What is Going in Life of Late

Life has pretty much been the same ol' same ol' here in Northern Virginia. Not that I am complaining. As usual, I have an obsession, which of late has been my FADs (Friday Adventure Day). I started a blog about these weekly adventures, adding in traveling tips for moms with little kids at www.adventureday.wordpress.com. So far, I really haven't gotten too much done. I am learning a lot about official REAL blogging (not like this personal blog here) which is a whole new set of information to me. Web design, themes, and SLO & SEO  was equivalent to SOS in my thinking when I started! Considering it was kinda throwing off my focus, I think God helped remind me that its all cool and I don't need to be obsessed. And, with that gentle reminder, I am not obsessed! I guess we will see where it ends up now, if anywhere.

Also, as is typical, I am still taking classes. I am so very ready to be done. Which is why it is especially nice that I will be done SOON- three more classes left! I have fun writing papers on poverty, justice issues, international relationships, and interpersonal relationships. I love what I learn, I just hate doing the work to learn it. This coming week I have a huge paper due on intercultural business. Fun, fun, fun! So, if I keep up with my homework after the kids are tucked in to their beds, I should graduate from Ashford University at the beginning of August. Thanks to Josh, the Hills, and Becky for getting me through this! I know I won't regret it!

And, as usual, I am still involved in my church, facilitating a Bible study, hanging out with the people in my SPHERE (and hopefully making a difference in their lives, as they often make in mine) and helping Jill out with L2F Needs Network. Within this past month I've been helping a Pakistani family settle into their new home in America after they fled religious persecution. L2F, other community members, and people in churches have almost entirely provided everything they need. Also, we collected, packed-up, and had a team deliver a bunch of stuff (baby necessities and medicine) to an area in Haiti which was very close to the earthquake epicenter, and is not very reachable to large relief organizations. Here is a cool video about it:





In addition, I have been trying to create a home-garden. Its a fun activity for us to do outside and, yes, it was my obsession just prior to the Adventure Day Blog. I think my obsessions are always semi-creative (music, cooking, blogging, painting, gardening) which might mean I can blame them on my partial artistic personality.  I am even on the map as a Triscuit Home Garden! Wow, how THRILLING! Josh has even been adding to the flowers and vegetables, by practicing his slingshot off the porch, to his targets. Okay, I guess he doesn't shoot my plants, but its nice to all have something fun to do in the same area together outdoors.


Lastly, and most importantly, I've been taking care of the kids. I like them. They are growing up. Maybe in honor of Josiah's first birthday next month I'll actually write out his birth story! He still has no teeth, but he is cruising around pretty good. He is a happy baby. Sweet little Avi is a mischievous lover of her brother. I don't even know how to begin to describe Avilynne these days. Sometimes she makes my heart melt, yet other times I just want to lock her outside of our house. She is trying very hard to speak English, repeating our pronunciation of words over and over. I am terrible at pronunciation, as is she. But, unlike me, she is improving. Here is a link to a Spring 2010 photo album of them.

As always, if you haven't, please support Thai Song, and what is going on in the makings of this awesome inspired fair-trade organization. Buying a bag, which these sweet women create from nasty trash, helps change lives! Feel free to check out and support the co-director (yes, my cousin's) blog at: http://brittanyfox.missionsplace.com

So, these are the updates on the Johnston Family of late!

Problem Solving: Scrabble, Relationships, and Cars

Yes, I realize the terms within this post are a little weird. I blame that on my applied psychology textbook. Yes, I know that its odd I am talking about a guy jumping out of a burning skyscraper. Really, it wasn't my idea. This post is responding to a specific prompt; it is a discussion essay I wrote for my current class, focusing on business psychology. I was really bored writing it, so I tried to liven it up a little bit with some scenarios which made it somewhat more entertaining for me. Besides, my professor asked for some real-world examples : )

Problem solving is a basic skill that ideally would be carried out by everyone, yet making healthy decisions is not always the order of the day. Many only rely on intuition to solve problems, which can actually be a great thing, if the experiences we have had in the past have built up our intuition to make healthy decisions. If a man jumped out of a skyscraper which was on fire, later contributing his survival to what he learned in business school, what he would be referring to would be the set of decision making skills he obtained in school.  The way he responded in the crisis was by learning to view the need to make quick decisions as a catalyst, rather than resorting to emotions as the guiding factor. Responding to crisis, not considering the fire as a stressful situation, yet instead as an exciting opportunity to strategically think through is what he learned was most important. Possibly, after making good decisions in times past, he wired his intuition to act in a way which then saved his life.

