handwritten on December 9, 2019
I have this tiny postcard I carry around with me wherever I go. I believe my brother and his now wife gave it to me when they visited California, but I try to make it the mantra that I live by. The postcard is entitled "How to Build a Global Community." The one that I have found is most important in every group of students I have throughout the year is the final line which states: "Know that no one is silent though many are not heard."
With 25 children, it has been a challenge this year, but I have found that I have focused more on this last global community mark than any other year. Perhaps it is because I feel the need to have the students practice their conversational skills more....
handwritten on December 8, 2019
This morning we traveled as a group of four to go to the tiniest Christmas Tree farm and pick out our tree. From a distance, the selection looked pretty slim. However, as you began to walk closer towards the trees it was apparent that though many of the trees were tiny, they still were mighty. We found two perfect (in our eyes) trees that tickled our fancy and placed in the car to be brought safely home.
And as I'm writing to you and looking at our small little tree in the corner of the room, I am reminded that in every season of life, even if we sometimes feel as if we are the small light in the corner of the room-the light has the potential to be strong and to be mighty. One small strand...
handwritten on December 7, 2019
As I spent a majority of my week in rehearsals for Urban Impact's Light the Night, I was struck by a beautiful song that was so appropriate for this time of year. The song was entitled "Carpenter Song" and the first verse is as such:
I am a carpenter, and I build with careful hands
I do my best to take each block of wood
and carve it into something strong and sturdy,
Something useful, something beautiful for the world
I think if more individuals saw themselves as carpenters, this world would be full of deeper whimsy and kindness and love. I began to think about what dreams really are-because I have always been a huge dreamer. And I think life is so beautiful in this way-dreaming is one of...
handwritten on December 1, 2019
There is something transformational and magical that happens in December. I cannot quite place my finger on it but it is just beautiful. There is a little more pep in the step of those around us, there is anticipation of really an overwhelming feeling of whimsical encounters to come-all those lights really add a lot of whimsy. And I think if every month was treated like the month of December with that same anticipation of family gatherings and time with friends and family and time away from work-just imagine how different the world would be.
I listened to a really great sermon today which was all about dancing on the wrong side. Overall, the point was this: in every other month we tend to...
handwritten on November 30, 2019
This morning as we gathered in a cramped but long wooden table for breakfast with friends, I could not help but eat my waffle but also analyze this table and what it had to do with life itself. It was one of those tables where you could easily see the other end, but if you were sitting on the same side as that individual on the other end-well-it was quite difficult to hear anything or talk at all for that matter.
And I began to think about two things: At one point, I had this urge to stand up and actually go over to the other side to hear the conversation. However, instead I decided to try to engage in one conversation on one side and then listen to the conversation going on the other end...
