Out with the old??

OK- so there seems to be a "theme" I have going on right now. It is the stuff I struggle with. It is the stuff that gets under my skin that I can't seem to avoid as of late....

I mean, I tend to try to count blessings and focus on good and stay as positive as possible.....but.....

Well, here is the situation. I see EVERYwhere that in our society, our country, our towns, and cities, our movies, our sit coms..... virtually everywhere you look there is a  HUGE focus on YOUTH.

I love youth, don't get me wrong....I wish there was a fountain for it....sometimes.... No. Actually, I don't.

As I have gotten older, I have discovered that the years of my youth, though fun and frenzied and full of tons of energy- did not offer the peace, the understanding, the way of being able to look at a subject from so many points of view.

Growing up I had a couple of grandmothers and do you know something? When my life got rocky....when I was confused....when I needed comfort- it was my grandmothers who knew just what needed said- just what needed done- just how to help, exactly how I needed help for each situation.

Those two ladies had a lot of GRAY HAIR!!! They were 40 some years older than me.

Now, I am getting more and more gray hair. I am not a grandma yet- but I still look to those who have gone before me for advice, for help to point me in the right direction.....do you know WHY? They have the wisdom- the experience. The Bible says that gray hair is a sign of wisdom. Wisdom is a good thing- so gray hair must be also and so being older must be a good thing.

It feels good to me to be getting older- to have raised little ones, to be knee deep into teenagers, to be able to offer what I have learned about life through my own living of it to others who are younger. I am looking forward to becoming a grandma- and I hope that my grandchildren will feel that I am the kind of grandma I had. (Just to clarify- no, I am not in a hurry for my teenagers to have babies! I can wait!)

But, this is what scares me.... What if I start letting my grays show a little more? What if I add in some more wrinkles this summer from hanging out in the sun? Is my society going to shove me to the side? Discount who I am - who I have become with years of experience? Decide I have no value- no worth?

Whatever. I know I cannot decide for anyone else. But as for me, I choose to celebrate that there are older, more experienced, wise people in my life. I think AGING IS A BEAUTIFUL THING! I am thankful for my grandmas and people like them. I will never be ready to discard or shove to the side those who are older than me.

My Struggle

There is something I have been struggling with. It's getting to the point that it is the first thing on my mind when I wake up and the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep.

There are people who come to churches who have issues. Did you know?

People who have mental illness. People who are addicted to pornography. People who are filing bankruptcy. People who feel unloved. People who are searching.

So many of us get all dressed up on Sunday- we smell good- we look good- we feel good. We want to go to church and we want to sing some songs that make us feel good. Hear about a God who loves us. We want to smile at people and maybe get a few hugs.

Then it happens.
That person comes in- they look a mess, they smell bad, they are crying and very upset. Is that alcohol on their breath??
Or- then we see the guy we know outside of church and we know he is gay. He is openly gay. He came to church?
Or- then we see those girls from school come in - you know, the ones who barely cover up their skin? Now it's all showing here in church, too. REALLY?

We look at them. Wonder why they came. Don't they know that there are dress codes here? Don't they know God doesn't like what they are doing? or did? We may even think about how they are messing up our morning. I mean, seriously- hearing her and seeing her all upset like that while I try to worship God is distracting. It's also distracting to see so much skin in front of me- COVER UP!

Really????

I try to imagine Jesus standing in front of us- I am trying to imagine him turning them away. "You aren't welcome here at church- you have to be perfect to come in. Or, at least trry to LOOK like you are- like you have it all together so that everyone else here feels good and comfortable."

NO! Not just NO, but HELL NO!

Jesus wants people to come to him JUST AS THEY ARE. (It doesn't mean he won't work on them and change them over time- He has changed me a lot and continues to....but thank God he didn't expect me to look perfect or be perfect first- or I still wouldn't be allowed to be there!)

And by the way- just because people look good and smile at church, doesn't mean they have it all together! People who go to church AREN'T perfect. They STILL have issues, struggles, SIN. They still need that Saviour, Jesus!

So, my struggle, personally, isn't the people who come to church and aren't afraid to let it all hang out and show everyone around them that they struggle. My issue is the people who sit there and stare- or shake their head in judgement- or act as if that person has no business being there. The people who would rather say I am a Christian, and I am going to only let these other Christian people who look good and smell good and act the way I like to be here with me.

But, then, I am being judgemental, too.

Blinders

The other day, I was playing Zuma Blitz and Bejeweled on facebook. (Believe it or not, two of my main reasons for getting on there right now.) Anyway, as I was relaxing playing my games, I heard a movie in the background. In the movie they were talking about how horses wear blinders in races so they will focus on the goal and not be distracted by whatever is surrounding them.

Immediately, I thought about this verse below. (Funny, this morning it was the exact verse that Tim Tebow shared on facebook.)

Tebow is probably focussing on the challenges that face him today. Big playoff game against my favorite team, the Steelers! He is focussing also, I am sure, as always, on being a Christian and his relationship with the Lord. I imagine it is difficult sometimes. He could become unfocussed thinking about possible negative outcomes, about Harrison hurting him, about all the people who criticise him for openly praying and talking about his Christian faith.

