guitar lessons, justin beaver, and talks about tithing - just a typical week?

Been a little while since I last put up a post. We're really back and into the swing of things again since the wee break for Christmas. Yes, I did just say "wee." With being back, guitar lessons have picked up again. On Wednesday evening I give free guitar lessons at Woodvale to anyone who would like to come. I've been doing this since mid-October. I've had a few come and try it out but last just a few lessons. But I also have three syblings who've stuck it out the entire three months so far with me. They are 11, 9, and 8. The two oldest are girls and the youngest is a boy. And they're a whole lot of fun. Wednesday evenings have truly become one of the highlights of my week. We haven't progressed as far as I thought we might have in three months, but I've found that trying to teach guitar to young students is proving challenging for me and that's probably part of it.

Now, I mention my guitar students because tonight they had the chance to show off some of the chords and songs they've learned so far. We opened up the midweek service/Bible study/prayer space/whatever it happens to be depending on the Wednesday with two of the songs we have learned. The first, "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love," we performed for the same crowd about a month and a half ago. The second, "Amazing Grace" was a debut for the kids. They did a great job and I think they were quite excited when some of the congregation joined in and sang "Amazing Grace" as they strummed. It was a fun night and I'm quite proud of the trio.

On a different note, I'm still trying to decide what kind of compliment I was given yesterday by one of the eight years olds in the after schools at the 174 Trust. As I left to go on bus runs for the Disabilites Club, this boy came up to me, hugged me, and said "You're the best human being ever! Way better than Justin Beaver when he's singing songs!" Yes, you read that right. "Justin Beaver." Unless I'm still having trouble with the accent, I'm pretty sure that's what was said. Nonetheless, I think it was quite the compliment and it's fun to know that some of these kids do actually enjoy having me around.

As long as I'm skipping all over the place with this post, let's go back to last Wednesday, the 18th. At our midweek Bible study we began discussing stewardship. Oh, the church's dreaded S-word. Even worse, we got into the almost forbidden T-word. We talked about tithing! Now, as I say this, I will say that I am not generous by the standards I am about to lay out. Additionally, lots of people don't necessarily believe tithing to be a spiritual practice. But we started to talk about what it means to be generous. And in light of tithing, which we were also talking about, I made the comment that tithing is not being generous. If we believe tithing to be a spiritual practice, then giving ten percent is not being generous. On top of that, if we do tithe, then living within our means (which we were also discussing) takes on a different form, because if we put this spiritual practice of tithing first, then our means is smaller than our paycheck. Just a little thought to wrestle with. I certainly am. And on top of that, what money that we give can be considered as part of our tithe? I would argue that a tithe doesn't just have to go to our church.

Blessings and peace from Belfast and as one of my first bosses wisely said (and says), be good to each other!

a year of service for a lifetime of therapy

When we were at YAV orientation almost five months ago now, I heard a YAV alum say that instead of "a year of service for a lifetime of change" the YAV slogan should be "a year of service for a lifetime of therapy." I laughed. I knew we'd be up against some tough stuff at times and I knew we'd each come home from our respective placements with a different view on things. Now, however, I'm beginning to understand what that YAV alum meant.

A week ago Kendra and I were in Dublin for New Year's. It was a great trip, for the most part. We spent a couple of days before New Year's seeing the different museums and galleries and taking in the sites. On our last day, as we ate a small lunch at a coffee shop, I saw a young man take a seat outside on the sidewalk in his sleeping bag. I thought about taking him a cup of coffee or something but then didn't even acknowledge him when we left. My lack of action stuck with me. As a result, I wrote the following in my journal on the train back to Belfast that same afternoon.

Jan 1. I didn't get it until today. "A year of service for a lifetime of therapy." There's something about doing a YAV year. Something about selling or giving away a lot of your things in order to move and serve where God has called you. There's something about making God's work the center of your being. And that something messes with you. As we ate lunch today at Insomnia Coffee in Dublin I watched a guy take a seat outside in his sleeping bag. As we left and passed him, I think he was crying. I noticed him when we were in the coffee shop and had time to think of doing something for him. Then, I did nothing. Kendra asked me if we should go back but still, I did nothing. I saw him one last time a half hour later as I looked back on our way down Grafton St and I did nothing. I don't care now if he sleeps somewhere warm at night or not. I actually hope he does. I hope he has means of getting by other then begging. And even if he does, even if he's trying to scam people, I should have helped. Because we don't live in a world that was created with the idea in mind that someone sitting on the corner crying should be passed by again and again. And we need to change the perception that we do. If I'm for that crying man then I am not of this world's perception about him. Yet, today I was. And now it's eating at me. I might not solve anything but Christ only instructed me to help - to feed, to clothe, to visit. I could've done all of those today. Instead, I'm on a train back to Belfast. (concludes journal entry)

It's easy to beat ourselves up. We forgot that we were created by a forgiving God. But we can't take forgiveness for granted. We're created for more than making redeemable mistakes. And we do not live in a world where it's okay for someone to be begging on the street for any reason. We have to fix that. People shouldn't be homeless and begging and people shouldn't have to pretend they're homeless and begging. People definitely shouldn't defend not helping with the thought that they were going to be scammed. Scammed or not, we're called to help. And if someone feels that they have to scam to get by, then the Church and its people still have work to do with that person. But that work won't start if we don't stop to help in some way.

So there's a quick post just on how this year has started to shape how I'm seeing the world. The other thought that goes along with this is that the episode made me think more deeply about the idea of a YAV year. A lot of people had said that it's great we're "giving up a year" or "putting our lives on hold for a year" but I've begun to realize we aren't doing either of those. We're living for God this year more than we have before and I think it's safe to argue that doing so does not put life on hold. One might say we're truly living for the first time. And we aren't giving up anything because we're in the right place for 2012 trying (and often failing) to do what we're capable of doing for the Kingdom. Because of that, it's going to be a great year! Happy 2012!