Posts (page 2)

The hard work, the anticipation and the preparation all led to that climatic moment when I received a call from my friend Marina saying, "Sharline hurry back. We have two people." "Two people?" I almost screamed with joy. I put up that last flyer on an apartment building and met a young lady moving in. She was curious about what I was putting up. I told her briefly what was happening in the community and invited her and her friends to the lunch. I made a three point turn in the road and sped off, even though the library is five minutes from my house.

The day had started off with sleet and snow so I prayed. I was a little worried about the turn out. I did my hair in a hurry and rushed to the library. The set up seemed to fly by. My sister and I rushed to Stop & Shop to get the drinks, then to Not Your Average Joe's to pick up the food and then to the library to unload the car.

I had rushed home to change when I got the call that we had two people. I welcomed the guests and directed them to the buffet style lunch. The music in the background was soft piano because the voices that I wanted eminent were of people getting to know each other. Below is a picture of me giving a presentation detailing our mission, our goal and vision for our community. Actual slide show coming soon....

 Me having fun and just hanging around!

And here are a few more pictures from the event.

Thank you Efrance, Samone and Marina. I could never have done it without you.

Elizabeth, you continue to be my inspiration.  I love you to pieces...

ONE GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY NEIGHBORS WHO CAME OUT TO DO THE "GET TO KNOW YOU DANCE". I AM FALLING IN LOVE WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND I KNOW WE ARE OFF TO A GREAT START. THANK YOU TO: THE UPPER CRUST, NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE'S, MAIN STREET PIZZA & STOP & SHOP. WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL.  

I hate being sick especially because it has kept me away from my neighbors and doing much to win this competition. Yes! Even though am going after what I want, which is a community, this is still a competition. As I lay in bed and wait for my daughter to bring me a glass of passion fruit juice, It is deja vu. Growing up in Uganda, getting malaria was inevitable. The fever,the chills, the hallucinations, It is all happening again. But only this time, I am in my bed in Watertown, Massachusetts battling the flu. I refuse to go to the  doctor because all I'll get are antibiotics and I am against them. I believe that if we take them all the time, our bodies will get used to them and when we really need them, they won't work. So poor thing, she is stuck at home during her vacation week, with a sick mother who is beaten pretty hard by the flu but refuses to go down without a fight.

I am so overwhelmed by the love and support from my neighbors and area restaurants. When I spoke to Main Street Pizza awhile back regarding Hey Neighbor! Let's build a community luncheon, Arthur smiled and said, "You didn't have to tell me all that. How many pizzas do you need?" When my daughter and I walked into The Upper Crust, Ryan smiled and asked us if he could help. Well, I began to tell him why we were there. He almost cut me off by saying, "Please sit. What pizza would you like to try. We tried our favourite pepperoni and he pulled out and sheet of paper and asked, "When is your event and how many pizzas would you like? "Walking into Not Your Average Joe's was a risk. I wasn't sure they'd say yes but Rich heard what we had to say about our community, told us to wait for a few minutes while he spoke to Alison the manager. He emerged from the back office a few minutes later with pad and paper ready to take or requests. "Since there are a few people doing pizza, what do you think about sandwich platters, salad,...." He lost me at the platters. Sujay at Stop and Shop was ready to put those drinks in the fridge on short notice. Wow! I thought I'd jot this down because I'd forgotten to mention how so overwhelmed I am. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

My phone rang at precisely 8:00 pm. I know this because I was waiting by the phone. I could hear her voice but she couldn't hear mine. Comcast, you owe me big time. Just kidding!!! I got a call from Lifetime telling me that Libby Gill was trying to get in touch with me. They gave me her number and I called her right back. "Hi Sharline!" was the cheerful voice on the other end. Right from the start, she had a way of making me feel at ease. It was so easy talking to her. I had written down everything I wanted to ask but quickly forgot that list as she began to commend me for what I am doing. We had an instant kinship that I cannot explain. She shared from the purity of her heart. From each word flowed wisdom that stemmed from personal experience. That just goes to support the saying: a man with an argument is no match for a man with an experience. I am still in awe.

