Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
This morning was just another morning at our YMCA.
The giving tree tags arrived, this sent Norm and I on the annual, “Where did we put our Christmas tree?” hunt. We eventually found it, cleared an area in the Welcome Center space, and started putting the pretend Christmas tree together. It was the usual affair; setting it up, getting everything just right, finding out that the top half of the tree is not lit, finding the problem, fixing the problem, patting each other on the back for our obvious mechanical electrical skills, realizing that we still have to put the skirt around the tree, crawling around on the floor getting the skirt “just right”, realizing that the tree is not in the right spot, moving the tree, crawling around on the floor again getting the skirt “just right” again, placing the “giving tags” on the tree, and watched the tags start to disappear.
Carlos’ Thanksgiving meal created a buzz with the staff.
We started talking about how fun it would be to open the YMCA to others on Thanksgiving and feeding those that have no place to go for Thanksgiving. Did I mention we have a wonderful Family here at the “Y”.
I am reminded of the Christmas story when Buddy the Elf is looking for his family. He comes to a place where all these toys live. They are not perfect toys and for whatever reason have been discarded. It is the land of misfit toys. The thing about these toys is that they know that they are not perfect and through their imperfections they exude love and respect to those they encounter. Eddie, our E.D. dais one day, “We are just a bunch of misfit toys.” We know we are not perfect, we are working on our stuff as we help others.
I am reminded of something the Apostle Paul once said to another bunch of misfit toys:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)
And this is what he meant:
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:12-17)
I for one am glad that I am a misfit toy living and working with a bunch of mist toys.
Blessings,
My Book
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
A Thanksgiving meal
Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
It is Sunday morning, Laurie and I returned from our parent's house late last night.
We have had a whirl wind last few days. Every Thanksgiving we go down to southern Oregon to visit my mother and father, spending time talking, walking the beaches, and reconnecting; it is always a good time. The round trip is a smidge over 600 miles. I had taken Wednesday off to get ready for the trip. I only had a couple of things to do at the YMCA wednesday.
I got up, went to a meeting and then went into the "Y".
I have been working with a family whose 12 year-old daughter has cancer; she is terminal, they have already amputated her right leg and she is in hospice care at home. When she got sick, her mother could not take it and left; leaving her husband with a 12 year-old, a 9 year-old, and a 1 year-old. He is devastated on many fronts.
I had just finished talking with the father and making sure that this family would be ok while I was gone for a few days when the Welcome Center staff came into my office with a dilemma. Carlos, a developmentally delayed man whose mother had just died a couple of months ago had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. Carlos has been doing a good job of being a grown-up since his mother's death. We helped him get into subsidized housing, something he could afford, and he has been managing his finances well. He comes into the YMCA everyday and spends time with us.
The Welcome Center staff does an amazing job of connecting with our members and Carlos is no exception. They asked him what he was doing for Thanksgiving and he replied, "Nothing, I have nowhere to go for Thanksgiving." Then in true Carlos fashion, he turned and went upstairs to walk on the treadmill. The staff comes to me, recounts the interaction and asks, "What do we do?" It would have been easy to say, "We are all busy, and while this is not going to be a good day for Carlos, what can we do?"
But we didn't. We did some quick thinking, and decided to have Thanksgiving at the YMCA with Carlos. The "Y" would be open from 7am-1pm on Thanksgiving. First, I had to see if Carlos thought this would be a good idea.
I went upstairs and asked Carlos, "Would you like to come to the "Y" tomorrow and have Thanksgiving here?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Do you like Turkey?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Do you like rolls?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Do you like mashed potatoes and gravy?" He said, "I like mashed potatoes, but not gravy."
I ordered a turkey dinner from a local store, had it ready to pick up at 10am on Thanksgiving, Eddie said he could pick it up, and the staff would share a meal with Carlos on Thanksgiving.
I left the YMCA around noon.
As I sit here this morning, getting ready for church, thinking about what I am thankful for; I am thankful for a bunch of people that look at life with Jesus glasses on. I am thankful for a group of people that think of others and have compassion. I am thankful for the YMCA.
