When Kids speak....

About a week ago I sat down with my older kids to explain to them some of the changes that would be happening with my job and the future for our family. I really didn’t know what to expect, would they be crying or just not really care, seriously I had no clue. What happened….

Well my kids started to teach me.  You see as Heidi and I have been praying through all these decisions over the last while two things became clear. First of all we know that with all that is going on in our kids lives and with their unique stories that God has been crafting we are staying in Chilliwack for the near future. In other words we aint moving anytime soon. The other piece is that God is in control and we need to be obedient to whatever he has before us and to trust in him.  To be completely honest, for me, sometimes those are both easier to type then to do. My kids on the other hand it seems totally natural. I got the “duh Dad, of course were supposed to stay here.” Then they started to plan our future. I didn’t ask them to but really I was kind of cut out of the following discussion as they spoke around me instead of to me. Here is a glimpse of what took place.

Char: Hey Dad is doing guitar so maybe he can start doing music now!”

Man: “Yeah, I guess, but shouldn't he get some voice lessons too. He’s a little rough.”

Char: “Well Dad I can go do some more acting and help support us.”

Man: “Maybe you can get a job at the movies, then we can get in for free.”

Char: “Or 7-11 Dad then you can get us all slurpees, they all know you there anyway.”

Every one of my kids offered to go get jobs as long as we could keep doing church and ministering to people. Every one of them asked if we were still going to be able to open our home and study the Bible with people and every one of them asked if they can invite their friends and families.  

As a Dad I was so proud. As a brother in Christ I learned a lesson.  Though at times I may think that I need to shoulder this alone or that Heidi and I need to figure it out on our own. God speaks often through our kids as well. No, I’m not sending them out to get jobs…. Yet. But as Heidi and I are seeking out answers and as God is guiding us we will also be including those short people in some of the conversations and listening to what God has put on their humongous hearts. 

^{Matthew 19:13-15 (MSG)}

One day children were brought to Jesus in the hope that he would lay hands on them and pray over them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus intervened: “Let the children alone, don’t prevent them from coming to me. God’s kingdom is made up of people like these.” After laying hands on them, he left.

The Journey Continues!

I once had someone describe life to me as a book with chapters, as one chapter closes another one starts. Others speak of life as seasons, again as one closes another opens. I have always seen life more as a journey. This journey has taken me through some truly hard times, absolutely amazing times and everything in between.

You see the thing about being on a journey is that even though you are perpetually moving forward your past is not closed off to you. A journey, especially one that is being guided by God, will take you all over the place including places you never thought you would go or return too. It will bring people in and out of your life and as they are on their own journeys. Watching how God intersects and twist and stretches us all becomes an adventure of its own.

Today Heidi and I and the kids are taking another turn on the path and following God into the great unknown. As of Feb 28^th 2015 I will no longer be on staff at Yarrow Alliance Church. We know bits and pieces of the future. I know what God has put on my heart, but we are taking time for discernment, to build into ourselves and our kids and to try and set an example to them of what it means to follow Jesus 100%. 

I’d be lying if I told you that I know how this all turns out. That the plan is all in place for the future and that I’m not a bit scared and nervous. But I can tell you that I feel a peace and a freedom that only comes when we step out in obedience to God.  I'm excited for the journey ahead and we do covet your prayers. The announcement was made last Sunday at our church and I don’t know if I was more nervous about the announcement or the fact that I was on the worship team for the first time in a loooong time and had to throw down a lil Rap in one of the songs. Yes, you read that right.  Let me leave you with the words from that “Rap” they are taken from Eugene Peterson’s the Message. 

Matthew 5:3-12

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Arthritis, Discipleship and a Hug!!

mathétés(disciple)

I went in to the doc this week because I’d been having constant pain in my knees. After x-rays and tests it was clearly shown that at the ripe age of 36 I have degenerative arthritis in both knees. As we talked about treatment options the talk of physiotherapy came up and my doc said something that struck a nerve. “A good Physio will try and work themselves out of a job.” Meaning that if they are doing their job right I will learn the skills, exercises and all the things that will help me to take care of myself going forward.

