Solitude

First of all, to anyone who might have even noticed, I have been off this blog for quite awhile. Like everything that gets disrupted it has been a combination of busyness, forgetfulness and at times a lack of inspiration. However, sometimes a break is good for all involved and I will try to at least be a little more regular in my posts.

I find when I seemingly can't find any inspiration for something to talk about, it really isn't true. All I really need is to identify something for which I have something to say. The problem is, I didn't know I had something to say about it. But once it comes to my attention I can hardly type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts. Something of such has been nagging at my mind trying to get enough attention to become a topic of conversation with me. It is the frequency with which I encounter those who claim to be bored.

I see quite often on FaceBook or some such public offering of inconsequential and meaningless details of life, a single entry on someone's status: BORED.

Honestly, I can't imagine it. I am rarely truly bored, and when I think I am, I can get over it pretty quick. There is always something to do, somewhere to go or a blog post waiting to be written. What I think is more often the case is the "bored" confuse anxiousness and restlessness with boredom. Being bored to me says you have abdicated your ability to think for yourself. I also think especially in this present age that we are confused with moments of not being entertained with boredom. Who can be truly bored when we have so much at our disposal? Things to listen to, watch, the rapidly expanding options with which to communicate are all before us. On my phone of all things, I can communicate with texts, email, FaceBook, Twitter, blogs, a number of ways I haven't even had the inclination to explore and, oh yes, I can actually talk to someone. And that is just my phone.

I think the difference in being bored or not bored is the ability to be by yourself successfully. Not everyone I am discovering can do this. To one, being by yourself is to be alone. To another it is solitude. They are not the same. Being alone is terrifying. The single most hellish part of Hell will be the profound aloneness those who choose go there will realize. Not even prayer will penetrate the blackness of Hell. No ability to reach out to anyone or anything, for help, hope or company. Grim indeed. True boredom is a preview of such.

Solitude on the other hand is far different. It is not a state of being bored or even alone even though you might be by yourself. In solitude, I can pray, I can think, I can wonder, question, read, rest, recharge and renew. I am not afraid to be in solitude. I actually like myself for company. And too, I am never truly alone. I am in contact with God. He did promise never to leave or forsake. Who can be bored in the presence of the Creator of everything? To be bored is to deny the existence of God in the present. You might believe in God, but to be bored is to deny He is anywhere near. You cannot be bored in the presence of God.

The next time you are thinking of letting the world know of your updated status with the single word: BORED, reconsider. It is true or is it telling you something else? Have you lost your purpose? Are you in spiritual desertion, denying the reality of God in your present? There are plenty of options be being bored. Boredom is giving up, being dependent upon something external to keep us entertained. A recent study of those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury depriving them of use of limbs and the ability to speak revealed something interesting. Living with "Locked In Syndrome" and only being able to communicate through eye blinks, they have found a way to thrive. A majority of those who were surveyed were able to communicate that they were happy with their lives. Imagine that! And so many who have everything available to them, the full use of their bodies allow themselves the luxury of boredom.

We can do better.

Maybe It's Time To Simplify Christmas

One of the conversations I had while I was recently with my brother was about his family's insistence to keep birthdays and holidays in perspective. He said that they actually purchase few gifts in comparison with so many others. What they focus on are family experiences. They actually practice what they say they value in keeping holidays, even Christmas, pretty simple and doing fun things together as a family. Wow, I always think of doing that but it seems I tend to cave in and buy things to avoid feeling cheap and stingy. Mind you, I don't buy things just to buy things, I always want to provide something that is wanted and hopefully needed in some way. But what if we all scaled back a bit on the stuff and spent more time doing some intentionally planned family event? I bet the memories would last longer than the stuff! Think about it, be brave and try it!

Here are three suggestions to apply it:

1. Focus on traditions rather than things.

When I look back on my fondest memories, they're always about the traditions we've enjoyed as a family. What would Thanksgiving be without turkey and dressing and pumpkin roll? What would Christmas be without the reading of the Christmas story, our tradition of making the kids wait until Mom and Dad are up before playing with or opening ANY presents, or driving around looking at the Christmas lights while sipping hot chocolate and playing Christmas carols on the radio? Christmas for my family is a time to celebrate being with each other, not celebrating the latest gadget, toy, or gizmo.

2. Do Christmas your way, not the marketers way.

Why let "a December to remember" cause you financial pain and stress for the next 60 or 72 months? The pressures that Madison Avenue places on people this time of year is something they should be ashamed of. There's absolutely nothing wrong with giving something far more valuable than things - give your time. Take some time to visit people who are shut in. Take some time to play with your children ... down on the floor. Teach someone what you know: cooking, playing the guitar, knitting a sweater, or painting a landscape. Invest your most precious asset - time - into those you love the most.

3. Create a new gift giving tradition.

Some people only give gifts that are hand made. The materials can be bought, but the finished gift must be hand made. Try it with ornaments if you're not ready to go "New Yankee Workshop" or try the Magi Christmas tradition: three gifts and three gifts only. There is a Victorian tradition that says each person should get "something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.
Don't let the stress of the season ruin the meaning of the holidays.

