Jordan Polson

Responding In The Moment

2010-12-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting in my role at the church the number of times I get an email or a word in passing on a Sunday morning asking the church to rally behind a cause, an individual, or a project that they have encountered and have been so impacted by it that they recognise the enormity of the situation and have started to seek out help for the solution.

So when Kathleen and I were exposed to some orphans that have HIV/Aids and a very compassionate man who is attempting to stop the HIV/Aids tide in the Nkonya area, well, it’s easy to come to the same conclusion. One wants so desperately to help solve the problem it’s natural to begin to think about all the resources you have or may have access to, the greatest being the church you attend. You have an overwhelming urge to call the church and ask it to rally and then anyone else that will give you their ear.

I have no problem accepting the reality of God calling some of us to a greater level of ownership on an issue, and along with that, provide you with the creative means of rallying others to the table. But I think that for the most part, God just wants the individual to just do the simple part that is staring them in the face. Do with the resources that God has given to you personally. Do it well and be generous. Then trust God to take care of tomorrow for that which he showed you today. For me, for Kathleen . . . for you, I think what God really wants from us is to just do our part. Whatever resources he has given to you, ask Him what He would have you give, then just do that part. It is so compelling to take the whole problem upon ourselves to try and fix things and forget that it is now and always has been in God’s hands, and he is the one bringing his resources to bear on the issue. We just happen to be asked to participate with Him today.

My personal rant: It’s not necessarily the local church’s responsibility to own whatever He tugs at your heart about. He is asking you to participate, don’t miss the opportunity. You are the church, so be the church. What is CrossRoads responsibility? Two things I think. First, do everything we can to equip you to be the church. Secondly, be listening to God and asking him what we are to do for him as a local body of Christ. We currently have some key focal points that we sense God has called us to participate in and so we will be diligent about those things. You can read about them on our web site.

Together we can change our world for the sake of Christ.

No matter where you are, whether at home or in Africa or Lebanon, if you and I are listening to God and then responding to his call on our hearts to participate in the moment with what we each have, then I think there would be much more done in our own local communities and around the world.

During these weeks away Kathleen and I have been asking God what is our part in the work here in Africa and in Lebanon. Perhaps we are done; perhaps there is more. But I am sure he will tell us and we will make ourselves ready to respond.

Are you listening? Have you responded lately?

jp

The Cedars

2010-12-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

I wentr to the cedars today here in Lebanon. The forests here are almost gone and this tree is mow protected. They are absolutely majestic. I blogged a couple times on them last time I was here. I'll just post the links here and let you read what I wrote at that time.

Cedars of Lebanon

A Cedar of Lebanon, His Cedar

Kathleen had a hard day in northern Ghana. Pray for her, that she would have a good rest tongiht. She will be flying back to Accra in the morning.

jp

In Lebanon

2010-12-03T14:20:00.001-07:00

Friday Evening:

So I finally received my luggage this morning after being without for a day + the 27 hours the airline had me in their clutches. A fun time was had by all. I’ve tried calling Kathleen for the past day and have yet to connect with her to see how she is doing. Hope to try her in the AM again.

My time here in Lebanon is mostly used up with Matthieu and his family, encouraging them and speaking to Matthieu about the challenges of the organization that he leads in the Bekka Valley called Bridges of Love (BOL). The other family that is getting some of my time is Rahal’s family, who leads the Bedouin village in the valley that the CrossRoads team served last September and that BOL is currently supporting. You can read more about that village and the work there by going back into my blogs during that time frame. There are many.

I was going to upload a blog here on the wonders of airport life and let you in on a little of my fun getting here from Accra. You would only read it if you can handle my sense of humour for there is little substance outside of that. But now I think not. It's just a little long once I started to finsih it. I suppose if enough of you asked I might recant and upload but I don't think you'll miss much.
jp

Catching Up

2010-12-02T17:09:00.004-07:00

So here is a little catch up for you, since I was unable to upload any blogging over the past few days. I've got one that continues from this one, but I'll post it sometime in the next few hours.

Probably scroll down and start reading from where I last left off before this blog. I think it’s called Village Life or something like that.)

Kath and I came back to Accra with Wes and Katie on the Wednesday and then headed out west of Accra the next morning. We went to see an old castle that was used in the slave trading from the 1,400s to the 1,800s. About 578 years in total. (For the most part, I usually speak in roundabouts for those of you that need details. You have the internet.) It was profound and moving. These Ghanaians have reason to be angry, yet I find them all full of grace. Interesting.

Kathleen was not well, so the next day I went on a little excursion on my own and went to the rainforest where I was able to walk on top of the canopy on a swinging bridge about 350 meters long. Then a walk under the canopy. I think I blogged on this already.

Then Kathleen and I went to a small beach resort for some R&R where we saw turtles hatching and running top the water. It was something else to see. I guess not too many people get to see that. We did. Cool. I ate some bad chicken here and ended up with food poisoning which put me out for a day. Not a good thing. Lots of upchuck and fever for a day, then all was well. We headed back to Accra yesterday and caught up with Amanda, a friend from Red Deer and did a little shopping and visiting.

I left Kathleen alone this morning to catch a flight. She will take a flight up to Northern Ghana tomorrow and see some elephants and monkeys and a few other such animals in 38 degree plus weather. This will take place in one of the game farms that her cousin has developed. She will have a great time, I’m sure.

I’m currently on route to Cairo via Egypt Air. I’ll have a 2 hour and 5 minute stop over before continuing on to Beirut. My flight was 2 hours and 45 minutes late. You do the math. I have no idea what that means right now because everyone I ask talks funny. I’m hoping that someone has got it all figured out at the other end. I have not been able to speak to Matthieu and my cell is not working anywhere I go. I’ll probably still post this if I can catch some air time in Cairo, and then fill you in later once I land in Beirut.

Another day . . . . on a plane . . . . where is a transporter when you need one!

The little screens with the flight updates on them don’t help me. It’s telling me that we land at 11:34pm which is 24 minutes after my connecting flight leaves. So it looks like I’ll miss that fight unless something is broken on the connecting flight that keeps it on the ground for a while. (See how warped my brain thinks?)

No, wait a minute. The little screen says we have a 54km head wind. The time to arrival keeps slipping away. 11:34pm, now 11:35pm, now 11:36pm, now ... (of course I’m speeding up time here at about 5 minutes for every 12 characters)

Tap . . . tap . . . tap.

We are now at 11:42pm for arrival. The head wind has picked up and the little picture even shows that the plane is fighting a head wind but a bit from the side. The line was straight from Accra to Cairo but now it’s starting to form a “V”. The plane is not pointed straight at Cairo but at a 45 degree angle. The plane is actually trying to skid into Cairo. I know it’s not, but the picture looks pretty real. I wonder if they have a preloaded plane crash that comes up on the little screen if you’re going down.

I have to stop watching this!

I’ll not say another word till I’ve landed and figured out what’s next.

jp

A Bug's Life

2010-12-02T17:06:00.002-07:00

No shortage of bugs here. Back home we don’t tolerate any bugs in our lives. If we find one in our home we must drive it from existence. We will go to all ends of the earth to get rid of the ant hill that’s beginning to form outside the walls of our house. Here in Ghana, ants are considered clean bugs. You’d rather have an ant than some of the other critters that walk the halls. Sure, some bite, but for the most part, they are just a bunch of busy little animals going about their own business.

Here people just look at bugs as something that you coexist with. You don’t eradicate the species from your home because it would never be possible. The mosquitoes take their turns. The one’s carrying yellow fever fly around during the day and the ones carrying malaria fly around at night. Personally, I think they overlap a bit from what I’ve seen going on here.

Kathleen and I sat down for a nice breakfast at a resort here in Ghana. It was a 3’ square table. We sat beside each other in one adjacent corner and left the far two sides open. After sitting for a minute we realized we were not alone. There were about 100 little spider or mite type things running around in crazy circles in the far corner, probably lapping up something sweet from the night before. So we asked the waiter to take care of our little problem and all he did was take a paper napkin and swipe it across the table and said, “There you go.” We were happy. But then over a period of about 5 minutes, one by one they started showing up and before long there was a full chorus of the little guys again. We decided they needed to eat too, so we each kept to our corner and they to theirs and we all had a good breakfast.

We moved around a lot from night to night and came back to one place where I noticed three little sawdust piles neatly lined up under the runner on the bed frame. I didn’t have a clue but Kathleen thought they were termites. Wes sided with her, so we had termites gnawing on our bed while we were gone. Most of the bed frames are made of mahogany here. Termites love mahogany. At another place, I’m laying in bed at night with my head on my pillow, and I hear something digging almost like a little minnie power drill. I lift up my head and the sound goes away. I press my head down again and I can hear it again. I press down harder into my pillow and the sound is just resonating now. Cool. Termites!

When you wake up in the morning you get to see all the bugs you killed during the night. So you either swatted in your sleep, or just rolled over on them and squished them in the process. And then of course, when you go to bed at night you want to make sure the bed is at least starting clean. You lift up the sheet and sweep out the dead bugs from the day along with the odd live bug before you crawl under the sheets. For the most part, you just pretend they are not there.

We had it pretty nice here as far as bugs goes. I’ve hear worst stories from others that have visited Africa.

jp

Greatness

2010-12-02T17:05:00.001-07:00

I know that Wes and Katie would prefer that I don’t use too many names on my blog, so for the most part I think I have tried to stay to first names only. And even then, I know that they would prefer I keep that to a minimum to protect the privacy of the village and the people here. But I do want to take the liberty of chatting with you a bit about Wes and Katie. They won’t be happy, but they will get over it. I’ll hear about it eventually when Katie reads this but I think she will forgive me. I’m hoping.

I want you to know a little bit about Wes and Katie as I have experienced them. I know that I could never presume to know a whole lot about anyone, especially after only spending a few days with them. But I want you to see them as I saw them during this time and came to know a little bit more about who they are and what they mean to this community. Again, from my short little time frame that I was privileged to see through.

Wes is a wonderfully intelligent man. I really like his sense of humor. Not too much get’s by him, in fact, I don’t think I saw one thing get by him.  Half the time you have to be listening real good to know if he was kidding or not, and I usually found him having some fun with you. I remember when I told him before I arrived that my time with them might be shorter than planned and he informed me that the inverse of being a host is taking someone hostage. When I came to realize how dependent we were going to be on Wes to get us from Accra to the village (a 4-5 hour trip over crazy terrain) and back again, his threat was real and I had to first digest that reality before I could get to the humor behind it. It all worked out and the 7 day extension to my time here made it possible for me to never find out if there would have indeed been a hostage taking of sorts.

Wes is the techno wizard of all that goes on here for the translation team. But then I found out that he is not only that for this team but for all the Wycliffe translation teams across Ghana. I think there are seven. He keeps all their computers and software going, in fact, he wrote some of the software that they are all using now that is making their jobs much more effective and productive.

Katie is a mom to everyone she encounters. She is adored here by everyone, yet she is not a push over. She has that perfect touch of knowing when to care and when to be tough. She is amazing to watch in action. She would bring everyone home if she could, so Wes tells me, and she has managed to do with a number of young people that she now calls her “kids”. She is picky, and to be one of her “kids” she has to see a real quality of character, determination and desire to learn and be great. Once you pass the test she would give her life up for you.

Katie’s first calling was a nurse and she has never left it behind but uses it well here for her guests, myself included, and those she encounters in the village that need a little care. She, like Wes, is also a very intelligent person and her part on the team was to take the translated verses from the team and line it up with the Greek. If it missed the mark, she would inform them of what she saw and they would take another crack at it. She then had a chance to look at the results a second time. She is now busy learning Hebrew so she can serve in the same role for the Old Testament.

I will protect their privacy when it comes to how they manage their support and how they bless the people they do life with. But I will tell you this and leave it at that. This couple gives in many directions around them, and I’m completely impressed by the level of wisdom and balance that they use. I think they give away more than they keep. If you happen to be one of their personal supporters, you bless many people through the hands of these two wonderful people. I’ll not say anymore.

I think Wes looses a lot of arguments with Katie, and he just smiles and knows the real truth.  I laugh when I say this because whenever Kathleen and I were in the room with the two of them, along with Scott their son, it was three guys against two girls and we fellows always seemed too loose. Go figure! Wes is a very gracious person and I can tell these two work very well together.

Wes and Katie are here to deliver the New Testament after many years of development, and now begin working on the Old Testament. The Nkonya people have very little understanding of any other language here in Ghana. They know a little Tri (I think that’s how it’s spelt), and little to no English. Many of them are able to read Nkonya so when they were able to finally read God’s Word for themselves for the very first time, well, I wish you could have seen the joy and elation that existed here during that first week. They are so excited and so thankful for what this team has done for them. Yes, they have seen it coming for the past 15 plus years, but now they can touch it and hold it for themselves and of course, read it the Word of God. Thank you Wes and Katie for serving the Kingdom of God in this way. On behalf of all CrossRoads, it’s been a joy to play a small part in this project and in your lives.

Both of these wonderful people are very much individuals, each very unique in their gifting and personalities, yet both are on the very same page working together for the good of these people. They both want so very much to be a part of these people, and never see themselves as above them.

In this small village I think there are only 2 or three vehicles. They have often received a knock on their door in the middle of the night asking for assistance to take someone to the hospital. Katie told me that she has never felt abused in this way by the villagers. It’s usually very drastic when she gets one of these knocks and they don’t hesitate to help give a ride in these cases. The hospital is many miles away and night travel is not particularly safe from road hazards and things in the night. They are fun to watch in action with these village people. There is just not a lot of “self” happening and there is a whole lot of “others” happening for Wes and Katie.

I’m starting to understand that North American missionaries come into these environments with all kinds of personalities, needs, gifting and such. There are some that need their separation from the locals to maintain their sense of normalcy and then there are those that perhaps are okay without the privacy. I think God uses both types for different situations. God has a lot of grace for each of us in our ways and in our needs to survive what he asks us to do. For Wes and Katie, I don’t think they could survive without being the kind of people that are “just one of the locals”. They feel at home here more than I think they feel at home in Canada. I have experienced them in their sweet spot. And it was a joy and a privilege to be allowed a small view into their world here.

They are loved by these people, they are greatly appreciated, and I think greatly needed. They indeed a blessing to so many here, but they would be the first to say they themselves are the recipients of the blessings having known and been a part of these people here.

I know that I could never give them proper service here, but I had to try so that you come to know them a little better. I just hope I didn’t so them a disservice in this little write up. I just wanted you to come to know what I now know. They are two very great people and we at CrossRoads get the privilage of having them in our midst.

jp

Village Life

2010-12-02T17:04:00.001-07:00

Kathleen and I were really captivated by the village life, specifically that of the Nkonya people. The Nkonya people are spread out over a distance of about 10 villages (something like that). We lived with Wes and Katie in Wurapon.

The village we lived in was about 1,200 to 1,500 people. Everyone knows everyone and so when we came to visit Wes and Katie, we received a great welcome from a host of kids and adults.

We liked to go for the off walk in the village so we did that at every opportunity. Kathleen heard that there was to be no hand holding between a man and a woman if you were out in public. I ignored that one but heard about it every time I grabbed her hand. You’d think . . . !?