The reason this struck a nerve was that I was in the middle of preparing my sermon for this Sunday on Matthew 28:18-20(NIV)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You see discipleship is about learning and training. As Christians we are called to learn from those who have come before us and to pass on knowledge to those that come after us. This seems simple enough, but truly as someone who has worked in ministry in both a lay and paid capacity for over 15 years I've come to realize that for many pastors and leaders this is actually quite scary.

I’d love to say that we pastors don’t ever think about it, but when you are in a paid ministry position the thought of training your replacement and that in doing so you may be giving up the security of a pay check or even more so the family and friends, your children’s schools, your doctor, well let’s face it your life.  Not just your life but the lives of your spouse and children. Well that is sometimes a hard thing to think about, but we do.

Thinking about those,  is one thing. The reaction to those thoughts is another. The majority of my peers and colleagues take the minute to think and then press forward in obedience to their calling. You see there is a freedom that comes through obedience to God. It is not an easy path but it is one with hope and promise. Where we are called to journey with each other as believers, climbing through the muck of life. Through the good, the bad, the funny, the sad, through disappointment and victory, all the while looking to Christ for guidance and support.

I've had people ask me how do I believe in a God we can’t see and am I just leading people astray by teaching about Jesus and the Bible and what it is to follow him. My answer…

The more I walk side by side with followers of Christ the more I see him inside each of them. The strange part is that I don’t see it when they are successful or obtain some certain goal. I see it when they are in those learning moments. When the realization comes that the only way forward is to lean on Christ, his grace and to be obedient to his call. Just like so many of my pastors took the time to pour into me to try and see how the Spirit dwelled inside me, who challenged me and pushed me no matter what the cost to themselves.

So if you are a believer, if you attend church or if you had someone that is or has disciple you. Do me a big favour. Give them a hug this Sunday or send them a note of encouragement.  The truth is that though we are in positions of discipling we are also disciples ourselves. We are constantly learning, growing and hoping. You see we know that we aren't perfect and that we sin as well. That we are human just like everyone else. We are often our own harshest critic and sometimes we need to be challenged but sometimes we just need to be loved as well, just like you.

Then after you've

done that take a moment and talk to God. Ask him who it is that he is putting in your life who has he put there for you to disciple, to do life with, to get to see another glimpse of what God looks like. Let’s focus together at discipling another generation of believers instead and work ourselves out of a job.

We're here!!! Mexico Missions 2014 day 1

We started our trip yesterday as we flew down from Seattle to join 3 from our team already here in San Diego. Everyone made the flight(though some May have cut it closer than others). Safe flight for everyone, we'll except Richards bag, but thanks to the fine clothing store Inn 'n out burger he now has a replacement wardrobe. The border was an adventure and we are still waiting for our final 3 to show up but that may be because after they had a little detour at the border and got to go on a lil adventure. They may have stopped at a taco stand on the way down to reward themselves for surviving. Well deserved I might add.

So for all you concerned family members. We are all safe. We were greeted with a great meal and smiling faces as we arrived. Everyone is heading to bed soon and tomorrow the work begins.

It's been great to see our team already coming together and the genuine love and care they have for each other. This isn't just with our team but with Crossroads as well. It was great to see people from both teams pitching in to put these bean bags together for one of the games planned for the kids. You had people making funnels, others filling the bags, then even more people sewing them shut. All this while riding in a bus with no AC and some fairly tight quarters. 

It's like the guy who took this picture at the airport told me after he saw us praying and took my camera so I could get in the pic. " it looks like y'all are off to do some of God's work, as a brother I'd like to do my part no matter how small it may seem!"

We covet your prayers, appreciate your support and pray that our eyes will be opened to what God's planned for this week. 

Cory

For Father's Day!