She advised me to get a community website with on-line tools and ideas to teach others how to build a community. She encouraged me to start small and keep building and to never give up. She said that there will be people who will not be on board and I should learn to let them go. I have been struggling with this. I couldn't figure out why the same people who say they miss how things were are reluctant to get to know their neighbors. She mentioned that in her community they have a block party and I am planning one in the summer. There was so much more but I wouldn't do it justice if I tried to put it down on paper. The most important thing is taking what she has given me and using it to  achieve my goals in the Clean Start Challenge.

I thanked her for taking the time to coach me through this part of the journey of my life. She was so gracious, so real and just an amazing woman. To learn more about Libby Gill, please go to her website http://www.libbygill.com/.

Only God can orchestrate the appointments in our lives that change us for the better. Yesterday, I leapt with joy when one of my neighbors called me to apologize that she can't make it to the community lunch we are having on Saturday. You are probably wondering why I would be happy about that. Well, I'll tell you what made me happy. See, even though she can't make it this time, she is thrilled about the idea that her neighbor wants to get to know her. She very much wants to get involved with building this community and the icing on the cake is when she asked, "What can I do to help you?" "Mhmm...mhmm came my stammer because I was thrown off with the question. I told her what my mission is and what my goals for our community are. She has great ideas that we are definitely going to implement. We talked for about 30 minutes about our families, life, our neighborhood and so much more. We have 'tea & crumpets' planned for next week in my home and my daughter and I can't wait to meet her. In her own words, "We are becoming fast buddies." I am so thrilled.

Another such appointment is coming up this week. Lifetime TV has arranged a meeting with me and the Host of "Get Overt It!" talk-radio on karma Air, Dallas Morning News Columnist, Best selling Author of "Traveling Hopefully" and Advice Expert, Libby Gill. WOW! I am so blessed. I can't wait to speak with her. I must admit that I am a bit nervous because I have so much that I want to ask her but don't know where to start. I am confident that when all is said, I'll be better for having spoken to her.

In the beginning when God created Adam and Eve, it was for relationship.  Genesis 1:18 states The LORD God said, "It is not good for man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him." This was God's master plan.  He intended for us to be in relationship with one another.  We have become reclusive, indifferent and we do not want to get to know anybody to the detriment of our society.  That is why I want to build a community where I live.  I want to be a part God's master plan, which is all about people.  God is so in love with people.  The magnitude of His love is found in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." So because God is love and my desire is to emulate him, I have made a choice to love people. I have come to the realization that my life is not about me. It is all about people....

This week is filled with so much excitement. I just can't contain myself. I have to get decorations, silverware, cups plates and of course enlist one or two volunteers because I can't possibly do this on my own. I have to confirm with the restaurants, to make sure they will donate food, etc. Have you ever bitten off a big piece of meat and you were at a high end dinner party and suddenly realised that you couldn't chew it elegantly? Well, that's exactly how I feel. I know that in my own strength I can't possibly do this but I can do ALL thing through Christ Jesus who strengthens me. It is His strength that i am going to need this week in order to pull it off. Between driving my daughter to school, 35 minutes away, classes, Bible school, Church life groups administrator, Kid's Church Director, and not to mention being a mom and a daughter, which are my priorities, second to putting God first. Help!!!!!!

Webster describes apathy as a lack of emotion, indifference;listlessness. I think that sums up our society today.

You don't have to turn on the news to realize we live in such an apathetic era....look around you. I am amazed at the lack of regard for human life when I see how many people get shot daily. Kids are killing each other. Universities that were once a safe haven are home to shooting rampages. The list goes on and on. And what makes it even worse is that people don't care. We have taken God out of our schools, not caring what kind of foundation our kids will get. We are indifferent when it comes to the things of God, forgetting that our country was founded by men and women of God.

We have thrown our parents in nursing homes not even bothering to find out what quality of care they are recieving. We are more concerned about the fact that we are the executors of their estates.

