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Trick or Whaaa?

I was enjoying this night.  I came home early from work so that I could be here to pass out Halloween candy.  It's fun having the neighborhood kids come to your door squealing with excitement over the small gifts you place in their pumpkins.  I saw cowgirls and pirates.  Lots of ghost-looking costumes and one Raggedy Anne.  I wish the two boys pictured would have made it to my house.  But I guess 7 hours is a bit of a drive for a piece of candy.  All was going well until a group of children came to the door around 7pm.  There were a smattering of ages.  Most were young and excited to receive their Kit Kat and Laffy Taffy.  But then a girl who was probably in 5th grade or early junior high says, "Can I have a bottle of water?"  "What?" I asked wondering if I had heard her correctly.  "A bottle of water," she said emotionless.  Puzzled, a "no" came out of my mouth before I even processed the conversation.  She shrugged and walked back to the car that was idling in front of my house.

So I guess I didn't "lead with a yes" in this particular instance.  Maybe I just failed an "I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink" test.  I guess I was just so taken aback.  Is this where trick-or-treating has evolved?  Are we supposed to take requests now?  Should I have had a menu ready for kids to order from when they arrived on my front stoop?

Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is such an odd thing.  This is the 3rd year I've had a team in a league composed of a variety of people from my church.  What makes it odd is that it completely changes one's viewing experience.  I'm sitting here watching the Cowboys play the Panthers on Sunday night football and I'm rooting for both teams.  #82 on the Cowboys is on my team.  So is #89, Steve Smith, from the Panthers.  So I'm always cheering for whichever offense is on the field.

Add to that the fact that I'm cheering for the Cowboys' quarterback because he is the only player in the NFL who's from Eastern Illinois University (where I watched him play when I was a campus minister).  But I'm rooting against the Cowboys because I don't really like them (especially a wide receiver on their team who no one wants to talk about).  Yet I want the Cowboys to score because my fantasy football opponent owns the Panther defense and she loses points every time the Cowboys score.

I might be going crazy.

It Got Me!

Well, for the first time in my life daylight savings time got me.  I forgot about it and showed up an hour early today out at our Yorkville campus.  It's surprising because I really am fond of sleep and normally celebrate this "turn back your clock" day as a special holiday.  But last night I forgot.  I'm kind of glad I did though because I had a great time out at Yorkville helping the core team set up for the morning.  It had been a long time since I've set up a Kids' City sound system, hung banners, etc. etc.  It reminds me what an incredible job our Campus Directors and volunteer Set-Up teams do every weekend.  These people should get an extra hour to sleep every week.

"My Girls"

I've been reading old journals that chronicle my last year as a campus minister at Eastern Illinois University.  There were challenges and struggles that came with being a young, single professional in a small university town.  But I did love my job.  Mostly I loved "my girls."  I believed that my number one calling during that period of my life was to pour into the lives of the young women that served on the leadership team of our campus ministry.  I met with most of them weekly for discipleship, Bible study, and conversations about life.  I can't tell you the number of Kleenex boxes they went through as we worked through the minor and major issues in their lives.  Nothing was more rewarding than watching them grow.  The pain of having to say goodbye to them as they finished their senior years was soothed by the knowledge that some church, some neighborhood, some job, some community somewhere was going to receive what God had fashioned in their lives.  Jo, Danah, Leah, Amanda, Jen, Debbie, Erika, Sarah, Jessie, Kristen, Katie, Lisa...  Those were just some of "my girls."  I feel a connection to them that I'm not sure I'll ever experience quite in the same way again.

So today was a special treat as two of them found their way to my house.  The visit was much too short as they traveled interstate 55 between a bridal shower and the bachlorette party.  But I'm so glad they stopped.  Sarah's sweet spirit is so beautiful.  I loved seeing the small bump that is expanding from her stomach as she prepares to become the mom I always knew she would be.  I think back to the tears we cried together and am overjoyed at how God is redeeming past pain.

Katie is always full of life.  She launched into her "here are the things I want to tell you about my life" stories and I loved listening to every minute of it.  She is passionate about the things she loves.  She knows what it is to live with joy. 

I think when I'm 40 or 50 the best present someone could give me would be to round up all of these girls (women) and bring us all together for a big party.  Their lives have gone on in dozens of different directions, but to me they are still "my girls."  I don't think that will ever change.

Workout Tunes

Each month to prepare for our elementary Kids' City programming I burn the music CDs that go with the worship time.  I have to import all the songs, sound effects, and mp3 voiceovers into iTunes on my laptop where I can rearrange them into the right order for the service flow and burn the master CDs.  No big deal.

But it gets interesting because the iTunes program I utilize for this Kids' City task also feeds my iPod.  I like to wear my iPod when I work out and often can't decide what I want to listen to so I choose the "Shuffle Songs" option from the menu and let the iPod decide what I'll hear.

So today in between songs by U2, Shawn McDonald, James Blunt, and Nicole Nordeman; I worked out to Paul the Apossum explaining Acts 2 (a voiceover for the puppet in our current series), 'Believe it or Not' (the theme song from the old TV show 'The Greatest American Hero'), 30 seconds of crickets chirping, and a children's choir singing a rock version of The Little Drummer Boy. 

