Just a reminder that we will be hanging out at More than more tomorrow night, the 29th of December, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
It will be a great time!
for the first time we will have a group of teens and tweens hanging out too - this will be a time for students to learn about something More than just the usual American way - they will be talking about a movie called "Facing the Giants" It will be a great time!
As always there will be fantastic time for kids!!
Hope you can make it!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Thursday
Just a reminder, because the writing has been slim of late, that we will be hanging out Thursday night, 12/15/11, 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
It will be a great time!
If you are sick of the "life as usual" American way this holiday season, we hope you join us as we continue to search for More!
As always, there will be free, excellent childcare!
hope to see you there
It will be a great time!
If you are sick of the "life as usual" American way this holiday season, we hope you join us as we continue to search for More!
As always, there will be free, excellent childcare!
hope to see you there
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Fabric of our Lives
Ever notice how amazingly our lives are knit together? We spent some time last night noticing how God has brought us together. So many of us, from so many different places and times, different financial situations, different ages, different relationships and yet there we sit, every other Thursday night, our lives intertwined - these are the best friends i have in the world! They are amazing! We talked through a couple of them - it baffles the mind to think of how we have come together. Now, all of us, dong our best to look behind the usual of the American dream, to find something More out of life - to savor and appreciate the wonder of a God who would love us so much as to bring us together in the midst of our lives!
So, if having some friends who actually accept you no matter what you offer them sounds good, or if you are sick of life as usual in the US, and are looking for something More, you might want to join us - we will be hanging out December 1st, 645-800pm at MCAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
and, if you are already trying to live this way you might just happen to notice the people around you who you love and who love you and how your lives have come to be woven together, you might just take a second and thank the God who loves you enough to fill your life with those people - and invite Him into the moment with you - it might just change your perspective!
hope to see you soon
So, if having some friends who actually accept you no matter what you offer them sounds good, or if you are sick of life as usual in the US, and are looking for something More, you might want to join us - we will be hanging out December 1st, 645-800pm at MCAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
and, if you are already trying to live this way you might just happen to notice the people around you who you love and who love you and how your lives have come to be woven together, you might just take a second and thank the God who loves you enough to fill your life with those people - and invite Him into the moment with you - it might just change your perspective!
hope to see you soon
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Love via Shoes
What if there was a group of people that loved? Really loved? What if the questions that lie in our hearts about our country and whether anyone really cares about anyone else anymore were answered by a simple group of people learning to live life differently than the rest of the country? What if that love got demonstrated in a tangible way, with something that would be meaningful to almost anyone?
After all love requires giving of yourself. Sacrificing. Being present when it is not easy. It involves forgiving and trying to understand someone else. It involves spending time when it is not easy and there is little to gain for yourself. love is focused on the other person's needs, not your own.
But love is also the greatest thing in the whole world. The joy in love exceeds any other joy that there is - the pain in love may exceed any other pain that there is too, but the joy is bigger than the pain. The joy is well worth the pain, no question.
Well, all of these things are happening, right here in Lafayette and last Friday we had this wonderful chance to share the love we are learning to expeerience in daily life. We are sick of everyday Americanism of get more and more and more. But, we are also ready to do something different about life, or more specifically WITH life.
This was exemplified this past Friday at our 2011 Love Your Feet Day. About 20-25 of s took the day off from work and our schedules to be together and share the day with some of the folks in our own town that needed help the most. We invited anyone who needed help afffording shoes to join us and they came - at the end of it all, we were tired, but we had given love and been witness to the giving of love to hundreds of people. We gave away around 700 pairs of new shoes!!!
As part of my time on Friday, I had the joy of being able to tell people who werre coming to pick up their shoes that they were not being given shoes by some big fancy organization with government funding, but rather, they were being given shoes that were paid for by the money from the bank accounts of the people who were handing them the shoes! The expression on their faces melted. They were shocked to tears, and they exploded with gratitude and near disblelief that anyone would value them that much to spend hard earned money to buy shoes for them. They sensed the love in the room - it was no longer about shoes anymore, but about love and meaning. You see, they left with new shoes but mostly with new found respect for who they are made to be. For, at More than more, we value them. And if we do, maybe they should too!!
We spent time sitting on the floor and reading books with kids. We spent moments observing people as they removed their rag-like shoes in the hallway and slipped on their new shoes, then took a second to just look at their feet in them - smiling - feeling their feet feel good and their spirits feel valued. We saw children with little hair, grin widely when reminded that they are beautiful. We saw people confused that any simple group of people could really love like this without an agenda of some kind and without expecting anything in return. We saw individual members of More than more so broken hearted over those who came to late to sign up, take the names themselves and go buy the shoes after all the Love Your Feet was over. We saw people who had really never heard of More than more before crying tears of joy as they simply observed the giving of the day. We saw people who felt so little like they mattered that they did not want shoes for themselves, even though they needed them, only for their kids - only to be overwhelmed with gratitude when they realized that the shoes (and the love and value) could be for them too!
In short, it was a great way to spend a day! It was not all easy - there were some who were less than thankful, even hurtful. We were tired at the end, after it all, giving that sacrificially is not typical, or lightly done. But it was sooooo worth it!
In the evening, we spent a long time sitting around a campfire and sharing stories and challenges - with one end result:
We are going to do everything we can to live out this kind of love and mission in our everyday life, not just on Love Your Feet Day!
If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, we would love to have you join us - we will be hanging out together at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00 PM this Thursday - the 3rd of November - of course there will be free,excellent childcare!
Friday, October 14, 2011
What does it mean to believe?
So, i had to tell you about a couple things that have happened in the last week - once again my children have humbled me...
So, Tuesdays we go to school early for my oldest's prayer group - but this only for Junior Higher's - so me and my 2 younger children spend some time talking to God together and learning something. This Tuesday we read a section of in my son's Bible about faith. Now faith is one of those fancy Christian words that people talk about a lot but i'm not sure what it looks like in everyday life, if you know what i mean. So, i was trying to explain to them that having faith means that you believe that what you hope for will be true - and the best kind of faith is when what you hope for is good and true and pure, not to get new xbox games or for your worst enemy to break their ankle or something like that - it is best when it is when you hope for what God would want in each situation...It was a good conversation and i think they understood what i meant but it is hard to explain and harder still to live.
We finished and they went to their classes and on with their days, and i with mine.
Then the very next morning we were talking with God about some friends of ours who are being evicted by their landlady, who seems to be downright evil and who had forbidden them from fixing their sewer - leaving them with no place to go for now and having to go to the neighbor's house to do laundry, brush their teeth, wash dishes, etc. Let's make it clear, they were offering to even pay for the repairs, which they should not have had to, and she wouldn't let them. So, as i was talking to the kids, i said that we should pray for these friends, that they would find a place to live and that God would help them in the meantime.
Well, i came time for the kids to pray and Sophia, the youngest started out - she talked to God about family and friends and our days and our neighbors - all the usual things and then she went on to talk to Him about our friends - "Help them to find a place to stay and take care of them. And please help their mean landlady to have a soft and loving heart and to see how great life can be with You. Help her not to be mean anymore." Then, one at a time, they each prayed for first our friends and then the mean landlady.
I just almost couldn't take it. I had just been taught a lesson in faith. You see, i could give talks about faith and i believe God will give our friends the perfect place to stay and that He will take care of them. But, until my kids satarted talking to Him, i never even considered trying to believe that He would reach down into the heart of that mean lady and bring healing to her hurting heart. But, my kids saw through her meanness to her broken heart - to whatever it is that makes her so mean. And more than that, they saw that God could and wanted to, help her just as much as us, our family, our neighbors and our friends. They seem to understand faith much better than i do - maybe this Tuesday they should lead our time together!
The Truth is, there is no one beyond the reach and love of the God who made all that is - He wants everyone to have life that is full of wonder and freedom.
If you are sick of living in a world that is just not seeing all there is, we would love to have you join us - we will be hanging out at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM this Thursday, October 20th. We would love to meet you - and maybe we can open up our minds a little more than usual!
So, Tuesdays we go to school early for my oldest's prayer group - but this only for Junior Higher's - so me and my 2 younger children spend some time talking to God together and learning something. This Tuesday we read a section of in my son's Bible about faith. Now faith is one of those fancy Christian words that people talk about a lot but i'm not sure what it looks like in everyday life, if you know what i mean. So, i was trying to explain to them that having faith means that you believe that what you hope for will be true - and the best kind of faith is when what you hope for is good and true and pure, not to get new xbox games or for your worst enemy to break their ankle or something like that - it is best when it is when you hope for what God would want in each situation...It was a good conversation and i think they understood what i meant but it is hard to explain and harder still to live.
We finished and they went to their classes and on with their days, and i with mine.
Then the very next morning we were talking with God about some friends of ours who are being evicted by their landlady, who seems to be downright evil and who had forbidden them from fixing their sewer - leaving them with no place to go for now and having to go to the neighbor's house to do laundry, brush their teeth, wash dishes, etc. Let's make it clear, they were offering to even pay for the repairs, which they should not have had to, and she wouldn't let them. So, as i was talking to the kids, i said that we should pray for these friends, that they would find a place to live and that God would help them in the meantime.
Well, i came time for the kids to pray and Sophia, the youngest started out - she talked to God about family and friends and our days and our neighbors - all the usual things and then she went on to talk to Him about our friends - "Help them to find a place to stay and take care of them. And please help their mean landlady to have a soft and loving heart and to see how great life can be with You. Help her not to be mean anymore." Then, one at a time, they each prayed for first our friends and then the mean landlady.
I just almost couldn't take it. I had just been taught a lesson in faith. You see, i could give talks about faith and i believe God will give our friends the perfect place to stay and that He will take care of them. But, until my kids satarted talking to Him, i never even considered trying to believe that He would reach down into the heart of that mean lady and bring healing to her hurting heart. But, my kids saw through her meanness to her broken heart - to whatever it is that makes her so mean. And more than that, they saw that God could and wanted to, help her just as much as us, our family, our neighbors and our friends. They seem to understand faith much better than i do - maybe this Tuesday they should lead our time together!
The Truth is, there is no one beyond the reach and love of the God who made all that is - He wants everyone to have life that is full of wonder and freedom.
If you are sick of living in a world that is just not seeing all there is, we would love to have you join us - we will be hanging out at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM this Thursday, October 20th. We would love to meet you - and maybe we can open up our minds a little more than usual!
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Amazing Diversity of our Minds!
So, after talking about what More than more meant to us, we had some time, as we always do, to notice the amazingness of God and to notice the amazingness of people and their brokenness.
We began by talking about the way we think. I related a quote given me, and shared with permission, by a patient with ADD. He came into my office and his presenting complaint to the nurse was "Because you can't change the world if you can't focus." Now, why is that so important?
Because, he realizes that he has something amazing in him that could change the world, but he cannot seem to get his mind to focus long enough to get to it.
Why will he change the world? Well, let me tell you with a question.
If you want to balance your checking account, make a budget, get everything to add up perfectly, stay on schedule, what kind of a person do you ask to help you? Proabaly not someone with ADD. You would be looking for someone with a compulsive tendency, very organized and structured, right??
But, if you are stuck in your thoughts, trapped in a box of ideas from the past that you just can't seem to out-dream. You are bumping into a problem with the ame solutions and just can't seem to get past the usual ways of thinking. You are blank and just can't dream any more ideas. Who do you ask for help? Do you run to the compulsive person who is doing your books? Or do you ask your buddy with ADD and tell him not to take his medicine?!
I think you are getting the idea now. So many people consider their mind type and their thought life to be a handicap of some kind. They hate that the numbers all need to add up - they don't like being so organized and anal. Or they hate their tendency to wander and wonder in their thoughts - they just want to accomplish things and they can't get their heads out of the clouds long enough to do it. Yet, on a second look, we see the value in the organized and compulsive mind - someoone needs to keep everything reigned in and moving in a positive direction. And at the same time, we see the value in the ADD mind - ready to imagine outside the box,to dream new dreams, new combinations of dreams. To unleash their mind on the unsolvable!
Isn't it amazing? Now, seriously, how, by accident, did we all develop so differently and yet so much like pieces of a puzzle - perfectly fitting together to make sense. Put an ADD person with a compulsive person and they may irritate each other, but they will gt so much done and complement each other amazingly. No, this variability in our minds that leads to such amazing possibilities is obviously an expression of the creativity of a God who loves us deeply (and who clearly has a sense of humor).
So, the next time you notice the difference beteen how you think and how you want to, or how you think and the person next to you does, notice. Pay attention for just a second. And then thank the God who made you that way. Invite Him into the moment with you. Ask Him to be part of your days. You see, why would God go to so much effort to make us so amazing only to abandon us? The answer? He didn't - He very much wants to be a part of your life. And as He becomes more and more a part of your life, your perspective will change - you will begin to have a life that opens up and is More than you ever dreamed. I hope you'll try it!
Hope to see you next Thursday at McAllister Center - just off 20th and Schuyler - in Lafayette - from 6:45-8:00PM.
Have a thoughtful week!
We began by talking about the way we think. I related a quote given me, and shared with permission, by a patient with ADD. He came into my office and his presenting complaint to the nurse was "Because you can't change the world if you can't focus." Now, why is that so important?
Because, he realizes that he has something amazing in him that could change the world, but he cannot seem to get his mind to focus long enough to get to it.
Why will he change the world? Well, let me tell you with a question.
If you want to balance your checking account, make a budget, get everything to add up perfectly, stay on schedule, what kind of a person do you ask to help you? Proabaly not someone with ADD. You would be looking for someone with a compulsive tendency, very organized and structured, right??
But, if you are stuck in your thoughts, trapped in a box of ideas from the past that you just can't seem to out-dream. You are bumping into a problem with the ame solutions and just can't seem to get past the usual ways of thinking. You are blank and just can't dream any more ideas. Who do you ask for help? Do you run to the compulsive person who is doing your books? Or do you ask your buddy with ADD and tell him not to take his medicine?!
I think you are getting the idea now. So many people consider their mind type and their thought life to be a handicap of some kind. They hate that the numbers all need to add up - they don't like being so organized and anal. Or they hate their tendency to wander and wonder in their thoughts - they just want to accomplish things and they can't get their heads out of the clouds long enough to do it. Yet, on a second look, we see the value in the organized and compulsive mind - someoone needs to keep everything reigned in and moving in a positive direction. And at the same time, we see the value in the ADD mind - ready to imagine outside the box,to dream new dreams, new combinations of dreams. To unleash their mind on the unsolvable!
Isn't it amazing? Now, seriously, how, by accident, did we all develop so differently and yet so much like pieces of a puzzle - perfectly fitting together to make sense. Put an ADD person with a compulsive person and they may irritate each other, but they will gt so much done and complement each other amazingly. No, this variability in our minds that leads to such amazing possibilities is obviously an expression of the creativity of a God who loves us deeply (and who clearly has a sense of humor).
So, the next time you notice the difference beteen how you think and how you want to, or how you think and the person next to you does, notice. Pay attention for just a second. And then thank the God who made you that way. Invite Him into the moment with you. Ask Him to be part of your days. You see, why would God go to so much effort to make us so amazing only to abandon us? The answer? He didn't - He very much wants to be a part of your life. And as He becomes more and more a part of your life, your perspective will change - you will begin to have a life that opens up and is More than you ever dreamed. I hope you'll try it!
Hope to see you next Thursday at McAllister Center - just off 20th and Schuyler - in Lafayette - from 6:45-8:00PM.
Have a thoughtful week!
The intro from last time is too much to miss!
More than more last week was a good time - if you were there, i'm so glad and if you were not, you missed out.
I don't usually restate our introductory/relax and chill out question on the blog - partly because sometimes the answers are a little too personal and partly because sometimes the blog entries are too long...but this time i must:
The intro question was, "Describe what More than more means to you in 1 sentence or less."
The answers were humbling.
"Family"
"Acceptance"
"Noticing the amazingness of God and people"
"Caring"
"Seeing life differently"
"Living beyond the usual American way"
These are just a few - i was nearly in tears, as people of all walks of life (one of whom came from lunch break just to be with us and his wife! - thanks Kale) gave voice to the fact that when a group of people begins to notice God and invite Him into their worlds and notice each other and the people around them, both their value and their brokenness - lives are changed. It was cool.
