Way Ahead of the Game

I rode our eliptical machine tonight, the fourth evening in a row. The first three days were pure torture, 12 minutes each round. Tonight was a blissful 20 minutes, which is my goal. I don't have much time to go longer, just harder.

I'm already lamenting Friday's round...

Been twice on the Bowflex this week. I'm back again tomorrow. I had trouble with the whole 'walking thing' today. The pain was solidly in both thighs, shoulders and notably, my left wrist. The problem is about rotation issues from elbow surgery on the same arm, three years ago. Add in the chilly weather, not to mention today's snow, my wrist is screaming out to me to sleep in tomorrow and forget the morning workout on my day off.

I just can't do it...quit that is...

Our youngest son Kyle caught be doing crunches in the barkalounger tonight. It's the same kid who has spied on me every day this week as I've been engaged in some form of physical punishment in our garage. The first night I heard him chuckle. The second I heard a laugh. Yesterday I heard nothing. Tonight I saw him roll his eyes. The sight of his dad, fully engulfed in baggy sweats and baggy skin in motion must be too much for him.

I've reached my primary target for weight loss and kept going. Currently I'm minus 116 and climbing. I've finally started to workout to help get the parts of my body that look emaciated, get back into shape. In other places, the loose skin IS tightening up, but of course not as quickly as I'd like. It would sure be great if all of life were like a microwave. I know how this works and I know I have about another week of physical discomfort before my body realizes that I mean business. It is a price that has to be paid in order to get the results I'm looking for. If all Kyle can do by the sight is roll his eyes, I'm way ahead of the game.

Two thousand years ago there was a price to be paid. Jesus meant business. He paid a debt He did not owe and people like you and I owed a debt we could not pay. Jesus paid it all and experienced the pain. Today the Christ-believer lives in what sociologists identify as a "post-Christian culture." The world sees us and rolls its eyes. But if that's all they can do, we're way ahead of the game...

Success in Life

Had a great night last evening with our church board, past and present. There were 11 of us, together at a state denominational function in nearby Redmond. Our Superintendent gave away Starbucks gift cards for stuff like "longest tenured pastor, longest tenured board member, shortest tenured board member," etc. It was pretty cool in that they gave out five cards and our guys got four of them.

We have great leaders at Faith. I told our congregation last Sunday afternoon during our annual business meeting that we had 14 who were nominated for two board positions. ANY of the 14, plus a few others could have been great in the position. We are blessed.

On the way home last night the guys in my truck were talking about real life issues. One has a business that is struggling to meet suddenly imposed expenses by the government (part of the "stimulus" package - that will crush many small businesses). His strong small business will be sorely tested - and others like his will go under. I gave him the name of our congressman. Another talked about his wife and her medical battles. Brain surgery may be in the near horizon (never a good thing). We gave him the Name above all names, Jesus.

Thinking about it a little longer, we realized that the business guy had already contacted the Name about his current situation. That's probably the reason why he will survive while others go under. He was even talking about helping out a non-profit in our area with people in his industry who are out of work...and spending money he didn't have. I think he gets the whole thing about giving in the Scripture. You just can't out give God.

Loving God and loving people equals success in life...

A Life of Its Own

It wasn't my usual Monday today. I don't have to teach Sunday School or preach this weekend because we have a guest speaker. I spent about an hour this morning putting labels on the books that I've accumulated over the last year and a half. It was a small thing, but it felt really good to get that little project that had been hanging over my head for so long, taken care of.

Sunday I spoke the second message in our annual theme for 2009, "Crossing Over the Crimson Bridge." In reality, the message was the second introduction. Guess I'm all about good beginnings. The series is based on the premise that when we come to Christ, we bring our entire lives over the Crimson Bridge, the cross, only to take sectors of our life back. Romans 6:12-14 talks about our lives passing over from death to life. But the problem comes when our fleshly nature takes back areas of our lives that are not surrendered completely to Christ. These areas can be gossip to pornography to drug abuse to backbiting. Basically, it's anything that we haven't surrendered to God.

