Kicking the Computer Habit

The Globe and Mail has a revealing article called 40, married, gaming addict. It's one thing to spend a day putzing around on the internet. Sure, it's a waste of time, but no more than taking a $20 bill to the casino to spend on nickel slots, or watching the entire Lord of the Ring series in one day. It's one day.

But for some, it's never just one day. We had one such man, Sonny, on our LifeChange recovery program a number of years ago. You wonder, "How bad can it really be?" And then you learn the truth. When an addict is playing on the computer, an entire day can pass without their knowledge. This means they can go night and day without eating, and, in the worst cases, even defecate in their seats.

How did we help Sonny? Well, it took time. A whole lot of time! First we limited his computer usage, and did not allow him to engage in the role playing games to which he was addicted. Sonny found a way around it and resorted to playing a little handheld game in his room. Of course, we confiscated it when we found it.

A year later, he was freed from his addiction, and set out to make a new life for himself. Today, he holds down a full time job and even saved up enough money to buy a house!

Our program is for "life-controlling problems" of all kinds. Sure, most of the men and women who join LifeChange are addicted to alcohol, or drugs, but we also get the occasional gamer, gambler, sex addict. We also work with mental illness including depression, schizophrenia, and bi-polar disorder. For those who don't have an addiction, we allow them to join the program at an accelerated pace, in order to relieve them of homelessness or joblessness.

If you know anyone who might need to spend three months to one year with us, please contact our Womens and Mens LifeChange Resident Managers, Rebecca, or Mike at 543-0011. They'd be happy to tour you and your friend or family member around, and settle them in to a brand new life.

Remembrance Day

Energize Me

Busy season begins for the office staff at Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission. Christmas plans and preparations are in full swing. Just yesterday at my home I received a Christmas mailing from the SPCA, and of course, we have also sent out a Christmas letter or two!

Christmas is a time of year when people love to give, and they give generously! Yesterday there was so much mail that the post office put it in a huge, Santa like sack for us! Our giving and prayer partners are our lifeblood, and we make every effort to remember that by our prayers, phone calls, and encouragement of our donors.

We had a meeting of the minds yesterday with the office staff. Let me introduce them:

Michelle - that's me. Executive Director and Founder. I'm the hub.

Joe - my right hand man. My assistant. He works on anything and everything, and runs the place in my absence. His latest project is a grant application for $225,000 to open a youth centre and inner city daycare. (More on this soon!)

Mel - 1/2 Human Resource Manager, 1/2 Murray's wife. HR looks different at a Mission. While of course she supervises the office staff and deals with benefits and payroll companies that go out of business, she is also a 1/4 time Chaplain to the staff. I liken her to Star Trek character, Deanna Troi, Ship's Counsellor.

Derrick & Trapper - Public Relations Team. Yes, Derrick is the PR man who brings his "therapy" dog with him to as many places as possible! Derrick lives in the Mission and his dog is a Mission dog. He loves to share Trapper, and also the love of God and what He has done in Derrick's life.

Carmen - Office Manager. Carmen is filling in this key role for Vicki, who is on maternity leave. Carmen's strength is dealing with donors, both on the phone and at the door. She's so good with people, and she and Derrick truly understand the concept of "donor ministry."

It is our pleasure and privilege to pray and encourage those that partner with us in this important inner city work. If you are one of those people, and you need anything at all, feel free to call any one of my office staff and we'll make sure to help you out.

We are a resource for those who need help, not just those on the streets, but families and individuals who are touched by addiction and mental illness in some way. Need advice? Call us. Need prayer or counsel? Call us. We have Chaplains and program staff who can pray for you or plug you into the right programs and services, or just be a listening ear.

And if you want to share your blessings this upcoming Christmas season, it is so simple to help the poor and needy. Go to our website and hit the DONATE NOW button.

Pray for Obama

At the Good News Chapel, Jack's Pastoral prayer each week includes the leaders of our nation, including local, provincial and our federal government. We also pray for other world leaders, including the president of the United States. While I try to keep out of politics, I have been intrigued to watch reactions of people, both to Bush's leadership and to the long long long election campaign.