There was not a lot of color in the village as far as housing was concerned. The streets, if you call them that, walkways perhaps, were dirt red, and the buildings were grey cement or red clay. The roofs had tin on them. Some of the poorer villages used grass roofs. They would have had to change them out every couple of years or so if they were using grass. All of the color was found in the people’s attire. The dresses and men’s wear were a lot of fun to see because they put a lot of effort into making sure they looked really good. The fabrics are amazing and if you wanted to look authentic, you had to wear fabric that was woven in Ghana. It’s quite something to be in the middle of where they go to great lengths to look very well in their dress, yet live in poverty. The women also have hair that is amazing and looks like they spend hours getting it to look that good.

The children that go to school all wear uniforms. A whole host of colourful uniforms throughout Ghana. It was fun to see all the combinations. You can tell those not able to go to school by the kids running around during the day without a uniform. There are many.

We were amazed at how clean their home and store frontage was in this area. Perhaps not so in other areas we would discover during our time in Ghana. As one drove down the highway through the middle of the village, the homes and store fronts, usually one and the same, were absolutely spotless. No garbage. And the displays of fruit were elaborate and no matter what they sold in their small booths, it was displayed and organized with great care.

One day Kathleen and I went for a soda pop (all glass bottles here), specifically a Fanta orange pop. (Yes, I even held her hand and got the lecture.) We found a quaint little shop and recognized one of the customers as a teacher we had met earlier and she helped us buy our first purchase in Ghana. They cost us about 70 cents each. I left some change and the store keeper beamed. There was no room in the little store, maybe 6 feet square. But there was a little bench and we were obliged to sit and drink our warm sodas with the store keeper and the teacher while visiting. It was fun.

Every time we went for a walk we received lots of smiles and hellos. They know we are with Wes and Katie and are strangers in their village. “Stranger” is the only word they have for a foreigner or a guest so to them, us being a stranger among them is an endearing thing and they were very gracious and welcoming to us.

A number of times I would be sitting in Wes and Katie’s home and a guest would arrive to speak with one of them and they would all use the Nkonya language to greet each other. It’s the most amazing language to hear in a greeting. I don’t think they realize this. They spoke in very tender cooing voices back and forth, completely engaged in each other, asking how the other is doing and saying hello to each other. Every time this happened in front of me it was like time stood still until this little exchange was done, of which I was extremely jealous that I was not able to participate. I never heard this type of banter anywhere else in my travels in Ghana, so I was left wondering if it is specific to the Nkonya people.

There are goats and chickens everywhere. I think the population was double if you added in the goats, and perhaps 4 times higher if you added in the chickens. They all seem to know who belongs to who and go home at night, yet I saw very few, if any, pens for all these animals. The male goats were eaten on rare occasions, usually for a celebration I think, unless of course they were the local stud. The females were used for delivering offspring, and were retired after they had put in a good long life of bearing those offspring.

With all these chickens there were also a lot of eggs available. Some of the eggs tasted a bit like fish since that was a staple diet for the chickens. I have no idea where all these hens laid their eggs since they just ran free. Must have been fun attempting to round them all up every day. Either that or they just keep raising chicks. From the numbers, I have a feeling more the latter.

I personally think there are more roosters here than hens because of the racket they start making at 4:00am every day.

This was a beautiful village. I can see why Wes and Katie love being here. They are not strangers here.

I'm not uploading too many pictures here to protect privacy. Most of our village pictures have a lot of people in them like the one example I've uploaded here. She was a store keeper that cooked food for sale.

Hopping airports

2010-12-01T03:53:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know Kath and I are still alive. We've been out of cell phone range and internet range for about 4 days. I've got some blogs to upload but I will not be able to do that until I'm landed in Lebanon and at Matthieu's home.

I'm at the airport in Accra and will be flying through to Beirut via Cairo. Will arrive sometime tonight after midnight, Beirut time. Kathleen stays behind in Ghana and takes a trip to the northern region to see some of the game preserves that her cousin John has developed.

Later!

jp

Mine to Know

2010-11-26T12:14:00.001-07:00

Friday monring:

Did a nature walk today under a huge rainforest canopy. I didn’t see any animals outside of the insects. The Ghanaians have no word for insect. Everything is what it is, or it’s just an animal. So . . . I saw a lot of animals that weighed under 1,000 mg. A marching row of soldier ants was the most fun.

A huge variety of trees. I won’t bore you with them, although I was not. But I would like to share with you one tree that was really good at killing other trees. Huge trees. It’s lay name is a Strangling Fig tree. Basically, it sneaks up along side of the large tree and begins to strangle it, growing up around it and eventually engulfing it with itself. It’s a form of parasite tree. It can only grow large by attaching itself to another tree. The most interesting thing about the one we saw was that our guide said that this particular tree engulfed and killed another of its own kind, which had previously done the same to some other type of tree. Hard to tell from the picture, but there is a dead tree inside. Well, two actually. They always start by tangling itself around the big tree, which you can see from the second picture I’ve uploaded. (Ignore the tourist, he's harmless.)

Made me think. (Yes I know, not again!?)

Have you ever reflected on your past and considered the person you were in your youth, or perhaps even younger? And then asked yourself this specific question. What have I lost? In other words, what did I have going for me then that I don’t seem to have anymore. Life’s bumps and bruises have removed that part from me and it would be good to have it back when I think about it.

I’ve got one or two things that have gone missing and I think I just suppressed them, hid them, for the sake of projecting a different person. One that I thought was more presentable, more successful, more acceptable.

I’m talking about the whole idea of who is the real me within and have I been over taken by some kind of super-me to wear in front of others to ensure acceptance and whatever else I thought was necessary.

The picture of the strangling fig brought this to mind, as I wondered if I am my own worst enemy, and perhaps, have I strangled the real me that existed many years ago. I know that time and the bumps and bruises shape us and that’s a good thing. But I don’t think they should ever strangle the deeper persona that God created within me to be.

I need to spend some time with God on this and ask him to restore that which has gone missing and perhaps has been strangled, be that by myself or other means. I know what those things are and I could get into it with you, but I don’t think it’s yours to know. You have your own to call out.

jp

The Streets of Ghana

2010-11-26T12:00:00.001-07:00

Driving around Ghana’s towns and cities has been most fun and interesting. There are literally thousands of little family businesses along the roadside where people bring their produce from their small farm to sell in a makeshift booth or open table. But besides the produce you’ll find a large section of roadside businesses where a few mechanics might be doing car repairs, or perhaps a plumber, a pharmacist, brick maker, or a furniture store represented by a couple of sofas. No other furniture, just a couple of sofas, usually matching. Or you’ll find a pile of used tires for sale. Sunglasses, dry goods, fish prepared in a multitude of ways. I asked about the used tires. There are thousands of them. The new tires are so expensive that most have to purchase used tires. If there is actual tread on 50% of them I’d be surprised. The government is looking at regulating and perhaps subsidizing the cost of new tires since the used tires are creating a huge road hazard for those that are using them.

Anywhere that the traffic slows down to a mere crawl you’ll find individuals carrying their goods on their head, bombarding your vehicle looking for someone to spend a little money on their fruit, homemade cooking, home goods, water bag and even a coke. We even saw one guy trying to market some bathroom scales.

The most fun thing about the whole commerce thing is the names chosen for these roadside businesses. Here are some examples,

God and Sons Telecommunication LTD (how can you not buy a phone here!)

Majestic Way Bakery (Now that’s has to be good bread!)

Faith Men Company Car Wash

Blessed Fruit LTD

All Mighty Hairdressing (imagine getting your hair done here? I’m thinking that you will not find a better cut anywhere!)

Lord is My Light Enterprises

Glory of Breakthrough Plumbing LTD (Now that’s a plumber that knows what everyone is looking for!)

I don’t think that I am exaggerating when it say that at least 1/3 of all businesses here have a name that’s been spiritualized in some form. If you found a yellow page book here (and I don’t think there is one), you would find thousands of businesses that start with Blessed, or Mercy, or Majestic. Some do it for luck while others are honestly giving God glory. I’m thinking the former more than the latter.

jp

Clinic Bound

2010-11-24T06:09:00.006-07:00

Tuesday:

(Feeling greeat today)

Today was another good day of learning.

I was able to go with Katie to an HIV/Aids clinic with 3 adults and two little children, David and Hanna. Hanna was the little girl sitting on Kathleen’s lap the day before. We learned today that Hanna was abandoned yesterday after the meeting. She was sent home with Foster that afternoon and he thought it was just for the night because he was taking her to the clinic today. He went to her home this morning to get a change of clothes for Hanna and her guardian gave him a bag of clothes of which Foster realized was all her clothes. They had no intention of taking her back.

The truth here is that many young children have been orphaned and find themselves being taken care of by a guardian, most of whom cannot afford what it takes to feed and clothe another child. When a child becomes HIV positive, the cost of the medication gets added to the monthly costs of caring for a little one. So they often are abandoned once they are infected.

The ride to the clinic had the 7 of us piled into Wes and Katie’s truck, bumping along over rough roads for about 65 km.

When we drove up to the clinic there was a big sign posted outside on a post. NO HOOTING, NO HAWKING, NO DRUMMING. I wished I would have taken a picture. I forgot my camera today. Hooting is to honk your car horn and hawking is the equivalent of selling. Drumming takes place all over the place. It can happen on the street, in back yards, at schools and every church. They can start up at any time of the day or night, and usually is accompanied by lots of dancing and laughter and song. They kept me awake a couple of nights so far. Cool, but it’s still noise at 3 in the am.

Once we arrived at the clinic, we found out that their machine for testing the blood cell count was on the fritz, and so we were unable to provide the needed care that these 5 were hoping to receive that day. It will have to happen Thursday at another clinic.

I was treated to a tour of the clinic and meet some great people that served there. A gentleman explained the whole process to me that a person needs to go through to be diagnosed, then treated, then educated and then cared for long term. Turns out this machine that does the testing for them has been down for three weeks. When it’s up, they test an average of 5 per day. So the need is huge for this machine to be operational, and yet it remains broken. Sadness; frustration.

So we fed our passengers and returned, bumping along the rough 65kms back to Nkonya.

jp

Send Me Lord

2010-11-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

Monday Afternoon:

At around 10:30am today we went to a gathering where pretty much everyone there had HIV/aids. It was a meeting where men, women and children came from miles around once a month to encourage one another and share their stories. A local pastor gathers them and shares something with them that would encourage them, then the clinic nurse stands up and shares on a number of fronts that they need to be aware of, and then they heard stories from one another. Before they left, we ate together.

They started out the meeting dancing and singing to the Lord. One lady up front got up on her weak legs and wanted to join in the dance and yet never had the strength. She looked the most joyful of all of them. A couple of ladies grabbed hold of her and helped her get out to the center and dance and sing with the others. She lost steam a few seconds later but you could see it on her face and those that helped her that it was well worth the effort.

Later I found out that this lady had a stroke after she got HIV/Aids and her family put her out of the house and shipped back to her home town to die. They told her she was not wanted and all her earthly possessions would be given to her sisters because she would have no use for them anymore.

One lady had a tiny little baby cradled in her arms as she danced and sang. She was not able to take her eyes and her smile off of her baby. I’m not sure if it was hers, most of the children present were orphaned from parents that had been passed on from their sickness. This one was young enough that it was probably hers and she was enjoying a special moment with her child. Perhaps with the thought of knowing that she might leave this child behind here at some point in the future due to her own disease.

Kathleen got up and joined with them in the dance around the circle as they sang praises to God. When the dance was over she sat down panting and said, “It’s hard work being African!”

Then Peter got up and led everyone in some more singing. Peter is around 17 today and about the build of an average 9-10 year old boy. I don’t think he can weigh much more than 60-70 lbs. He is not as thin as he once was due to medicine and better eating. Still and orphan and living with someone that cares. They sang a song of “We will worship God!” and after that he then led then in a song that went something like, “Who will go for me? Father I will go for You, send me!” Profound words for 40 people to be singing at the top of their lungs and have HIV/Aids.

As I watched and listened, I saw faces in the crowd that were full of joy, some full of fear, some painted with sadness, perhaps even some with anger etched on their brow. The fact that they were there at this meeting said volumes though. They were seeking some meaningful sense of hope, an increased level of faith, and some love and compassion. There were lots of all of those things here today.

Today I also meet Godfrey. He is 9 years old and has HIV/Aids and malaria. He is all skin and bones and looked like Peter a couple of years ago. He is feverish. I could feel the heat permeating off of him as I held his arm. I was privileged to share my plate of food with him and he ate well for such a sick little boy.

Kathleen held a little girl named Hanna on her lap and she was very sick. As she sat on her lap there was no movement, no squirming, no busy little girl talking, just a little girl that had barely enough strength to lift a bit of rice to her mouth as she shared a plate of food with Kathleen. Kathleen mentioned that when she lifted her up to her lap all she could feel was a tiny little rib cage with nothing else around it. She was 9 too, just like Godfrey. We thought maybe 6 until we were told different.

Today I experienced God’s presence through these people.

jp

(no pics on this to protect the privacy for those in attendance)

Jesus did well

2010-11-24T05:59:00.003-07:00

Monday morning:

This morning we went to the office where Wes and Katie work, and presented some gifts to the team of 5 that work with them. They are all Ghanaian and trained in linguistics and tranlation and played a huge part in the 21 year project of translating the Nkonya New Testament. The gifts we presented were netbooks from Canada that Wes has configured specifically for each one. They were completely taken by surprise and it was fun to do this for them. CrossRoads also played a part in completing the office for them, so I had a chance to see it and appreciate what we’ve been able to do for this team.

This was really special for Wes and Katie to do this for them, with CrossRoads help on the netbooks, to show them how special they are and appreciate their efforts. After they opened the gifts and chatted excitedly about their new netbooks, Fostor, one of the team stood up and held his netbook high and started to dance and sing to the Lord. The other 4 followed quickly and we watched and were blessed. Katie said the song was something like, “Jesus did well, He is so good to me!”

Humbled or Humble

2010-11-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

Monday Morning:

Well hydrated but still sick. Getting better. Thanks for those that were praying; and for those that made sport of me, well, I'll let God deal with you personally. :)

I am often quick to write a day off when it doesn’t go down the way I had it planned. Drives me nuts, and when I am the one that was the primary cause, well those are the easiest to write off. When it’s something or someone else that is the cause, then I can extend some grace in that direction, usually.

So to have a day here like that when every moment is prime time, and I was the cause of a write-off, well, I’m still smarting a little when I think of it.

I know better than that. So today I needed to reflect and be reminded that every moment is prime time, regardless of circumstances. I need to take my own advice on this one. I often tell others that every circumstance is ripe for the picking of moments to hear God, moments to learn, and moments to grow. A veritable smorgasbord of rich learning points if you so choose to allow.

So on reflection:

1. Pride always brings a person low eventually. Usually we like to think we are good at knowing when to be humble and when it’s okay to not be. But when we are forced into a state of humility, well, you want to fight back with everything in you. God said it clearly, if you will not humble yourself, I will humble you. This gives me a vivid picture of a person being pushed face down in the dirt (being made humble due to one’s pride) and this person pushing back with all his might attempting to get up. Yet there is no winning here until the person completely relaxes and allows himself to be content in being laid low. Complete abject humility. This is a person God can work with and transform.

2. It’s then amazing, how after relaxing in your humility that you are then able to see the grace that was surrounding you from the very start. Grace from people around you, grace from God. It has an amazing sustaining power to it

Ever found yourself forced into a humble state? Check it out, if you are still fighting it, you’ll never see or experience the grace that accompanied it from the very start. Relax and be truly humble in your spirit, accepting all that God wants to undertake in you. Being made humble and being truly humble are two completely different things. I hope I recognize the difference and respond with humility when called upon.

jp

A New Day

2010-11-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon:

(I've got lots of pictures for today, but no internet speed to upload them. Use your imagination and I'll fill in the details next time we meet.)

