Apparently, I am on a bloggity break. I didn’t realize it myself until today. I need to decide what the point of this is…I think I know but I have strayed for various reasons. So, have a very happy Thanksgiving and I’ll catch up with y’all after the holiday.
Month: November 2007
“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all; because once you are real you can’t ever be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” ~ From The Velveteen Rabbit
Lightening
After my news of the morning, followed by the school where one of my kids in youth group goes getting locked down (and we weren’t able to reach her because they could not use their phones – which I truly do understand but it is upsetting…) I need a little lightness. And so, Friday Feast:
Appetizer
Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?
Popcorn, of course. I also like Milk Duds!
Soup
What year did you start using the internet?
Gosh…1992/1993? Mostly bulletin boards…not sure what else was available then.
Salad
What is your first name in Pig Latin?
Riciatay.
Main Course
Name something you are picky about.
How about I tell you something I am NOT picky about. That might be easier!
Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today
I started my new eating plan yesterday and I kept at it today.
Sad News
My friend Sarah called me this morning and asked if I had seen the news…which is never a good sign. A guy we worked with had been had been shot & killed in the city Wednesday night while delivering home heating oil. I was so shocked and saddened to hear this this morning. I had heard the report of the shooting Wednesday and thanked God that it was not the husband of another friend who’s husband does the same thing part-time but at the time they had not released his name. While I don’t know all the details, I do know that he had left behind a wife and two girls who must be inconsolable.
I could go on and on about the state of our world today, the senseless killing, the lack of morals and lack of remorse that seems to now be ingrained in the human psyche. I turn away from the news now most nights just to shield myself from it. I know it is reality…I do truly know…but I don’t want to have to accept this world for what it is or what it is becoming. I’m left to hold fast to one thing…hope.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
5 a Day
Yesterday, I went to see a nutritionist. I desperately need to lose weight and I know that none of those weight loss programs or systems are going to bed something I can stick to – I just know it. I need to make a lifestyle change and hopefully this will help me do so.
It really isn’t too much I didn’t already know but it is a big change. And today I began trying. And I mean trying. My eating habits are not oging to change overnight and I can’t let myself get discouraged. Baby steps! Today was pretty good though – I was able to space out mini-meals so I was not starving and tried some different things to regulate my blood sugar. Hopefully, this will all work!
Ministry of Presence
Another youth group night is upon us.
We have a great new curriculum that focuses on themes by using Christian music (anything from rap/hip hop to contemporary, etc.) Two weeks ago, though, we forwent it (and yes, that is the correct past tense of forgo! I looked it up. Yes, I did) and just did our highs & lows and talked about the Halloween Alternative party we were having that Friday.
Since then, I’ve read some things about having a ministry of presence in youth – that it is not wrong to just hang out and get to know those in your groups, to just chill and get to know them better. Next week is a service project week and since I am a creature of “themes” it would break up any theme I would start for the month. I think it is better to do some getting acquainted activities tonight and focus on preparing for next week’s service project then start a month of lessons. And yes, I am trying to convince myself that a ministry of presence is a good ministry, an effective ministry, just the same. Sometimes I walk away from a teaching night feeling like I completely missed the mark or they didn’t get it or it didn’t touch them the way I thought it would…and maybe that is why I am feeling more drawn to the ministry of presence. That and workcamp – workcamp is all about being present, being with them, relating to them and letting them see the real side of you. And we all come back closer, excited and pumped up about youth group. That is what I want to see more of.
Downtime
I came home last night from an overnight about two hours north. My friend is away there on a retreat, a respite from every day life. It was nice to be away but just as I began to relax, the time was upon me to come home and all the stress and worries came flooding back to me.
What I want to remember, though, is spending time laughing and talking with my dear friend. Walking by the lake. Driving around the lake and coming upon several deer, just grazing in someone’s front yard. What a glorious, beautiful sight.
So Here's the Thing 