Person(s) of the Year
Hello everyone. Being a teacher is great. You work with kids, you get to really impact people, and of course there is Christmas Break! I feel so much more productive when I have time to go get grocercies, mail stuff, etc.
Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I did. I got a lot of really cool stuff (a messenger bag, a new coat, a little device for my ipod shuffle, and an awesome new book that I'll review when I'm finished), I gave a lot of cool stuff that my family liked, and I got to spend good times with my family. We pulled out the UNO card game and made it popular again in a two day span. My sister and I also were successful in suprising my parents on the 27th with a small gathering of family/friends for my parent's 25th wedding anniversary! Quite an accomoplishment in this day in age, and hopefully if my future wife is reading this, I'll be as lucky.
Okay, on to the subject at hand. Time Magazine annually publishes their Person of the year. I believe this year was Bill Gates, his wife, and Bono for their efforts in fighting worldwide poverty. A pretty decent selection if you ask me, but then I started to think harder about it. I thought about 2005 and all that has gone on. On Dec. 26, 2004 the tsunami hit southeast Asia and surrounding areas. I'll count that has 2005, especially since most of the relief efforts took place in '05. Later there was the Live 8 concert in eight different cities worldwide to raise money for global poverty (Bono was a main driving force behind this). Then Pakistan was shaken by a terrible earthquake killing thousands upon thousands. Finally, and certainly not least, was here in America...Hurricane Katrina and later Rita. I think about all these events that happened in the past year that required so much help, whether monetary or actually manpower (rebuilding), and I can't help but think "why just the Gates' and Bono?!?" So...in a PTI Blog first, I am naming a PTI Persons of the Year. And you guessed it...those persons are ALL of us who gave to relief efforts. Sure, my friends and I didn't give millions like Bill Gates but we don't have that much. It is great that he did that, but we all did our part. Whether in church, a bucket at a football game being passed around, the Salvation Army bell ringers, we ALL gave what we could. This year alone, two classes of mine (one at L-C and another at EM) ran little fundraisers making not huge, but nice little amounts for both tsunami victims and Katrina victims. So I tip my hat to EVERYONE out there who gave, even in the smallest amounts (I remember slightly the story from the Bible of the woman who gave to the church all the time, even if it was just a tiny amount)...the World is a better place with us all.
Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I did. I got a lot of really cool stuff (a messenger bag, a new coat, a little device for my ipod shuffle, and an awesome new book that I'll review when I'm finished), I gave a lot of cool stuff that my family liked, and I got to spend good times with my family. We pulled out the UNO card game and made it popular again in a two day span. My sister and I also were successful in suprising my parents on the 27th with a small gathering of family/friends for my parent's 25th wedding anniversary! Quite an accomoplishment in this day in age, and hopefully if my future wife is reading this, I'll be as lucky.
Okay, on to the subject at hand. Time Magazine annually publishes their Person of the year. I believe this year was Bill Gates, his wife, and Bono for their efforts in fighting worldwide poverty. A pretty decent selection if you ask me, but then I started to think harder about it. I thought about 2005 and all that has gone on. On Dec. 26, 2004 the tsunami hit southeast Asia and surrounding areas. I'll count that has 2005, especially since most of the relief efforts took place in '05. Later there was the Live 8 concert in eight different cities worldwide to raise money for global poverty (Bono was a main driving force behind this). Then Pakistan was shaken by a terrible earthquake killing thousands upon thousands. Finally, and certainly not least, was here in America...Hurricane Katrina and later Rita. I think about all these events that happened in the past year that required so much help, whether monetary or actually manpower (rebuilding), and I can't help but think "why just the Gates' and Bono?!?" So...in a PTI Blog first, I am naming a PTI Persons of the Year. And you guessed it...those persons are ALL of us who gave to relief efforts. Sure, my friends and I didn't give millions like Bill Gates but we don't have that much. It is great that he did that, but we all did our part. Whether in church, a bucket at a football game being passed around, the Salvation Army bell ringers, we ALL gave what we could. This year alone, two classes of mine (one at L-C and another at EM) ran little fundraisers making not huge, but nice little amounts for both tsunami victims and Katrina victims. So I tip my hat to EVERYONE out there who gave, even in the smallest amounts (I remember slightly the story from the Bible of the woman who gave to the church all the time, even if it was just a tiny amount)...the World is a better place with us all.
posted by CKG at
3:53 PM
2 Comments:
I agree...yet at the same time disagree with your "person(s) of the year." The part I agree with is your point that (it seems like) only the "rich" are noted for their generosity. I believe we are called to give to the needy, but NOT for our "own sake" or to for "recognition."
Proverbs 16:3 says
"Commit thy works unto Jehovah (the LORD), and thy purposes shall be established." I give to the church and to the needy, because God calls me to do so, not because I want a tax deduction or to be recognized by anyone. I remember the lyrics "God loves a giver with a cheerful heart" from a song I sang in Sunday School...just a thought.
By
Matt Townsley, At
9:51 PM
Good point Matt. We shouldn't do it for recognition, nor did I intend to make people think that with this blog. I'm sure Bono, and the Gates' were not thinking about TIME honoring them either.
By
CKG, At
10:18 PM
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