Yup, that whole issue of sin.

Sometimes its the little things in life that hold us back. Those books in my office piled up. I have a hard time putting those things on the shelf without the proper number on the spine (weird, huh?). But there the books sat...in a pile...that had a life of its own...for a long time.

Sin has a way to gaining a life of it's own...

Last Week in Review, Part 2 (Monday)

The following is a review of last weeks missions trip for Faith Christian Center. Each year we take a group of adults and usually a couple students with us to sunny Northern Baja California, i.e. Tijuana, Mexico.

Monday was a "hurry up and wait" day for most of the team members. This is pretty normal for trips like this because of the need to get the 'lay of the land' in regard to our projects. We have two primary job sites, about three blocks apart. Of some seriousness, we were not to travel between the sites on foot unless we were with a group. There is a literal war going on right now between the drug cartel and the Tijuana police. Over 1,000 deaths in the city, along with numerous kidnappings of American citizens have literally cut the tourism industry off at the ankles. So, we're always aware of where we are and that we're in large groups.

Back to the projects...

We're working on a church we've already been to twice, on our first two trips going back nine years ago. Our students also invested a week of there lives there about that long ago, doing outreach projects in the area. Basically the church was quite run down and the new pastor inherited a huge building with about six people in May. I'm pleased to report that they are now running over 60 and that God is blessing, but looking at the facility this bunch needs a real helping hand. Our ladies immediately began painting the interior of the sanctuary while our guys attempted to tackle some significant remodel/construction jobs, only to realize that the power to the church had been cut off. They actually had "brown" power. That means a wire clothes hanger, attached to coax, flung over the power line. Yes, they were stealing power like so many do in this city, getting just enough power to run the lights.

It's a different world and we see this kind of thing all the time.

Finally our guys bought power from the neighbor who allowed them to plug in an extension cord into her house and the projects began to move forward after lunch. You know, that's just how it is sometimes. We are here to help and not necessarily to get something we want to get done.

There was a gentleman living at the church with his wife and young son. This is pretty normal as well, having someone on site to guard the place. He would also be a "project" of some kind to the pastor, either as an associate minister or someone he's working with that needs a little help. This fellow that most called "Joe," cautiously tried to figure out what a bunch of Americans would be doing, helping out this church. Joe did a lot of standing around watching our guys work, our guys trying out their Spanish on him, our guys butchering the Spanish language...and our guys trying out their sign language... But you know, sometimes there are other ways to communicate without using words that are known by both parties. That is the tact that our guys took.

Great guys, the men of Faith...

At our other project location, a group of our fellows were busy moving dirt for a "rammed earth" foundation for the future slab to be poured. They were also busy digging holes for the long fence on one side of the property, dividing the future orphanage from the previous property owners. All of this wasn't the hardest work we've every done, but it was taxing in that our guys were still on the end of a shovel. To compound the situation, the dirt that was being moved was special stuff, yellow stuff that compacted. Three different people came by and told our fellows how to run water on it, for how long and then to use a power roller for compaction. Unfortunately, it turned into a bit of a quagmire! It really was pretty funny - the language barrier, our guys trying their best and someone new coming by and shaking their head from side to side.

I was inside a small house on the property that was used as the lunch room for the entire team. The home was to be converted into a bunk house for future teams who would come to work on the orphanage. I ended up tearing down a wall and putting sheet rock back up. It was actually a long process because after I took off the original Formica (yes, on the wall), plywood and menagerie of nails. It wasn't a big deal as you realize the wall was originally put up with scrap lumber. However the struggle came when I realized that I would have to scab in chunks of 2X4's to have something to attach the sheets of sheet rock to. That's just how it is sometimes on any project like this. And you know what? These folks are just doing the best they can to get by. These are lovely people and you've got to respect how they do things. Working around me today was my friend and electrician, Owen. Wow, what a great tool to have on the team! He went about his work steadily and with precision. He took a tangled mess and created plug-ins and lighting that actually worked! Our cooks who were collected in the kitchen area were rejoicing when he was done.