Still a little oozy from the bug, I woke up this morning feeling much better. Got some needed sleep and some needed hydration. I never thought it would be so critical for both of these things here.

Went to the Sunday service out in the open courtyard. It was a little embarrassing having so many people worry about me today. I’ll get over it. My embarrassment remains. But the people were very gracious. They were sure it was the tie that I wore that caused all the hoopla.

The service was really fun to be a part of. They sat around in a huge square with a wide open grassy area in the middle. Probably about 100 feet across. The chairs were underneath a canopy about 5-7 deep. The main pastor, Joseph, got up to start the service and tell everyone to move in to two sides because they were too spread out. He started speaking Nkonya and I couldn’t make it out what he was saying to them. This little announcement came at about 1 hour after the time the service was supposed to start.

I laughed because it was just like CrossRoads when we ask everyone to move in (bunch up!) and move forward so that we would be closer together. So I leaned over to Wes and said as much, he started laughing and said that yes it might seem the same as CrossRoads but there you wouldn’t threaten them with making too much room for Satan if you don’t move in.

I laughed some more.

The worship and praise time was so much fun. These people love the Lord. They would all come out from the canopy and begin to dance together and sing to the Lord. They each had a small white hanky in their hand that they waved and waved, which means “Rejoice!”

As the service continued, more and more people showed up. By the time the service was over, 3 hours later; all the seats were full all around the square. At some point in the service they asked me to speak for a while on thanksgiving, so I did. It was fun.

The offering was really cool. They placed two large wood containers out in the open and sang another song where we all danced in procession to the offering plate and gave with great joy. It was quite an experience to be a part of. I found myself watching specific individuals and watching them dance unto the Lord. One lady, in a beautiful blue dress was completely absorbed in a dance to the Lord. She would life her hanky to the air and look into the sky and I could see her having a glorious moment in God’s presence, just her and her God, enjoying one another. It was a really powerful picture for me.

This was a day of rejoicing . . . . in many ways.

A long Day

2010-11-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday Morning:

Today I never lasted too long. I went into the morning dedication service, which was to be over 5 hours long in the heat, depleted in many things. Along with no sleep, I had some serious bowl problems and I was completely dehydrated. I lasted about two hours and fainted in front of everyone. If I could have stretched this out longer before telling you this, believe me I would have. One of life’s most embarrassing moments.

I spent the rest of the day hydrating and attempting to get rid of whatever bug I had to begin with.

I’m not going to tell all here, let’s just keep this between the few readers that I have and me. Tomorrow is a new day. Right?

A Long Night

2010-11-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday early morning:

So I went back to the guest house after the eve-celebrations and got settled for the night. Wrote that last blog.

Not long after, I started running back and forth to the bathroom. Oh no!

I’m writing this at 3:00am and it’s been at least 5 runs to the washroom. 4:00am, still awake and it doesn’t look like sleep will come any time soon. It’s been Canada since I slept.

Took some pills and it looks like some things are stopping (or plugging up, you choose). Not sure if that was a good thing. It kind of suppresses the symptoms.

Pray for me. I don’t need this here. I also don’t want it to impact the celebration tomorrow so I’ll have to try and hide it. D’oh! I just remembered that the celebration will last for 5-6 hours out in the open with no washroom facilities. It’s 35 degrees out there! (That “D’oh” was accompanied with my eyes opening wide with a hint of fear in them.)

I actually don’t think I got this bug here because we’ve only been here for two days. I had a hint of this problem a couple of days before we left Canada. So really, I think this sickness is Grade A Canadian born. Or I’m in denial, one or the other.

Okay, sorry for all the descriptors. Way more than you needed. I’ll try to refrain, eh?

Pray for me, for two reasons.

I’m sick and it’s not good.
This blog is not becoming a pastor and I may be getting delusional.

The One Thing

2010-11-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Friday night:

This is pretty cool here, people. Tonight, on the eve of the big dedication of the Nkonya New Testament, Kathleen and I got to hang with about 10 different translators from a number of translation projects in Ghana. It’s like one big family gathering where they are all coming together to celebrate one team’s success.

An aside: I’m typing this up in the dark in a guest house, where things are pretty dirty but still workable. The shower is most definitely NOT like home, that’s all I’ll say on that front! We are in the Nkonya area about 4 hours drive today from Accra. Here in the night, I can hear the crickets chirping, and somewhere out there in the local village is a drum fest going on. They sound just beautiful. We can hear the laughter and the talking, matching the drums for noise. I’m sure they are dancing. Good stuff.

Back: This specific project that Wes and Katie are involved with has been going on for 21 years. Tomorrow the unveiling of the New Testament takes place for a people that had no bible in their language until now. Image a team that works for 21 years with that kind of single focus. Kathleen shared with me a visit she had with one of the translators attending the evening pre-celebration. She said that for her team, not Wes’s team, they celebrated the dedication of the New Testament they were working on in 2007. Same type of effort and focus over many many years. She remembered going home after the celebration that night and laying her head on the pillow and saying to God, “It just can’t get any better than what I’ve experienced here today, and I’ve fulfilled what you asked me to do and I would be content now if you chose to take me home.” Kind of a Simeon moment where he lived his whole live to see the Christ Child. I’m sure that his one thing that he had to be about his whole life was to pray to this end. That God would send His Son.

So I thought about that for a while.

What’s the one thing that I have become convinced of that I need to be about?

What is the one celebration that I hope to be a part of that consumes my dreams and my thoughts and drives all my actions?

Touch Down

2010-11-18T14:04:00.003-07:00

My wife is so funny, I love her. She had a blond moment. We get off the flight from Calgary into the airport at Frankfurt and the plane gets unloaded out on the tar-mat so we have to all bus in. She starts talking to a guy next to her and finds out he is from Canmore. Then we get into the terminal with the same group of people and starts talking to someone else and finds out he is from Calgary.

She looks at me all excited and says "Isn't it exciting meeting all these people from Alberta, in the middle of Germany no less!" I didn't know where to pop her bubble or let her enjoy the moment. I failed, I popped it. Should have keep my mouth shut because she was really enjoying herself.

Speaking of touch downs, in Accra, our destination in Ghana, the touchdown was a lot of fun. As soon as the plane touched down there was clapping and hooting. Took me by surprise. Then when we came to a full stop it turned into a revival meeting on board. There were “hallelujahs” and “Praise the Lords” from all four corners of the cabin. It was pretty cool. Wes told us that Ghana is quite Christian, and those that are not are not Christian are not comfortable telling people that they are not.

jp

A Good Day

2010-11-18T01:51:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the plane while I write this. What a great day. What a beautiful plane of people. I just love the variety. So many unique people. Everyone here created in the image of God, each one doing life the only way they know how. I'm sure some here with me are close to God while many more have no idea of how much God thinks about them.

Beautiful people. A little baby has been crying for some time. Not fusing, really crying where you wonder if there is room for breathing. Two sitting behind me didn't know each other but soon started visiting with each other, mostly about religion. They both have their headphones on so they are talking at a very high level. She is the child of all gods. Christian, Hindu, Muslim among others I've never heard of. He subscribes to goodness. Goodness is all around us in every being regardless of faith. The couple beside us are of another color. They look Russian and smell like some really bad food, but I'm sure they really enjoy their diet. (I wonder what I smell like to them, hamburger?) An older couple to the front and to my right are sweet. From Pakistan perhaps. He is curious and looks at everyone around him. He is wearing a turban. She looks like she would be a great grandma. A child way over on the other side can't stop talking because she is excited even when dad constantly tells her to settle down. I think they are an Indian family.

In front of us is another elderly couple. Mediterranean Of some sort I think. They are having a hard time with everything. Seat back, head rest, tv, tray, seatbelt. There son comes from somewhere else on the plane and helps them. He is respectful, kind, and gentle. I find myself smiling whenever he shows up. He reminds me of my brother.

People on the plane. I'm glad I'm one of them. I'm glad God chooses to love me like these. While I'm in a sea of color and culture and personalities, God deals directly with me with my stuff. Personally touched by God. I know His Spirit is equally engaged with each one here. Someday, for those who do not yet know his Presence, I hope they find him. That will be a good day too.

jp

The Real Me Stands Up

2010-11-18T01:48:00.001-07:00

I'm a fairly private person and if you know me, you don't get too much of what's rolling around in my head as far as emotions and such. You get the facts. You might get what I'm thinking but there will never be much there as to what I am feeling.

But there is the odd time when I open up and give you more of what runs around up there so I'm going to ask you to treat what I share with care and don't expect it too often.

For this current trip to Ghana and Lebanon, I'm going to have some fun throwing out a few of those crazy thoughts. And yes, I really am wired that way, just try and suppress any reference to it next time I may see you in person. I'll be embarrassed.

Much appreciated. Enjoy my blogs from hereon out till I get back after-which we can get back to just the facts.

:)

jp

ps - I sure hope you people don't take me too seriously.

Everyone Happy - Me Too

2010-11-16T11:13:00.001-07:00

That’s done. I changed the tickets and everyone is happy. We get back home on the 7th and when I get back into the office on the 8th I’ll be ready to go on a number of key things I’ve got scrunched into the three remaining days of the week, all very efficient of course. Lesson learned.

:)
. . . Okay, so I’m still working on the lesson.

jp

Lesson learned, . . . maybe.

2010-11-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

Interesting. So I learned a good lesson this past week. Well, not sure if I learned it fully yet, but I certainly became fully aware of a glaring “way” of mine.

So months ago when I knew I was heading to Ghana I asked Kathleen to join me because her cousin lives there and she rarely sees him. He is a wonderful man that has been instrumental in the development of most of the game preserves that now exist in Ghana. She was excited!

I’m thinking all along that I need to be gone no more than two weeks because I’ve got work to do here! Things to think about. Plans to make. Actions to take. People to see. Tap . . tap . . tap. Naturally, I think that I have to pack everything I can into these two weeks to make them as efficient as possible so I can get done there and get back to Alberta where life would be waiting for me to pick up where I left off.

Our trip was to include quality time with her cousin, two other friends in Ghana that we needed to connect with, and the Ghana team I was primarily going to meet. Oh, and preach too, see an aids clinic, and um, something else that I can’t think of right now. And hey, why not also skip over to Lebanon and encourage the team on the ground there since I am not too far away. I think I can do that in two weeks. So then I also put together about 6 things I wanted to accomplish in Lebanon. Kathleen and I will be gone for 15 days, 5 of which are travel days.

Sounded good to me (idiot that I am).

So now a week before we go I’m discussing our itinerary with my wife, the team in Ghana, Kathleen’s cousin, Matthieu and others in Lebanon, and it just get’s funnier every time I try and explain how everything is going to work. I’ve got people all over this world upset with me now and I’m like . . . . wow!

This morning I’m going to see if I can get some tickets changed before we leave on Wednesday. I’m so glad for my wife because while she may be upset with me, she can also laugh at me and with me in my foolishness. She is a doll.

jp

ps. Happy Birthday Jordan, I certainly hope it’s not too late for you to learn something new today.

From Ghana to Lebanon

2010-11-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

So today you get to start listening to my diatribe once again, since I am feeling like I need to blog a bit in light of my upcoming trip to Ghana and Lebanon next week. I'll try and keep you informed and entertained as I trek.

Like for instance, I'm using this time to run away from the Flames and Stampeders. Both for the same reasons. I just can’t watch them. The Stamps because they might lose and the Flames because they are losing every game they play. Sheesh. I think I need to find a nice sandy area to stick my head in. Maybe it will all be okay when I get back to Alberta.

I'm missing my work already and I've not left the office yet. I miss my staff. I miss Sunday. I miss my girls and my boy. (Yes, I got a boy now. Comes with one of the girls. He's great.)

So, stay tuned. I’ll keep something running here.

jp

A Living Story

2010-07-19T20:48:00.004-06:00

This morning I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with a dear friend of mine. He is currently in the hospital recovering from a number of serious injuries that have completely changed his life and the life of his family forever.

As I drove home from the visit I started to think deep about what I participated in today. He was able to share a huge miracle with me the morning. Fresh off the doctor’s note pad, he is on the way to a very fast 100% recovery from all physical injuries. He can put pressure on all limbs now, and even wheel himself around the hospital. He was giddy with this new knowledge and new things to try. This is truly a miracle when you consider that fact that he had multiple fractures in all four limbs. In addition, he also shared with me that last week he was told that his larynx, which was damaged in the recovery period shortly after the accident, is also nicely recovering and will be 100% in a much shorter time frame than originally suggested.

The verdict on the brain injury is still out, but today I found a man in full control of his thoughts with some good pieces of memory. He has even seen a transformation in his tongue, which had some choice colourful (mostly blue) words at times since the accident, along with some fluent French which was nicely rejuvenated from his younger days. All credited to the brain injury. His tongue was crystal clear for the two hours I spent with him. He said that he is able to make some quick mind choices now with his speech that only a couple of weeks ago would not have happened and would have ended in some choice language that our moms would have quickly dealt with using a bar of soap. Another miracle.

On the way home I reflected on this man and being in his presence, as I listened to him speak of God’s grace and love for him, for his wife, for his family. I had this picture form in my mind of a huge theatrical stage where this family was simply cut down and laid bare for the world to watch with no warning to them or us. Where the script was set and the scenes carefully crafted and executed and I was being gifted with a front row seat where I would see God come close to a family in great need, in great crisis. A family made extremely vulnerable and completely raw.

The plot? God allows a horrific vehicle accident to happen, then begins to skilfully knit an unfathomable story together where a family is being tested, refined and transformed.

The sub plots?

How about this:

- Family of 7 separated from each other through distance and each found in shifting emotional spaces.

- Family and friends attempting to figure out God and the pressures of misguided love. Each, in their own way, desperately calling out to God.

- Financial chaos with complex financial decisions to be made.

- A child with burst appendicitis resulting in weeks of infection and recovery.

- A wife that is physically and emotionally exhausted, yet miraculously sustained by God’s hand. He carries her, this I know for certainty.

- Miracle after miracle of God’s hand embedded throughout the story line. From the accident through to each step of recovery, each step of life transformation.

- Amazing financial support from friends, various churches, and the extended family. All of it indelibly stamped with the fingerprint of God.

Today I saw one small act in a very large play that God has been unfolding for the world to see. Perhaps you’ve also had the opportunity to sit in the front row with me and at times were called upon by God to step onto the stage, their stage, and aid in some small way. Did you feel it like I did? Like you were on holy ground in the presence of God and this precious family, being asked to play a part of something very special that he was doing with this family. Stepping into a living story where God is refining, transforming all of the participants, even ourselves, even here from our front row seats. It’s like we were invited, or perhaps gifted by this family to share a sacred moment of theirs where God was coming close, sustaining, caring, loving, transforming, and we caught a glimpse of His greatness . . . of His sovereignty.

This story is not done, it is still young. There are many days, weeks, months of pain and joy yet to be lived by this family. Some Acts will be filled with tears while others filled with great joy. Yet in this story I am convinced that the far reaching impact of God’s love and tender care cannot be measured and it will not be contained. I am myself profoundly touched by God through this family. I am closer to God, yet I understand Him less. I trust Him more today than yesterday and have been able to see the miracle of transformation within my very own spirit.

My sovereign God, the Almighty One, the great I Am.

There is no one better to know, no one better to carry you and me than Him.

No one better.

None even close.

jp

Looking for some Nibs

2010-07-16T22:46:00.001-06:00

What’s the first food vise you go for when you are feeling down?