When I have my quiet time with Christ in the mornings, He will nudge me with things. This morning He is nudging me to tell the YMCA team at the Clark County Family YMCA that He is pleased. He is also nudging me to let them know that the work is important and there are others that will need us, others that we do not even know yet. How do we make Christ happy? One acted of Love at a time.
Of all the things I am thankful for I am most thankful for the Love Christ has shown me.
Blessings,
I pray the day is finding you well.
It is Sunday morning, Laurie and I returned from our parent's house late last night.
We have had a whirl wind last few days. Every Thanksgiving we go down to southern Oregon to visit my mother and father, spending time talking, walking the beaches, and reconnecting; it is always a good time. The round trip is a smidge over 600 miles. I had taken Wednesday off to get ready for the trip. I only had a couple of things to do at the YMCA wednesday.
I got up, went to a meeting and then went into the "Y".
I have been working with a family whose 12 year-old daughter has cancer; she is terminal, they have already amputated her right leg and she is in hospice care at home. When she got sick, her mother could not take it and left; leaving her husband with a 12 year-old, a 9 year-old, and a 1 year-old. He is devastated on many fronts.
I had just finished talking with the father and making sure that this family would be ok while I was gone for a few days when the Welcome Center staff came into my office with a dilemma. Carlos, a developmentally delayed man whose mother had just died a couple of months ago had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. Carlos has been doing a good job of being a grown-up since his mother's death. We helped him get into subsidized housing, something he could afford, and he has been managing his finances well. He comes into the YMCA everyday and spends time with us.
The Welcome Center staff does an amazing job of connecting with our members and Carlos is no exception. They asked him what he was doing for Thanksgiving and he replied, "Nothing, I have nowhere to go for Thanksgiving." Then in true Carlos fashion, he turned and went upstairs to walk on the treadmill. The staff comes to me, recounts the interaction and asks, "What do we do?" It would have been easy to say, "We are all busy, and while this is not going to be a good day for Carlos, what can we do?"
But we didn't. We did some quick thinking, and decided to have Thanksgiving at the YMCA with Carlos. The "Y" would be open from 7am-1pm on Thanksgiving. First, I had to see if Carlos thought this would be a good idea.
I went upstairs and asked Carlos, "Would you like to come to the "Y" tomorrow and have Thanksgiving here?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Do you like Turkey?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Do you like rolls?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Do you like mashed potatoes and gravy?" He said, "I like mashed potatoes, but not gravy."
I ordered a turkey dinner from a local store, had it ready to pick up at 10am on Thanksgiving, Eddie said he could pick it up, and the staff would share a meal with Carlos on Thanksgiving.
I left the YMCA around noon.
As I sit here this morning, getting ready for church, thinking about what I am thankful for; I am thankful for a bunch of people that look at life with Jesus glasses on. I am thankful for a group of people that think of others and have compassion. I am thankful for the YMCA.
When I have my quiet time with Christ in the mornings, He will nudge me with things. This morning He is nudging me to tell the YMCA team at the Clark County Family YMCA that He is pleased. He is also nudging me to let them know that the work is important and there are others that will need us, others that we do not even know yet. How do we make Christ happy? One acted of Love at a time.
Of all the things I am thankful for I am most thankful for the Love Christ has shown me.
Blessings,
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Listening
Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
I am sitting at a small table in a cabin house in North Carolina; more specifically, I am at the Blue Ridge Assembly at Black Mountain North Carolina. Blue Ridge Assembly is a YMCA retreat center built in 1906, and is quite a beautiful place. I am here with a number of other YMCA people learning how others have put on CLC's, CLC stands for Christian Leadership Conference.
I have been listening to people.
I have been listening to people talk about the difficulties they have been having getting people to come to CLC's. As I listened, it appears to be that people's lives have become to busy. They have so many things on their plate that they have to make a choice, but that is nothing new to us, life is busy, and we do have to decide where we want to spend our time; it comes down to priorities.
