Monday's Visitors

Monday afternoon Jean's Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Uel (short for SamUEL) were at our place for dinner. Uel is Jean's dad's brother. They live in Ireland. Sam enjoyed playing soccer with Uel, and Alina enjoyed swimming in the living room, playing house, and all kinds of things with Aunt Jennifer. It was an awesome visit. And, we get to surprise them in Lansing this weekend when we will join most of Jean's siblings' family for a get together.

Pumpkin Decorating

You can decorate your very own pumpkin on-line by clicking here.

Trick or Traet

What Will You Do?

from the Ransomed Heart - Daily Readings

So, let me ask again: How would you live differently, if you believed your heart was the treasure of the kingdom?

What does your heart need? In some sense it’s a personal question, unique to our make-up, and what brings us life. For some its music, for others its reading, for others they must garden. Our friend Lori loves the city; I can’t wait to get out of one. Bart reads articles on flying; Cherie loves a good novel. Bethann loves horses and Gary needs time working in the woodshop. You know what makes your heart refreshed, the things that make you come alive. I don’t get the thing with women and baths, but I know that Stasi loves them and finds a little retreat in a fifteen minute tub. “He leads me to soak in still, bubbly waters.” For me and the boys its the dirtier, the happier.

Yet there are some things all hearts need in common. We need beauty; that’s clear enough from the fact that God has filled the world with it, as he has given us sun and rain,

Wine that gladdens the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread that sustains his heart. (Psalm 104:15)

We need to drink in beauty wherever we can get it – in music, in nature, in art, in a great meal shared. These are all gifts to us from God’s generous heart. Friends, those things are not decorations to a life; they are what brings us life.

(Waking The Dead , 214, 215 )

All in All You're Just Another Brick in the Wall

Saturday the last of the brick came down.

When it is Time to Leave

Dan Reiland is a good friend of a good friend of mine. Dan Reiland writes a column called The Pastor's Coach. This week's column talked about understanding when it was time to leave. It was a great read, and really reaffirming for me. One of the bullet points was titled Pay attention to your inner sense of being released from the work. He said, Being “released” (I don't mean fired) is common language but sometimes difficult to know for sure. When God starts to release you from a ministry, He begins to disengage your heart, lift the burden, and your sense of ownership begins to fade. It's not that you no longer care about the people, but no matter how you slice it, you don't feel the same as you once did. The reason this is difficult is because we all have some of those thoughts from time to time on a temporary basis. When God releases you, it is a permanent thing, and you know you are done.

This summer I had that release while hiking to prepare for the Epic Journey: Walk the River backpacking trips that took place this summer. It was a good conversation with God about where He wanted to take me. It was a conversation. I had a lot of hard questions when I began to realize God was asking me to release the ministry I was entrenched in. What would my life be? Wasn't I doing what God had made me to do? Something I was holding onto so tightly needed to be let go of. God knew that.

God has been very good to me in that some awesome men have entered my life and walked beside me. Sometimes, the number grew by the day. But, there is that small, inner circle of guys that have my heart, and I have theirs. But, that isn't the release the article was talking about. He wasn't referring to the release of the beautiful friendships. He was talking about the release from a job in a ministry. I loved what I did in ministry, but God released me. My brothers have also released me from that ministry, but they have not released me from relationship. They are good men who love me. Despite the log in my eye.

Ask God

from the Ransomed Heart - Daily Readings

Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends, one of only three that were invited into his innermost circle. In Gethsemane, at his hour of greatest need, Jesus again took Peter aside, poured his heart out to him; he looked to Peter for strength. Three years of this, and who knows how many other stories. Peter must have known, I have a special place in Jesus’ heart. So, how do you suppose Peter felt after he denied Christ – not just once, but three times? It must have been devastating.

After the resurrection, Jesus is on the beach with Peter and the others. It’s a touching reunion. Following a night of lousy fishing, Christ yells out to the guys to let their nets down for a catch – just as he did that morning he first called them three years earlier. Again, their nets are bursting with the load. Just like the good old days. Peter leaps from the boat and swims to Christ. They have breakfast together. Reunited, laughing about the catch, relaxed, warmed by the fire and stuffed from breakfast, Jesus then turns to Peter.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

What a beautiful story. Notice first that Christ does not let Peter sweep the whole matter under the rug. If this issue doesn’t get addressed, it will haunt the old fisherman for the rest of his life. No, this must be spoken to. Most of us simply try and “put things behind us,” get past it, forget the pain as quickly as we can. Really – denial is a favorite method of coping. But not with Jesus. He wants truth in the inmost being, and to get it there he’s got to take us into our inmost being. One way he’ll do this is by bringing up an old memory. You’ll be driving down the road and suddenly remember something from your childhood. Or maybe you’ll have a dream about a long-forgotten person, or event, or place. However he brings it up, go with him there. He has something to say to you.

