Redeemed

I'm enjoying a few quiet moments and a bowl of soup at my favorite food co-op.  I finished a good day of work and now get to rest and reflect.  I'm typing on my phone which would be easier on a typewriter at this point, but I found a quote from my notebook I wanted to share. "Gratitude, therefore, takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to the praise of the goodness of God.  For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience.  And that makes all the difference."  -Thomas Merton I have been experiencing gratitude for people I have been able to meet who have come alongside me lately.  They have shared their lives with me, encouraged me, and let me tell my own story.  As I have struggled to see my own value, they have let me know that small things can have great impact. Being content is important and although I may not see my impact, "It is well with my soul." I feel ...

Greetings fellow humans, It is Friday night and I've spent it sitting on the deck spilling my thoughts on paper, sipping Caramel flavored hot apple cider, and having some dinner with a short trip to Facebook.  I think I prefer a quiet life to an overly rowdy one.  These past couple of months have breezed by, trying to soak in the last of the warmth this year will have to offer.  I have been enjoying the fall leaves.  It seems my mind has been more meandering than focused lately.  I have been jumping from one thing to the next. I have started a new job and I've come to really enjoy it.  It has plenty of challenges being as I work with youth and have much to gain in assertiveness and having limits.  I am hired part-time, but mostly work full-time hours.  I feel that the experience I am gaining has its own benefits and I am learning quite a bit.  I am becoming more comfortable with working at the youth shelter and am feeling more confident ...

Good evening, I have gotten to slow down a little bit lately.  It's good to take a break after pushing toward a goal for a year.  I finished my AmeriCorps hours yesterday: 1,720 hours.  It will be so good to see the final hours get approved this week.  Then I will feel like I am really done. I have actually had time to read things for fun lately.  I read The Bean Trees and The Secret Life of Bees .  It was good to finish the whole book so they can move on to another home.  I haven't been the most productive, but maybe rest is productive unto itself. It is so nice to be out in the sunshine lately.  The light is long.  I have been out on walks with the dog sometimes.  She's pulling me along mostly.  I am somewhat tired out, so this post may not be the most eloquent.  I am moving forward with training at a youth shelter.  I have been doing volunteer hours there for awhile. So many popsicles...  I love popsicles...

Good evening y'all, It has been a long day, but it has gone by fast.  Sort of ironic.  I'm sitting at home trying to get some rest from this cold that's clinging to me like a crawfish...??  I know I've been at work too long when I start sounding out words in my head that I see--like the word, Th-i-n-k-ing.  Or I start saying the words that way to adults when they ask me a question. This 2016-17 school year I am a LITERACY TUTOR in AmeriCorps.  It sounds kind of fancy when you put it that way.  I spend my days working one-on-one with about 16 different students on various reading interventions.  We work on short reading passages or blending together small words.  This also includes a lot of paperwork, data entry, prep work, bribing and coaxing via small toys, candy, and cracker items.  It should involve a lot more praise than scolding, more high-fives than head-shaking, and you get the picture.  The work is often rewarding, but also ...