I bet no one else can say that.

Freezeball

I have a question.  Has the baseball season always been 162 games?  If not, when did they start that?  If it isn't a sacred tradition, I'd like to make a suggestion.  How about cutting the season down to 150 games? 

The reason I'm asking is I just happened to come across the 2nd game of the World Series as I'm flipping through the channels.  I really don't think you should be able to see your breath when you are pitching.  During the crowd shots, some of the people look miserable sitting in the stands freezing their butts off.

Isn't baseball a summer game?  Then why do we wait until it is 30 degrees in Detroit to play for the championship?

It makes sense to me to wrap up this whole thing by the first weekend in October.  But I'm guessing the people behind hot dog and beer sales would beg to differ.  So the players will just have to live with the sting of line drives and pray they don't slip on the ice on their way to home plate.

New Blog Home

Well, you found it!  Hope Deferred has moved to Typepad.  Let me know what you think about the site and some of its features.  You'll even get to see your screenname appear in the column on the right when you comment! :) 

Thanks for following me here!

New Series Video

Since I love sharing our CCC Videos with you non-CCC types, I thought I'd share this one. It is the first in a series of four that will be shown during our current series, "Christian No More." In this series we're being challenged to stop being Christians (or to never become one). Well, stop being what "Christian" has unfortunately come to mean. Instead, be a Christ-follower...one who is whole-heartedly dedicated to following Jesus. Enjoy the video (especially you Mac users)!

In "Things I Can't Do"

Now I realize no one can be good at everything. Some people are good at sports, others have no coordination. Some people are good at math, others can't multiply two numbers. Some people can sing, others think they can sing. I don't expect to be good at everything, but this deficiency is driving me nuts.

I have to face it every time I enter the produce department of the local Meijer where I shop. I was there again tonight and had the same problem. And it's not limited to Meijer. It's gotten me at Jewel and Dominick's too.

I can't get those stupid plastic bags in the fruit and vegetable section open. Does anyone else have this problem? There I am, standing in front of the zucchini, rubbing the edges of the plastic together in vain. This ordeal lasts so long that I always wonder if some guy watching on some security camera in a back room is laughing at me.

Other women walk right up, tear a bag off the roll, and instantly begin filling it with apples or green beans. Then there's me. Trying to delicately grip two distinct sides. Is this a skill you only acquire when you are married or have children?

A couple weeks ago I gave up. I'd been standing there trying with all my might when another woman came up next to me and began filling bags with vegetables. I cracked. When she opened her third bag, I asked for it. Yes, I asked her to give it to me in exchange for my defective one. She kindly obliged and as I began filling it she quickly opened the bag I had handed her and continued on with her shopping.

I guess there are just some things I'll never be able to do.

Promised Land

My life changed 5 years ago on this date. Last night I was thinking about the transition I went through 5 years ago and wanted to remember some of the faith-stretching steps that led me to CCC so I grabbed a few old journals off the shelf and began looking back.

5 years ago to this day (Oct 16), my dear friend Monica spoke the words that released me. When she spoke, I knew that God was opening a door to something beyond. I went through the next 6 months wondering where God was leading. I didn't have a clue. But it is fun to read some of the thoughts that were going through my mind as I struggled to be Spirit-led. Thoughts like:

• October 20, 2001 "I want You to make me into something I'm not. Although I know Your Spirit is active and accomplishing things through me, I feel like I'm serving within the limits of my abilities. I just want more. I want to be willing to step into things that are bigger than me. Things that only you could do. Things that aren't safe and controlled. I want to give you the opportunity to make me into what I'm not for your glory."

Hmmm... Children's Director? I think God answered this one.

• November 11, 2001 "I think I might like to do something different than campus ministry. I think about the possibility of working in a growing church. And the more I think about it, the more I think about Chicago. I really think I'd like to go live in the Chicago area for a while...with museums and parks and lots of new things to discover."

Enough said.

• November 25, 2001 "It really does feel like you are calling me to step out in a new way--to a new future. There is 'venturing forth' in this. Beth Moore's admonition to 'go put my foot on my personal Promised Land' continues to echo in my soul. The minute Monica said, "Do you think it is time you considered leaving Charleston?" I felt like an unknown but real future opened up before me--something beyond this place. I'd never seen beyond this before. I'd never considered that I was made for something beyond--that my Promised Land was still out there."

It took 5 more months until the future became clear and I had plans to move to Naperville to join the staff of CCC. My faith never felt so alive as it did during those months of uncertainty. It didn't feel like I was going after anything...just that I was trying to feel my way through the dark. I only sent out 2 resumes. One to Willow Creek because it was the only church I knew in the Chicago area at the time. The other to a church a friend mentioned to me in early January 2002. He didn't tell me anything about the church. Just the name and that the pastors were some Ferguson brothers. For some reason, I knew I should be listening. I felt my way to CCC.

Looking back on all God was doing and all that he has given, I can't help but be overwhelmed with gratitude. I think I'm in the land he promised to me. It's better than I could have imagined 5 years ago today.