A Reminder and Some News

Hey everyone.  Wanted to remind you of one thing and tell you about something else that you probably don't know.

1st the reminder:  We are hanging out at Morethanmore tomorrow night from 645-800pm at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler ave.

2nd some news: On June 12th we will be having a fantastic chance to reach out into our community.  We will be caring for a friend Kale and Andrea's who lost his wife recently.  It will be from the usual 645-800pm as usual for Mtm.  More information will follow, but plan to come to McAllister that night just like you always would and we will head over to share the goodness in our lives with him and his kids.

 

hope to see you tomorrow

 

keep noticing...

Time flies. Don’t get lost in the blur.

When I was young the days seem to be longer, clock ticked slower, and an hour could feel like eternity. I do not recall being rushed. Almost think spent more time waiting for the next thing to happen. As I have grown older this concept has completely flipped. I am constantly rushing from one thing to the next. Days turn into weeks and months disappear in the busy cycle of life. Everything just blends together. As a child I recall distinct separation of events- it was more like a timeline. Today it feels like a blur. It is like I am riding the tilt a whirl or tea cups at an amusement park. Spin spin spinning. Before I know it I am dizzy and cannot focus. Every now and then the whole rides stops. I call this a vacation. Someday I will take one of these. However life cannot stop whenever you like. You cannot just slam the break on when you have had enough. You can however slow down. Let God have control of the wheel. Choose to notice. It is not always easy. It may take time, energy, patience, and focus. But it is worth it. For example- our recent outreach. We chose to notice. We chose to love. We chose to pause our crazy lives and busy schedules to lend a hand to a new friend by doing yard work. And what a beautiful choice it was. Please note- the yard work was not the beautiful choice. This is the only time you will ever hear me say yard work and beautiful choice in the same context. Ha. I do not like yard work. Not a bit. Raking, mowing, planting, trimming… all yuck. It is just not my cup of tea. The yard work was the act of service. It was an opportunity to help. The beauty was in the love we showed. The beauty was showing up for a sweet lady who has been let down before. The beauty was a teenage boy respectfully expressing sympathy of loss of a loved one. The beauty was how God orchestrated the right people with the right skills. I am so grateful for Jas’s ability to use a chainsaw. Seriously can you see Deb with a chainsaw? Or me! There was something for everyone. Even sweet little Emeree found a very important task. Emeree and I share the same level of love for yard work. Picking up sticks was not her cup of tea. So I sent her off on a mission to take photos. She ran around bursting with grins and giggles snapping pictures. We ended up with quite an assortment of photos. Most were blurry. Turns out she moves faster than my cameras can focus. Yet there is one truly amazing photo that stood out. This picture captured the ability to focus on a person in the midst of a blurry world. This is how God sees us and wants us to see others. Not as our circumstances or surroundings. No matter how fast life is spinning or how busy we are he can always see us clearly. Makes me wonder- how much do we miss? Do we get so rushed that we forget to notice those around us? I know I do. Sometimes I just need to be reminded to focus. It is amazing how God used the eyes and hands of a 6 year old who loves him to remind me.

Thursday Night

Hey everyone! Wanted to remind you that this Thursday, the 15th of May, we will all be hanging out. Morethanmore is a great place to hang out with some real people who are looking to live life different...better...than the usual life we see around us in this world. We will be at McAllister recreation center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. 6:45-8:00PM. We will have activities for all ages. Hope to see you there

What happened with that Outreach?

Well, I have been out of writing commission for a couple weeks (more like a couple months - sorry about that) and so have not yet updated you on the outreach to Mary's house almost 2wks ago. It was a wonderful time! It was a hard working time. Funny though how hard work does not seem nearly so hard when you are working with your friends, being kind, and the playful laughs of little people resounds all around you! As we gathered in a big circle at the end of the evening, Mary summed it up, "All of the other people who said they would come and help me never came. You did." Most of us are not particularly skilled - most of us are not even the people that someone would choose to come and work on their yard. Yet, on a Tuesday night in April, we joined together and gave a gift of a nice clean yard to Mary - but more than that, we gave her More. We showed her love. Real love. Love that sweats and works and laughs and hugs. Love that doesn't sit by and cheer when there is a difficulty but that wades right into the trouble to help. Love that acts like the marines and runs toward the chaos and difficulty. Love that changes lives if we would only be willing to notice and open our lives up. Love that sings in the voices of little people and echoes in the voices of those who are older. Real love. We do not claim much at More than more. We are not fancy. We are not sophisticated. But we are learning to love. And while we learn, we are putting to use what we are learning. If you are looking for something different than every usual American life, sick of a life focused on more more more. If you are lonely and looking for some real people who are learning a new way to live this life. If you are even just curious about a group of people who does life this way. We would love to have you join us this Thursday evening, May 1st, 645-800 pm, at McAllister Recreation Center. Just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. As always there will be free, awesome activities for people of all ages. Hope you can make it!

