Granger Community Church Christmas Offering 2010

You may have noticed a new "Chip In" box on the right side of the blog. Here's the thing. Our church collects a Christmas offering every year, as do most.

Jon and I would love to contribute way more than we do to this offering as well as throughout the year. We thought that some of our friends might like to contribute and help out as well. Here's your chance.

Just so you know:

• When you "chip-in" the money will go into my personal Pay-Pal account.
• Every penny you contribute will be given to the GCC 2010 Christmas Offering.
• Yes, I am an honest person.
• If you feel more comfortable, you may donate directly at the GCC website.

This year the offering will support three purposes:

• Camp Scholarships - Provide opportunities for at-risk kids to attend summer camp.
• Generosity Project - aka Food Drop - This event has happened many years before but the rumor is that this year we're taking it to "a whole new level."
• Community Transformation - Support development programs in economically and educationally depressed areas locally and around the world.

Complete details about the So This is Christmas offering are available here, from the Granger Community Church website. I hope you'll ChipIn! And thank you.

There is Always Hope

My dad has been gone for over eleven years now. We’ve all gotten used to the “new normal.” 

There are still days though when I wish he was around to do some things with us. Or to see how much one of my kids looks like him. Or to hold hands with my Miss Pretty Pretty. Boy would she have him wrapped around her little finger.

When my dad died, it wasn’t because he had a long drawn out battle with cancer, or because he suffered diabetes which slowly claimed his body over time. It wasn’t a stroke that surprised us or even a car accident which suddenly ripped him from our lives.

When my dad died it was because of suicide. I’m not going to tell you how he did it because you don’t need that visual in your mind any more than I ever did. It took a long time and the help of more than one professional to work that image out of my mind.


Has suicide touched your life?

Did you know that 34,000 people die by suicide every year in the United States and approximately one million people in the world die by suicide each year? (Statistics from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) I would imagine the reasons each person would give (or we would assume) would be vastly different based upon many factors but to me there would have to be a common thread throughout. No hope. 


There is Always Hope

In my mind only someone without hope would decide that suicide is the best solution to their current situation. Only someone unable to see hope would make a plan and go through with it believing that things will be better afterwards.

We can’t know what happened to my dad when his life on earth ended, but I can say that my life was not better because of him being gone. I was already a grown woman with a family of my own at the time but this event rocked our world. Everything changed. I won’t speak for my sister or my mom as to how their lives changed. That’s their story to share if they will.

One thing I do know is this. Most days I don’t really think about my dad much. Once in a while though, something happens and it’s like he’s not been gone a day.


Making Memories

Recently Sarah and I were in her bedroom while Jon was finishing up his bathroom routine. We couldn’t see him and he couldn’t see us, but we could hear each other. When Sarah said, “Daddy’s combing his hair,” I could immediately hear my dad walking in the back door of our house, dropping his lunchbox and keys on the counter. Next he stopped at the sink to wash his hands, then moved on to his bedroom to get ready to take a shower. I could hear all of that inside my head like it happened yesterday. If I had allowed myself to follow the memory long enough I could probably even have conjured up the smell of his deodorant.

For a long time these memories made me sad, but now I cherish them. When they come to me I share them with Jon or my kids so that they are more real. So that he is still real. 

They also make me stop and think. What memories am I creating for my kids to store away? What smells will remind them of me? What songs? What places?

In addition to taking a look at my own life, it makes me want to share hope with people wherever and whenever I can. There is always hope. For the pain you might feel today, for the hurt we inflict on each other and ourselves every day. No person is immune from pain but none of us lives in a world without hope either.


Find the help you need.

One more thought before I wrap up this post. My Dad has been gone almost twelve years. In that time I have seen five different therapists, been prescribed more different anti-depressants than I can recall, and learned more about myself and life than I ever would have otherwise. 

I would gladly have him back in a heartbeat, but because my Dad left us the way he did, I started down a path of self discovery that has made me the person I am today. I wouldn’t choose to go back to day one.

If you are in a place of hurting, don’t give up. The mourning and the confusion lasted several years for me. Then there was trying to figure out what exactly my own issues were. It’s really been only in the last several years that I believe I truly have a good handle on that.

When you hurt, share it with someone. When you celebrate, share it with someone. If you’re reading this, then I call you friend. You can let me know about your hurt. I’ll do what I can to help or I’ll help you find someone who can. Whatever you do, don’t give up. There is always hope.

If you need more encouragement to just keep walking through the pain, watch this weekend service from Granger Community Church. 

Why "Going With What I've Got?"

