Friday, February 26, 2010

An Update

2-19-10
Language and Coaches

Well, if you missed More than more last night, you missed a great time! We enjoyed relaxing for a while and chilling out for a few minutes (not that being cool enough is any issue at all right now in Lafayette!) to begin. It is always nice to see new people and people we have shared some of life with when you have not seen them in a while. That seems to be how it is when we first get together each time. To me, it is walsy amazing how folks who are new to the group are brought right in and embraced with the love of the group – it doesn’t seem to matter much at all what they look like, what they drive, what their economic situation is, etc – they are welcomed all the same! Truth is, this group loves people – it’s not creepy, just warm and comfortable – like going to grandma’s house (if your grandma was nice).

After some time to settle in, we spent a little time noticing how cool life and God are. You see, we spend almost all of the hours of all of our days focusing on what we need to do, what we need to become, what we need to achieve, how we are going to survive, get this bill paid, get this deadline satisfied, etc. But, if I asked most of the people I know what really matters to them, the most important things in their lives, they would say things like family, friends, good times, relationships, etc. So, we believe these things re important, but most of our lives we live for other things – spending very little time focusing on what is really amazing about life.
On this night, we brought our focus onto language. I know, how silly – to me this conjures images of my grade school sentence diagrams and subjects and predicates and all. But, language is really amazing and so is our wonderful ability to understand it!
I wrote a word on the board – “HELLO” – so, when you just read it simply, it just says, “hello.” But imagine if you have been separated from the one you love for 3 years and all of a sudden you hear their voice, behind you, in the airport, “Hello!” It takes on an entirely different meaning! What if it is spoken by the one who you love so much, on Valentine’s day, and the kids are with the sitter and the word is, “Hellllo, How you doin?” Well, we won’t go any further with that one, but you get the idea – the word means so much depending on the way it is said, who is saying it, the context it is said in, etc. Not only that, but we have not take into account the facial expression and body language involved. If the face is frowning and the eyes drift the watch, glaringly – you know you are in trouble – I guess you get what I mean. Now, understand that this is one of the hardest of our times together to adequately describe in writing, but how amazing are we that we can deliver such amazing information with language and that we can understand and “hear” it so wonderfully. How awesome are we made that this is just part of being human?
So, over the next couple weeks, until we get together again, begin looking for chances to notice the wonder of language. When someone says something to you – try to really notice all that it means – take a second sometimes to thank the God who made you so marvelously for making you that way – invite Him into the moment and enjoy something deeper than just getting by in the next thing you need to do. You might begin to see life differently!
We next took time to notice each other – talking to God about each other quietly – confidentially when requested. It was good to notice each other – how amazing the people in the room are and how many hurts they have in their lives. It is easy to slide right past people all the time and forget that they are wonderfully made and also that they have so much junk and pain in their lives – that it might just change the way we thought about them, us and life, if we would begin to notice and invite God into their life and into ours in those moments.
Last we had a couple small stories. The first was about sports – Sports figures in our time have become bigger than life and more than one of my friends has left behind a “sports-widow” as he must watch his ESPN every night, etc. Kids grow up wanting to be Lebron James or Peyton Manning (no offense intended Colts fans – he is a good guy I think too). But many times, we, especially guys, escape our world, real life, the joys and wonders of life into our sports. Well, this last week I was doing some ESPN escaping when George Carl (the recent coach of the NBA all-stars) came on. There he was, his head as big as the TV as the cameras closed in on him like hungry lions chasing an antelope, saying, “No, I have not come to grips with it. The first things I think every day when I wake up is ‘Oh Crap, I have cancer.” And there, this most successful of coaches began to choke up, right on camera, and I got a dose of reality. Basketball was not important, sports heroes are just guys, like me – and what is important to them? LIFE. I was humbled.
A couple days prior to the George Carl episode, Nate and I were walking across the parking lot at Faith Community Center, on our way into his last basketball game. It was cold, imagine, in February, in Indiana! As we stepped, he looked down at the ground and saw a thin layer of ice across the blacktop. He stepped on it, trying to break it – but, even though it was quite thin, it did not break – it was applied directly to the pavement. “That ice is really thin, dad,” he said. “Yup,” my less than profound reply, and then, “Won’t break, will it?” “Nope” “What would happen if you took that thin layer of ice and raised it off the ground and into the air and then tried to break it?” “Well, it would break really easy.”
“Yes,” I said, “This is what is like to be a person. We find ourselves a lot to be very thin and breakable. We just are not strong enough to handle all that life gives us. But, if we apply ourselves to God, something strong enough to handle life, we find that even though we are thin and frail, we do not break.”
So, if you would join the 2 stories with me. Life will show you how thin and weak and frail and temporary you are, I see it every day in my office. It will be bigger than you can handle – I guarantee it! Those who think not will be wrong – I watch them melt in front of me with the words, “It’s cancer. You have 6months to live, so sorry.” Or “The baby died. I have no words to describe how sorry I am that this has happened.” Or “I am leaving you – I don’t love you anymore.” And on and on the list goes – you will break – and the things that seemed important will not seem so important anymore – just ask George Karl how important basketball is now. But you are not just a thin piece of ice, broken over the air. You must begin to set yourself against the amazing God who made language and life – who made you – and loves you tons – who says that are amazing and worth more than any price anyone could ever pay! You do this by inviting Him into the moments of your life and starting to live your life trying to grow closer to Him. At More than more – we can help you! And, as your ice is applied more and more to the wonderful One who made it – against the powerful blacktop of God – you will find that you will not break. I am not saying that all life will be kicks and giggles – the cancers still come, the heartbreak still happens – but the ice that is applied to the God of all the universe – it will not break. In fact, when you begin to be applied to God, you will find more joy and more wonder and more power and more fulfillment out of life than you had ever dreamed.