This morning I was listening to the radio and as usual jamming in my car to the music and laughing at the DJ's as they went through their morning routine. But then one of them said something that made my heart sink. They were talking about calling there Dads for fathers day and one of them was posing the question who should he call? That the others had Dads that had stuck around but that his just left. The hardest part for me is that as I've been listening to these folks for awhile I know that he is a new dad and that in what I hear him talk about, it seems like he is doing an awesome job. What for many of us is a natural shift where we go from being the child in our primary child/parent relationships to being the parent couldn't and wont happen for him yet despite that he is bucking the trend and ensuring that his child doesn't have to grow up with that void in their life.

 The words that popped into my head were this. "Fatherhood is not about what he did, it is about what you are doing and will do."  

This fathers day as I reflect on my own life and my relationships with my Dad and my kids, I realize that I have a long way to go but that I've also come a long way. My wife and truly my partner has helped push me to have those conversations that I didn't want to have.  To seek help when I thought I could do it alone and to slow down when I became blind to what was happening around me. 

To all you fellow dads out there let me encourage you. Stick around. Sometimes it will be hard. You will need to occasionally be the rock when you feel like a sponge. It is no longer all about you, yet by pursuing your dreams you will help them to have dreams of their own. By loving your wife you will show your daughters how a woman should be treated and your sons how to love a woman. Find other guys with similiar values and circumstances to journey through life with. Don't fall in to the traps of self doubt and learn to focus on those things that are truly important. To all of you guys I wish a Happy Fathers Day, and to that DJ if you'd like feel free to give me a call because I want to wish you a happy fathers day, and tell you well done.

Got Questions??

First I have a confession, or probably better put let me let you know, that I know, that you know that I as a pastor don’t have all the answers. I cannot chapter and verse everything in the Bible. I am not fluent in Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic. Man I’m so bad that often when you bring up some of those weird names in the Bible to impress me I just nod my head and then Google it. In fact I have and struggle with many of the same questions you probably do.

Here’s what I do know. Many of you have a lot of questions that you are afraid to ask. Either you think people will judge you or look down upon you. Truth is you might just be really shy. Maybe you have been hurt by people in the church. Or you just see the church as hypocritical. You might even think that Christians are idiots or that church is only good for community. Maybe just maybe you really just don’t care if God is real. Or you follow another God altogether.

That being said here’s what I’d like to do about it. Twice a month, on a Friday evening starting April 25th Heidi and I are going to open up our house and invite you in. We will eat a meal together and get to know each other and then we’ll go after answering some of these questions together. I’m going to give people a site where they can go and ask the questions, and my commitment will be to do my best to see what the Bible says about it if it even touches on it at all. Here’s what I ask of you. No matter where you stand on the questions we will discuss I just ask that we be respectful of each other and that you respect us and our home. That and RSVP so we know how much food to make. It’s as Simple as that! We will try and limit the size of this so that everyone can have a chance to speak. So it’s kind of a first come first serve deal. Well there you be. If this is something that interests you or that you think some of your friends or family in Chilliwack would appreciate please share it on your own FB page and have them contact me at

cory@yarrowalliance.org 

A Letter to my Mom!!

Hey Mom,

I’ve been avoiding sitting down to write this because in all honesty I didn’t want to deal with all the emotions that are flowing through me right now.  But this is something I need to do.  I needed to tell you again how much I love you. How amazing you are and how much I’m going to miss you.  

First of all I want to thank you for a few things.

1.  Thank you for teaching me to have a relationship with God!!

You not only took me to church and youth group but you let me in on your relationship with God. The doubts, the struggles, you taught me how to forgive and how to apologize.  Even in your last days you were checking in with me telling me about your devotions and what you were learning for the first time at 71. But most of all Mom you allowed me to form my own relationship with God. When I was being a rebellious teen and when I was older and was choosing the world and myself over him you didn’t shun me or judge me. You didn’t ignore it either, no you prayed for me you loved me and you pointed me to him.