The man who jumped out of the skyscraper learned a multi-step process to filter problems through. In our everyday life, beyond just in times of crisis, we can use the same set. For example, imagine you are playing

the game Scrabble. First, you recognize the problem scenario: you are challenged to put a seven letter word, beginning with the letter "z," in a spot which gives you triple-word score, yet somehow connects to the word "bubble." The second step is to analyze the cause or underlying factors of the problem:  you want to win the game so that you will not lose a $50 bet to your Uncle Bobby-Joe who does not believe you can win an English-language game after studying Japanese abroad for the past three years.  The next step in solving the problem is searching for creative alternatives. So, while your Uncle Bobby-Joe is guzzling down his coffee, you take your letter tiles, place them in front of you, and scramble them into every possible formation. You can make zroidbe, zoirlde, and zoudire (which you note, are not words). Then you discover you can connect to a "b" while arranging your letters just so.  You can make "zebroid," which is a word (you remember a tour guide explaining that this is what you call the offspring of a zebra and a horse).  You choose this word, making a decision, and then implement it, by setting the tiles down on the board. After, you evaluate your decision, which you found agreeable, as it gave you enough points to win the game and get an addition $50 in pocket-cash.

This above example might seem silly, yet even when we play games we make decisions. On a more serious note, many people might go through the same process when trying to overcome a difficulty in an estranged relationship, whether it be a spouse, a parent, or a friend. In this case recognizing what the problem is can be much more challenging, as there are often multiple problems. Even after journaling or going to counseling to analyze the root causes of the problems you have been having with whomever, knowing what to do about it can be just as challenging, if not more so. There are many other factors that can influence your decision such as your value system (such as, you don't believe in divorce), your knowledge (communication techniques), emotional intelligence (you feel so hurt or angry its hard to not be swayed by these feelings), personality, creativeness, and the politics surrounding the relationship.  Even after weighing the pros and cons, and making a choice to try to reconcile the relationship, then you have to take the step. This step can be the hardest, as implementing a decision can require a lot of strength, time, resources and energy, let alone sometimes it requires help. Lastly, once again, you can evaluate the decision, whether it was the best thing for to continue this relationship, even if it required a lot of sacrifice.

The important actions we must take in having a successful ability to make good decisions is the ability to analyze, whether it be really spending time discovering what the problem is, or really thinking through possible solutions. In another life scenario, a decision I have been questioning for awhile, is what car should we buy and how and when should we buy it. As I am a creative person, also known as a dreamer or visionary, thinking of creative alternatives is one of my strong points. Creative people tend to make the most of problems in which the sky is the limit, but in this case, the boundary for creative alternatives is more like the size of a small cottage, if not confining cage.  I cannot invent a new method of buying a car, let alone have the
skill to invent my own car. Also, another factor I struggle with is being easily influenced. I care a lot about being diplomatic and am always aware of inter-relational dynamics (political considerations). As I am a people-pleaser, I often don't want to make a decisions that might influence another, wanting them to be as happy with me as possible. This can cause me to worry that making the ethnic dinner, involving a combination of new flavors, might not be everyone else's favorite, and therefore I allow my level of emotional intelligence to hinder my decision to create. In the case of getting a car, I want my husband to be perfectly satisfied with whatever car we get, and I want it to be a good fit for our kids in addition just to the pros and cons I already am analyzing. I have been researching types of cars and their reviews from various sources, in addition to learning about how to get the best deal when buying a car new, used, down, or with a loan (and from where to get a loan). I often find myself overwhelmed by so much information that I experience analysis paralysis, in which I can't make a decision because there is too much information to accurately process. Even so, I am sure I will be able to make a better decision than I would otherwise, without taking everything into consideration, even if I am not convinced that it is "perfect." The one thing I learned from this section in our material was that I do not need to be indecisive as I am already well-equipped to make good decisions, thanks to my past experiences and the decision making process I already typically use. Instead of letting stresses, crises, time-constraints, emotions, too much information, or placing too much value on what everyone else might prefer affect my decisions, I should just enjoy the opportunities I have to solve problems, being energized as I let myself be creative in making decisions. Not surprisingly, this makes me feel a little more relaxed.