Speaking of the cooks, the highlight of the day was lunch. It was some sort of bean burrito concoction, made with lots of "good stuff." It was like nothing you'd get in Central Oregon, but wow, was it ever good! These ladies are from Pastor Juan Martine's church. This church is the primary moving force behind the orphanage. These are also the same ladies who have cooked for us before on two other occasions on these trips. When we heard in advance that they would be cooking lunch each day, there was much rejoicing in Bend!

The evening meal led us back to one of our favorite haunts, "Los Poblanos" - a wonderful taco stand. One of the fellows ate 22 tacos, almost by accident. When the meal was over he found out that he stopped too soon. Our team record is 28 in one sitting (a suspect record, but that's another story!). We concluded the evening with devotions and a season of relaxation, waiting to go full-bore into our projects and new relationships with the people of the church and those working with us at the orphanage site.

It All "Costs" Something

Okay, I’m playing catch up today. I’ve been away from this blog while attempting to be a good husband and dad. I took last Thursday off from work and attempted to not work on my “regular” day off on Friday. We keep “bankers” hours at Faith, which includes holidays so I had President’s Day off as well. With all that said, I still ended up working on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, just not as much as I usually do from home. Monday was my first true day off in a couple of months. While I don’t mind so much because I enjoy what I do, it’s not always fair to my family. I’m getting better at making sure I’m available when they are around. But that doesn’t make up for the “honey do” list that never quite seems to get done. And then there’s the whole deal of never really quite getting relaxed…

Okay that last part was whining.

In the gospels we see that Jesus drew away to quiet places to rest. Some think that His life really wasn’t that complex, living in Palestine 2,00 years ago. I mean what did He do for a living?

He was with people 24/7. Enough said…

Thinking about those times, there was no taxi service, no SUV or hybrid vehicle to carry Him from place to place. I mean, the Son of God had to borrow a donkey to ride into Jerusalem. Further, imagine in your mind's eye for a moment that one had to walk EVERYWHERE in order to get someplace. Think about what it must of been like for Jesus, when the crowds were always on top of Him once word of His miracles and healings began to get out among the population. No wonder several times He told those who were the beneficiaries of His power not to tell anyone. You’d be exhausted too.

We all need rest. It’s actually quite spiritual to pursue it. The problem is that our society rewards those who overwork themselves on a verbal, if not monetary level. We too often equate busy-ness with success (guilty as charged) when all along a little quality rest would do us much more good and help maintain balance in our lives, not to mention an increase in productivity.

I remember my first cell phone and lap top. They made me feel so important. Now I perpetually hide myself from the cell phone while trying to avoid the portable computer. It just seems to call me.

What is calling you today and what will it cost you? It all “costs” something…

Last Week in Review, Part 1

The following is a review of last weeks missions trip for Faith Christian Center. Each year we take a group of adults and usually a couple students with us to sunny Northern Baja California, i.e. Tijuana, Mexico.

I can only recall about seven times over the last 10 years that I've gotten up before 3 AM in the morning to do anything at the start of the day. Each time has been for our church missions trip to Mexico. It's truly one of those anxious and excited moments rolling out of bed so early. I'm anxious on two counts; first I don't want to miss the bus that will depart at 3:45 AM and secondly I don't want to be the one who woke up my wife! Further, I'm excited because it is flat-out another in a long line of great adventures that I get to go on with the precious people of Faith Christian Center. With humor I know that I will get to know 17 people, probably better than I want to know them - and vice-versa. But what I also know is that all of this matters. With God's help this journey will make the church better, make the participants better and make me better.

The reason why we go on missions trips is pretty simple. We go because we love Jesus, love people, love the church and love missions. I know, a whole lotta love flowing here. But maybe that is the point. I know that when we get back that all of this year's newbies will have experienced missions up close and personal. Most of them will turn into missions-givers, and suddenly have a clue what life is like for the parade of missionaries that we have come through the doors of Faith. The questions they ask will be informed, followed by a knowing nod.

