I received this Christmas Carol from Sojourners in my inbox today and thought it appropriate to share with everyone else spoiled for normal Christmas. Have I said how much I'd love a subscription to Sojourners for Christmas?
Have Yourself a Peace and Justice Christmas
Have yourself a peace and justice Christmas,
Set your heart a-right.
Flee the malls and focus on Christ’s guiding light.
Have yourself a peace and justice Christmas,
Give your time a way.
Share God’s love, And serve “the least of these” today.
Here we are, as we pray for peace,
We’ll live simply and give more.
We care for those far and near to us,
Which brings cheer to us, once more.
God brings down
The haughty from high places,
And lifts up the low.
God cares for the hungry and the humble, so –
Forget the stress and let the peace and justice flow!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Am I Who I Want to Be?
Not yet. No, I am not who I want to be. I still struggle with wanting what I do to matter more than who I am. But it really should be the other way around. After an enlightening conversation with two people near and dear to me, I was once again reminded that the twigs in other peoples' eyes pale in comparison to the log in my own eye. Somebody, please pull the log out of my eye before I take a whole whack of people out with it as I turn around in circles trying to discover what is blocking my view of things!
I met someone today who just adopted a little girl from Ethiopia. Cute as a button. His remark about his visit to Ethiopia was how happy everyone there seemed to be, even though they "had nothing". While vows of poverty are not the solution to a "happy life" (or maybe they are), I think that the lesson to be learned is that who we are is what lends us happiness not what we do or what we earn or what we acquire.
It is late, I'm tired and I have way too many thoughts in my head to process right now. My life remains far from 'normal'.
I met someone today who just adopted a little girl from Ethiopia. Cute as a button. His remark about his visit to Ethiopia was how happy everyone there seemed to be, even though they "had nothing". While vows of poverty are not the solution to a "happy life" (or maybe they are), I think that the lesson to be learned is that who we are is what lends us happiness not what we do or what we earn or what we acquire.
It is late, I'm tired and I have way too many thoughts in my head to process right now. My life remains far from 'normal'.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Motorcycle Mama?!
Phase one of re-training has been accomplished. I successfully passed by motorcycle road test today and can now freely cruise down the road on my Kawasaki Super Sherpa 250. The rain held off nicely and I only had one demerit although I think it shouldn't count. I signalled leaving a traffic calming circle, which you don't have to do. You only signal when leaving a round-about. What is the difference? I am not sure. I think it just would have been to out of the normal for someone to pass with a perfect score. I know one point doesn't really count.
So now I get to learn how to ride on gravel roads, step two of the education process. In between all this riding I am also spending lots of time on my bike and completing an MA. Yep, I have tons of free time.
Gotta get back to the books.
So now I get to learn how to ride on gravel roads, step two of the education process. In between all this riding I am also spending lots of time on my bike and completing an MA. Yep, I have tons of free time.
Gotta get back to the books.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Creative Education
A post I wrote for one of my classes. Just goes to show that going beyond normal has benefits.
I wanted to share an example of creative education that I ran into while working in CAR. The pygmy people of CAR suffer great hardship perpetuated on them by the Bantu majority in CAR. Most pygmy children do not attend school for a host of reasons. They generally do not live in close proximity to schools, they do not have the means to pay tuition, they do not have suitable clothing to attend school in (a bigger issue than you would think), they are harassed by other children and parents, and the school calendar year does not match the hunting/gathering calendar. In one area with a large population of Aka pygmy people, NGOs have paid school fees to enable Aka to attend school which to some degree has worked. However, the most creative school we found was in a remote region outside a logging town in an area called Bamba. A Bantu pastor who moved in with a small group of Baka pygmies in order to establish a church saw the overwhelming desire of the parents for their children to attend primary school. The local government was both unable and unwilling to help in this regard so, over time, and with a little help from some expats in acquiring basic school supplies, the pastor established a small school. We first became friends with this school and community in 2005 and as of February 2008, all of the children in the community are learning to read and write, a first step in their education. What I found so remarkable about the school is that the pastor has reversed the school calendar in order to accommodate the lifestyle of this particular group. While the North American model and the Central African model fit, for the most part, the general agricultural calendar whereby planting and harvesting, the two most labour intensive activities, fall during the school break, this is not true for the Bayaka people. Reversing the school calendar to help mitigate absences from school allows for the continuation of children to participate in the traditions of their communities while at the same time giving them opportunity to learn elementary basics such as reading, writing, math and French, helping to earn them a place in the greater society (which they shouldn't have to earn as they are the 'First Nations People of CAR).