This, if for no other reason, is a reason to join us. Come hang out with us next Thursday night - October 20th - from 6:45-8:00Pm at McAllister Recreation Center. If you are tired of the usual life, a dose of some acceptance and caring and healthy family might be just what you need.
I don't usually restate our introductory/relax and chill out question on the blog - partly because sometimes the answers are a little too personal and partly because sometimes the blog entries are too long...but this time i must:
The intro question was, "Describe what More than more means to you in 1 sentence or less."
The answers were humbling.
"Family"
"Acceptance"
"Noticing the amazingness of God and people"
"Caring"
"Seeing life differently"
"Living beyond the usual American way"
These are just a few - i was nearly in tears, as people of all walks of life (one of whom came from lunch break just to be with us and his wife! - thanks Kale) gave voice to the fact that when a group of people begins to notice God and invite Him into their worlds and notice each other and the people around them, both their value and their brokenness - lives are changed. It was cool.
This, if for no other reason, is a reason to join us. Come hang out with us next Thursday night - October 20th - from 6:45-8:00Pm at McAllister Recreation Center. If you are tired of the usual life, a dose of some acceptance and caring and healthy family might be just what you need.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Paths, Creeks, and Freezers
I wanted to take a couple minutes and share with you a couple things that have struck me in the last few days.
First, on Saturday morning I was sitting in my tree stand out back behind my house, honestly not really caring much if a deer came or not. I was watching this little chipmunk family who inhabits the space i use once in a while scurry back and forth through an old hollow log (actually wondering how someone seriously got Alvin and the Chipmunks from these little things and kinda wishing they would stand up on their hind legs and start singing...)gather nuts and im sure ration them for winter. I was watching the leaves fall, one by one - it was not very windy and it is a beautiful thing to watch the leave saunter their way to the ground. It was a nice morning.
As i looked around, i looked down the path - this is the direction that the deer usually come from, if they come, which is not usually. This time of year most all of the leaves have not yet fallen and so i can only see a little way down the path, especially from where i sit 15 or so feet in the air. It seemed the path was a place i could walk down - have actually, a lot of times, especially in the May mushroom hunting season. I could walk down a way, check things out, maybe turn left up the hill, or go right, off into some of the meadows down the way - they might be pretty this time of year. But, as i thought of the path, i thought of what i could do and where i could go - it was like the two thoughts jumped off each other - 1st the thought of the path and then right after, the thought of going and doing. The path became an example of my life - go and do, go and do, go and do - this is so much the way i live...
Then, as if drawn, i heard the gurgle of the south fork of the wildcat creek to my right - it is low right now - probably only about a foot where i sit and there is a little roughness to the water there - enough to make an occasional bubbly, gurgly, creek sound - i love it - music to my sometimes worn soul. Then, i remembered the path. But, the creek was not like the path. The creek just moved. It had no direction in particular it was trying to go, no choices to make, no initiatives to pursue - it was simply following along its course. And, before i could think about it, i longed to be more like the creek. I so wanted to not worry and fret about the choices of the paths or to find myself throwing all of my passion into simply going and doing - it seems that i get quite enough of that and it seems to lead me away from the REALLY important things in life. I wanted to be able to follow God in a creek-like way - to be so aware of where He wanted me to be, to be so filled with the noticing of Him and His ways that i could simply live life and follow the course He had plotted out for me - even though sometimes the water is gurgly and sometimes it is smooth - occasionally there is a major boulder in the way - if i could live with the creek banks of His love and guidance all the time, it seems that it would be ok...
Then, there was one more thing. This was today - now a lot of hours since i left the forest - and quite a different thing that struck me. We had our friend Stephanie over for dinner and we were all talking and somehow the packing of freezers came up. This is a longstanding joke at our house, because as wonderful a person as my wife is, she is not a good freezer packer. I was joking, as i often do, that if you pull something out of the freezer when Melissa has packed it, you might want to have steel toed boots on - which poses an issue when you are sitting out some meat for the next day and you have snuck downstairs in your underwear - because it is a little silly to be in steeltoes and undies - but ill leave that one alone for now. You see, Melissa packs the freeer with slope - and all the slope is pointing out of the freezer - to your toes!! So, be careful if you're in the freezer! Anyway, we were all laughing about this and one of the girls said that you have to be careful because sometimes you might pull one small thing out and then the whole freeze might fall on you - as if it was all balanced delicately on that one pack of bacon or something. Well, that set me thinking. Sometimes i feel like that freezer. I feel like i am just so unstable (i know this comes as a surprise to some of you) that if just one thing is moved, i will come tumbling down - all my confidence and self-esteem and everything else, all balanced on a pack-o-bacon!!! It makes me mad - i want so badly to be more stable, more consistent, more like so many people i know that nothing seems to ever ruffle them. I get frustrated with who God made me to be.
So, here's the thing: I know that i do not want to just live the ordinary American life - like the path - always going and doing - always choosing my own way - never noticing, never depending on God. I want to live more like the creek - ready to just rest and follow God wherever He leads me. But, i am sure frustrated by my lack of stability! But, the truth is that my instability may be the very key to my creeklikeness! You see, if i was always stable, always had it all figured out, never got ruffled or upset or hurt, i think i would just always choose my way through life and never get off the path and into the creek. Instead, i find myself reeling with every package of bacon that someone takes from my freezer, and as frustrating as it is, i find myself looking to God and His control and soon find myself drifting down the creek of His guidance, noticing and loving and at peace with life!
So, tonight i am glad that i am unstable - can't believe im saying that - but i pray that you will be too, if that's what it takes to help you find the Truth in this life - and to be able to notice God's way in every day.
First, on Saturday morning I was sitting in my tree stand out back behind my house, honestly not really caring much if a deer came or not. I was watching this little chipmunk family who inhabits the space i use once in a while scurry back and forth through an old hollow log (actually wondering how someone seriously got Alvin and the Chipmunks from these little things and kinda wishing they would stand up on their hind legs and start singing...)gather nuts and im sure ration them for winter. I was watching the leaves fall, one by one - it was not very windy and it is a beautiful thing to watch the leave saunter their way to the ground. It was a nice morning.
As i looked around, i looked down the path - this is the direction that the deer usually come from, if they come, which is not usually. This time of year most all of the leaves have not yet fallen and so i can only see a little way down the path, especially from where i sit 15 or so feet in the air. It seemed the path was a place i could walk down - have actually, a lot of times, especially in the May mushroom hunting season. I could walk down a way, check things out, maybe turn left up the hill, or go right, off into some of the meadows down the way - they might be pretty this time of year. But, as i thought of the path, i thought of what i could do and where i could go - it was like the two thoughts jumped off each other - 1st the thought of the path and then right after, the thought of going and doing. The path became an example of my life - go and do, go and do, go and do - this is so much the way i live...
Then, as if drawn, i heard the gurgle of the south fork of the wildcat creek to my right - it is low right now - probably only about a foot where i sit and there is a little roughness to the water there - enough to make an occasional bubbly, gurgly, creek sound - i love it - music to my sometimes worn soul. Then, i remembered the path. But, the creek was not like the path. The creek just moved. It had no direction in particular it was trying to go, no choices to make, no initiatives to pursue - it was simply following along its course. And, before i could think about it, i longed to be more like the creek. I so wanted to not worry and fret about the choices of the paths or to find myself throwing all of my passion into simply going and doing - it seems that i get quite enough of that and it seems to lead me away from the REALLY important things in life. I wanted to be able to follow God in a creek-like way - to be so aware of where He wanted me to be, to be so filled with the noticing of Him and His ways that i could simply live life and follow the course He had plotted out for me - even though sometimes the water is gurgly and sometimes it is smooth - occasionally there is a major boulder in the way - if i could live with the creek banks of His love and guidance all the time, it seems that it would be ok...
Then, there was one more thing. This was today - now a lot of hours since i left the forest - and quite a different thing that struck me. We had our friend Stephanie over for dinner and we were all talking and somehow the packing of freezers came up. This is a longstanding joke at our house, because as wonderful a person as my wife is, she is not a good freezer packer. I was joking, as i often do, that if you pull something out of the freezer when Melissa has packed it, you might want to have steel toed boots on - which poses an issue when you are sitting out some meat for the next day and you have snuck downstairs in your underwear - because it is a little silly to be in steeltoes and undies - but ill leave that one alone for now. You see, Melissa packs the freeer with slope - and all the slope is pointing out of the freezer - to your toes!! So, be careful if you're in the freezer! Anyway, we were all laughing about this and one of the girls said that you have to be careful because sometimes you might pull one small thing out and then the whole freeze might fall on you - as if it was all balanced delicately on that one pack of bacon or something. Well, that set me thinking. Sometimes i feel like that freezer. I feel like i am just so unstable (i know this comes as a surprise to some of you) that if just one thing is moved, i will come tumbling down - all my confidence and self-esteem and everything else, all balanced on a pack-o-bacon!!! It makes me mad - i want so badly to be more stable, more consistent, more like so many people i know that nothing seems to ever ruffle them. I get frustrated with who God made me to be.
So, here's the thing: I know that i do not want to just live the ordinary American life - like the path - always going and doing - always choosing my own way - never noticing, never depending on God. I want to live more like the creek - ready to just rest and follow God wherever He leads me. But, i am sure frustrated by my lack of stability! But, the truth is that my instability may be the very key to my creeklikeness! You see, if i was always stable, always had it all figured out, never got ruffled or upset or hurt, i think i would just always choose my way through life and never get off the path and into the creek. Instead, i find myself reeling with every package of bacon that someone takes from my freezer, and as frustrating as it is, i find myself looking to God and His control and soon find myself drifting down the creek of His guidance, noticing and loving and at peace with life!
So, tonight i am glad that i am unstable - can't believe im saying that - but i pray that you will be too, if that's what it takes to help you find the Truth in this life - and to be able to notice God's way in every day.
Friday, October 7, 2011
An Apology
Hi everyone - there's nothing like the Truth to smack you in the face - a couple of posts ago, i wrote to you about driving across the midwest to see a band we love - i was absolutely inspired by the conversation with one of the members afterward - his willingness to admit to his struggles in his life, especially as it relates to church, was really humble of someone who really had no need to share anything, with this strange family from Lafayette.
But, as i glanced at his email that apprently my wife had printed, tonight on the desk, i realized that i had misstated his words and i must correct what i have said:
1) He does go to church and has for multiple years.
and
2) He prayed through his music all night long - not needing to make it somehow more formal than that.
And so, my apologies go out to him and to you, for misstating and for confining prayer to something that happens only when someone formally talks outloud to God - it was lame of me - and i am sorry. Talking to God can be in song, can be in our heads, can be in appreciation of nature or life or a million things - you would think that after 3+ years of leading More than more i would be the first to realize this!
The beauty of the disillusioned and their search for God is still the same, as is the truth that all people who try to follow after God's way have trouble and difficulties along the way - you are not alone in your struggle - but together we can find support in the difficult times - i hope all who come find it at More than more.
Thanks
Jason
But, as i glanced at his email that apprently my wife had printed, tonight on the desk, i realized that i had misstated his words and i must correct what i have said:
1) He does go to church and has for multiple years.
and
2) He prayed through his music all night long - not needing to make it somehow more formal than that.
And so, my apologies go out to him and to you, for misstating and for confining prayer to something that happens only when someone formally talks outloud to God - it was lame of me - and i am sorry. Talking to God can be in song, can be in our heads, can be in appreciation of nature or life or a million things - you would think that after 3+ years of leading More than more i would be the first to realize this!
The beauty of the disillusioned and their search for God is still the same, as is the truth that all people who try to follow after God's way have trouble and difficulties along the way - you are not alone in your struggle - but together we can find support in the difficult times - i hope all who come find it at More than more.
Thanks
Jason
Thursday, October 6, 2011
the back door
I have company coming for lunch - it's one of my favorite things to do...to have people come over and talk over life - what's going on - learning and supporting each other - becoming all we can together. the conversations vary a lot, from specific issues one of us is dealing with, to general "what's up with the world" discussions. We talk to God and try to notice and then go on with the rest of our day.
So, the person coming today has not been before and so i just texted to him that he could come in the back door - and it got me thinking.
I love the back door.
I know, you are probably thinking i'm finally losing it that im enjoying the back door this much, but let me get it all out before you make up your mind.
Truth is, if you come in the front door - it is formal and although inviting, kinda for people we don't know very well, but if you come in the back door you are like family...more than welcome, you are welcome to see the laundry on the floor, the dog toys laying around (not at the office, but at home, maybe), dust bunnies we have not been able to get cleaned up etc. I also like the people who come in my back door - many times they make me feel welcome in my own home/office - they love me too and we cherish living life together.
The back door is wonderful!
At More than more, we get together at a place called McAllister Recreation center - it is this really cool former school building in Lafayette, that has been converted by the City Parks and Recreation into an all purpose building for the citizens of our town. You might say it is More than more's home.
And here's something cool - at McAllister, everyone comes in the back door!!!! I don't know that we have ever had anyone come in the front door - all the parking and the playground and everything is all around the back door!
And, i think that is very typical of More than more. We welcome anyone who would like to join us to come in the back door. Be welcome, take your shoes off if you want. Chill out. Be at peace. You have nothing to prove. We will do our best to care about you right where you are and we will look forward to you caring about us right where we are. If you are grumpy, come anyway, back doors are not just for those in a good mood - if you are goofy and playful, come on in, let's laugh together, if your heart is broken, what better place to be supported and heard than inside the back door?
The point, if i am losing you, is that in a wolrd that is filled with people who never even notice each other, More than more is a place where people of all different parts of our world, all different ages, all different situations, come together and welcome each other - care about each other. It is a good place to be. We notice each other, we pay attention. We notice the amazingness of life and the God who made it and we will not let it slide by!
If you are sick and tired of the usual of American life, and this sounds like something you might like to give a try, we would love to have you join us - our back door will be open tonight from 6:45-8:00PM, October 6th (and again on the 20th) - would love to have you join us!!
So, the person coming today has not been before and so i just texted to him that he could come in the back door - and it got me thinking.
I love the back door.
I know, you are probably thinking i'm finally losing it that im enjoying the back door this much, but let me get it all out before you make up your mind.
Truth is, if you come in the front door - it is formal and although inviting, kinda for people we don't know very well, but if you come in the back door you are like family...more than welcome, you are welcome to see the laundry on the floor, the dog toys laying around (not at the office, but at home, maybe), dust bunnies we have not been able to get cleaned up etc. I also like the people who come in my back door - many times they make me feel welcome in my own home/office - they love me too and we cherish living life together.
The back door is wonderful!
At More than more, we get together at a place called McAllister Recreation center - it is this really cool former school building in Lafayette, that has been converted by the City Parks and Recreation into an all purpose building for the citizens of our town. You might say it is More than more's home.
And here's something cool - at McAllister, everyone comes in the back door!!!! I don't know that we have ever had anyone come in the front door - all the parking and the playground and everything is all around the back door!
And, i think that is very typical of More than more. We welcome anyone who would like to join us to come in the back door. Be welcome, take your shoes off if you want. Chill out. Be at peace. You have nothing to prove. We will do our best to care about you right where you are and we will look forward to you caring about us right where we are. If you are grumpy, come anyway, back doors are not just for those in a good mood - if you are goofy and playful, come on in, let's laugh together, if your heart is broken, what better place to be supported and heard than inside the back door?
The point, if i am losing you, is that in a wolrd that is filled with people who never even notice each other, More than more is a place where people of all different parts of our world, all different ages, all different situations, come together and welcome each other - care about each other. It is a good place to be. We notice each other, we pay attention. We notice the amazingness of life and the God who made it and we will not let it slide by!
If you are sick and tired of the usual of American life, and this sounds like something you might like to give a try, we would love to have you join us - our back door will be open tonight from 6:45-8:00PM, October 6th (and again on the 20th) - would love to have you join us!!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
What next for the (dis)illusioned?
So, what is next then for those who are disillusioned - those of us who see the brokenness of the world and particularly in those we thought we would not see it in - and then move on into life, trying to make sense of it all?
Well, as i stated in the last post, we need to begin with involving God in the moments of our lives - this is what More than more is all about - we are looking for something More than the usual in everyday American life. We need to see the wonder of God and have connection with Him in our everyday lives.