(Waking The Dead , 120-122 )

A Prophet, A Priest, and a King

Most of my reading lately has been while doing a stair step machine or riding my bike on a stationary trainer in the mechanical room of our basement between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Yesterday morning I finished Leading with a Limp by Dan Allender.

The premise of the book is that leaders lead most effectively when they have disclosed their failures to the ones they lead. Not to win sympathy. To free yourself and to free others.

There were several parts of the book that moved me. That shook me. That brought back pain and opened up wounds from my own story. The fact that in sharing your story with others can many times lead to people wanting to manipulate you or use your story against you.

The last chapter, in particular, was the most interesting. It is titled Three Leaders You Can't Do Without: Why You Need a Prophet, a Priest, and a King. Many times in a group, organization, job place, etc. There are people who play one of those three roles. Sometimes a person may play two of those three roles.

A king builds infrastructure for the needs of his people and protect them from harm. As he works for a fair and just society, an king juggles crises, decision making, allocating resources, talent development, and issues of survival and growth. (p. 189)

A priest helps create meaning for the people in her organization through story. Storytelling is neither just an entertaining pastime nor just an interesting way of communicating facts or values... A story is not just interesting; it actually delineates how to live. (p. 191) A priest uses symbols and helps the body connect to the soul through the physicality of worship.

Most people want to grow, but the price of growth is pain. A grapevine will not produce excellent wine grapes until it is pruned. It is the way of all growth and excellence: submission to pain through discipline is the only route to maturity... As a representative of discipline, a prophet is an odd interplay of coach, poet, visionary, and therapist. He disrupts the paradigm of comfort and complacency. But when he shouts at me, he also invites me to desire and dream of redemption. When he comforts me with the vision of what will one day be my future, he calls me to create it with a commitment to honesty, care, and justice. (If he were not a prophet but a good priest, he would tell me a bedtime story and comfort me. He might even bring me a cup of hot cocoa.) But, a prophet is a far cry from a priest. The odd presence cries out, invites, and keeps telling me to move. A prophet exposes our turn to indulgence and self-congratulation. He points out our self-righteousness and underscores the evidence that our current condition is not true, good, or lovely. And, often, in order to expose the unrighteousness of the current way of being, he allows himself to be a fool. A prophet exposes what is not right in part by arousing the dreams of redemption. She poetically touches ache for what is not and calls forth a vision of what will come. A prophet is more a poet than a rabble-rouser, and her poetry often contains dense metaphors and complex symbols to tap into the deepest parts of the heart... It's no surprise, then, that the prophet-poet-disrupter is often shunned as being too weird or eccentric. To normal people, a prophet may be intriguing but unpredictable and dangerous. So often prophets are not welcome in "normal" company; instead they find solace in communities of prophets who are notorious for being self-absorbed and destructive... They want to challenge the status quo of the king and the priest. As a result prophets are often killed or sent into exile. And it's easy to understand why. Few people want their lives disrupted by visions, poems, and stories that wreak havok on the comforts of daily life. (pp. 194-196). Dan also notes that typically prophets do not come from happy homes.

Can you guess which I am? I am a prophet. To a lesser degree a king. And to a very small degree a priest.

The interesting thing, as a leader I am, and you are, called to be all three. Because Jesus is all three. It flies in the face of "playing to our strength" leadership advice, yet the paradox is that we may, in our family life, as we play a role in a ministry, workplace, or organization, mostly use our strengths. Yet, in the wild humor of God, He will use our strengths to get us into situations where our weaknesses are exposed and used for his glory. Because Jesus is a King, a Priest, and a Prophet, we are called to be as well. We will, and must, continue growth in each area.