We have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to our neighbor's cry for help. When was the last time YOU asked your neighbor if there was anything you could do to help them? Do you even care?

"Who cares" is the resounding anthem that seems to fill most hearts today. Well, I care and will continue to care until it catches on that this thing is not too hard. If we wait until we have enough time, more money, a bigger car we will never break the chain of indifference and apathy that has our society gasping for a breath of fresh CARE.

When I was growing up,it took a village to raise a child. I know that might sound cliche but it literally did. If I walked from my home to the market, many people knew what time I passed by their home, what I was wearing and who I was with. And in my culture, you had to greet all the adults along he way, while kneeling down. So, by the time you got to wherever you were going, your knees were burning. If you didn't greet someone and they happened to call your parents and report your wrong doing, that adult had the right to come to your home punish you and then have tea with your parents. And when they left, your parents gave you their spanking. Now, as a child, I got so angry because I  thought that my neighbors were always poking their noses into my business. But now as a mother, longing for a community, I realize that it was a village raising a child, watching over each other and caring for one another.

Today, we hardly know our next door neighbors. Society has conditioned us to not get involved. Society tells us that "it is none of our business." We have become so reclusive that Community is a thing of the past.

So when I saw that Lifetimetv.com had a contest called the "Clean Start Challenge" sponsored by SC Johnson A Family Company, I entered the contest because even though I have always wanted a community where I live, it had never occurred to me that I could actually step out of my comfort zone and build one. My daughter and I started off with knocking on doors and introducing ourselves to our neighbors and letting them know of my quest which I call "Hey Neighbor! Let's Build a Community".

The response has been wonderful. Almost every neighbor that I have spoken to wants the same thing I want, which is a community. They just don't know how to go about it. Well, I have told them that as a community, I would like to see us come together and do things that will help us get to know each other as we build this community. Our first community event was a blood drive, which was a success. Next, I bought the New England Patriots a card, took it around my neighborhood and had as many of my neighbors as I could get a hold of, sign it, just to let the Pats know that we are still proud of them. And that as a community we think that they are, and will always be champions.

I am so excited because my neighbors are responding to me and many want to be involved in our community. They are thanking me for what I am doing but I have to remind them that It is not about me. It is about all of us getting to know eachtoher, caring for one another and poking our noses into eachother's business just to say, "Hey Neighbor! I care about you and I am here if you need anything." 

Please click on this link to vote for me: http://www.mylifetime.com/fun-games/sweeps/win-luxurious-spa-trip-two

I look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to comment here or on lifetimetv.com.

I bet everyone is sick to their stomachs that the New England Patriots lost last Sunday. I know I am. I remember driving my daughter to school Monday morning and everywhere I went looked like a ghost town. It was a gray day and it almost felt like someone died. That is how I felt so I can only imagine how they felt. So this week, I bought them a card of encourgement and it read,

"The Oak Tree"... A mighty wind blew night and day. It stole the oak tree's leaves away, Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark until the oak was tired and stark. But still the oak tree held its ground while other trees fell all around...The weary wind gave up and spoke, "How can you still be standing, Oak?" The oak tree said, "I know that you can break each branch of mine in two, carry every leaf away, shake my limbs, and make me sway. But I have roots stretched in the earth, growing stronger since my birth. You'll never touch them, for you see, they are the deepest part of me. Until today, I wasn't sure of just how much I could endure. But now I've found, with thanks to you, I'm stonger than I ever knew." Especially now, try to remember that you're stronger than any problem you encounter or any disappointment life will bring." Thinking of you, believing in you, caring for you.

I then took it around my community and had as many of my neighbors as I could get, to sign it. I think it is important for them to know that win or loose, we are still proud of them and in our eyes they will always be champions. They are still the only team in NFL history to make it to the Superbowl UNDEFEATED. So we need to thank them for an amazing season and remember the other times they came home with a Lombardi. Like the Oak tree, they are still standing.

Thanks Pats!!!