But, what does that really look like? What advice to those who struggle with the past and betrayal and know that God exists, but have trouble with connecting/finding Him except in their heartbreak?
Well, consider something amazing, like a life resurrected from the ashes - like we talked about last time we got together for More than more - when we had a conversation with Reuben Bible.
Reuben is a fantastic young man currently in his first year of studies at a Bible College in Indianapolis. But, his life was not always like this...
As Reuben shared, he was raised learning about God and over the years, he began to think that he had a better way - he would work hard and support his family (he never really wanted anything fancy, just to be able to take good care of them) and he would do it his way. Reuben was first a tree climbing lumberjack of some sort - not sure the name, but when offered a chance to move back to the midwest from Florida, they did. Then, he began to work with horses - he broke them, rodeoed them, then trained them, and borded them - about anything to do with horses and all in an attempt to stabilize his family and provide for them - he wanted to just be a good man - all he could be. The thing is, this pursuit became Reuben's "more" - he spent everything he had and all his energy on this and he has suffered multiple fractures from serious incidents with horses over the years - in the last one, he was really no longer able to deal with horses and so he formed his own business and was doing really well - making the most he had made in his whole life until one day he was mowing and he hit a downed tree with the bushhog and it came up and severed all but a small piece of his lower leg.
This has placed this hard-working, stubborn but unbelievably active man, flat on his back for months and months at a time - for most of that time he has been angry at God, frustrated at what he has had to go through - feeling as if he was finally about to make his dreams and now this has to happen. Not to mention that fact the Reuben was told he may never walk again, much less be able to do the heavy type of work he has always done.
But, what Reuben discovered was that at the end of his dreams, was something bigger and better than he had ever realized. He began to talk to God more and more and release his future to God and what he found was that God had something amazing for him. He was finding that people were coming to him and wanting him to help them find God. He felt inadequate for this, but found that God used him anyway and then he began to feel that he was to be going to study and learn - and that's how he ended up at the Bible College he is at now.
But, there was another problem, they did not have the money. Well, through some scholarships that seemed to come out of thin air, Reuben has his entire first year paid for!
At the end of the line, he found More.
So, what do we say to those of us who are disillusioned? Pay attention. Notice. Sometimes God is expressing himself in amazing ways right under our noses. When you notice, ask Him to help with your perspective - to help you see life differently and to be a part of your every day, every moment. I believe you will begin to find relief as soon as you begin noticing...
If you are sick of usual American life of get more, become more, achieve more, etc, we would love to have you join us this Thursday night, October 6th, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, Indiana, from 6:45-8:00PM - maybe there is something More.
Well, as i stated in the last post, we need to begin with involving God in the moments of our lives - this is what More than more is all about - we are looking for something More than the usual in everyday American life. We need to see the wonder of God and have connection with Him in our everyday lives.
But, what does that really look like? What advice to those who struggle with the past and betrayal and know that God exists, but have trouble with connecting/finding Him except in their heartbreak?
Well, consider something amazing, like a life resurrected from the ashes - like we talked about last time we got together for More than more - when we had a conversation with Reuben Bible.
Reuben is a fantastic young man currently in his first year of studies at a Bible College in Indianapolis. But, his life was not always like this...
As Reuben shared, he was raised learning about God and over the years, he began to think that he had a better way - he would work hard and support his family (he never really wanted anything fancy, just to be able to take good care of them) and he would do it his way. Reuben was first a tree climbing lumberjack of some sort - not sure the name, but when offered a chance to move back to the midwest from Florida, they did. Then, he began to work with horses - he broke them, rodeoed them, then trained them, and borded them - about anything to do with horses and all in an attempt to stabilize his family and provide for them - he wanted to just be a good man - all he could be. The thing is, this pursuit became Reuben's "more" - he spent everything he had and all his energy on this and he has suffered multiple fractures from serious incidents with horses over the years - in the last one, he was really no longer able to deal with horses and so he formed his own business and was doing really well - making the most he had made in his whole life until one day he was mowing and he hit a downed tree with the bushhog and it came up and severed all but a small piece of his lower leg.
This has placed this hard-working, stubborn but unbelievably active man, flat on his back for months and months at a time - for most of that time he has been angry at God, frustrated at what he has had to go through - feeling as if he was finally about to make his dreams and now this has to happen. Not to mention that fact the Reuben was told he may never walk again, much less be able to do the heavy type of work he has always done.
But, what Reuben discovered was that at the end of his dreams, was something bigger and better than he had ever realized. He began to talk to God more and more and release his future to God and what he found was that God had something amazing for him. He was finding that people were coming to him and wanting him to help them find God. He felt inadequate for this, but found that God used him anyway and then he began to feel that he was to be going to study and learn - and that's how he ended up at the Bible College he is at now.
But, there was another problem, they did not have the money. Well, through some scholarships that seemed to come out of thin air, Reuben has his entire first year paid for!
At the end of the line, he found More.
So, what do we say to those of us who are disillusioned? Pay attention. Notice. Sometimes God is expressing himself in amazing ways right under our noses. When you notice, ask Him to help with your perspective - to help you see life differently and to be a part of your every day, every moment. I believe you will begin to find relief as soon as you begin noticing...
If you are sick of usual American life of get more, become more, achieve more, etc, we would love to have you join us this Thursday night, October 6th, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, Indiana, from 6:45-8:00PM - maybe there is something More.
Of (dis)illusions
I just returned from a crazy 4 hour drive each way that has returned me to questions I often wrestle with - this time I would like to share them with you...
We went on this adventure for 2 reasons - one was to see some very good friends and to share some time together - they have a fabulous family and we see them rarely and so it was good to catch up, laugh and say things like, "I remember when..." The second was to celebrate my wife's birthday - her birthday is September 11th and I know this is a really late gift, but I had given her tickets to see one of her favorite music groups on Friday night.
The time with friends was encouraging and fun, relaxing and crazy, but the concert was just amazingly unexpected. We arrived just as it was starting, to see a local youth group praise band play, which we enjoyed from a praise standpoint much more than from a band standpoint. Then, within a few minutes the group we had driven all that way to see came up on stage. It was a far more theatrical performance than we had expected, but the music was good and the ringing of their songs deep in our hearts was really powerful in some spots. There was one thing that I noticed was remarkably absent for a Christian music group, playing in a Church - there was no prayer - none. I had grown used to listening to their music and kneading those words like yeast into the lives of the people I lead and watching those peoples' lives be changed by God working through those words in the middle of their life situations - so to have no communication with God surprised me. It certainly did not keep me from jamming out with my family - praising God and enjoying the talents of the four gifted artists.
Now, we had been expecting to walk into a packed house - but there apparently are not very many people in that area who follow this group - there were only about 50. We were surprised but fine with it. The cool thing is that after the concert, because there were so few of us, the band stayed around and talked and had pictures taken, signed autographs and all - it was cool. Since it was my wife's birthday present, we decided to do the "groupie" thing and get pictures with the band. But, we couldn't just have a picture, we felt compelled to tell them the impact that their music was having on what we do. The lead guitarist was really touched - it was cool to see him light up when he heard of how the tunes he was playing were making a difference in the lives of real people. But the conversation with the lead singer really was a bit mind bending...
We had our picture, then told him how we invest our lives in helping people see the amazingness of God in everyday life and also in helping the people of our world see that there is More to life then the usual American way that so often leaves us feeling empty & 00unfulfilled. Then he asked a question. "So, you work with the disillusioned. Are you, as well, disillusioned?" He proceeded to tell us the story of his hurt and painful betrayal in his Church and how he had not even been back to church since - and it sounded like a long time.
So, here's a question: What makes a writer of fantastic songs about the strength and protection of God disillusioned by what he has seen in the American Church? Well, he has seen what we all see if we are around very long and if we look very close - in fact what we can't miss unless we bury our heads in the sand and deny/refuse to look at all. He has seen that people suck. He has witnessed the ickiness and pain and poor choices and other people harming actions and emotions and relationships of people. Now, it takes only 2 seconds to confirm that this should not have surprised him and it should not surprise us - people suck - all i have to do is look into my heart and my motives and my attitudes and i quickly find that suckiness is the norm - and i see it in everyone i know - including my wonderful wife, who many of you i'm sure are convinced is perfect - sorry honey! We do stupid things every day - sometimes it seems like every second. Yet, somehow, sometimes we are still shocked, amazed, hurt, even horrified at the fact that people have done bad things, cruel things, hurtful things, even illegal and evil things. Why? We don't seem to be too bothered when prison inmates act in evil ways. But, we speak so freely of our disillusionment with the church - we find ourselves reeling inside, when we hear of church people who have been behaving in sucky ways. Yet, we see it in ourselves if we will just look with enough humility to peer honestly and truthfully at our hearts - and most of us, in our honest moments, would admit this.
What was my answer to him? Yes, we have been and are, to some degree, disillusioned. But, we find that wherever we look, people suck. They are all messed up. They are selfish and pitiful and broken and it is not any different in the church, it just is a different look of the people and a different look of the suckiness and a different list of the issues.
So, if people are all so screwed up, why is he and why are we so many times so horrified by the church people who are sucky? Well, i am convinced that it is because we have this expectation that in their positions with their "connection" with God and their worship times and all that they will no longer be so pitifully sucky - but we are wrong!!! And we are judgmental and unfair to turn around the suck meter on them and turn it up to freaking ultra sensitive detector mode for them and if they come up with any suckiness then we hand our heads in defeat and become "disillusioned." Think about the word disillusioned for a second. What does it mean? "Dis" means the negative of something - like "dis"respect means not respecting. But what does illusion mean?
il•lu•sion ( -l zh n)
n.
1.
a. An erroneous perception of reality.
b. An erroneous concept or belief.
2. The condition of being deceived by a false perception or belief.
3. Something, such as a fantastic plan or desire, that causes an erroneous belief or perception.
So, to be disillusioned might mean the opposite of that definition - which really might mean that our original erroneous perception of reality or concept or belief (that church people don't suck just like everybody else) is now gone - we now see reality, we have a true concept or belief.
The thing is, the truth is not always fun and it is not always what we want to hear. We wanted church people to not suck - but the do. So, why do we find ourselves so lost and frustrated and screwed up after learning all these sucky things about the people of the church?
Well, that leads to the next thing i told him (honestly at this point not believing i am having this conversation with this guy who wrote these songs that have so touched my life, but plunging on anyway) was, "The thing is dude, people all over suck, in the church and out of the church, but God does not suck - He is amazing and if you keep coming back to Him - over and over and over again - your life will be the best life it can be!!! He, you see, is wonderful!"
And i think that's why it bothered me that they didn't pray.
So, what do you do with all this? if you are angry or frustrated at people who you thought woudl not be sucky and it proved out that they were over time - let it go - talk to God about it and realize that they are living up to their potential - they are going to screw up and the sooner you realize it, the better - if you are wallowing away in self-pity over the fact that the institutions that are supposed to be showing the amazingness of God are not, and maybe they have even hurt you - get over it - start looking to the God who will show you himself, if you will simply notice (check out www.morethamoremtm.blogspot.com) - talk to Him about it - get together with other people who are also noticing Him and share stories - pursue Him and invite Him into the moments of your life - it will make all the difference.
After all, this is the same God who carts families 4 hours across the midwest to see a music group in order to arrange a meeting of the disillusioned - what wouldn't He do to help his sucky, messed up creation to get back on track?
We went on this adventure for 2 reasons - one was to see some very good friends and to share some time together - they have a fabulous family and we see them rarely and so it was good to catch up, laugh and say things like, "I remember when..." The second was to celebrate my wife's birthday - her birthday is September 11th and I know this is a really late gift, but I had given her tickets to see one of her favorite music groups on Friday night.
The time with friends was encouraging and fun, relaxing and crazy, but the concert was just amazingly unexpected. We arrived just as it was starting, to see a local youth group praise band play, which we enjoyed from a praise standpoint much more than from a band standpoint. Then, within a few minutes the group we had driven all that way to see came up on stage. It was a far more theatrical performance than we had expected, but the music was good and the ringing of their songs deep in our hearts was really powerful in some spots. There was one thing that I noticed was remarkably absent for a Christian music group, playing in a Church - there was no prayer - none. I had grown used to listening to their music and kneading those words like yeast into the lives of the people I lead and watching those peoples' lives be changed by God working through those words in the middle of their life situations - so to have no communication with God surprised me. It certainly did not keep me from jamming out with my family - praising God and enjoying the talents of the four gifted artists.
Now, we had been expecting to walk into a packed house - but there apparently are not very many people in that area who follow this group - there were only about 50. We were surprised but fine with it. The cool thing is that after the concert, because there were so few of us, the band stayed around and talked and had pictures taken, signed autographs and all - it was cool. Since it was my wife's birthday present, we decided to do the "groupie" thing and get pictures with the band. But, we couldn't just have a picture, we felt compelled to tell them the impact that their music was having on what we do. The lead guitarist was really touched - it was cool to see him light up when he heard of how the tunes he was playing were making a difference in the lives of real people. But the conversation with the lead singer really was a bit mind bending...
We had our picture, then told him how we invest our lives in helping people see the amazingness of God in everyday life and also in helping the people of our world see that there is More to life then the usual American way that so often leaves us feeling empty & 00unfulfilled. Then he asked a question. "So, you work with the disillusioned. Are you, as well, disillusioned?" He proceeded to tell us the story of his hurt and painful betrayal in his Church and how he had not even been back to church since - and it sounded like a long time.
So, here's a question: What makes a writer of fantastic songs about the strength and protection of God disillusioned by what he has seen in the American Church? Well, he has seen what we all see if we are around very long and if we look very close - in fact what we can't miss unless we bury our heads in the sand and deny/refuse to look at all. He has seen that people suck. He has witnessed the ickiness and pain and poor choices and other people harming actions and emotions and relationships of people. Now, it takes only 2 seconds to confirm that this should not have surprised him and it should not surprise us - people suck - all i have to do is look into my heart and my motives and my attitudes and i quickly find that suckiness is the norm - and i see it in everyone i know - including my wonderful wife, who many of you i'm sure are convinced is perfect - sorry honey! We do stupid things every day - sometimes it seems like every second. Yet, somehow, sometimes we are still shocked, amazed, hurt, even horrified at the fact that people have done bad things, cruel things, hurtful things, even illegal and evil things. Why? We don't seem to be too bothered when prison inmates act in evil ways. But, we speak so freely of our disillusionment with the church - we find ourselves reeling inside, when we hear of church people who have been behaving in sucky ways. Yet, we see it in ourselves if we will just look with enough humility to peer honestly and truthfully at our hearts - and most of us, in our honest moments, would admit this.
What was my answer to him? Yes, we have been and are, to some degree, disillusioned. But, we find that wherever we look, people suck. They are all messed up. They are selfish and pitiful and broken and it is not any different in the church, it just is a different look of the people and a different look of the suckiness and a different list of the issues.
So, if people are all so screwed up, why is he and why are we so many times so horrified by the church people who are sucky? Well, i am convinced that it is because we have this expectation that in their positions with their "connection" with God and their worship times and all that they will no longer be so pitifully sucky - but we are wrong!!! And we are judgmental and unfair to turn around the suck meter on them and turn it up to freaking ultra sensitive detector mode for them and if they come up with any suckiness then we hand our heads in defeat and become "disillusioned." Think about the word disillusioned for a second. What does it mean? "Dis" means the negative of something - like "dis"respect means not respecting. But what does illusion mean?
il•lu•sion ( -l zh n)
n.
1.
a. An erroneous perception of reality.
b. An erroneous concept or belief.
2. The condition of being deceived by a false perception or belief.
3. Something, such as a fantastic plan or desire, that causes an erroneous belief or perception.
So, to be disillusioned might mean the opposite of that definition - which really might mean that our original erroneous perception of reality or concept or belief (that church people don't suck just like everybody else) is now gone - we now see reality, we have a true concept or belief.
The thing is, the truth is not always fun and it is not always what we want to hear. We wanted church people to not suck - but the do. So, why do we find ourselves so lost and frustrated and screwed up after learning all these sucky things about the people of the church?
