A Fellow Traveller

The workshop was great. There were lots of new ideas, some old ideas but all were presented in a fresh, active learning way. It was for teachers but was not about the curriculum. Instead, the 2 day workshop focused on the behaviour mangement of students. And it wasn't about changing the kids but about changing how I present and teach things. A simple comment, made as an aside, has stayed with me. The presenter said we would actually practice doing things the wrong way first. She said we will inevitably fall back into the old habits, no matter how good our intentions. The secret for change is learning to recognize what has happened in the moment, and then to step into a rehearsed recovery pattern. By doing the wrong first, and then practicing how to replace it with a better way, I can begin to feel the new way. It will take time before it becomes a habit....and repeated "recovering" attempts, but I shouldn't give up. How many times do I fail to incorporate new lear...

A road trip along the Georgian Bay is a great way to vacation. The northern vegetation combined with an expanse of water is refreshing . We only had a weekend but we explored and discovered some abandoned sites along the way. In Nobel we found remnants of a wind tunnel used to test the Avroll Airplane engine. On Parry Island we found the Harbour where ammunition was stored and later burned. What made the remnants of concrete interesting were the stories from the past. Tom had done his research and bit by bit painted a picture of what had been. You could only look at the remains and infer from their placement where the buildings might have been. In some cases, all that was left was flush with the ground. The footprint left was quite small. Time and progress is gradually wiping it all away. Sometimes it was only part of a concrete floor or wall that could be found. But I found it interesting. The fun was in looking, taking pictures and realizing that a whole bunch of 'history' w...

Walking today in the rain, I realized that if it had been pouring when I started walking, I would have grabbed an umbrella as protection. I would have hesitated to step out into a pouring downpour without protection. At the very least I would have prepared myself for the onslaught. It started as a light mist, gradually increasing in intensity to a heavy mist, and then finally to a light rain. I savoured the raindrops on my face at first, and noticed the tickle of rain on my neck. It took a long time, but eventually I found myself wet all over. I didn't try to escape, but instead soaked up the experience. I found myself embracing the moisture running down my face, trickling down my neck. This was healing rain. I wanted more. God gives me just enough of himself to be healing; too much and I would run and hide. He gives enough to quench my thirst.......enough to saturate my heart....... as I continue searching for more. Here are the lyrics to Michael W. Smith's song Heali...

A quilt is a collection of many bits and pieces, often scrapes and leftovers, pieced together to create beauty in an arrangement of design and pattern. Our friendship is also a collection of bits and pieces, often time and stories, linked together by the Creator who oversees the finished product. Only he knows how bits of my story and bits of your story will merge and influence each of our final quilts of beauty. We can appreciate his creative process as we view glimpses of beauty in the other's quilt, trusting God for what we cannot yet see in ourselves. I know in my head that true beauty is developed through interactions with others. I often lose sight of this when life gets busy and I resent interruptions. Two things I know to be true: "People are always more important than things." " The important things are not always the urgent and the urgent things are not always important." How do I find balance and yet stay focused on what needs to be accomplished? Ma...