Projects, Lots and Lots of Projects... in Day by Day

A busy week is before me. I have a meeting tomorrow with a financial advisor for the non-profit, so I’ll also be working on compiling all the needed information for him. He’ll look it over and decide if he wants to take us on.

The downside? As non-profits go, we’re still pretty much small peanuts, so there won’t be much money in it for him. On the upside, this particular accountant is active with non-profits and may take pity on us. We’re a bit over one year old, so it’s too early to tell if we will be successful or not.
Of course, that’s subjective. On paper, compared to other local non-profits, we are a drop in a very big bucket. However, when Laura came up to me last night to say that our help had “saved her life” and now she’s on stable ground and is so appreciative that we were there when she needed us, I think we’re a huge success.

I also find out tomorrow if we landed a $20K grant. If so, we’ll be able to reach out and help 25 young adults. If not, I’ll explore another grant.

Tuesday is dinner out with the kids for eldest son’s girlfriend’s birthday. We’ll be finalizing the plans for the Boston trip. So far, it’s two days in the Italian North End, two days in Rockport (our summer cottage was nearby, and Rockport was a part of my summer childhood experiences), a day in Salem, MA where the boys, when very small, disrupted a play on the witch trials when they got the giggles as one actress got the spells, dinner with my girlfriend from Junior High days, a visit to Concord and Lexington to explore the Minuteman history, a cousins dinner, a trip to my old hometown to spread my oldest brother’s ashes on the graves of my father and my youngest brother, and then back to Boston for a couple of days before flying out. We are finalizing car rentals and accommodations. I am SO looking forward to this trip! I plan on eating lobster every day, three times a day if I can manage it, but at least once a day, minimum.

Thursday is a non-profit meeting. On Friday I teach a class* on James, so I’ve been researching study guides, consulting notes I’ve jotted down through the years, reading different viewpoints, pointing out similarities between the Beatitudes and James’ instructions, etc. I’ve completed an overview and have Chapter One ready to go for Friday’s meeting and am working on Chapter Two today. I read that James gives 54 instructions in just 5 chapters, so I’m also creating a game to find them…but first I have to find the 54 examples, so that’s keeping me busy, too.

James is an interesting study about Christians who claim to be Christ-followers but then fail to act that way. Martin Luther (the Lutheran, not the civil rights leader) was not a fan of James, but I don’t agree with his view that it contradicts Paul’s teachings at all. I think the two complement each other, teaching the same message but to very different audiences. Paul was addressing a bunch who were hung up on legalism and showiness while James was speaking to a bunch who were just ignoring God’s words, yet both groups were claiming to be Christians. Paul taught that grace alone saved and James added to that, saying that what you did (works and behavior) reflected that salvation (and if it doesn’t, maybe you aren’t a Christian after all).

So we’ll be going introspective, finding the struggle within. I make it easy by not asking everyone to talk about what their roadblocks are (unless they share voluntarily as many do). I’m just putting it out there and asking them to mull over specific questions. I don’t need to know their answers, but each of us DO need to recognize where we are in our faith.

It looks as if I’ll have Wednesday free, so I guess that’s not so busy, but add in business paperwork and housework and it just seems as if my day is done before I know it.

I finally finished and submitted our passport applications, which should arrive in 8 weeks. It’s the first step in our trip for 2018! I’m also making good progress on the application for dual citizenship with Italy for myself and my youngest son. All I lack is my grandfather’s birth certificate, which a cousin is obtaining for me (he has to write to Italy for it), and then I can start the Apostile process. I also need to make an appointment with the Italian Consulate and that can take up to a year.

Politics are getting ugly. I am repulsed by those who want to do away with basic civil rights and wrap themselves in the flag as they call to destroy our democratic right to peaceful protest. This is all just a red herring to deflect our attention away from Trump’s commie ties, of course. Trump’s Twitter rants sound like a 10 year old, especially as he tries to beat up the Puerto Rican mayor. Grow up, Mr. President. Do your job and stop being a social media troll.

I am also unimpressed with Hugh Hefner’s death but was unimpressed with his life, so I guess nothing’s changed there. Some are saying he was a sexual liberator but I suggest that he kept women in subjection.

I’ll close here because I’m boring myself. I’m caught up to date and hope all who read are not snoring by now!