Kara Brown May 9, 1988 - November 30, 2010

This past Tuesday, in the early morning, my niece, Kara Brown passed from this life into eternal life. My brother and his wife, have been battling this blood disease with Kara for the past three and one-half years. How they have managed to maintain their lives and keep strong relationships going with their other children and be healthy themselves is a testimony to how strong faith can be in times like this. Their commitment to fulfill Kara's wish to die at home was amazing. They took training (which after three and one-half years they already knew the drill) to administer medications to keep her as comfortable as possible and were not willing for others to care for her when they could themselves. Kara was never alone.
The Lord allowed JoLynn and me to arrive in time to see Kara, speak to her while she was still responsive. It was a privilege to be there and watch my brother care for her with such amazing tenderness and responsiveness. My esteem for him is even greater than it was before. It was simply amazing.
Through the week, it was such a blessing to have so many people send emails and flowers letting us know they were feeling the loss of Kara even though they had never met her. Bethel Church, the Assembly of God congregation in Chehalis was especially kind in offering the use of their wonderful facility and preparing a generous dinner for all the guests afterwards. This lifted a tremendous burden by the family not having to make these arrangements while they were making other necessary plans and with family members arriving.
The memorial service was such a great event, so many people came that the line for signing the guest book extended out the doors and around the building so far that they just took the guest book away and allowed people to come in and fill the sanctuary to capacity. Kara touched so many lives it is difficult to imagine without seeing all the doctors, nurses who came that gave her care, students from her high school that she mentored, church friends, community friends, work associates and all who took the time to come, some from other states just to be there to honor her memory.
In the end, the disease conquered Kara's body, but it never conquered her spirit. She remained funny, spunky and positive to the time where she could no longer respond. She was a fighter to the end.
Our great comfort in all of this is knowing she is with Jesus and no longer trapped in a body stricken with disease. She is on the "other side" with many of our friends and family members who have preceded us. It will make it all the more sweeter to see her again when our time comes.
One of her final quotes will stay with me a long time, "The only day wasted is a day not spent in serving the Lord."

So Thankful

I wanted to THANK everyone who was part of this year's Christmas Shoebox effort! Thank you to each one who took a shoebox, went to the store and filled it with fun things and returned it to the church! Thank you to all the ladies who came and packed the boxes and got them ready to take to the Post Office! Thank you to Pam Clark for spear heading this effort again this year! Wow, that is 8 BIG boxes of fun things our missionaries, Linda and Brian Staub will be able to reach out to the village of St. Michael with! We have included the Book Of Hope for each age category as well as warm hats that were knitted for each person.

We did not think to keep a list over the several years we have been partnering with Alaska missionaries, but the places I can remember sending boxes to are: Emmonak, Tetlin, Beaver, Angoon, Ft. Yukon and perhaps other places. Some villages we have sent boxes to more than once.

I know from personal greetings from our missionaries how appreciated these gifts are when received in the villages. This is a great example of true partnership with our missionaries as they endeavor to minister to the least reached people of our enormous state. Each box is a message of love and generosity and....HOPE!

God bless all who have made this effort so rewarding again this year!

Stressed Out?

I have had a number of people that I know, care for and pastor who have made known to me some huge obstacles they are facing in life just in the last few days. It is amazing how many people seem to be carrying a huge load, more than the usual busy schedule right now. It really seems like a season of spiritual/physical attack over a great number of people at present.

Isn't it like the devil to pile on when life is already difficult? Just when circumstances are taxing he seems to come along and increase the stress level by adding things that stretch us even further. If you are feeling what I am talking about, you are by no means walking your journey alone.

Something that I counsel people as their pastor when they hit these unexpected trials is to be deliberate about setting boundaries in your life. When we take extraordinary hits from the enemy, we must find places in our lives to rest and replenish ourselves. This means being able to say, "no" to the right things. I said that intentionally about saying "no" to the right things. Sometimes we in an effort to find immediate comfort for our empty emotional and spiritual tanks we opt out of everything including the very things that actually assist in replenishing our reserves.

The important thing in our crises and trials is to stay connected to the people who love us and care about us the most. Stay involved in your church, keep teaching your Sunday School class, continue to attend and serve on a regular basis. Now this doesn't mean saying "yes" to everything, but do stay involved. God has intended service to be a life-giving exercise. Cut off our service and we can collapse into isolated and disconnected despair.

Do find ways to create "margin" in your life. Margin is those empty spaces in your day, week and schedule that are empty with a purpose. Filling empty time with activity that is empty of meaning and purpose is not what I am talking about. Creating margin is making yourself take a "time out" to sit and listen to God, to talk to Him and to read His Word. David in his most noted 23rd Psalm includes the words, "...He makes me to lie down" (v.2). Isn't interesting that we must be made to lie down? Why does God make us do this? Because we need it. He created rest for us to renew, replenish and restore (v.3) ourselves.