DuBrin, A. (2004). Applying psychology: Individual and organizational effectiveness (6^th Ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson / Prentice Hall.

Global Socioeconomic Perspectives: Sustainable Development

 The following is my intro & thesis for the class research paper in Global Socioeconomic Perspectives (International Relations, LIB 320). I am really proud of it, because it took me forever to say just what I wanted to say! If you have any grammar corrections, feel free to tell me before 2am EST.

As Americans, we tend to be focused on our own security, comfort, and happiness. Considering, what lies beyond our borders tends not to be our concern unless it profits one of the above American values.  On occasion, there actually is awareness of the poverty and the issues associated with this poverty, which governs large portions of our globe. Often this awareness is created because of crises which peak our compassion, such as the Tsunami of 2004, or the recent earthquake in Haiti. Its not that we forget that there are still people living in hunger, after all, we tell our children to eat their food because those poor kids in Africa are still starving. Yet, this is just vaguely understood common knowledge, so far removed from our reality that we rarely actually feel any obligation to help. Instead we often work against humanity’s plight by increasing our own riches, even if unintentionally. Yet, on those valiant occasions where we do help, it often comes in the form of quick relief aid, which does not always foster sustainable development. Moving beyond indifference or brief compassion which our charity is typically guided by, rich nations need to have an awareness of and opportunities to invest in types of aid which does foster sustainable development, as to not create unnecessary dependence on foreign assistance.

Global Prayer Day for Burma

I believe I might have written about Burma, before. Although my rumpled Spanish might seem like a clue that I have a thing for South & Central America, my heart is full for Asia. Considering Burma, (politically referred to as Myanmar, though not international recognized as such), there are a lot of human rights abuses and other issues to keep in prayer this day. We are not just talking "Boy would it be nice if they were democratic, like us." We are talking about an authoritative military regime trying to drive out or kill anyone who is a minority group, a Christian, or overtly an advocate for democracy. Let's just say that I would not be welcomed there, and neither would you. I mean, they aren't that terrible. In the recent protest led by myriads of peaceful Buddhist monks (The Saffron Revolution of 2007) only a hundred people were killed, a few thousand were jailed, and a few hundred were beaten/shot. Of course know one knows for sure, as the official toll from the military government is undoubtedly very understated, and its not too agree on other estimates.  Sadly, the attempted revolution didn't change anything. 

This link gives a lot more information on the current state of things: http://prayforburma.org/
This video actually somehow makes understanding a little more about Burma entertaining, if you want to check it out:

Adventure Day

Did I tell you that I am starting a new blog? I was thinking, if I am doing all the work to drag my kids around D.C., anyway, I might as well write about it to help other moms out. Deep down, I want to be the travel guru for every local mom of young kids. In reality, I am trying to set something up so that I can help at least a few people like me. It is far from done yet, but your welcome to check it out Adventure Day Blog. Feel free to give me any feedback! Maybe I'll change the name, maybe I'll change the format, who knows. But, this is something new and exciting for me. I'm learning the new skill of basic web design, too, which is different.

Child Protection Compact Act

I was reading this blog the other day, its a good reminder how blatant human trafficking or sexual slavery can be in other parts of the world. Eastern Europe, is, sadly infamous for human trafficking:

http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/advocacy-newsletter-201003-journal-romania?Open&et_cid=14124531&et_rid=76514601&campaign=11390512&ppi=76514601

Of course, as he notes, obviously some women choose to go into prostitution willingly. Yet, many don't, which is heart breaking. At the end of 1 Corinthians 6, the Bible says sexual acts with a prositute make you "one" with her. I don't think we want to imagine how many people a sex-slave "becomes one with" without a choice. So not only are there physical effects, but there are emotional and spiritual bondages that sex slaves endure. Now, to make this worse, many of those forced into prostitution are children.  Its easy for us to choose not to help free someone from oppression, simply because we are comfortable. Maybe we should think twice about that. The Bible doesn't teach us to be activists, but we are challenged to love others, second in importance to loving God. Here is a small oppurtunity to love someone else this week, even if these children seem just like numbers to us...........

