Move!

I saw the accompanying photo on my Facebook page not long ago.  It was accompanied by a note saying something to the effect of, “If you don’t move once in awhile, you become a permanent fixture.”

That’s true, of course.  Just as this old combine has become a permanent fixture in this grove of trees and undergrowth, we too can become permanent fixtures in places and ways we really don’t wish to become.  And when that happens, it takes something akin to a chain saw to get us loosened from the pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into.  (I know I ended with a preposition…it fits in the sentence.)

Movement needs to be physical, yes.  But movement also needs to be mental, emotional, and spiritual.  We are complex beings, made up of all of those parts.  All of those parts have to be exercised from time to time in order to not become sluggish or worse.

We need to read.  We need to be aware of the world around us.  We need to continue to learn, be inquisitive, to challenge our long-held beliefs, and marvel at the creation.  We also need to interact with others in positive ways, continue to develop those relationships, and be a productive part of society.  And we need to continue in our quest for not only knowledge of the God who made us, but to actually become more and more like the perfect example we find in the God-Man Jesus Christ.

It’s only because we keep our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves exercised and moving that we keep ourselves healthy.  Paul the great apostle said it well when he said, “I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul wasn’t content with where he was and who he was.  He wasn’t content being “good enough.”  He continued to “press on” even in his older age toward the goal.  And we should emulate him as we go through our own life’s time line.

We don’t know how much time we have left.  We do know that we need to make the most of the time that has been given to us, and “redeem the time” in ways that are productive and proper and appropriate.

To sit still is to become a permanent fixture, tied up in ways that we don’t like and can’t get away from on our own.  Life is movement.  Life is activity.  Life is energy.  Live it to the full.

I'm Tired of This

I had a conversation of sorts with a gentleman on Facebook yesterday.  Now, it’s not normally the kind of conversation I have with folks on that social media site.  We were talking about the homeless situation in Wichita, in the context of what churches were doing to help mitigate that issue.  The man is not a Christian (he said so), and was asking me what churches will open their doors TONIGHT (his emphasis) to house the homeless.  The way he said it and the context he said it in led me to believe that he was trying to make the point that churches do nothing to really help.

I responded that I wasn’t privy to the information he wanted, and that he could contact Interfaith Ministries, who coordinates these efforts, to find out.  That wasn’t evidently good enough for him, as he continued to belabor the point that I wouldn’t tell him which churches would be open TONIGHT.  I also asked him if he was homeless and needed help, or if he wished to volunteer and be part of the solution.  He didn’t respond to that.

Although I don’t know this man, the tone of his comments and his line of thought was that he wants to blame the churches for having buildings, but not opening them to the homeless.  In other words, they do nothing to help.  Now, I know I’m putting words into his mouth, but I’ve had these conversations before, and they take a familiar pattern.

I’m tired of people who aren’t Christians, aren’t part of any church organization, don’t volunteer, and have no compassion for the down-and-out disrespecting churches and those who are members of them.  These people don’t have a clue what REALLY (emphasis mine) happens within a church body in terms of compassion, service, and giving.  Their “cure” for homelessness, using this example, is for churches to unlock their doors and let people in.

Well, let’s see.  Some churches (I use the term “church” loosely to mean, depending on the context, the people, the building, or the organization) don’t have adequate bathroom and shower facilities.  Some don’t have adequate volunteers to staff it all night.  Some don’t have the cots, blankets, etc.  And some don’t meet fire codes for housing people.  Some have liability insurance issues that preclude that kind of service.  Others may not have adequate kitchen facilities.  Buildings for churches generally aren’t built to house people, as in a motel.  They are built for meetings and gatherings.

Churches DO purchase and maintain other buildings for the purpose of housing the homeless.  Churches DO purchase motel room rental, serve food, and give away clothing and blankets.  Churches DO volunteer to staff other homeless shelters.  Churches DO contribute money for their support.  Churches DO pray for, weep for, and advocate for the homeless.  If churches wouldn’t do what they do, this issue would be multiple times worse than it is.

People who would rather pick at, poke, and argue rather than doing something aren’t on my favorite friends list.  And people who haven’t a clue what the real world is like when it comes to service, social issues, and those who are on the front lines battling Satan every day aren’t there either.

I don’t want people to pat me or anyone else on the back for a job well done.  We don’t do this in order to receive some kind of praise from others.  We do this because we know we are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ on earth.  We do this because we know it’s the right thing to do.  We do this because we are in a battle with the satanic enemy of God.  We do this because all people matter to God; and all people matter to us.

I’m tired of this.

