i think that's a phrase my kid(s) are going to get SICK of hearing me say. i'm thinking a lot more about parenting these days... since i am one of those now. Crystal and i are both thinking a lot more about it. we're talking about it all the time -- what kind of parents we want to be, what kinds of things we want to do for our kids, WHO we want them to be, etc...
and it's real now because Keira is here. so it's not just a nebulous idea.
but i think Keira will get sick of hearing me say to her "How can YOU be the change?"
let's say that she comes home from school & there is a kid that EVERYONE is making fun of/being mean to. the teacher didn't really seem to even care. Keira is bothered by it. i'm going to ask her - "How can YOU be the change that needs to happen?"
or maybe our neighbor has surgery and their yard is a wreck. Keira complains that it looks so ugly. "well, how can YOU be the change?"
and there are a million other examples.
EITHER:
she will get so sick of hearing me say this phrase that she will stop complaining about anything or talking about anything that isn't right in the world for fear that i will prod her to think about changing it...
OR: she will change the world.
i hope it's the 2nd one.
and the below isn't all that related to the above but it's just a thought that i resonate with and agree with wholeheartedly. it's how i want us to parent Keira and any other kids God blesses us with...
“I want my children to grow up understanding that life with
Jesus is more than just being nice, or trying not to cuss and get drunk because 'that is what good Christians do.' I want my children to be so compelled by the
real Jesus that they are willing to stand with him, giving their lives to his
revolution, not in order to be religious but because there is simply no more
exhilarating way to live. I want my kids to see my wife and me as
revolutionaries who subvert the dominant belief systems of the world, not out
of religious obligation but in wholehearted response to the person of Jesus.”
sometimes i like to just sit and watch the world... watch life happen... and write about it as i see it. it's just a good thing for me to do sometimes.
i like to simply watch and then process what i'm seeing by writing about it.
i rarely ever put that stuff anywhere else besides my "thoughts" file. but i was cleaning op some "thoughts" recently and one of those random musings caused me to think more about becoming a parent soon. so i thought i would thought i would post it here to renown.
The following is what i wrote the week of this past Christmas (2010). i was in New York with my wife's family and i stole away to a Starbucks inside a Target for a little while. here is what i saw and wrote:
I'm watching a mom walk into Target…
in the snow.
Deep snow.
With 5
kids.
5 kids.
Tugging 4 across the street all holding hands & carrying one in a
carrying car seat thing.
Until one of the littlest walking boys dropped his zip lock bag of
gold fish & had to run back and get it. Then the chain was broken only for
a few moments.
This mom looks really tired.
It's really cold outside and
I have been being a baby about how cold NY is in December.
i've had a revelation sitting here drinking my coffee and watching this scene. maybe one day i'll find out if this "hunch" of mine is actually true:
When you go to the store with 5 kids – you don’t have a good
day.
Another mom is sitting beside me sipping her Starbucks with her 6ish
year old. She just said to him in a very admirable tone – “wow. 5 kids. She must be a
superhero!”
haha - her little boy just said “she must have been like this big around
(motioning with his hands) when she had all of them!”
mom said “well, they’re
not all the same age. [as if that explained it enough] She must be a superhero though.”
And superhero she is indeed.
that time thought by me also in a very admirable tone.
Then a guy with a hard core mullet and a huge bald eagle on the back
of his jacket walked by.
wow.
couldn't get my camera open on my phone fast enough though. the sight sufficiently disrupted my thoughts about the world at this moment.
a lot of things probably go through different people's minds when they hear the word "baptism".
here's a quick list of what jumps off the top of my head when i think BAPTISM:
going public
PARTY
commemorating life change
CELEBRATION
memorable
Represent!
drawing a line in the sand
1st step
new association
radical
courageous
Sunday @ Ridge was a really special day. we were celebrating something awesome. God changed the lives of these 6 students and they wanted to let everybody know about it by being baptized!
God did this radical thing in their hearts - it's called redemption. At different points for each of them they put their faith in Jesus to be their Savior. they decided to follow Him.
