What are YOU going to do?

Well, a lot has been going on since my last post of wrestling with poverty and justice. I'm still not sure I know what the answers are. I don't think I am really suppose to know :)... What I do know is that those that are stuck in the cycles of poverty are in just as need of love and mercy and grace as any other. Each of us is loved and each of us has been created for a purpose. I don't believe that we are here by accident. I truly believe that each of us has been created and that God has a plan for each of us. Now, whether we make the choice to go with the plan is another post.. But, the point is that in seeking that plan and knowing that we've been created for a purpose gives each of us worth and value.
This has become an issue of the heart for me. I'm not sure all the precipitating factors, but the fact is that I live in a very diverse community where there are neighbors who are part of the working poor and cannot buy their kids food, nor clean their school uniforms. I live in a community where young 14 and 15 girls are becoming moms and while they are trying to figure out how to grow up they are stuck in a position where they have to do it too fast and don't get basic knowledge in how to love themselves nor their baby. I'm living in a community where there is wealth and poverty. There are those and those who have little. The question becomes- not what is the church going to do about these things, but what am I going to do about it...
To make a LLOOONNNGGG story short, there came to my attention that 20-30 kids each day go to the neighborhood library to get food from the library because they don't get it at home. Now, 20-30 lunches are being delivered to the library by mostly neighbors and friends. The community's outpouring has brought me to tears, the library staff is overwhelmed (positively)and there are kids who are being told in a very practical way (and with notes) that they have not been forgotten.
There is a school that my kids do not attend in our neighborhood and its population is about 73% economically disadvantaged: 4 person family making $47K(reduced lunch)-$28K(free lunch). These kids have no advocate. They come to school hungry and dirty and not able to learn. These kids are struggling. They didn't ask to be born into the circumstances. Their parent(s) don't know any better and something needs to be done. There is a sizable population that needs desperate help with their reading and math skills in order to stay at grade level. They don't have the parents' support and to be honest parents don't know how to support their kids. SSSOOOO....
Whiz Kids is brought in and I'm running it. Whiz Kids is a tutoring program where a caring adult is paired with a student for a 1 hour tutoring session. The tutoring program is a reading and math curriculum that has been helping kids improve at least a half grade level. Studies suggest that kids that get their diploma and have a caring adult in their life and break the cycle of poverty. This program gives them a leg up on both fronts.
Whiz Kids is just the catalyst. We are planning on doing parent evenings and free dinners and uniform drives. We need these kids to know that God has not abandoned them nor are they forgotten. They are LOVED by the SAME GOD that created each star. And if God knows each star by name, if He knows how many grains of sand there are, God knows their name. That is love. That is the kind of love I want these kids and their parents to experience.
I don't have all the answers. I'm nothing special. I'm just one person who is looking around at the pain and suffering and lost of this world and wanting to love them into a relationship with the God who loves them more than anything else in all creation. Be it a lunch, a kind word, a tutoring program, a financial donation, sponsoring a child in Africa affected by Aids, or a dinner for a single mom- we each have the opportunity to tell someone they have not been forgotten.

Justice and the poor

okay, so the question of justice. Webster's defines it as " the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause." So what does that mean and what does it look like to me? I think that justice is more than just what we see in court and what we think we deserve or don't deserve when we've done wrong to others or they've done wrong to us.

When it comes to Christ and justice, I sense a deeper prying in my spirit and it's not always one that I am comfortable with. I do deeply believe that each of us have been created in the image of God. Why God has some of us here in the US living well and some on the streets barely making it- I don't know. At times I have to be reminded that this isn't the original plan for His creation. It was a perfect place and we messed it up. I'm processing what is social justice. Is it those who have being forced to give to those who dont? And even if they do, will it solve the problems that those in poverty or in socially unpopular positions are in? i think throwing money at these problems tends to perpetuate the problems.

I also tend to see that those in poverty need not just their physical needs met, but there are spiritual needs that need to be met as well. If we as Christians are not willing to step in and being a part of these peoples' lives, are we really helping them? Are we really being part of creating a more 'just' society or are we just throwing money at a problem and hope they find their way?

If justice is truly about leveling the playing field and giving others the same chances and opportunities... then we've got a huge responsibility. It's not just about changing the systems. That such a small portion of it. We need to get messy and help change people. We need to love and value them. We need to gain trust and we need to walk alongside and help people walk through the system that treats them like dirt and let's be honest- doesn't help them to get out of the system.

