Responding to a Need...

If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered." Proverbs 21:13

Recently at church, our pastor had been preaching about what it means to be a neighbour.

Today I was given the opportunity to practice being a good neighbour and looking out for those in need & this is how it went:

As I was heading home from my Chiro. appt., I got off at Vic Park and started walking home with the intention of grabbing a coffee at Timmy's. As I was walking to the lights to cross the street, I noticed a homeless man standing in the middle median holding a placard with the word, "HUNGRY" and asking for money. At this point, I decreased the size of my paces and thought that I should go and ask the man if he wanted something warm to drink or something to eat. Since there were so many cars passing by, I said to myself, forget it. Then as I crossed the street, I thought to myself that there's a person in need, I ought to tend to him. Again, I saw so many cars that I felt that it would take more time just to cross and ask the man so I hesitated yet again. In my stream of consciousness, I was wrestling with the idea of whether or not I should ask him. Being apprehensive caused me to walk back and forth a couple of times. Then, I thought to myself, it's awfully cold outside and I should go and ask if he's hungry because after all, that's what the sign says! So, I finally crossed to the middle median and walked towards him. I told the man that I was going to Tim Hortons and asked if he wanted a coffee or something to eat...a donut? He hesitantly said, "no thanks"...but then as I turned he said, "o-okay then." "A medium coffee with cream and three sugars." I told him no problem and that I'd be right back. Off I zipped and I was back in a hurry with exactly what he had ordered: A medium coffee with three sugars! When I handed him the coffee, I said, "keep warm and God bless." He said the same thing along with many thank yous, which extended even as I crossed the street. He was very grateful. As I was walking home, I said a quick prayer for him.

My reflection upon the whole thing today was this: Today I was given the opportunity to be a good neighbour and I took it! There were a few moments there where I was tempted to be like many others...many people would just look beyond the homeless/poor people asking for money (I've done that myself before) but I realized in those few moments of hesitation, I remembered that I'm not like everyone else! I am who I am and I'm different ~ I belong to God! Today, I responded in love and I was able to joyfully serve a person in need and I'm really grateful for that moment.

Responding to Haiti

Haiti has recently suffered a great devastation with the shocking earthquake that ravaged the island.
Society & civilization can only truly flourish if we mobilize & join one another in unity.
With thousands feared dead, countless missing & trapped beneath the rubble, & many having lost their homes, the initial stages of recovery is critical. The world needs to hear the cries of the victims, the lost, the suffering, the crushed in spirit, the sick & the wounded. The world needs to respond out of love, compassion & mercy.

In an ideal world, I would love to transport myself and take my heart and body, use my hands & my mind to volunteer my time to help the Haitian people but because this is not my reality, I still need to help my neighbour...my Haitian brothers and sisters who have suffered great loss & who are in dire desperation for the basic needs of life. I can help by giving monetarily and through prayer.

Below are some reputable organizations that have staff personnel on the ground & in the field in Haiti working closely to help assist and work with those being directly affected by the earthquake.

World Vision Canada
Doctors Without Borders
Mennonite Central Committee
Red Cross
Oxfam Canada
Humanitarian Coalition (CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Free the Children Canada)

Until February 12, 2010, the Canadian government will match individual donations made to Haiti relief efforts.

Hold Me
Like The River Jordan
And I Will Then Say To Thee
You Are My Friend
Carry Me
Like You Are My Brother
Love Me Like A Mother
Will You Be There?
Weary
Tell Me Will You Hold Me
Lyrics from Michael Jackson's Will You Be There

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 33:22

Dear: Heavenly Father,
Please keep watch over the Haitian people. Help the many volunteers & workers to mobilize and get the urgent medicines, food, and shelter to those most affected by the earthquake. Clothe the survivors with your comfort and grace. Grant them peace and hope despite unspeakable circumstances. Allow your love to transcend even the most dire of situations and keep them. Be with the people and have mercy over them. In Jesus name, amen.

Serving on Christmas Night

A Humbling Evening...

"We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. "

Jean Vanier

This Christmas night marked the first time that I would not be celebrating the occasion with a big family feast. Instead, I decided to go with a few of my church mates to the Out of the Cold program down at a church on the Danforth and serve dinner to the homeless.

