Poverty and heartache...

Though it would seem, based on the title of this entry, that these two things go together... they actually are about completely separate events tonight.

Poverty

I found a book, this past weekend, entitled "Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration" by Amber Van Schooneveld. I HIGHLY recommend it. This book is actually a manageable 5 week devotional. Allow me to share a few things that have jumped out at me thus far. Some of this is disheartening and yet, it's true 'stuff'. My hope, in sharing this, is that your heart might be stirred to pray, to read, to act, to ask, to share... (The book is about poverty and is divided into the following sections: The poverty of the heart, God is not silent, Understanding Poverty, Prayer, and Be the Change. It not only offers awful statistics as a means of educating but also offers practical ways to get involved and help to make a difference.)

*It's tough to watch the news as there is an unending amount of stories about AIDS, war, poverty, etc... "Overwhelmed and paralyzed. Overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems. Paralyzed by not knowing what to do. And yet, I serve a God of hope. A God of love. A God of healing. Where do I, where does this God of hope, fit into this confounding world around me?... Our God of hope is on the move to bring restoration to me and to you and to this world full of hurt."

*"You can't comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable."

*"There are 1.2 billion people in the world living in extreme poverty on less than a dollar a day. ... There are nearly 30,000 children under the age of 5 dying each day of hunger and preventable diseases. ... I know that each of the nearly 30,000 children is a story of a treasure. A diamond God created to catch and reflect his light just so, but now kicked in the dirt, muddied, unrecognized, and abandoned."

*"The stories I see on TV stay in that little box - they don't invade my world. My section of the world is living through unprecedented prosperity, safety, and opportunity. ... I was always well-fed; it was always an expectation that I would go to college, get a good job with health benefits, buy a house. Far from the despair reigning in certain pockets of the world, my industrialized world and I are thriving. ... I drive down the street and I see huge hospitals and hulking high schools ... My church buddies and I are thriving, too - we have our many church meetings, our building campaigns, and our community outreaches playing Frisbee in the park with Starbucks afterward. Put simply, we are prospering. ... I still can't help but wonder, as I sip Starbucks on an easy Sunday afternoon: Is this pleasing God? Is this his version of what his world should look like?"

*"What if all this time I've been polising myself up to exhibit spiritual excellence - ... - when what God really wanted was something wholly different? Not to stay home perfecting myself, but to go out into the world. To transform it through action, in service and in love. ... the conviction doesn't go away."

This is all from Day 1 of the devotional... I have so much more to share ... but in hopes that some of you will actually read all of this, I'll give you a rest! :-) May these quotes stir your heart...

Heartache

I just talked to a precious friend in Honduras. She and her family are very special to me, as I was able to spend a fair bit of time with them this past year... and came to know, love, and appreciate them so very much! We tried to get together once a month... and now, having been back in "school mode" for a month... I'm really missing my monthly visits. Apparently, so are her sweet kiddos.

Her oldest is 4 and has an incredible memory! My friend has shared sweet little stories of his great memory over the past few weeks. Well, tonight I guess he asked about me and his mom told him that I had gone "bye bye on a plane". He started crying. Oh, that made my heart just ache. Bless his little heart.

Just when I feel as though I'm "transitioning" okay.... this describes my feelings and emotions right now, though. I feel as though I'm on a roller coaster... some days are great... some days are difficult... sometimes I smile as I think about precious memories from my life in Honduras... sometimes I cry as I think about precious memories. I think that all of this is normal as I continue to wade through this time of readjustment (starting over).

Documenting Fall...

Grrr... I just lost my blog entry :-(

Here's the short version... take 2!

I've had so much practice with documenting everything at school lately... student behaviors, meetings, lesson ideas, etc... that I thought I'd give it a go with this new season that we're about to enter! :-)

FALL is my absolute favorite time of year! Having been away from it for 3 years, I'm ecstatic that I'm seeing evidences of this wonderful season! I bought a fun autumn-scented candle yesterday, some yummy squash, and a gorgeous yellow mum! I can't wait for more leaves to change colors... and then drop!

You can see a few pictures that I just took, above!