organizations. We really need to stand up and do something about this issue.

And that's really the good news. We can actually do something about this issue. On this Veteran's day, will you join Nuru's efforts and get in the fight to end extreme poverty? What if we were able to say that our generation was the one that brought an end to extreme poverty?

One of the biggest ways you can help right now is by getting Jake's story out there. Will you take just a moment, and share a link to the video on your wall on facebook. Tell a friend about Jake's story. Blog about it. Write about it. Tweet about it. And then encourage your friends to get more involved as well. Will you join with Jake and others around the world who are fighting this fight to end extreme poverty?

I'll end this blog with a few words from Jake that he shared on the One Campaign's website.

"There is hope for those without choices. We can end extreme poverty in our lifetimes, and in so doing, answer the cry of the desperate, give a voice to the voiceless, and provide choices to impoverished men and women who have been struggling for so long.
A revolution has begun…a revolution to wake up and mobilize a generation to end this fight once and for all. There is no room in this fight for egos, partisan politics, or ideological differences. One sixth of humanity cries out to us today – asking you and me to simply put our differences aside and use our talent, skills and resources to empower them with choices. This Veteran’s Day, I ask you to step forward and get in the fight with us. In so doing, you will ensure that thousands of brave veterans and countless global citizens have not sacrificed their lives in this war in vain. Join the revolution. Be hope. Be light. Be Nuru"--Jake Harriman