If justice is about giving all equitable opportunities- what is the cost to me and are they fair- both personally and in my political thoughts. Am I willing to make them?

I think we throw around the word justice way too often and we don't really think about the implications of it. I think we need to stop and think before we speak.
Justice is a powerful word and has powerful and deep ramifications. One must be fully aware of the full extent of its use before diving into the realm of 'social justice'....

Micah 6:8- Do justice and Love mercy and to walk humbly with my God. This verse is so challenging to me. For me, it's easy to do these things when it's not my neighborhood. It's easy to send money overseas and write letters, make smart purchases and try to help change systematically what is going on in places other than the US. But what about the injustices done down the street. Why is that a bit harder? Am I able to love mercy when it's me having to show mercy?

Just some thoughts... what do you think? Oh, here's a link to an interesting quick article I read. I like some portions of this magazine, but how we get to some the proposed solutions is where we differ.

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/24/why-are-people-poor/

What is Justice?

Well, I'm still on vacation and I don't want to just sit in front of the computer all morning rambling- I'll save that for when I get home. I have done a lot of reading and it's caused a variety of issues to start to stir. I will address the majority of them in the next few days, but there is one question that I've really been wrestling with- What is justice- both from a Christian and secular world view? I've been reading a lot of books lately dealing with a variety of 'social justice' issues and the way in which justice is thrown about and defined is so varied, that I wonder if I've forgotten what justice truly is or if it just being used in ways that justify or intensify points being made by the authors. Now, this is not to say that the issues and the passions and points these people are making are not valid. They are. Very much so. And there is part of me that thinks maybe I'm falling prey to semantics. However, as the CHURCH universal changes (and I'll address this once back in Cincinnati) if we younger ones want to be agents of change, we have to respect and engage those in the generation before and after us. Justice, as I'm seeing, has so many varied implications, that I think it critical to have a good working definition.
What do you think?

Ah, yeah... Sorry about that.

Well, here we are another month gone by and not a peep from the fearless leader of 5 (yes, I include my husband).

Since when did May get about as crazy as the 2 weeks before Christmas? Who said that could happen and that was a good idea. I really want things to slow down, not spend up! AAGGHH!!!

Well, May has been full of life changes for us (imagine that). Brian finally was able to celebrate his MBA completion with a good old fashion cook-out at the Kershner abode. It was really nice and it was so good to see and visit with people. Well, let me clarify. It was good to see B visit with people, I was doing what I normally do running around making sure my kiddos weren't about to parachute off the roof of the house.

May has also brought about lots of visitors. Some of our favorite people from Cleveland- the Anthony's- came for a weekend visit during Memorial Day weekend. And between the 8 kids, sleepless nights and yummy food, I think we had one of the best weekends I can remember in quite a while. It is amazing to have people in your life who feel like your favorite jeans. They are comfortable, loved, precious and perfect for you. That's how I feel about the Anthony's.

May also brought about one of the more stressful things we as parents go through- new teachers. Our kids are going to a Montessori public school and they change people every 3 years. This is a transition year for Hannah. The precious soul, Joanne, who has loved and nurtured her for 3 years is having to pass her on. I don't know how parents who go through this every year do it. Every 3 years is more than enough for me. The night before her last night of school, Hannah was in bed and just broke down and cried about not being in Mrs. Meyer's class anymore. She cried because her friends wouldn't be in her class anymore and she was in hysterics about not knowing if she would like her teacher and if she'd know anyone in her class. I was almost in tears with her.
We talked for a while and then we prayed together for peace and we prayed God would let just 1 friend to be in her class next year. She finally calmed down and fell asleep and then I was up. I couldn't sleep because I was so anxious (not to mention I still had to pack for vacation).
The next day, I stopped by the school to help with FIeld Day and to drop off gifts to the kids' teachers and ran into Hannah and she was so excited. She said that she had 1 friend in her class and it is a good friend (Thank God for answering the prayers of a child). Hannah's teacher caught me and told me that she really pushed for Hannah to have the teacher she is paired with b/c she felt that the teacher relates well with kids and would do a good job in helping to create an environment in which Hannah can be Hannah. It is hard to entrust our kids to others. I am thankful for teachers that my kids have had and I am grateful that even in my fear and uncertainty, God continues to give me peace that all is well.

Little Abigail

Happy Thursday!

Okay, so a few months ago, before Bri was finished with Grad school, the Knuevens asked us if we’d run the Pig Relay with them.  The Pig is a marathon here in Cincinnati and not knowing any better, we agreed.  Silly, silly us :)!  So, here’s what I’ve learned since February about running and training…..