And Sunday they WENT PUBLIC with that! and we CELEBRATED it!
because that's what the angels in heaven do when someone's life changes and they decide to follow Jesus. they throw a big party. i've actually always wondered what an angel/heaven party looks like? i bet it's pretty raucous.
when i look at that picture above i can't help but smile & get really excited. because those aren't just 6 students who took a dip in the pool. that's 6 students whose lives were changed by Jesus. and they had the COURAGE and BOLDNESS to let everyone know it in a radical way = baptism.
they each told us a little of their story and we caught them on video + their baptism. if you want to watch any just click the links below:
(in the order of the pic above) Robert, Serena, Paige, Hunter, Madison, Logan.
i've noticed something - there aren't many dry eyes when we have baptism celebrations. i think i know why. we're watching lives that were radically changed. we're seeing people who are going in a different direction. Sunday we watched these students who are going to make a difference in the Kingdom. you can't help but tear up i guess.
you're at least singing along in your head by now. i'm not even sure who sings that song - don't really care - but i've been singing in my head since i arrived here at the Havilla Children's Home.
The 1st night we got here we were meeting all the kids and just hanging out. Many of them have been living here together at this orphanage for 5 years. sleeping in the same room. eating meals together. going to school together. hanging out 24/7.
so on that 1st night i was talking to Francis #1 (there are 3) who is 16 + a few of the other kids who were standing around. i said "so, you guys are like family, huh?"
"no, we ARE family."
Francis wanted to make sure i understood that.
within 24 hours of being here that was obviously clear to us. these kids are family. no question about it. they are brothers and sisters just as if they all had the same father and mother. and there is a lot of love to go around.
one night i was in one of the guys' rooms and talking to them about school the next day. i asked if they all hang out at school each day, stick up for each other, etc... they said "Yeah, they call us the Havilla Brothers."
that brought a smile to my face.
these guys and girls are a true family. kids who many would say are just orphans and don't even have a family... i think they probably understand it better than most of us.
haven't had any time to write lately, so here's just a quick update as i'm riding on the CRAZIEST road ever in the backwoods of the mountains in Kenya. i don't even know how i'm typing bouncing in the air, etc...
yesterday was awesome. crystal and i worked in the primary school (1st - 8th grades) in Karima all day. i taught 2 different classes = 6th & 7th grades throughout the day.
Amy & Tiffany taught a couple classes too + i hear Keith taught some kids the Hokey Pokey... that's awesome & i wish i had video.
another part of our team was working on the new secondary school (high school) that's being build and i've got some crazy stories from that too.
These kids are amazing. i could spend the rest of my life with them. many of the kids in this primary school are orphans and come to school from a nearby orphanage.
The teachers at the school are awesome. they're my new heroes.
my Swahili is getting a lot better and everyone just wants to speak Swahili to me all the time now, so i'm learning a lot more too. Catherine (who i wrote about on day 1) used to be a main teacher at the school and she and some others hooked me up with a 5th grade Swahili grammar book! they took me through like 2 pages of it during break time.
got to see my buddy John again.
it rains all the time in Karima because it's in these mountains. it's the dry season too so we weren't expecting rain. that makes things interesting. but it's definitely = mvua kwa Jesu (rain is a blessing from Jesus) especially for this largely farming community.
TODAY (it's 9am here) i am working in Karima again all day with the Ridge team and Crystal is actually going by herself to work at the clinic/hospital in Kwambakenya (a nearby village in Kinangop) and then she is going with the nurse to work with the sick people in Kiria... another village.
actually she just got off the bus to go. 1st time i've ever sent my wife off by herself to be a nurse in the middle of Kenya.
i think it is AMAZING & awesome... i think today will be an amazing experience for her. She is going to bring a piece of the Kingdom of God to that village. i only really wish i could go with her and see her in action. (i would just pretty much be in the way.)
they call her "Doctari" in Swahili. she got promoted i guess. There is only 1 nurse for the whole hospital... she runs the whole thing. no doctor.
