something I read and liked:

A Creed for Life

Basketball Hall of Fame member (as both player and coach) John Robert Wooden’s father, Joshua Hugh Wooden, gave him a Seven Point Creed when he graduated from elementary school. It served him well and is well worth considering. Here it is:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings everyday

You are unique. Cultivate your self. Make the most of it.

Peace, Love and Tattoos

Last weekend I had the privilege of being a mentor for a youth conference called Peace Jam. The way that I've been describing the conference to people is that it's a global justice conference for youth. Throughout the year, youth that attend the conference have been developing peace-promoting projects in their communities. Some of the issues the youth focused on were things like Invisible Children screenings, integrated school lunches, raising awareness about child abuse prevention, homelessness, and many other topics related to social justice.

What was really neat about the conference is that the youth get to meet a real life Nobel Peace Prize winner! This years laureate was Shirin Ebadi who has spent her life fighting for human rights (particularly women, children, and refugees) and democracy. I was a total fan girl and took a picture with her.

Not only was the conference inspiring because Shirin flew half way around the world to attend a conference amidst persecution but the insight and selflessness the youth demonstrated really amazed me. It made an impact on me to hear about the desire that the group of high school students I got to facilitate had regarding social issues such as human trafficking and wanting to create change in the world. Some of these students have faced some pretty tough situations from death of family members and friends to enduring abuse from loved ones. It was quite impressive that despite the difficulties they encountered in life, these students were able to look beyond themselves for the greater good of humanity. In retrospect, I certainly was not that globally, socially, or others-minded as a 15 year old.

Many thoughts circulated in my mind throughout the conference and I really picked at the idea of peace and what it means. As I contemplated that surrounded by the sound of bickering teens I listened in on this conversation between a teenage boy and this guy that had tattoos all over his arm. The student asked the guy what his tattoos meant. He had some writing on this arm in German which had something to do with the Holocaust. Then I noticed a white rose on his arm and asked him if that was symbolic of the White Rose Society and he said that it was. If you know me then you know that the issue of getting a tattoo is a sore spot which I wont go into. However, in that moment I really appreciated that he tattooed a white rose on his arm. What I found refreshing about his tattoo was the fact that it didn't draw attention to him per se but to something greater than himself. I don't always feel that the power of a tattoo is used for that intention. For that reason I can respect that that guy I talked to had a tattoo and it was especially relevant since Peace Jam was about nonviolence and the White Rose represents nonviolence as well.

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7