If it sounds good, join us next time – we will be at McAllister Center, 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, 6:45-8:00PM, on March 4th. Of course, there will be free, excellent, child care for those of you with kids. Hope to see you there!

Finally, don’t forget the dates for our community outreach this year:

April 2nd Friday
July 27th Tuesday
October 28th Thursday

We will be giving out shoes, providing free medical care and free medicines - to those in need in our very own community. If you are intrigued by noticing, give it a try in your town!
The earliest we can know if you will be joining us, the better. We will have hundreds of people to help and will need all the help we can get. Consider talking to God about this now and asking off early. Let us know when you do and we will plan on having you – we already have several who have volunteered to take days off to share in giving with us!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tomorrow

Hey guys! We will be hanging out tomorrow night at McAllister Center - 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, 6:45-8:00PM - it will be a great time to hang out and enjoy some time together - hope you can make it!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Community Outreach 2010

Hi everyone! Thought it might be good for this to be a separate post! We are breaking our outreach to the underserved in Lafayette into three different times this year, to better serve their needs.

We will be giving away shoes, and feeding the homeless at Lafayette Transitional Housing and giving away free medical care and medicines and doing some manual communicty service. Please be talking to God about these dates and whether you can take one or all of them off and join us - it is a joy to be able to give this completely! Each day will be only one day for now - it may expand into 2 days for planning and organization and we will need plenty of help - even leading up to the days. Last year we gave 615 pairs of shoes away in 1day and fed tons of people and had 40-50 doctor visits each day!

The dates:

April 2, 2010
July 27, 2010
October 28, 2010

hope to see you all there!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Last Thursday

Hey everyone!

Last Thursday we had a great time, hanging out and laughing, relaxing and being stretched in the way we think. If you were not there, we missed you, and we hope to see you next Thursday, 2/18, 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister Center - 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.

We spent some time noticing how big and amazing God is. This is our chance to allow our minds to think some different than usual. We talked about how the modern tendency of thought is always to think that we can make something better, more complete, than it was originally - or replace something with something better that we have invented.

For example - there was a time, not too long ago, when the health care community told moms not to breast feed their kids. This milk is watery and not very thick and therefore must not be very nourishing, was their theory. After years of thinking we had it all figured out, we have now realized that the milk a mom produces for her baby is the healthiest, best thing for that baby - in fact, when I visit with mom's in the hospital who are thinking about weaning quickly, I often tell them that any amouint of breast milk that that baby gets is an advantage for that baby, even if it's one bottle per day or a couple ounces, pumped or nursed, it is the best thing. So you see, we think we have one up on the way God made us, and we realize quickly that it is not the case.

