URED 7725 Community Project

Fransiscan Benediction

Our pastor left us with these words after church today.

May God bless you with discomfort

At easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships,

So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger

At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,

So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears

To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,

So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness

To believe that you can make a difference in the world,

So that you can do what others claim cannot be done,

To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen

Check it out!

Look at my photo blog.

I'm just figuring it out, but I hope you enjoy it!

The I Do's

They did it! It's done! We have another Johnson in the family. After a lot of preparation, anticipation and excitement Zach and Janlee were married last Saturday in a very beautiful ceremony. It ended up indoors because of the snowy weather that morning, but was lovely nonetheless. Congratulations to my brother and new sister!

Funnies

My students and I were standing in the hall after school waiting for parents and siblings to come, talking and laughing together. One of my students was snapping his fingers together, and I couldn't figure out how he was doing it. So he showed me, still I couldn't get it to make the sound. One of my girls was there also and she looked at me and said "you have to make your finger lazy." I guess that is probably the most literal way to explain what you need to do. Even with my lazy finger, I still couldn't get it to work.

Control

I have always hated change. It throws me, it messes with my mind and it makes me kind of crazy. Just ask Anna. Poor thing, she survived two move-ins with me, and is still my friend. Thanks Anna. Or Vanessa. She probably wanted to revoke her and Grant's invitation for me to move in with them. Thanks Vanessa. Or my parents, who sat with my in my new apartment after moving to Wichita and assured me I had made the right choice as the tears rolled down my face. Thanks Momsy and Faja.

I am beginning to realize that my dislike of change is because I like to be in control. Not that I have to boss everybody around and control every little detail of every little situation. It's probably good that I can be aware of this, so that I can react in a better way to change. I need to just let stuff go, and maybe my hatred of change is a way of me feeling a little more in control of situations that I can't.

My brother is getting married. I couldn't be happier for him, nor could I have picked a more perfect person for him to spend the rest of his life with. I am very happy for them both. Yet, when Jan's mom asked me last summer if this was hard for me, I teared up. It's change, I can't control it. My relationship with my brother is changing, as it should. I can't control it. He is going to be a husband, he is making his own family. I can't control it. If he weren't focusing his energy and time this, if our relationship didn't change that wouldn't be good. He is doing what is right. I miss the way things were. But I am excited for the way things will be. I just need to let go, and let it be, and accept that I don't have control and that's okay.

Summertime Joys

I am thankful that I have summers off. Here's a little of what I've been up to.