The school continues without adequate resources, qualified teachers or levels beyond the basics. The students range from 5 to 18 years old, and number around 15. As news has spread about the school more and more families are migrating from remote forest locations to this burgeoning village. The local sawmill recently donated discarded boards and some machinery which allowed the community to build a larger school and work is underway to help bring clean water to the area. This is an instance where too much outside help could quickly destroy the tremendous local initiative. Globalization is certainly impacting this community; however, its effects can be mitigated so long as creative development is allowed to continue.
I wanted to share an example of creative education that I ran into while working in CAR. The pygmy people of CAR suffer great hardship perpetuated on them by the Bantu majority in CAR. Most pygmy children do not attend school for a host of reasons. They generally do not live in close proximity to schools, they do not have the means to pay tuition, they do not have suitable clothing to attend school in (a bigger issue than you would think), they are harassed by other children and parents, and the school calendar year does not match the hunting/gathering calendar. In one area with a large population of Aka pygmy people, NGOs have paid school fees to enable Aka to attend school which to some degree has worked. However, the most creative school we found was in a remote region outside a logging town in an area called Bamba. A Bantu pastor who moved in with a small group of Baka pygmies in order to establish a church saw the overwhelming desire of the parents for their children to attend primary school. The local government was both unable and unwilling to help in this regard so, over time, and with a little help from some expats in acquiring basic school supplies, the pastor established a small school. We first became friends with this school and community in 2005 and as of February 2008, all of the children in the community are learning to read and write, a first step in their education. What I found so remarkable about the school is that the pastor has reversed the school calendar in order to accommodate the lifestyle of this particular group. While the North American model and the Central African model fit, for the most part, the general agricultural calendar whereby planting and harvesting, the two most labour intensive activities, fall during the school break, this is not true for the Bayaka people. Reversing the school calendar to help mitigate absences from school allows for the continuation of children to participate in the traditions of their communities while at the same time giving them opportunity to learn elementary basics such as reading, writing, math and French, helping to earn them a place in the greater society (which they shouldn't have to earn as they are the 'First Nations People of CAR).
The school continues without adequate resources, qualified teachers or levels beyond the basics. The students range from 5 to 18 years old, and number around 15. As news has spread about the school more and more families are migrating from remote forest locations to this burgeoning village. The local sawmill recently donated discarded boards and some machinery which allowed the community to build a larger school and work is underway to help bring clean water to the area. This is an instance where too much outside help could quickly destroy the tremendous local initiative. Globalization is certainly impacting this community; however, its effects can be mitigated so long as creative development is allowed to continue.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Inspiration
I stumbled upon this little gem while reading an article on the CBC about a group called the Madonna House. The foundress, Catherine Doherty was someone obviously spoiled for normal.
"Catherine Doherty was not a person one could casually meet and then forget. She was a Russian who, in her own words, liked to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” Complacency, mediocrity, tepidity — these were associated with those she sometimes referred to as “the walking dead,” people not really alive, although they might be living ‘normal’ lives.
Catherine's love for any given person might take the form of obvious compassion, through humble service, attentive listening and meeting their evident needs. Or her love might take the form of trying, by her words, to ‘shake’ a person from their self-satisfied approach to Christian life. It would still be compassionate love, if less obviously so."
http://www.madonnahouse.org/mandate/introduction.html
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
That's me, spoiled for normal.
Do you wonder what it means to be spoiled for normal? Some people say they are spoiled for normal food once they've tasted French cuisine, or spoiled for normal clothes once they have had something custom fit. Not me though. I have been spoiled for normal life in general. And when I say normal, I guess I am referring to having a 9 to 5 job, with a regular salary and benfits, vacation time and sick leave. I mean a normal house, with a car and a yard and grass to mow. I mean normal kids that play in little league and have sleep overs with their friends.
I have been spoiled for normal ever since I gave up those normal ambitions, left home and started to work for something outside of myself. I have chronicled a lot of this journey already in thebosses.blogspot.com. But I need a fresh start. I need a space beyond the normal to inform, captivate and reinvent normal.
Are you spoiled for normal?
I have been spoiled for normal ever since I gave up those normal ambitions, left home and started to work for something outside of myself. I have chronicled a lot of this journey already in thebosses.blogspot.com. But I need a fresh start. I need a space beyond the normal to inform, captivate and reinvent normal.
Are you spoiled for normal?
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