Leaders also need to make room for all three dimensions in the space of their souls. It may sound like I'm actually suggesting that you become a haunted and deeply divided person. But actually, we are often called to fulfill all three offices – to disrupt complacency, to bring comfort to heartache, and to direct others to life – in one sermon or a single counseling session. We must, therefore, create space in our organizations and in ourselves for this kind of rich, creative complexity. (p. 197) Broken and limping leaders need one another. The king left alone will become a dictator who hates chaos. The priest on his own will fall into accommodation for the sake of avoiding conflict. A prophet alone will indulge in drama and self-absorption for the sake of escaping boredom. They need one another to elude the trap of their own narcissism. (p. 198)

It Must Be Intimate

This is the very thing God has blessed me with, an awesome group of men that fight for each other, not against each other. Guys that are all about encouraging each other on in their character development in this amazing story.

from The Ransomed Heart - Daily Readings e-mail...

Of course, small groups have become a part of the programming most churches offer their people. For the most part, they are disappointing and short-lived – by the very admission of those who try them. There are two reasons. One, you can’t just throw a random group of people together for a twelve week study of some kind, and expect them to become intimate allies. The sort of devotion we want and need takes place within a shared life. Over the years our fellowship goes camping together. We play together; help one another move; paint a room; find work. We throw great parties. We fight for each other, live in the Four Streams. This is how it was meant to be.is completely normal.

I love this description of the early church: “All the believers were one in heart” (Acts 4:32 ). There is a camaraderie being expressed there, a bond, an espri de corps. It means they all love the same thing, they all want the same thing, and they are bonded together to find it come hell or high water. And hell or high water will come, friends, and this will be the test of whether or not your band will make it: If you are one in heart. Judas betrayed the brothers because his heart was never really with them, just as Cipher betrays the company on the Nebuchadnezzar and as Boromir betrays the fellowship of the Ring. Good Lord – churches split over the size of the parking lot or the color of the carpet. Most churches are not “one in heart.”is completely normal.

God is calling together little communities of the heart, to fight for one another and for the hearts of those who have not yet been set free. That commeraderie, that intimacy, that incredible impact by a few stouthearted souls – that is available. It is the Christian life as Jesus gave it to us. It is completely normal.

(Waking The Dead ,193, 203 )

The Best Soccer Day

This past Saturday was the last soccer game for Sam's team. They had the earliest game, 8:30 am. The two teams seemed to be more evenly matched. Sam played goalie the first quarter and didn't give up any goals.

In the second quarter Sam moved to forward. One of the other players on Sam's team scored a goal, which was immediately answered by the opposing team. Later in the quarter Sam scored a goal from WAY out. It was awesome! Sam's response was great. He acted as if it was no big deal. And lined up for the kickoff. At half time I ran out and gave him a big hug and told him how proud I was of him.

Sam set out the third quarter, but went in on defense for the fourth quarter. Defense is Sam's favorite position, after goalie. Kevin, another boy on Sam's team, played goalie for the fourth quarter. In the past Kevin has given up A LOT of goals. A LOT. Sam's team was ahead 2-1 going into the last quarter of the season. Kevin never played better at goalie. He used his hands to stop balls. He got the ball out quickly on goal kicks. Sam, playing defense, got the ball while he was over the midfield line and kicked another goal, making it 3-1. That was the final score.

I had been praying for the last few weeks that Sam would be able to score a goal. Not to boost his ego or make anyone feel bad, but to just know the feeling of scoring. God was good. Maybe God allowed the goal more for my experience than Sam's. Sam didn't really care that he scored. He was simply glad his team one. More importantly he was glad that he got a medal, just like the rest of his teammates. He wore it proudly the rest of the day. We had to plead with him to call papa and nana, and grandma. He really didn't want to. He is shy about that kind of attention. When I dialed the numbers for him he modestly told his listeners that he scored two goals, but then was excited to tell them that he got a medal that was shiny. Oh Sam.

Kid Rock's Waffle House Fracas

Copied from original headline.

Kid Rock spent most of Sunday in jail after he got into a scuffle with a man outside a suburban Atlanta waffle house, cops said.

The rocker, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, and five members of his entourage were charged with simple battery after the predawn fight with a man police identified as Harlen Akins. The fracas erupted as Kid Rock and his crew pulled up at the Waffle House restaurant about 5:15 a.m. after a gig at The Tabernacle in Atlanta.

Akins, 39, got into a shouting match with a female friend who was accompanying Kid Rock's posse and then got into a physical fight, police said.

Akins allegedly broke a window at the restaurant and suffered cuts from flying glass that required treatment at a local hospital.