Well, that leads to the next thing i told him (honestly at this point not believing i am having this conversation with this guy who wrote these songs that have so touched my life, but plunging on anyway) was, "The thing is dude, people all over suck, in the church and out of the church, but God does not suck - He is amazing and if you keep coming back to Him - over and over and over again - your life will be the best life it can be!!! He, you see, is wonderful!"
And i think that's why it bothered me that they didn't pray.
So, what do you do with all this? if you are angry or frustrated at people who you thought woudl not be sucky and it proved out that they were over time - let it go - talk to God about it and realize that they are living up to their potential - they are going to screw up and the sooner you realize it, the better - if you are wallowing away in self-pity over the fact that the institutions that are supposed to be showing the amazingness of God are not, and maybe they have even hurt you - get over it - start looking to the God who will show you himself, if you will simply notice (check out www.morethamoremtm.blogspot.com) - talk to Him about it - get together with other people who are also noticing Him and share stories - pursue Him and invite Him into the moments of your life - it will make all the difference.
After all, this is the same God who carts families 4 hours across the midwest to see a music group in order to arrange a meeting of the disillusioned - what wouldn't He do to help his sucky, messed up creation to get back on track?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Love Your Feet Outreach - October 28th
Ok - so, it is set - On October 28th, Friday, we will be having our Love Your Feet outreach from 8-4:30ish - More than more will be providing lunches for volunteers that day - at the YWCA (6th street and Cincinnati, in downtown Lafayette)with
dinner and campfire at our house afterwards!
the night before (the 27th) we will have a setup time and dinner from 6-9PM at the YWCA.
We need someone to help by taking charge of the dinner the night before - it is a huge process getting all this organized and running smoothly and to do the dinner the night before too is too much for Melissa - there is a full kitchen for your use at the YWCA and lots of refrigerator space. More than more can help with the cost of supplies if you need us to
If you are a part of More than more, we need your help - This is a really good time, it is great to serve and to help lots of people see their value - but, it is also a ton of work - we have given away as many as 1000 pairs of shoes in 1 day in the past and this requires lots of hands and feet helping out! This is mainly for people who are part of More than more though or connected in some way - and generally not just for anyone - it is our way of sharing all the things we are learning about and receiving in More than more with other people - our chance to give back, or forward...and our opportunity to form relationships with people who need to hear/see what being really cared about is like.
If you are going to be participating (it does not have to be all day), please let us know and especially if you have not been a part before, let us know early so we can get you a More than more shirt to wear that day!
Please note, there will not be any childcare on Thursday night, we are happy to have you bring your little children and hangout, but you will need to plan to watch them - no babysitters - on Friday, kids old enough to really help are welcome and even encouraged because it is good for them to experience a day like this. Of course, all kids are welcome for the dinner after Love Your Feet at our house!
It is going to be a great time together - hope you can all make it for at least part of the day!
keep noticing...
Jason & Melissa
dinner and campfire at our house afterwards!
the night before (the 27th) we will have a setup time and dinner from 6-9PM at the YWCA.
We need someone to help by taking charge of the dinner the night before - it is a huge process getting all this organized and running smoothly and to do the dinner the night before too is too much for Melissa - there is a full kitchen for your use at the YWCA and lots of refrigerator space. More than more can help with the cost of supplies if you need us to
If you are a part of More than more, we need your help - This is a really good time, it is great to serve and to help lots of people see their value - but, it is also a ton of work - we have given away as many as 1000 pairs of shoes in 1 day in the past and this requires lots of hands and feet helping out! This is mainly for people who are part of More than more though or connected in some way - and generally not just for anyone - it is our way of sharing all the things we are learning about and receiving in More than more with other people - our chance to give back, or forward...and our opportunity to form relationships with people who need to hear/see what being really cared about is like.
If you are going to be participating (it does not have to be all day), please let us know and especially if you have not been a part before, let us know early so we can get you a More than more shirt to wear that day!
Please note, there will not be any childcare on Thursday night, we are happy to have you bring your little children and hangout, but you will need to plan to watch them - no babysitters - on Friday, kids old enough to really help are welcome and even encouraged because it is good for them to experience a day like this. Of course, all kids are welcome for the dinner after Love Your Feet at our house!
It is going to be a great time together - hope you can all make it for at least part of the day!
keep noticing...
Jason & Melissa
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Medical Outreach September 2011
So, yesterday was another great day to be a part of More than more. We spent 4 hours sharing the perspective and love that is growing inside us with about 15 patients who were not able to afford doctor visits or medications or both, along with the great, dedicated workers at Bauer Center’s Durgan location, here in Lafayette. It is a wonderful thing to be able to just share some care with someone else. You see, in our society, many times having a lack of money, insurance, resources, stuff, etc, tends to carry with it a stigma that many times leaves people feeling as if they have no value at all to society and, even worse, to the people around them. This kind of despair goes right to the heart – it leaves many people feeling as if they don’t really matter to anyone.
When we give from our hearts and our skills – whether it is medical care and medicines or nail painting or face painting or balloon animals or playing games or even just smiling and laughing and chatting about life, we do more than give medicines or good advice or give nice looking manicures…we instill hope…we donate life…we give love and purpose and the very real sense that the person we are investing in actually matters – because they do. In fact, each of us has had times in our lives (or we will) when we doubted our value, we doubted our lives and someone, somewhere, decided that they would invest in us and show us that value and that has changed everything.
Now, investing in people is not easy. We usually come face to face with the reality that we cannot possibly solve all the problems of even one of these people, much less all of them, much less all of our community, much less all of our nation, all of our world. This can leave us feeling frustrated and hurt and sad. But, we also must remember that it is not ours, alone, to work out all this – only to share our portion in our time – the rest falls to the same God we learn about in More than more and who joins us in our lives. He is the One who made hearing – who allows us to recognize faces and connects us to each other in such a wonderful way. He is the One who gives us the perspective change that makes life More than more!
I do not know what the people we served and cared for yesterday took away from the time we shared. I do not know their impressions of us, nor what is happening in their hearts today. But I do know that for those 4 hours yesterday, we were doing exactly the right thing! I also know that I have seen so many peoples’ lives changed by this idea – that there is More to life than the usual American more. That More lies in seeing the Truth in life – noticing the amazingness of the God who made us and having Him be a part of our lives. It lies in sharing life together, accepting each other, as amazing and messed up as we all are. It lies in noticing each other and sharing the amazingness with those who have yet to see it.
It is a better way to live! And if it sounds interesting, tempting, we would love to have you join us tomorrow night – 9/22/11, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
Hope to see you there – keep noticing…
When we give from our hearts and our skills – whether it is medical care and medicines or nail painting or face painting or balloon animals or playing games or even just smiling and laughing and chatting about life, we do more than give medicines or good advice or give nice looking manicures…we instill hope…we donate life…we give love and purpose and the very real sense that the person we are investing in actually matters – because they do. In fact, each of us has had times in our lives (or we will) when we doubted our value, we doubted our lives and someone, somewhere, decided that they would invest in us and show us that value and that has changed everything.
Now, investing in people is not easy. We usually come face to face with the reality that we cannot possibly solve all the problems of even one of these people, much less all of them, much less all of our community, much less all of our nation, all of our world. This can leave us feeling frustrated and hurt and sad. But, we also must remember that it is not ours, alone, to work out all this – only to share our portion in our time – the rest falls to the same God we learn about in More than more and who joins us in our lives. He is the One who made hearing – who allows us to recognize faces and connects us to each other in such a wonderful way. He is the One who gives us the perspective change that makes life More than more!
I do not know what the people we served and cared for yesterday took away from the time we shared. I do not know their impressions of us, nor what is happening in their hearts today. But I do know that for those 4 hours yesterday, we were doing exactly the right thing! I also know that I have seen so many peoples’ lives changed by this idea – that there is More to life than the usual American more. That More lies in seeing the Truth in life – noticing the amazingness of the God who made us and having Him be a part of our lives. It lies in sharing life together, accepting each other, as amazing and messed up as we all are. It lies in noticing each other and sharing the amazingness with those who have yet to see it.
It is a better way to live! And if it sounds interesting, tempting, we would love to have you join us tomorrow night – 9/22/11, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
Hope to see you there – keep noticing…
Friday, September 16, 2011
Can you HEAR me?
So, last Thursday we had a great time hanging out, laughing and being together - if you missed it - you missed out, but you can join us next Thursday night, Seoptember 22nd!!
We talked aboout how amazing our hearing is this last week. You see about the only time that most people notice their hearing is when they have a bad codl and their ears are stopped up or when they try to talk to their grandmother and she can't hear them very well. But, some of themost amazing times in our lives are because of our sense of hearing.
For example, if you hear your baby cry for the first time...or if you have waited forever to hear the words "I do"... or if you heard the wind in the trees or the song of a bird or the voice of smoeone say, "I love you." You see, our hearing is always there, doing its thing, and we do not appreciate it. Nor do we appreciate the amazingness of the God who made it so perfectly. Ever considered how amazing it is that you can hear a sound and see a picture in your head? Maybe you hear a voice on the phone and you can picture immediately the face of the person you are talking to? This is because our brain immediately connects what we hear to our thoughts - it is amazing! God made you hearing amazingly.
I have attached a link for you to check out - do not know the web site well, but the diagram is cool and the descriptions of hearing process -amazing!!
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/ear/
So, don't take your hearing for granted!! The God who went to all this trouble to make your hearing perfect did not make you to be abandoned - He made you because He wants to be involved in your life - so...thank Him. The next time you hear something just thank the God who made your hearing - and invite Him into your world - ask Him to join you in your day, to change what you notice and what you don't. It just might change your entire day!!!
If you are sick of like as usual - only noticing the things in life that you have to get done - always striving for more and more and more, consider joining us - we will be hanging out next Thursday night 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister Recreation Center,just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - as always there will be laughter, acceptance, and free childcare - we hope to see you.
We talked aboout how amazing our hearing is this last week. You see about the only time that most people notice their hearing is when they have a bad codl and their ears are stopped up or when they try to talk to their grandmother and she can't hear them very well. But, some of themost amazing times in our lives are because of our sense of hearing.
For example, if you hear your baby cry for the first time...or if you have waited forever to hear the words "I do"... or if you heard the wind in the trees or the song of a bird or the voice of smoeone say, "I love you." You see, our hearing is always there, doing its thing, and we do not appreciate it. Nor do we appreciate the amazingness of the God who made it so perfectly. Ever considered how amazing it is that you can hear a sound and see a picture in your head? Maybe you hear a voice on the phone and you can picture immediately the face of the person you are talking to? This is because our brain immediately connects what we hear to our thoughts - it is amazing! God made you hearing amazingly.
I have attached a link for you to check out - do not know the web site well, but the diagram is cool and the descriptions of hearing process -amazing!!
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/ear/
So, don't take your hearing for granted!! The God who went to all this trouble to make your hearing perfect did not make you to be abandoned - He made you because He wants to be involved in your life - so...thank Him. The next time you hear something just thank the God who made your hearing - and invite Him into your world - ask Him to join you in your day, to change what you notice and what you don't. It just might change your entire day!!!
If you are sick of like as usual - only noticing the things in life that you have to get done - always striving for more and more and more, consider joining us - we will be hanging out next Thursday night 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister Recreation Center,just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - as always there will be laughter, acceptance, and free childcare - we hope to see you.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Just FACE it
Ever wonder about faces?
So, last time we were together, I placed a picture of a face in front of Deb’s face. I gave her 1minute to look at it. At the end of 1minute, I removed the picture and then asked her to describe the face in detail – traits and all – that it might be redrawn. She was not able to give any of the details to a significant degree. Then, i handed her a photo book and asked her, instead of describing the face, to simply identify the lady in the picture (who, incidentally, she did not previously know). She flipped through the pages and easily identified the lady.
Now, this may seem perfectly obvious to you that this would happen this way, but have you ever thought about why? Have you ever stopped to notice?
What is remarkable about this is that we can easily recognize the pattern of a face without being able to describe all the details of it. Why? Well, we were made to see the importance of and the uniqueness of, people! We were made to recognize the pattern that is a human and how it is different and wonderfully created. This, in fact, is the first step in any relationship! We see someone, recognize them as unique and wonderful and then begin to know them more from there!
This is a reflection of how God made us – it is not an accident – you see, God thinks that people are the most important thing in the world and he puts that in us – hardwired into us.
You ever see someone in the mall or something and you think, “Where do I know them from?” You probably have seen them before and you are recognizing their uniqueness! This is a beautiful thing!
So, the next time that happens, consider thanking God for making you so amazingly – and for putting this value of people in you. And, invite Him into your world – ask Him to share the day with you.
Also remember that the same God who made you so amazingly would not invest all that energy in this part of you, only to abandon you in the midst of your circumstances – He made you like this because He loves you so much and that will only continue – He will not let you go! No matter how bad your circumstances are, he will be with you. And this is way cool!
Now, i realize that it might be hard to imagine that something like this could actually change your life, so many of us have so many difficult times, and this just seems so small...but at More than more we are determined to live life better than the everyday, usual American way of get more, buy more, achieve more, etc. We have found that in order to live for More, it helps to notice - and as we notice, to invite God into our lives - as we do this in lots of different places - we find that life opens up and even though our circumstances are still not necessarily any different, we see life differently.
If you are sick of the usual American life and are looking for something More - even just some people who will accept you for who you are - we would love to have you join us this Thursday night, September 8th, 2011, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
So, last time we were together, I placed a picture of a face in front of Deb’s face. I gave her 1minute to look at it. At the end of 1minute, I removed the picture and then asked her to describe the face in detail – traits and all – that it might be redrawn. She was not able to give any of the details to a significant degree. Then, i handed her a photo book and asked her, instead of describing the face, to simply identify the lady in the picture (who, incidentally, she did not previously know). She flipped through the pages and easily identified the lady.
Now, this may seem perfectly obvious to you that this would happen this way, but have you ever thought about why? Have you ever stopped to notice?
What is remarkable about this is that we can easily recognize the pattern of a face without being able to describe all the details of it. Why? Well, we were made to see the importance of and the uniqueness of, people! We were made to recognize the pattern that is a human and how it is different and wonderfully created. This, in fact, is the first step in any relationship! We see someone, recognize them as unique and wonderful and then begin to know them more from there!
This is a reflection of how God made us – it is not an accident – you see, God thinks that people are the most important thing in the world and he puts that in us – hardwired into us.
You ever see someone in the mall or something and you think, “Where do I know them from?” You probably have seen them before and you are recognizing their uniqueness! This is a beautiful thing!
So, the next time that happens, consider thanking God for making you so amazingly – and for putting this value of people in you. And, invite Him into your world – ask Him to share the day with you.
Also remember that the same God who made you so amazingly would not invest all that energy in this part of you, only to abandon you in the midst of your circumstances – He made you like this because He loves you so much and that will only continue – He will not let you go! No matter how bad your circumstances are, he will be with you. And this is way cool!
Now, i realize that it might be hard to imagine that something like this could actually change your life, so many of us have so many difficult times, and this just seems so small...but at More than more we are determined to live life better than the everyday, usual American way of get more, buy more, achieve more, etc. We have found that in order to live for More, it helps to notice - and as we notice, to invite God into our lives - as we do this in lots of different places - we find that life opens up and even though our circumstances are still not necessarily any different, we see life differently.
If you are sick of the usual American life and are looking for something More - even just some people who will accept you for who you are - we would love to have you join us this Thursday night, September 8th, 2011, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
Friday, August 12, 2011
It's TIME
We had a wonderful time together last night - if you missed it, you really missed out!
We talked about time - take a timer and just watch it for 1minute - go do it now.
Ok - do you feel like you just wasted a minute? Did it seem like a long time to just stand there? Did you question whether that portion of your life should be broken up into things called minutes and seconds? Do we question whether our lives and the happenings around us should be measured in regular predictable amounts?
Do we wonder or question that 24hrs in a day is logical? Like the rotation of the Earth on its axis? Do we wonder if 365 days in a year are logical (i know it is off just a little...), like the time around the sun?
Or do we accept all of these things as the most logical and appropriate things?
Why do we just accept them? Why have people measured time for as long as anyone can remember? Why do all cultures track it to some degree?
BECAUSE it makes sense - the obvious answer is that the period between sunrise of one day and sunrise of the next makes sense - it is orderly and predictable and logical. The world makes sense.
