Spontanious Saturday

It's been a while since I've had a lot of routine. You know I missed it for a long time. These days my weeks are pretty full and only getting fuller. Saturday is one of those days that has had a section fill up lately. Our church has recently begun a morning program for kids in the area that includes cartoons and games.

!!Saturday Morning Cartoons!!

Today I was all set up and ready for everyone to show up. As often happens with new programs we've had up and down numbers to start. This week was a down. We had one of our regular families come in but they didn't come until late. While I was waiting spontaneity struck!!

Spontaneity has a certain genius about it. 11 times out of 10 it is enjoyable but you know you've struck gold when it is an activity worth repeating. Today was one of those days. A day that will be mimicked in the future.

So it is 9:45 and myself and a coworker from Germany named Salome are chatting and we come to the false realization that none of the children will be coming this morning. We decide to wait until 10:00 before commencing any tear down and as we are chatting the topic turns to our plans for the day.

Salome came to our Church as a volunteer from a German missions agency called Liebenzell. Since she's come she helped us host a YWAM team from Australia, she has helped with all our programs like Woman's Art Drop In, both Bible studies in the week, Sunday Service, Wednesday Community Dinner and Youth on Fridays. She is fluent in English but still learning more and more. Everyone in the church has appreciated having her around.

Somehow between our two working minds we decided to call some of the Youth up and see who was interested in going out for a day on the town. So I waited till around 10 and did just that. As one might guess many of the Youth were busy, but, a few were interested. A few minutes after I made the call a family showed up to the church and we had a good time watctching part of Shrek and playing blindfolded hide and go seek in a section of our Church.

12:30 rolled around and we had a plan. Two students decided they would like to come and once they arrived we went to the Subway, grabbed ourselves a daypass (unlimited travel for us all!) and were off to Little Italy.

South down Dufferin then East on College we cut our way through the city in hopes of finding Gelato, or something like that. The real plan was to find a good Italien restaurant where we would dine on our next adventure because by this time we'd already established that this was to be a recurring event.

If I was given the chance to do it again we would definately have got out and walked through Little Italy. Hindsight is 20/20 and this day worked out none the less. Things as they were we only saw the side of College our window was facing so some locals suggested we go the the "Diplimatico" or the "Dip". I'll tell you about that next month.

After Little Italy it wasn't long to get to Augusta where we got out and cut through Kensington Market for our lunches. This "cut" was interrupted by a lengthy stop at the Blue Banana (a very large and awesome import store) and a brief stop at a Candy Store. At the Banana we were all eyes but no buys, but it was our discoveries there that prompted an efficient trip to the Candy Store. There between us all some Fudge, a lolly pop and a bag of Jelly Bellies was purchased.

After finally getting out of Kensington Market (an unplanned stop that ate our clock- but was awesome none the less) we quickly proceeded to the Ding Dong Pasteries the Chinese bakery I currently favour in TO. Between the 4 of us we paid $5.2o and had a feasts worth of goodies as the team soon found out.

From Ding Dong we headed back to College and ventured across town to Allen Gardens for a picnic. Given the rain that day many people questioned by idea of a picnic but Allen Gardens is probably the most charming place for a picninc in the whole city on a rainy day. We had our picnic in Texas with the Cacti. That is we ate inside the Greenhouse (I hope that is allowed) in the Cactus section. It was a marvelous time. We tried some new goodies from the Bakery that I hadn't yet tried. My favourite being the coconut puff thing that one of my students picked out.

After this we walked for a while and ended up at the Eaton Center where we got some bubble tea and ate our fudge at a McDonalds overlooking Queen Street. It was pretty cool and we still were late coming home. After such a long day I was pretty tired on the ride home. We almost missed Lansdowne Station (our home station).

All in all it was an epic day and I hope to soon be venturing again for more Sponanious Saturdays.

Guidance

Beep, beep, beep...

Morning already!? When on Earth did I finally fall asleep last night?

Eyes burning I look through a fog at the same pattern I fell asleep staring at last night, the night before and before that. This morning, as most others, I wasn't so gentle to my alarm clock. So begins a day as most others. Fading into each other rarely with enough excitement to remember any.

Where are my crocs? I know I wore them in here last night.

Now sitting up in bed with my bed sweat back exposed to the rigid chill of leaving the blankets. I catch a glimpse of my crocs, which are important to me for the same reasons one's house slippers are important to them, and kick yesterday's pants into projectile motion. As my pants hit the floor I hear a discomforting thud.

It sure is a good thing I've got a tough cell phone. Why am I so ignorant in the morning?

I slip my recently exposed crocs on and stand up. My left hand instinctively catches my blanket before it hits the floor and whips it back onto the bed. I know my odds of finding my bed ready and made that night are slim.

Gosh I'm hungry. Some extra fruit with breakfast would be nice.

