random posts about stuff that few will read, but I'm okay with that...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
2 days, 2 great concerts
It's concert time in Happy Valley, and we spent the last 2 evenings listening to the sweet sounds of the 4th and 5th grade band/orchestra/choir and the 6th grade band/choir. Lilly played her clarinet and sang with gusto, and Levi jammed out on the sax. Kim's parents came up for Lilly's concert Monday night, but weren't able to get away for Levi's. He was bummed.
The music was surprisingly good. If you've been to enough band concerts you know what I mean. Them fiddles can be tough to play in tune...
I love the fact that our kids are involved in music, and our school system does a great job with this stuff.
I am super excited about this coming weekend. We've canceled our weekend gatherings in lieu of mobilizing people to go serve in the community. I believe that this is exactly what the doctor ordered. We are trying to re-capture the essence of the church that serves the people who live in the town.
Pastor Dan shared that when the Communists took control of the former Soviet Union, they didn't outlaw religion. They allowed the Christians to continue to meet, but they made it illegal for those same Jesus-people to perform acts of service in the community. All those good deeds became the property of the State, and the churches soon lost their power and influence. Becoming culturally irrelevant, the churches slipped into obscurity, and Stalin's regime oppressed and persecuted the church almost into obscurity--from 54,000 churches in 1918 down to literally hundreds during Stalin's reign.
It's time to get out of the walls of the church, to mix it up in in town, and to serve the community. For more details, surf on over to CityServe.
Every year that it's been possible, Kim and I both attend our kids' Parent-Teacher conferences. We want to be informed and involved in our kids' schools, and to know their teachers. Kim and I usually volunteer to help out in their classrooms, too. It's fun for us, and the kids have loved having us in class with them.
Tomorrow is the Spring conference date, so we'll head out to breakfast at the Waffle Shop--that's our local favorite spot--then it's over to the schools for some face time with the teachers. The girls (Levi doesn't have conferences anymore--middle school) will lead the meeting, showing us some of their work for various stages of the year, then we'll talk with the teacher about progress and next steps.
I had a few minutes this evening after supper, so I thought I'd take a whack at some of the dandelions that have begun to pop up. I cleaned up all the sticks and stuff that the yard had accumulated over the winter last Saturday, and I didn't notice very many weeds.
Wrong.
As I made my way around the yard, I spotted those pesky dandy-lions everywhere. I sprayed nearly a gallon of weed-b-gone tonight. I couldn't believe how many weeds there were, and that I hadn't noticed them until I started looking.
Some time ago I started praying that God would show me my sin every day. I spend time looking through my "spiritual yard" so that I can eliminate the weeds that sprout. It's not always easy or fun, but it's absolutely necessary if I want to have a weed-free lawn--er, spiritual life...
Weed-B-Gone guarantees overnight results. I'm not seeing that kind of satisfaction in some of the sin/weeds, but you never know...
Since the weather has turned nicer, I have moved from the treadmill to the roads around our house for my daily run. I've discovered a few differences that are notable.
On the treadmill, I tell the machine how fast to turn, which means that I can run faster. There are also no hills on my treadmill, which makes the run easier. While I'm trudging away on the looping beltway in my basement, I generally strap the laptop to the control panel and watch a tv show--42 minutes is enough time for me to log my 6 miles and cool down. The climate controlled environment is pretty nice, too.
But things are different outside. The running is simply different. I struggle to climb the hills (though flying down is pretty fun!) and the pavement makes me painfully aware of 40 year old knees. I have to avoid cars that fly around blind turns. And my pace is slower outside. For some reason, I can't convince the ground beneath me to move faster--I have to keep my legs pumping if I want to get back to the house. There's also that dang headwind that seems to shift as I meander through the twists and turns of Houserville Road, changing to keep a breeze in my face.
But we weren't meant to run on a treadmill. It's a good alternative when the weather is yucky, but life is found out of doors. As I run through Millbrook Marsh, along the Spring Creek, life is breaking out all over. The grass and flowers are coming back from their winter sleep. The gurgle of the creek greets me. The sounds of birds in the trees and kids playing in the park tell me that we're making the transition into warmer days. The smells of fresh cut grass and the sheep farm are welcome (call me weird, but I like the farm!)
There are lots of days that I find myself thinking "Why am I out here running? I want to stop." But I don't give in. I am using my run as a time to re-connect with God, to experience his goodness, to meditate on the world that he has created, and to try to figure out my place in it. It's a discipline that I have come to enjoy, and part of my rhythm of life.
