The Holidays

Having worked in the social service field for a little while now I am always reminded of the pain and suffering that people are going through during this joyous time.  It's the Christmas season (even though it's technically over now...) and the start of a new year.  It's a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and get together with family members and friends that we haven't seen for a while.  However, not everyone has family and friends to greet and embrace, not everyone has a relationship with their families, and others yet have high conflict families that cause great pain and suffering throughout the holiday.  

I was reading in the paper this week about exchange students (particularly college students) that have nowhere to go during the Christmas season, their families are all oversees, their friends are busy with their families, their customs and traditions aren't even possible here for whatever reason.  However, that's not what the article was about...the article was about people (friends, professors, etc) taking these people and bringing them home to their families to enjoy the festivities with their families!  I thought this was pretty awesome for people to be doing.  While the exchange student may not be able to celebrate the holidays with their usual customs and traditions, they were all very grateful that they did not have to spend the holidays on their own.  To me, this reminds me that there are still gracious people left out there.  That joyous holidays don't have to be lonely for many people.  

So even though Christmas is done, and you already have New Years plans, if you know of someone who is going to be lonely during the remainder of the season, invite them to your house, celebrate with them, enjoy their company.  Too often we get stuck in our own lives to remember about those that are around us...especially during the holidays.  

Thank you to everyone that has made this a great year!  May God bless you in the year to come!

A New Year...A New Job...A New Life?

Well, well, well...there has been a lot going on!  So as of this week I will no longer be employed by Christian Horizons...I know...I've been here for roughly 3 1/2 years...quite some time...but it will no longer (come 2010) be my main source of employment.  It brings on many different emotions, to be honest.  I'm extremely excited that I'm continuing on with my life, and branching out into something that I am very passionate about, but also quite sad.  I've worked in 5 different homes within Christian Horizons, giving me quite a well rounded experience of what Christian Horizons has to offer, and I must admit I have throughly enjoyed my stay.  The most previous house that I am leaving (in Guelph) has by far had the best team/boss that I've had the pleasure of working with. It is very sad to be leaving this team because they have been amazing in this home, and I am astounded at the amount of talent that we have been able to acquire in this home.  Christian Horizons has been blessed by this team and I know that they will all go on to do amazing things with their lives, in or outside of Christian Horizons.

However, I have accepted a position of Program/Volunteer Manager at a grassroots organization named ROOF (Reaching Our Outdoor Friends).  There I will be helping manage a team of talented people (paid and unpaid) who are reaching out to homeless youth in Kitchener.  Not only does it give me great privilege to be offered the job it is where part of my passion is.  I say part because I have three main passions (in this order): Serving others, mediation, and youth.  I don't know incredible details yet of the staff/volunteers yet, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and putting my knowledge and skills to good use.  I am extremely thankful to my (now former) boss because I feel equipped and ready for this challenge.  It's always encouraging to know that people are there growing new leaders and developing their talents and gifts.  I can only hope that I do half as good of a job as he's done.

So what does this mean for my mediation business Absolution Mediation?  Nothing changes!  Things are still going ahead as planned, and I hope to start advertising soon.  I have some internships that I need to nail down  yet...three more courses...and BAMN!  Ready to role!  One of the things that I am going to be incorporating into my business is conflict/relationship coaching.  I'm very excited about this, and have been doing tons, and tons of reading about it.  The more I learn about mediation and coaching the more I've been realizing that I've been doing this my whole life!  Another exciting thing about my new position is the active role that I will be taking in coaching staff.  I'm very excited to be able to have this opportunity and extremely nervous as well.  Wish me luck!!