March 4, 2017 by johannisthinking@wordpresss.com

Silent Love

From the writings of Pat Priebe….Please visit her site…and encourage this beginning WordPress writer!
https://rvpatlivingyoung.com/2017/02/19/silent-love/

LivingYoung

Though love does not require a word

in many ways it’s voice is heard

in the silence hear it speak

the voice of love is never weak.

Love promotes faith and trust

for each human is a must

without love — an empty shell

to hear it speak, listen well.

Love conveyed without a word

sweeter sounds were never heard.

when there’s love, actions say

love grows stronger day by day.

no greater gift on the earth

no possession of it’s worth.

On love there can’t be put a price

can’t be won with roll of dice

do not love too freely give

too freely given, will not live.

With fleeting glance, or a touch

love can say so very much.

when there’s love between a pair,

silent thoughts they’re prone to share.

Love is as a flowing stream

forever endless does it seem

disappearing round a bend

love, like…

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September 14, 2014 by johannisthinking@wordpresss.com

My Daughter …Lara

My daughter, Lara, has arrived home from Togo! She will be here for a three week visit and then will be returning to complete her second year of teaching in Mango, Togo, West Africa, with the Peace Corps. I am so blessed with her in my life! The people of her village are so kind and wonderful to her. She is happy to be home and already gathering gifts and things for her new friends in Togo. She is so HAPPY and FULL of LIFE! I find it wonderful to see her love and appreciation of another culture and her desire and ability to work with others. Her Togolese friends have been so supportive and welcoming and together they are working in the school community. It is wonderful to hear her speak of their triumphs and challenges and willingness to more forward in hope! You can read a MESSAGE from Lara as you continue reading this post.

Greetings from Togo! My name is Lara Johann-Reichart and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in a small village in northern Togo. As an education volunteer I spend most of my days in the classroom and, along side my community, work towards projects that will improve the school experience for our students.

Unfortunately, our Primary School is faced with some of the worst problems. With over 1,300 students and only 9 classrooms, classes are over-packed and even overflow outside of the building.

Our goal is to build a 3 classroom school to alleviate the problems of this overpopulated school. Additionally, once the school is constructed there will be a training with teachers to show the benefits of small classes and how to use student-centered teaching techniques. Our hope is to turn the new 3 rooms into a model school – with limited class sizes and well-trained teachers.

The community is very excited for this project and are contributing over 30% to the overall cost. The community will be purchasing the land, transporting materials, and assisting in the construction.
On behalf of my village, thank you for your support!

You can find more information about my project at the Peace Corps site: https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-693-017 Peace Corps Donation Page

OR

http://www.gofundme.com/e36o1w

Their goal is to raise $9,781.25……….they have met $500 of the goal today…September 14, 2014. GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!

August 17, 2014 by johannisthinking@wordpresss.com

Suicide and the Narrative of Choice

This is a very accurate explanation of depression and suicidal ideation. I think it is very helpful…and should lead us all to greater compassion and understanding towards those who suffer from depression or who have attempted suicide, as well as helping us to forgive those who have killed themselves. Please direct your likes and comments back to this site: http://bottomface.com/2014/08/12/suicide-and-the-narrative-of-choice/

bottomfacedotcom

Whilst reading about the tragic death of the great Robin Williams I repeatedly stumbled upon the narrative of choice. Places like Psychcentral spoke about suicide being an “insidious choice”, but a “choice” nonetheless, so much so that they repeated the word to drive the message home. Meanwhile, whilst perusing social media I repeatedly came across variations of “people who commit suicide are selfish”, “how can anyone do that to their family?”. These sorts of comments make me twitchy. We’ve all heard them before.

In my own case they were personalised and weaponised, “How could YOU do that to your children? Do YOU not care about them?” I did, that was the problem. For some time I had felt like a millstone around the necks of my family. I loved them, but hated myself and could only see the ways I made their lives worse. After 2 failed suicide attempts in…

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June 21, 2014 by johannisthinking@wordpresss.com

Kurdish Mobilization for the Murdered Girl

Our violence against each other is destroying humankind. Women deserve equal respect and honor as human beings who give birth to all life.

Sweden and the Middle East Views

Dunya

A few days ago the horrifying news about a young girl who was the victim of a honourkilling in Dohuk in Northern Kurdistan spread over the world. Dunya, a 15-year-old girl who was in an arranged marriage with a 45-year-old man, according to kurdishrights.org his name was Sleman Ziad Younis, had been killed by him and the photos of her mutilated body filled the internet.

These news are unfortunately not rare in Kurdistan. Violence against women is a wide spread phenomenon – I dare saying this as I have worked with women’s rights issues in the region – and many of these crimes are swept under the rug and forgotten. Only in 2011 domestic violence became illegal in Kurdistan and even though this legal change marked a great step forward, the process of actually implementing the law and change attitudes is very long, as always when a society is in a process…

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