TOPS - S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Enough is enough!!!    I have declared war on my middle-age spread.

On September 2 I joined TOPS FL 0824 that meets in the chapel at New Tribes Mission Homes in Sanford with 21 members of various ages. It is a wonderful group with folks of kindred spirit in our weight loss journey and many involved in gospel missions.

The mission of the TOPS chapter is to help and support members’ efforts to lose weight and keep it off sensibly. The group encourages each other to follow sound nutrition and exercise plans to reach weigh goals set by their healthcare professionals. Various members of each TOPS chapter present the weekly program (materials available from national office).

  October 7 was my turn. A conversation with “Grandma Gracie” led to a program on S.M.A.R.T. goal setting. As follow-up to us each putting a target weight for Dec. 31 in a time capsule last week, I described the characteristics of      S.M.A.R.T. goals:  

Specific

Measurable

Attainable 

Realistic 

Timely

In working through a goal setting worksheet I had created, I invited TOPS members to identify obstacles and hindrances to meeting our time capsule goals and we discussed how to deal with each. I encouraged each person to list individuals/organizations/resources that can assist in achieving their goal and make a detailed plan of action.

My personal weight loss has been rather slow, but at least I’ve finally broke through a long plateau and it has dropped the last three weeks. With a clearly defined strategy and resources, God’s help, and fun friendly TOPS support…my eyes are on the goals of less weight, more energy and better health for God’s service.

H.E.A.R.T. Library Peeping Along

Several times in his powerful book, “The End of the Spear” Steve Saint mentions occasionally sharing their home and church in Ecuador with various critters…sometimes with quite a ruckus created.


Friday in the library at H.E.A.R.T. Institute there was no ruckus…only the steady serenading of peeps from approximately a dozen and half baby chicks and the scurrying of little feet while filing card catalog cards and typing bibliographic data into a template for more cards.


Several years ago I was asked to assist the H..E.A.R.T. (Hunger Education And Resources Training) Institute with library development. H.E.A.R.T. Institute is a simulated Third World village to train persons interested in serving as missionaries in Third World countries.


Phase 1 was weeding extremely overcrowded shelves. Many thanks to H.E.A.R.T. spring 2010 intern Morganne Betteridge for all her hard work and multiple hours spent on the weeding process and more.


Instructor’s approval for is still needed for only one course’s pulled potential discards. Then comes re-shelving what is deemed appropriate to keep, shuffling books for more even shelf distribution, then doing subject shelf labels for user friendliness.


Phase 2 begins next week when I get a list of instructor names and emails to request lists of recommended acquisitions. Then comes locating best purchase sources for instructor recommendations.


 Phase 3 starts when H.E.A.R.T. Director Phil Murphy to shares the H.E.A.R.T. Library Wish List with churches as a fund raiser.


I volunteer at H.E.A.R.T. approximately one Friday a month (my library system is closed Fridays). Thanks to Diane Beam who came with me yesterday to work on library tasks. I also plan to ask a fellow librarian to come help catalog books and brainstorm ways to fine tune the library development process. Yesterday I secured a H.E.A.R.T. student with library work experience to re-shelve books after student use.


Here Dr. Jim Kiess, former medical missionary to Belize and I choose a location for his personal reserve collection for the “Public Health” course and show that spot to student Elizabeth. Both Diane (a former LPN) and I are doing some research for online resources related to the big semester project for this course.

NAC 2010 - "Cote d'Ivoire & Storytelling" @ Kid's Place: AFRICAN ADVENTURE

    

The 2010 theme for Kid's Place June 28-30 at the North American Convention of the Church of God in Anderson, Indiana was "AFRICAN ADVENTURE." I was asked to write and lead the "Cote d'Ivoire and Storytelling" Learning Center.  I invited librarian Ruth Maxedon and her husband Lynn to join me in facilitating this portion of the 3-day adventure.

Cote d'Ivoire missionaries Sherman and Kay Critser tell about the Church of God ministry there, the country and schools, West Africa Bible Institute, CBH radio, and answer questions.

Andrew Lyon, with CBH: Christians Broadcasting Hope, shows picture of radio tower on church in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire. He tells about the French radio program and his trips there to train radio staff and soundproof the studio.

Lynn and Ruth Maxedon lead the song with actions “Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord” in English and French. The Maxedons describe their February 2010 Côte d'Ivoire trip to assist with soundproofing CBH radio studio and work on preparing books for the West Africa Bible Institute library.

 Ruth Maxedon shares It Takes a Village by Jane Cowan-Fletcher and My Baby by Jeanette Winter about making mud cloth. Ruth showed a sample of real mud cloth and several cloths she bought in Côte d'Ivoire.

I lead children in transition song “Beat the Drum,” (tune: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”) with homemade African drums or using our laps for drums.

Beat, beat, beat the drum, Rum, Pum, Pum, Pum, Pum.

Listen to the sounds it makes, Watch us have some fun.

Play, play, play the drum, Rum, Pum, Pum, Pum, Pum.

Hear it talk and tell a tale, Listen everyone.

(Travel the Globe, Multicultural Story Times, Desiree Webber ... [et al.] p. 111)

This small African drum was made from two plastic punch cups, taped bottom to bottom with duct tape; it can be covered with masking tape, color electrical tape, or 1" strips of woodgrain adhesive paper and decorated with electrical tape.

Children join in saying the name of the special tree, “Uwungelema” (oo-won-guh-LAY-muh) during the felt board story similar to the "Tortoise and the Hare."  (The Flannel Board Storytelling Book. Judy Sierra, p. 152-157 )

The book, Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier shows what a tremendous difference one goat can make in the life of a Ugandan family. Kid's Place outreach project from offerings this year went to buy goats in Uganda...and money was collected for 13 goats. PTL!

We have fun with a silly hippo rhyme and body percussion between stories. 

 A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus; (slap thighs)

Got on, got on, got on the city bus; (clap hands)

And all, and all, and all the people said… (brush hands past each other up and down)

You’re squishing us! (squish cheeks)

Special THANKS to my sister Pat Watts for making PowerPoints with music of French/English songs “Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord” and “Papa Abraham”. (Email me for these.) Thank you Larry Sellers for making French translation of “Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord” fit the melody and reflect Ivorian version. Thanks to South Meridian Church of God, Anderson for use of your plants and to Kid's Place workers for plant delivery.