(This is a repost of one of the 1st blogs i ever wrote back on January 4th, 2008. You can read the original in full along with all the comments HERE.)
WHOOOOOO!
I’m so excited about this blog today! For the past few years I’ve been
on a journey through Scripture discovering what God has to say about
helping the poor. In short, I have become passionate about caring for
the poor and doing whatever I can to help them. (MUCH more on this in
later blogs.) I’m committed to living with less so I can give more to
help orphans, giving clean water to communities that don’t have it, the
homeless, etc…
While reading Relevant magazine
(which I highly recommend you subscribe to by the way) I came across
one of the coolest organizations I’ve seen in a long time!!! The JUNKY CAR CLUB It was founded by Mike Foster, the founder of XXXchurch
(which is another pimp organization to be highlighted in another blog.
It’s an online accountability plan to keep guys pure from porn –
download the software for free at http://x3watch.com/) and co-author of the really fun and helpful book Deadly Vipers: Character Assassins (go buy it and read it today... I'll be writing another post on it in the future.) I even talked to Rick warren about the junky car club at Catalyst
and found out he is a member too. Well, he was speaking from the stage
with 11,000 other people in the room and he couldn’t remember the name
of the club. I shouted it out to him and we had a quick little
“conversation.” So, yeah, I “talked” with him about it. ☺ This
thing is the real deal. “The JCC is a community of happy drivers that
are politely rebelling against consumerism. We think life is better
when you spend your dough on others and not on some pimped out ride. We
encourage all members to support social justice organizations and give
to those who are in need. Happy Driving.” (from the back of my
membership card.) The JCC partners with one of my fav organizations, Compassion International.
So, the idea is that if you don’t have a car payment you can use that
money to sponsor a child through Compassion. Compassion is awesome and
helps regular peeps sponsor kids in poverty in order to provide food,
clean water, healthcare, education, etc… in the name of Jesus and for
His sake.
This is SO awesome. I plan to never drive a new car or
even make payments on any car, ever. I paid cash (not much) for my 1st
car right before I turned 16 – a Honda Civic SI with cool rims, a sun
roof, and purple fluorescent lights underneath the car. (I planned to
have a picture, but can't find one.) A year later I traded it straight
up for an SHO (supercharged Ford)… and then
traded it for my current car. I drive a 1989 Cadillac Deville with
187,213 miles, no shocks, and chipping paint. It has affectionately
(and maybe not so affectionately) been referred to as the
“caddymobile”, “pimpmobile”, “hooptiemobile”, “grannymobile”, and “big
ugly caddy”. It is 27 feet long and drives like a tank. I once gave a
ride to 12 guys IN my caddy all at one time! Lots of good memories. I’m
just praying that it will last another 10 years and 100K miles! That
would be cool with me. and if it dies I just wanna find another hooptie
for $500 and drive it til it kicks the bucket. If that’s all it takes
to make sure a few kids get lunch tomorrow or a village has clean water
so they don’t all die from disease… this seems like a no-brainer to me.
Think about it… if the choice is between having some nice wheels and an
orphan getting to live another month, what’s the logical choice? Do you
think there's anyway you could do more for people in need if you didn't
have the fat car payment? Please don't think I'm saying that you're a
horrible person if you have a car payment... we have 1 ourselves. The
bottom line is - what are you doing to help those in need like Jesus
told us to? Don't have enough money to help? maybe it's time you sold
the Hummer and join the Junky Car Club... Let me know what you guys
think of this idea. So,
I’m an elite lemon member… 1 of the original 150 members too. They’ve
even got a JCC calendar now. Make sure you check out my blog on Monday
because I’m gonna intro you to our buddy Peter who gets to have a fair
shot at life because of $40 a month we’re not spending on a dope ride.
Kendra Fleming is the phenomenal leader who is the multi-campus Children's Director at North Point. She writes the content for the "Kids" section of this site and it is AWESOME stuff! If you're involved in working with kids youneed to frequent this site!