Let me tell you "why."

Once upon a time, I was leading a ministry to inner-city kids through our church. The nature of this ministry was that you never really knew who was going to show up. Not how many kids would be there, not how many volunteers. I just knew that I was going to be there.

Invariably, I would get really anxious the morning of the events. No matter how much communication I had done with my team before hand I was never sure how many of them would show up on the day of the event. Some people either never responded to calls or emails, or said they would be there but had a change of plans. We just never knew. This is the nature of working with volunteers.

Finally, over time and after many, many, many day-of-the-event mornings feeling really stressed out I realized I was being ridiculous.  So of course, I had a "come to Jesus" meeting with myself.

Isn't this a church ministry you're leading here?   Well, yes.
Isn't this something you thought God wanted you to do?   Well, yes.
Aren't there people you can call if you need help?  Well, yes.
You prepared ahead of time, right?  Yes, of course.

If all of that is true, then don't you think that God has gone before you and prepared the way? Don't you think that just the right volunteers will show up today, despite your efforts? Don't you think that just the right kids will be there today, and just the right number?  (Apparently I scold myself just like I do my kids.  They'll be glad to know that.)

It was working through this lesson with this ministry that I developed a personal mantra of "just show up, and go with what you've got."

It's kind of similar to the way I felt on the morning of our wedding.  I was a huge stress ball up until the Friday before.  On Saturday morning I woke up and realized, if it's not done by now, it's not happening. There was no more time for preparation. The big day had arrived.

Same thing in volunteer ministry. I made all the preparations. I made all of the calls.  Sent all of the emails.  Made maps. Made plans.  And yes, I prayed.  I prayed for those kids constantly.  I still do.

The point is, you prepare. You do everything in your power to make the event happen. And when the event arrives, you show up, because you said you would. You show up because people are counting on you.  You show up because God has gone before you and prepared the way.

And when you arrive at the event you go with what you've got. You've been given the skills and the experience you need for such a time as this.  You've been given the heart and personality that will help make this event fantastic.  And guess what! It's never about you anyway!

It was always about those kids, and what we could give to them.  It was always about meeting their needs, and about loving them and their families.

So guess what? I showed up. And I went with what I had. And I learned a valuable life lesson along the way.

2010!? What, already?

:: Did I mention that spring is coming? It's true.

:: Sarah loves school. She begged and begged to go to school over the Christmas break. And when I dropped her off on Tuesday she acted like she was going to cry. Whatever.

:: The boys love playing WOW. If you don't know what WOW means, you won't really care so I'm not gonna explain it. Jon and I decided to get our own account so we could understand just exactly what it was they were doing. It's not so bad after all.

:: I started volunteering in the church bookstore yesterday. I love books.

:: Evan will be 12 this summer. That's just weird.

:: Jason loves his new bedroom. We painted and did some redecorating. I started to make him a quilt but haven't worked on it in a while. He's being very patient with me.

:: My nephew Aidan is getting a robot cross stitch for his birthday. It's gonna be awesome. Party is in less than two weeks, can I get it done? Let's hope so.

:: My sister's birthday is also just over two weeks away. What do you think she wants?

:: Sarah also loves playing her "DS." It's really a Leapster, but she doesn't need to know that.

:: It looks like we will actually have some snow for the 7th Annual Sled Fest at Potato Creek next weekend.

:: Jon has been shoveling. And shoveling. And shoveling. Tonight I predict he will be watching football. And shoveling.

So what have you been up to?

love it

LOVE IT
baby yawns
quilting
knitting
finishing a project
cool days
autumn
a clean house
learning something new
talking to a friend
walking
strolling
taking great photos
dreaming
planning
process improvement
sharing what i have or know
belly laughs
mowing the lawn
good music
gummy kisses

Today

Today was a day. Boys in school, S. at home with me. I'm still working on knitting her a shawl. It's about 10 inches long and it needs to be 26. Gonna take me a while.

I'm trying to decide whether I want to join the knitting club or take a quilting class. Obviously I'm already a knitter but I would really like to try quilting. Maybe I'll try it on my own with a small project first. I have my Grandmother's old handkerchiefs that I think would make a great quilt.

Feeling very crafty lately. Not sure what's up with that.

I get to teach about ORGANIZATION and clutter on Sunday in the TLC class (that would be Transforming Lives through Christ). We're meeting in the MC3 building which is the first time I will have stepped foot in the place. It's interesting because we talked and talked about it all and now it's really happening. Of course, it's been happening for the past two years through all of the hard work by people at GCC but I've been out of the loop. Time to jump back in.