2.  Thank you for adopting me.

Just over 36 years ago you and Dad took me in at 3 days old. You weren’t allowed to meet my birthparents, you received limited details about where I came from but you took me in and you loved me just as you loved Chris. The thing is I never felt unloved or different. You also realized that I was different from you and Dad but instead of trying to make me like you, the encouragement was to be who God made me to be. You never spoke negatively about my birth family but instead would tell me that if I ever met them you wanted to meet them and thank them for giving me to you. Then when the time came that I did meet them you did exactly what you said you would do.

3.   Thank you for putting us first.

As I read through the Obituary that Dad wrote I was reminded again about what an amazing, intelligent and talented woman you were. You had so many gifts and abilities. You could have done anything you set your mind to. Time and Time again you proved this. Whether as a young woman playing tennis and stirring up mischief. To graduating from college, running political campaigns, trailblazing the integration of special needs children into the public schools. The list goes on and on. But most of all you were a loving wife an amazing mom and an awesome Grandma. You always put us first and when other opportunities would come even if they were in line with your greatest passions and interests you didn’t even hesitate in choosing us.

4.  Thank you for loving my wife and kids.

The hardest conversation of my life was when you and I had to have a heart to heart and I told you that if I ever had to choose between you and Heidi that you needed to know I choose Heidi. I was worried that though we needed to have that talk I may have lost you. You were hurt and you took some time to process it but then you came back to me and told me I had made the right choice. You poured out your love on Heidi and the kids and pursued individual relationships with each of them while respecting us as a couple. In the last year especially I think you actually talked to Heidi more than you talked with me. Every single one of them misses you mom. They are all dealing with it in their own way and we are processing through this together, but I want you to know that every single one of them knows you loved them and that as we Buettners roll nothing was left unsaid or undealt with.

Now that some of that’s been said, and trust me I'm thankful for so much more, I need to say a few more things!

        Mom I miss you. I've caught myself picking up the phone to call or starting a text and deleting it half way through. As you know I've always been one who excels in crisis, but you finally got me stumped. I'm leaning on Heidi a bunch, and our church and friends have been great, but this is so freaking hard.

        Chris is hanging with us till the funeral and though we thought we were helping him out I think he`s been the one that’s been the most grounded. Every once in a while he tells me `` I miss Mommy!!`` That usually gets anyone in a 2 mile radius crying but then I ask him

Me: "where is mommy?"
Chris: "Heaven, With Jack Holderness, GaGa, Grandpa, Grandma, Cedrick!"

We cry a bit then he sits down with the kids and plays with them or watches a show with them. Mom you should have seen him jumping on the trampoline and throwing around the football. The kids are trying to teach him about mine craft and this rubber band loom thing.  I do have to confess though that we are finally trying out a goatee on him and are attempting to expand his Palette a bit. You’d be so proud of him Mom he’s doing great.

Well Mom I’m going to shut up a bit now don’t worry I’ll write again soon. And Dads going to be fine too, his brothers and sister have stepped up and are with him, we will see them in a week so they can’t get into too much trouble. Who am I kidding, you and I both know  I’m just waiting for a phone call needing to bail them out. (love ya guys!)   Tell God that I understand why he took you home, he decided to brighten up the place a bit. But I could have used some more time with you here, good thing we've got eternity together, Eh!!

Your loving Son,

            Corlin Francis Buettner

All she asked for was some water (Repostfrom281820)

