staff meeting

we had a staff meeting this morning...thank goodness it didn't go like this one.

not forgotten, but remembered

there have been days in my life that i have felt forgotten--because a friend picked her over me, because my idea was not chosen, because i was overlooked for someone else...at the time, those moments felt like the end of the world. (that comes from the perspective of a middle-class teenager/young adult that had known little outside of her own little world.)

fast forward a few years.  being  forgotten means something far different than it did in years past.  it's based more on the idea of someone remembered--there is a ten year old girl, living in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world.  she no longer is just one of the many children in the city, trying to press on to another day.  her family has always loved her, but she now also has someone half a world away who now thinks about her and loves and prays for her every day.  there is a boy who lives in a village close to the equator who has lost his parents to hiv/aids, but there is a family that loves him and cares for him even though they've never met. these are two children that are not forgotten, but remembered.

forgotten are the millions of children and adults who feel hopeless.  people waiting for help and are waiting for those who have much to share with those that have little.  forgotten are the ones that will not wake up today after they went to sleep beyond hungry.  forgotten are the ones that will dig through garbage heaps searching for scraps to eat or to sell for money.  forgotten are the ones that struggle with the decision to drink contaminated water or go without drinking anything at all today.  forgotten are the families that are piled into a single-room home with raw sewage running by its only door.

this is where i'm infinitely grateful for a ministry like Compassion International.  they give us the opportunity to remember and help the forgotten.  we can sit comfortably in our air-conditioned homes with our filtered water, stocked refrigerators and pantries and clothes and toys and things to amuse us with our focus being centered on ourselves and our own comfort level, or we can get involved with Compassion by making a small committment--by taking a small portion of what God has blessed us with and make a life-changing difference in the life of a child.  a small financial committment and time to write and encourage someone miles away--God can use that act of  remembering to literally change the course of another human being.  we can forget that there are so many struggles in this world, or we can remember and make a difference.

God created each child, each person with infinite worth and value.  i don't ever want to forget that.

pomp and circumstance

chewy (our dog) received his certificate tonight for completing his puppy kindergarden class.  we have worked on 'sit', 'down', 'leave it', 'come', 'stay'...are in the starting phases of loose-lead walking.  i have to admit that he's a 'B' student--he does very well at home in a familiar, comfortable setting--but throw him into a classroom of ten other puppies and well...I'M EXHAUSTED!  he's all over the place, distracted by the smallest thing and will only obey me if i'm flashing treats in front of his nose.

so, just like the real world, the classroom is just the opportunity to gain a few tools that mean very little until applied out in everyday life.  let the adventure begin!

at the same time

coming up, there is a day where i am to be at two places at the same time.  obviously, one thing will have to trump the other and take priority.  unfortunately, the one i want to win won't get to...so i need to deal with the fact that i have to miss something that won't happen again and that breaks my heart.  hoping that things like this will be a once-in-awhile type occurance instead of a regular part of my calendar.

picking shoes

i'm in the kitchen watching my three-year-old play a very intriguing game.  we're picking shoes.

he goes into his room, slides under his bed with all the dustbunnies and is finding shoes of days gone by.  he comes out with one on one foot and a 'match' from another pair and asks me 'which one do you like best?'  i point out the one i like, ask him if that one feels funny because it is on the wrong foot, he replies 'nope', heads back to his room to come out with the next 'pair'.

it's been going on for about ten minutes now and he's had a different combination each time he comes out.  i'm avoiding going in his room at the moment...there are shoes trailing from his bedroom, down the hallway, into the living room, into the kitchen.

(i'm praying he's not picking up my behavior of trying on about four different things before deciding what to wear.  we'll never make it out the door in the mornings!)

a.maz.ing!

ooooooooohhhhh

shiny new toy.  definitely not a need, but a want.

(i've learned that whatever you buy, the second you buy it, it's outdated.)

think i'll have to wait a bit on this one.