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So began my day, much the same as any other, ready to blend one to another and be forgotten.
Now the significance of this day has yet to be determined. New ideas were hatched, and old ones reinforced, but, how far that carries, this Author has not the foresight to tell.
The first significant events of the day were simple enough. The alarm was set extremely early in relation to most days and I was to meet a my Pastor and a friend across town.

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Ding, dang, dong, the subway is constantly chiming. Chimes for the doors to open and chimes for the doors to close. I was quite dozy on the subway considering how easily I'd gotten up and through my routine.

Man I better pull out my book and read so I don't fall asleep. There has got to be a seat somewhere.

Standing at the subway's door I had realized I was in the way. Glancing around I noticed what looked to be the last seat in the car just on the other side of the girl reading beside me. Truthfully I noticed the girl more than the seat and shuffled to it. She had splendid complexion and the shape of her face was attractive despite not getting a square look at it. What I'd have done for a hint at what she was reading or a glimpse of her smile. I started reading and heard the loudspeaker announce "The next stop is St. George, St. George Station."

Man she'll get off here. Why don't I ever have the guts to say anything?

She got off and the ride lingered on in disappointment. I wished I were a more "manly" man.

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I got out of the subway and followed signs to the southbound 505 streetcar. This could have been an exhilarating search but, I often find myself trying to find my way to some random location in unknown territory. Both my Mom and Dad are great for direction and I'd seen a map so I had no worries about where I was going. I knew what I was doing.
The real exhilaration started when I left the streetcar. Last night brought had brought the first real snowfall of the year and this was the first I'd got to walk in it. That and being in a mostly new place made it seem like Winter Wonderland.
I crossed over the Don Valley and I could see the Parkway. Along the sides of the valley the trees were freshly frosted and glowing in early morning's blue light. Up ahead was a top of the line car dealership with cars on display in the third, fourth and fifth floor windows. Normally this rash of materialism would have irked me, but, the white surroundings blended with the showrooms well making the Beamer - or whatever car it was - on the fifth floor especially appealing. It was about here that I realized just how beautiful my surroundings were and I my brain clicked informing me that it was the Don River flowing below.

Hey I raised money to protect this river in the fall... It's looking well enough.

I'm sure there are better times for the untrained eye to judge the condition of a river than just after the first snowfall in the semi lighting of an early morning. Whatever the case I enjoyed the walk.
I was meeting a friend and we were to be picked up by my Pastor to head off to Hamilton. There we'd be facilitating a program teaching kids some ways to successfully deal with their anger. We stopped for coffee and hot chocolate and the ride was very quiet.
In Hamilton we had some breakfast before the program started. Pastor Joe said something significant that I agreed with, but, that it was good to hear from someone else, especially my authority figure. Basically he mused that if God wants to speak to us he'll get his words in. How difficult could it be for the creator of the Universe to get his message across? He also referred to Micah 5:8 whcih has some basic procedure in the absence of guidance from God; do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

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Soon the program had started and I found myself, it being my first day, wishing none but the best for all the lads. Each somehow reminded me of myself at their age and I longed to be the voice to them I almost never had.

Jordan don't quit now man, if you do you'll quit all your life- Drake seems calm enough I wonder what he's here for? - Tyler sit down man...

The day seemed like a success. I was able to talk with a boy named Randall and we related pretty well. It was so easy to be relevant with these boys they were just like I was... or am. I found it ironic that the principal had apparently told one of the boys we were there to help them transition into being men.
The drive home was interesting as Joe and I talked about expanding the program from Hamilton to Toronto. We got back around four and I soon found myself reading the back half of Treasure Island. I finished it about Eight having taken a break for supper at some point.

I'll just have cereal and berries, it's about all I've got and cereal is cheap enough right now.

I then spent some time on the computer getting some chords for some new songs and learning a little about the common chord scales. I soon came back to my room, played guitar for a bit and decided to read some more. This is where the inspiration came from that might make today extraordinary. I decided to read a short story called "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway. It's a narrative of a would be Author about his death and he says this:

He had destroyed his talent by not using it, by betrayals of himself and what he believed in, by drinking so much that he blunted the end of his perceptions, by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride and by prejudice, by hook and by crook... What was his talent anyway? It was a talent all right but instead of using it he traded on it. It was never what he had done but what he could do. And he had chosen to make his living with something else other than a pen and pencil.
Ernest Hemingway - The Snows of Kilimanjaro - pg 60 "Hemingway: The Short Stories"

I'm the one wasting talent! I need to write stuff down! I need to try and get published. I need to stop being the guy that can do and become the guy that has done and is doing!

For a brief moment everything made sense to me.

I'm going to University to study literature so my own can improve. Maybe I'll also be a teacher or something fantastic like that, but, I cannot waste more time. I have talents I need to develop and use.

Guidance doesn't often come much clearer than this. Go use your talents, do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. Some of you would cross that last one off but I challenge you to try it. Whatever happens this is my path, where it takes me I know not for this author lacks the foresight to tell.