And....CUT!

Okay, well, what did we expect?

Rain has plagued us from the beginning, why should it have changed...

So, for the final day of the Just One...Food Drive there were no donations.

Yes, I had my hopes up that people would come through in the last minute, but things do not always work out that way...

BUT we are not empty handed as I keep reminding myself. Thanks to the generosity of friends and family we will be able to drop a BUNCH of food! AND $141.00 in donations!

Of course, there will be another one...have to rethink some things, but there will be another one!

Grand total for pounds of food, I have yet to determin, but we will be taking 2 boxes when we drop them off!

Thanks again to everyone!

Thank you, whoever you are!

Got a letter in the mail today. Well, not really a letter.

An envelope addressed to "Food Drive".

No return address, but it appears to have come from St. Paul.

Had $10.00 in cash in it.

No letter, no note, no nothing. Just the cash.

I swiftly bought lottery tickets in hopes to at least double the money!

Just kidding. I put it in the collection box as well.

I am assuming that whoever did it, is one of the "Parkers"...and to think, they even wasted a stamp.

Thanks again, out there!

Maybe we will have to do this again...

All Good Things Come To An End...

Last day of the food drive is tomorrow.

I want to complain, so I will.

For one, we have been plagued by poor weather. Rain on almost every day of the drive.
And it sounds like rain tomorrow too.

Also, there has been rain so dang much that the signs keep getting ruined or detachting from the posts.

NOW, I find that work rears it’s ugly head, and I won’t be able to do ANYTHING for the drive tomorrow outside of putting out the box and the sign (which I have to fix, AGAIN).

So, forget the donuts, and the coffee…all I get to do is leave out the box and the sign.

And, at last check, all that has been put in the box is leaves from the trees.

I take solace though, in the fact that I have such a caring family that they have made this food drive a success! We will be able to deliver a box and a half of food! And have some donations as well!

It’s easy to get down, but I won’t. But I will vent my frustration. Especially at the people who park on our street for work…sometimes I think of standing on my stoop and yelling at them.

Alas, I will thank God for the opportunity and thought to do it…because if anything came out of it, the knowledge that more of this sort of thing needs to be done. And that more of us need to encourage more and more people to do the same.

A sad lesson, though. Yet a very hopeful one, too.

It’s up to God, and those who park out there, now…

(Just like God said, and Ortberg points out – how true your post Mom)

Diversity...tolerance...huh?

Yesterday we had "tolerance" training at work.

While I know they are good intentioned, I can't help but wonder what the exact purpose of it was.

It's not like the field we work in is homogeneous. We inherently have a diverse population we work with and serve.

This field is not for racists, bigots, or those who devalue any human - because if so, then you have one awful day of work after another, as you are surrounded by any number of "diverse" people.

Black, white, gay, straight, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, foreign...etc.

True this goes for other fields as well, what I'm trying to point out is that we picked and work in this fields because we have open minds and open hearts.

It seemed that it was preaching to the choir...or maybe there's a problem I was not aware of.

It got me to thinking though...we are soooo concerned with our differences. And differences are good, between people, as it can be a nice spice to life...who wants cut outs of each other?

But we focus so much on the OBVIOUS differences. Black/white...straight/gay...man/woman.

These things we focus on, and call out when we see someone of a different ______ either a victim or aggressor.

Yet, we gloss over many, many, many other differences that we hold against each other. And, by doing so, as well may overshadow the REAL reason behind someones hate, or prejudice...it just might NOT BE because someone is black, but because of....you name it, it can be anything.

Looking at the obvious, doesn't get to the core, and doesn't change of offer solutions.

But one solution came to mind.

C.S. Lewis had written a letter to someone about the difference in Christianity. Mainly, protestant vs. catholic.

He said something to the fact that point out each other differences (and pointing out how one side is right and the other wrong) won't bring the two sides any closer.

Lewis said through charity would both sides become closer. Through charity, we'd forget about the differences, and focus on the greater good.

I believe this can be said for "human relations" as well.

Perhaps that's why in the field I work in, many diverse people CAN get along so well. (I'm not saying LIKE or LOVE) but get along...get work done DESPITE any differences.