Kid Rock, 36, and his pals jumped into their tour bus and drove off, but cops said they stopped the bus nearby and arrested them. Akins was charged with felony criminal mischief. Kid Rock and his pals were hit with misdemeanors. The singer walked out of the DeKalb County jail after putting up bond - and signed autographs as he walked back to his bus.

More Job Hunting

Today is another dull day at the desk with the big map with 850 blue pins.

I am again looking for Seattle employment opportunities. I ventured outside of the normal Craigslist ads and started typing in random things that I like to do in hopes that I can find a job doing one of those random things. I stumbled across this Urban Ops 3 day training adventure. Not that I am qualified to work there, but perhaps when a group of you come out we can work that into our time together.

First, Know What and What is Not the Evil Empire

I frequently browse various job sites, Craigslist, etc., to see what jobs are available for a cartographer in Seattle. Today I was looking on Craigslist under the Customer Service heading. One listing was shown as "Brown Paper Tickets" so I clicked the link. The ad began, Hi! Brown Paper Tickets is the first and only free-trade ticketing service. We are the grassroots rival to Ticketmaster, and we need your help to overturn the evil empire! It went on to describe what skills the successful candidate must possess. The very, very first qualification insisted that the applicant be Proficient with Windows XP, sending and receiving e-mail, working with a multiple-line phone system, and other computer savvy projects as they come your way.

The very problem here is that Microsoft, not Ticketmaster, is the evil empire. Wake up people!

Truck hits Port-a-Potty in Ottawa County: Man inside

This is from WZZM Channel 13's Website...

Created: 10/17/2007 7:09:11 PM

Updated: 10/18/2007 8:38:34 AM

Ottawa County - A man who was using a Port-a-John when it was knocked over by a garbage truck is recovering from minor injuries.

It happened Wednesday at a construction site in Blendon Township.

The garbage truck was turning when the back end hit the portable toilet knocking it over on its side with the man inside. The man was able to get out on his own.

He was taken to the hospital with shoulder pain.

Project Mayhem

Wikipedia gives a brief synopsis of Project Mayhem. "As the fight club's membership grows (and, unbeknownst to the narrator, spreads to other cities across the country), Tyler begins to use it to spread anti-consumerist ideas and recruits its members to participate in increasingly elaborate attacks on corporate America. This was originally the narrator's idea, but Tyler takes control from him. Tyler eventually gathers the most devoted fight club members (referred to as "space monkeys") and forms 'Project Mayhem', a cult-like organization that trains itself as an army to bring down modern civilization."

Last night, Johnny Sherpa planned Project Mayhem for my house. He recruited a bunch of guys to move bricks and debris, remove more bricks from the front of the house, and to rebuild the inner structure of the wall that was damaged. The men humbled me by their unselfishness to do a lot of grunt labor, and their willingness to show an act of love to me and my family. These are a group of men I am proud to love and call my brothers. Not because of what they do for me, but because they would do this for anyone.

Exploring The Hidden Questions of Our Heart

from The Ransomed Heart - Daily Readings e-mail...

It is possible to recover the lost life of our heart and with it the intimacy, beauty, and adventure of life with God. To do so we must leave what is familiar and comfortable—perhaps even parts of the religion in which we have come to trust—and take a journey. This journey first takes us on a search for the lost life of our heart, and for the voice that once called us in those secret places; those places and times when our heart was still with us. The pilgrimage of the heart leads us to remember together what it was that first engaged us in deep ways as children: “. . . anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it,” said Jesus (Mark 10:15).

Our journey will take us to explore the hidden questions of our heart, born out of the stories of our lives. It is only by leaving home and taking a pilgrimage that we will begin to see how our own stories are interwoven with the great Romance God has been telling since before the dawn of time. It is on this pilgrimage that we begin to see that each of us has a part in the cosmic love affair that was created specifically with us in mind. Last, this pilgrimage brings us to the destination, set within all of our hearts, which in some way we have known, longed for, and been haunted by since we were children.

...Our journey begins by asking questions, putting words to the movements of the heart. “What is this restlessness and emptiness I feel, sometimes long years into my Christian journey? What does the spiritual life have to do with the rest of my life? What is it that is set so deeply in my heart, experienced as a longing for adventure and romance, that simply will not leave me alone? Does it have anything to do with God? What is it that he wants from me? Has he been speaking to me through my heart all along? When did I stop listening? When did his voice first call to me?”