1.  Training and running will exclusively nursing a 5 month old doesn’t work too well.  I know I was bit out of shape, but seriously?  I felt like I was 90!

 

2.  Training while you have 4 kids 7 and under and a hubby in Grad school is tough.  I don’t think I really started training for this until about 5 weeks ago.  Mental note- I need more than 5 weeks to train for a 6.5 mile leg of a marathon.  Especially since I’ve never run before

3.  I’m getting old.  My body is SO ridiculously tight battered when I wake up the morning after a longer run.  Really.  This is sad.  I want to be 18 again.

4.  I can do this.  I think.  There is a super hilly and somewhat steep road next to our street, Kipling, and my goal was to run it prior to the race and I did PLUS I ran to the park a bit further and then did the 1/2 mile loop there.  I was proud of myself and it was at that moment I decided I really could manage this.

5.  I ran 5 miles (which I know is a bit shy of the 6.4 miles I have to run) and didn’t die.  :)

All this to say, that I am really proud of myself for working hard and doing this.  I’m excited for Sunday and hopefully, I won’t make too big of a fool of myself :)!

Dinosaur Poop

So tonight, Zach had Cub Scouts and I was informed at like 3 that it was the annual cake auction and the baked good was to be in the theme of dinosaur stuff, so I did the best I could and Zach and I made dinosaur poop.  It was awfully hard…  We had to drive all the way to Dunkin’ Donuts and we had to buy chocolate munchkins and them dump them in a bowl with a sign that said Dinosaur Poop.  :)  The boys loved it.

E 's hospital visit

Oh, I did forget to mention the trip to Phoenix Brian and I took with Abigail. While we were there, E broke her clavical and had to go to the ER. That was one heck of an expensive sling.

Catching Up Edition No.1

Okay, so a month has gone by and I'm just getting ready to do the first installment of updating. It's late, so I'll get to it and add more this week.

Let's see... Oh yeah, BRIAN FINALLY IS FINISHED WITH SCHOOL !!!! Thank goodness. It has been a long 2 and a half years and words cannot express how nice it is to not have that stress in our lives. Now to pay off that student loan...

We have moved from one crazy to another with the upcoming Flying Pig Marathon. No, we're not insane enough to run the full one, but we did sign up to do the relay portion with some good friends of ours. So right now, finding time to train has been close to impossible. What were we thinking?!!! I'm running comfortably up to 4 miles, so I've got 2.5 to add on in the next two weeks. I'm hoping beyond hopes that God will bless me with the ability to finish this thing without 1)hurting myself 2)embarrassing myself.

Funny thing about the training (short version) I did get bit in the rear end by a dog. It hurt. I think I nursed the excuse my butt hurt for a bit longer than necessary, but hey, it's not everyday when you get bit on the rump by a big dog.

To add to the chaos, we are in the midst of redoing the first floor of the house. We figure we are outgrowing our home and we're hoping that we'll be able to upgrade a bit in the next few years, so we are doing some paint and minor repairs to upgrade the house so we can enjoy it a bit before we move. So, we painted the living room and what was the kid's play room. Right now all those toys are in the basement (along with all the stuff in the basement in general) and we're transitioning rooms. Being one that needs order in her life, this has been very hard on me and it is starting to wear on me a bit, but we're almost done. It'll be nice when it's finished.

The kids are great! Abigail is sitting up and crawling and starting to hold onto things and wanting to stand. She is the cutest little thing. Just thinking about her makes me smile. She is a very even tempered and smiley baby. Not much seems to bother her and I love being around her. She definitely tangibly reminds me that life is okay. Elizabeth is turning 3 tomorrow. I cannot believe it. She is HILARIOUS!!! Everyday there is something new. Today she was telling everyone that today is the last day that she will be 2. She loves music and is very excited about going to school with Zach and Hannah in the fall. Hannah is Hannah. She is so smart and is such a sprite. She loves gymnastics and even enjoys playing her violin. She has been enjoying school and is looking forward to being in the first grade next year. Zach is doing well. He's playing baseball and just became a Wolf cub with Cub Scouts.

It's getting super late so I'm going to post a few pics and call it a night, but I've got more to say and will do it later this week.

It's Coming!!!!

I've not forgotten you all! I've been busy being eaten by dogs, babies and life! Brian has 9 days left of grad school and I've got a whole lot to post! So, just relax and in a few days, there will be updates galore!