Through charity, through coming together for the greater good, the greater need, we not only won't focus on the differences, but will realise that it ultimately doesn't matter, and that WE ALL are in this together.

Many of our differences are not our choice, thus even we shouldn't be proud, or point them out...many of our differences are our choice - for good or ill.

Either way, if we think of the other man more, we think of ourselves less. If we think of ourselves less, we won't notice that anyone is any different.

That is what God was trying to get at with the commandments...(but that's another rant)

Missed that one...

I’m am not very good at checking on the posts as it were…especially if I post on a Friday.

I had missed this post in response to one way back on the other blog.

(comments:

Adria said...
I was feeling a little lonely today and this spoke to me. Well put. :-) )


And while I hesitate to say “you’re welcome” because it isn’t really my doing, but I would have liked to respond to let Adria know that I read it and appreciate it myself.

Sorry, Adria!


Ah, the list of things to work on keep growing…

A Belated thanks!

I got to get better at thanking people, and responding as well.

Thanks to Sharon for her donation to the food drive!

At least on box is full!

There have been times, during this, that I have gotten down and felt a bit miffed at the "Parkers" and people in general, but then I realized something...

I'm pretty sure that God urged me to do this...now, of course I am "measuring" it's success, which I shouldn't really be doing, because the outcome (I believe) was less important than my DOING IT.

Sounds a bit weird and self-centered, I know, and that's another part...this whole time I try to refrain from saying "my" food drive, as it truly has turned into an "our" food drive - at least for the family - and that's pretty cool!

Quick Food Drive Update

Another quick update here…

On Saturday, we got home to hear a message on our machine (that wasn’t a bill collector – jk) from some guy at a market research deal with Second Harvest saying that they would like me to participate (and get paid!).

I have yet to decide.

I have emailed my contact over at Second Harvest to see if this is on the up and up. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be, but these days one never can be too sure.

We shall see.

Food Drive Update...(as mentioned on Garage Logic)

No donations this morning...but as it happens to be, some folks seem to just drop off food whenever, so I'll check the box again when I get home from work.

I didn't set out coffee today, or stand out there. I didn't think water and electric coffee maker would be the best mix.

This rain, however, is not being too kind to the signs. I had to do a quick repair on the main sign as yesterday it fell off it's stake. Hopefully it'll hold until I get home tonight, when I can fix it a bit better.

I updated the info on the Just One...donation site as well.

One Friday left, and I'm thinking I would try and make it an ALL WEEK event, but will need new signs for that...

Well, let's hope that these fine folks are just waiting until the last minute to donate...

Thanks again to everyone for their support!

Ortberg's (not Ortenberg) "Everybody's Normal..."

I highly recommend this book.

It's not a secret that I like this man's writing. He is clever, and thought provoking. What I like too, is that he has great insight into how we, as humans, as "children of God", act, think, and behave.

This book is about our want of community, of belonging. About how, even now, if someone is "different" in any way from our so-called "group" that we usually don't let them in.

Also, that as individuals, we strive to be apart of something, something bigger than ourselves.

What I really liked was that he too, like Eldredge, talked about "fellowships." Especially that fellowships need not be big. But it does need to be transparent, and open, and patient, and loving...

To this day, we still believe BIGGER is BETTER. (same as we believe complicated is better too)

Funny, though, that some of his thoughts come from his, as he is a teaching pastor at Willow Creek - a church much like Eaglebrook.

Anyway, if you happen across it, read it. It's a quick read and well worth the small amount of time it will take - there are worse books out there, my shelf can attest to it.

Kirk Cameron and I agree!

Okay, so during the half price book sale Angel found "The Way of the Master" Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort's ministry deal.

Morbid curiosity got the bset of me and we bought it. I have been reading it here and there. While I have not agreed with EVERYTHING their broadcast talks about, I figured what would be the harm in reading their book...maybe I wasn't understanding them exactly right.

As it turns out, they and I agree with something (who’d have guessed).