I was out for a late night jog. These are the only type I get nowadays. With my schedule a wife and five kids you squeeze stuff in whenever you can. This is my alone time, I pop in the earbuds, turn on my Ipod and away I go. Sometimes I pray a bit but usually I just zone out and watch the rain fall in front of me as I run. Tonight was no different I did my usual run saw the usual people out and about and thought to myself as I trotted along , but when I was about 15 minutes away from home I saw her standing on the corner working away. If I crossed the street it would be obvious that I was trying to avoid her so I thought to myself just pass on by and don’t make eye contact, you don’t want to give the wrong idea. So I ran past looking straight through her as if she wasn’t even there. Then as I passed I heard a voice ask “can I please have some of your water?” It was as much a shock to me as it was to her when I stopped and turned around. She asked me again “I’m so thirsty can I please have some of your water bottle?” I handed it to her and told her to take the rest and to keep it. She said thanks and as I left I just said “take care kiddo.” As if we’d been friends for a long time. As I was jogging back home all I could think of was the women at the well. I didn’t have the wherewithal to share Christ with her tonight and who knows if it was my job to do anyways. What I do know is that the water I gave her will only quench her thirst temporarily but the living water that has been given for us all could quench it forever. I like to think that I accept all people and that I don’t judge others, but it’s just not true. Tonight a prostitute taught me that I am no better or more human than she is. I may have a roof over my head a family that I love and all the other stuff that I hold dear but I need that water just as much as she does. We worry about H1N1, the bills that are piling up, getting our way and about our rights being ignored. Yet there are people around us who have no food to eat no water to drink and no idea that anyone, especially God, could love them. I’m not going to be perfect and I won’t always have the right answer but from here on out I know that I’ll always run with an extra bottle of water.

Can't we just be Friends? Again.

So here is the issue. When we first became friends, it was because I truthfully had an interest in you and what was going on in your life. Over time I feel like we’ve lost something. You give me tid bits here and there but I don’t really know “you” anymore. You talk about Politics, what’s new in the media and sometimes but rarely you’ll tell me a funny joke or tell me a story about someone else but what I really want to hear about is you, your life, and what is going on with it.

Maybe that sounds sappy, but for me it’s true. You see at my very core I love people, relationships and community. I have my own political views and my stances on things but for some reason at some time you became a part of my life. Now either part of, or the limits of our relationship, is social Media. I love to hear the things that are going on in your life. Your Relationships, children, passions and joys. I want to be able to celebrate with you a promotion, or a new relationship, to see where you are today in comparison to yesterday. To know when things in life aren’t going so hot. Or when you are experience loss or struggles. When you have questions or just need a bit of prayer, I want to hear.  Oh yeah and if its funny stuff, keep posting that as well. Your sense of humor is part of what makes you.....well you.

Who you dislike or which politician you endorse, well quite frankly I don’t care. I can make up my own mind, hear the same speeches and can even use google myself.

Your causes, now here is the tricky part. I believe that our causes and our passions are often intertwined, but as a friend if you are going to point me to a cause please tell me why it means so much to YOU. Why does something affect you the way it does. Why does it make you change your profile pic or spam us all? What is it about this subject that touches you so.  Whether it’s your faith or your lifestyle. Whether a wrong that needs righting, or a cause for social justice. What does it mean to YOU!

You see I do actually care about you. Whether you like it or not I take the time to pray when I hear things about your life. You see to know me you need to know that being a beloved Child of God is at my very center. It’s just who I am. Yes I’m also a Husband, a father, a Pastor, a friend but ultimately I’m a Bible believing, Christ following dude that doesn’t even pretend to have all the answers, but I know the guy who does!

Now, tell me more about you!!

A Note to My Sons, (On fatherhood)

A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be. ~Frank A. Clark

Hey guys you're too young for this, so put it in the file for now but here is just part of what I want to share with you. You and you're sisters are an amazing gift to Mom and I. God continually uses you to help bring us closer to him. I'm going to share a bit now and hope that it makes sense to you why I'm sharing it with others as well. I pray everyday that you grow to be great men and that God uses you to impact this world for him. That you have an amazing journey and see awesome things, but most of all that someday you too can hold a child in your arms and be able to feel what I felt the first day I met you.