I hadn't been to the Out of the Cold program for ages. Basically, anyone who wishes to, may drop into the church, enjoy a nice hot dinner (squash soup, turkey, mashed potatoes & carrots with ice cream & holiday cookies!) & if they'd like, they could stay the night.

My friend, May and I were assigned to serve table #6. We got the evening meal and served our guests. They were very thankful and polite when receiving the food. For no reason that I can adequately express, I know that I felt deep joy in those moments of helping and serving...there's something very humbling about serving another...

A kind woman who I was conversing with [and hooking her up with the leftover uneaten dessert treats ~ I wrapped them nicely & put them in her plastic bag!] shared with me that "it really makes a difference with you all helping out." I couldn't help it but that brought a smile to my face.

I noticed that every guest that came into the church had either a backpack or two, or a plastic bag. The backpacks & the contents inside were probably ALL of their very possessions... everything that they own. They kept those packs near them & later set it down to secure a spot for their sleeping mat. Those of us who were volunteering would eventually finish up our work and head home to our warm homes. These people only had what was in their bags to live on...

Throughout the night, as I was watching and working, a whole bunch of thoughts were racing through my mind. [what's new?] I wondered in my head whether these guests had loved ones, any children, a partner, what were some of their stories, joys, hurts, hopes, wishes, & dreams? Unfortunately, due to the nature of the evening & the work that I was doing, I wasn't able to sit down to really engage in conversation with anyone too closely. In the end, despite each individual's life circumstance, our guests required food and shelter like we all do & they knew that they could go to Eastminister United Church and find the comforts of food, company & people, as well as shelter.

This exercise in service to others reminded me that it doesn't just have to be done during a special time of year but that serving food & the practice of hospitality can be done everyday. I pray that my eyes & heart would be more conscious & open to those opportunities. I think I'll consider going to serve in the OOTC more often.

After I finished serving, cleaning-up & handing out mats for the guest to sleep on, we all left...my friends went out for dinner @ Congee Queen & I had a date w/ Sherlock Holmes! Despite our lives moving on after a couple of hours of service & the guests satisfying their fatigue (probably walking around all day) resting in the warmth of the basement, I walked away profoundly touched and filled with compassion to serve others who are in need. I walked away feeling that I had contributed, if only a small fraction in helping to satisfy another's hunger, to serve food to another, & in a very real & meaningful way, connect with people just like you and me.

For more information, please visit:
Out of the Cold Program at Eastminister United Church

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."
Matthew 25:34-36

An Air of Entitlement

Kids these days come to school with an a rather putrid air of entitlement...
Entitlement
def.[noun]
the fact of having a right to something...

I believe firmly in a child’s right to education however, there are too many instances where children feel that their actions have no consequences when in fact, their actions can off-sprout so many other things. Accounting for one's actions is at an all time stand still (and when I get involved in asking culprits questions the first thing that they normally say is, "He..she...". Assuming ownership for one's choices & actions is next to non-existent. And, get this, some kids have the audacity to front a broken face when being spoken to about what they did!?!

Many students these days come to expect many things to be done for them and so they have this ingrained laziness demeanour. It’s almost as though they have lack of motivation, poor-like-the pits attitude & learned helplessness. There’s a lot of hand holding such as parents holding their kid’s backpack. Are you kidding me??? . Pick-up your own bag son/daughter! I suppose this is the dilemma and the crossroads that we need to face as we work collectively with the parents to reconcile habits that are instilled at home and than what goes on at school. This is generally a good point of contention during Parent/Teacher interviews!

A case in point
All extra-curricular activities including sports and clubs are strictly voluntary for teachers. Any planned field trips are a privilege for children & not a right...In this day and age, where teachers are stretched to the limit, maybe they don’t want to go the extra mile to call around organizing trips, transportation, collecting money and fill out crazy permission forms. This would especially true if kids weren’t safe and especially if they didn’t deserve it. So, I believe that other types of consequences need to be explored before telling a child that he/she will miss an extra-curriculuar activity due to misbehaviour(s). Being a child who lived, dreamt & ate extra-curricular house league sports, I thrived at school primarily for those opportunities. I was smart though. I kept myself out of trouble & got my homework done because I knew that the consequences that I would suffer would include having those privileges taken away because I knew that I was NOT entitled to those opportunities that teachers provided in their spare time.

