Touch of the Hands

Residents hold hands and pray at Jones High School for a vigil to remember those killed

 in the Pulse Nightclub shooting on Sunday, June 12, 2016. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel)

'Tis the human touch in this world that counts, 

The touch of your hand and mine

Which means far more to the fainting heart  

Than shelter and bread and wine;

For shelter is gone when the night is o'er,

And bread lasts only a day,  

But the touch of the hand and the sound of the voice

Sing on in the soul alway. 

                                     

                                      -- Spencer Michael Free

Prayers for our country today. 

For love to be stronger than hate. 

For healing more powerful than the pain. 

For our hands to come together in unity. 

May mercy triumph over evil. 

Compassion over injustice.

Hope in all times.

Amen. 

Never the Same

"Home is now behind you, the world is ahead!" – Gandalf, The Hobbit

In The Hobbit, we are invited into the story of Bilbo Baggins and his reluctant journey from the comfort of home to the adventure of fighting dragons. 

While most of us will probably not be summoned to fight a dragon in our lifetime, we can be assured that we will regularly be called out of comfort and to a higher purpose and adventure. It's the natural course of living and part of the maturing process.

Consider a two-year-old, who is being called out of the comfortable world of diapers, pacifiers, and bottles... Or a college graduate summoned to use their education, find a job, and pay a mortgage....

The problem is, if we're not careful, we lose the spirit of adventure and begin to set all our aspirations on how we can build a comfortable life. How can we save up for the next vacation... build a nice home on an acreage... get season tickets to our favorite sports team... give our kids every advantage we can... build a large retirement nest egg. On and on the list goes, you fill in the blanks. 

We fool ourselves into thinking our call to adventure can be satisfied if we have more activities on the calendar and lots of pleasure and entertainment and stuff. And at the end of the day, we are tired and empty and realize how temporal and unfulfilling all these things really are.

I would say, that's because we're created for a higher purpose. A calling that is always inviting us to grow, to walk out of our current 'comforts' and into a place of purpose that is challenging and deeply satisfying all at the same time. It takes intentionality to answer this call. 

Here are two questions to consider in light of your time, talent, and treasures: 

What makes me feel or look good? (Comforts)

How am I making a lasting impact? (Purpose)

Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.

Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them …

Gandalf:  You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back

Bilbo:  You can promise that I’ll come back?”

Gandalf:  No. And if you do, you will not be the same.

- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

 

Here's to answering our call to adventure and the promise that we'll never be the same, nor the people we impact. To the tales we will share and the ways we will grow. Here's to living our best lives. 

Bringing the Lamp

"There are persons so radiant, so genial, so kind, so pleasure-bearing, that you instinctively feel good in their presence that they do you good, whose coming into a room is like bringing a lamp there." Harriet Ward Beecher

As you read that quote, I bet someone comes to your mind. Someone that is so warm and kind, they light up the room whenever they walk in. 

This gift is not reserved for a select few. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we bring a presence into every relationship and room we enter. The pertinent question is not about whether you have influence; but rather, how are you using it? 

Living our best lives is opening the gift of our lives and learning how to give it to those around us. It's being the first to smile and say "hello". It's listening. Caring in the most practical ways. It's looking people in the eyes as they talk. And sharing stories and laughter, tears and sorrows. 

Let's not sit around and wait for others to do it around us. Let's lead ourselves and be the lamp that lights up the room. 

For you. For others. So that together, all of us can live our best lives. 

 
 

Bridge building

I often find myself running a search on Google or YouTube looking up how to do something. It's amazing how many tutorials are out there for cooking, fixing household items, pronouncing new words... you name it! While I am thankful for simple instructions that help me learn to do something new, it clearly has its limits.

There are places in all of our lives where we hope to bring change or growth and there is no aid in a Google discussion board or WikiHow. We are experiencing gaps or obstructions between the points we wish to connect. Things like navigating what I have, with what I need. Or where I am, with where I'd like to be.

We need a bridge between what is now and not yet. I've found that how we even go about building that bridge taps into our core beliefs and life strength. It will determine if the bridge will hold our weight and serve the purpose of getting us to the other side.