“Before I got married I had six theories about raising children; now, I have six children and no theories.” 
― John Wilmot

Fatherhood isn't what I expected it to be. Harder? Yes. Challenging? Certainly. Fulfilling? More than words can explain. But what really surprised me is how this thing called fatherhood has been revealing. Being a Dad totally refines the definition of who you are. It doesn't take away from what you were before but rather utilizes those parts of you that you chose to ignore or didn't even know were there. Yesterday I took my son to a dance competition. As we drove there we talked for over an hour. No life changing discussions. No deep questions about life and God but just talked and laughed and enjoyed being together. Well there was one question. He asked “Dad how do you know if a grown up is lying about their age?” To which I simply replied are they male or female?  It took a second to set in and then he giggled uncontrollably for a bit and I'm sure will repeat the joke at least 100 times until a new one comes along. It wasn't to knock women it was just a joke between a dad and a son. We talked about making sure that he did his best at the competition. That he was respectful to his team-mates  his instructors and to the other competitors. What I noticed about this conversation as well as many of the others that I have with my kids is that as a parent and for me as a dad there was this moment where it wasn't all about me but it is about them. God may use me to do lots of things in life. He has already given me the opportunity to see and do so much, but nothing and I mean nothing in this world has been as great a gift as being a Husband to my wife and a father to my children.

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. ~Rev. Theodore Hesburgh

The key there is first being a Husband to my wife.  I make no claims at being the perfect husband. I'm a 6’2” 260lb, ADHD dreamer who can think big, play hard and throw down with the best of them but without my girl, I’d be a lousy dad and an even worse husband.  She puts up with a lot but stays by my side. Guys, no matter who your wife is, or how different you may be from one another it is your job to love her, to take a step back and look at her in all the beauty and gorgeousness that God created her. She’s not perfect and can probably push any one of your buttons if she chooses. Your marriage may be going great or not so hot, but you have to own your part. In Ephesians 5 Paul writes

 ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

I don’t know what you hear in this but here is what I’ve realized. If Christ can give up his life for me, can go to the cross for this sinner of mass proportions and can love me unconditionally. If I look to him as someone to emulate, as an ideal to strive toward. Then isn’t it my job to show my children through my relationship with my wife:

1.    How to treat a woman (for my boys)

2.    How a woman should be treated (for my girls)

3.    That there is a God and he loves us all

4.    What is really important in life (it's not all about me)

5.    That I love them no matter what

6.    How to care for others

7.    How to care for our own family and those God will bring into our family.

No, Fatherhood isn't what I expected, it is so much more!!!

Dad, when you were little did you have Special needs?

I came home the other day and my wife says Hey Cory, Char has a question for you. My lil girl comes up to me and in the sweetest voice possible asks “Daddy when you were little, were you special needs?” I didn’t know quite how to take or handle that one but then I looked at her reality. You see my son her older brother has special needs. My brother her Uncle also has special needs and to her as well as the rest of my kids this is just the norm. She was just being curious. Down deep she was wondering if this is something her brother will grow out of. If her uncle, will someday be like everyone else.  We like to say that nobody is normal, that everyone has their differences, weaknesses and strengths but the truth is that those with developmental disabilities are harder to figure out. In a day and age when we are all striving to be treated equally, what do we do with an adult who has temper tantrums and sometimes acts like a 6 year old child? Or a child whose only way to communicate is with his hands using a language we don’t know? A group of people whose advocates are parents siblings and friends because even though they have a lot to say and even more to show they are dismissed because they walk funny or look different or speak with a lisp or speech impediment. We don’t usually know how to handle these things. I admit even as a parent and a sibling I often get it wrong. I baby when I shouldn’t or try to force independence when they aren’t ready. I can become as frustrated as they do when they want to say something but don’t know the words to use. I looked down at my little girl and gave her a hug and just laughed off the question but as I’ve had time to think about it I believe my answer is now yes. You see Char,

I was born into a world that instead of appreciating its differences and celebrating its diversity it exploits it.

It chooses to segregate and divide

instead of educate and align.

It turns its back on good and holy

to look to the wealthy and glitzy.

Those who are beautiful are dismissed

as we write books and magazines on superficial bliss.

My brother and my son are the ones who were born with their eyes wide open.

They see the beauty inside,

the love in one’s eyes.

