open arms

My favorite long sleeved mustard colored Gap tee is now decorated with Glidden (Another Paint Co. That Is NOT Sherwin Williams How Dare They ;) "Sherwin Williams Festival Green SW 6923."

In early June our church announced the undertaking of a major project.  The reorganization, demolition, and construction project was named "Open Arms".  The sermon introducing it was based on the "let the little children come unto me" verses.  It was the last one we heard before Macy's death.  :(  Don't miss the painful irony of those last two sentances.

This is an undertaking of MAJOR proportions.  Basically we are changing the way space in our building is used.  We used to use the school classrooms for our children's ministry spaces.  This made a lot of sense but it didn't give the church kids any of their "own" space.  The new space is going to be spectacular.  All the rooms have their own themes.  There will be big bold color and eye catching features all around.  All designed to make it welcoming and fun.

It is a great deal of work.  A HUGE deal of work.  Done mostly by volunteers.

In addition to giving financial support, over the summer our life group cooked for the volunteers.  Until now that has been the extent of my own involvement.  Last month when the children and volunteers were invited to put their own painted handprints up to decorate the entrance hallway to the new space, they had a list available of many little mini projects.  I decided to take ownership of the trim in the rainforest room. 

Yesterday, while George was at school, was my first day on the job.  It might take a month of a few hours here and there but I'll get it done.  And if Jesus doesn't come back for us soon, my prayer while I paint is that kids will be getting to know Him in that room long after I'm gone.

And that is how my favorite Gap tee became adorned with an inferior paint company's version of Festival Green.  I don't even really mind because my treasures are in heaven, not in my closet.

Gentle, Full of Love, yet Strong and Courageous

My company fitness center has a Friday morning Yoga class at 6:45 that I like to take. For me to participate, however, I need to be on the RTA Rapid that leaves the Brookpark station at 6:10 AM. Since the next one doesn't come along until 6:30, and it is about a 20 minute trip to Tower City.

Well this morning as I walked through the station, there was a young man jingling some change in his pocket. He told me he needed to buy a pass and was 50 cents short. I gave him a dollar. I proceeded to walk out onto the platform and notice that there was nobody there. My watch said 6:10 but the train must have been a few minutes early.

So no Yoga for me today. Knowing I had a long wait, I walked back into the (heated & well lit) train station.

Several minutes later, after a few more people had showed up, the guy who I gave the dollar to approached a woman and used the same story. He was still short 50 cents! Maybe he didn't recognize me when I walked out and back in?

Anyhow, I spoke up. "Dude, you were 50 cents short, and I gave you a dollar. How can you still be 50 cents short?" He looked at me and said, "My mistake."

"How many more people are you going to ask?" was my next question. "No one", he said. He stared at me for a couple minutes and I stared right back.

Then he walked away and a different woman said to me, "Thank you."

Once on the train, I was reading my daily Bible study verses. Today's verse for meditation is 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline". The prayer for today ended with, "Help us to be gentle and full of love, yet strong and courageous."

I felt I had already been "gentle and full of love", when I helped this brother in need by giving him a dollar. Then when I discerned his lying ways, I responded by being "strong and courageous."

wow

Make sure your life insurance is paid up before you read it this book because it will blow your mind and break your heart at the same time. 

Referencing Mark 10:21, David Platt challenges us to take a look at our lives and to forsake everything for the Gospel.

if your van has to break down there is no better spot than our church parking lot

One of the pitfalls of a large church is that it can often take a long time to get connected. The regular attenders have no idea who is new unless they speak up. And even when they do, unfortunately it may always seem like someone else's job to make sure they continue to feel welcomed and accepted, and find a spot that is a good fit for them.

But the upsides are huge.

Like when you have car troubles in the parking lot.



Yesterday, due to Kevin's marathon and a slew of non-communication from my daycare moms, it was only George and I in the van. One block from the church I noticed a bunch of smoke coming out from underneath and an engine running so hot the needle was touching red. I turned the heat on high to cool it off but it was really smoking as I pulled into a parking spot.

I texted my neighbor (who was already at church) that George and I would most likely need a lift home.

After making sure it wasn't on fire, I dropped George off at Sunday school. Jeff, a member of my Life Group, was helping in the kindergarten room. When I mentioned the car issue, he said it was probably just a radiator gone dry and to fill it with water after it cooled off.

After the service I went out to do just that but there was a huge puddle of watery tan stuff which I knew was not good. Jeff came out and confirmed that it looked like transmission fluid and I should get a tow. He and his wife would take me home if my neighbor didn't see the text I sent.

While waiting for the tow truck (AAA to the rescue AGAIN...best investment we make) a young mom I didn't know came over to offer assistance. She had a vanful of toddlers and was on her way out. She wanted to know what she could do to help. She offered me her mechanic husband's phone number and made sure I had a ride home.

When I stopped in to let George's teachers know what was going on, I was also offered a ride home if I could wait til after the second service. He just promoted to this class a couple of weeks ago so this woman didn't know me. I live in the complete opposite direction, at least a one hour detour for her after a full morning at church, yet she was still offering to help us out.

My neighbor eventually delivered George and I safely to our front porch. (Thanks Michelle for checking your phone!) And thankfully, all those growing boys (and girl) I left home unattended for the entire morning did not trash the house or eat all the food.

I was not surprised at the multitude of offers of help I got from people I am already acquainted with and those I call friends. And I don't think surprised is the right word to describe my happily confirmed suspicion that a stranger in obvious need would be offered assistance at our church.

It's the strangers not in OBVIOUS need I worry about.

Money Matters - Consumerism

This week's topic in our church class on money was titled Consumerism. The leader had some simple instructions, starting with:

Spend Less Than You Make - step one to any successful money management plan

It Is Hard - especially if you have developed bad habits

No One Will Do It For You - this is a decision and exercise that we each must do for ourselves

Pay Attention -

• Read something regularly (book, magazine)
• List assets & liabilities
• Find net worth (assets minus liabilities)
• Track your spending
• Prepare a budget

List Your Life Goals

Laid Off - Now What?

No I'm not laid off, I still have both my day job and my 2nd job. But we are doding a "Money Matters" 6-week class at church and that was the title of last week's lesson. Here are the suggested steps.

1) Pray
2) Protect your family
3) Assess your situation
3a) Assets & liabilities
3b) Cashflow
4) Stop spending
4a) Quit Charging
5) Network
6) Explore all opportunities
7) Everybody over 12 contributes
8) Sell stuff
9) Avoid internet scams
10) Don't Wait

Hopefully I'll have time to expand on these but right now I need to read Matthew 6 to prepare for tomorrow's class.

Life's Greatest Question

What is the meaning of life? Man has been searching for the answer to this question for centuries. Up until recently, typing it in to Google was not among the top methods used to try to find the answer.

In church this morning, Pastor Jim interviewed John Beckett, Chairman of RW Beckett Corporation and author of the book Loving Monday. They showed that if someone does a Google search for "the meaning of life" (as well as several other key terms), they are shown a sponsored link to the site, Life's Greatest Question.

This is a site Mr. Beckett created to give his personal testimony "using non-religious words" as he said. The site is currently getting about 35000 visitors per month, and of those, about 1 in 8 is making a decision for Christ through the website!

Powerful stuff!