Here's another example - the appendix - yes, the appendix - for years doctors have arbitrarily taken out the appendix because it "has no function" except to get infected and cause appendicitis. So, when doctors are doing surgery for other things, they often remove the appendix, just to prevent a future need! Well, I just got back from a conference in San Diego where one of the "hot topics" was how the bacteria that live in the intestines of people have a huge function - possibly changing things like childhood eczema and adult irritable bowel syndrome and certainly affecting the way our body handles getting antibiotics and how our stomachs respond. Well, it turns out that some people are beginning to think that the appendix, because of its location (right between the small and large intestine), nay be the place where we regenerate the bacteria in our colon from if we have an illness, a course of antibiotics that kills off a lot of the bacteria etc. Sooooo, it appears likely that the appendix has a function after all! Here, we have arrogantly assumed that we know better than God and taken it out! It begins to produce an awe in my heart as I am humbled by the completeness, beauty, simplicity and complexity of creation - God has made us wonderfully - no way this is just the product of a bunch of accidental genetic twists and turns like some people might have you believe - it inspires a giant sigh and a moment of silence for the amazing God who made us so wonderfully and loves us so much.

Now, if you only notice the information and oooh and aaahh, then you have only gotten part of the point. You see, you were also made to be in relationship with this God who made you so marvellously and loves you so much. He wants you to involve Him in your life. So, when you begin to notice something like how wonderful babies and mommies are and their feeding is, thank God for it - talk to Him about how amazing it is and enjoy the fact that us people are made this way because He loves us so much! When you eat breakfast or lunch today, thank God for the way your little appendix has - if you have one - and be thankful that we, as people, don't have it all figured out! Let your heart move away a little bit from the driving, what comes next American mind set and involve God in your day - you will see - it will make a huge difference. Besides, if you just work, and fail to notice the amazing things in life - you will be missing out on the really great part of life!

We then spent a little time noticing each other - sharing things in our lives and talking to God about them! We share them either anonymously or not on a piece of papaer and then talk to God about that person for the following 2wks. We realize that the people who surround us every day are also amazing and that they also have tons of problems in their lives, pains and hurts and losses, just like we do. We also realize that if we go through life and miss out on the fact that they are there, we miss a very important part of life. So, try to really see the people around you in the next 2 wks, notice who they really are - don't let your busyness overwhelm your humanity!

Along these lines, we listened to song by Dave Crowder Bamd, called, surely we can change:

And the problem is this
We were bought with a kiss
But the cheek still turned
Even when it wasn’t hit

And I don’t know
What to do with a love like that
And I don’t know
How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world
Is right here among us
And hatred too
And so we must choose
What our hands will do

Where there is pain
Let there be grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Help them be brave
Where there is misery
Bring expectancy
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Something

And the problem it seems
Is with you and me
Not the Love who came
To repair everything

And I don’t know
What to do with a love like that
And I don’t know
How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world
Is right here among us
And hatred too
And so we must choose
What our hands will do

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh surely we can change
Something

Oh, the world’s about to change
The whole world’s about to change

Then we talked briefly about the movie: Return to Me - this is a cheesy chick flick movie that we like at our house partly because it is set at a restaurant in Chicago that we love. In the end of the movie, we find the heroine, Minnie Driver, sitting on the top of an Italian Restaurant in Rome, trying to paint, but unable to because of her sadness. The Italian waiter comes by and asks if she needs anything and she says no. Then he looks at her empty canvas, and her sad face and says, "He...married?" and She says, "No, it's a long story." The waiter walks away and then stops, grabs a chair, and walks back to her and sits down, "I take my break", he says. This is the kind of noticing I am talking about! Do we dare to let go of our pressing schedules to notice the people around us and leet God use us to help them? I hope so!

Anyway, that is a summary of Thursday - hope to see you next time!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Tomorrow Night

Hey everyone! We will be getting together tomorrow night (2/4)at McAllister Center, 20th and Schuyler, Lafayette, 6:45-8:00PM. It will be a great time to hang out, laugh some, and notice some things that lead us to something more than we are experiencing in day-to-day American life. We hope you can make it!