I have been listening to people.
I have been listening to people talk about Post-Christian culture / Pre-Christian Culture; those that have either decided that Christianity is irrelevant, for whatever reason; be it that they find the message not compelling, or have been hurt by the words spoken by Christians; or they have not heard of Christ at all.
I have been listening to people.
I like to listen to people, there is so much I can learn from listening.
I am reminded of something my father said. He said, "If your mouth is open you aren't learning anything." I often wonder what I missed learning about merely because I had something to say.
The Bible verse that the YMCA uses is John 17:21.
that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:21 NKJV)
The first thing that I notice when I look at this verse is that it starts in the middle of a sentence; this causes me to wonder what the other part of the sentence says. It is like I have not heard all of what Christ was saying, as if I was not doing a good job listening. This wonderment causes me to look at what was said before, this is what it says.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John 17:20 NKJV)
Jesus had just finished praying for His Disciples (I do not pray for these alone), and began praying for the rest of the world (but also for those who will believe in Me through their word).
"Through their word" haunts me.
If people have heard words from those that claim His name and because of these words have turned away, that is a very sad thing. I wonder what words people are using?
I have been listening to people.
I wonder what it would look like if we actually listened to people before we used words.
I wonder if more people would come to CLC's if we listened to people before we said something.
I wonder.
Blessings,
I pray the day is finding you well.
I am sitting at a small table in a cabin house in North Carolina; more specifically, I am at the Blue Ridge Assembly at Black Mountain North Carolina. Blue Ridge Assembly is a YMCA retreat center built in 1906, and is quite a beautiful place. I am here with a number of other YMCA people learning how others have put on CLC's, CLC stands for Christian Leadership Conference.
I have been listening to people.
I have been listening to people talk about the difficulties they have been having getting people to come to CLC's. As I listened, it appears to be that people's lives have become to busy. They have so many things on their plate that they have to make a choice, but that is nothing new to us, life is busy, and we do have to decide where we want to spend our time; it comes down to priorities.
I have been listening to people.
I have been listening to people talk about Post-Christian culture / Pre-Christian Culture; those that have either decided that Christianity is irrelevant, for whatever reason; be it that they find the message not compelling, or have been hurt by the words spoken by Christians; or they have not heard of Christ at all.
I have been listening to people.
I like to listen to people, there is so much I can learn from listening.
I am reminded of something my father said. He said, "If your mouth is open you aren't learning anything." I often wonder what I missed learning about merely because I had something to say.
The Bible verse that the YMCA uses is John 17:21.
that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:21 NKJV)
The first thing that I notice when I look at this verse is that it starts in the middle of a sentence; this causes me to wonder what the other part of the sentence says. It is like I have not heard all of what Christ was saying, as if I was not doing a good job listening. This wonderment causes me to look at what was said before, this is what it says.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John 17:20 NKJV)
Jesus had just finished praying for His Disciples (I do not pray for these alone), and began praying for the rest of the world (but also for those who will believe in Me through their word).
"Through their word" haunts me.
If people have heard words from those that claim His name and because of these words have turned away, that is a very sad thing. I wonder what words people are using?
I have been listening to people.
I wonder what it would look like if we actually listened to people before we used words.
I wonder if more people would come to CLC's if we listened to people before we said something.
I wonder.
Blessings,
Monday, October 15, 2012
There was a Collision Saturday night
Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
We held a Collision event Saturday night.
You might be asking yourself, "What is a Collision event?"
A Collision event is where teens collide with the Risen Christ.
We held the event at our YMCA.
It is quite an event actually. We set up a game room in the community room, this is a room that has all different types of video games; it is also a place where the kids eat pizza. We have a girls only room set up in our fun club room. It is a place where the girls can go and have conversations. The room comes complete with a chocolate fountain, the girls love having this space. We played basketball, volleyball, dodge ball; we even had a paint wall out back. We had a worship concert; not just nay worship concert but one with a well-known Christian band.