In a section that I just finished, they were talking (they go back and forth in the book) about the current (2004) trend in churches to speak about the “wonderful life God has planned.” And how these messages (on purpose or by accident or both) lead people to believe that if they believe in Jesus and become a TRUE and REAL Christian that their lives will be full of happiness. That God’s protective hand will be hovered over them at all times and nary a problem will plague their lives.

I’m aware of some of these messages.

Yes, we are promised “abundant life” not “a life of abundance.”

Ups-downs, left-rights, sun-rain, health-sickness, good-bad, best-worst…all are “life” and Jesus promises us that we are going to get a TON of it!

Woo-hoo!

I know, doesn’t sound the best at first…but as I had stated before. Experiencing the lows, makes the “highs” that much better.

If we happen to agree again, or if I happen to sign on to their theology, I’ll let you know.

New health warning about Humble Pie!

I was always confused by the command, teaching to “humble” myself before God. I wasn’t sure that I truly understood what that meant.

I seemed to have taken it as that I need to come to God with my hat in my hand, feeling, well down about myself, thinking that somehow I’ve screwed up my life and that I need God to just sit me down and tell me: this is what you are going to do.

But that’s not humility.

God gave us all strengths, gifts, passions, abilities – each of us have our own set, some of us have similar sets, but each of us has a unique set. These are good things, great things. They are our STRENGTHS. They are, in a way, our GLORY.

To use these is an act of worship. To use these to better someone’s life, to lift, to inspire, to give hope, to love…THESE give God glory.

To be humble, is NOT to push these aside and say, “Okay, God, what SHOULD I be doing.” As a child to a parent. God doesn’t want to TELL us what to do, rather he wants us to DISCOVER what we can do, and how we can use it for good.

“Good” can take many forms – this I am learning more and more each day – as is “helping”

Rather, we should take inventory of our strengths, gifts, etc…and come to the Lord and say, “God, I got all these things, can you SHOW me where these can be used?”

In effect, we have a pot-luck of abilities that we can share.

What can you bring to the pot-luck?

I believe, that God’s plan is not so much ONE THING that we should be doing, but to use ALL of our abilities, our strengths to help others, to love others, to care for others – in all ways.

Jesus was humble, yet no one would say that he wasn’t strong. He used his gifts, and abilities all the time. He showed his strength constantly. How he was humble, though, was he used them to help others…he didn’t hide his strength.

God doesn’t want us to come to him with our heads down, feeling low, and thinking we are no good.

He wants us to lift our heads, be proud of our abilities, and ask, “how can I help?” “What can I do?” “Where am I needed?” I have all THIS (strengths) to offer, how can I use it?

In a way, to God we are saying, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!”


To quote Mr. Rogers (a humble man, second only to Jesus): strength is neither male nor female; but it is, quite simply, one of the finest characteristics that any human being can posses.

NAMI WALK Photos...(Where's Waldo)

Okay, so NAMI finally got up there photos from the walk.

You can view them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14127694@N02/collections/72157622370357791/

A lot of them are great!

There is a solo picture of one of our staff wearing the INAM T-shirt.

Yes, yours truly is in one of the photos, but you’ll have to look. Like Where’s Waldo, I’m a little hard to find.

But I’ll give you a hint: I’m in the first set (the one that is labeled first set). I’m on the left hand side of the picture, and I am among our other walkers (all of us have black T-shirts on). Final hint: I’m wearing a backpack (you can see the straps).

The pictures are great!

Thanks again, everyone, for your support!

Our Economic Stimulus Plan...

This past weekend, Half Price Books had a HUGE book sale. No, not just a huge book for sale, but a huge sale of books.

Actually, it was books, dvd’s, cd’s, LP’s etc.

NOTHING was over $3.00! Three is almost Free!

There were rows upon rows upon rows of everything…

Of course we picked up quite a bit of stuff:

Among some of our purchases included cookbooks, craft books, and gifts for others.

One thing I picked up was Billy Graham's Autobiography: Just as I am.

It's a hefty book.

I just started it last night...so far it's pretty interesting.

Even when he "recommitted" to God, he didn't FEEL much of anything...of course, he got ribbed at school about it - there was even a joke made about "here comes our Pastor Graham".

I honestly do not know much about the man. I was aware of him - you'd have to live under a rock not to - but I can't say I ever heard a sermon of his, and if I did, I don't remember it.