Now, some people would try to get you to believe that the world and everything in it happened by accident - that some chaotic things happened to give rise to all that exists - this is craziness - it only takes one look at something as simple as the time it takes for that timer to tick off 1minute to realize that the world and everything in it was made orderly and amazing!
In fact, the reason all this is so amazingly orderly and structured is that it was made by an amazing God who cared that it not be haphazard. He is wonderful and amazing and so His creation must be!
What does this mean for you?
Well, if God took this much trouble to make time so perfect, do you really thin He has made you only to abandon you? Do you think you are a mistake? NO!! He cares way more for you than your timer! He loves you so much - and He will never abandon you!!
I know it does not make all the trouble in your life go away and does not make everything easy - but life is never easy - the real question is Is it better to go through the hard time with a God who is so amazing or without? The answer seems obvious to me.
So, we spent time noticing God and how amazing He is and then we took time to notice people - all people are amazing - all of them made perfectly the way they were supposed to be - hand chosen for the world. But, they are also all pitifully screwed up - broken - hurting - lives in pieces...We need to notice them - do we dare step outside of our frantic American lifestyles enough to notice the amazing people around us and how much pain and hurt they endure? Do we dare to care about them? Do we dare to invite God into themidst of their problems? To make a difference to them, like someone has to us??? Well, we spend some time each time we get together daring to notice each other and also challenged to step out of our usual lives and into noticing...
finally, we listened to the song One Day Too Late, by Skillet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNEC735juI4
try the youtube link
How much of our 60second minutes, 60minute hours, 24 hour days, 365 day years, do we spend do the things we think are the most important? Do we dare waste even a minute??
How will you spend the time you have been given???
Make a change - you may not be able to "love you enemies" tomorrow perfectly or "forgive and forget" perfectly tomorrow, but don't you want to at least be going in the right direction? Giving your life to something that matters with every minute you have? A great place to start is to notice - allow yourself to step out of the usual American way and notice the amzingness of God and the amazingness and brokenness of people!
If this makes sense to you and you want to learn more, feel free to post - and if you want to hang out with some people who are trying to live their lives this way, we would love to have you join us - we will be hanging out again on August 25th, from 6:45-8:00pm at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette
hope to see you there
tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...
We talked about time - take a timer and just watch it for 1minute - go do it now.
Ok - do you feel like you just wasted a minute? Did it seem like a long time to just stand there? Did you question whether that portion of your life should be broken up into things called minutes and seconds? Do we question whether our lives and the happenings around us should be measured in regular predictable amounts?
Do we wonder or question that 24hrs in a day is logical? Like the rotation of the Earth on its axis? Do we wonder if 365 days in a year are logical (i know it is off just a little...), like the time around the sun?
Or do we accept all of these things as the most logical and appropriate things?
Why do we just accept them? Why have people measured time for as long as anyone can remember? Why do all cultures track it to some degree?
BECAUSE it makes sense - the obvious answer is that the period between sunrise of one day and sunrise of the next makes sense - it is orderly and predictable and logical. The world makes sense.
Now, some people would try to get you to believe that the world and everything in it happened by accident - that some chaotic things happened to give rise to all that exists - this is craziness - it only takes one look at something as simple as the time it takes for that timer to tick off 1minute to realize that the world and everything in it was made orderly and amazing!
In fact, the reason all this is so amazingly orderly and structured is that it was made by an amazing God who cared that it not be haphazard. He is wonderful and amazing and so His creation must be!
What does this mean for you?
Well, if God took this much trouble to make time so perfect, do you really thin He has made you only to abandon you? Do you think you are a mistake? NO!! He cares way more for you than your timer! He loves you so much - and He will never abandon you!!
I know it does not make all the trouble in your life go away and does not make everything easy - but life is never easy - the real question is Is it better to go through the hard time with a God who is so amazing or without? The answer seems obvious to me.
So, we spent time noticing God and how amazing He is and then we took time to notice people - all people are amazing - all of them made perfectly the way they were supposed to be - hand chosen for the world. But, they are also all pitifully screwed up - broken - hurting - lives in pieces...We need to notice them - do we dare step outside of our frantic American lifestyles enough to notice the amazing people around us and how much pain and hurt they endure? Do we dare to care about them? Do we dare to invite God into themidst of their problems? To make a difference to them, like someone has to us??? Well, we spend some time each time we get together daring to notice each other and also challenged to step out of our usual lives and into noticing...
finally, we listened to the song One Day Too Late, by Skillet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNEC735juI4
try the youtube link
How much of our 60second minutes, 60minute hours, 24 hour days, 365 day years, do we spend do the things we think are the most important? Do we dare waste even a minute??
How will you spend the time you have been given???
Make a change - you may not be able to "love you enemies" tomorrow perfectly or "forgive and forget" perfectly tomorrow, but don't you want to at least be going in the right direction? Giving your life to something that matters with every minute you have? A great place to start is to notice - allow yourself to step out of the usual American way and notice the amzingness of God and the amazingness and brokenness of people!
If this makes sense to you and you want to learn more, feel free to post - and if you want to hang out with some people who are trying to live their lives this way, we would love to have you join us - we will be hanging out again on August 25th, from 6:45-8:00pm at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette
hope to see you there
tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Last time and next time
So, last time i missed, but i hear it was absolutely fantastic - there will be a blog post to follow - so keep checking.
Our next time together will be tomorrow night, August 11th, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, from 6:45-8:00PM - there will be free childcare, as always!
Hope to see you there!
Our next time together will be tomorrow night, August 11th, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, from 6:45-8:00PM - there will be free childcare, as always!
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Late Medical Moments...
Hello everyone! Sorry,t he blog posts have been paltry...surgery and then outreach and then famiyl vacation has kept us running - but we are back now and i wanted to tell you about the time we shared on July 19th, yes, fair week, at Durgan Elementary.
We spent 6 hours having tons of fun in the heat, painting nails (not me - you don't want me to paint your nails, playing xbox kinect, painting faces, and loving people with our smiles, our hugs, our paint, our play, our care, our doctor visits and some free medicines!
What a great way to spend the day! We had a blast! We had 31 patients and we were able to help them with a wide variety of troubles. It was great to be in a position to care. It was also wonderful to see the folks waiting (imagine waiting for a docotr!!) chatting and enjoying eachother so much! The love and mutual care was just really cool! One lady was even going to miss her bus and so someone gave up their spot to let her go 1st!! It was remarkable!!
You see, we find that as we notice people, not as whether they are insured or not, or whether they have certain clothes, or act a certain way, but as wonderfully created people, made by a loving God - we begin to see life open up in new ways!!! Life takes on a joy and wonder that we never anticipated before! This is what More than more is all about!!
If this sounds really cool to you - we would love to have you join us next Thursday night, August 11th, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th ahdn Schuyler Ave, in Lafayette. 6:45-8:00Pm - free childcare as always!
If transportation is an issue, please reply on the blog and we will try to help!!
hope to see you there!
We spent 6 hours having tons of fun in the heat, painting nails (not me - you don't want me to paint your nails, playing xbox kinect, painting faces, and loving people with our smiles, our hugs, our paint, our play, our care, our doctor visits and some free medicines!
What a great way to spend the day! We had a blast! We had 31 patients and we were able to help them with a wide variety of troubles. It was great to be in a position to care. It was also wonderful to see the folks waiting (imagine waiting for a docotr!!) chatting and enjoying eachother so much! The love and mutual care was just really cool! One lady was even going to miss her bus and so someone gave up their spot to let her go 1st!! It was remarkable!!
You see, we find that as we notice people, not as whether they are insured or not, or whether they have certain clothes, or act a certain way, but as wonderfully created people, made by a loving God - we begin to see life open up in new ways!!! Life takes on a joy and wonder that we never anticipated before! This is what More than more is all about!!
If this sounds really cool to you - we would love to have you join us next Thursday night, August 11th, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th ahdn Schuyler Ave, in Lafayette. 6:45-8:00Pm - free childcare as always!
If transportation is an issue, please reply on the blog and we will try to help!!
hope to see you there!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
My Melon!
So, you know that thing above your neck??
more specifically than your head - your skull - well, last Thursday we spent some time being amazed at how God made our skulls just right for us!! It was a great time!
Ever thought about your skull? Maybe when you raised up into that sign you thought you missed or that cabinet you did not realize was there!!!
Well, the skull is a complex of bones that develop separately during infancy and are not fused until past 1 year of age. Even this is amazing because the fact that they are not fused is many times essential to allow the baby's head (which is the largest part of the baby) to come through the birth canal and actually fit. Plus, the brain grows a vast amount in the first year of life and the unfused bones allow for plenty of growth - after all, we wouldn't want to have our brains smushed by not having enough room in the skull!! How perfect is this???
Then, there's the part of how perfect the skull is for it's job for the rest of our lives. What is the job?
Protection - how many times have you bonked your head? Imagine if those bonks were straight to the brain!!! Not many of us would live past toddlerhood, but instead we have this hard head - which incidentally gets much harder right about the time we get much more mobile and daring - that absorbs the blows we give it and protects us!!
Just to highlight how strong the skulls is i wanted to share a story a patient gave me permission to share:
This young man was working on his car. He was working on something just to the inside of the tire area. His car was jacked up and he was working with his arms inside the tire and his head under the tire. Well, the jack slipped and the entire weight of the car fell on his head, wedging it between the tire and the ground. He was then able to keep his wits enough to reach for and find the slipped jack, slide it under the frame, jack the car up and slide himself out from under the car, only to call the 911 operator and have her think he was joking around because his story was so far-fetched. Well, long story short, after lots of tests and some major worry, he was fine. No harm done. Well, he had a small (too small to see on ct of the head) fracture of the bones, but nothing that won't heal on its own!!! Amazing - now, let me tell you, that young man is exceptionally thankful for his skull!!
Now it is nice to appreciate our skulls and be thankful that we have not damaged ourselves too much over the years, but that would only be part of what we need to do with this story - my advice? Take a minute the next time you notice your skull, or anyone else's for that matter, and give some credit to the God who made us so amazingly. Stop for just a second and thank Him for making you so wonderful! Invite Him into the moment with you, ask Him to be a part of your life...to join you in the moments of your life. You might just begin to see life in a little different way - maybe you'll notice the important things in life and life will become More than it seems now!!
If you are sick of life as usual and would like to begin to live for More, we would love to have you join us next Thursday night, July 14th, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM. There will be free, excellent childcare, as always!
Hope to see you there!
more specifically than your head - your skull - well, last Thursday we spent some time being amazed at how God made our skulls just right for us!! It was a great time!
Ever thought about your skull? Maybe when you raised up into that sign you thought you missed or that cabinet you did not realize was there!!!
Well, the skull is a complex of bones that develop separately during infancy and are not fused until past 1 year of age. Even this is amazing because the fact that they are not fused is many times essential to allow the baby's head (which is the largest part of the baby) to come through the birth canal and actually fit. Plus, the brain grows a vast amount in the first year of life and the unfused bones allow for plenty of growth - after all, we wouldn't want to have our brains smushed by not having enough room in the skull!! How perfect is this???
Then, there's the part of how perfect the skull is for it's job for the rest of our lives. What is the job?
Protection - how many times have you bonked your head? Imagine if those bonks were straight to the brain!!! Not many of us would live past toddlerhood, but instead we have this hard head - which incidentally gets much harder right about the time we get much more mobile and daring - that absorbs the blows we give it and protects us!!
Just to highlight how strong the skulls is i wanted to share a story a patient gave me permission to share:
This young man was working on his car. He was working on something just to the inside of the tire area. His car was jacked up and he was working with his arms inside the tire and his head under the tire. Well, the jack slipped and the entire weight of the car fell on his head, wedging it between the tire and the ground. He was then able to keep his wits enough to reach for and find the slipped jack, slide it under the frame, jack the car up and slide himself out from under the car, only to call the 911 operator and have her think he was joking around because his story was so far-fetched. Well, long story short, after lots of tests and some major worry, he was fine. No harm done. Well, he had a small (too small to see on ct of the head) fracture of the bones, but nothing that won't heal on its own!!! Amazing - now, let me tell you, that young man is exceptionally thankful for his skull!!
Now it is nice to appreciate our skulls and be thankful that we have not damaged ourselves too much over the years, but that would only be part of what we need to do with this story - my advice? Take a minute the next time you notice your skull, or anyone else's for that matter, and give some credit to the God who made us so amazingly. Stop for just a second and thank Him for making you so wonderful! Invite Him into the moment with you, ask Him to be a part of your life...to join you in the moments of your life. You might just begin to see life in a little different way - maybe you'll notice the important things in life and life will become More than it seems now!!
If you are sick of life as usual and would like to begin to live for More, we would love to have you join us next Thursday night, July 14th, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM. There will be free, excellent childcare, as always!
Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Hugs
So, we had a great time 2wks ago and if you missed it, you missed out!
The best part of the time we shared was during the part of our time together when we share something amazing about God. So, while all stood up, Sophia, my 7 yr old who is famous for her hugs, went around the gave every single person a hug. Now, it was an amazing thing to watch people whi have been so hurt in their lives so touched by the love of a little girl. Some were even crying because of the way their hearts were touched to be hugged.
Now, i think it is safe to say that even if you weren't there, you can understand how cool it is to feel the warmth of another person's hug. It is safe and wonderful. We were made to feel this. Why? Because God loves this way and He wants us to have the joy of having this kind of love in our lives too and so He made us this way - this is no accident - in fact, He wants us to love Him too!
Consider how much a hug is worth - how much would you pay for a hug? What if it was from someone who you lost to death or a broken relationship? What if it was from someone that you always wished could love you and they just wouldn't or couldn't? What price tag would you attach to that?
See? A hug is beyond worth, but how many times do we rush right past them to get something done?
Well, the next time you get a hug, stop and savor, and then invite the God who made you enjoy it into the moment with you. Thank Him for making you that way. Invite Him into the moment and into your world with you - ask Him to join you in your day - it might make all the difference.
If you are tired of missing the really wonderful parts of life because you are caught up in the franticness of American life, we would love to have you join us tomorrow night - June 30th, at MCAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM. As always there will be free and excellent childcare.
hope to see you there!
The best part of the time we shared was during the part of our time together when we share something amazing about God. So, while all stood up, Sophia, my 7 yr old who is famous for her hugs, went around the gave every single person a hug. Now, it was an amazing thing to watch people whi have been so hurt in their lives so touched by the love of a little girl. Some were even crying because of the way their hearts were touched to be hugged.
Now, i think it is safe to say that even if you weren't there, you can understand how cool it is to feel the warmth of another person's hug. It is safe and wonderful. We were made to feel this. Why? Because God loves this way and He wants us to have the joy of having this kind of love in our lives too and so He made us this way - this is no accident - in fact, He wants us to love Him too!
Consider how much a hug is worth - how much would you pay for a hug? What if it was from someone who you lost to death or a broken relationship? What if it was from someone that you always wished could love you and they just wouldn't or couldn't? What price tag would you attach to that?
See? A hug is beyond worth, but how many times do we rush right past them to get something done?
Well, the next time you get a hug, stop and savor, and then invite the God who made you enjoy it into the moment with you. Thank Him for making you that way. Invite Him into the moment and into your world with you - ask Him to join you in your day - it might make all the difference.
If you are tired of missing the really wonderful parts of life because you are caught up in the franticness of American life, we would love to have you join us tomorrow night - June 30th, at MCAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM. As always there will be free and excellent childcare.
hope to see you there!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Forgiveness Followup
Well, I emailed the people who made the movie and they cannot allow us to give copies. So, if you are interested in having a copy, please feel free to post and i will get you the info.
We will be hanging out tomorrow night at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - 6:45-8:00PM. As always there will be free, excellent childcare.
Also, want to let you know that any of you who are interested are welcome to join us on a community outreach night, next Tuesday night, the 21st. We will be helping to mulch someone's flower beds that we have been praying for for a long time. It will be a great time! If we only experience the goodness of God in our lives and don't share it with other people, we miss so much of the joy in life!!
If you want info, please post to the blog, or come tomorrow night!
Hope to see you soon!
We will be hanging out tomorrow night at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - 6:45-8:00PM. As always there will be free, excellent childcare.
