January 15-23: Catching Up

I have found it very challenging to find the time to blog over the past week. So, I will do my best to remember what things I have done and to share with you the experiences I had that I wanted to remember to share with you.

I last sat down at my computer on January 15th but I did not blog about the events of that day. It is from that day that I will begin.

January 15: Write a letter to my sponsored child from Compassion International. (Link to Compassion)

January 16: Volunteer to provide cookies for the meal my church is serving at Open Door Ministry in downtown Denver. (Link to CATR and Link to Open Door Ministry). This ministry serves the homeless and needy in Denver with a church service, fellowship and a delicious, hot meal. The person coordinating the meal was getting a bit frantic about the lack of volunteers to provide food. Once I heard the need, I immediately volunteered. This was a lesson on doing something myself instead of thinking (or wishing) that someone else would do it. I did not see the sign up get passed around so I had thought that the sign up was already complete. Instead, I just kept missing it. I should have just inquired instead of assumed. I am happy to report that the sign-ups were filled and all of the food needed was provided. Way to go church! :0)

January 17: MLK Day! When I was at the grocery store, I took some extra time to wrangle up some of the carts left out in the parking lot. People were leaving them all over the place making it difficult to park. I felt like the opportunity presented itself to do something good. Turns out, one of the grocery cart attendants saw me. He came up to me with a look of shock on his face and thanked me. Not only did I help make sure cars were not going to get hit, but I helped him out too. It was a little thing, but it made a difference.

January 18: This was my first day of school for student teaching. I had a great day getting to know my students and getting my feet wet in the new school. After school, I was so blessed to find emails, text messages, Facebook posts, and voicemails inquiring about and wishing me well for my first day. I was so touched! My "thing" for the day was to learn as many names as possible and to learn at least one thing about each person. Sure, I am going to learn about my students' academically, but I also want to know them as unique individuals. Their likes, dislikes, friends, family, and other things that are important to them should also be important to me. I believe this is one way I can be sure to really love my students and to help them succeed. While I did not get to know all of the students, I certainly made good headway. (As of Friday, I learned all of the students in my homeroom and most of the students in the other classes as well. I'm making progress!) I was really touched by one particular student who offered to stack my chair for me. It was a small gesture but it really brightened my day. I made sure to tell him so.

January 19: I was surprised to see so much snow on the ground as I left school. The roads were really icy and it seemed as if everyone was on the road trying to get home. Instead of getting frustrated about the snow, traffic, or how long it was taking me to get from point A to point B, I spent the time in prayer. I prayed for all of the people on the roads to be safe and to get to their destinations without frustration. As I got closer to home, my heart broke as I saw a car on the side of the road laying on its top with bits and pieces scattered for quite a distance. I knew this accident was very serious--probably fatal. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I also prayed for those who were without heat or shelter. My "thing for the day" didn't come until much later, however. I went to pick my husband up at the Light Rail station and saw another man cleaning his car off with his bare hands. I offered to clean it off for him or to loan him my snow brush. He seemed thankful for the offer but kept clearing the snow. I offered for him to sit in our warm car as his warmed up. Again, he declined. Even though my offers were declined, I still did my part to try to help care for another person. That is, after all, all that I can do.

January 20: I ran into a friend of mine at a local coffee shop. She told me that she just had to put her dog to sleep. I couldn't help but empathize with the pain she was feeling. My husband and I were on a date night, but we both knew that our conversation could wait until later, as my friend needed a listening ear that was free from distraction. (How many times have I tried speaking to someone only to feel like they were not even giving me their undivided attention?) I think it is so important to live according to my priorities and at this moment, she was a priority. She was a "walnut." I was sure to follow up with her too, to let her know I would be there for her.

January 21: One lesson I have been learning about is that of accountability. Garrett spoke about it in his sermon, I have been learning about it first hand through this challenge, and also through scriptures I read in my quiet times. I was faced with a situation where a dear friend of mine needed to be held accountable. Holding someone accountable can be so scary! Man, I was shaking...at least on the inside. But, I do believe that scripture is clear on things and we need to hold each other accountable in loving ways. No judgment. No justification of wrong. Truth and love. Simply done with truth and in love. So, I found myself speaking truth to her and praying that the Lord would speak through me and use me as a messenger. I had to be bold and honest, but again I knew that the message needed to be shared in love and with open arms. How often is the church presented with an issue (cursing, homosexuality, adultery, lying, cheating...) and we do not approach the issue with love. Rather, we judge and cast aside those who need the healing hand of God or the grace of God to touch their lives and to be embraced by those who call them friend. Man, this issue is near and dear to my heart as I have been going through some learning curves with this topic. How do I tell my non-believing friends about the love of Jesus when all they see are the shortcomings of the church? I know I sound preachy. I'm sorry. I just have to learn to really let the scripture of "Love thy neighbor as thy self" sink in to a level that is so deep that it becomes part of my very being; my core and essence of who I am even. It is in that true love that we can hold each other accountable in the way that I believe Jesus really intended. So, today's "thing" was holding someone accountable with love and grace. In the end, I bought her a cup of coffee, prayed over her, and loved on her for the rest of the night. I will continue to pray for her and to try to encourage her too.

January 22: I attended the Life and Justice Conference and volunteered with a friend. It was great to serve and be a part of the event. I will be writing a completely different post for this event and day because it simply deserves a whole post to itself. AMAZING and very eye-opening. Thing for the day was to volunteer and I also learned about the issues of human trafficking and genocide. Now, it's time for me to share what I learned with the world. Stay tuned...

January 23: Today, I was a busy girl. I dropped of the cookies for the Open Door Ministry and I was hard at work sharing all that I learned about human trafficking and planning a screening of a movie I learned about at the conference. The movie is "The Dark Side of Chocolate." The gal I went to the conference with and I are going to be hosting a screening and Fair Trade Chocolate party. If you want more information, just ask.

Well, that's it for now. I have finally caught up! Whew! I will be back to share everything about the Life and Justice Conference, but for now it's time for bed. Tomorrow I go back to school. I am so excited to see my students and I look forward to another great week ahead. I pray that the Lord will bless you this week and draw you closer into a deeper relationship with him. If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your personal savior and you want more information, please don't hesitate to ask me. I would love to share his love with you so you can know him too. Here's a link for you too.

Much love and sweet dreams, Chieko