If I come across anything else I'll be sure to pass it along!

If you’ve heard a message from him, or learned something about/from him, pass it along!

Big Thanks!

I would like to say a big THANKS to the The Schires Five for their donation yesterday!

The boxes are filling!

We had a great visit, bespite a "casualty" stepping on a pug landmine...those things happen I guess.

Thanks again!

Chris

Food Drive Day 3!

Chilly day...I think I drank all the coffee...well, me and Shaun - my neighbor.

Trying to warm back up.

No donations, but A LOT of looks! Maybe they'll drop something in the box on the way back...

Shaun kept me company, which helped me not think of the cold (what am I going to do when winter comes!).

And a squirrel fell out of the tree - that was funny!

Thinking of posting a sign, doing a countdown: i.e. "10 days left of the food drive!" or something like that - that was Shaun's idea.

Okay, I'm a bit warmer now...time to go to my "real" job.

Take care everyone!

Garage Logic Approved!

Okay, so, we've been blessed with a little publicity.

Garage Logic, Joe S(won't try and spell it)ray I guess read, at least, one email I sent him about the food drive.

Someone at Second Harvest heard the show, and got my email, which they are going to post on their site.

Sooo...

I figured, crap, now I got to put a BIT more effort into the deal, so right now, at this moment I have coffee sitting out, with a change donation box, and a food donation box, and BALLOONS!

It's a bit chilly, but I got all the coffee I want as it's a big church type maker!

So far, at 7:37 only two people have passed by without a "hiya."

Pretty soon I'm gonna start shaking my box of nails and commenting on their tires...Just Kidding (Maybe).

A stab at poetry...

This came to me as I was reading the Ortberg book and saw the phrase: Banquet of Bitterness.

Banquet of Bitterness

Come and sit,
For here is a grand feast!
Fit for a king,
But served by a beast.

The courses are many,
But you’ll never be full.
Your guests will be few,
But they’ll never be dull.

You’ll eat of pain
And drink of sorrow
The menu’s of yesterday,
forget tomorrow.

You’ll slurp up every wrong,
Served on your plate.
It’s a buffet of anger,
Sadness and hate.

This banquet of bitterness,
toward everyone you’ve known.
devours the heart,
But only your own.

Shel Silverstein I ain't!

But I was inspired to write so here it is:

Untitled

Hey kids, don’t be so quick
To grow up, slow down and stick

Around and be the age you are at
For before too long, you will notice that

You will think, of the past
And wish you hadn’t grown up so fast…

What is a church?

Just a little brain picking here.

What do you think defines a church?
What is the purpose of a (the) church?
Is the current trend of churches moving in the right/wrong direction?
What would you like to see in a church?
Would you even like an "organized" church?

No bashing here, just building and brain picking.

I have been in conflict with churches as of late. Mainly with their teachings and messages - I won't go into them here, no reason to.

Maybe, though, I have a "wrong" impression of what a church is supposed to be...OR do we, are we, to make "little churches?"

I guess I don't know...does it matter in the end?

A Donation!!

Okay, so while family and friends have donated, which I truly appreciate, we finally got a donation from someone we DIDN'T know!

My Mom had a great idea to leave my sign and box out front the whole week (just in case). Well, little did I know that the sign WAS out there all week. However, not the box.

Today, for whatever reason, I looked out and saw a paper bag with this inside!

It's a hefty bag, 6-7 cans and a box of food!

I am going to work up a thank you sign for whoever dropped this off.

Now I am not feeling so down on the folks who park out front!

(I was getting worried there for a moment)

So thanks to everyone who has, and continues to donate, and thanks to the anonymous donor of this bag of food!

It's NOT about me...

I have to admit, the phrase "It's not about me," is a chee-zee one, but that doesn't take away from it's message.

At work, that's our mantra, and yes we make jokes about it...but it's a good message.

I think Jesus would have liked it...I think he modeled it. I think his message has been a bit muddled, but at the core Jesus did live it. He did FOR people. He didn't want for himself, or do for himself.