Also, want to let you know that any of you who are interested are welcome to join us on a community outreach night, next Tuesday night, the 21st. We will be helping to mulch someone's flower beds that we have been praying for for a long time. It will be a great time! If we only experience the goodness of God in our lives and don't share it with other people, we miss so much of the joy in life!!
If you want info, please post to the blog, or come tomorrow night!
Hope to see you soon!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Forgiveness...
So, we had a fantastic time last Thursday night at McAllister. We, you see, are tired of living life in the usual American way. Always get more stuff, make more money, more fitness, more health, more sex, more toys, more, more, more. Instead, we gather together every other Thursday night to talk about ways to change the way we live - we alter our focus intentionally - we choose to focus our minds and hearts on those things in life that really matter...
Thursday night we talked about Rwanda. We watched video clips from a movie called as we forgive - here is the web site for the movie http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/ - and heard from Cara and Josh, a couple who has just returned from Rwanda. They spoke of genocide - the killing of a million people in cold blood, just because of the type of family they were born into - and then of amazing forgiveness.
The lady in the film's husband and children were murdered and her sister and her family as well. It turns out that her sister was murdered by a family friend of this lady - he tells the story of what he did. He then feels intense guilt and remorse and comes to her to say how sorry he is and to ask her forgiveness. She, almost unbelievably, says that is God has forgiven her, then she will forgive him. she no longer fears death, or agony...it was humbling and intense and perspective changing.
The thing is, God made us this way. We find in our hearts the ability to forgive the most heinous. Now, let me clarify - forgiving does not mean that you are saying that what someone did is ok, or all right. It does not mean you forget, or even that you have some fluffy and healthy relationship with them, but you do make your peace with them, the most you can, right where you are. You choose to not hold tightly onto the reigns of revenge or bitterness. You do your best to see that person as broken and messed up and go on with your life. Now, i realize this is not easy and am not suggesting this - but the amount a human can forgive is absolutely amazing!!!
We went around the room, prior to the movie, and many of the people in the room had been wronged near to the lady on the screen, and had found it in them to forgive to the maximum that they were able at that time in their lives! And we don't live in Rwanda...but the midwest!
You see, as bad as things can be that are inflicted upon us from other people, as much pain as they can cause us, humans have it in their ability to forgive and go on. This is not natural - natural is to attack, to defend, to avenge. But, inside us is this deep seated God-likeness - You see, He made us in His image - meaning that He made us, at our root, to be like Him. We are made to have an ability to forgive, way beyond what it seems like we should be able to.
So, the next time you encounter that person who just really has hurt you (or even think of them)...the next time you see someone forgive past what is reasonable...notice. Pay attention not just to the peace, i am glad for that, but also to the fact that you are made that way. Stop for a second and thank the God who made you so amazingly that you could go through all that and still find the other side. Invite Him into your world, right there. Ask Him to join you in the moment and to begin to open your eyes to what's really important about life. It will not stop people from doing mean things, but it will change your world.
If this is sounding like it might just be a better way to begin trying to live your life, we would love to have you join us June 16th, 6:45-8:00 PM, at McAllister Recreation Center. We will be continuing our journey together, and having some serious laughs. McAllister is just off 20th st and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. As always, we will have free, excellent childcare, and some exellent food.
Hope to see you there.
Jason
Thursday night we talked about Rwanda. We watched video clips from a movie called as we forgive - here is the web site for the movie http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/ - and heard from Cara and Josh, a couple who has just returned from Rwanda. They spoke of genocide - the killing of a million people in cold blood, just because of the type of family they were born into - and then of amazing forgiveness.
The lady in the film's husband and children were murdered and her sister and her family as well. It turns out that her sister was murdered by a family friend of this lady - he tells the story of what he did. He then feels intense guilt and remorse and comes to her to say how sorry he is and to ask her forgiveness. She, almost unbelievably, says that is God has forgiven her, then she will forgive him. she no longer fears death, or agony...it was humbling and intense and perspective changing.
The thing is, God made us this way. We find in our hearts the ability to forgive the most heinous. Now, let me clarify - forgiving does not mean that you are saying that what someone did is ok, or all right. It does not mean you forget, or even that you have some fluffy and healthy relationship with them, but you do make your peace with them, the most you can, right where you are. You choose to not hold tightly onto the reigns of revenge or bitterness. You do your best to see that person as broken and messed up and go on with your life. Now, i realize this is not easy and am not suggesting this - but the amount a human can forgive is absolutely amazing!!!
We went around the room, prior to the movie, and many of the people in the room had been wronged near to the lady on the screen, and had found it in them to forgive to the maximum that they were able at that time in their lives! And we don't live in Rwanda...but the midwest!
You see, as bad as things can be that are inflicted upon us from other people, as much pain as they can cause us, humans have it in their ability to forgive and go on. This is not natural - natural is to attack, to defend, to avenge. But, inside us is this deep seated God-likeness - You see, He made us in His image - meaning that He made us, at our root, to be like Him. We are made to have an ability to forgive, way beyond what it seems like we should be able to.
So, the next time you encounter that person who just really has hurt you (or even think of them)...the next time you see someone forgive past what is reasonable...notice. Pay attention not just to the peace, i am glad for that, but also to the fact that you are made that way. Stop for a second and thank the God who made you so amazingly that you could go through all that and still find the other side. Invite Him into your world, right there. Ask Him to join you in the moment and to begin to open your eyes to what's really important about life. It will not stop people from doing mean things, but it will change your world.
If this is sounding like it might just be a better way to begin trying to live your life, we would love to have you join us June 16th, 6:45-8:00 PM, at McAllister Recreation Center. We will be continuing our journey together, and having some serious laughs. McAllister is just off 20th st and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. As always, we will have free, excellent childcare, and some exellent food.
Hope to see you there.
Jason
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tomorrow
Just a quick reminder to all of you that More than more will be hanging out 6:45-8:00pm tomorrow night at McAllister Cetner - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - we will have some friends of mine with us to share - it should be a good time.
Also, tomorrow begins summer hours at McAllister - which means that we will finish promptly at 8 - they stay open a hour late for us on the Thursday nights we are there.
would love to see all of you there!
Also, tomorrow begins summer hours at McAllister - which means that we will finish promptly at 8 - they stay open a hour late for us on the Thursday nights we are there.
would love to see all of you there!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
So...you want to talk about politics...
Like i was saying in the last post, we had a great time last time, learning about fractals and appreciating how amazing God is. We also spent time focusing on people and both how amazing all of them (even the biggest pains in the butt ones) are and how broken and messed up and hurting they are. We truly care about each other and it is not because of what we provide to each other - there is nothing much we provide except support and acceptance - but because as we begin to look for More in life, we begin to see that what really matters...is people.
Ok, so after we spent some time focusing on each other and people in general and noticing them, we talked for a while about politics and bumper stickers - 2 topics that most wise leaders try to avoid - i guess that tells something about our leader!
So, i was out at the soccer fields the other day and saw this Chevy Suburban-type vehicle with 4 bumper stickers on it - here they are:
I will not be discussing the "Good Bush"/"Bad Bush" or the "Vegetarians Taste Better" stickers - i cannot speak to the validity of either of those...but it is interesting that they happen to be placed next to the other 2.
So, what do you think about "Religion. You can't start a war without it." and Religion is regarded by the common as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful?"
These 4 stickers struck me so powerfully, that i had to get pix of them.
Then, the next day i was driving home and came across Jeep Cherokee with this bumper sticker:
and just below it was:
How interesting! 2 vehicles, 2 days, 5 bumper stickers ( i guess you might be able to guess that the suburban did not have the "In God we Trust" license plate), 2 license plates.
Well, we had a serious discussion about all this Thursday night!
The truth is that I feel a wide range of emotions and have a broad range of thoughts about the suburban and their clear feeling that religion is at best foolish and worst evil. One of the things, just to start off, is not violence.
I look at those and i am saddened by the distorted view that they have of the God who made fractals and them and me and gives so much More to life than i ever imagined before i began following Him. He is the God of acceptance and love and forgiveness and reconciliation and peace and joy and purpose and meaning. He is the One who made you to appreciate the wonderful moments of life, just like He does and to grieve the painful moments of life, just like He does. He is not a God who loves violence and war. He is not a God who wants to detroy or hurt. He is smarter than the wise and way more powerful than the rulers who may use His "religion" in a corrupted form to oppress or harm people. To view say religion of my God is false because corrupt leaders mis-use it would be like saying that the American government was not real, just because corrupt politicians mis-use it.
But, i am more than sad when i think of all this...I am angry. Who am i angry at?
Not the vegetarian, who apparently tastes so good. I am angry at the Jeep driver who apparently thinks it is a good idea to malign the president (no matter what you think of him, we, as Americans, elected him) right above his "In God We Trust" license plate. You see, by driving with that combination of plate and sticker, he is saying that the one thing he wants you to know about him other than his trust in God is that he thinks his president is a huge mistake. These are the only messages on his bumper - not "Love your neighbor." not "Forgive when you are wronged" not "Do something wonderful with your life." not "You can have healing from the brokenness inside you." not "There's More to life than economics and money and stuff and work." not "I will gladly help you if you ask me." not "I love all people." and on and on i could go. These would be Jesus' messages (were his messages when he walked on this earth) if he drove a Jeep and had an "In God We Trust" plate on it (and honestly i think if Jesus lived now, he might not be able to afford a vehicle - he would probably ride the bus or walk or bike).
You see, what i see in our world is that the majority of the population that claims Jesus and his teachings (called Christians as a religion) are much more ready to assert their political sentiments than to love their neighbor...more ready to trumpet the cause of their agendas than to forgive when they are wronged...more ready to beat on those who disagree with them than to do something wonderful with their lives...more ready to assert their claim to their lot line and neighborhood rights than to let someone know that you can have healing from the brokenness inside...more ready to flap their giant steaks in the face of the vegetarians and yell at them for not supporting beef farmers than they are to let them know that There's More to life than economics and money and stuff and work...more ready to give &10 via text to Haiti than to say to any random someone who appeared, in need, I will gladly help you if you ask me or I love all people. It is this kind of pervasive neglect for the truth of Jesus' teachings that allows someone to deny the Truth of it. There is no question in my mind that if the driver of that suburban met Jesus and hung out with Him for a few days, they would become convinced that He was not a starter of wars and that He was absolutely true - it rings with the quote from Ghandi - "I like your Christ, I don't like your Christians"
The misrepresentation of the the Truth of God is so bad in our culture that when More than more began, we started because there were so many who, encountering our love for them, wanted to know more about this God we talked about, but refused to go to church. So, we tell people about how amazing He is...and we find that more and more of them are encountering Him for real and see that He is not the God of the suburban, or the jeep.
You see recently More than more went to someone's house to help them for a night and the gentleman who lived there told me how he was struggling with God and whether He could be real with all the pain that was in his life. My response? "Look around dude. You may not be able to believe in God, but you cannot deny these people who have come out on a Friday night, to your house, for no payment, for no reason, except that they choose to share the love in their lives with you. This, my friend is what God is like."
Now, i don't want to give you any false ideas - we are soooooooo far from perfect. We screw up often, and we own it. We live broken lives and life has beat us up, one side and the other. We have addictions and bad habits and have made choices that we wish we could go back and change. We are mean sometimes and impatient and unkind. We are judgmental way more than we want to be. We are broken and hurting people. But, we will not deny it. And we are choosing to look at life in a different way. We are choosing a different path. Our lives will matter, not because of who we are - we suck - we will be very quick to tell you this - but because of the love that we are seeing in this God, this Jesus, this God of Christianity. Plus, we will accept you - we will help you - we will care for you - we will not make a war with you and by the end of it all, you may be able to deny God, but you will not be able to deny us!
So, to the people in the suburban, if you simply bought the truck with the stickers on it and could not get them off, then disregard the message, it is for the previous owner. If those are your stickers, i would love to have you join us at More than more, we will be hanging out again June 2nd, from 6:45-8:00PM
And to the people in the Jeep, we would love for you to join us too - we would like to re-introduce you to the God we trust - He is amazing and wonderful and i'm pretty sure He loves president Obama...
Monday, May 23, 2011
What is a fractal??
Well, we had a great time last Thursday! It was so cool to hang out and enjoy being with people who accept us as ourselves - and are all sick of the usual thing in this country of always trying to get more, become more, be more, buy more, achieve more, etc.
This time we talked about fractals.
What are fractals? Yeah, i had no idea until relatively recently either.
Fractals are shapes that when you split them into parts, there are reduced size copies of the original. They are amazing - allow me to copy a couple links to web sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_GBwuYuOOs
http://fractalfoundation.org/
The interesting thing (check out the 3rd of the web sites) is that fractals occur everywhere. In DNA, in weather, in geography, in math, in space - everywhere. Check out this quote from:
http://library.thinkquest.org/26242/full/
What is a Fractal?
Imagine flying in a space shuttle looking at the coast of Britain. From such a great distance the coast looks perfectly straight, going from north to south. But, as you approach the earth something tells you the coast is not perfectly straight... Of course! As you go into the upper atmosphere you realize that it has thousands of bays, harbors, capes, and peninsulas that you could not see from a distance. Thinking that now you have a detailed picture of the coast, you turn towards one of the harbor beaches, which seems to be straight... However, as you get closer to it, you see that it too has thousands of smaller bays, harbors, capes, and peninsulas! Wondering if this will ever end you decide to get even closer... Eventually you wind up on the beach looking at the coast through a microscope. You can now see every grain of sand clearly, but, it too has thousands of indentations and extrusions!
No matter how close you get, you will
always see a similarly detailed picture
The fact that any small part of the coast will look similar to the whole thing was first noted by Benoit Mandelbrot. He called shapes like this fractals. Fractals are figures with an infinite amount of detail. When magnified, they don’t become more simple, but remain as complex as they were without magnification. In nature, you can find them everywhere. Any tree branch, when magnified, looks like the entire tree. Any rock from a mountain looks like the entire mountain. The theory of fractals was first developed to study nature. Now it is used in a variety of other applications. And, of course, beauty is what makes them popular!
So, here is this naturally occurring, amazingly complex shape system that seems to be everywhere. It is perfect and it is not understood! Why does this happen this way? What is the purpose of all this?
Well, the problem is that this unbelievable organization does not fit with the idea that the world just randomly evolved into existence - if it was random and naturally selected only, there would not be this much consistency. What is does scream is that there is a marvelous creator who is intelligent beyond our imaginations and made the world in a beautiful, organized way. His creativity was applied with reason and purpose!
Now, i know this is interesting and i hope you enjoy learning about it, but if all you do is read this and go, "Cool" and then back to your life, then it is not enough.
My advice?
When you read about fractals, thank God - invite Him into that moment with you and ask Him to be part of your life. When you see fractals in life (which if you look, you will), do the same - enjoy the fact that the very same God who made the world so amazing and complicated, made you and if He went to all that trouble, He will not abandon you - and plus there is More to life than the everyday!! Stop and notice it, let is sink in, maybe there is something besides work, sleep, and bills!
Hope this can encourage you this week when the week begins to overwhelm,
This time we talked about fractals.
What are fractals? Yeah, i had no idea until relatively recently either.
Fractals are shapes that when you split them into parts, there are reduced size copies of the original. They are amazing - allow me to copy a couple links to web sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_GBwuYuOOs
http://fractalfoundation.org/
The interesting thing (check out the 3rd of the web sites) is that fractals occur everywhere. In DNA, in weather, in geography, in math, in space - everywhere. Check out this quote from:
http://library.thinkquest.org/26242/full/
What is a Fractal?
Imagine flying in a space shuttle looking at the coast of Britain. From such a great distance the coast looks perfectly straight, going from north to south. But, as you approach the earth something tells you the coast is not perfectly straight... Of course! As you go into the upper atmosphere you realize that it has thousands of bays, harbors, capes, and peninsulas that you could not see from a distance. Thinking that now you have a detailed picture of the coast, you turn towards one of the harbor beaches, which seems to be straight... However, as you get closer to it, you see that it too has thousands of smaller bays, harbors, capes, and peninsulas! Wondering if this will ever end you decide to get even closer... Eventually you wind up on the beach looking at the coast through a microscope. You can now see every grain of sand clearly, but, it too has thousands of indentations and extrusions!