I’m always partial to some black licorice Nibs and a Mr. Jones Green Apple pop.

. . .

Alas, the corner store is closed.

Sadness.

jp

A Year Later

2010-07-11T18:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday my family all handled the remembrance of our mother in various ways. I made a meal using one of Mom's recipes. Another made some bread from the same cook book while listening to Mom’s favorite music. And then another spent the day with Dad, visiting the grave side, going for supper, reflecting some more. One trained for an upcoming race, in solitude, yet mentioned that he wished he could be here partaking with me in the food I had prepared, while the other spent the day with his children and the grandchildren, playing, enjoying life and experiencing the fruit of a great mother, a great grandmother. Each of us caught deep within our own thought and yet somehow throughout the day we remained intrinsically connected to one another, knowing and understanding each other’s feelings with few spoken words.

It was a peaceful, good day to remember Mom.

My Mom

2010-07-10T08:35:00.001-06:00

It was one year ago today that my mom passed away. My dad was in the hospital in Red Deer while mom was in the hospital in Lacombe. I stayed with dad to support him since he was unable to be at mom's bed side. Then I got the call from my brother. Time stood still for a while after which I shared the news with Dad. We had few words for each other, none were adequate.

This morning I find myself remembering all the good memories of a mom who loved me. I remember my mom spending a great deal of time at my bed side through some scary times of croup and bronchitis. Then every day coming home from school we would found something warm and freshly baked on the counter waiting for us to enjoy. Killer meals where the food was so good. We talked her into helping us create a cook book a couple years before she passed away (thanks to my sister!). Now we have all those great recipes at our finger tips. I think I'll flip through it this morning and look for something to make.

Is you mom gone? What's your greatest memory?

Leading Change - the stuff of leaders

2010-07-10T08:01:00.004-06:00

I just finished reading a book called The Extraordinary Leadership by John H. Zenger and Joseph R. Folkman. I found this book challenging on a single front for myself. It caused me to reflect on my past leadership wins and losses. So very many of them were around the issue of change. Leading people in value development, cultural change, exposing and couching teams and individuals in their move from one paradigm to another.

Perhaps the greatest test of a leader is how they lead a team through change. Greatest test or maybe the better word is "indicator" as to a leader's capacity to lead at different levels.

So a great question that the authors through out at me was to ask myself what change lay in front of me that I was working on. Do I have a running list of things that I wish were different in my organization? So I sat down and started writing. I ended up with a very long list! So a quick prioritization helped me focus on a couple of key things I need to lead my teams through. Should be fun!

So how about you? What is the change in front of you that you are working on?

Leadership Patterns have Roots

2009-10-08T00:18:00.000-06:00

I read a great quote the other day from Parker Palmer. He said, “A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what’s going on inside him or herself, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.”

When I spend time thinking about this quote I quickly concur that the act of leading oneself is far more demanding than leading an organization or any group of people. If I fail to look inward, evaluating my own habits and ways, I will have moments of uncontrolled outburst in front of those I lead that are rarely rooted in the present, but in the past, in some recess of my sub-conscience.

Ruth Haley Barton puts it well in her book called Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. She says, “Part of the reason that leadership is crucible is that if we stick with it past the initial euphoria, the demands of long-term leadership usually push us to a place where our patterns are clearly revealed. The demands of ministry (or other), keep our face pressed up against the mirror until we are able to acknowledge the hidden dynamics that are driving us.”

What has been your experience in connecting the dots between your leadership behaviors today and your past experiences that helped form you, be that good and bad?

jp

Decisions Decisions

2009-10-05T14:08:00.000-06:00

Just finished a book that I started a few months ago and had a couple of chapters to complete. It’s called How We Decide by Johan Lehrer. I really enjoyed reading this book and thinking about how our brain works when it comes to decision making activities.

I enjoyed figuring out my own patterns on decision making and thinking about those of the people that I lead. The other day I was sharing with a colleague about my decision making habits and it brought to mind this book and that I had not completed it yet.

The way my particular brain works is that I am quite analytical about things. I am always for more details, more information so that I can make the right choice. This is just fine for those of us analytical types, but the book talks about when landing on the decision, your best decision will usually be from the gut and not from the raw data. After reading and evaluating the way I come to decisions, it’s not too far off what the book is talking about. While I drive those crazy around me looking for all the inputs to a problem, I still respond to the solution with my gut instinct.

The book is telling me that this is actually the best way to go! It doesn’t mean I ignore all of the inputs, on the contrary, I take them all into consideration. What I have learned from reading this book is that most of our intuitions are based on sub-conscious knowledge. So if you and I perform due diligence on fact finding, then follow our gut instinct, we will find more often than not that we choose right.

How do you make decisions? Fast, slow, never? What is the biggest thing you wrestle with when making decisions? The aftermath of second guessing?

jp

Change in Blogs

2009-09-22T13:51:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone,

I've split off into two other blogs now and want you to feel free to visit them as you wish. This blog will get the odd post once in a while, but it will mostly be related to my personal life and anything I choose to post here in that regard. You may only get a post or two a month so don't hold your breath.

The first blog I want to introduce you to is specifically for CrossRoads Church. I will be posting once a week to this blog and give you a little bit of church life behind the scenes that you might not otherwise get reading our Crossing magazine or the bulletin on a Sunday morning. Each time I create a blog I'm going to ask you a question that allows for you to interact with me and others that may read it. Some of these questions will be a great help to the leadership in planing the way forward for CrossRoads.

The second blog is an attempt to start a leadership blog for me to get my thoughts down on paper around some of the lessons I am learning and of course, looking forward to what lessons are coming around the corner for me and anyone else that might be reading. This too is probably a weekly blog and will end with some thought provoking question that you might want to engage. It's called Leadership in View.

Enjoy!

jp

Pre-empted

2009-09-15T16:32:00.000-06:00

Well I had a light hearted "funny-thing-happened-to-me-one-day" story and it got pulled by the legal department. :)

So perhaps something new tomorrow.

Blessings and peace!

jp

Personal Boundaries

2009-09-14T15:34:00.003-06:00

Okay, so this last question that I'm going to post on Lebanon might get me in trouble with some of you. So be it. We will all feel better tomorrow.

What were some of the things that stretched your boundaries?

First let me make clear that I believe that there is only one way to God, that being through Jesus Christ and His work on the cross and His resurrection. You can’t move me off of this position. (If I didn’t say all that then you wouldn’t have read past the next paragraph and I would lose you as a reader for good!).

Now having said that, I find it amazing how God leads people differently to that same knowledge and understanding, and He seems to do this through the culture in which you find yourself living within. Before this trip I would have not accepted the term “Muslim Believer”. Today I believe that God is bringing Muslims to himself and showing them the finished work of Christ, yet not asking them to give up their Muslim culture, just their Muslim beliefs.

It’s true, they are slowly giving up those rules and laws that have bound them for many generations, but the traditions and key cultural points remain very important to them. For most of these new believers, it’s still a very long road to move from rules and regulations to a practical view of grace and freedom in Christ. But it’s still happening. They will always respect the Koran but they have a new love of the Bible and the words of Christ and it’s changing them.

So I come home thinking how many times I was quick to judge the bartender that came to know Jesus that was still bartending, or the couple that came to Christ and still lives together, or the . . . . well, I’ll let you finish the line with your own judgments. The fact remains that the Holy Spirit changes us all into the likeness of Christ at each our own speed and not necessarily everyone at the speed that I think it should happen, or God forbid, we would all be in trouble.

For our Muslim brothers and sisters in Christ (did that hurt your head?!), they will always feel uncomfortable around “Christians” but very comfortable around “believers” no matter where you come from in this world. (The word “Christian” means something completely different to them than the word “believer”.)

Pray for them with me. Many are losing their lives for Christ, for they are not ashamed of this new Gospel that has completely set them free.

If you made it this far in this blog then I'm sure I just stretched your boundaries a bit. Smile, take two pills, read some scripture and call someone in the morning.

jp

Likes and dislikes

2009-09-13T16:45:00.001-06:00

What did you like the least about this trip?

Probably the food. There are a lot of breads but much the same kind, like large pita breads. Lots of variety but my system was just not use to it all. My plate at home has 3-4 items on it. Maybe 5. But never 20+. I didn’t think that I’m that fussy of an eater in general, but over the past 4 months I’ve been working real hard to bring my weight down under control. So I’ve been doing it by not eating the thing I enjoy. Desserts and various breads, quite a few less potatoes, etc. So it’s been very challenging but very rewarding at the same time. I had dropped my weight by around 25 pounds leading up to the trip to Lebanon. So while in Lebanon, I found myself eating things I was not crazy about and gaining weight the whole time. Frustrating!!!

So I leave for home thinking I’ve gained 5-10 pounds. I get on the scale the first morning back and found that I had lost 4 pounds while I was gone. I laughed at myself. I suppose a different diet just made me feel differently.

I wonder how many times my perception is off and I just don’t have a scale nearby to bring me down to earth and show me the realities of the situation.

Lord, you be my scale. Show me the realities from your Word that I can stand on and know that all is okay.

What did you like the most about this trip?

I’ve got three things that I think Iiked the most.

1. The team I got to serve with. No exception, they were all great and I'm glad I got to do this with them. Check them out here.

2. Thr cedars on the second last day. You can read about it here if you have'nt yet.

3. The Chidren I got to speak with and laugh with. I wrote about it here.

jp

God's heart, my heart

2009-09-12T12:10:00.003-06:00

Couple more quesions:

What have you learned about God’s heart for the nations?

I believe that God has a lot of love and compassion for the nations. If I can say this - I had the overwhelming feeling that He was fully present there, in the middle of all the heated action, caring for those who were suffering and for those who were putting their lives on the line for Christ, but . . . not so much present back here in Red Deer. It’s like, where’s the action here? It’s boring. No bullets. No Bedouins. No deaths. So God doesn’t come by as often, but rather, He spends most of his time overseas where His people take bullets for him and people are in high physical and spiritual need. He has big dreams for those nations but for Canada? I doubt it. We don’t need anything.

Okay, that was a load of ….. I said all that with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.

So really, here is what I have come to think.

I have become convinced that this same God that loves and engages fully with the nations abroad loves and engages the people of Canada and yes, that means here in Central Alberta too. Our broken world here in Red Deer hides the ugly stuff underground and the less-ugly stuff is just woven into our culture and made acceptable to the mass while it all still continues to break the heart of God. Our world here is in desperate need of a God of action. A God of love and compassion pouring Himself out of our nation through His people.

So I believe that If you and I would ask God for a greater understanding and likeness of His heart for our nation, then we would begin to see just how much action and suspense exists in our own back yard through our lives being spent for God, taking bullets (figuratively) for Jesus here in Central Alberta.

So while I saw His heart for the nations, I have a renewed sense of His heart for our nation and our people.

It’s time to join Him in the action already underway.

Was there anything that broke your heart during this trip?

You mean besides no Tim Horton’s?

I would say that I felt as though there was a blanket of spiritual darkness across the whole land. Everyone seems caught up in their own sense of justice, their own political soap box and religiosity. On the first day Matthieu and I went to find takeout lunch for everyone on the team and we were refused service because we were Christian and not Muslim. I got the impression that no one trusts anyone else. Suspicions run wild. The political corruption is rampant.

I met a fellow one day in a store that was very friendly, kind and helpful. We chatted for some time. He said Lebanese are like the fingers on your hand. In Canada we use the term “two faced” to describe a person that is not very authentic. This man described the people of Lebanon as a hand with 5 fingers. Every finger has a different size and shape. Not two faced but multi-faced. You never know what you have in front of you when you chat with someone. You are being categorized and the interaction calculated based on the assumptions made. (I speak in general terms. We met some really beauitiful people as well that are quite authentic.)

This created great sadness for me. Authenticity takes a back seat to respect. And to gain or maintain respect you put on the appropriate face or choose the right talk you need for the occasion.

jp

Things I learned and didn't learn

2009-09-11T08:19:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple more quesions that Anton threw our way.

What have you learned about yourself during this trip?

I’ve been asking myself this question for the past 5 days and have not come up with anything. I’ve learned a few things to add to my life, but nothing really new about myself.

(My wife is calling to me over my shoulder telling me she learned that she loves to flush toilet paper. In every corner of Lebanon there are garbage cans sitting right beside the toilets. You don’t flush any paper down the sewer; rather you just wipe and place your paper in the garbage. Someone will eventually remove it later in the day or week . . . or month. She quipped off a few other things she learned about herself but I’ll keep them to myself. Very funny stuff.)

Since the team didn’t know me that well, I’m sure they all learned a few things about me that they didn’t know before. I got the odd look that would suggest disbelieve in what they just heard or saw me do. D’oh!

We had fun together.

What have you learned about God during this trip?

God is a God of great love for his children. Particularly for me.

We are quick to “teach” and encourage others about the grace and love that God has for them but not often do we stop and reflect on his love for ourselves as an individual. When God comes up close and personal with His love, all of a sudden life get’s very real and we have a choice to make. We can see ourselves as unworthy scum and push God away, or we can relax and just let the love of God land on us and do its work in us.

After being very sick for the first trip to the cedars (check out the blog on this day), He provided a second opportunity to go to another part of Lebanon to see the cedars on our second last day of the trip (check out the blog after this day). I had completely come to terms with my disappointment the first time, and rested in the fact that I would never see the cedars on this trip and the likelihood of seeing them before the new earth was also slim. I knew that for some reason, God’s reason, this was the way it was to play out.

So when I heard a few days later that we were going to take some time at another cedar location, my heart was not elated, but cautiously optimistic. When it actually happened and I found myself in the middle of the forest I was overcome with the love that God has for me. That He would gift me with something that I thought he didn’t want me to have. He wanted me to see this forest and not the other. This forest blew me away. It was fragrant, it was beautiful, it was mysterious, it was magnificent, and it was a picture of great strength.

Thank you God for your love for me; that you would give this good gift to me is beyond what I am worthy of, but I receive it with great joy and I love it.

jp

Material what!!??

2009-09-10T09:18:00.008-06:00

A couple more questions asked ....

What did you learn about material possessions while on this trip?

The culture in Lebanon is quite different from our own, yet we were never really exposed to abject poverty. The country is filled with those that have and those that have not, perhaps more noticeable than here in Canada.

Some things they didn’t have were quite surprising because I would have thought that most people could have afforded some of the basic things yet still chose to do without. Why, well, because you could.

For example, I have a broom and a mop for cleaning my house. Our host home didn’t seem to have these items, and I’m thinking that it was not because they couldn’t afford it, they just never saw the necessity of it like we see here in Canada. So some things were less clean than a Canadian would want it to be, yet they were content. They found other ways to keep things presentable.

In the compound where we worked there was a noticeably shortage of tools to work with. Basic screw drivers, wrenches, pliers, hammer . . . completely non-existent. All that could be found was one flat headed screw driver and one oversized hammer that would not be used to hammer a nail. It was more like a small sledge hammer.

So I think some things are just not thought as being very necessary and not always because they couldn’t afford it. The one home we visited was spotless. I have no idea how they kept it that clean but I’m thinking that their creativity is far greater than ours to solve the same problems. We buy things for convenience. We even celebrate inventions that make life simpler. This type of thinking is not even on their radar. They find existing things to use in which to accomplish their objectives, and if no creative solution exists then perhaps it wasn’t that important after all.

(Lebanon has a 40% unemployment rate. Some of these people work, they just don’t report it to the government.)

Did you resolve to make any changes in your own life in this regard?