They know what’s right and wrong

and care not about race, creed, party and so on.

They know they have challenges and they push hard every day.

With a strength that very few know.

Hearing the laughs and the jeers,

the mocking and sneers,

Living in a world that cares more about its rights,

Than what’s right

They put trust in us,

The incomplete, the ignorant, and arrogant.

They forgive us no matter what and love us unconditionally.

They are always there with a smile and a hug.

A better anti-depressant than any drug.

They are the hands and the feet,

The eyes and the ears,

Without them we are incomplete.

Oh to see them as God sees them, as he sees us. Char they, just like you, are an expression of his love.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13:13

The Message (MSG)

Spiritual Gifts

^12-13 You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

^14-18 I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

^19-24 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

^25-26 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

^27-31 You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”:

apostles
prophets
teachers
miracle workers
healers
helpers
organizers
those who pray in tongues.

But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts.

But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

² If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

^3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

¹¹ When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

¹² We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

¹³ But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Adventure in the ER

So I was planning on going to the movies the other night and then it happened. All parents sense it, that feeling you get early on in the day when you just have an inkling that the plans you had for later just might not happen. We had all just survived the flu bug and I figured I was good to go so I contacted my buddy to go see a flick. But there it was, the ear scratching, I tried to convince myself that it was just part of a cold. There was no fever no cough, really no other signs that he was sick but as the night got on it became clearer and clearer that this may not end up the way I had planned. So I got them all fed and ready for bed. Gave him some Tylenol and headed to the movies. Yeah, not winning father of the year here I know. But I got there and the guilt started to set in. The multiple texts helped the guilt set in but it was there all the same. So I called, and when I heard the voice on the other line, and the voice behind her, I knew that I was going home. Then off to the ER and that is where the adventure begins. The ER in Chilliwack never seems to disappoint. It is always quite entertaining and tonight was no exception. It was packed. We were greeted warmly, temp taken, weighed and then we sat down in the lobby. It didn't take long and then we heard it, “SECURITY, SECURITY” A gentlemen must not have liked what he had been told and proceeded to pound on the glass, fall back into his seat, then pound on the glass, puke on the floor.... Well you get the picture. So I'm expecting Paul Blart and his Segway to come blasting around the corner and save the day but nope, not quite what happened. Two elderly gentleman who before the put their security hats on looked like they had been waiting with the rest of us. In fact I had been worried that we were waiting so long one of them might not make it. Well they jumped up and 5 minutes and 20 feet later they got to this guy and with one shake of the finger he was out of there. They puffed out their chests went back to their seats and for one of them back to their nap as well. Either that or he was pulling the old Clint Eastwood hat over my eyes and pretend I'm asleep move. Well after that excitement and two hours of playing on my iPhone I noticed that my son was finally starting to fall asleep on my shoulder. I was in that critical moment where if I moved I would ruin my chances for the rest of the night so I sat there motionless staring over his head and watching Sportcenter. Then to my surprise I felt something on my other shoulder. I slowly turned my head so I wouldn't wake him up and sure enough the lady sitting next to me was fast asleep on my other shoulder, and even snoring. So I did what any good Dad does I turned my head back and finished watching the highlights of the day.  

As I look back on that night I find it funny that my wanting to go to the movie to escape a bit and to just “be with me” would have robbed me from who I really am. You see God gave me my kids not as a nuisance or a burden, not even because of how responsible he knew I’d be. No he gave them to me so I could realize what it is to be loved unconditionally to be able to comfort them when nobody else can. To learn to see things as they do. To see the “Cops who took down the bad guy!” and to be able to sit in a room full of strangers and just sit and smile at everyone who walks in no matter their race, gender, orientation, or level of intoxication. And to even share a shoulder with a stranger who as I looked over had tears in her eyes and tracks on her arms and who knows how long it had been since she’d had a Dad’s shoulder to lean on. Thanks lil Man for the adventure, and for keeping that smile on your face. If only everyone could see the amazing world that you do it’d probably be a better place.