Anyways, lost post short...I have been posting things on here that I have done, that me and my wife have done, or are doing, and we continue to do so BUT I think that we should all share.

If you have done something (even if was months ago) let's hear about it!

No, not to boast, not to show off, but to shine lights of hope. To show the rest of us that YES, there are people who care, there are people who WANT to help (sometimes we feel alone in that respect).

If you know of an opportunity to help: share it with us!

It's about WE.

(Even if you happened upon here by accident and were looking for something else, drop us a line and let us know!)

Big, small, let's hear them all.

Go!

Five KEYS to happiness revealed!!!

So, I was going about my day when it hit me! I had to pull over and write it down!

The five keys to happiness!

Get your pen and paper and get ready to write these down…ready? Okay here they are!












Okay, none of that happened. Because, well, there are no “keys” to happiness. At least, not as we would define them. Certainly there are things that make us happy, but these are not ALL the same for you and me.

I am happy when the Twins win. You, on the other hand, may not care (I don’t know how THAT could be, but there are mysteries in life we may never understand).

Granted, there are certain things that do make us all happy. Doing good for someone in need, for example, I think makes us all happy. Maybe not jump up and down happy giving each other high-fives, but it does make our SOUL happy.

The problem with the “keys to happiness” is that they are grounded in the fallacy that we are to live a completely happy life – or a life where there are WAY more ups than there are DOWNS.

That isn’t how life is…

Life is a ride, it’s a journey, it’s a roller coaster…there are UPS there are DOWNS. It’s not important that we have less “downs” than “ups”, but rather to appreciate the “ups” when we do have them, and to help others when they are having their “down.”

Are you enjoying the sun more today (or appreciating it) because of yesterday?

I know I am.

Also, the other problems with “keys to happiness” is they are selfish. All it takes is one look at the “Self-help” section in a bookstore…what the heck is going on here?! What a failure rate of Self help…how many books need there be?

I haven’t looked at these books so this is a pure guess: not many are devoted to NOT being MORE selfish.

Somehow, someway they find a way to tell you that it’s that you need to treat yourself to a sweater when you are feeling down (or a latte, or a book in my case) and while that might help temporarily, it isn’t the cure.

Now, yes, we all need warm fuzzies for ourselves, we all need pick-me-ups. But we might need a few less if we handed out more warm fuzzies and pick-me-ups to others.

All the “things” in the world are of no help in a dark room if you can’t see – when all it would take is the smallest of candles to light your way (or someone else’s).

Jesus talked about abundant life…LIFE. Not money, not love, not friends, not things…life – life is made up of UPS and DOWNS. He promised a whole bunch of each, because when we start to truly live from our heart and soul we will be hurt more often, taken advantage of more often, sad more often…

But, the sunny days will also be that much brighter and warmer and sunnier and…

Okay, off my soap box now, it’s getting a little rickety.

Chris

Somedays...

I get frustrated because my hands feel so small...but I remember while our "hands" may be small, many small hands can still build something big...can still make a difference.

If there is anything that this blog can DO is perhaps to remind us (me especially) of that.

3 years...

Little did I know that today is my 3-year anniversary with my current company.

While, three years isn't a very long time, it did get me to thinking about what else I COULD'VE accomplished in those three years.

1) written a book
2) saved more money
3) given more money
4) and on...
5) ...and on...

So, naturally, I got to thinking what CAN I do in the next three years? Or however long I'm around.

Go figure, the list is about the same.

Many are easy, and don’t take too much effort. They shouldn’t either. Helping others doesn’t have to be painful for us too!

We don’t have to give ‘til it hurts, because eventually we might not have anything left to give.

Heck, just one dollar makes a difference – even in times like these!

As for the book…well, we’ll see about that. I have many story ideas (there is never a shortage of those) but many of them don’t lend themselves to book length.

Maybe God will provide me with the Great American Novel idea…or the next “See Spot Run.”

Going with the flow...

As I'm sure you who read the other Blog (thecynicalpreacher) you may have noticed that the posts have become, well, not so cynical and more positive.

To be honest, that would be the direction I would like to go - postitive.

To build up, not tear down.

To help, not hurt.

So bear with me as I make the change over...

Thanks!