Another huge help when we are feeling overwhelmed is to talk to someone who is trusted, who loves you and is not too eager to tell you how to correct your problem. In short, someone who is a believer and is good at listening. Sometimes being able to talk about what you are feeling to someone who cares is very therapeutic. Opening up to someone who is caring is good for our soul.

An important help in times of crisis is to have "financial margin". It is too often the case that we live to the edge of our means and even spend more than we make on a monthly basis. Scaling back on our lifestyle, creature comforts and luxuries and putting that income toward paying down debt and increasing savings is a way to create a financial margin that can carry us when the unexpected slams us. "A penny saved is a penny earned" is now considered too quaint to be meaningful. It is still good advice and it does create margin for the "rainy day" that is inevitably coming our way. When crisis comes and we are already over spent it compounds the problem. Better to think ahead financially during good times than to assume we can spend more than we make and that it will always be OK. Our entire nation is hurting because of this pervasive mindset.

Now, a final thought for those who may not be in crisis at the moment but maybe know someone who is, reach out to them. Communicate with them. Do something with them or for them. You may never get an invitation to do so, so you may have to initiate the idea. Don't be afraid of being rejected, it really isn't about you. Regardless, let that person know you are thinking of them and praying for them. You can't do any better than that.

2 Cor. 1:3-5 (NKJV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. [5] For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

Now is a good time to put that into practice.

The Ring of Authenticity

I had a couple of interesting experiences this week. I was attending our Alaska Ministry Network's board meeting and the afternoon of the first day Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and his wife, Sandy took about a half an hour of their time to come and visit our board. He was promoting his initiative on ending child abuse in Alaska and asking us to support this effort in all the communities we influence throughout Alaska. While we visited, we heard the Governor speak about his personal faith in God. Now I have heard a lot of "God talk" by politicians before. Very often it is awkward and sometimes down right embarrassing they way they speak of how they view "faith." What is obvious is that they are trying to identify with a voting bloc that could help their efforts for re/election by "speaking the lingo" as if they were familiar with it and attempt to convey the idea they talk that way all the time. As I was listening to Sean and Sandy Parnell it struck me that what they had to say had the ring of authenticity. What they expressed about their faith had the feel of genuine faith that only another believer can discern. They had it, it was real.

The next morning another gentleman was brought into our morning devotions. His first name was Joany which sounds almost like Johnny. He is from Burkina Faso, Africa. He pastors a church there which now numbers around 5000 people. He spoke to us about prayer. Not only were his words compelling, but when he was done sharing his teaching on prayer, he prayed. Oh my, he prayed. You cannot fake prayer. The person who really prays will always be able to expose the one who only postures themselves as one who prays. He prayed a powerful prayer. One had the feeling that it was making a difference right then. It was the real deal.

In a world of facade and appearances, it is exciting when you find the authentic. I pray that others will find my words, my actions and my life full of the ring of authenticity.

Make It An Even 40

Nothing serious here this post. I just wanted to report on my quest to be a healthier, happier Stephen. I am down 40 pounds from the first of 2010. The interesting thing at this point is, I am not trying to lose weight so much as to eat less irresponsibly. To be honest, I miss the carbs. I love the crunch of crackers, the taste of bread, the sweet of sugar and the smoky goodness of chocolate. However I like feeling better, fitting into my clothes, not being out of breath just bending over and tying my shoes, not falling asleep in the afternoons at my desk and not having acid reflux after I eat better than the carbs. So, I just have to remind myself of these things. I had my blood pressure taken this past Wednesday in the doctor's office: 110/64, one of my best ever. My cholesterol numbers are nearly where they need to be, my A1c blood sugar level is just .1 over "normal" and I am still not taking any medications of any kind. I want to keep it that way.

At the doctor's office the doctor said that they see someone lose weight and change their diet so rarely it almost never happens. He held up my screening form and noted all the "no's" that were checked for symptoms and medications and said it was very rare to see such a sheet. I share this to say that all of that was on the brink of going away and I would have become just another health statistic adding to the slide of the decline of health in America. Makes me shudder to think I felt I couldn't do anything about it. I can and I am. God help me discipline myself to stay as healthy as I am able to be for as long as I am able to be so I won't have to ask you to do for me what I should have done for myself.

Ideally, I wouldn't mind losing another 10 pounds, I might really fit into a 34" waist instead of it being marginal at this point. More importantly, I think my numbers would improve to the point I would not be considered at risk for diabetes or high cholesterol.

Just in case you are wondering what system I am using, I am using The South Beach Diet as a guideline. It is no longer my diet, it is just the way I eat now. I don't diet any more, as that implies I will go back to eating irresponsibly again in the future once I lose some weight. Not going to do that. This is just the way we eat now and frankly I like it. Hope I can inspire anyone else out there to find out what they need to do to feel better. I do believe each body has it's own unique needs and the South Beach approach may not work for everyone, but find out what does and stay with it. It's worth it.