Try It

Well, it’s the new year.  I suppose that I should be happy, happy, happy that the old year has been swept away and the prospects of a new year loom fresh and unsullied by the world…yet.  But I’ve been through enough new years in my life that I know the new will be mostly a repeat of the old, and that not much will really change regarding world peace, politics, or the human condition.

I guess we should always carry the banner of hope that THIS election year will be about the issues instead of insanities…that THIS year we will find the ultimate answer to the Jewish/Arab problems in the Middle East…that THIS year we will make peace with Isis and they with us...that THIS year Kansas will win the Big 12 football championship…that THIS year, well, you get the picture.

I am always amused at some of my Facebook friends who complain about their lot in life, but never seem to actually DO anything to change that.  They hate how they look, what they weigh, who they have a relationship with, where they live, or what they do for a living.  They have big ideas, big plans, and big dreams of change, and never seem to get started on them.  I think they enjoy complaining more than they hate all of the other.

I’ve been there, though.  I can relate.  It’s not easy to get out of the rut of life, even when that rut is less than comfortable.  There is a certain comfort in the uncomfortable.   There is a certain security in the known.  There is a certain relief in the torment.

I don’t know about you, but I’m more and more convinced that the human race is just about the most inconsistent, incompetent, and erratic kind of life form that ever has been or is.  We lack judgment.  We persist in tormenting ourselves.  We know what we need to do to get out of the hole we’ve dug, but we stubbornly refuse the offer of grace and salvation from ourselves.  Shall I say it?  We are idiots all!!

So, what are your big ideas and plans for the coming year?  And how many of those big ideas and plans in years past have you made and not seen come to fruition?  What do you plan to do differently this year than you’ve done in years past to make that outcome different this year?

Or are you finished with the big ideas?  You no longer make any plans.  You’ve just given up and given in on life as it is, and you want to just make it through another year relatively unscathed.

Let me offer you an alternative.  You’ve tried everything else…why not try Jesus Christ?  Test him.  Challenge him.  Dare him.  Put him on the front burner.  Let him have your life.  Give him your all.  What have you got to lose except the despair and hopelessness that you’ve known up to now?  Try it…I think you’ll like it.

Holiday Hope

During the holiday season, there is always at least once when one becomes somewhat reflective and “harks back” to times past and gone.  Sometimes that look back involves family gatherings.  Sometimes it is a trip to a special place.  Sometimes, it is something having to do with the celebration of Christmas itself…participation in a Christmas church drama, the appearance of Santa, or some other memory.

And for some, memories are not always pleasant.  This time of the year tends to cause more stress and strain on families and relationships than other times.  Financial strains are also apparent.  Abuse and suicides seem to increase during this time.  Memories of the holidays are many and varied.

I was laying in bed this morning, not wanting to get up, and my mind wandered a bit to Christmases of times gone in my hometown.  On the radio (I still use an old-fashioned clock radio to wake), they were talking about the fact that years ago, people didn’t decorate much outside with lights.  Oh, there would be a few here and there, but not many.

However, once in a while, someone in a community would go “all-out” and decorate pretty much everything in sight.  And people would flock to see the spectacle.

I recalled one such place for me in my young years.  A man by the name of Johnny Hamilton and his wife (I believe her name was Mary), were an older couple.  They lived in an older home on a relatively large lot in the north part of town.  Their lot was surrounded by an evergreen hedge which Johnny kept trimmed.  And every Christmas, this hedge would be covered, it seemed, with the colored lights of the season.

I can’t remember if he had other things on his place decorated or not.  I only remember the evergreen hedge all lit up.  And we’d pile into the ’54 Ford or the ’56 Thunderbird Wagon and drive by just to see Johnny’s handiwork along with a lot of other folks in the community.

I don’t know how long Johnny decorated his hedge.  If I am correct, he passed away in the early 1970’s.  He may have done it until his passing, or he may not have been able to do it for several years prior.

Whatever the case, the memory of that is burned into my mind, and I’ve thought of that time often in the intervening years.  I don’t know if Johnny knew the influence he would have on my recollections of Christmas and the recollections of others as well.  I don’t know if he decorated his hedge primarily for himself or if he did it for his family or the community at large.  But it was a large undertaking in those days…strings of lights were no more than about 12 to a string, and most of them were the kind that if one goes out, they all go dark.  I don’t know how many hours he spent putting them out and gathering them back in, but it had to be considerable.

So, whatever it is that you do now for the holidays, know that in the mind of someone, that something is being etched into the long-term memory banks, and will be recalled perhaps many years after you’re long gone from the earth.  Just as I recall my first taste of eggnog, which happened during the holiday season, so I recall the lights of Johnny Hamilton and a hundred other memories of long ago.

I don’t long for those days to return, but I do long for the hope of someone fondly recalling something we did over the holidays that comes back year after year in a pleasant memory and a time of peace and joy.