Life is meant to be lived outside the walls, out where God's creation reminds us that he is making things new, that there is a cycle to life.
I first heard the term last year, and thought the concept sounded interesting. What's the concept?
Fix a length of 1" tubular webbing between 2 anchor points and walk the line.
It sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? A couple of high school guys and I set one up in the woods behind my office today. Matt has done this before, and he can walk the line. He almost pulled off a turn around. Mark and I were not quite as successful. It's not easy--not by a long shot.
It's a great work out for the core muscles, balance, and concentration.
Some folks, of course, make the difficult look easy.
I'm looking forward to some serious play now that the weather is turning warmer. Ropes and hikes and kayaks and long family walks through the Millbrook Marsh...this is going to be a great season!
Last Sunday I received a couple of text messages. Never mind the fact that I don't have a text package on my cell, that it costs me a whopping one-fifteenth of a dollar to receive each message, and that I don't have a choice as to whether I receive said text message. One of the messages was unwanted, unbidden--a notice from some stock company hawking their latest offering.
Delete. Delete from my inbox, and delete from my bank account. (note to self: balance bank account.)
The second was a little more helpful: Stac, your zipper is down.
I assume that it came from one of my well-meaning senior high leaders, with whom I had just spent an hour at my house. Unfortunately, I didn't get the message until after church. Fortunately, a nice lady in the fourth row managed to get my attention and pass on the 411. Thanks, Mrs. Petrilli. Next time, someone just speak up and tell me! Maybe passive information pushing isn't the best way to get time-sensitive information to the people who need to know.
So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him.
It sounds like a pretty simple, pretty straightforward approach to life, doesn't it? Work hard. Eat a good meal. Add some family, people that you love...that makes for a solid day. Wisdom, knowledge, and joy--why are these so elusive?
Life should be simple, don't you think? I have been on a search for this simplicity for quite some time. Most of the struggles I have are of my own making. I realize that. I can own that. There are days that I think I have a few things figured out; then there are other days.
Lately, there seem to be more of the days that I have very few answers. But I believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's going to take some re-prioritizing my life to find that sweet, simple spot.
Our wireless router seems to have bitten the dust. (I had to explain that saying to Sadie earlier today. I guess it is a little vague to a 6 year old.) So I didn't check email or blogs at all until now. It was a little weird, truth be told.
But I think it might be a good thing to unplug every once in a while. After all, Monday is supposed to be my day off. Doesn't it make sense that I shouldn't be checking email and spending time plunking away at my computer?
I spent the day hanging out with the fam, and helping our neighbors put some stuff into short-term storage as they get ready to move. We're bummed, because we love our neighbors. But it's the best thing for them as a family, I suppose. At least it looks like it on paper.
Wii played a little Wii bowling tonight. Kim found the Wii fitness challenge, so we all took turns with the Wii to find out our Wii age. I know that I just turned 40, but my Wii age is only 30! So that's pretty cool...
Lilly wanted to see the Improv Everywhere video of the Food Court Musical, so I pulled it up for her. While we were there, my eyes caught the title of another vid--Woman at the Well.
I thought it'd be worth checking out. Kim didn't love it, but I enjoyed it.
American Idol is the buzz among churches and Christians today. The cast sang Shout to the Lord last night, and it was a pretty cool thing. But they changed the opening line (My Jesus, my Savior) to My shepherd, my savior...
I'm not sure why, because last week they sang a bunch of Dolly Parton songs that had the name Jesus in 'em. Dunno...
Seeing the cast sing tonight--with the name of Jesus included--was interesting. I wonder how many of the AI cast knows the one the sang about. Castro has been hanging out with the folks from Saddleback. KLOVE mentioned that Kristi Lee Cook is a Christian.
Millions of homes heard them sing about Jesus over the past 2 nights, and tons more have seen the Youtube video.
We spent the day with leaders from 8 other churches, guided through discussions about theoretical and practical steps to transitioning to a Missional application of the local church.
What is Missional? Great question. It's a buzz word among certain circles of church leadership, but it's a right word for me, for us.
It's inspiring to be in a room with people from all over the US who are bent on seeing their cities reached, lives transformed, and the Kingdom expand.
The catch is the application of all this kingdom stuff that we've spent talking about today. I imagine that tomorrow will be a full belly of goodness, too...
I'm on the road again. Calvary (largely because of Dan's influence) has been part of Leadership Network's Learning Communities over the past few years. I have enjoyed the glimpses that I've gotten into other communities, the opportunities to hear God stories from around the country, and around the world.
