When I woke up yesterday morning, I pondered going to KOHLS to buy some socks. Every August, my wardrobe changes from shorts/t-shirts/white socks/tennis shoes to dress pants/dress shirts/dress shoes/dress socks/ties as well as shorts/t-shirts/white socks/tennis shoes. Since I wasn't exactly sure, I decided to count before I left- twenty pair of tan/brown/black socks in my cabinet to wear with dress pants and khakis. Which means I could go for a whole month of school without doing laundry in terms of faculty-required footwear. And a little mental math reminded me that I also possess twenty-nine dress shirts, eight pairs of khaki dress pants, and seven suits. For some reason, I didn't think I might need to go to the store to stock up on those items.
We are six days into the school year. One of the first things I establish during the introductory process is how blessed we are. I ask the students, especially the new ones to my classes, if they are rich or poor. Very few call themselves wealthy. I then show them a ten minute video of my niece, Meagan Hawley, and her work at the Namwianga Mission in Zambia taking care of orphaned and abandoned babies, many of whom are HIV+. After viewing, they have a much better understanding of their standing in the world. I try to get them to see that it is by no means to be sinful to be blessed- the blessings very clearly come from the Lord. (Going back to my clothes, I tell them I only buy on sale and that five of my seven suits were gifts!) But we talk about our responsibility as set out in the scriptures to be kind to those less fortunate which is a large percentage of the rest of the world. I remind them we often want more and more even though what we have is good and that we throw food away during our all you can eat lunchtime. Jesus told His apostles the poor would always be with us- no more accurate statement was ever uttered.
Last Thursday, I showed the video linked above. It's called Teenage Affluenza and before watching, I explain the term tongue in cheek, especially to our international students. I ask them who we are more like, Jennie or Annie. Please take a minute to watch and ask yourself the same question. Thanks for reading and you are only reading and I am only typing because we have Internet access....which kind of proves the point. And thank the Lord for what He has entrusted to us tonight in 2013.
Applicable quote of the day:
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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