Here is an easy way to help end child trafficking, for sexual or other purposes:

https://secure2.convio.net/wv/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=285

(Be sure to refresh this page with your information, as its vital that your representatives know you are one of their constituents.)

International Women's Day

Okay, I am far from a feminist. In fact, in looking at the International Women's Day Website (http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp) I realized I really, personally care less about many of the issues. Maybe this is only because, generally, I am treated equally. Yes, there are thousands of arguments: I might get less pay, I do more housework, I can't rule the world. But feminism is not my thing.

First of all, to be clear, the Bible does say that the woman is under the authority of man. Yet from this we can easily tangent into a discussion about the verses in the Bible that seem to downgrade women. There are a lot of views on those scriptures, and no matter what your opinion is and whether we'd even agree, there is no way this could ever be used to support oppression towards women. Personally, I think its a good thing for women to be under man's authority, when fathers, husbands, and church leaders guide in love, laying their lives down. Its one more load of stress taken off my back. 

Christians sometimes forget to protect the value of women in fear of getting too liberal-feministic. That's a shame. When Christians shy away from women's issues, and no men step up to the plate on our behalf, the Church does not represent God. It also looks pretty crappy to the rest of the world and is used as justification to oppress women more, even if subtly. Here are two Bible verses to give us some godly perspective:

In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
1 Corinthians 11:11-12

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galations 3:28

So, from the perspective that we all come from God, are eqaul with one another, and are NOT independent of eachother, Happy International Women's Day! Let's move forward, valuing and protecting women! As even though feminism isn't' my thing, there are a couple of things that are- oppression and poverty both are some things that really need to be fought against. And women have a hard time in this world in both regards. Check out the following statistics:

Global Issues

• Females in developing countries on average carry 20 litres of water per day over 6 km

• Globally women account for the majority of people aged over 60 and over 80

• Pregnant women in Africa are 180 times more likely to die than in Western Europe

• 530,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth each year

• World population hit 6,872,741,131 on 1 January 2009

• Of 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide, 70% are women

• 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women

• Women own around only 1% of the world's land

• AIDS sees women's life expectancy of 43 in Uganda and Zambia

• 5 people are added to the world's population every 2 seconds 

• Women are 2/3 of the 1 billion+ illiterate adults who have no access to basic education

International Women's Day. (2010). "Gender Facts." Retrieved March 7, 2010 from http://www.internationalwomensday.com/facts.asp

Women in the Third World

•    An estimated 500,000 women die of pregnancy-related causes each year, more than 90 percent of them in the Third World.

•    100,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions, almost all in the Third World.

•    The World Health Organization estimates that seventy million women, most of them Africans, have undergone some form of female circumcision.

•    In 1991 bridal dowry disputes led husbands and in-laws to kill more than 5,000 wives in India.

•    Approximately 855 million people in the world are illiterate (almost one-sixth of humanity); two-thirds of them are women.

•    Of the 1.3 billion persons living in absolute poverty, 70 percent are women.

IN SOUTH ASIA

•    One of every eighteen women dies of a pregnancy-related cause.

•    More than one of every ten babies dies during delivery.

IN NEPAL AND BANGLADESH

•    One in every five girls dies before age five.

IN INDIA

•    Approximately 25 percent of the twelve million girls born each year die by age fifteen.

Point: As difficult as life may be for the vast majority of humanity, it is even more trying for females.

Note, this last set of facts is dated 2006. Source: www.undp.org, UNDP 2006 Annual Report.
(Viotti. 2009. International Relations and World Politics, 4th Edition. Pearson Custom Publishing p. 18.2.1).