149 kids showed up for Collision.
This was our third Collision event.
45 kids showed up at our first Collision.
92 kids showed up at our second Collision.
149 kids showed up at this Collision.
The climax of the night we ask the kids to make a decision.
At our first Collision we had 15 kids make a decision for Christ.
At our second Collision we had 34 kids make a decision for Christ.
42 kids made a decision for Christ Saturday night.
In the last year, we had 286 kids come to Collision.
In the last year, we had 91 kids comes into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
91 kids whose lives are forever changed.
After the event, Brandon; the pastor of Rhapsody Church, and my partner in ministry at the YMCA said, "Roger, 10 years ago would you have ever thought 91 kids would have been saved in a YMCA gymnasium?" I answered 10 years ago, the pastors used to call us the YMA, there was no “C” in it. Today is a different story. We are known as the YMCA.
I am reminded of a song; it goes like this.
Come away with me, come away
It's never too late,
it's never too late,
it's not too late for you.
I have a plan for you,
I have a plan.
It's going to be wild,
it's going to be great,
it's going to be full of me
As I look back at our Saturday night at the YMCA, Two verses comes to mind.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17
All we did Saturday night was set the table and invite teens to join us, Christ did the rest.
I just wanted to share this with you.
Blessings,
I pray the day is finding you well.
We held a Collision event Saturday night.
You might be asking yourself, "What is a Collision event?"
A Collision event is where teens collide with the Risen Christ.
We held the event at our YMCA.
It is quite an event actually. We set up a game room in the community room, this is a room that has all different types of video games; it is also a place where the kids eat pizza. We have a girls only room set up in our fun club room. It is a place where the girls can go and have conversations. The room comes complete with a chocolate fountain, the girls love having this space. We played basketball, volleyball, dodge ball; we even had a paint wall out back. We had a worship concert; not just nay worship concert but one with a well-known Christian band.
149 kids showed up for Collision.
This was our third Collision event.
45 kids showed up at our first Collision.
92 kids showed up at our second Collision.
149 kids showed up at this Collision.
The climax of the night we ask the kids to make a decision.
At our first Collision we had 15 kids make a decision for Christ.
At our second Collision we had 34 kids make a decision for Christ.
42 kids made a decision for Christ Saturday night.
In the last year, we had 286 kids come to Collision.
In the last year, we had 91 kids comes into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
91 kids whose lives are forever changed.
After the event, Brandon; the pastor of Rhapsody Church, and my partner in ministry at the YMCA said, "Roger, 10 years ago would you have ever thought 91 kids would have been saved in a YMCA gymnasium?" I answered 10 years ago, the pastors used to call us the YMA, there was no “C” in it. Today is a different story. We are known as the YMCA.
I am reminded of a song; it goes like this.
Come away with me, come away
It's never too late,
it's never too late,
it's not too late for you.
I have a plan for you,
I have a plan.
It's going to be wild,
it's going to be great,
it's going to be full of me
As I look back at our Saturday night at the YMCA, Two verses comes to mind.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17
All we did Saturday night was set the table and invite teens to join us, Christ did the rest.
I just wanted to share this with you.
Blessings,
Friday, October 12, 2012
Oh, the possibilities
Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
The days are turning cooler and the leaves are turning brighter, fall is definitely in the air. Fall is here, and fall always reminds me of football.
Back home in Kansas I always looked forward to fall. Yes, it meant that football season was upon us; but truth be told, what I really enjoyed was school. School meant that I would get to see all my friends again. As fun as summer always was, school was were we would all get together, catch up on life, and look forward to the things ahead.
I still think about school and all the things that went on there.
Our YMCA is getting ready for an expansion, one that will include a new lap pool, indoor track, more program space...what I am most excited about is the multipurpose room. The multi-purpose room is a space that will be multi-purposed...duh. The portion of the multi-purpose that I am most excited about is the fact that we will have a stage, complete with a sound system and plenty of storage. It will give us the opportunity to hold Sunday services while the YMCA is open for operation since we will no longer need to haul everything in and out of the gym. We will have a projector and big screen so that we can have family movie nights. We will have the ability to hold regional trainings and for the schools to use for a variety of functions.