Outreach Thursday

Hey everyone. We will be helping out a friend of mine Thursday night. Her name is Mary. She's about 80 yrs old and she was widowed last fall. She really needs some help with spring yard clean up. So, bring your rakes and yard gloves and join us! We will have a great time hanging out and encouraging Mary, not to mention helping her real practically! All the family is welcome - but she lives on a pretty busy road, so kids will need to be pretty closely monitored ad there will be no formal childcare - it is a time for all of us to enjoy some laid back time together and see what we can notice!! Meet at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, at 645 (we will leave at about 650, but will leave maps for anyone who is late) this Thursday night the 17th. We will all go together to her house and will plan to work until 8 or 830! Looking forward to seeing you there.

Thursday Night

Hey everyone! 2 things to let you know. 1st - this Thursday night, the 3rd of April, we will be hanging out at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler ave, Lafayette. We will be there from 645-800pm and as usual there will be wonderful free activities for youth and kids. 2nd - 2 wks from this Thursday night we will be having one of our super fun outreach nights. On these nights we serve someone in our community. On the 17th we will be helping an older lady clean up her yard in preparation for spring. All kids are welcome! So get out your work gloves and yard tools and keep watching for more info. We will still meet at McAllister, but instead of staying we will drive over to do the outreach. Hoping to see you all soon!

Buckets

It's funny how on work days at 8 am I cannot wait for 5 pm to come. Then at 5 pm I think oh let this next 15 minutes go super slow! Why you question. Well those 15 minutes on my drive home from work are the most peaceful moments of my day. Fifteen minutes of music and prayers. Fifteen minutes till the craziness begins. It is my recharge time. And as I arrive to pick up my much missed kiddos I almost have to say- Ready, set, GO! See having a 7, 6, and 2 year old means never a dull moment, no time to relax. It's Mommy I need this, Mommy can we do a project, Steppy is it time to eat yet, Mommy I need help, Mommy, Steppy, Mom, Mom, Mom! Just going from the car to the house drains me some days. Drew get your bag, Ella close the car door, quit arguing!!! And it's no calmer once in the door. I remind myself deep breaths Mom- remember you overslept this morning and the house was left a mess. The rush begins- pick up, start laundry, fix dinner, go over schoolwork, and entertain 3 wild monkeys at the same time. Ahh- when is Matt going to be home- how I love the days he is off work before me and picks up the kids. Well Tuesday Matt had choir practice so it was just me and the munchkins. I was rushing around gathering laundry from well- EVERYWHERE in my house and my sweet observant stepdaughter made my day. "Steppy I'm only 6, but I know better than Dad where my dirty clothes go!" Gee if she can see this then maybe she can teach miss Lucy who loves to take her clothes and diaper off at random times throwing them anywhere and everywhere as she runs thru the house yelling "I'm nakie!" I giggled and tried to explain Dad knows- but there is a difference in knowing and doing. And if he is helping me with laundry I better not complain where he puts the laundry. Then Ella said the oddest thing- dumbfounded me. "Well Steppy that is because I'm a bucket filler." Now I'm wondering is she talking about the laundry basket???? What does she mean???? Bucket filler??? I think the grin on my face made her giggle. I asked her what she meant and she proceeded to explain that she had learned it at school. It means that if you do something helpful or right you fill the bucket. And when you do the wrong thing or cause a problem you empty the bucket. Hmm- still was not sure what to make of this bucket thing- but I told Ella she was definitely a bucket filler. That little sweetheart is the BEST helper I could ask for. She is just so full of love and always wants to help. Well I couldn't get this bucket thing out of my mind. Made me question am I a bucket filler or emptier? And in what context? Marriage? Friendship? Parenting? Workplace? What about God's bucket? Do I fill it or empty it? Do I share his love or hoard it? Do I follow his direction or chose my own path? Do I trust him or doubt him? When things are bad do I run away or be embraced by God? I can almost hear Jason saying- What would it look like? How would you fill God's bucket? Then I remembered what I told Ella- there is a difference between knowing and doing. Knowing his love is not sharing his love. Knowing his grace is not extending his grace. Knowing his amazingness is not praising it. Wow- life lesson from my 6 year old. See Ella fills God's bucket. She treats everyone with love. She forgives. She praises God in her prayers and actions. She is as Jamie Grace sings " A God Girl- from the top of her head to the soles of her feet." She trusts God even when it is difficult. See when Ella is worried about something you can see it in her eyes but she does not hide from it- she prays. Ella notices God, notices people, notices love. That is how we fill God's bucket. We love. We forgive. We share. We trust. We praise. We notice. Come join us at More Than More. Notice with us. Fill a bucket. We will be meeting Thursday March 6th at 6:45-800 pm at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. Amazing childcare for all ages is available. And one of the best bucket fillers I know will be encouraging the teens. Don't miss it!