I can most certainly do a second take next time I “think” I need something. I usually run to the store for just the right tool to do the job at hand. I am good at spoiling myself.

I can use a little more creativity and probably solve my problem without the purchase. This is going to be a huge challenge for me because I love to go to Home Depot early on a Saturday morning and look at the tools. Many times I leave with something that I somehow justified in my mind. I don’t think I’ll do that anymore.

Feel free to join me.

Smells, sights, sounds and tastes +

2009-09-09T10:02:00.001-06:00

Anton has asked us to work through some reflective questions after our two weeks in Lebanon. I'm going to post a few of the questions and my thoughts over the next few days. Here are the first couple of questions.

1. Take a moment to describe as many sites, smells, sounds, and tastes as you can from your trip.

Bullet holes everywhere. Buildings riddled with gunshot and others with gaping holes from bombs.

No wood construction. All brick and mortar. Rebar sticking out of everything. I hear you don’t have to pay land taxes if there is rebar sticking out waiting for an addition.

Hint of sewage smell everywhere. Garbage is prolific. No recycling here. Plastic bottles will degrade over time, I’m sure of it.

Honk Honk!. The sound of the road. No traffic signals, no lines, just horns. Used to let people know you are mad at them, or that you are coming along side and butting in, or if you want someone to watch out for you.

Lots of Roman ruins. Cool stuff. 2,000 year old structures.

Fruit! The valley is filled with all kinds of fruit and vegetable farms. Beautiful. Vineyards everywhere.

No houses! Everything is apartment based.

Huge billboards of faces. Faces of those assassinated and lost their lives for Lebanon. Many are Christian. Many say “We will never forget.”

Tastes are many. A Lebanese meal has multiple flavors and textures. Lots of yogurt and sour cream mixtures. They say “meat” lots! Whenever I asked what kind of “meat” they just stare at me with a blank look. I would say, “Beef, mutton, pork, dog or horse?” The blank looks never go away. They couldn’t figure out why it mattered.

Lots of parsley and garlic, not a lot of spices. Lots of goat cheeses to choose from. Some stronger than others. All good.

2. What did you find most shocking or surprising about Lebanon?

The political landscape is much more complex than I originally thought it would be. You are one of many sides. Every side has a color so every color has a meaning. Don’t put on the wrong colored t-shirt, or wear the wrong colored scarf. It’s a statement of who you are for, or who you are against.

There are political lines that are religious driven, but then there is also nationality and surrounding country factions. Are you Syrian? Are you Palestinian? Are you Bedouin? Are you Lebanese? Are you female or male? Are you registered with the government and have papers? Do you know anyone in power? Are you Muslim? And if so, are you Sunni, Shia or Druze? Are you Christian? And if so, are you Greek Orthodox? Greek Catholic? Armenian Orthodox? Armenian Catholic? Evangelical Believer? Each of these titles have further definitive sects. I’ve even heard the term Muslim Christian here.

There is a vast matrix of political, cultural, and religious diversity here and everyone seems to navigate it with great skill. They know who to shun, who to hate, who to tolerate, who to love by the look in their eye, the way they dress, the way they talk. A country of 5 million people, all living together in a form of chaotic rhythm and order.

jp

Great people

2009-09-08T19:04:00.001-06:00

I’m now at home on my couch typing this up. Seems like the past two weeks just flew by when I look at it from this side. I’ve got a few reflections that I am going to be working through over the next few days but first I want to tell you about these wonderful people that I was able serve with.

Albert: What a wonderful guy. Full of joy. Easy to make laugh, easy to be the cause of laughter. He worked real hard at a couple of key projects and did a wonderful job. But more than that, he made instant meaningful connections (relationships) with our host. He has this way about him that is both kind and gentle, yet he has the courage of a lion. Both Albert and Glen brought wisdom and insight to the men’s program.

Glen: I really like this guy. He is a steady rock. Deep thinker. Fun to hang out with. I know that he probably didn’t want to be painting for two weeks since that’s what he does at home, but he was the one key person that made our time productive on the painting front. Many worked hard, but he was most definitely our painting leader and our model. In a world where tools are scarce, he rose above all of them and showed us that we can do it, and do it well. Thanks Glen.

Rita: She is a such great person. She put the web site together for Bridges of Love and we hope to see it in production real soon. I saw the initial design and it looked great! It’s hard to say who was the hardest worker on the team. But wow, she worked hard. Every time I saw her she was carrying a broom, a paint brush, a paint roller, etc. Besides the work projects, she also helped Debra with the women’s program. I know she had an impact on the hearts of some of those women. She has a tender heart too like Albert. I like her.

Rebekka: So young and full of life! She was our youngest yet she fit in with the rest of us all very well. Picture with me a crazy mix of painting, cleaning, and women and men programs, with 15+ children running through everything all day long. Our first day was crazy until we asked Rebekka to invest some time with the children and keep them busy and out of our hair, but also build relationships with them. She did both very well. She was our blessing.

Debra: A woman of God. Wants to honor Him in all she does. And she did an amazing job with the women’s program. It takes a special kind of leader and facilitator to get people to share deeply. Someone who is able to help others feel save to share. That’s Debra. She also helped out in a lot painting. Always had paint on her! I got to paint a couple times with her and enjoyed our conversations.

Kurtis: A man who thinks deeply about the things of God. Kurtis was the brunt of a lot of kidding. He wears it well, but in reality, all of us greatly loved and respected this guy. I loved visiting with him, talking about life, parents, work, God, Bedouins, etc. He made me smile often. Not because of the kidding he took, but because whenever I thought of him, I was proud to be on a team with him. He’s a great person.

Kathleen: I might be a little bias on this one, so I’ll try and be fair. She is drop dead gorgeous! If I
can say that! I love her creativity. She did such a great job of putting the murals together. She had to juggle many women who wanted to partake in painting a part of the mural. So between teaching, directing, redirecting, and helping she never got to do much hands-on painting. Yet she produced something beautiful through so many hands. Good job! She also lead two major children programs with Kurtis and Rebekka and did a great job with all the children, who were totally nonstop hyper.

Anton: This guy held us all together. He knew when he needed to join with us in a task of painting a wall or cleaning. He authentically modeled the whole way through the two weeks what he expected of each of us. He was honest about his own thoughts during our debriefing times, he modeled for us the work ethics he asked of each of us, he prayed for us, he encouraged us when we needed encouraging. He was sensitive to our needs when we became stressed and responded with grace. He prepared us well for how flexible we needed to be throughout the two weeks. In a world where there were many expectations from many directions, that being our team, the school, the BOL Team and Matthieu, I felt as though he showed exceptional balance. Well done
Anton.

I know that I could never do all these wonderful people justice by writing this, so please take everything I wrote and know that I short changed them on their greatness and servant-hood. If you see them this Sunday at church, be sure to bless them with a smile and a hug.

jp

From one child to another - love and compassion

2009-09-07T19:18:00.000-06:00

Before I left for Lebanon I had a young girl from our church ask if she could send some of her clothes to Lebanon for someone that could use them since she had out grown them. I said sure, I’ll take them and see what I could do.

On the last Friday we spent in the Bedouin village I asked Siham and the wife of our host if they knew of anyone in the village that would need these clothes, some sunglasses, an English bible, and a stuffed toy dog. It was easy for them to come up with family in need.

This family is without a father. He has been out of the picture for a little over a year. A single mom with 10 children of which there was more than one set of twins. Siham and our hostess brought two little girls from this family into the compound and into a room where I could visit with them a bit. I could see in their eyes and by their actions they were both shy and yet curious. No smiles. They were wearing some clothes that looked a little grubby. Siham later told me that their mom had dressed them in their best clothes before she sent them over to the compound.

We began to see what might fit each of the girls, one a little older than the other. It wasn’t until they received an article of clothing in their hands did we begin to see some smiles. A couple of articles were a little too small and our hostess told us that they had a little sister that could use the clothes that were too small. Then we gave the youngest one the toy dog and the sunglasses. She beamed from ear to ear. Neither of them spoke a word through this whole time. Siham spoke to them and asked them to share the dog and the glasses with each other. They were happy to do so.

We added to their gifts some pencil crayons for the older one, wax crayons for the younger, candy, scissors and glue and some paper for coloring.

I spoke to Matthieu later about this exchange and he filled me in on a little more about the family. A little over a year ago the father had become a new believer. Just two days after asking and receiving a bible from Matthieu he was shot to his death on is way in to town. Many here lose their lives here after confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Now our host, chief of this Bedouin tribe takes care of this family as best he can with the limited resources he has.

So from around the world a young girl at CrossRoads understood all on her own what it means to give life to another person in a foreign country. She has impacted three little girls, showing the love and compassion of Jesus in a very practical way. I’m sure there is also one more mother in Lebanon now that has received some encouragement and hope as she sees a little joy being inserted in the lives of her children.

jp

A Cedar of Lebanon, His Cedar.

2009-09-06T16:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we finished up with tea and coffee with our wonderful hosts and exchanged some gifts. I was given some royal threads and made an honorary chief of a Bedouin tribe. The team pointed out to me that I didn’t have any people in my tribe but I told them I’m starting out with a cute blond with glasses. Today Matthieu told me that he has never seen them do that for anybody so he said we made a huge impact on them and they really appreciated our efforts. I asked why me and Matthieu just said they know who. . . ?

After that we took off up the mountain to see the cedars of Lebanon! The cedars we saw this day were much different that the ones that I missed seeing last week with the team. The team said these were far greater to see. Thanks Lord, for giving me this amazing opportunity.
The air was thick with mist swirling through the trees. It was an amazing sight. It was like someone started a huge mist machine for us on that mountain side and it created a sense of mystery and beauty.

Some of these great cedars are over 3000 years old. The tops on mature cedars break off and fall to the ground or just snap to the side and keep growing. Psalms 29:5 says that the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. It’s like the only way to get to a certain level of maturity, it takes something big to happen. A breaking, a moment of stress, but then after this moment the branches start to spread out in all directions and create a huge amount of shade for the forest. Psalms 80:10 talks about the shade that comes from mighty cedars. Hosea 14 talks about the shade that a person gives to many others when a repentant heart is healed, cared for and loved by God. I think the best verse is from Psalms 104:16 where the Psalmist states that god himself planted the cedar seed and watered it and cared for it through all times. Good and bad.

He breaks it in its time and it matures and never stops growing.

I hope I’m one of those to God. A cedar of Lebanon, His cedar. Worthy of being a part of His temple, producing a fragrance that glorifies Him and draws others to some shade.

Hockey Night in Lebanon

2009-09-05T14:50:00.001-06:00

(Best to read the blog on the team and then come back to this blog.)

http://crclebanonteam.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-day-in-beka.html

So this family mentioned in the blog, ( yes, you must read the blog so go do it!) has a young boy that was wearing a Montreal Canadians shirt and shorts. Over the conversations that were taking place I caught his eye from across the room and pointed to my shirt and his shirt and smiled and attempted a weak gesture to see if he knew what that meant. He ran out the door. D’oh! I scared another one!

About 5 minutes later and a little more tea, I see the boy re-enter the house. This time I ask the interpreter to ask the boy if he knew what that name meant on his shirt. He started to head for the door again but this time all eyes and ears were centred on him and he had nowhere to go, his brothers and sisters had blocked the door.

So I asked him if he would like to know and if he did, then come and sit in front of me so I could tell him. He did. So for the next few minutes, all attention was on him and me as we spoke together through the interpreter. I asked his name. He gave it, I pronounced it wrong, he laughed, everyone laughed, I finally got it right. Then I started to explain ice, and skates, and a stick. The puck was hard to describe. So I went with a round ball, squished flat on opposite sides. Everyone laughed. I was serious! No one had a better way to explain it so I eventually won through the interpreter. So once I explained it in brief, I talked about it as a team game and there are 6 professional teams in Canada. (He knew we were from Canada.) I then told him about the Canadians, the Maple Leafs, the Senators. Then I said that the best team was the Flames. I got a few groans on that in the background. Then I talked about the Oilers and the background noise seams to improve. Sheesh! I forgot to check that factor before I signed up for this team!

So the conversation ended a short while after that. I’m thinking now that he probably wondering what we did with the puck, how big the ice surface was, what’s a professional team, and who the heck is Tim Horton.

After a visit outside, the man of the house startles us and invites us to a feast. He is willing to kill a lamb and prepare a large meal for us tonight. This is a great honor. The cost of a lamb for him would be very high. Their whole family may eat meat only once or twice a month. I’m not sure of the exact cost, but I’m reasonably sure that the cost of such meal for them would be greater than a month’s salary. It would significantly impact their yearly cash flow plan.

Would I give away a month’s salary to a stranger that knocked on my door and asked to visit me? I’m immediately put out if a couple of Mormons drop by. Or a couple of JWs. Do I show this kind of honor to those that cross my path? No. . . . Usually it’s an inconvenience to my current plans. Yet that’s all he was doing. Showing honor to me and my friends. Then one of his wives grabs Kathleen and wants to give her a dress. They are totally giving people, of possessions that I’m sure they cannot afford to part with. They are giving away out of their own needs supply.

When was the last time I gave out of my resources that were to meet my basic needs? . . . . Perhaps somewhere in the distant past, . . .maybe. I know that I regularly give my tithe and then sacrificed extra dollars over and above that tithe on a few occasions. But that’s not the same as taking a hit on the core resources that I`ve built up to meet my family`s basic needs in life. I’m not sure what that looks like for me.

I’ll have to do some serious thinking about that over the next few days.

jp

Bedouin Ways

2009-09-03T12:54:00.000-06:00

(Yesterday's blog, late post.)

The work continued today with Anton and I meeting with Matthieu on the ministry plans ahead. Rita would work on the web site, painting, murals and cleaning would continue. The big thing today that we were all looking forward to was the Bedouin feast that was being planned tonight in our honor.

We have been invited to participate in something that is very rare. A lamb would be killed, and the day spent preparing many foods for the evening meal. There were guests invited, us, and the chief’s extended family. Others were invited but they took a second seat to us, and ate either before or after the main meal.

The table was set, which consisted of two table cloths on the rugs in the large community room. Bowls and plates were set out. The bowls were all filled with yogurt and sour cream mix. The chief showed us how it is done. He reached into the plate of lamb and rice and grabbed a fist full of food squishing it into a solid mixture and then popped it into his mouth using some kind of special action. I don’t think I mastered it well. I have no idea how many hands got into the bowl.

Most of us tried to use our spoons as often as we could, including them.

I ate lamb tongue, lamb brains, someone told me I ate an eye but then it turned out to be something else. The food was good. The salad was amazing. There was limited tongue available so Albert and I got to split it. It was an honor. Really. Or so I was told. . . . While everyone watched and laughed.

Music and dancing took place after the meal. We were also celebrating a little girl’s birthday. It was a good night.

Later that evening I took a walk with Matthieu around the compound. I went because it was with Matthieu so it should be safe. It was dark. As we left the compound a group of kids collected around us and followed us for a few houses. Matthieu shares about the houses on the right. They were cow shelters before we turned them into houses. We turn the corner and the kids disappear. We walk on in the dark for about 100 yards. We pass two family buildings along the way. One building was structure in progress. They build in stages. This house was a room that got a second floor at one time, and then another room on the ground floor was bricked in with a second floor kind of started. Probably preparing for a couple of sons that would one day have a wife and family. He’s been slowly working in the house for probably 10 years. We get fairly far down the road and Matthieu tells me we need to turn around and go back. The next section belongs to another tribe of Bedouins that do not share in our efforts. Over the last month two have been murdered by fellow tribe members because they had become believers and told their family. One was a 14 year old girl.