Along with everything else that we are doing the multi-purpose room will create a space were the entire community can come, utilize the space, and at the same time get a chance to see the "Y" staff being in right relationship with other members that call the YMCA their home.
It is a funny thing; I get the same feeling when I walk into the YMCA as I did when I walked into school growing up. I get excited to see many friendly faces, and I get excited for the the things that I do not even know will happen that day.
As the weekend draws near I still get excited about football. I just don't suite up anymore. I have traded pads and cleats for chips and salsa; which reminds me I better start working out before I gain anymore weight; If I gain anymore weight I will have to move to a planet with less gravity.
Not your normal daily bread, but I just had to tell you about our YMCA.
Blessings,
I pray the day is finding you well.
The days are turning cooler and the leaves are turning brighter, fall is definitely in the air. Fall is here, and fall always reminds me of football.
Back home in Kansas I always looked forward to fall. Yes, it meant that football season was upon us; but truth be told, what I really enjoyed was school. School meant that I would get to see all my friends again. As fun as summer always was, school was were we would all get together, catch up on life, and look forward to the things ahead.
I still think about school and all the things that went on there.
Our YMCA is getting ready for an expansion, one that will include a new lap pool, indoor track, more program space...what I am most excited about is the multipurpose room. The multi-purpose room is a space that will be multi-purposed...duh. The portion of the multi-purpose that I am most excited about is the fact that we will have a stage, complete with a sound system and plenty of storage. It will give us the opportunity to hold Sunday services while the YMCA is open for operation since we will no longer need to haul everything in and out of the gym. We will have a projector and big screen so that we can have family movie nights. We will have the ability to hold regional trainings and for the schools to use for a variety of functions.
Along with everything else that we are doing the multi-purpose room will create a space were the entire community can come, utilize the space, and at the same time get a chance to see the "Y" staff being in right relationship with other members that call the YMCA their home.
It is a funny thing; I get the same feeling when I walk into the YMCA as I did when I walked into school growing up. I get excited to see many friendly faces, and I get excited for the the things that I do not even know will happen that day.
As the weekend draws near I still get excited about football. I just don't suite up anymore. I have traded pads and cleats for chips and salsa; which reminds me I better start working out before I gain anymore weight; If I gain anymore weight I will have to move to a planet with less gravity.
Not your normal daily bread, but I just had to tell you about our YMCA.
Blessings,
Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Windshield of life
Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
I haven't talked with you for a while and I apologize.
We finally closed on our house, a process that seemed to go on for much too long. We had hoped that the closing process would have gone much more quickly, but looking back, I for one, am glad that the process took the time it did. During this process we became friends with the sellers and a relationship was built. The sellers are a group of four girls. They had inherited the house after their father had passed away; they had hoped for a quick sale, this process was hard for them as well.
Laurie and I, when we decided to relocate to Vancouver, had come to the decision after much prayer and reflection that we wanted a home that would also serve as a place where people could come and find "space to breath." We must have looked at over 70 homes before we found such a place. After months of looking we found an old home that had not been lived in for a time; it had great bones but needed work. We put an offer in on the house and it was accepted.
This is were the real journey begins.
At first, the realtors were doing all the communicating, but as time went on the sellers and the buyers (Laurie and I) started communicating; first over email and then over the phone.
A friendship started to emerge.
We started to reassure each other that, while the process is taking longer than any of us want it to take, we knew this was the right thing for everyone and that God was in the middle of it. There where times when Laurie and I would ask the question, "Are we sitting in the middle of God's will or have we stepped outside of His will for want of the house?" Each time we would receive the answer, "No, you are doing what I have asked, be patient." When I would talk with Caryn (one of the sisters who was in charge of selling the house) she would echo the same.
After we closed on the house, the girls asked if they could come out and spend some time with us, and see the house that they once called home. Laurie and I were excited to see them and put faces to the voices on the phone. We set a date and waited for the Rader girls.
