Calling all Introverts

Every personality test and skill inventory take points that I am an introvert. I've always known this, and yet I also enjoy hanging out with people and enjoying people, so long as I'm not always doing this! So I found this book to be helpful for us introverts.

Eureka Ezekiel!

We’re in Ezekiel now as we read through the Bible as a church and I’ve always enjoyed Ezekiel- both the book and the prophet. I appreciate Ezekiel's boldness, the way he doesn’t hold back any punches, how the book really serves to modify the prevailing thought in the Old Testament that the sins of the fathers continue on to the 3rd and 4th generations and instead claims that the one who sins is the one who dies. Ezekiel also makes multiple references God proclamation that he takes no delight in seeing people die, but that he would much rather see people repent and live. I am struck by this perspective because I think sometimes we believe that God really enjoys watching people fail, that God is somehow cheering against us or rooting for people to continue to make mistakes. Books like Ezekiel really strike a balance between the idea that yes, God is indeed upset and angry with Israel’s continual disobedience and that there are consequences, severe consequences, for continuing such behavior, but Ezekiel also reminds the people and the reader that God is for people, that he so desires for them to live life right and in step with his plans, and that the consequences of that kind of life are sweet and good.

Preacher's Block

I'm slated to preach this Sunday on Ruth 4 as we close out our "Moabite with an Appetite" series. Ruth's story- and really, Boaz and Ruth's story- is such a good one, and when you consider that it occurs during the time of the judges- one of Israel's darkest periods- it makes it that much better. I usually get the benefit of weeks, sometimes months, between messages so there's much more time to let a message 'brew'. But this is now the 4th time I've taught in the last 11 weeks or so, and I've struggled this week coming up with something to say. I'm not sure how preachers like Pastor Doug do it week after week- I know my respect rises after hitting my own wall this week for the creativity and the insights they are able to communicate on a weekly basis.

Bingo Night!

Last night our fam went to a nursing home and played bingo with the residents as part of Wednesday Night Service. We typically leave the three years old in the day care on these evenings, but since it was a nursing home, we decided it'd be ok to take them. We were joined there by another family with a 5 year old and a 2 year old so it bingo night was a little more active for the residents! One of the women who was sitting at Tarina's table told my three year old son that he'd have to be quiet once they started calling numbers because if he kep chatting, they wouldn't be able to hear!

Bingo is kind of a big deal at this home- winning cards get a $.10 token to use at the 'store', and right after winning, you'd see the residents grab their token so they must have some worth. My 6 and 4 year old joined me at Blanche's table. She really wasn't all that interested in us until the boys and I started racking up the bingos (I should have taken the boys straight to Sertoma following the nursing home to up the ante a bit!)- Riley even scored a '6 pack'- and we left Blanche with $.60 worth of tokens- enough for her to smile as we left for the evening.

There's nothing revolutionary about bingo night or being present in a nursing home, but I know in the normal course of my life I avoid these kinds of places. One hour out of a week is a small price to pay for some fun, some connection, and some $.10 tokens.

Planned disorganization

A few weeks ago we partnered with World Vision and had one of our Wednesday Night Service groups pack first aid kits for caregivers working with AIDS patients in Uganda. World Vision is a classy and well run organization. They did all of the logistics work, partnered with various medical suppliers, scheduled delivery of the kit contents, and arranged for pickup once completed. I spent about 30 minutes the day of the project laying out the various items, placing the pre-printed description cards next to their item (World Vision is so good, they want you to know what each items gets used for), and writing on the whiteboard how much of each item goes into one kit. When the group arrived on Wednesday evening, they literally only had to fill the kits and place them in their boxes. World Vision has the process nailed down, but they are a little too good, because it took my team 10 minutes to do the project. There were some who were in the building and got to the packing room on time, and there wasn't anything to do! One of our people drove in from a surrounding community, and as she was entering, the group was leaving. She commented, 'I drove all the way in for this?!?'. So while it was a well oiled project, it left some room for improvement.

Flash forward to last night, where one of our groups was assembling school kits for Haitian children. The kit's contents were simple- pencils, pens, sharpeners, and erasers. The organization we partnered with on this one is a local group that does work in Haiti, so their preparations aren't as planned as a World Vision, so we didn't know how many were to go in each kit. I literally went to the store, bought as much of that stuff as I could, and then gave it to the group at 6:30 for them to figure out, hoping that my planned disorganization would make for a better project than the 8 minute caregiver one. And in fact, my gamble paid off, as this project lasted . . . 25 minutes!

The Blackberry Altar

We recently read through the book of Isaiah as we continue through the scriptures as a church. One of the things that stands out from Isaiah is the the parts about idols: how the same material we make the idols out of we also use for other purposes. In Isaiah, the people were making idols out of wood, the same material they used to cook food, light their homes, and in some cases, even contain their 'waste'. So Isaiah simply points out the folly in worshipping something that in other places in life, we have complete dominion over. Why bow down to wood in one instance and use it as a garbage container the next?

In today’s tech world, it might seem a little harder to find a parallel, but in some regards, it’s the same idea with fancier packaging. In one sense, I have complete control over my email, my blackberry, my phone, and how I interact with the world around me. It’s a device made by human beings using technology in essence created (or discovered) by human beings. But if I go without my blackberry for a day, it instantly ascends to worship status because of how disrupted and incomplete my life feels without it. I forgot it some time ago and really 'felt' pretty dysfunctional without it. The key there is probably the word 'felt', because nothing had changed, except some time away from a tool. But if I elevate that tool to an idol, I'm in the same boat as Isiah's audience.

The Intersection

Each school year, Hillcrest buys a couple of meals for Cleveland Elementary's staff. Typically, it's one at the beginning of the school year and then one for each round of parent teacher conferences. In the past, we catered one meal in and then made the other two. This last week though, we partnered with Qdoba and provided a hot nacho bar for the staff. Qdoba gracioulsy donated half the cost and Hillcrest picked up the other half. Looking back, I love the intersection of business, school, and church. In this instance, each 'entity' wins while doing nothing that directly benefits themselves. Cleveland wins because they get an awesome meal, but they win knowing they having community partners that support them. Hillcrest wins by blessing one of its community partners and continuing to have the opportunity to serve in a unique sector of society. Qdoba wins because of their goodwill (they didn't have to make the donation), and with such an awesome product, you know more business will come their way. Oh, and Cleveland also sold their coupons as a fundrasier during conferences. More win-win.

The Prodigal God

I recently read Tim Keller’s new book entitled The Prodigal God, which was a quick but fascinating read. It reminded me of my first time through Nouwen’s Return of the Prodigal Son and how convicted I was of being an older brother and how there is something inherently sinful about that as well. Some of the highlights:

• Elder brothers obey God to get things. They don’t obey God to get God himself- in order to resemble him, love him, know him, and delight him. So religious and moral people can be avoiding Jesus as Savior and Lord as much as the younger brothers who say they don’t believe in God and define right and wrong for themselves (43).

•Upon writing that the older brother should have went out and looked for his younger brother- for this is what older brothers are supposed to do, Keller writes “indeed, it is only at the elder brother’s expense that they younger brother can be brought back in. Because, as Jesus said, the father had divided his property between them before the younger son had left. Everything had been assigned. The younger brother had gotten his 1/3 portion and it was completely gone. . . every penny that remained of the family estate belongs to the elder brother (82).

Just a really good read- such a profound reminder of my own depravity, my own sin, how desperately in need of a savior I am, how utterly helpless I am to do anything good on my own accord and that it is only through Christ and his work on the cross and resurrection that allow me to live any semblance of a life.