It's another Monday morning after a weekend on-duty. I walked over to my local Starbucks to get a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the shelter. Saturday was busy with preparations for the Sunday service at my church, an Easter party for the children at work, and a difficult night for one of the moms who broke one of our rules and faces the possibility of dismissal. I randomly ran into the mom and her 5-year-old daughter on my walk to Starbucks, which was a big relief since she left Saturday night in a frenzy without her cell phone or a place to go.
Easter is over now, but as I seem to have a lot of difficulty staying on schedule, I'm doing my reflecting after the fact. The week following Palm Sunday is typically supposed to be a reminder of the suffering of Christ before his death, and in order to better understand that idea my young adult group challenged one another to spend every morning in intentional prayer and Bible study time before doing anything else that we typically might do before taking time with Christ so that He truly is priority before all other activities in the day. In doing this, I definitely felt God's presence at work, but it wasn't necessarily a "happy" week at all. I was confronted twice by different people about attitudes or behaviors that I needed to change. One of my kids was extremely argumentative and acted out every day. Our newest family had a scare, fearing their abuser had found them. I began to feel more emotionally drained from the lack of alone time I can find. (With three girls now living in my apartment, we have a blast and make lots of great memories, but it reminds me that I'm still an introvert!)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
I'm Rich
Kids say... and write... the darn-dest things sometimes, and when I read their weekly journal entries from after school program I often come across some noteworthy ones. Here's one I'd like to share from a seven-year-old boy:
Q: What are some rules you have at your house?
A: 1) Do not hit.
2) Do not kick.
3) Do not do laundry.
That last one's got to be every kids' dream for a rule :)
Last night I visited with one of my girlfriends from college, Nicole, who is headed overseas next weekend for a two-year-long term with the Peace Corps. She lives almost an hour away from me, but we try to get together every once in a while. Today was the last time I'll see her for a long while. She will have changed the world by the time she gets back, I'm sure.
Q: What are some rules you have at your house?
A: 1) Do not hit.
2) Do not kick.
3) Do not do laundry.
That last one's got to be every kids' dream for a rule :)
Last night I visited with one of my girlfriends from college, Nicole, who is headed overseas next weekend for a two-year-long term with the Peace Corps. She lives almost an hour away from me, but we try to get together every once in a while. Today was the last time I'll see her for a long while. She will have changed the world by the time she gets back, I'm sure.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Stories From the Laundromat
I'm feeling inspired tonight, with lots of stories from the day. I feel that I can't put my head down until I get some of them out!
I just returned home from the laundromat at about 11:15. My roommate and I discovered a flea infestation in our apartment, most likely from the rat that stole into our place two weeks ago, so our bedding needed a good washing after setting off a couple of foggers earlier today. I've been to the laundromat just a few times, and I seem to learn something new every time, mostly by observing the other customers. Usually I take my iPod or a book to read to pass the time, and I generally keep to myself, feeling tired in the evening after work. Tonight was one of those nights where I was pretty tired and in a rush to get back to work, so I sat down to close my eyes and rest while I waited. I noticed the manager kept checking out my machines, and then he went into a closet on the far side of the room. He came back with a bucket and some water and proceeded to pour it into the detergent cartridge in my washing machines. Thinking to myself, What in the world is this guy doing to my laundry?, I got up to ask him if I had done something wrong.
I just returned home from the laundromat at about 11:15. My roommate and I discovered a flea infestation in our apartment, most likely from the rat that stole into our place two weeks ago, so our bedding needed a good washing after setting off a couple of foggers earlier today. I've been to the laundromat just a few times, and I seem to learn something new every time, mostly by observing the other customers. Usually I take my iPod or a book to read to pass the time, and I generally keep to myself, feeling tired in the evening after work. Tonight was one of those nights where I was pretty tired and in a rush to get back to work, so I sat down to close my eyes and rest while I waited. I noticed the manager kept checking out my machines, and then he went into a closet on the far side of the room. He came back with a bucket and some water and proceeded to pour it into the detergent cartridge in my washing machines. Thinking to myself, What in the world is this guy doing to my laundry?, I got up to ask him if I had done something wrong.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Community & Connectivity
Community and connectivity. These are the two words burning upon my heart today.
When I was in college, away from family, friends, and all that was familiar, I learned the importance of Christian accountability and fellowship for my spiritual growth. Sometimes it seemed way easier to remain distant and independent than to spend all the emotional energy it took for me to get into intentional community. But God eventually taught me that I CANNOT survive as an “independent Christian” - I was cut off from all the amazing gifts and encouragement from other believers that would lift me up in my own walk. The devil did all he could to prevent me from connecting, such that it even took until the middle of my third year in school to finally settle on a local church community. But once I finally pushed through, I sort of re-discovered myself in the context of a larger group. From the moment we are conceived not a single person is able to live independently, which is becoming more the case in our increasingly interconnected world. We rely upon our mothers to nurse us, our families to feed us and provide education, our governments to provide structure for our lives, our employers to provide us with income. We gain something from each of them, and they gain from us as well.
When I was in college, away from family, friends, and all that was familiar, I learned the importance of Christian accountability and fellowship for my spiritual growth. Sometimes it seemed way easier to remain distant and independent than to spend all the emotional energy it took for me to get into intentional community. But God eventually taught me that I CANNOT survive as an “independent Christian” - I was cut off from all the amazing gifts and encouragement from other believers that would lift me up in my own walk. The devil did all he could to prevent me from connecting, such that it even took until the middle of my third year in school to finally settle on a local church community. But once I finally pushed through, I sort of re-discovered myself in the context of a larger group. From the moment we are conceived not a single person is able to live independently, which is becoming more the case in our increasingly interconnected world. We rely upon our mothers to nurse us, our families to feed us and provide education, our governments to provide structure for our lives, our employers to provide us with income. We gain something from each of them, and they gain from us as well.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Starbucks: Not Open Late
9:40 PM. The local time as I begin this next blog post. About 30 minutes ago, I left my apartment at the shelter to go to Starbucks where I could use the gift card my sister bought me as a Christmas present. I dropped my roommate off at Subway down the street, stopped for $15 worth of gas to last me ‘til my next paycheck on Friday, and followed my GPS to the nearest Starbucks that I thought might be open late. (I found out a couple weeks ago that the closest one to me closes at 9 PM… far too early for a coffee shop to close in my opinion!) Well, it led me to a grocery store which isn’t ideal when I need a table, chair, and Wi-Fi to do my blogging. So I put in the next nearest one, and as I approached I saw the chairs atop the tables like freshly cleaned teacups placed upside down and waiting for the next seating. I turned around and started to head back to my normal hang-out: Barnes & Noble which is always open until 11 PM but whose Starbucks café won’t accept Starbucks gift cards… very lame. But of course, why in the world should Barnes & Noble permit Starbucks to profit from their patrons??
So here I am, back at Barnes & Noble as usual because no Starbucks in Glendale is open past 9:30 PM on a weeknight. I wonder if I’m becoming a fixture here, like the four old Armenian men who sit at the exact same spot every weeknight, or the security guard who always gives me a weird look whenever I walk in the store with my backpack or my tote bag carrying my laptop. I’m thankful that at least I can count on Barnes & Noble to be open late.
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