It was a Sunday afternoon when Caryn, Cathy, Camille, and Christine came to the house. We started by walking through the entire house and the girls reminiscing about growing up in what is now Laurie and my home. After the tour, we sat and started to talk.
The girls told us how two years before Laurie and I ever thought about moving they had come together and prayed for just the right people to buy their home. They did not want "just anybody" to buy their home, but they prayed that God would bring someone that would steward the house and use it for a greater purpose. When Laurie and I told them that we have already had people out to sit by the river, and take time to breath. That this has already been a place where people can find a thin place to Christ and God; they knew that they had been faithful to what God had called them to be.
They recounted the good times, they recounted the sad times. Laurie and I sat and listened while they talked about their lives and the struggles they had faced.
We broke bread together, we laughed together, we shared words of encouragement.
They asked if we had a place for their grandmother's piano, they wanted it to come home. We showed them where we would place it and asked if they approved; they said that the place we had chosen would be perfect.
We talked about having a bench in the back yard, by the river, with a plaque that would read something like, "Gordon loved it here."
We talked about how this is not just Laurie and my home, but that the Rader home will always be here, we are merely stewards.
When they went to leave, a short five and one half hours later, we hugged each other. Caryn and I made plans for me to meet her son Matthew who after a long struggle is nearing the end of his time here on earth. Caryn asked if I would preside over his celebration of life when he passes, I said I would be honored.
I can never see God's plan as I look through the windshield of life. It is only when I glance in the rearview mirror that I get to see what He is up to. Unfortunately, if I look to long in the rearview mirror I run the risk of crashing the car of life. I am forced to look through the windshield and thus live in the mystery.
I for one, thank God for bringing the Rader girls into our lives.
God is good.
Blessings,
I pray the day is finding you well.
I haven't talked with you for a while and I apologize.
We finally closed on our house, a process that seemed to go on for much too long. We had hoped that the closing process would have gone much more quickly, but looking back, I for one, am glad that the process took the time it did. During this process we became friends with the sellers and a relationship was built. The sellers are a group of four girls. They had inherited the house after their father had passed away; they had hoped for a quick sale, this process was hard for them as well.
Laurie and I, when we decided to relocate to Vancouver, had come to the decision after much prayer and reflection that we wanted a home that would also serve as a place where people could come and find "space to breath." We must have looked at over 70 homes before we found such a place. After months of looking we found an old home that had not been lived in for a time; it had great bones but needed work. We put an offer in on the house and it was accepted.
This is were the real journey begins.
At first, the realtors were doing all the communicating, but as time went on the sellers and the buyers (Laurie and I) started communicating; first over email and then over the phone.
A friendship started to emerge.
We started to reassure each other that, while the process is taking longer than any of us want it to take, we knew this was the right thing for everyone and that God was in the middle of it. There where times when Laurie and I would ask the question, "Are we sitting in the middle of God's will or have we stepped outside of His will for want of the house?" Each time we would receive the answer, "No, you are doing what I have asked, be patient." When I would talk with Caryn (one of the sisters who was in charge of selling the house) she would echo the same.
After we closed on the house, the girls asked if they could come out and spend some time with us, and see the house that they once called home. Laurie and I were excited to see them and put faces to the voices on the phone. We set a date and waited for the Rader girls.
It was a Sunday afternoon when Caryn, Cathy, Camille, and Christine came to the house. We started by walking through the entire house and the girls reminiscing about growing up in what is now Laurie and my home. After the tour, we sat and started to talk.
The girls told us how two years before Laurie and I ever thought about moving they had come together and prayed for just the right people to buy their home. They did not want "just anybody" to buy their home, but they prayed that God would bring someone that would steward the house and use it for a greater purpose. When Laurie and I told them that we have already had people out to sit by the river, and take time to breath. That this has already been a place where people can find a thin place to Christ and God; they knew that they had been faithful to what God had called them to be.
They recounted the good times, they recounted the sad times. Laurie and I sat and listened while they talked about their lives and the struggles they had faced.
We broke bread together, we laughed together, we shared words of encouragement.
They asked if we had a place for their grandmother's piano, they wanted it to come home. We showed them where we would place it and asked if they approved; they said that the place we had chosen would be perfect.
We talked about having a bench in the back yard, by the river, with a plaque that would read something like, "Gordon loved it here."
We talked about how this is not just Laurie and my home, but that the Rader home will always be here, we are merely stewards.
When they went to leave, a short five and one half hours later, we hugged each other. Caryn and I made plans for me to meet her son Matthew who after a long struggle is nearing the end of his time here on earth. Caryn asked if I would preside over his celebration of life when he passes, I said I would be honored.
I can never see God's plan as I look through the windshield of life. It is only when I glance in the rearview mirror that I get to see what He is up to. Unfortunately, if I look to long in the rearview mirror I run the risk of crashing the car of life. I am forced to look through the windshield and thus live in the mystery.
I for one, thank God for bringing the Rader girls into our lives.
God is good.
Blessings,
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Cleaning a pool is a lot like cleaning one's life
Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
Labor Day Weekend, a weekend spent with family.
Labor Day Weekend is a weekend that, just like many american's Laurie and I spend with family. Laurie's family in Minnesota is some 2000 miles away; My parents are some 250 miles away; our kids spent the weekend at Camp Collins, one set of kids could not get the weekend off so they were out of the "getting together" mix.
Lucky for us we have another set of family right here in Vancouver, we have our YMCA family.
Labor Day Weekend is also a time when we at our YMCA close the facility for a much needed touchup; we drain the pool, paint, move the weight equipment and clean, we go through the locker rooms with a deep clean...I think you get the picture that we use this time to create the best space for the people that call our YMCA home.
The "Y" family is a good family, we worry about one another, we cry together, we laugh together, we work together.
My job was scraping.
More aptly I was given the task of scraping the calcium buildup off the tiles in the pool.
I quickly found that this was not an easy task; calcium is hard, it gets harder than a rock. Well that is not exactly right, it is as hard as rock. It is a mineral after all minerals a rocks, so I guess I should say that calcium is as hard as a rock.
So there I am scraping calcium off the tiles in the pool, and I start thinking.
I start to think about all those milk commercials, "Calcium builds strong bones." I laugh as I lay on my stomach reaching over the side of the pool scraping. Strong bones, and nearly impossible to scrape off a tile.
Eddie, our Executive Director is scraping tiles too. We start to talk about how there has to be a better way.
I am not a chemist so I really do not know if calcium is soluble or if it is insoluble simply suspended in liquid; it does not really matter. I do know that it does come into the pool in minute form and then continues to bond to the tile and itself until it becomes this hard rocky thing on the tiles in the pool.
If we could figure out some preventative maintenance and get to the buildup before it becomes a buildup, getting rid of the calcium would be much quicker and easier.
I am laying there scraping.
I start to think about "sin."
I start to think how "sin" and calcium buildup are related; no I am not calling calcium sinful, nor am I calling calcium buildup sinful. I am laying there scraping calcium, thinking about the similarity between "sin" and calcium buildup.
Sin starts small. Sin starts with a thought. A decision is made and sin becomes an action. If left uncorrected this “sin” can then become imbedded in a person's life. The longer a person allows a sinful action to be part of their life, the harder it becomes to remove this "sin." If left long enough this "sin" can become as hard to remove as calcium is to scrape off tile.
We usually only get to see someone else's sin after there has been quite a buildup. By the time "sin" becomes visible to others, it has been there a while and is pretty hard to remove.
What is "sin?"
Sin is an old archers term for simply missing the bullseye, missing the mark, as they say.
Sin is simple an action that is not in the middle of God’s will, missing the mark, so to speak.
We like to talk about all the different kinds of "sin" in people's lives; I guess that keeps us from looking at our own.
I do not know how you know if you are sinning or not, this is how I know.