We get part way back up the road and a vehicle slowly passes us, but then stops and speaks something to Matthieu. The vehicle moves on slowly down towards the other tribe. I ask what was said and Matthieu says to not bother with it. We keep walking and get to the entrance of the camp and we turn left and walk by homes, some are still pretty rough looking, others are brick and cement. Matthieu keeps looking over his shoulder.

We talk about employment. Unemployment in the camp is around 90%. No one will hire a Bedouin. The kids can work in the fields surrounding the camp for 3+ dollars a day. They pool their funds and life goes on. He has been able to get some microfinance happening for a couple of the families. A honey operation; a delivery service. The costs of microfinancing here is high.
I ask him about the little groupings of tin houses just outside the entrance to the camp and he says that those people are Syrians. Another type of tribe, but not Bedouins. They are living in little tin shelters that are nothing greater the 6-10 feet across, back to back with a three foot dirt/sewage walk way between the rows of shacks. The bathrooms on the outskirts and look like outdoor showers that we would create in the woods while camping. Some plastic and anything else they could find to create a little privacy.

We get to the end of the camp and turn down another road and he stops and says he can’t go anymore. Needs a rest. Matthieu’s heart is giving him some pain. He suffered a heart attack a few months ago. He continues to push himself physically and is suffering more that he should allow himself to suffer. The last few days I’ve seen him struggle with strength. Pray for him as you read this.

We rest. We talk about his dreams for his family, for the Bedouins.

On the way back we pass a wide open grassy area that is not being used for anything right now. I ask him what this is to be. He tells me that about 10 years ago this Bedouin tribe were living in the same type of tin make shift housing that the current Syrian tribe is in, and it was in this area. Over that time, we got them moved into permanent structures of bricks and concrete that you see most of them now living in. He tells me about the time when they (he) was finally able to clean this area up and get rid of the tin structures and clean up all the sewage and filth that existed.

As we get close to the compound we finish talking about the things I wrote about in the previous blog regarding compassion. These people do not want compassion that comes from pity. If they receive any compassion, they would as that it be out of love.

A long day, but a good one.

jp

Wedding Feast Joy

2009-09-01T10:18:00.001-06:00

The day is done. I won’t get this up to my blog for another day because Kathleen and I have relocated to one of the Bridges of Love Team’s home near the Bedouin camp. Up to this time we have been traveling back and forth each night from Beirut. It takes about an hour and 20 minutes to cover 50km. Back and forth, up and down, start and stop, HONK! HONK!, no traffic lights, no lanes, many check points, . . . and about 4 million other vehicles in similar motion.

So the day after the day doing loops between the bed and the bathroom went okay. I woke up feeling feverish but at least the stomach had settled down and I was good to go for the day. I remember distinctly waking up to a deep yearning for a piece of toast with some butter. Not a toaster or loaf in sight. Every piece of bread here has a weird shape and it would be sin to attempt to toast any of it, I’m sure. I never accomplished much today for the team but I was vertical and walking. Jordan dehan!

I had many people praying for me and I was so grateful. I’m writing this at the end of the day and I don’t think I have any symptoms right now. Wow! Thank you Lord!

I’ve been thinking a lot about what we are doing here and wonder about our North American ideas of compassion. Do we have compassion that’s birthed out of pity on those who have far less than us? Or is our compassion of another form? One that sees suffering in a fellow human and we choose to serve that person out of respect? Respect or pity?

I think our general way is pity until you come face to face with that other human being that is suffering in some way (in our limited perception of suffering, these people would not see themselves as suffering) and you come to know them, their hopes and dreams, and in that encounter you begin to see that they are far greater than you. They are far more adjusted to the circumstances of life around them that you ever would be. They have far more faith for their daily needs than you have, and they have far more love and compassion to give away than you have. You come to have a great deal of respect for them and out of that sense their greatness.

I think Philippians 2:1-5 corrects all our thinking on this matter. It states that as we come into a full realization of the unity that we have been given in Christ, and having experienced the comfort of His love, and have come to deeply know His tenderness and compassion, that we are compelled, not by duty but by a deep seated desire to do likewise to absolutely every person we encounter. (Freely we have received, freely give.) Value every person you encounter as greater than yourself. Out of this view comes the love and respect that is due these people we meet here in Lebanon. It’s out of this view that I can love my neighbour or that person in my life that causes me grief, etc. You name yours. I’ll name mine.

The day has passed and I’m left thinking that these wonderful people, the Bedouins, will be among the greatest in heaven. As they come to love Jesus like I have, they have more courage, more faith and more passion for the things of Jesus than I could ever hope to have. It will be an honour for me to meet them at the wedding table where I hope to have the privilege of serving them as they sit close to where our Saviour is seated.

jp

Cedars of Lebanon

2009-08-30T21:29:00.001-06:00

5:30am now. Yesterday was not a good day. I woke up sick with a bug I picked up some where the day before. Might have been some food, don’t know. So early morning I started heaving . . . and other things . . . . hoping that everything will be okay by 9:30 when we leave for a tour of the cedars of Lebanon. Something I’ve been looking forward to for a couple of months.
It was not to be. The fever just got stronger.

So my day was filled with sleep, bathroom runs . . . and attempts to get as much water into my body as possible. The team got back last night about 7:30pm and they had a great time. They had communion under some cedars. There were some Bedouin believers that came as well.
Cedars are amazing trees. Did you know that the temple was built with cedars? Cedar walls, cedar ceiling, cedar beams. Everywhere but the floor, which was juniper (1Kings 6:14). The temple always portrays the presence of God. If you wanted to be near to God you would go to the temple. I love the smell of cedars and so every time I have an opportunity to breath in this aroma I take it all in slowly. It reminds me of God’s presence.

I like the picture of repentance in Hosea 14 where God’s response is to heal, love and be like the dew. Dew brings blessings and growth to everything it encompasses. And it’s complete and all encompassing. It’s like God is saying that he will bless me fully with his presence.

Hosea goes on to say that the repentant heart will be like a cedar of Lebanon. Fragrant and regal. A cedar that is continually growing upward, ever increasing in strength. A sweet fragrance to God and everyone that passes by. And with this great size comes the ability to be a great shade to others providing relief and comfort from the elements. This is quite an amazing thought. If I have a repentant heart, the impact is far more reaching than just my own life. I will be used in the lives of others to provide comfort and peace.

I wish to be like a cedar. Full of God’s presence, fragrant, full of beauty, having value and providing shade to others. To be rooted as a cedar where I am unmovable in my faith. To have the same vigour as one of these great cedars where new shoots are always presenting themselves and leading to new growth.

The Lord will be like the dew, I will be like the cedars. All that I am as a cedar comes from his ever abiding presence.

When I feel like I’ve been robbed of my beauty, filthy from sin, He restores beauty.

When I feel robbed of my strength, feeling week an unable to continue, He restores strength.

When I feel robbed of my value, feelings of worthlessness, He restores value.

This is a picture of great abundance.

I never saw the cedars yesterday but I’m okay with that. Another day perhaps. My day was spent reflecting on God’s presence in my life and the abundant fruit that is promised from such a gift.

jp

Student of Jesus

2009-08-29T21:45:00.000-06:00

Up early here in Lebanon. I started writing this around 5:30. Kathleen and I had a bad night’s sleep. I think it was something we ate last night that didn’t quit agree with our stomachs.

Kurtis and I had a great conversation with a fellow yesterday while we were painting. By the way, the Arabic word for “painter” is “dehan”. “De” as in the sound you make for a d. . . . “Du”. . . . and “han” is pronounced “hun”. Dehan. Say it! Dehan. So Kurtas and I were a couple of dehans yesterday. So you wouldn’t say “Jordan the dehan”, you would just say “Jordan dehan”. It’s got a ring to it that Kurtis Dehan does not. I was proud of that and Kurtis spent most of his day laughing at it all. Okay, maybe me too.

So back to the conversation with this young fellow. This young man is 28 and loves Jesus. We use the term “follower of Jesus” and he uses the term “student of Jesus”. That was sweet. So we get talking about marriage and discovered that all three of us would be shamed in their culture. I’ve got no boys (Faye and Ami! I love and adore you! No need for a boy!) and both Kurtis and the young man are single at such an old age. The importance of having a family here is huge and not just in a Muslim culture, we are talking about a larger culture that encompasses many people groups here in Lebanon. When I sit around the table with Matthieu and Siham I am struck by the family atmosphere, the love for one another, and the attention they give one another. It’s very hard to describe.

This young man is a Bedouin. There are few believers among their tribe. His heart is determined to find a women that has the same heart as he does towards Jesus. A student of Jesus. The rarity of a female believer is much higher than finding a man that has become a believer. In this culture the men come to Christ first, then the family follows but the wife has to confront the fears and realities of telling her Muslim parents what she has done. Because the life of a female is less than that of a male, it is not a safe thing to do. So Kurtis and I were able to drop our dehan titles for a while and prayed for him and asked Jesus to bless him with a wonderful wife that was a student of Jesus like he was.

If you think you can, please take a moment right now to pray with me for this young man.

(Maybe Kurtis too!)

jp

Grace filled life

2009-08-28T23:02:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit with a group of men, of which one of them was a brand new believer. We had a great discussion on grace and what it means to be fully forgiven, no atonement needed as Christ took care of that for us on the cross. Muslims look at sin as something that must always be compensated for. So if I steal from someone, what would be an offsetting act of goodness that I could do to compensate for that sin? When a new believing Muslim comes to understand the grace that has been gifted to him, they are completely set free.

So I was blessed to spend time with a young man that was flying high because of this new knowledge. He was full of the joy of the Lord. Today when I go to the camp I hope to see him again.

Yesterday was a good day.

jp

Birds on a wire

2009-08-27T21:29:00.000-06:00

I’m sitting on a balcony right now at Matthieu’s home in Beirut at5 about 6:00am. I’m high on a hill so I can see all of Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea stretching out in the west as far as I can see before the heavy smog envelopes it. I’m in the “Christian” area. Everything is sectioned off. It’s a beautiful city from where I sit, yet full of pain and suffering in each of the segregated areas. The fighting and loss of life throughout the city remains evidenced through the ruins on the hill side and throughout the city.

I’m just sitting here reflected on my day yesterday. I was shovelling some gravel in the “back yard” of the compound. Well, back yard as in a gravel pit with a bit of sewage residue, some tin, and wood with nails. They have plans to make this a playground for the children that would come to the school. It’s a space that is maybe 12 feet by 30 feet. Sewer drain at one end. So a few of us were cleaning up and I finished alone with some gravel levelling using a shovel they had there. Along the side of this area is a wall that is about 4 feet high separating the compound from the rest of the Bedouin camp. I’m working at one end and I finish and turn around and there is about 8 kids from the camp sitting, some standing, on the wall. They are all watching me and laughing and giggling. Being my usual social self with plenty of charisma (NOT), I decided to visit with them for a while.

They were so full of life. They knew a little English because they had attended the school last year. They were all shapes and sizes. Little ones that might have been 2 and older ones that might have been 8. One little guy tried to get me to say “tree” in Arabic. It sounded something like Zeus. They all laughed at my attempt and then they started to throw other words at me, many words coming at me, two or three at a time. I started to laugh and that made it all the funnier for them. It got worse.

(No one is around, just me and the kids and I felt like time had just suspended itself for this moment to continue as long as I would allow it)

Then the little guy that taught me how to say tree also decided to tell me how to say “nose”. I think it was something like miloucah . . . . Yah, no kidding. They laughed, I laughed. I might have even let out the odd giggle, but I was glad no else was there to catch that. Then the usual head, eye, nose, ear, mouth, teeth discussion ensued. I was lost.

One little girl was sitting at the end of the wall. (They are all perched up on the wall like a bunch of birds on a wire. The compound where I was working was off limits to them so they stayed on the wall.) She just sat there smiling through all of the conversation and so I finally worked my way down the wall to speak with her and asked her what her name was. She was maybe 3. She said something that sounded like Helen. But it had something a little extra in it, but no mind, she became Helen to me. The one name that almost made sense to me!

They couldn’t get my name. I don’t know how many times I said Jordan. I found out later that if I would have dropped the “J” they would have instantly got it because they pronounce the Jordan River and the country without the “J”.

Matthieu showed up a little later to kick start time again and ran back to get the video camera. He returned and caught a few moments. Perhaps someday you might get a glimpse of my time with these kids if the video makes it back home.

My heart was lifted and I headed for home that night with a smile and a great memory.

jp

At the camp

2009-08-27T15:04:00.001-06:00

First day in Lebanon we got a tour of downtown Beirut. So many ruins all around from the war in the eighties. Bullet holes still in the structures although some have been resurfaced or restored where necessary. Homes still in ruins on the hill sides. The history here is both amazing and intriguing. If you are interested, check out the war details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War.

So after an amazing speedy drive through traffic with no lights, no lane markings, with a million vehicles scampering two ways, sometimes four, we made it to the crest of the Lebanon Mountains where we could see the Bekaa Valley spread out for miles running north and south in front of us. Syria to the east, Israel to the south. Matthieu explains to us along the way all of the internal and external strife that still exists and lays percolating just below the surface.

As we get down into the valley we get to the town of Saadnayel and having passed through it we came to a little community on the outskirts, a Bedouin tribe. As we drive down the road toward the camp we see a few kids, maybe 6, playing in the ditch alongside the road. The ditch has a little water and then some garbage floating on the top. They all stand up and with curious smiling faced they check us out as we pass by.

We pass more kids, they seem happy and content with their lot.

Once inside the compound we are greeted by the chief, and given the royal tour of his compound which includes a community centre ( a room where chapel can be head), washrooms that needed some TLC, okay, a LOT of TLC, and 5 school rooms for the children, whose school year begins near the end of September. We receive some tea that is loaded with sugar, and then a second course of very strong coffee. A coffee that tasted something like I’ve had before in Jamaica. (I’ve had a few cups now and I think it’s growing on me!)

Then to the roof. From there you can see the camp and the many types of housing structures that are used. Some are tin shelters, and then a few sheds that are covered with large canvases or tin, anything to stop the rain during the winter season. A few goats and cows spot the camp and then of course is the widespread impact of sewage running freely throughout the camp. A trough was built some time ago, but it overflows into the land where the kids play and the homes are erected. Remember the picture of the kids playing in the ditch with a little water and garbage? Well, the water is not all water. We see the farmers, (not the Bedouins) watering the crops at the outskirts of the camp and we are thinking that we could just drill some wells for water. But we were informed that the tests showed that even out that far the water is contaminated and no good for consumption. Many of the men have a job working for minimal wages to bring home to the family. From what I can tell, work is very important to them. The majority of the camp is Muslim with a few believers mixed into the group. We serve them all when we will begin working on the classrooms and bathrooms.

These people are lovely and gracious. I am fighting to remember their names correctly, but will keep trying. My mind is on major intake right now as I consider all that is happing here in the camp and with my friend Matthieu. I trust that as I learn about life and God’s heart within this environment, God will use me in some small way.

jp

Flight time

2009-08-25T13:12:00.000-06:00

(on a plane, posted after arrival)

Matchbox city up here.

Heading to Doha. It’s about a 13-14 hour flight from Houston. We’ve got about 3 hours left. I’m amazed at the stats you can get on these things. Some computer feeds the screen in front of me with the altitude, the air speed, the temperature outside. It’s -55 Celsius. Like I care. It’s a balmy 21 inside, slight breeze, food, movies, music, cute blond with glasses . . .