For some reason, a few months ago, Kendra asked me about writing some articles for the Kids site. I warned her that I might not have anything helpful to add, but I wrote some articles recently and sent them to her. The writing process was actually really helpful to me. It helped me think through different processes that are effective for us that we just do instinctively. I think the process will help me be more strategic in the future.
Kendra said they would be publishing them over the next few weeks HERE.
The 1st of my articles went up yesterday and you can read it HERE. Drop a comment on the site if you think it sucks or if you found anything helpful in the article.
I plan to also post each of the articles here on renown after they show up on Inside North Point Kids. So, you can read each of the articles here too. Be looking out for them. I'll put this 1st one up later today or tomorrow. i just hope they're helpful... it was helpful for me to write them!
The Upstreet team at Ridge Church is THE most awesome group of peeps ever to work with elementary kids! They are unbelievable. Seriously. I can't even begin to explain it with words. They blow my mind. Our team pulls off some amazing stuff every single Sunday. We're part of something revolutionary. Kids are experiencing God in Upstreet and their experience is fun and awesome and exciting... just like God is. This is possible because of the amazing Upstreet team!
The world is going to be a radically different place in the future because of these volunteers. Because they're pouring their lives into the next generation. I'm so stoked about it & LOVE that I get to serve with them.
*This past Saturday we had a little party with the Upstreet team. We had a LOT of fun. It's always fun when we can just hang out together!
A little Ladder Ball broke out throughout the day in the back yard. I'm going to show you just a short clip of a Ladder Ball game but I have to set it up 1st. **I guess it was like Small Group vs. Large Group? Angie Brown is our Upstreet Small Groups Director & the one brave enough to host this party at her house + Anne Bixler, one of our Small Group Coaches made up the blue team. The red team was our Upstreet Large Group Director, Danielle Banks + Natalie Osborne, an Upstreet production guru & creative genius!
It was NOT a close game. At least for most of it. The "small group" (blue) team went up 20-7. and you only play to 21! Each player gets 3 tosses in each round and you can get 1,2, or 3 points for each throw depending on which rung you land on. So the blue team literally just needed 1 point and the game was over. BUT very SLOWLY but surely the "large group" (red) team crept back into it. Even as they were on their "comeback" you still just knew there was no way they would win.
This video begins as Natalie and Angie each have 2 more shots. the score is Blue=20 & Red=18.
It was a memorable moment! Did you see Natalie? She was the one jumping up and down. The sheer joy of victory. As Sam said... it should be on Sports Center! Definitely Legendary. It was a fun party & a great chance to say thanks to an awesome team for all their sweat and hard work. They're the greatest.
TODAY (it's 9am here) i am working in Karima again all day with the Ridge team and Crystal is actually going by herself to work at the clinic/hospital in Kwambakenya (a nearby village in Kinangop) and then she is going with the nurse to work with the sick people in Kiria... another village.
en
traded it for my current car. I drive a 1989 Cadillac Deville with
187,213 miles, no shocks, and chipping paint. It has affectionately
(and maybe not so affectionately) been referred to as the
“caddymobile”, “pimpmobile”, “hooptiemobile”, “grannymobile”, and “big
ugly caddy”. It is 27 feet long and drives like a tank. I once gave a
ride to 12 guys IN my caddy all at one time! Lots of good memories. I’m
just praying that it will last another 10 years and 100K miles! That
would be cool with me. and if it dies I just wanna find another hooptie
for $500 and drive it til it kicks the bucket. If that’s all it takes
to make sure a few kids get lunch tomorrow or a village has clean water
so they don’t all die from disease… this seems like a no-brainer to me.
Think about it… if the choice is between having some nice wheels and an
orphan getting to live another month, what’s the logical choice? Do you
think there's anyway you could do more for people in need if you didn't
have the fat car payment? Please don't think I'm saying that you're a
horrible person if you have a car payment... we have 1 ourselves. The
bottom line is - what are you doing to help those in need like Jesus
told us to? Don't have enough money to help? maybe it's time you sold
the Hummer and join the Junky Car Club... Let me know what you guys
think of this idea.
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