Many young people often walk around feeling like the world owes them a big deal when they have yet to contribute anything meaningful to society. They walk around behaving without scruples and in many cases, without any moral values or respect for others. You may be saying, that’s very unfair to say Sophia!. However, I would argue that I’m generalizing in the sense that I speak from my experience and of what I see around me, on public transportation, bus stations, out in public space and in the schools.

There seems to be a lack of responsibility for one’s actions and a confusion about the consequences & ramifications if one chooses certain negative behaviours and paths...So, this is where I'm drawn back to...a student or child's sense of entitlement...they are entitled to a right to education, to be safe, to feel validated as a learner, etc. however, they need to earn and deserve privileges such as extra-curricular clubs, activities & trips. I believe that as you show that you can handle and be trusted with the choices you have been given, then more doors of opportunity, freedom & choice will be rewarded to you.

Jack-of-Trades
Here's a little flavour of what I mean...
Teacher's don't only teach...[rolling my eyes & giggling]...that's WHAT we're supposed to do & with all those ministry curriculum learning expectations to cover! Teachers need to be a:

•Psychologist (b/c we can't prescribe drugs!)
[calm the deeply emotional individuals & walk/talk them through problem solving situations and working out their feelings ~ yeah, we talk about feelings...all that good stuff ] AND we don't have a sofa + pillow. It's called, "Sit down on the carpet!"

• Referee
[break-up fights (whether verbal, physical or both)]

• Councillor
[address & deal w/ issues of bullying]

• Doctor
[when a child gets a boo boo, they require ice, a band-aid; Btw, I don't do lice, I leave that up to the "office experts" (ha ha)

• Coach
[Encourage students to achieve their great potential]

• Clown
[What's teaching without comic relief?]

• Storyteller
[Share my own life experiences w/ my students]

• Accountant
[Count trip money, deal w/ school invoices, purchases, etc.]

• Educator
[Includes all the above while helping students discover their natural abilities/talents while challenging them to greatness!]

Why did I just insert a "Jack-of-all-trades" flavour above? It's because we've just completed 4 months of school and I'm still working on behaviour while dealing w/ many of the above issues...oh yeah, throw in the fact that I also teach curriculum material such as the Government of Canada in gr. 5 Social Studies!
Inherent in my philosophy of education as a teacher is establishing good & sound behaviour management along with developing a solid rapport with the students in my classroom. If I don't have this firmly established, I believe I cannot successfully teach. That is why although it has been already 4 tough & challenging months, I'm still hammering routines & expectations and reminding (ad nauseam & painstakingly) the children about making positive choices and the expectations that I have of them WHILE demanding nothing but their best in ALL in all that they do.

To be continued..

A Teacher's All-time Favourite Classics...hA! hA!

...A Teacher’s Not-so-Favourite Moments...

In no particular order

Untied shoelaces

Hanging boogers

Snotty noses

Tattle Talers

When children activate their non-listening skills

When students have to be told a gazillion times one simple instruction

Repeat lesson instructions you just specifically spent time to explain it (go figure!)

The Torch Passes Thru ~ Part of the Olympic Experience...

On the morning of Friday, December 18, 2009, our students and many in the community witnessed an amazing moment in seeing the Olympic torch relay pass through. Although the convoy was long and the runner with the torch passed by in mere moments, the memory is forever emblazoned in my mind...
RA-RA-RAH-RAH-RAH!


Oh Canada! With Olympic torch used during the relay...

Slideshow courtesy of C. McAuley

Obedience to Christ

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5

Obedience to Christ is not subject or under the restraint of intellect & cannot be peered through the gaze of reasoning. For a follower of Christ, the path that we journey on should be to obey Jesus...

When we try to reason through spiritual matters, we wander into a multiplicity of thoughts which can lead to great confusion. However, by submitting in obedience, our cares, burdens & worries to the Lordship of Christ, we can seek wisdom & discernment.

~My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers