I have TONS of stories to share about things that happen at work. I have a lot of stories written down in a little notebook, but I don't have that with me right now. I am still loving my job, although workplace drama has started! To put it VERY briefly, the person in charge is not doing a good job....at all. It has caused some serious issues and a lot of gossip and hard feelings amongst the staff. Luckily, as of right now, I haven't been directly affected by it all. I just have to listen to the ones who HAVE been complain. Hopefully things are being taken care of though! Regardless of all of that, I still love going to work every day to hang out with and love on the residents! We are supposed to be seeing some really positive changes happening in our memory care. I might even have my own desk pretty soon! ;-)
I had my first really hard time at work when one of the residents passed away. It was my friend David who was always the first to jump in and participate. He had a brain disease and when it hit him, it hit him fast and hard. He passed away on October 7th. He was my Aggie friend. :) He was a very respected and intelligent man and I miss him dearly. I knew that this was part of the job, but I wasn't prepared for David to be the first to go. You can read his obituary HERE. I thought it was neat to read about his life and his accomplishments. If you do some research online you'll also find a few books that he assisted with, one of which includes instructions on how to carve a turkey. :)
I have really grown to love each of the residents and I think and hope they have done the same with me. Although part of my job is to "take care" of them, they take care of me too. On Friday I left work early to go to the doctor for congestion/allergy stuff. I told one of the residents, Ginny, that I was leaving. She responded with a concerned "why?" I told her that I needed to go to the doctor so I could start feeling better. She started brushing my hair with her hand and said, "Now listen here little girl... you be SO careful!" :) Then today, we had a big Halloween luncheon with all of the residents. I got up and danced with Dorothy for a while and we had a good time! After she sat down she called over some of the staff and said, "That girl there is so good. She's my daughter." Haha!
I can't wait to get my notebook and share more stories! I'll share one more for now. Fran fell a few weeks back and hurt her hip/thigh. She has been in a wheelchair since then, but it is starting to heal and she has been able to use it more lately. Yesterday I needed her to walk with me a short distance. I held her hands to help her and said, "Fran, we can just take our time. We can go real slow." She quickly responded, "Well you're gonna have to! I'm an old woman!" :)
More to come!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
So Sorry
I'm sorry I haven't posted in over a month... things have been pretty crazy around here. It has been a real adjustment to get used to not having access to the internet practically ALL the time. I have tons of things to share, and I DO promise I will try my best to get to it soon. The wedding is in less than a month now, so there should be a lot of things worthy of posts coming up. :) Hang in there with me!
P.S. Matt is working on getting a blog started! I am so excited about it. He has really grown and matured since coming to Austin Grad and he has a lot of really neat thoughts to share so I know you will all greatly benefit from reading his blog. I'm excited about it. :)
P.S. Matt is working on getting a blog started! I am so excited about it. He has really grown and matured since coming to Austin Grad and he has a lot of really neat thoughts to share so I know you will all greatly benefit from reading his blog. I'm excited about it. :)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A Quick History Lesson
George Shaw, an Irish playwright, once said, “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” Perhaps this could be better stated, “We learn from history that we have learned nothing from history,” for I believe history does indeed have much to teach us. The real question is, “Have we been listening?”
As we look throughout the history of the church, there are countless lessons that have been taught, and I believe these are lessons from which we must learn today. Numerous times, the Christian movement became something it was never meant to be. In the year 313 in Rome, Emperor Constantine declared all of the Roman Empire as Christian. While this may have appeared to be a victory for the kingdom, the overall results were devastating as the church essentially became the government and began functioning as governments do. Money began making decisions, leading to lies and scandals. The church became a business, leading to competition. Around the mid-16th century, we also see King Henry in England separating the Church of England from Catholicism. What may have appeared to be a necessary split began with selfish intentions and caused so much turmoil between believers that is still very much present today, believers fighting believers. The church never recovered. Time after time, we hear of the church making the same mistake, attempting to become something it wasn’t meant to be. Time after time, this led to a change in the very nature of the church, a change in the nature of the kingdom on Earth.
