we’re so lucky to have

Chris & Tammi Jehle (& The Hope Center) … residing in KC.  I finally had the chance to listen (again) to a couple of sessions Chris taught to our faith-community this past April.  I highly recommend them to anyone interested in learning more about the poor & vulnerable in our city (and how deeply God loves them).  I hope & sometimes even pray that I will begin to love this demographic with more sincerity.

sardoodledom

Have we all already laughed ourselves silly over this one?  (Try this link, if you’re having trouble viewing the video below.)

mia?

I’ve been away from the blog-o-sphere for a couple of days.  Internet trouble on Monday, and heavy eyelids last nite … (I was snoozing by 9 p.m.)!  Alas, I’ve returned to the land of the living (& typing) to drop a quick update.

Even in my absence on-line, God’s been showing Himself strong & fully present with me.  (Something I’ve been needing desperately as of late, amidst my own small season of disorientation.)

After some tearful, earnest prayers last weekend, I felt that God reached out to me today through Letitia Washington (the woman we’re building our Habitat home for this year).  Letitia called out of the blue and left a message saying she had no agenda; just hadn’t talked to me for awhile and felt she should call.  I — in a rare moment of reaching out beyond expectations — decided to call back.

It was an awesome conversation.  Turns out, Letitia and I have some important things common these days (as we both navigate through the acquisition of a new home).  The best moment was when Letitia said to herself (or so she thought), “you know, God will never leave you or forsake you.”  This, after my pestering-prayer of the weekend had been “God, are you with me here?” (emphasis on each syllable, please).

It’s amazing how God’s Word — enlivened by God’s Spirit … enfleshed by God’s people — does, in fact, change the day.  I’m still reeling.  (And still quite disoriented, I suppose — but that’s for another post.)

Sometimes — more days than not, it seems — I just can’t believe God is interacting with me in such real and invasive ways.  You’d think I’d get used to it after 20+ years.  I find the converse is true; I am more surprised each day by the nearness of Christ.  Amen.  (May it be.)

time-saver?

The following was sent to me by my good (now better) friend, Jen.  She’s probably heard me whine about my cat allergies (and general distaste for the feline-breed) one too many times over the past two weeks!

This was simply too much of a time saver not to share it with you:
1.  Put both lids of the toilet up … and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.
2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close the lid.  (You may need to stand on the lid.)
4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds.  Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.
5. Flush the toilet three or four times; this provides a ‘power-wash’ and rinse’.
6. Have someone open the front door of your home.  (Be sure no one is in between the bathroom and the front door.)
7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift the lid.
8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will dry off.
9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.

Sincerely,
The Dog

e-mail, snail-mail … message in a bottle?

Maybe.  (As long as you’ve got — oh — 20 years or so.)  Check it out.

memorial day weekend, cont’d …

 

… with two of my favs.  (even if one of ’em is, at times, a fussy-fav.)

loving memorial day weekend … already

I’ve got nothing planned.  I’m giddy.

hospital hill or bust?

Bust the wallet, that is.  I confess: I’m a bit of a cheapskate to begin with … so that doesn’t help matters.  But there’s something about paying $50 bucks for a simple activity (I usually do for free on Saturday mornings).

My griping may be due to the fact that I’ve still got a “bad taste” in my mouth from Olathe’s (1/2) Marathon … what with all of it’s road-kill and portapotty-lines.  I mean line.  (There was just that one portapotty at race-start, right?!)  Note to self: NOT ALL fun-runs are created equal.

I’m incredibly partial to my very first fun-run experience: Wichita’s Riverfest Run ’92.  To this day, it’s gotta be one of my favorite fun-runs (challenged only by Chicago’s Shamrock Shuffle).  The RiverRun – annual tradition for the past 15 years (give or take a year or five) – was on it’s game once again this Spring.  (Which is why I’m smiling so big in the photos taken here – two weeks ago- just after Jenn and I pushed ourselves near nausea.)

We neared our personal best: a 9 minute mile/pace.  (Which pretty much nails the coffin on Boston.  But who cares?  As long as we’re aiming to puke at the finish-line; isn’t that what it’s really all about?!) 

In the end, I’ve had many ocassions (during many great RiverRuns and several lousy others) to think about the “must-have” elements of any race-day.  (They’re pretty simple, actually; you’d think more festival committees could get this.)  And there aren’t a ton; but the few are, indeed, essential.  Here’s my short-list:

• A gun at the starting line (some things one feels even silly mentioning, until …)
• Helpful volunteers (why else did you choose to volunteer; surely you’re not in need of honor’s student comm-service hours).  I’m okay if you pretend to cheer
• Potty spots (I mean: race-day or no … this is quite simply a must)
• Race-time chips (as in digital time-keepers).  You pretend to volunteer; I pretend to race
• Live music (I don’t need Frank Sinatra; the highschool sax-player will do … and he’ll distract me for a moment from your bored and worthless volunteers)
• Post-race water & refuel (A banana & a hershey kiss; what’s that … 60 cents?)

The equation is not complex.

And some (cheaper-than-me-race-planner-skates) might be surprised by the number of participants who linger in the streets to celebrate & talk with strangers and old-acquaintances.  Then cough up the dough to come back again and do it all over again the next year.  That’s why I pay $50 bucks.  Or (in the case of Wichita’s RiverRun) $20.

Here’s hoping Hospital Hill’s got this one figured out …

 

i was introduced to the story of sophie scholl

 

Tonite … during a discussion with those from Beggar’s Table.  Jon Bowles – facilitator of the conversation – described the seamless faith on display in this film (entitled Sophie Scholl: The Final Days).  I’m excited about adding it to my cue …

how can i believe in god and pain?

I’m writing an e-mail to folks in my community … to give them an update on some of the workers we partner with in China and to help us think together about some of the world calamities in recent weeks.  I really liked a couple of paragraphs I stumbled across, written by Michael Ramsden (who is a riot, btw, not to mention brilliant speaker).  Maybe you’ll find his thoughts instructive & challenging as well:

The heart of the questions … people most commonly ask [is]: can I trust God even when faced with great evil?  Is He morally trustworthy?  Can I trust Him even if I don’t understand what is happening?

These are profound questions, and whole books could be written about them.  But I will offer one more thought.  Maybe the reason we question God’s moral character when bad things happen is that we live our lives largely independent from Him.  In other words, we struggle to trust Him in times of trouble because we do not really trust Him when things are going well.  Maybe we struggle with suffering so much in the West because we are so comfortable most of the time that we feel we don’t need God … As I said earlier, I have never been asked questions about God and suffering when I am travelling in countries riddled with the realities of it.  In fact, when I visit churches in parts of the world where they are faced daily with horrific affliction, I normally leave inspired.  They trust God in everything, even when things are going well.  When times are hard, they cling to God because they have already learned to trust Him.  They have learned that God does not change, even when our circumstances have.