Blue Sky Living

You make a better door than window

We often speak metaphorically of windows: 'the eyes are windows to your soul,' or 'window of opportunity', or 'a window on the world.' We think of them as opening to gaze through, to see things in a new way and maybe set our thoughts free.

Read her whole post via talecatcher.typepad.com

Tracy is my cousin in England. She uses storytelling in professional and corporate settings.

I love what she says here:

"Both of these people say they want things to change, for people to feel different around here. I wonder what they would see if they looked out their windows...the moment of pause, to use the open space for reflection, might be the start of something bigger."

So often we rush in without thinking. Or we sit in safe seats of judgment without fully engaging intellectually, thoughtfully, with insight. Beneficial personal or institutional change only comes when we engage our our hearts as well as minds.

Kenan

Momo and I drove to the Palm Beach Gardens Community Center.  I hadn't seen her in a year and a half so it was a treat to have some one-on-one time together.

Momo is my maternal grandmother.  She's a saint so don't mess with her or you'll be messing with her whole family.  She's the matriarch and has a head full of red hair that has never been touched by dye or color.  We should all do so well.

We were headed to Kenan's final basketball game of the season. Five- and six-year-olds dribbling a mini b-ball (well, mostly fighting over a mini b-ball) hardly constitutes a game.  But we were going for family and for Kenan, not to see who'd win. 

For that we go to Kristopher's games. 

Drama Free Week

This is the first week in months that there's not been any drama.  I'm not sure what to do with myself.

I mean, not only no drama for me, but no drama for the people in my life either. They are all doing great.  Or maybe we've just learned how to cope better.

Work is good.  Relationships are healthy.  Bills are being paid.  My world seems amazingly normal, sane, stable.  I've no crisis to be fueled by.  What's a guy to do?

The past couple of years have been so hectic I've about forgotten how to enjoy a normal week.  But don't dismay: I'm enjoying it--and am grateful for it as well.

Drama and trials and crisis can steal your hope and ability to enjoy the present moment.   So here's to reclaiming virtue, reclaiming life! Joie de vivre, here I come, here I am. Grateful, embracing, thankful, fully present.

Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Supplies Needed

Through Covenant Centre we have a team on the ground in Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo that are working directly with a Haitian government official that enables them to cross the border and get supplies in and out.

The monies that we have collected are being wired into the DR to this couple.  Diana has been going to the hospitals praying for the injured and amputees.  She said many of them are naked, so some of the funds are being used to buy underwear for the displaced persons. We are literally feeding the hungry, giving water and medical supplies, and clothing the naked.

Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Supplies Needed:

Below is a list of medical supplies that, according to doctors in Port-au-Prince, are desperately needed in Haiti right now. Covenant Centre will be sending a shipment of supplies to Haiti this Thursday, as well as another shipment in the next few weeks. Please consider how you can help by donating items from the list below or by making a tax-exempt contribution to the Covenant Centre International Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

1.    Antibiotics: penicillin (lots), cipro (lots), levaquin (lots), amox (lots) sulfa (lots)
2.    Tapes: all kinds
3.    Antibiotic ointments
4. Bandaids- small 2000-4000, medium 3000-4000, large 3000-5000
5.    Sterile applicators
6.    Telfa
7.    Splints: small, medium, large
8.    Slings
9.    Peroxide
10.Iodine
11.Suture kits
12.Gloves
13.ABO’s pads
14.Ace Bandaids/bandages (reusable and non-reusable)
15.Cotton balls
16.Ointment analgesics
17.Lidocaine
18.Protein bars
19.Protein powder
20.Tubelast (for legs, arms, torsos)
21.Suture removal kit
22. Both sterile and non sterile gloves
23. All sizes sterile gauze

Supplies can be dropped off at Covenant Centre International (9153 Roan Lane, Palm Beach Gardens, 33403), or a pick-up can be arranged by emailing education.haiti@gmail.com , or calling Patricia at (561) 972-4943. Thank you!
 

Ways to Pray for Haiti

Quite a few people have contacted me this week saying, I just don't know how to pray for Haiti.  Here are some practical, guided expressions of prayer:

1.  Pray a written prayer.  Beliefnet.com offers an excellent Christian prayer here.  They also offer a Buddhist response.  Rose Marie Berger offers a beautiful Catholic prayer here.  A Jewish prayer can be found at Ha'aretz.com.

2.  Take a moment and sit in silent prayer, reflecting on your life, and sending your spiritual intention to Haiti.

3.  Write down the names of a missing people or organizations or countries doing relief work and place the slips of paper in a prayer bowl or a God Box. You can also write down your random thoughts, emotions, and desires as well. This allows you to process the emotion and release it to God in a healthy way.

4. Participate in a prayer service in your community. Gathering with other people is a valuable spiritual experience.  Many congregations and organizations will be offering collective, united prayer this weekend. Participate!

5.  Send your donations to Haiti as an offering of prayer to God.  It's all about the heart and intention of the giver.

Now is a time to share in our humanity the belief that out of tragedy, transformation can arise for those who remain. Gather your faith, your hope, your belief, however it is, and release it in healthy, spiritual ways.

The Haiti Relief Fund I Support

It's taken me four days to get my mind together to the point where I can blog about Haiti. I suppose the shock and disbelief had to wear off first.  Now I find myself crying involuntarily.  So great is our sorrow.

You see, I've been traveling to Haiti for 25 years.  In fact, three generations of my family have been going there over the past 55 years.  Haiti is part of my life, her people very much in my heart.

In recent years our work in Haiti has simply exploded.  We have churches with very large memberships in the capital and in Gonaïves.  We have partnered in education, leadership training, and feeding programs.

We have a community center and school in Gonaïves in the north.  We have partnered with Food for the Poor in building homes. A few years ago we helped get people out of the floods.  Last September I advocated for water and agricultural projects.

I know many people there, some who have died or are still missing. Pastor Sonny in Port-au-Prince lost his wife and three children. They were killed when their home collapsed. 

Our organization is collecting funds for our people on the ground. We are still determining when some of our people here will fly down.

This tragedy is not 'over there' for me. The pictures are familiar places--places that shaped my spirituality and philosophy of life.  Much of whom I've become is due to serving the poor there.  I am indebted to this nation in a way I could never repay.

If you'd like to donate to our Haiti Relief Fund--knowing that your dollars, pounds, and euros will be translated to help on the ground--you can do so here.

Feel free to email me with any personal questions or inquiries.