Merry Christmas!

The Calendar Turns

And the calendar turns to yet another Christmas season, along with the New Year holiday and a general slowing down of the normal routine of life…school, work, and the ordinary…in favor of glitter, gifts, travel, baking & cooking, and family get-togethers.  On our part of the globe, the season is also marked by short days, long nights, and in many cases cold and dreary weather.  We are more susceptible to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and the effects of being cooped up inside all the time.  Sometimes, that manifests as a kind of depression; sometimes as violence; sometimes it’s masked and no one knows.

I say those things to say this:  If you’re like Charlie Brown in “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and just don’t feel like celebrating…just don’t feel in the spirit of Christmas, you’re not alone.  Amidst all of the glitter and lights and happiness of the season (and the joy of the season is genuine, no doubt) comes a darker side that is common with mankind and the world.

The world was in the same condition some 2,000 years ago when a baby was born in the city of Bethlehem in what was then Judea.  Whether the actual birth happened at night, like so many believe, or in the daytime is really immaterial.  Whether there were three wise men or more (or less) is immaterial.  Exactly what kind of celestial phenomenon the star was that guided them to the child is immaterial.  And whether 10 baby boys or 100 baby boys were killed by Herod in an attempt to do away with the new king is immaterial.

What is absolutely material is that at that instant, on that day, something changed.  Something changed for the world.  Something changed for mankind.  More than one writer of the Bible talks about that change.  John says it well when he says that, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Paul expands on that, and says that even though the Christ “existed in the form of God, he emptied himself…and being made in the likeness of men.”  The angel who visited the shepherds said, “Unto you is born this day in the Cityof David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Isaiah said, hundreds of years prior to the actual event, “For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given.  And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”  And even Adam and Eve caught a glimpse of the wondrous event when God, driving them out of the garden, told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”

So now, even though there is still a kind of combo platter of emotions, behaviors, and thoughts that come during the holiday season, there is also hope, peace, and true joy for the one who calls upon the name of that baby boy born so long ago, who lived, died, and now lives again.  We can indeed have hope.  We can indeed live with joy.  We can indeed be at peace.  Because he has done for us what we could not do for ourselves…reconcile us to the God of the universe, and cause our adoption as sons and daughters of the Most High God.  Merry Christmas everyone!

With Gratitude

I am posting the following email in its entirety.  The email is from Jennifer White, founder and executive director of ICT S.O.S., a Wichita organization dedicated to the elimination of human trafficking.  Jennifer is a friend of mine, and I’ve done volunteer things for ICT S.O.S. before.  Now, I am mostly a cheerleader for the organization and for my friend.  What she says in this email has resonated with me, and oozes gratitude and humility out of every pore.  I’ve been thinking how I can best let others know of this email, and of the work that is done daily.  This seems to fill that bill.

And Jennifer isn’t alone in making a difference.  There are countless people just like her in Wichita and in Kansas who selflessly dedicate their time, energy, and treasure to make this broken world a better place and to be salt and light in a dead and dark place.

We tend to become cynical when we hear stories of a homeless veteran dying on the street, or a 12 year old girl who has been trafficked into sexual slavery, or a senior citizen who is living in her car because her home is uninhabitable due to deterioration.  We tend to think that nothing is being done and no one is helping.  We lash out at our government for not responding, and call churchgoers hypocrites because they seemingly don’t care.  Or we decry the influx of those from another nation who are looking to the USA for freedom, peace, and the ability to start life anew...wondering why we must help those foreigners when there is so much to be done here.

What we don’t know (in part because we haven’t looked) is that there are many people just like Jennifer.  Some do the work they do as a vocation, such as those police officers in the EMCU (Exploited and Missing Children’s Unit), or the H.O.T. (Homeless Outreach Team) of the Wichita Police Department.  Others volunteer their time in support of groups like the EMCU or the HOT or more well-known organizations such as the Salvation Army or the Kansas Food Bank.  Many are in our public schools mentoring, tutoring, teaching, counseling, and just being a friend to someone.  Some stay in their neighborhood, looking after those who are older and homebound…making sure they aren’t sick, haven’t fallen, or out of food or heat.

Some model a Christian family environment in a home setting for teen girls who have never seen a mom and dad love each other and work together to create and maintain a home.  Others collect food, coats, clothing, or furniture to donate to those without.  And still others provide transportation, donate durable medical equipment, coach a soccer team, visit the hospital or nursing home, or pick up trash in a park. Some volunteer their time to teach those from another culture skills in the English language.  The opportunities are endless.