I wonder if the plane goes down whether all the stats are still displayed on the screen in front of me. The big dip in the altitude, the temperature changes, the ground gets closer .... Do they have preloaded a jpeg of a plane with an engine burning or a plane with no wing? I would have. Why not sim it in real time. Take the mind off one’s immediate problems.

I’m going South-East-East right now.

Listening to Pink Floyd . . . D’oh! I just let you know too much.

Okay, now worship music on my iPod.

If you ever get a chance to fly Qatar Airlines then take it. This is great service. They treat you like a prince with all the stuff they give you. When I got on they had a pillow and a blanket on my seat. Imagine that, not having to ask for one. Amazing. Then they gave me a little pouch with some socks, a toothbrush and some paste, an eye mask for sleeping, . . . and something else I can’t remember. Then before dinner they brought each person a hot washcloth for you to wash your hands and boy did it feel good on the face. Too bad for those with makeup!

They just brought me a Tim Horton’s coffee!
.
.

Okay, I won’t do that again. Just the thought! It’s going to be 15 days before I taste another one of those.

Okay, breakfast time.

Later.

Off to Lebanon

2009-08-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

Well, today Kathleen and I are off to Lebanon. I’ve had so many things in the air that I’ve been juggling that I’ve not really had much time to think about this trip and what it might mean to me, Kath, or Matthieu and Siham (the couple we have come to know and love form Lebanon leading the NGO – Bridges of Love). I suppose I’ll have some time on the plane! I think we are 4-5 hours to Huston, then a one hour overlay and then 15 hours to Doha, Qatar. We stay the night and then off to Beirut the next day. Yep, lots of time to think.

The team of 9 will be working on a dilapidated old school building for a Bedouin camp. We will fixing and painting. Then once some of the rooms get painted, Kath gets to go in and paint some murals. She is really looking forward to that! Another lady with us, Rita, will be helping Bridges of Love with their web site. I’ll also get to work closely with Matthieu and his team doing some leadership development and some strategic ministry planning.

Also in the mix of all that, we will be putting on a Children’s Program, a Women’s Program and a Men’s Program. I can fill you in a little more about that later.

So I actually have my bags packed, and just a couple odds and ends to do before I head to the airport. It feels a little weird!

You can follow us on the trip through this blog, the team blog perhaps Anton’s blog (not sure on his).

Later ...

Things That Are Not

2009-04-03T07:23:00.000-06:00

This past Tuesday I was reading Romans 4 and came to verse 17 where Paul states that Abraham was our father in the sight of God. God – who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

Romans 4:17 (TNIV) As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

I’ve always looked at this verse as a statement that God gives life to us through Jesus and then the part about "calling into being things that are not" was primarily a statement declaring God as creator. It’s all of this, but it became more for me this day as I read on into the next few verses.

As I read down to verse 19 I realized that when Paul talked about being dead in verse 17 he was referencing Abraham and Sarah. Abraham’s aged body was as good as dead and could not provide the seed necessary for an offspring. Sarah’s womb was also dead because of her age. Yet because of Abraham’s faithfulness to God, God called into being that which was not – that being Isaac!

I have experienced times in my life where I felt completely spent with nothing left to give. Perhaps you’ve had those feelings as well. Where you have moments when you question your significance or your ability to actually make a difference in your own life, the life of your family, or place of work.

These verses refreshed my spirit this week because I know that if I remain faithful to God in what he has given to me regardless of how I feel in the moment, then He will use it to call into being that which is not. . . . No, Kath and I are not planning more children. But I am confident that God is great and it’s in Him that I move and have my life and out of my faithfulness to Him he will call into being that which He needs to accomplish his good plan. I play a part in God’s story of redeeming mankind.

God chooses the foolish things and the weak things of this world (that would be me) to express His greatness to this world. I’ve been found secure in Christ, who is my righteousness, holiness and redemption. So I’m going to boast in my God all the days of my life, especcially in the middle of my weakknesses. (1 Cor 27-31)

9 for 49

Books Books Books!

2009-03-25T07:49:00.000-06:00

I read a few books while I was on vacation. Here is a quick recap in case you want to pick one of them up.

The Furious Longing Of God by Brennan Manning
This was a fun read. I’ve got a few of his books and this one is my second favorite of all of his books.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
A novel of a young lady looking for some inner peace from being abandoned by a mother and raised by a mean father. Good, not too mushy.

Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger
Great book on understanding the things we need consider in today’s post-modern age. I’ll reference this book often. Talks a lot about creating environments where life growth can happen. I’ll be getting my pastoral staff to read this book.

A Class with Drucker by William A. Cohen
A great leader’s book. Most of this I’ve heard before, but there was a couple of gems that will change the way I lead and my way forward in life. I’ll test some of it and begin to practice it a bit before I blog on it.

Quantum – A Guide for the Perplexed by Jim Al-Khalili
I love this book. I’m not quite done yet, but it’s so much fun to read. If you want to read a book that is as close to the laymen’s language as possible, if that is even possible, to the world of quantum mechanics then this is the book to read. Quantum Mechanics fascinates me and is one of the most important theory’s known to man about our world and its sub-atomic structure. If I ever write a book it’ll be called Quantum Leadership. You would think they don’t go together but I am finding so many parallel lessons. To get a taste of what I am talking about then read anything my Margaret J. Wheatley. I'll be blogging on this kind of stuff.

Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott
This is a great book. I’m not done yet, but what I’ve read through so far is very helpful in understanding the technological age we are in, and what that means in how we communicate and stay relevant with the new generations coming up behind us. I’ll be recommending this one to my “older” pastoral staff.

Axiom by Bill Hybels
Has many things in it that I've already gleaned from listening to Bill over the years. If you've never had much opportunity to hear Bill, then this would become a valuable resource for you as a leader.

Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy
All good stuff. Books of life. Pick these up for sure.

jp

8 for 31

Pain and Sacrifice!

2009-03-24T06:54:00.000-06:00

While we were gone over the last two weeks in Phoenix we had our 30th anniversary. (Maybe that’s where that last post came from!) I thought I would do something special for Kath on that day so I decided that the best think I could do for her would be to pluck my nose hairs. Oh the pain and sacrifice! I sneeze every time I do this, and then I always give up. But this day, this was the one day when I would suck it up and completely finish the dirty deed.

So I did it.

I was so proud of myself.

We had a great day planned. Some shopping, a really nice lunch planned, and a few other things we had on our list. It would be a great day. So we get in the car and I can’t contain myself anymore for fear that she would not notice my nose. So I said, “You know dear, I pulled all my nose hairs this morning for you so that they were not sticking out.” She looked at me and smiled and said, “Oh, that’s so special sweetheart.” She had that look that suggested to me that she was half smirking and half appreciative of my efforts. It was enough for me to grin and feel good about myself and the huge sacrifice I had made.

I’m sitting in the driver’s seat during this little conversation, waiting to fire up the car and start the day. After my revealing announcement I see she is still smiling and admiring my efforts, and then I see her eyes go from my nose to my right ear and she says, “Dear, you missed the ears.” I laughed. Oh well, I thought to myself, perhaps next year I can take care of that for her.

I’m loosing my hair off the top and it’s all coming out the front and sides! What’s with that!

Sure this all sounds a little silly, but as you grow older with someone, and your love deepens, it’s the little things we do for each other that become more pronounced and appreciated rather than the big gifts I use to round up for her when I was younger. You can actually get points for just doing a simple thing for your wife. Amazing! And I’m sure that if I look around during my day, there are a lot of simple things I can do for her.

I think the simple things we give one another speak of something far deeper than anything large we could ever do. We don’t need to impress each other, but we do need to love, care and respect each other.

We are both content to do the little things for each other now. It feels good.

8 for 27

It's going to be a good day

2009-03-23T06:55:00.000-06:00

One day last week in Phoenix I got up early and headed to a local coffee shop. I was sitting there at 7:00am with my coffee and reading a great book. I’m at a table against the window where the morning sun is pouring in and it felt warm and great. Everything was perfect. Coffee, book, sun, music on low, I think Leona Lewis.

I looked up from my book and just outside my window a couple drives up in a Jeep Cherokee. He parks the car and they talk for a minute. They are maybe 55ish.

I have one of those moments where everything went into slow motion and I became aware of everything that was happening around me. So I start watching this play unfold in front of me. He opens his door and gets out. She’s not moving, just sitting there quietly with a peaceful look on her face. He heads towards the back of the vehicle and walks around to the other side. Not fast, not slow, just the right speed like he was thinking. It’s like he was in this special moment enjoying the full experience of having the opportunity to show a bit of kindness and affection to someone of great value.

He arrives at her door and opens it for her, she steps out like the queen she is and stands up front of him and looks at him and then smiles. This was no special occasion to hold the door open, it was just coffee. But it was as if this was the norm for them. It looked like they just didn’t know any other way.

They walk together to the coffee shop. They are not walking like they are on a mission to have coffee. It’s like their mission was just to be together. There was something quite poetic about it all.

I had to turn my head and shoulders around so that I could still watch them as they approached the door to the coffee shop. Again, he opens the door for her. She steps in. It was then that I suddenly realized that my time with them had ended and so I reluctantly turned around and was once again with my coffee, a bit of sun and my book.

I think that today needs to be different than yesterday for me. I am going to show some kindness and affection to my wife and treat her like the queen that she is. Today I get to be in her presence. I’m sure it’ll be a good day. Tomorrow too!

EEKKIHSKEKEKEESKKKEKK!!!! (The sound of a turntable record that is being stopped and scratched)

Sheesh! I can’t believe I wrote that mushy stuff! Someone get me a beer!

Okay, I wrote it. But don’t go thinking I’m all mushy and stuff. I'm still going to have a great day with my wonderful wife.

jp

7 for 24
No Tim’s yesterday. Sadness.

Back Up Plan?

2009-03-21T21:01:00.000-06:00

So I’ve been away from home for that past two weeks and have had all kinds of Internet withdrawal fits. I’ve got a couple of posts to catch up on with some of my thoughts over those two weeks and then maybe I’ll get back down to business with something worth reading.

We came home yesterday on a flight that has those “two” compartments for all the people. You know the ones I’m talking about, first class and second class. Have you ever noticed getting on one of these flights and it’s just a natural thing to look at all the people you are passing on either side of you? But as you pass through the first class, these people are sitting comfortably in their spacious seats with lots of leg room and they are not looking at you. Heads down, they are attempting to read a book or a newspaper, working on a laptop, maybe sleeping (like as if you could sleep with 200 people walking by you), but absolutely anything they can grab right away so that they don’t have to catch your eye. Total avoidance! I’m thinking that they are either suffering from a huge case of guilt or they got attitude. I’m hoping the former.

As soon as you get by them and into the second class area, everyone is getting settled in with all the hustle and bustle. At least half are settled and are now looking at all those coming down the aisle wondering who might be sitting beside them. You can catch half of them directly eye to eye. It’s like they are thinking, “Hey, look who’s one of us!” And you’re walking down the aisle, aware of the first class area you just passed through, and you’re thinking, “Hey, I’m one of you guys!”

And then we all get nicely settled …. and the curtain closed.

I’m sitting there listening to the schpeel on preparing for a disaster, and there is a little sign on the back of the seat in front of me that says “Use your seat cushion as a floatation device if we go down over water.” (Or some such statement.) I’m thinking, so what do they get up there? They don’t have that sign! They must get one of those yellow floatation vests that go around your neck and keep you bobbing upright in the water. We get a square rubber cushion to hang on to as we try to keep our noses up and out of the water. They get a little cord to pull, and then a little back up hose to blow in if it fails. What’s our back up plan?

I laughed and then had a sleep. I was just thankful that I was only a few hours away from a Tim Horton’s’.

jp

7 for 24

Where did it all go?

2009-03-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

Every wonder where all the rubber goes that wears off of the car tires?

Let’s use some conservative numbers here.

We’ll consider Highway 2 here in Alberta.

Using the stats provided from the province for 2007, there is an average of 91 million kilometers driven over the course of a year by all vehicles traveling various distances between Calgary and Edmonton. Don’t believe me? Here, you figure it out. http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/Content/docType181/production/vc2007.pdf

The average tire, (conservative at that) is a 16 inch tire that has 8.5 inches of tread. That means that if a tire looses .5 inches before it’s no longer useful, every tire would expel 335 cubic square inches of rubber. That’s also assuming that you could condense it all back into a hard form, but in reality, it’s now dust and could never be packed that tight. But for argument sake, let’s leave it as 335 cubic square inches per tire.

The average tire lasts about 70,000 kilometers.

So 91 million kilometers divided by 70,000 = 1300 sets of tires were wore out.

Every vehicle has at least 4 tires. We should be averaging more, but we will leave it at 4 to stay conservative.

So 1300 times 4 tires times 335 cubic square inches equals 1,742,000 cubic square inches or 1008 cubic square feet of rubber.

In a single year.

That’s a solid block of rubber that is about 10 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet. This is assuming it’s a solid mass. But it’s not. It all came off as dust so it would take up even more space. More than likely double.

Where is it!?

Where was it for 2007, and where did it go for 2008? Where did it go for all those prior years?

I’m thinking we should start seeing it somewhere.

And every year it just keeps getting worse.

So if we don’t see it in the ditches then maybe its floating around in the air.

Next time I drive somewhere I’m holding my breath till I get there! How about you?

5 for 18

The "Stuff" of Life

2009-02-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

I had breakfast this morning with a friend. Our discussion reminded me of something I learned before I started in this role, thanks to one of my sisters. She pointed me towards the parable of the bags of gold from Matthew 25 (and Luke 19) where the master gave out 5, 2 and 1 bags of gold to three of his servants. Ever since I read this as a kid I viewed it as this lump sum of “stuff” we get as a human being to do life with, and when it’s all said and done and we have to give an accounting of our life, then God comes and determines your future state in heaven.

She pointed out to me that, no, it really means that what God has entrusted to me today, he expects me to use it well, and if I do, He comes along side of me and says “Well done, let’s go again!” There is also an implied partnership that should not be lost in these verses, but that’s a thought for another day.

So after she said this, my whole life flashed before my eyes where I saw myself in all of the various roles and jobs that I had experienced. I thought about my personal growth and the things I had learned through the good times and the not so good times, the increase in responsibilities that I had been entrusted with from job to job and also from role to role within the church setting. This was so cool because I saw all the points (I see charts and graphs in my head often!) where God had come alone side of me and said “Well done, let’s go again!”

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. While I had been trustworthy with what God had given me, I was in no way intentional about how I invested my “stuff”. My progress was completely done out of an intuitive mind set to seek out that which is greater than the last. It was the first time in my life where I sat down and had a good look at my “stuff” that God had given to me and ask the question, could I get a greater return that what I was currently getting? (This also implies an increase in risk! Right, another topic for another day).

Since this time I’ve come to land on three things that must happen in order to be highly intentional in my investments of the “stuff” God has entrusted to me.

1. I must know that which He has given to me. For me it’s leadership, administration and discernment. If you don’t know your “stuff” then get on with the search.

2. I must have a usage plan for each one of the gifts I’ve been given. We all have a number of roles we live and breathe within. A mom, a dad, husband, wife, volunteer roles, work related roles. If you think about it, you have huge opportunities all around you to exercise your gifts and be intentional about using them. When you get intentional, you’ll find yourself having out of body experiences where you are watching yourself doing things that blow you away. Often we are looking for that perfect “role” to make us happy and feel fulfilled, but in reality, using your gifts in the “now” will be instant satisfaction.

