Tea and Sweatpants...

If you know any child (especially a girl) between the ages of 6 and15, then you know exactly what I'm referring to! This post is not exactly about that (whew) but about musicals in general. I think all of us have at least one musical that we absolutely love and would watch again on any given rainy day. Nick's I believe is Newzies, mine is White Christmas, a childhood favorite was The King and I, all of you have one! I think many of us would love to live in that particular musical. I think we have all wondered what it would be like if with every prime moment there was a prime song and dance to accompany those moments. I realized today that that is the wonderful world two of my YMCA kids live in. In class, at the store, etc. it would be rude for them to sing and dance. But at the YMCA, within reason, I have no problem with it. So, most mornings are musical mornings. At any random moment these boys could burst out with singing or dancing or both. Sometimes they even back eachother up on it! I love it. At first it was a bit annoying but then today I sat back and realized the joy it brought them. So I've concluded that musicals, intentional or not, are one of the many child-like behaviors that we "grow out of" somewhere in our teen years. How sad... I hope that if you read this and the child in you is somehow rekindled that you would find the perfect moment to transform into a musical moment.

It's the title of an old school worship song, most of you know the entire thing by heart and many of you worship leading folks could play it by heart. I was laughing and worshiping to this song in church today. Laughing because today I realized that the chorus "you're all I want, you're all I've ever needed..." sounds much like the intro to a 70's sitcom. Intently worshiping because this song has meant so much to me through the years. I "happen" to only hear it when I really need it. It's God's gentile way of whispering to me that He knows and understands my heart's desire and that He will take care of it as long as I remain focused on primarily HIM! So yes, today I needed to hear that once again. I have been praying for a long time for one very specific thing and lately I've been getting discouraged. I believe that God wants to bless me with this but I don't understand why it's taking so long. But today I am reminded, though the sitcom chorus, that God is truly all I ever wanted and needed.

I had an experience this week that was truly God inspired. First of all I have to say that this week in itself was a huge blessing. I had a town-hall meeting on Monday, Kenosis on Tuesday, a rain garden meeting and D'CAF on Wednesday, training for work on Thursday, Night Strike on Friday, and visiting with long time friends and family on Saturday. So, yes it was busy but I really thrive on exciting weeks like this one.

Monday I had only 3 sweet kindergartners in the afternoon and we had the most wonderful musical parade around the room. I couldn't help but watch and thank the Lord for the innocence of little girls. They just seemed so precious in that moment.

I later went to a meeting about the long time problem of prostitution on 82nd st. I learned that in Portland there are close to zero social services for women who wish to get out of prostitution. These men and women who have been victimized by life through pimps, mothers, molesting relatives, abuse, and insecurities have no way out. My heart broke as I heard many beg for the officers to "clean up the streets" and few ask, "how can we get social services for these humans being treated as objects?"

After the meeting and feeling so heavy hearted about it I walked back to the car and loe and behold was verbally treated as a prostitute for walking to the car alone. I had three men slow down and continually say degrading and embarrassing things to me out their car window.

On Friday, when speaking with a friend about homelessness, I learned that nearly 65% of the 150 beds available for the 3,000 homeless are for men only. Leaving nearly nothing for women on the streets.

It was the journey of this entire day/week that God used to open my eyes. The journey of many of the prostitutes began like the little Kindergarten girls I was watching earlier. The way I felt on the side of the road, wishing my husband was with me, is only a small glimpse of how these women feel daily. I have seen the effects of prostitution on children because I had kids whose mothers were prostitutes in Kansas City. Knowing about the limited amount of beds available for women is another cause of prostitution in Portland. All I know is that our society continues to feed this filth and the victimization of women and I am praying for God to reveal to me what to do with this information.

Sorry this was such a long blog...thanks for reading!
God bless you!
Men, keep loving your wives, mothers, and sisters like they deserve (most of you I know do this already--especially my hubby!)
Women, keep covered and don't allow the filth in this society to dictate your life, self-esteem, and body (I think we all struggle with this on some level).

9 year old Victor (singing): "I got the blues, oh baby I got the blues..."
singing stops and a look comes over him "do you know what kind of music that is?"
Me: "I have a good guess"
Him: "It's called gossip music"
Me: "hmm... did you mean gospel music?"
Him: "Oh yeah..."
back to singing "I got the blues oh yeah baby I got the blues..."
Me in my head: "I'm pretty sure that's blues"

We have a little mouse taunting me at our home. I hate mice! I am that old hag in cartoons that stands on chairs screaming and swatting with a broom. For a while I was the only who had seen the little bugger. In the last week Celina and Nick have witnessed it as well. It is to the point that early in the morning when I am getting ready for work I am prepared to leap onto a chair at any moment just in case we get a little visit. Well, it is late and we just got home from Night Strike and here is how it happened....

Celina went to get in the shower and Nick just got up to turn the sprinkler on, just when the door opened I saw Mousie bound across the living room from curtain to couch. I screamed "it's in the house!" Nick, in sheer panic by my yelling, just about closed me in the house to protect himself (I'm sure he didn't mean to). I got out the door and Nick was trying to figure out what exactly was in the house, so I told him. We bravely went back in and put Chance in our bedroom and tried to scope Mousie out. Nick found him under the curtain so I had to stand on the couch and shake the curtain so he could direct the scurrying toward the door. well, it worked and I was yelling obvious things in a panic like; "there he is" "push him out" "hurry hurry hurry" "ahhhhhh!" Mousie only made it half way and found a secure spot behind the bookshelf, a foot from the door, so I began chucking shoes toward the one side to scare him out...that didn't work. We moved a chair near there and got a second broom, I stood on the chair and banged the bookshelf with all my might to get it to scurry out the other side....It Worked!! Mousie made it out the door and we are off to get a dozen traps tomorrow so hopefully he doesn't come back (for his own sake). Celina missed the entire thing...lucky girl!

...so you can tell the police you were drunk." This is what I learned from a kid in my program after he made it to me from a fight. It was a mostly good first week, actually it was really easy. I really love just getting to spend time with children without testing pressure. It's extremely less challenging but extremely more fun. I get to play soccer, paint, read, and chat with children and get paid for it. I'm really enjoying it! King is a school much like New Chelsea (my school in KC) so it's exactly what I prayed for. I have been able to watch relief come across parent's faces when I explain my background and what brought me to this point. My two biggest challenges are a second grader and a third grader, both of which love to fight and disobey! They are what what will fuel my passion this year. I am praying that God will redeem the program that exists currently, that He will rule that room where we spend hours on social skills, and that His love and mission would be lived out in my life and spill into the lives of these children.