When a thought comes into my head, and I have many thoughts. I simply ask Jesus, "Would you approve?" If He says yes, I know I am in the middle of His will. If He says, "No." Then I know that I am not in the middle of His will.
If He says, "No." and I do it anyway, I had better be ready to scrape some "sin buildup" off.
I know two things after spending Labor Day Weekend with my "Y" family. I love them even more, and I really do not like scraping off buildup.
I wonder what the world would look like if everyone would just ask Christ if He would approve or not before we all did something.
Heaven on Earth comes to mind.
Blessings,
I pray the day is finding you well.
Labor Day Weekend, a weekend spent with family.
Labor Day Weekend is a weekend that, just like many american's Laurie and I spend with family. Laurie's family in Minnesota is some 2000 miles away; My parents are some 250 miles away; our kids spent the weekend at Camp Collins, one set of kids could not get the weekend off so they were out of the "getting together" mix.
Lucky for us we have another set of family right here in Vancouver, we have our YMCA family.
Labor Day Weekend is also a time when we at our YMCA close the facility for a much needed touchup; we drain the pool, paint, move the weight equipment and clean, we go through the locker rooms with a deep clean...I think you get the picture that we use this time to create the best space for the people that call our YMCA home.
The "Y" family is a good family, we worry about one another, we cry together, we laugh together, we work together.
My job was scraping.
More aptly I was given the task of scraping the calcium buildup off the tiles in the pool.
I quickly found that this was not an easy task; calcium is hard, it gets harder than a rock. Well that is not exactly right, it is as hard as rock. It is a mineral after all minerals a rocks, so I guess I should say that calcium is as hard as a rock.
So there I am scraping calcium off the tiles in the pool, and I start thinking.
I start to think about all those milk commercials, "Calcium builds strong bones." I laugh as I lay on my stomach reaching over the side of the pool scraping. Strong bones, and nearly impossible to scrape off a tile.
Eddie, our Executive Director is scraping tiles too. We start to talk about how there has to be a better way.
I am not a chemist so I really do not know if calcium is soluble or if it is insoluble simply suspended in liquid; it does not really matter. I do know that it does come into the pool in minute form and then continues to bond to the tile and itself until it becomes this hard rocky thing on the tiles in the pool.
If we could figure out some preventative maintenance and get to the buildup before it becomes a buildup, getting rid of the calcium would be much quicker and easier.
I am laying there scraping.
I start to think about "sin."
I start to think how "sin" and calcium buildup are related; no I am not calling calcium sinful, nor am I calling calcium buildup sinful. I am laying there scraping calcium, thinking about the similarity between "sin" and calcium buildup.
Sin starts small. Sin starts with a thought. A decision is made and sin becomes an action. If left uncorrected this “sin” can then become imbedded in a person's life. The longer a person allows a sinful action to be part of their life, the harder it becomes to remove this "sin." If left long enough this "sin" can become as hard to remove as calcium is to scrape off tile.
We usually only get to see someone else's sin after there has been quite a buildup. By the time "sin" becomes visible to others, it has been there a while and is pretty hard to remove.
What is "sin?"
Sin is an old archers term for simply missing the bullseye, missing the mark, as they say.
Sin is simple an action that is not in the middle of God’s will, missing the mark, so to speak.
We like to talk about all the different kinds of "sin" in people's lives; I guess that keeps us from looking at our own.
I do not know how you know if you are sinning or not, this is how I know.
When a thought comes into my head, and I have many thoughts. I simply ask Jesus, "Would you approve?" If He says yes, I know I am in the middle of His will. If He says, "No." Then I know that I am not in the middle of His will.
If He says, "No." and I do it anyway, I had better be ready to scrape some "sin buildup" off.
I know two things after spending Labor Day Weekend with my "Y" family. I love them even more, and I really do not like scraping off buildup.
I wonder what the world would look like if everyone would just ask Christ if He would approve or not before we all did something.
Heaven on Earth comes to mind.
Blessings,
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