Just knowing stuff is pretty cool...

Saturday morning we drove from Bend, Oregon to a Motel Six in Santa Ana, California. In between was one stop at an In N Out Burger and the cursory purchase of their trendy t-shirts. This year's model has a truck on the back. As my kids would say, it's "sweet."

On Sunday we had church on the bus on our way to Costco to get our breakfast supplies, and then to In N Out in National City, California to connect with the missionaries, Art & Joyce Stoneking. Wow, what great people and full of vision and passion! We've been doing this long enough now that they will already know about two-thirds of the team by name, embracing each of them in line at the In N Out, waiting to get their Double-Double Burger...with fries, a beverage and fried onions ("animal style" to the initiated). No, I didn't imbibe. I was saving myself.

But I digress...

The Stonekings lead us over the border where our first miracle takes place (besides the bus running well!). The bus was followed all the way down by a suburban pulling an over-loaded trailer laden with supplies, the kinds of things that draw the ire of border guards. We ended up getting the whole thing across for a $50 tax. We are blessed. In most cases we would have been diverted to another border crossing a good distance away, burning up another three hours. What a blessing.

From the border we checked into our hotel, La Mesa Baja Inn. In the states it is probably a clean three star hotel. In Mexico it is likely a four. This is my sixth visit to this place, where when we first drove up and took our first gaze on the outside of the building conjured up thoughts of cockroaches and other critters in your room with you. But one peak inside the lobby and then in the wonderful courtyard reminds you that this is way beyond expectation. I don't know what I like best, the swimming pool with the waterfall or the ornate collection of palm trees and carefully trimmed shrubbery. Even though we still can't drink the water, the rooms are clean and well-equipped and the staff genuinely cares. It's also Super Bowl Sunday and Joyce Stoneking have arranged a communal room with two televisions so we can watch her and Art's beloved Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in one of the best championship games I've ever seen. Scott Beard, one of our newbies was with us. He is nothing short of a serious Steeler fan. It seemed like the whole room was against Scott and the Stonekings throughout the game. There was lots of yelling, lots of munching on snacks from Costco along with MORE YELLING. Something funny happened when we first turned one the game. NO SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS. We even had the special 3-D glasses to watch the one commercial that had been touted, but it never happened because the game was in Spanish...

Yup, completely Mexican "we're not paying $3 million for 30 seconds" television.

After the initial groans I think that the majority of us became convinced that it was the best way to watch a ballgame - no interference, just pure football. How refreshing! We could hear the underlying rumble of the Mexican announcers and enjoyed the Mexican commercials - some of them slightly cheesy with production values that didn't quite measure up. But it really was pure bliss. I didn't miss the commercials for one moment.

After the game we ended up over at a designer taco stand a few blocks away for dinner called "Salciado" (see photo above, with the Stonekings in the foreground). They specialize in a concoction called (pardon my spelling) a "molcehette." Basically it is a meat and bean mixture in a slurry that you put in a tortilla. What is really neat is the stone cauldrons it comes in, piping hot. It's awesome and the eyes of newbie team members bulge. I love it. Another new experience!

The evening concludes with team devotions and review of the work taking place the next day.

All in all, a great first day in Mexico. People are settling in and comraderie is high. We're all looking forward to the next morning where we can dive into the work at a church needing a facelift and opening ground for the Stoneking's pet project, a new orphanage.

Missions Update Introduction

Arrived back in country last Saturday after a very successful missions trip to Tijuana, Baja California. What makes a missions trip "successfull?" It's all about relationships - with those you work with from both sides of the border.

It was wonderful.

In the next few days I'll be recapping the trip. I'm hoping it inspires you to want to go on such a journey yourself in the future. Stay tuned for some thoughts on THAT faith journey adventure.