I, however, am thinking about my own journey. I am trying to be a good wife and a good mother. I am focussing on opening a place for teens in our tri-town area. Those are my "races". Distractions abound. Mess around the house, a huge to do list that could seem daunting if I allow it, loads of laundry needing put away, seeing some unbelieveable numbers that could make the goal seem unattainable if I let my mind go that way, or how about my lack of experience- my knowing that I know so little and am nothing spectacular?.....but, I am chosing, like a horse running a race- to put my blinders on. Not to let those things- visions, people, thoughts, lists- distract me, or worry me, or bring me down.

In the movie, I also heard him talk about how so many people out there had to start without experience...he had a huge list.(I wish I could remember it!) I felt encouraged. It is true- everyone starts somewhere. Most people don't start anything as an expert- but as they plug along and develop- they GAIN experience. The verse below says- "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...." Yes, I am thankful that I can refer to Bible stoires and realize that most people God used in the Bible were imperfect, inexperienced nobodies - but they had FAITH- and FOLLOWED!

So, yeah- right now, although I want my team to beat the Broncos, I can totally relate to what my favorite Bronco player- maybe favorite football player period right now- has shared this morning.

Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

More Faith

Wow!

Inhale. Exhale!

Just sat down with a very gifted budgeter. Is that a word?

Anyway, she used to do such things for IBM.

We sat down to decide how much money would need to be raised to make "That Place" a real place.

Guess what?? It is going to take a LOT of money!!!!!

She looked at me at one point and asked if I was OK- she didn't want to burst my bubble.

I looked at those numbers and I looked at her. YES! I am OK.
I know that if this is God's will, it will work! The funds will be made- donated- miraculously appear, even.

She said she has that faith- she also wants to be realistic. I want to be realistic- this is no small task! However, God is a BIG GOD and ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH HIM!

I am thankful to my friend for helping me think this all thru- sort it out and budget. I also want to thank her for the reality check. I also want to thank her for her faith. For me, this is requiring more faith than I have ever had to have before!

Now, I am in the process of calling people I know who are attourneys. Becoming Incorporated and eventually a 501c3 are the next steps.

Are you still on this journey with me??

The Great Adventure!!

Well, in the fall of 2010, something bothered me. I saw the teens in my family's new community having nothing to do and no place to go, locally. I saw them bored and walking aimlessly around town. By January of 2011, I could almost not stop thinking about it!

I kept thinking, "We need a place for them."
I kept seeing buildings around town- empty, abandoned and I kept thinking- "Wouldn't it be nice to have a place for them?"

It became VERY apparent to me last fall when I was at church and the preacher said something about "God has put something on the hearts of some of you that seems too big for you." I started crying! "YES! He has- and YES! How on earth can I do something like this?" I went to the cross, got down on my knees, prayed and cried and felt so humbled and then felt so reassured that God was in this. I knew that if He was in it- it would work!

I knew that I knew that I knew I was to be an instrument in making this thought more than a thought- but a REALITY. Thus, began the journey of trusting and relying on Him more than I ever have before and feeling simply humbled as I know I am really nothing special at all. I have so many flaws and I know so little about so much- and yet over the past several months, He has provided people who DO know. People who SEE the vision and get excited and want to offer help!

I have a huge passion for teens. I didn't have the best years of my life as a teen- and I really hope that the teens whose lives I get to be in- for whatever amount of time- can have a better life somehow thru the time we have together. I have coached basketball and taught some fitness classes to teens and I also am a small group leader for our youth group at church. Not to mention I am the mother now to 3 teenaged girls and one tween! I am surrounded- and I LOVE it!!

So, this GREAT ADVENTURE is beginning as we begin a new year. We have people working on Articles of Incorporation and will become "The G56 Corp"- which stands for Galatians 5:6- my favorite scripture coming to life in my life- "The only thing that counts is Faith, expressing itself thru Love." and we will apply for a 501c3 to become a non-profit organization. We are currently working on a 1st year -3rd year budget and will begin to raise funds shortly for a place called "That Place".

Our mission- "THAT PLACE is THE place tri-town teens will find THEIR place in our community and in our world."

This is how that will happen-
"That Place" is the place for tri-town teens to unite in community. A place they can be inspired by the Arts. A place they will understand their own and other's value thru mentoring, homework help and community outreach and service. A place teens will respect themselves and others as they engage in fitness and activities that promote health and wellness."

This is a huge vision- there is so much to be excited about and those people I have shared this vision with seem just as excited as I am!

We will be the place for teens after school, and on Friday nights after High School games, and we will team up with other non-profit organizations to sevre our community.We will be there in the summer doing field trips and planting a community garden and we will open our building to the community for meetings, receptions and the like, when we are not holding teen functions there.

This is The Great Adventure I am on right now. Some of you have already joined this adventure with me! Some of you have heard just a bit about it- and now you know more! For some of you, this is the first you have heard of it! This is your invitation to join me on this adventure!