It was on a trip like this a few years ago that God changed my heart about adoption...
Anyway, for the next couple of days I'll be learning and digging into the subject of the Missional Renaissance. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it!? All I know is that the Lord has something in store for Happy Valley, and I am pumped to be part of it.
When I was in college, way back in the day, my friend Phil introduced me to the joys of rainwalking. It's not a complicated thing, doesn't require any specialized equipment, and is accessible to anyone regardless of age or skill level. I don't think that it's going to become the next Olympic sport, though it's about as easy as curling. All you need is a semi-warm day and a bit of rain. No umbrella. No rain coat. No galoshes (does anyone wear galoshes anymore?). The goal is to get soaked, to actually experience the rain.
Most people I know try to avoid the rain. I'll admit, it can be an inconvenience, getting wet. Especially when you have somewhere else to be, and you need to be presentable. I get that.
But when I can, I like to get wet. I enjoy the experience. There's a warmth and peace that wash over me as I let the water roll down my face, down my neck. I like the slosh of water in my shoes, the smell of the ground. It doesn't matter if the rain is gentle or the hard, driving kind. They're drastically different, but both are good in their own right.
I think part of the draw for me is the symbolism of cleansing. In the rain, I get the sense of God washing the earth clean of the day's dust and dirt. There's a picture of renewal as the rain waters the growing flowers, trees, and grass. Everything is becoming green and fresh.
The only thing that makes the rainwalk better is having someone special to splash around with. Let it rain!
We're in the middle of a series with our middle school students in which we're helping them discover some spiritual disciplines to help them grow in their relationships with the Lord. We teach this series every year, but try to change the way we deliver the content. This year we're using road signs, calling the series Road Rules for the Real World.
The topics: Hang Time With God (prayer) Accountability Bible Memorization Involvement in the church Tithing (stewardship, generosity) Studying the Bible
I believe that middle school students are capable of developing these spiritual disciplines, that they are fully able to start practicing the skills that will help them connect with God in a life-changing way.
How exciting would it be if we raised up a generation of young men and women who were serious about their faith, intentional about growing and knowing God, experiencing his presence every day...
Woohoo! Spring is in the air, the grass is turning green as the gentle spring rains fall, and it's time for some baseball. I watched the Braves bullpen give up two game-losing homers in as many games, and the Pirates are on pace to win 162!
I spent a little time tonight browsing the rosters of the Pirates minor league teams, looking to see which of the guys from last year's Spikes made the jump to a higher level of minor league ball. Most of the guys landed at either Hickory or Lynchburg. None were promoted to Altoona, and some are still in Bradenton with the Gulf Coast League until the Spikes open in June.
My lovely wife got her picture in the paper, along with Levi and cousin Wesley, standing in line at the ticket booth last year. The pic is on the Spikes website, and was in the local Weekender.
I am looking forward to another season serving as the chaplain for the Spikes. I do a short devotional/prayer time for the Spikes, the visiting team, and the umpires before each Sunday home game. It's totally optional, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to encourage these young men in their faith. Sid Bream is the new hitting coach, and I am looking forward to getting to know him. I hear that he's a Jesus follower, and he's tied to two baseball memories for me:
1. He scored from second base on a ball hit to Barry Bonds in the 9th inning of game 7, in the 92 NLCS. He might have been the slowest guy in baseball, and he beat Barry's arm. 2. His son's team (Seneca Valley) beat our State High team enroute to a PIAA championship last year.
Lilly and Levi are auditioning for roles in our local theater's production of The Sound of Music. So we borrowed the dvd from Melinda and watched most of it tonight. Kim and I enjoy a good musical, and it was fun to watch with the kids. There are a couple of classic "catch your breath" moments for me: *right after Capt. Von Trapp chews out Maria, the kids start singing in the house to the Baronness. Capt hears, stops short, moves to the door, and is engrossed in the sound of his children singing. He joins them in the song, and they stop, unsure of how he will react. *the dance between Capt and Maria--why don't we have dances like that today? *Maria's return to the home, coming into the scene mid-song with the children singing, trying to restore happiness.
This was Aunt Lea's favorite musical, and we think about her every time we see it. It's good to have things to remind us of those we love, to connect us with our past.
I have no idea if our kids will land roles, but it should be fun to help them learn their parts for the tryout. We had fun reminiscing about the high school musicals that Kim and I were involved in tonight over supper. Good times...
