Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn’t the only one with a dream. Sadly he didn’t live long enough to see more fruit of his work.
Remember back in July where I stuck my neck out and shared about the dream for women who serve overseas. I described it as:
More than a blog or a website, the vision is an on-line watering hole—you know, a place to come when you need refreshment, a place where you’ve been out working in the fields and just need a moment to catch your breath, a place to let your guard down, a place to swap jokes or books or prayers, a place to known and be known.
Many of you rallied around and raised funds (again, thank you thank you). A group of us have been working behind the scenes this fall and Velvet Ashes is now here!!!!!
It’s not professional to use that many exclamation points. But if David danced before the Lord to the chagrin of his wife, I’m going to use !!!!!!!! to the chagrins of the professionals :). After hours invested this fall on Velvet Ashes, to see it here and looking so breathtaking, I am that excited!!!!
Can I give you a brief tour to Velvet Ashes? This is the “front door”
The tabs along the top are for
- Home
- About
- Topics — hover along the home page on this one for a list of the topics
- Book club–which I’ll be hosting every Tuesday
- The grove— we’ll have a word/topic for each week (this weeks: Together)
- Get involved –there’s a variety of ways!
Please poke around, soak it in, and smile. We’ll have three posts a week, Book Group on Tuesday, and The Grove on Friday. If you know women and teen gals working overseas please let them know about Velvet Ashes.
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Here is first post by Danielle. We are women who …
My foot pauses, resting on the bus’ gritty step. I’m about to climb on, but I’ve just caught sight of her. She’s alone, ladened with groceries. I can see in an instant she’s like me, making her way, her life, in this land not her own. Our eyes meet, the light in hers reflecting in mine, and we smile. Then the driver yells for me to board, so I do. The bus chugs off, leaving her in a puff of exhaust. I grasp the rail, leaning loose for the bumps, and I smile at all the waves of understanding that just passed between me and this stranger yet friend. With one smile we know.
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The “I have a dream” speech was integral in the Civil Rights movement in the U.S.
Could Velvet Ashes be integral for our generation of women overseas? I think so. This is our stake in the ground. Our watering hole. Our chance to let our hair down and use too many !!!!!!!!. This is our place to be ourselves.
Using too many !!!!!! right along with you!!!! :) She really did turn out lovely, didn’t she? And even lovelier are all the voices showing up to be a part. High five, co-editor!
Use all the exclamation points you want. This is an exciting project
Hooray!!!!! I love it and will spread the news of water and rest! ;)
¡Ha!
And be sure to use the “upside down” explanation points like in Spanish.
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡
YES!!! Except I don’t know where they are on my keyboard :). But I’ll keep hunting!