3. I must have a growth plan. Part of growth comes when God comes along side of you and say’s let’s go again and He throws you into something that is big and scary. You’ll always grow this way. But a large part of the growth comes from being in the moment, using your gifts and seeing the things you could do well and the things you could do better. It comes from reading and studying about your giftedness. It comes from observing others with similar gifts. It comes from trial and error. It comes from evaluating failure and success. I’ve discovered that the greatest growth spurts come from walking through a tough time. Every tough time presents itself with two opportunities for growth. One happened in the middle of the tough time where if you are aware, you get to test-drive your gift in new ways. Second opportunity comes after the tough time is over and you can take some reflective time thinking about what just happened and what you learned about yourself.

Be intentional with what God had entrusted to you here today. Enjoy it! If you are, then it will open up the path for God to give you even bigger things down the road. Don’t concern yourself with what’s next. It’ll be bigger than you can possibly imagine.

jp

1 for 10

Butter, Honey, and Crumbs

2009-02-25T22:37:00.001-07:00

My mom is not doing so well these days. I was thinking about her today and some of my favorite memories.

We use to drive mom crazy before bed time. Us three boys would fight and carry on (just goofing around) and mom would get madder and madder because we were not going to bed. Sooner or later she would go to the cupboard and pull out the strap. A wide thick leather strap about a foot and a half long (or at least what my mind remembers it looked like).

We would all squeal and get scared and start running up the stairs and she would be chasing us, following us up the stairs too. Before she made it to the top she would start laughing and so would we. We never did get the strap (at least what I can remember) and we always went to bed once the little charade was over.

Mom was a great cook and many times we would come home and there would be fresh bread on the counter. Still warm. Mom is “fresh baked bread” for me. The aroma is so awesome. One day I came home alone from school to fresh bread. 6 loafs . . . They were still warm. . . No one was around. . . I love crusts. . . Mom’s crusts. Well, I proceeded to cut off all the crusts on all the loaves. Crusts, butter, honey and me. It was great.

I cleaned up all the evidence (butter, honey, and crumbs) and just walked away like I was never there. All was okay until later that night.

D’oh!

jp

0 for 6

A Morning Blessing

2009-02-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

This morning I was reading Job 1-3.

Satan says to God, “So, does Job fear God for nothing?”

And then God allows Satan to take everything away from Job. His oxen, camels, sheep, donkeys and even his children. Completely gone. Nothing left. What does Job so? He falls to the ground and worships God.

So I started to think hard on this. Do I fear God for nothing? If I lost all that I have, would I fall on my face before God and worship Him? In verse 2:10 Job responds to his wife, who had asked him to curse God, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?”

If I had my dear sweet Faye and Ami taken from me, would I fall on my face and worship God?

If I lost my job, the house I live in, my wonderful wife, would I fall on my face and worship God?

If everything was gone, and I was left standing alone with just my pain and grief, would I still fall on my face and worship God?

Then I looked out the window and it was snowing and looked cold. I pictured myself out there in it, on my knees worshiping God, having no place to go, nothing to eat, still in my pain. But I was with God.

Is it enough for me to know God and to be known by Him? Is it enough for just me with my creator? What would keep me going in that moment? Would it be my total fear of an awesome God who holds me in the palm of His hand and can do whatever He wills with me?

Lord, today I want to thank you for all your blessings and want you to know that I appreciate all that you have given to me. But Lord, today I also want my fear of you to be deepened, knowing that I am yours to do with as you wish, and knowing that even in times of trouble, you love me and I’ll always safe in the palm of your hand.

So then in that moment of prayer I’m wakened to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I jumped up with a start and raced to pick it up so my wife doesn’t wake up. It’s a friend. He said he wanted to pray for me. So he did.

He prayed that I would have insight into God’s will for me that day. He prayed that I would have super natural wisdom and have the courage to follow through on whatever God would have me do today. Then he prayed that I would have a blessed day at work. He prayed blessings on my children, my wife, my home, my health. He wanted God to bless me in a great way. His last words were “Bless you”.

How can I not fear a God who knows me deeply, knows where I am and what I’m reading and thinking about. A God that summons His child to make a phone call so that He could speak into my moment in a profound way. This is such a God to fear.

I just sat in awe at what God just gave me. It was God coming close to me and saying, “Your safe with me, I know you fear me and nothing else, and this day I choose to bless you.” And then I got on my knees and worshiped Him.

jp

0 for 3

Canadian Travesty

2009-02-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

So a few years ago I sent this little note into the Calgary Sun and they printed it in the letters to the editor section. It was a time when Chretien was our PM and the liberals were spending way to much time on whether or not to leagalize pot.

Enjoy...

Canadian Travesty

Well the great coffee scurry has finally come to an end for yet another spring at Tim Horton’s. It seems like only a few short days ago when I drove up to the window with buzzed (perhaps a coffee rush from the day before) anticipation of sipping from my first cup of the season, looking forward to that great taste topped off with a chance to Roll-Up-The-Rim-And-Win.

After a few wins and a few weeks, I think all Canadians start to feel the extra caffeine taking over their vital systems, which also including the staff at Tim’s. During the last week of the contest, on three different occasions and from two different Tim’s, I had just finished lapping up my last drop of coffee looking forward to the roll only to find my rim had already been rolled! I can’t tell you the devastation, violation, and feelings of deep depression that descended on my spirit. Somebody’s dirty fingers had touched my rim!

Somebody’s cheated me out of my free something-or-other! What do I do?! Who do I call?! Where do I go!? Is this something Chretien should deal with or is he busy with the pot thing!? Next year, Tim, please keep you fingers off my rims!

Jordan Polson
Calgary

It was fun to write and even funner when they picked it up and printed it. I ran out and bought a few copies, which I still have today. A proud moment for sure. I have absolutely no idea what to do with them today!

jp

0 for 1

Joy and Happiness!

2009-02-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

Roll Up The Rim To Win!

What a great day!

Who Supports Me?

2009-02-22T21:28:00.001-07:00

So I finished the book and wanted to bring forward for you one of the last chapters because it’s made me think a lot in the last three days. In chapter 24 Maxwell asked us to think about those that support us. I think you could do some translations from work to family to life in general, but I’ll talk here mostly from the context of my role and the staff that I lead at the church.

What kinds of support people do I have working for me? When I went through all of these questions I was able to plug a lot of my staff into them. So I’ll give you the questions and then talk a little at the end.

Who supports me at work?

Time Relievers – These are the people that save me time.

Gift Complementors – These are the people who do things I am not gifted to do and make up for those areas I am lacking. I need a lot of these kind of people!

Team Players – These are the people who add value to me and my team. They continue contribute and see themselves as part of something greater than just their own role.

Creative Thinkers – These are the people who solve problems and give me options. I can never get enough of these people and so I am always facilitating brainstorming sessions. I have my special people that I really love having at the table.

Door closers – These are the people who complete assignments with excellence. When I delegate something or create a project that get’s handed over, they bat it out of the park every time.

People developers – These are the people who develop and raise up other leaders and producers. Check out my other post here on Trading Up where I talk a bit about addition vs. multiplication.

Servant Leaders – These are people who lead with the right attitude. I’ve got a whole host of these kinds of people here.

Mind Stretchers – These are the people who expand my thinking and my spirit. Sometimes they create tension for me, but it’s always creative tension and never negative tension. I have come to really love these people in my life.

Relational Networkers – These are the people who bring other people into my life who add value to me. I’m really lacking people in my life that do this for me. This is the one area that I need to so some further thinking about to determine how I can acquire these kinds of people in my life.

Spiritual Mentors – These are the people who encourage me in my faith walk. I think I also need more of these kinds of people. They are hard to find in person. I have a few authors that give me substance, but not so much that one on one mentor.

Unconditional Lovers – These are the people who know my weaknesses, yet love me unconditionally. I need people in my life that I know are "for" me. I have a few of these. I’m thankful.

I am so grateful for my staff and from reading this chapter I realized even more all the wonderful people I get to work with. I’m not so good at letting them know how much I appreciate them, and with this list I’m actually able to put some verbiage around how they bless me.

I’ve gone through each of these types and wrote down the names of some of the people on my staff in those areas where they bless me. Over the next month I’m going to make sure they know what I think about them and how I appreciate them. Call me on it a month down the road and see how I did.

On to another book ...

jp

Trading Up

2009-02-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

Finished chapter 22 in Leadership Gold. Maxwell talks about 10 different things that you need to consider trading for so that as a leader you can get to the next level. Really good stuff. Two of these trades jumped out at me.

1. Trade Addition for Multiplication

If I’m all about leading others, well that’s really great. Because I am adding to myself as I lead people forward in whatever seems to be the trek of the day. The follower list might be growing but it’s still only through addition and not multiplication. It’s a far more significant thing, and more difficult to achieve, to develop leaders who in turn lead others. If I can lead and grow others in such a way as to result in those I lead developing still more leaders under them, well, then we are talking exponential impact. I’m not so sure I do this well, but I’m becoming much more intentional about how I lead and develop others into leaders. I feel like I’ve stepped into some kind of vortex in the past 3-4 months that has heightened all my sensory receptors when it comes to this thing called leadership.

2. Trade Your Work for God for a Walk with God

I’ve been doing ministry for years. I think since I lead my youth group in high school. A small portion of those years have been in a paid role, but none the less, I’ve been a busy guy doing ministry in various areas of the church. I think I’ve spent most of this time doing things for God and not necessarily spending time with God. Since last summer I have become convinced that God is far more interested in my walk with Him than he is in “using me” for the work he doing in our world. I’m not saying that’s not important, but what I am saying that without a deep relationship with God, nothing else much matters. It’s the relationship that lives for an eternity. Susan Scott in her book called Fierce Conversation makes a statement about people and their relationships that I think goes for my relationship with God as well. She said that we can think all we want about our relationships with each other, but none of it has any substance to form “relationship”. Relationship is formed only during the act of conversation. The conversation is the relationship. In that very moment, the act of speaking and listening, centered on another human being comes the essence of the relationship. It’s either a positive or negative encounter based on the conversation (words, body language, unspoken words, all that conversational stuff). If I’m not fully there with my presence, chances are high that its does the relationship harm. If I’m all there, centered, listening, sharing, interacting, consumed with the very presence of another precious being, God or otherwise, the relationship grows and becomes greater than before. Today I crave a deeper walk with my creator than ever before. So I’m becoming much more intentional and careful when I come into His presence.

jp

ps. If you attend CrossRoads Church and would like a copy of Maxwell’s book, let me know. I’ve bought a few extra, just for you!

The stuff of leaders

2009-02-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Just read a great chapter (15) from Leadership Gold by John Maxwell. He talks about leaders distinguishing themselves during tough times. Sometimes I think I’ve been on a great ride here at CrossRoads because God has blessed us all in so many ways. People are coming to Christ and lives are changing, the church growing. The finances required to meet the demands of ministry have been there. I have a great staff and generally, the people of CrossRoads are externally focused and all seems well.

Yet with all that said, the growth of the church is causing me to reflect on the sustainable nature of its state, asking the question as to whether or not we can we continue on with the current pace without some major paradigm shifts in how we think and do things. I am sensing that now is the time for me to really step up as a leader and earn my keep! As the challenges get deeper and more complex, it’s during these times that a good leader is most needed. Most people can lead on the front of a huge wave where everything is going well and rolling forward. But in challenging times, when tougher choices need to be made and the risks are higher, it takes an exceptional leader to move things forward. Am I such a leader?

Maxwell says that if you want to lead well in the tougher times, then you have to lead well in the smaller issues, making the tough calls when necessary. If you can do this, then no matter what kinds of storms come, or how far in over your head you may think you are, you can keep on leading well. I have a feeling there is a little more to it than just that, but I’ve found this is an important piece of the puzzle to leading well.

I’m most definitely in over my head most days and I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.

Over the next few blogs I’ll share some of my thoughts on how we need to think differently around here. The paradigm shifts I believe we need to make here at CrossRoads.

jp

Three questions

2009-02-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

I love my staff. They are a great bunch of people to work with who are committed to our vision and purposes. I watched a video a couple of days ago that nailed it for me. It was about vision and what the church needs to be about. This was both affirming for me in where we are heading as a church, but also challenging in the way that makes me wonder if we are taking enough risks these days. I’ve never been afraid of change, in fact, the team probably get tired of me preaching at them about the fact that change is necessary to get where we want to be. But with change, I’m also very methodical in how I implement things. I could take more risks and trust God more. Check out the video called “Three questions that need to be asked” from NewSpring Church.

Enjoy.

jp

In That Secret Place

2009-02-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

How about two blogs in two days! Just has some time and thought I would throw these two thoughts up here while I was thinking about it.

For the past year God keeps bringing me back to Psalms 139. I’ve been attempting to do a full memorization on this chapter because is speaks to me so kindly of how God sees me and thinks about me. I’ve got all kinds of study notes on this chapter now, but the thing that has been sticking out the most to me over the past while comes from verses 15 and 16.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

The first phrase of v15 does not do this justice to what the psalmist actually was implying. These verses are a powerful picture of God, up close and personal, knitting me together in my mother’s womb and never able to take His eyes off of me because I was the main focal point. It’s just like my Dad watching hockey when I was a kid. He was glued to the TV. If one of us kids tried to talk to him, he would respond, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the action in front of him. He would rock back and forth and side to side with all the hockey action, engaged verbally with the TV and in constant motion throughout the whole game. We were the distraction; the hockey was the prime focal point.

In my mother’s womb, I was the prime focal point for God. He couldn’t take His eyes off of me. He could not be distracted. A deeper study also showed me that not only was He completely focused on me, but he was actually mesmerized by me and couldn’t stop thinking about me. Mesmerized (or captivated) by me as He busied Himself with the act of created me, making me just like he had imagined before he even started a single stitch. In that dark, quiet, still place; in that secure and perfect incubator (my mom), there was God and there was me. And He loved me and couldn’t stop thinking about me. All I was able to do was to be there and receive and know the warmth of His presence and His love.

God, let this knowledge change my view of myself. May I come to really know and understand in my heart that you are a loving and gracious God and that you like to be with me. Bring me back often to that place of being perfectly still and quiet, delighting myself in your presence.

I got lots more on this chapter that God has used to speak deeply into my life. Perhaps someday I’ll expand some more.

jp

Altering the Future

2009-02-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while and I've not journaled here one single thing. I have a sneaky feeling that there is a whole lot more thought going on in my head than that which I let out. Oh well.

Been reading Leadership Gold from John Maxwell. Great stuff. It encapsulates all of his thoughts on leadership throughout his life time into one book with great applications around each chapter.

First off, chapter one made it clear to me that I have a responsibilty as a leader to bring others along with me. If I'm climbing a mountain by myself, all I can do at best is tell others of my achievements, but if I bring others along with me, the stories get told in many places and many have an opportunity to learn with me those things that I am coming to understand.

Robert Greenleaf said that "The greatest forsight, the most difficult and most exciting, is the influence one wields on the future by helping the growth of people who will be in commanding positions in the next generation."

He goes on to say that the future can be radically altered by the kinds of people now being prepared for the future. Wow! I can either contribute to the future, or let my life pass before me without any intentiality towards the growth of others. I choose the former.

jp

First Cut

2008-08-16T12:30:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone.

I've started this blog to get some of my thoughts down on paper around my role and things I am learning about myself how I lead others. I'll add to this from time to time, but no promises on the frequency.

Blessings!

jp