(The Sacred Romance, 10,11)

Soccer

Saturday was an interesting soccer game. Sam played goalie for the first quarter and the third quarter. Even though he was scored on three times in the first quarter, he did an amazing job. A 6 year old can only make so many saves when the ball never seems to leave the goal area.

An interesting part of the game was when the ref came over to our coach and said, "please quit harassing me." Yeah, our coach was on him. Yeah, the ref is probably 17 and doesn't "teach" much on the field (as these kids are only 6 and 7). Yeah, the ref misses most of the calls. He, like us, is probably glad that there is one week left to the season. I bet he hates us.

Even though our team was beaten royally - I lost count after it was 8 to 0 - I was so proud of Sam. He played so hard.

Happy Birthday Nana!

Yesterday was Jean's mom's birthday. Jean's mom and dad came up for dinner, and were gracious enough to bring my mom. They got out of the van, and I could see the look of horror on each of their faces. Each of them looked very, very disturbed. It was because of the exterior of our house... I think Nana had a happy birthday anyway...

My Day Off So Far

We are selling our house soon. The brick on our house has issues. Well, much of our house has issues, but that is another story. The front steps have been pulling away from the house since we've owned it, which has pulled the brick retaining wall away from the house. Some water has also gotten behind the brickwork on the front of the house. I am not sure which came first, the water behind the brick or the steps pulling away from the house. I think it is the steps pulling away from the house. The step raiser people are still another 2 weeks out. I can't really do much more in terms of repair, or destruction for that matter, until the steps are raised. back into place to halt their sinking and pulling.

Corner Gas

We have simple basic cable. We probably only have cable tv because we need cable internet for Jean's job. Having basic cable and cable internet is the same cost as having just cable internet.

Superstation WGN began airing Corner Gas this fall. Most nights the air it really late, long long after I fall asleep. But, on Wednesdays they air it earlier in the evening. Corner Gas is set in a fictional town called Dog River in Saskatchewan Canada. It has similar flashback humor as Scrubs, but it is funnier. At least funnier to someone who has the same Canadian humor that I do. It's a good, good funny.

Catalyst 2007

This was the best Catalyst ever. For me, it was the best group of speakers that have been lined up, and they delivered. WOW! Thursday in the parking lot David and I prayed for Catalyst. Part of my prayer was just being thankful for David taking me to Catalyst for the first time in 2002, and realizing how God has used that to change my life and direction significantly over the past 5 years. God really used Friday morning's talk of "Practical Atheist" to rock me and where I have been during the last 12 months or so.

A Belated Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Catalyst Eve

Yesterday I was sitting at my desk at work at about 4:15 PM and it hit me – this could be my last Catalyst Conference for a very, very long time. I got choked up.

Last night I asked Alina if she was going to take me to the airport. She said, "No. I can't drive." This morning Jean and the kids took me to the airport. Jean drove. The flights were uneventful. The didn't crash or anything. A very small plane out of Grand Rapids to Fonzie's town. I remembered during the flight that I hate the feeling that the plane has just stalled...

Right now, I'm camped out in the Atlanta airport. I'll probably be here until 5 PM or so until David gets out of work and picks me up. Until then I will read a little, watch a DVD or two (I only brought Fight Club, and the 2006 Catalyst Sessions – I watched nearly all of Andy Stanley between Milwaukee and Atlanta), and IM with Jean.

Dropping Weight Pt II

Not only am I dropping weight, but our household is dropping weight. We are getting rid of a ton of stuff we just don't use or need. Not only is the money nice, but we don't want to have to transport a bunch of unneeded burdens with us across the country.

We're in a bit of a slow spell right now. We've sold a lot of the goodies. Tools. Toys. Electronics. Right now, the big prayer request is the sale of the blue beast. In my prayers I tell Jesus that He may know a reason why we need to keep it that we just don't see, but for as little as I can see it would be nice to be rid of it.

Sam

Sam is funny. Yesterday he spent the rest of his afternoon with me at the office. After he finished his homework he wanted to go see Ann in another part of the office. I figured he wanted to go because she gives him food. And, these days, Sam is always hungry. I told him he couldn't ask for food. On his way to Ann's desk I called her and said that I told him he couldn't ask for food. They talked for a while. She asked him if he would like some gum. He said, "Sure." She said, "Do you think we should ask your dad?" She told me he winked at her and said, "He won't care." Later, Ann grabbed his ear and said, "Sam, you are SO CUTE!" He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I know." Oh Sam.