In 2 Corinthians 5:16-19, we are told that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and that we too have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We have been given a great task to draw others into an intimate relationship with God and each other. In reality, as we read the Gospels, this was the ultimate goal of Jesus’ ministry, and it ought to be our goal as well, carrying the message of reconciliation to sinners. In the many times that the church became this national power placing itself in the spotlight, attempting to become more than simply “yeast in dough,” “sheep among wolves,” “wheat among weeds,” it seems that this ministry was lost, and the church subtly changed.
I am greatly troubled today as I look at the Christian movement in our own country. It has been said that America is a Christian nation. We also frequently hear that particular political beliefs are the Christian way; they are the way, the truth, and the life, at least more so than the other. Christianity has begun holding hands and forming relationships with particular movements, and Christians across the nation are focusing more on popular issues of the day and less on the mission that has been laid out before us, the ministry of reconciliation. Just as has happened numerous times in the past, it appears that the kingdom has subtly changed in nature.
You see, the kingdom of God is not an earthly nation with borders, political ideology and issues. We, as the new Israel, have no boundaries, and we are not meant to stand for just one side of society’s ideals. We live borderless, among our enemy. Our role is like that of paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines to infiltrate enemy positions, not the common foot soldier that storms the beaches. We live as a kingdom not of the world but one that opposes the world. If the only thing people can say about modern Christians is that they stand for family values and oppose certain issues, then we have failed in our mission. We live not to make the kingdom of God in our image, but realizing that we are made in his. While the idea of an earthly Christian nation may sound appealing now, let us not forget our history.
With this, we must ask ourselves: what choice are we going to make? Are we going to forget our purpose; are we going to lose focus on our mission and simply focus on a few one-sided issues of the day as has happened countless times before? It has been said, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Will we learn today?
-Matt
As we look throughout the history of the church, there are countless lessons that have been taught, and I believe these are lessons from which we must learn today. Numerous times, the Christian movement became something it was never meant to be. In the year 313 in Rome, Emperor Constantine declared all of the Roman Empire as Christian. While this may have appeared to be a victory for the kingdom, the overall results were devastating as the church essentially became the government and began functioning as governments do. Money began making decisions, leading to lies and scandals. The church became a business, leading to competition. Around the mid-16th century, we also see King Henry in England separating the Church of England from Catholicism. What may have appeared to be a necessary split began with selfish intentions and caused so much turmoil between believers that is still very much present today, believers fighting believers. The church never recovered. Time after time, we hear of the church making the same mistake, attempting to become something it wasn’t meant to be. Time after time, this led to a change in the very nature of the church, a change in the nature of the kingdom on Earth.
In 2 Corinthians 5:16-19, we are told that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and that we too have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We have been given a great task to draw others into an intimate relationship with God and each other. In reality, as we read the Gospels, this was the ultimate goal of Jesus’ ministry, and it ought to be our goal as well, carrying the message of reconciliation to sinners. In the many times that the church became this national power placing itself in the spotlight, attempting to become more than simply “yeast in dough,” “sheep among wolves,” “wheat among weeds,” it seems that this ministry was lost, and the church subtly changed.
I am greatly troubled today as I look at the Christian movement in our own country. It has been said that America is a Christian nation. We also frequently hear that particular political beliefs are the Christian way; they are the way, the truth, and the life, at least more so than the other. Christianity has begun holding hands and forming relationships with particular movements, and Christians across the nation are focusing more on popular issues of the day and less on the mission that has been laid out before us, the ministry of reconciliation. Just as has happened numerous times in the past, it appears that the kingdom has subtly changed in nature.
You see, the kingdom of God is not an earthly nation with borders, political ideology and issues. We, as the new Israel, have no boundaries, and we are not meant to stand for just one side of society’s ideals. We live borderless, among our enemy. Our role is like that of paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines to infiltrate enemy positions, not the common foot soldier that storms the beaches. We live as a kingdom not of the world but one that opposes the world. If the only thing people can say about modern Christians is that they stand for family values and oppose certain issues, then we have failed in our mission. We live not to make the kingdom of God in our image, but realizing that we are made in his. While the idea of an earthly Christian nation may sound appealing now, let us not forget our history.
With this, we must ask ourselves: what choice are we going to make? Are we going to forget our purpose; are we going to lose focus on our mission and simply focus on a few one-sided issues of the day as has happened countless times before? It has been said, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Will we learn today?
-Matt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)