Last Thursday, we had a big storm roll through the Mid-Atlantic states. Schools closed early in anticipation of the powerful winds and possible flash flooding. It’s always good when the media gets the word out, although sometimes they present things in a rather apocalyptic fashion. In my area, the storm caused little damage, and things got back to normal quickly. That was the case for most people, but not for everyone.
Over the last several days, we’ve had a missionary priest visiting our parish. One of his challenges to us is to make efforts to bring our Anglo and Hispanic people together. Many of us want to see this happen, sooner rather than later, but it won’t be easy.
In some sense, many of us want to live with a certain isolation from those different than us. It might be that we just feel a bit more comfortable with the familiar. I don’t think this has to do with prejudice (although sometimes it does), but more likely we are so busy in our own little world that we don’t think we have the energy to put out the effort to learn a new language, culture etc.
Ten years ago today, my family and I were celebrating the Jubilee Year in the Umbrian town of Assisi. October 4th is the feast day of St. Francis, and there is an ancient tradition of celebrating the vigil of his death with prayer. It’s known as the Transitus of St. Francis.
Those two days in Assisi were some of the most memorable of all my travels in Italy. Almost 800 years after his death, I hope this little video gives you some insight into this holy man of God.
On the way home from lunch on Friday, I took one of my friends to our local Trader Joe’s. She’s never been to one, and since it was on the way and I needed a few things, we made the stop.
One of the items on my shopping list was a re-supply of their 17 Bean & Barley Soup Mix I blogged about the other day. In fact, I bought several bags for my co-workers who asked me to pick a bag up for them.
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price,no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds.
For he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.
Sirach 6:14-17
I had the chance to go out to lunch with some friends today. It was good hanging out with them, enjoying a good meal and laughing a lot. I hate to admit it, but I don’t spend enough time with my friends. It seems like we’re all so busy that we end up too tired to make the effort to get together. Of course, this leaves us disconnected from the people we want to associate with, which leads to frustration and discouragement. Can this be good for us?
You must not fool yourself- and you are the easiest person to fool.
This past Tuesday, I asked my classroom assistant to give me some feedback on my teaching. You may remember that I have a class of 15 fourth graders, and Tuesday was our first session. Marta emailed me back and had only positive things to say 🙂 I appreciated the feedback, but there were several things I did that, to me, didn’t work so well. Maybe, since she doesn’t know me that well, she was a little apprehensive about bringing them up.
In order for feedback to be successful, it has to be the truth. It can’t just be what the person thinks you want to hear. They have to be comfortable enough with you to speak the truth (in love). That’s not always easy, but oh so important.
Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on my posting Change Your Perspective I put up last week. A lot of people have said that the story about the conversation between a pastor and parishioner really resonated with them. If you missed it, just click above.
Isn’t it amazing how quickly our attitude can change from bad to good by simply seeing things in a different way? As I wrote in that posting, our circumstances may not change, but our perspective can. I was speaking to a young man tonight who really liked this message. He talked about his own circumstances, which can sometimes be overwhelming.
We’re looking at a new textbook series at work, and I decided that, if we were to switch, it might be a good idea for me to get back into the classroom and try it out myself. So, this year I’m going to teach a 4th grade class. Today was our first session, and I’m whooped. I forgot how much energy kids this age have. Trust me, it’s a lot 🙂
That being said, they are fun to be around, and me and my assistant can’t wait till next week. I know I’m going to be a bit more prepared. Anyone who works with this age group knows you can never have enough activities to satisfy them. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to being with them this year. I know I’ll learn as much as them.
Most people are just about as happy as they decide to be.
– Abe Lincoln
It seems like I’ve been talking to an awful lot of unhappy people recently. Young and old, working and unemployed, healthy and ill, it sounds like everyone’s in the same boat.
As a co-worker pointed out to me today, it’s almost a shock to your system when you encounter someone who is upbeat, positive, and well, happy. Folks, it’s not supposed to be like this.
The other day, someone sent me an email asking how I get so much accomplished. If they could only see my office 🙂
Well, that question got me thinking. Now that summer is over, my busy time is set to begin. And this year, in addition to my usual responsibilities, I’ve added a bunch more, including this blog.
I had no idea there would be as many people as there are reading my postings each day. Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement. Of course, this just makes me want to get better and better with it, and this will take a lot of time and effort.
Then I have the Faith Fighting Diabetes initiative that will be starting next month. I know there will be a lot of good that will come from this, and it’s only just beginning. I’m very excited about the wonderful encouragement I’ve received from many people who want to team up with me and bring this to my community. Please say some prayer for it’s success!
My list could go on and on, just as I’m sure yours could as well. So, all this got me thinking. How can I be more effective, more efficient, and more energized? Today, I think I found the answer.