Although the Canadian electoral system has brevity on it's side, I'm glad they're both over, so we can get back to the business of running North America! I'm glad for the US' sake that they have a half-black president. I believe that will go a long way to restoring the racial tension that still exists, although the civil war was so long ago. And I'm glad for individuals who made the commitment to vote, their very act keeping our system of democracy, and therefore, freedom, alive.

I don't much care who people vote for. You're going to vote for someone that speaks to your need. If you are pro-choice you may vote one way. If you're homosexual, you may vote to show your solidarity to a candidate who will attempt to push gay marriage through for you. If you adore peace at all costs, you'll vote for a pacifist, and so on. Who we vote for it going to reflect our personal priorities and values.

And that is the beauty of the system, isn't it? This brings me to my point. Why do we, as Christians, vote for men and women, then, when they do something we don't agree with, begin the bashing. Bush bashing has been a huge ugly mar on the Christian church of America. I'm disappointed and appalled that someone could spend more time complaining about their president than praying for them.

It's a charge to all of us voting Christians: stop complaining and start praying! God wants us to uphold our leaders in prayer, to support them at least in that. If you spend more time praying for your country and it's president, perhaps God will choose to bless America.

Sunday Morning at the Mens Home

When a scheduling error came to the forefront on Thursday, I offered to fill in for the Sunday shift at the Men's Home. I promise you, I didn't know I had in-laws coming at the time! A Sunday morning at the Men's Home is "easy."

7:45 Make coffee.

7:50 Look for the resident who is covering the two hours between 6 and 8. Find him downstairs, where you can't hear the doorbell, watching the news. "I'm not on. I don't know who is supposed to be on."

7:50 Bring food up from pantry to prepare for Good News Chapel potluck. We are expecting extra guests due to a baptism service, so I need to cook several different dishes, each to feed about 80 people.

7:55 Get food ready and in the oven. On the menu today: salad, mixed vegetables, sausages, and a roaster of "mystery" meat. =) That's assorted meats Len found in the freezer for me last night. You know, not enough to feed a crowd, so mix it together and see what comes out. Who knows, maybe a quiche!

8:00 Ring buzzer to wake resident men up.

8:10 Finish food preparation.

8:15 Hand out men's medication and vitamins. Issue a demerit to the resident who wasn't doing his chore when I arrived this morning.

8:16 Prank Mike's office. Oh wait, that comes later. =)

Later I'll be asking men to carry over all the food, slapping a sign on the door: "back in one hour" and enjoying the baptismal service at Good News. In the meantime, I'm just here, chillin' with the guys, tidying up the office, and keeping up my supervisory skills.

Drop by the church on the corner of Dewdney and Elphinstone at 11:00 today, and join staff and congregants as we celebrate several of our residents and others make the committment of baptism. (It's an act of obedience taken upon profession of our faith, to witness to the world our stand for Christ.)

Stay for the potluck afterwards! You can see if my quiche turned out.

Vision

Visions are born in the soul of a man or woman who is consumed with the tension between what is and what should be.

-Visioneering,
Andy Stanley

Business to Business Expo

Today you'll find Derrick and I at the Centre of the Arts Business Expo, put on by the Regina Chamber of Commerce, of which we are a member.

Charities conduct business every day. Although we predominantly consider ourselves a ministry, even referring to staff as missionaries, there is a strong business side to this inner city charity, which allows us to manage donor dollars wisely, and gives the board of directors a roadmap to knowing what important items ought to be in place, such as insurance and other risk factors. Staff who receive payroll deductions and a simple group benefit package also see the "business" side of the Mission.

We have workers who are passionate about meeting emergency needs working at the Soup KItchen and Emergency Shelters. We have workers passionate about changed lives and the human psyche working at the LifeChange Campus. We have workers who are passionate about our donors and partners who process the donations, keep in contact with them, pray for them, and greeting them on the phonea and at the door. And then there's Derrick and I, who are passionate about business and making contacts and networking in our city.

I hope you'll come by and meet us sometime between 1:00 and 5:00 today at the Conexus Arts Centre. You don't have to book ahead. Just show up and see what the businesses in our fair city are up to, meet new friends, and chat with some old ones, too. Don't forget to drop by our booth! You might even win a trip for two!!