Bridge building is work. What materials do we use? Where do they come from? Who swings the hammer? Do I have energy or time to build a bridge... I really just want to be "over there".

Two things are helpful here. First, determine your source. Where are you going to pull from to get the job done? I have a good friend in his 70's who tells how he lived a long stretch of his life with the motto, "I can do all things." His willpower and grit produced a certain amount of success. And then his eyes light up when he talks about the life-defining moment when he came to understand, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 

Jesus is the best bridge there is. For every gap, weakness, shortcoming, dream, desire, and hope. This is what makes grace AMAZING. Receive his life, death and resurrection as your reality over and over again. Ask him for wisdom, ideas, motivation, and strength. He will supply you in the most practical areas of life as you look to him.

Secondly, do it with others. Say it out loud in your small group. Tell someone when they ask how you're doing. Speak it as you try to figure out how you will even live it. The secret is, that is how you start your bridge. When we share our tough spots with others, we find a SEA... Support, Encouragement, and Accountability that holds us up; and yes, even brings us further than we could ever go on our own. 

Living your best life is one of purpose and growth. You will build a lot of bridges in the process. Determine today to do it well and you will find your bridges not only bring you where you want to go, but also provide a pathway for others to follow behind you. 
 
 

Light a Candle Award

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

Living in Sync is excited to announce the inauguration of the Light a Candle Award, which is a $500 academic scholarship given in recognition of someone who has overcome adversity and exemplifies a giving spirit towards others. 

Rather than being shut down in the challenges of life, this person embraces hope and a determination to make the world a better place. They embody the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." 

This year's recipient is Bryce Davis, 18 year old senior at Waukee High school.

When Bryce was in 7th grade, his mom, Chris, was diagnosed with sarcoma. Life was a journey of good days and bad days and many surgeries along the way. In three short years, life changed forever as he held mom's hand and said a final good bye as Chris passed on to heaven.

Bryce has not let this trial shut him down or make him bitter. Rather, he has continued to live generously towards other people. He has put in many hours volunteering for organizations and helping others throughout his high school years.

His passion lies in the creative arts, particularly in music and dance. He has many accomplishments including his latest work of providing accompaniment for the Waukee High school play Les Miserables this spring. Here's a sneak peek.

Bryce is attending University of Northern Iowa this fall and will major in Elementary Education with a middle level endorsement in English, Mathematics, and Science. 

Light a Candle Award funded through the generous gifts of people who know the power of lighting a candle together and the difference it makes in people's lives. Donate to the scholarship fund here.

Here's to lighting candles and making the world a better place.

You are there.

If Life was a Baseball Game

I can get intense sometimes. Anybody else? If life was a baseball game, my swings would be hard and followed through. Every ounce of focus, sweat, and muscle going for the home run. That probably sets me up for a few more strike out's and a little more fatigue by the end of the night. But why play the game if you don't put everything you are into it?

I'm learning in life, that sometimes it's okay and even necessary to simply get a base hit. This type of swing is focused, yet tempered in the force behind the swing. Holding back some of the power, so that the ball can land between the outfields, allowing you to make it to base safely. It leaves room for the next hit to advance you around the bases. 

And what about the times the batter is called in to bunt and sacrifice his own hit to make way for a teammate to steal a base? Are there times I would be willing to lay down my own 'hit' and trip around the bases so that someone else can advance and we get a win for the team? 

When we focus too much on the home run's - we miss the true goal - of winning the game. And maybe that's not the true goal, either. Maybe it's enjoying the sport, playing to the best of our abilities, embracing the team spirit, and letting the outcome rest in God's hands. 

If life was a baseball game... I'd learn to slow down. I'd listen to the coach and watch his signals. I'd remember there are more times up to bat and more innings to come. Not everything rests on this one swing and hit being perfect. 

If life was a baseball game... I'd enjoy the smells of hot dogs and popcorn, watching the fans bungling for foul balls, hearing the organ riffs, and take the time to autograph baseballs for the little guys on the sideline. 

If life was a baseball game... I could hear the umpire say (imagine the inflection with me) - "Let's Live Life!" 
 

Here's to living our best lives one swing at a time and enjoying it.