No matter how close you get, you will
always see a similarly detailed picture
The fact that any small part of the coast will look similar to the whole thing was first noted by Benoit Mandelbrot. He called shapes like this fractals. Fractals are figures with an infinite amount of detail. When magnified, they don’t become more simple, but remain as complex as they were without magnification. In nature, you can find them everywhere. Any tree branch, when magnified, looks like the entire tree. Any rock from a mountain looks like the entire mountain. The theory of fractals was first developed to study nature. Now it is used in a variety of other applications. And, of course, beauty is what makes them popular!
So, here is this naturally occurring, amazingly complex shape system that seems to be everywhere. It is perfect and it is not understood! Why does this happen this way? What is the purpose of all this?
Well, the problem is that this unbelievable organization does not fit with the idea that the world just randomly evolved into existence - if it was random and naturally selected only, there would not be this much consistency. What is does scream is that there is a marvelous creator who is intelligent beyond our imaginations and made the world in a beautiful, organized way. His creativity was applied with reason and purpose!
Now, i know this is interesting and i hope you enjoy learning about it, but if all you do is read this and go, "Cool" and then back to your life, then it is not enough.
My advice?
When you read about fractals, thank God - invite Him into that moment with you and ask Him to be part of your life. When you see fractals in life (which if you look, you will), do the same - enjoy the fact that the very same God who made the world so amazing and complicated, made you and if He went to all that trouble, He will not abandon you - and plus there is More to life than the everyday!! Stop and notice it, let is sink in, maybe there is something besides work, sleep, and bills!
Hope this can encourage you this week when the week begins to overwhelm,
Friday, May 20, 2011
Those who choose their pain - the second part
So, i feel like there is a 2nd part to the last post...
Within the most tragic of the pain sufferer's group are 2 groups of people:
The first is a group of people who see the good and identify that it is good and want to go there and leave behind their pain but for some reason their life circumstances, their issues, their confidence, their place in life keeps them from being able to do it - many times they feel guilty and tons of pain at choosing to go back to the pain, but in their minds they just can't seem to see the way to get from "here" to "there." Honestly, to some degree, i think all of us live in this place to some degree - we see that we could do or be better people, have more love, be more positive, or whatever, but we are not yet in a place where we can get all the way to where we want to go. This is actually a healthy kind of dilemma to some degree, as the accompanying frustration of not being able to get all the way to where we want to get tends to shove us closer to God - we yell at Him, we ask Him, we plead with Him, we go to friends and true relationships where He is involved and look for new ways to grow and challenge and become, the best we can.
These folks are actually wonderful - we struggle and battle and grow over time. The key here is that we find our way to the circumstances and life experiences that will help us grow and move past the choosing of the pain. I face this regularly in myself - i want to be more patient or understanding, but inside me something pushes that back and i become grumpy and frustrated and impatient. This frustration then pushes me to interact with God and those who i trust in Him and He helps me, but never as fast it seems as i want Him to (still impatient...). I face it in the office - the alcoholic comes into the office and wants to quit, identifies that there is a problem, really wants to do better, to move away from their pain, but they just can't seem to put it away - so, in their frustration, i hope they will talk to God and ask for help in finding ways to quit. Usually what happens then, over time, is that they experience cricumstances that motivate them to quit and draw them closer and closer to God. So you see, in this case, we are choosing our pain, but mainly because we just can't do any different.
If you find yourself in this group, my advice is to run after God and those who love Him with all you've got - do your very best. Pray for vision, that you would see a new way of thinking and doing things - that God would show you where to go next - He will. Ask those who care about you to pray the same thing...it will happen - i see it over and over. There is a beautiful future for you ahead - please do not pound yourself into oblivion for your mistakes, just keep going back to God with them and asking Him for help - you will find that over time you will get there.
The other group is a group of people who have seen the Truth and identify it and start toward it and then in spite of having an ability to go toward the good, they abandon all that is good, God and people, and run full force into their pain. They choose to stop having relationship with God and all that is good and instead embrace the pain and brokenness of their lives. Now, these people too are products of their circumstances, but they are where they are because they are choosing to go against all that they know is good. It is true that they may need to experience that time in their lives in order to get to the good and appreciate God and His love and plans for them completely - i know that my life has had some times when i went against all that was good knowingly and had the ability, to some degree, to change that pattern and i chose not to and i am convinced that that time was essential in my growth in God. So, while these folks hurt us very badly and are so frustrating because we invest so much love and care into them and they betray us and hurt us, they actually may still be moving toward God. Please if you are caring and love someone in this situation, please don't stop loving them...don't stop praying for them...don't lose that glimmer of hope at the bottom of your heart that they can change and become all that you see they can become. Pray that their life circumstances will take them where they need to go to see that their path is detroying them.
And if you are one of those people choosing to go against all that is good (i am excited that you are still reading!!), talk to God - He is not out to get you, but to give you a full and wonderful life. There is a better way!! There can be joy and peace and wonder in life. Please, reach out to some people who love Him and are trying to go His way in this crazy life. You do not have to keep going the way you are going - we will not stop loving you. Consider joining us at More than more - we are a group of people who are all messed up and trying to choose what's best and struggling with it every day, but seeing ourselves grow to be more pain free over time. We will be hanging out on June 2nd for the next time at McAllister recreation center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, 6:45-8:00PM - there will be free excellent childcare, as always. We hope to see you there!
Within the most tragic of the pain sufferer's group are 2 groups of people:
The first is a group of people who see the good and identify that it is good and want to go there and leave behind their pain but for some reason their life circumstances, their issues, their confidence, their place in life keeps them from being able to do it - many times they feel guilty and tons of pain at choosing to go back to the pain, but in their minds they just can't seem to see the way to get from "here" to "there." Honestly, to some degree, i think all of us live in this place to some degree - we see that we could do or be better people, have more love, be more positive, or whatever, but we are not yet in a place where we can get all the way to where we want to go. This is actually a healthy kind of dilemma to some degree, as the accompanying frustration of not being able to get all the way to where we want to get tends to shove us closer to God - we yell at Him, we ask Him, we plead with Him, we go to friends and true relationships where He is involved and look for new ways to grow and challenge and become, the best we can.
These folks are actually wonderful - we struggle and battle and grow over time. The key here is that we find our way to the circumstances and life experiences that will help us grow and move past the choosing of the pain. I face this regularly in myself - i want to be more patient or understanding, but inside me something pushes that back and i become grumpy and frustrated and impatient. This frustration then pushes me to interact with God and those who i trust in Him and He helps me, but never as fast it seems as i want Him to (still impatient...). I face it in the office - the alcoholic comes into the office and wants to quit, identifies that there is a problem, really wants to do better, to move away from their pain, but they just can't seem to put it away - so, in their frustration, i hope they will talk to God and ask for help in finding ways to quit. Usually what happens then, over time, is that they experience cricumstances that motivate them to quit and draw them closer and closer to God. So you see, in this case, we are choosing our pain, but mainly because we just can't do any different.
If you find yourself in this group, my advice is to run after God and those who love Him with all you've got - do your very best. Pray for vision, that you would see a new way of thinking and doing things - that God would show you where to go next - He will. Ask those who care about you to pray the same thing...it will happen - i see it over and over. There is a beautiful future for you ahead - please do not pound yourself into oblivion for your mistakes, just keep going back to God with them and asking Him for help - you will find that over time you will get there.
The other group is a group of people who have seen the Truth and identify it and start toward it and then in spite of having an ability to go toward the good, they abandon all that is good, God and people, and run full force into their pain. They choose to stop having relationship with God and all that is good and instead embrace the pain and brokenness of their lives. Now, these people too are products of their circumstances, but they are where they are because they are choosing to go against all that they know is good. It is true that they may need to experience that time in their lives in order to get to the good and appreciate God and His love and plans for them completely - i know that my life has had some times when i went against all that was good knowingly and had the ability, to some degree, to change that pattern and i chose not to and i am convinced that that time was essential in my growth in God. So, while these folks hurt us very badly and are so frustrating because we invest so much love and care into them and they betray us and hurt us, they actually may still be moving toward God. Please if you are caring and love someone in this situation, please don't stop loving them...don't stop praying for them...don't lose that glimmer of hope at the bottom of your heart that they can change and become all that you see they can become. Pray that their life circumstances will take them where they need to go to see that their path is detroying them.
And if you are one of those people choosing to go against all that is good (i am excited that you are still reading!!), talk to God - He is not out to get you, but to give you a full and wonderful life. There is a better way!! There can be joy and peace and wonder in life. Please, reach out to some people who love Him and are trying to go His way in this crazy life. You do not have to keep going the way you are going - we will not stop loving you. Consider joining us at More than more - we are a group of people who are all messed up and trying to choose what's best and struggling with it every day, but seeing ourselves grow to be more pain free over time. We will be hanging out on June 2nd for the next time at McAllister recreation center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, 6:45-8:00PM - there will be free excellent childcare, as always. We hope to see you there!
Monday, May 16, 2011
About Pain
5-7-11
I have been overwhelmed by the pain in the world. So many times I put my head down on my pillow and am haunted by the faces of people I have encountered who are in the midst of pain and heartbreak. Now sometimes the pain is a direct result of choices they have made – they are essentially dealing with all the “fall-out” of things they have done or said or been in the past. This is hard and frankly it sucks, but it is something we all have to deal with, me and you and everyone. We don’t want to deal with it, but if we are wise, we do and we realize our part in it all and trudge through, trying to learn as much as we can and make peace and goodness out of it as much as possible. Sometimes the pain is completely random, we are diagnosed with heart problems, or a tragedy occurs and takes someone we love, or a tornado rips through our town and destroys all we had planned, not to mention all our neighbors had planned, or something of the same type of thing. This also sucks, but it seems more unfair, like why me, and yet, as we look around, it seems that most everybody has those “why me” times and if they haven’t yet, we all have a sense that they will someday and we half smirk/half frown as we think about their naiveté. We say to ourselves, “Oh someday it will happen to you and you will understand like it or not and I will feel sorry for you then, but you will not be so cocky.” But, in spite of having to deal with the consequences of our own past choices and being struck randomly with painful circumstances (no matter how universal it is, it still is unbelievably hard), there is a thread of hope in these painful times. No, we do not wake up the morning after this happens and jump out of bed, glad to have been struck in such a fashion with the blind hand of life. But, those of us who are real people, forging through life with purpose, realizing that there is More to life than just the everyday work and pay your bills life that most people live, we attack these times the best we can, we see them as bad, but as the perspective dawns on them, as the reality sinks in, we usually find ourselves changing, growing, getting stronger, becoming a better person – something happens in these times and we sense it, deep in our souls. “There is an end to this” – and at the end, things are better – maybe even better than they ever were before the pain. We do not completely understand this, but it is there, nevertheless. Sometimes it takes a long time to make it to that place, but we get there, eventually, as long as we keep connecting with people we love and who love us, a God who loves us, and wants the best for us, and forging ahead, searching, looking, willing to become, to unfold, like a rose that is budding. I am reminded of a story one of our friends wrote about recently, as she and her husband rushed to their former home in Georgia, where a tornado had destroyed a town, taking with it the life that those people had known. No government aided disaster relief puts back together the pieces of your life in times like that. But our friend talked about this woman whose house had been shredded like a block of cheese. Our friend and her family had spent a portion of their day picking up family pictures strewn about because the tornado had no respect at all for family memories. And this woman, whose life had been so devastated, was a picture of hope – just as sure as she could be that there were wonderful things to come of this (sometimes when people say this I think they need to be medicated, because they must be delusional, but the sense I get is that this was a real spirit of hope, sure that the thread of hope she felt would lead her to something better and that she was not going to give up that thread, but instead she would follow it to a place far away from that field of devastation where she, and all she knew was new and alive and had a meaning and purpose she had never dreamed before the tornado came.) I am not suggesting that we all be jolly about pain here, simply saying for these 2 types of pain, there is an end that is often much better than we dream in the middle of them if we will go through the pain with God and some loving friends.
Now, this is actually not a story about the hope in pain – if you continue to read what I write, there will be more on that topic, but not this time. This is actually about a whole different kind of pain. This is about a kind of pain that slapped me in the face multiple times in the last couple months (and I actually see if very often in my day to day life). This pain is so heinous that I cringe at it. I fume at it. I get nauseated at it and I weep the deep places of my heart about it, more than almost anything else in the whole world. I have dedicated my life to changing it. I can no longer sit by and allow it to go on without a fight!
The first two times I wanted to tell you about occurred when my wife and I were sitting in church. I know, church should not be a place where one witnesses the worst kind of pain that exists and I want to tell you right now that my church is NOT a bad place. It has a group of people that come together to try their best to know God and do what He wants. Many of them live out the love of Jesus in their everyday lives – this story is not intended to be harmful to them – in fact – my church is a good place to learn about God and hang out with other people who are trying to get closer to Him. It is not the church’s fault, at least not directly, that these painful things were going on – the people are simply doing what they know, doing their best – I also want to tell you that this pain is not the fault of my pastor. He is a good man – I love him. He loves God very much. He would be equally grieved by the pain that I saw.
So, the first of them occurred just down the row from me. There was a young man. He was not peculiar in his dress, jeans and t-shirt, or in his look, he was well kempt and respectful. He was not making strange faces or disrupting the service. In fact, he was working, I think. He was with a disabled man in a wheelchair, who could not push himself. This young man was the caretaker, the chair pusher. There was something about the way he carried his body, kind of bent a little in the shoulders. There was a sadness in his eyes, something empty and lost, it seemed to me. He was not weeping and upset, but he looked as if he had taken it on the chin from life a few times. He was there, next to the handicapped man, with his dark backpack. So, as I said, it was Easter Sunday and the sermon was excellent – the pastor did a great job of speaking about how amazing our God is and that the fact that Jesus was resurrected basically meant that God did not do things the way everyone else did and we no longer needed to live all bound up by and controlled by and imprisoned by what was going on in the world – we could live lives that were free. Full of joy and meaning and purpose, our lives could explode with greatness!! I have got to say, I am excited about that message – I have lived far too much of my life bound and imprisoned, wrapped up with stuff and with no real peace in my life and now my life is amazing beyond description – all because of this Jesus of Easter!
So, this poor sad looking young chair pusher, sat there in that service, surrounded by the love of God, with the words of freedom circling around his head like he was a Sunday comic strip on steroids, all he needed to do was wake up, pay attention, grab even one of those word bubbles and ingest it – breathe it in - and feel the life rush into him. But, what was he doing? He was reading a cheesy paperback novel (now I must admit here that I do not know what he was reading specifically, but it was a small paperback book…). He would read his novel, every once in a while looking up when the pastor was particularly animated, kinda like he was tuning into CNN to see if there was some juicy piece of news or something and then he would go back to his novel. Then , just before the end of the service, when things were kinda wrapping up and all, he put his book away, got up and wheeled the disabled gentleman out, not to be seen again. This young man, slightly bent over, with sad eyes, in his jeans and t-shirt – he represents the worst kind of pain.
Another of the face to face moments I have had with this unbearable pain was also in church (please re-read the section now on how this problem is not my church in particular). It was the Sunday after Easter and the pastor was speaking about Mary of Magdala. She was the first person to see Jesus after He rose from the dead and she was first one Jesus trusted with his message of life. She was also unlikely in her being chosen. She was from a dumpy town, famous for its pickling industry and looked down upon by the people of the region. She was a woman and women were just the most beat down, pitiful, nonrespected people in those days. And to top it all off, she, prior to meeting Jesus, had 7 demons living inside her. Now, she was a pitiful case, but Jesus got rid of her demons, and then she followed him around. And He chose her for one of the most important jobs in all of history. He didn’t choose someone who was high society, or from the country club. He didn’t choose someone who was powerful or respected. He didn’t hold her past against her, but loved her unselfish and tender heart. He pronounced her worthy, even though she wasn’t until she met Him. Now, toward the end of talking about all this, the pastor said this great line: “Now, you may feel like your past is holding onto you and you will never be free of it. You are wrong. Jesus says that you have worth far beyond what you have done in the past.” Now, I don’t know about you, but that is phenomenal news!! I am not proud of my past. If you were to probe it, you would be shocked and I would be ashamed. But Jesus does not hold that against me anymore!!! Instead, He chooses me for something amazing for Him!! Now this makes me want to jump up and down, to express the thrill to everyone I know!! But, the next thing I heard was my wife leaning over and saying, “Why isn’t anyone else excited about that? That’s good news!” I looked around and I agonized to see dazed people, sitting in rows, then I became angry – overwhelmed by the fact that this amazing Truth was right there in front of them and they seemed to not see it – they were missing it, or they were dead! This, this is the worst kind of pain – beyond grief and sadness and destruction.