Some, like Michelle, who is the 24-7 Street Ministry, work primarily alone.  Michelle drives up and down Broadway and associated environs in the middle of the night, looking for prostitutes and street women who would agree to go with her to a safe house and the opportunity of rehabilitation.  Others, like Jennifer, work with a cadre of volunteers and others who provide support and help in every way…from office work to transportation.

So, next time you are prone to cynically look at the state of the world and rue the way it seems to be, remember that there are many who have looked at that same world and have stepped up to do their part…to actually BE the salt and light that you have so far refused to be.

Thank you, Jennifer, for teaching us; for humbling us; for chastising us; for encouraging us; for loving us.  Hopefully, we can be a small breath of the wind beneath your wings, and beneath the wings of others who take seriously the command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

I spent the morning in the office tying up a few loose ends before the holiday weekend and this afternoon I'm working from home. Pies cooling on the counter, casseroles baking in prep for tomorrow's big feast and maybe it is the holiday or maybe I'm just sentimental but I can't help but feel grateful.

The rush of year-end, Giving Tuesday, Christmas giving etc. is right around the corner but we'll deal with that later. Today I don't want anything from you. I'm not asking you to donate or volunteer or share a social media post. I just want to say thank you. Deep down in my guts, wanna hug your neck, thank you.

Thank you to the donors, the givers, the do-ers and the sharers. Thank you for serving, sacrificing, caring and showing up. Thank you for trusting our mission, our people and me. Thank you for learning. Thank you for teaching us. Thank you for being patient and grace-filled as we all learn together.

Thank you for loving these kids, adults and the direct service providers that try desperately to make sure they have everything they need to heal and thrive. We post a need, you meet it. We share an opportunity to serve, you show up. Thank you for building a stronger community around and beside our most vulnerable neighbors. Thank you for linking arms and walking side by side- law enforcement, therapists, social workers, medical providers, minivan moms and soccer dads, businesses, churches and schools. It takes ALL of us and time and again you show the world what Wichita is made of in the goodness of its people.

I'm so grateful for each person who has touched this organization in any way. YOU are ICT S.O.S. and I'm so thankful for and blessed by you.

I hope that your holiday is filled with gratitude for the things you have and the people in your lives. I hope your day is graced with warmth and good food and loved ones. And I hope you know that you are appreciated. So very, very much.

With gratitude,
Jennifer

The Holidays

Again, the time comes for what we usually call the holiday season.  Following Halloween, many of us look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  New Year’s Day follows shortly thereafter.  Then it’s somewhat of a grind until spring break and later on in the spring, the Memorial Day three-day weekend.

If the Good Lord allows, this will be my sixty-seventh holiday season.  Of course, I don’t recall the very early ones, and even later on when I can remember, I don’t recall so much any presents I received as I do the relatives who would come visit or that we would go somewhere and celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It seems it was the fact that there would be people…relatives…loved ones around that made the holiday season what it was for me in the past.

And it’s the same now.  Don’t misunderstand.  I enjoy helping prepare and consume the Thanksgiving meal.  And I enjoy receiving and giving gifts at Christmas.  But those things aren’t what are truly important for me.  It’s the togetherness of family and friends that makes the holidays what they are for me.

I am not a social butterfly, even at family gatherings.  I do like to watch, listen, observe, and learn from the others.  I enjoy seeing kids grow and nieces and nephews have families of their own.  Sometimes I have to bite my tongue and not interfere in their raising and training of their kids.  And I have to remind myself that there are many ways of raising children, and that children are all different.  I also have to remind myself that the parents know their child better than I do and know better what to do.

I do take a little more liberty with my own grandkids.  But even there I do my best to hold back unless it is obvious that someone needs to step in and do something.  It’s kind of a tightrope at times, knowing when to step in and when to let go.

We had the family at our place for Thanksgiving yesterday.  That’s a few days before the holiday, but it worked out best for us to do it that way.  It was a lot of work, and we were both tired at the end of the day, but it was well worth it to see everyone and reconnect a little more with some that we hadn’t seen for a little while.

Now the fridge is full of leftovers.  Leftover ham, turkey, and some other assorted, miscellaneous things that didn’t quite disappear yesterday haunt the two refrigerators we have in our house.  We also have a few things that were left here…a sippy cup, a shirt, and a couple other things that eventually will find their way back to who they belong to.  The kitchen has been cleaned up and we’ve done a little laundry today, although there’s more to do.  We’ve vacuumed and managed to find pretty much everything.  So it’s all good after 23 people found shelter at our home yesterday.

I’m not sure what we’ll do Christmas.  I know we’ll be with the in-laws on Thanksgiving Day for yet another meal and time with the other side of the marriage.  Then the calendar hurtles on to Christmas and all that goes with that.  So it will be a busy time for us this year, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Trust your holiday season is filled with grace, joy, and peace.