Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God.

Seems like this has been the theme of 2008. From Bible class on the prophets, to ACU Summit (previously called Lectureship), to speakers at the Youth Ministers Conference...it's a hot topic. Several books I've read this year (The Irresistible Revolution, Global Woman, and even Eusebius) speak about the oppressed, those without a voice. Movies we've watched like The High Cost of the Low Price, Blood Diamonds, and The Big One have helped us be aware of where we fit in the global big picture. I trust with this being a popular topic, you too have a greater awareness of how the choices we make affect people we'll never meet. We attempted to make some baby steps this year in aligning our faith with our living in ways that bring freedom to others. For example, our soaps (including shampoo, shaving soap, and the laundry soap ingredient) come from The Tennessee Farm Girl. It's not changing the world, but I get a better product with the benefit of supporting a family rather than a corporation. Here's a couple of resources if this is on your heart, too: KIVA, Eternal Threads, Corpwatch, International Justice Mission.

It's taken the whole year (and longer if you consider how long my sister's lessons have been falling on my deaf ears) to internalize this concept. Just recently God began to teach me to think beyond the global scale to "what does it mean to 'do justice' every day?" Not just with purchases, but with the people with whom I interact right here. Perhaps that will the theme of 2009. Happy New Year!