The third example of this horrific kind of pain that has absolutely slapped me in the face recently has been enacted by many many people I know over the years, some friends and some acquaintances, and some that I do not even know, but lately it has been particularly hard to see in some people that we love very much, who we have invested our lives in loving. The details vary greatly, but the basic story is the same. A person faces life, and while going through life, they face major problems. In the midst of the problems they are presented with the gift of a way of going through the problems so that, in time, they can grow and see the thread of hope of a better day. That gift is given to them in the form of friendships and unconditional love they have never known. It is given to them in the form of resources provided out of love and with no other agenda, but to show them that there is a way through – to be a thread giver, if you will. It is given to them in form of support and advice and experience from having walked that same road in the past. It is given to them in form of tears shed, prayers shared, and late night texts and phone calls agonized over. It is given to them in the form of lunches sacrificed and dinners shared. Now, there is nothing more beautiful than being a thread giver and watching someone grasp onto the thread, with as much grasp as they have, and then to wriggle and writhe their way, searching and seeking and clawing their way to the other side of the pain – then to have the joy of celebrating on the other side! But, there is nothing more painful in all the world than to watch someone presented with something so beautiful as this thread of hope and instead to choose to go right back to the place where the pain is; to stop looking for the thread; to stop searching for the God who can help them through to the other side of the pain; to deny and run away from the love of those people who have been thread givers to them. Instead of grasping onto the thread, they choose to live in their pain – they choose the familiar heartbreak of their lives over the unfamiliar possibilities of the future. They choose to wallow in the mud, when the spa is waiting and free. They choose shoes with no soles in favor of brand new shoes with jet packs on the heels! They choose to ride a broken down moped instead of flying in supersonic jets! They choose to read their cheesy novel and keep their sad face over grabbing the words out of the air and finding some meaning and healing in life. They choose to sit in their rows and satisfy their self-imposed requirement to be religious with that particular time instead of celebrating freedom! This is the worst type of pain of all! This crushes my heart and makes me want to tear my 40 year old thinning hair out. This is a tragedy of tragedies!
So, if you are a person who has faced disaster and is clinging to a thread, keep on clinging – find some others to cling with you, keep searching for the God who made you and loves you and hang on! You will get there!
If you are a person who is a thread giver, keep giving the threads – pass on the hope – let them know that they are loved and cared for and that you will never abandon them and you will never leave them and that God won’t either. Many you will find will find hope and meaning and peace in the world – many will put down their novels and grab up the hope in those threads like a thirsty man in the desert presented with a jug of water. Some will break your heart, I am sorry to say, but don’t let that stop you. Even Jesus, who was the most influential man that ever lived, had some who chose to wallow in their pain (read in the Bible Mark 10:17-27). But having someone not accept it doesn’t make the message any less True. When you feel the stinging pain of watching someone you love deny the Truth, pick up their novel and read away, take heart, you re doing the right thing – but you are not the one who has the ultimate responsibility for them. You only have the responsibility to be faithful and true in what you are asked. They have to choose.
If you are one of those people who is choosing to read your novel, to deny the love of true friends in favor of what you have always known, to stay with the same old pain and badness because it is easy even if it sucks. Would you consider just talking to God about it? Invite Him into your world right now – and keep doing it – i think sometimes we find ourselves denying the threads of hope because something inside us is too broken to actually see the Truth – we have no idea what to do next, or if there’s even a possibility that the thread might be True. Ask God to heal you inside. Ask Him to give you a new vision of what life can be like. Ask Him to change Your mind – keep asking – do your best – surround yourself with people who have an idea of what hope really is – thread givers – don’t isolate yourself in your pain, behind your little cheesy fiction book – there is so much More to life than you have seen if you will just lift up your head.
At More than more we cannot prevent pain from entering into your life. In fact, all of us have been pretty well slammed by pain. But, what we can promise is that we will journey through it with you. We will care about you and we will continue to point you in the direction of goodness and healing. We will journey with you toward More than you have been living for.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please join us this Thursday, May 19th, 6:45-8:00 PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
I have been overwhelmed by the pain in the world. So many times I put my head down on my pillow and am haunted by the faces of people I have encountered who are in the midst of pain and heartbreak. Now sometimes the pain is a direct result of choices they have made – they are essentially dealing with all the “fall-out” of things they have done or said or been in the past. This is hard and frankly it sucks, but it is something we all have to deal with, me and you and everyone. We don’t want to deal with it, but if we are wise, we do and we realize our part in it all and trudge through, trying to learn as much as we can and make peace and goodness out of it as much as possible. Sometimes the pain is completely random, we are diagnosed with heart problems, or a tragedy occurs and takes someone we love, or a tornado rips through our town and destroys all we had planned, not to mention all our neighbors had planned, or something of the same type of thing. This also sucks, but it seems more unfair, like why me, and yet, as we look around, it seems that most everybody has those “why me” times and if they haven’t yet, we all have a sense that they will someday and we half smirk/half frown as we think about their naiveté. We say to ourselves, “Oh someday it will happen to you and you will understand like it or not and I will feel sorry for you then, but you will not be so cocky.” But, in spite of having to deal with the consequences of our own past choices and being struck randomly with painful circumstances (no matter how universal it is, it still is unbelievably hard), there is a thread of hope in these painful times. No, we do not wake up the morning after this happens and jump out of bed, glad to have been struck in such a fashion with the blind hand of life. But, those of us who are real people, forging through life with purpose, realizing that there is More to life than just the everyday work and pay your bills life that most people live, we attack these times the best we can, we see them as bad, but as the perspective dawns on them, as the reality sinks in, we usually find ourselves changing, growing, getting stronger, becoming a better person – something happens in these times and we sense it, deep in our souls. “There is an end to this” – and at the end, things are better – maybe even better than they ever were before the pain. We do not completely understand this, but it is there, nevertheless. Sometimes it takes a long time to make it to that place, but we get there, eventually, as long as we keep connecting with people we love and who love us, a God who loves us, and wants the best for us, and forging ahead, searching, looking, willing to become, to unfold, like a rose that is budding. I am reminded of a story one of our friends wrote about recently, as she and her husband rushed to their former home in Georgia, where a tornado had destroyed a town, taking with it the life that those people had known. No government aided disaster relief puts back together the pieces of your life in times like that. But our friend talked about this woman whose house had been shredded like a block of cheese. Our friend and her family had spent a portion of their day picking up family pictures strewn about because the tornado had no respect at all for family memories. And this woman, whose life had been so devastated, was a picture of hope – just as sure as she could be that there were wonderful things to come of this (sometimes when people say this I think they need to be medicated, because they must be delusional, but the sense I get is that this was a real spirit of hope, sure that the thread of hope she felt would lead her to something better and that she was not going to give up that thread, but instead she would follow it to a place far away from that field of devastation where she, and all she knew was new and alive and had a meaning and purpose she had never dreamed before the tornado came.) I am not suggesting that we all be jolly about pain here, simply saying for these 2 types of pain, there is an end that is often much better than we dream in the middle of them if we will go through the pain with God and some loving friends.
Now, this is actually not a story about the hope in pain – if you continue to read what I write, there will be more on that topic, but not this time. This is actually about a whole different kind of pain. This is about a kind of pain that slapped me in the face multiple times in the last couple months (and I actually see if very often in my day to day life). This pain is so heinous that I cringe at it. I fume at it. I get nauseated at it and I weep the deep places of my heart about it, more than almost anything else in the whole world. I have dedicated my life to changing it. I can no longer sit by and allow it to go on without a fight!
The first two times I wanted to tell you about occurred when my wife and I were sitting in church. I know, church should not be a place where one witnesses the worst kind of pain that exists and I want to tell you right now that my church is NOT a bad place. It has a group of people that come together to try their best to know God and do what He wants. Many of them live out the love of Jesus in their everyday lives – this story is not intended to be harmful to them – in fact – my church is a good place to learn about God and hang out with other people who are trying to get closer to Him. It is not the church’s fault, at least not directly, that these painful things were going on – the people are simply doing what they know, doing their best – I also want to tell you that this pain is not the fault of my pastor. He is a good man – I love him. He loves God very much. He would be equally grieved by the pain that I saw.
So, the first of them occurred just down the row from me. There was a young man. He was not peculiar in his dress, jeans and t-shirt, or in his look, he was well kempt and respectful. He was not making strange faces or disrupting the service. In fact, he was working, I think. He was with a disabled man in a wheelchair, who could not push himself. This young man was the caretaker, the chair pusher. There was something about the way he carried his body, kind of bent a little in the shoulders. There was a sadness in his eyes, something empty and lost, it seemed to me. He was not weeping and upset, but he looked as if he had taken it on the chin from life a few times. He was there, next to the handicapped man, with his dark backpack. So, as I said, it was Easter Sunday and the sermon was excellent – the pastor did a great job of speaking about how amazing our God is and that the fact that Jesus was resurrected basically meant that God did not do things the way everyone else did and we no longer needed to live all bound up by and controlled by and imprisoned by what was going on in the world – we could live lives that were free. Full of joy and meaning and purpose, our lives could explode with greatness!! I have got to say, I am excited about that message – I have lived far too much of my life bound and imprisoned, wrapped up with stuff and with no real peace in my life and now my life is amazing beyond description – all because of this Jesus of Easter!
So, this poor sad looking young chair pusher, sat there in that service, surrounded by the love of God, with the words of freedom circling around his head like he was a Sunday comic strip on steroids, all he needed to do was wake up, pay attention, grab even one of those word bubbles and ingest it – breathe it in - and feel the life rush into him. But, what was he doing? He was reading a cheesy paperback novel (now I must admit here that I do not know what he was reading specifically, but it was a small paperback book…). He would read his novel, every once in a while looking up when the pastor was particularly animated, kinda like he was tuning into CNN to see if there was some juicy piece of news or something and then he would go back to his novel. Then , just before the end of the service, when things were kinda wrapping up and all, he put his book away, got up and wheeled the disabled gentleman out, not to be seen again. This young man, slightly bent over, with sad eyes, in his jeans and t-shirt – he represents the worst kind of pain.
Another of the face to face moments I have had with this unbearable pain was also in church (please re-read the section now on how this problem is not my church in particular). It was the Sunday after Easter and the pastor was speaking about Mary of Magdala. She was the first person to see Jesus after He rose from the dead and she was first one Jesus trusted with his message of life. She was also unlikely in her being chosen. She was from a dumpy town, famous for its pickling industry and looked down upon by the people of the region. She was a woman and women were just the most beat down, pitiful, nonrespected people in those days. And to top it all off, she, prior to meeting Jesus, had 7 demons living inside her. Now, she was a pitiful case, but Jesus got rid of her demons, and then she followed him around. And He chose her for one of the most important jobs in all of history. He didn’t choose someone who was high society, or from the country club. He didn’t choose someone who was powerful or respected. He didn’t hold her past against her, but loved her unselfish and tender heart. He pronounced her worthy, even though she wasn’t until she met Him. Now, toward the end of talking about all this, the pastor said this great line: “Now, you may feel like your past is holding onto you and you will never be free of it. You are wrong. Jesus says that you have worth far beyond what you have done in the past.” Now, I don’t know about you, but that is phenomenal news!! I am not proud of my past. If you were to probe it, you would be shocked and I would be ashamed. But Jesus does not hold that against me anymore!!! Instead, He chooses me for something amazing for Him!! Now this makes me want to jump up and down, to express the thrill to everyone I know!! But, the next thing I heard was my wife leaning over and saying, “Why isn’t anyone else excited about that? That’s good news!” I looked around and I agonized to see dazed people, sitting in rows, then I became angry – overwhelmed by the fact that this amazing Truth was right there in front of them and they seemed to not see it – they were missing it, or they were dead! This, this is the worst kind of pain – beyond grief and sadness and destruction.
The third example of this horrific kind of pain that has absolutely slapped me in the face recently has been enacted by many many people I know over the years, some friends and some acquaintances, and some that I do not even know, but lately it has been particularly hard to see in some people that we love very much, who we have invested our lives in loving. The details vary greatly, but the basic story is the same. A person faces life, and while going through life, they face major problems. In the midst of the problems they are presented with the gift of a way of going through the problems so that, in time, they can grow and see the thread of hope of a better day. That gift is given to them in the form of friendships and unconditional love they have never known. It is given to them in the form of resources provided out of love and with no other agenda, but to show them that there is a way through – to be a thread giver, if you will. It is given to them in form of support and advice and experience from having walked that same road in the past. It is given to them in form of tears shed, prayers shared, and late night texts and phone calls agonized over. It is given to them in the form of lunches sacrificed and dinners shared. Now, there is nothing more beautiful than being a thread giver and watching someone grasp onto the thread, with as much grasp as they have, and then to wriggle and writhe their way, searching and seeking and clawing their way to the other side of the pain – then to have the joy of celebrating on the other side! But, there is nothing more painful in all the world than to watch someone presented with something so beautiful as this thread of hope and instead to choose to go right back to the place where the pain is; to stop looking for the thread; to stop searching for the God who can help them through to the other side of the pain; to deny and run away from the love of those people who have been thread givers to them. Instead of grasping onto the thread, they choose to live in their pain – they choose the familiar heartbreak of their lives over the unfamiliar possibilities of the future. They choose to wallow in the mud, when the spa is waiting and free. They choose shoes with no soles in favor of brand new shoes with jet packs on the heels! They choose to ride a broken down moped instead of flying in supersonic jets! They choose to read their cheesy novel and keep their sad face over grabbing the words out of the air and finding some meaning and healing in life. They choose to sit in their rows and satisfy their self-imposed requirement to be religious with that particular time instead of celebrating freedom! This is the worst type of pain of all! This crushes my heart and makes me want to tear my 40 year old thinning hair out. This is a tragedy of tragedies!
So, if you are a person who has faced disaster and is clinging to a thread, keep on clinging – find some others to cling with you, keep searching for the God who made you and loves you and hang on! You will get there!
If you are a person who is a thread giver, keep giving the threads – pass on the hope – let them know that they are loved and cared for and that you will never abandon them and you will never leave them and that God won’t either. Many you will find will find hope and meaning and peace in the world – many will put down their novels and grab up the hope in those threads like a thirsty man in the desert presented with a jug of water. Some will break your heart, I am sorry to say, but don’t let that stop you. Even Jesus, who was the most influential man that ever lived, had some who chose to wallow in their pain (read in the Bible Mark 10:17-27). But having someone not accept it doesn’t make the message any less True. When you feel the stinging pain of watching someone you love deny the Truth, pick up their novel and read away, take heart, you re doing the right thing – but you are not the one who has the ultimate responsibility for them. You only have the responsibility to be faithful and true in what you are asked. They have to choose.
If you are one of those people who is choosing to read your novel, to deny the love of true friends in favor of what you have always known, to stay with the same old pain and badness because it is easy even if it sucks. Would you consider just talking to God about it? Invite Him into your world right now – and keep doing it – i think sometimes we find ourselves denying the threads of hope because something inside us is too broken to actually see the Truth – we have no idea what to do next, or if there’s even a possibility that the thread might be True. Ask God to heal you inside. Ask Him to give you a new vision of what life can be like. Ask Him to change Your mind – keep asking – do your best – surround yourself with people who have an idea of what hope really is – thread givers – don’t isolate yourself in your pain, behind your little cheesy fiction book – there is so much More to life than you have seen if you will just lift up your head.
At More than more we cannot prevent pain from entering into your life. In fact, all of us have been pretty well slammed by pain. But, what we can promise is that we will journey through it with you. We will care about you and we will continue to point you in the direction of goodness and healing. We will journey with you toward More than you have been living for.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please join us this Thursday, May 19th, 6:45-8:00 PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
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