Things that deserve more than a line

Now my mother in law may have cancer...

Steve Scharf Got Married today...

And the rain in LA CA keeps on coming...

We have rented space to do more work with youth...

The LA IC Team is soon going to have it's own office...

I am dreaming of an art Studio...

I wish the whole world could see online InnerChanges new Quarterly publication called the InnerVoice.

Willie and Gennell have asked me to be the pastor for their wedding...

Chris and Roxanna are expecting their first child early March...

My sister Sunday and Kieth are expecting their first child late March...

Mentoring Initiative

I am right now prepping for a 4:30 pm meeting with a group of young leaders in our neighborhood. I get to lead the beginning ice breaker and the devotions at the end. I feel somewhat inspired for the devotions...
on Matthew 7:7-12 and thought I would leave some of my reflections on my blog...

• This is a relational truth and not a magical formula. That is why verse 12 is not a non-sequitur. God is not a cosmic Santa Clause. God is a responsive Father. God's responsiveness to us is not unrelated to our genuine love and care for one another.
• The world of good belongs to the pro-active: The people who ask, seek, and knock.
• We do not always see clearly about what we are asking for, seeking, or on which door to knock... God as a loving Father is responsive to the fact that we are Asking, Seeking, and Knocking.
• Think of the tragedy of a life lived without the help and support of God or others... That comes from a lack of Asking, Seeking, or Knocking.
• Those who succeed in this life are defined by their persistence in the face of requests that may go unanswered, Searching that goes on unanswered for even years, and The many doors that may have been closed before the right door opened. God is encouraging us to ask. (see the life of Zachariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1&2. for encouragement. God wants us to be moved into roles of significance in this life which runs deeper than the threads of expectations and personal longings.)
• What is most important in the journey is who we become as people in the midst of our request, longings, seeking, hopes, exploring by knocking on the doors of opportunity, and pursuits.

Yard sale Reflection

Saturday January 22, 2005 InnerChange and LA Street Productions did a small Benefit Yard Sale.

Recycling other people’s junk in order that treasure can be increased in heaven is a special joy to me (JAW). Will collected donations from his house and some of the other members of LA Street Productions (Special thanks also to Rei ; ). InnerChange and some of our ministry partners also contributed significantly (Special thanks to Randa, Barbie, & Sue’s sister).

Results:
Over $250.00 was raised. Half will go to LA Street Productions for their second Annual Scholarship to a deserving Belmont High School student. Half of it went to the Tsunami Relief effort Through CRM.

Neighbors were able to meet some of the needs of their extended family. One grandmother, who bought a group of coats, proudly told me that she was going to send these back to her family in Mexico.

Other Neighbors moved by the event donated their own clothing and other goods in order to contribute to our efforts. One couple arrived after the yard sale was over and donated a whole set of dishes for our next yard sale.

All the goods that were left over got donated to the Nehemiah House… a Christian discipleship house that is an extension of ministry from a local Evangelical Free Church in Pico-Union.

Because the day was a very pleasant LA day… many of the women of the neighborhood spent a significant time just being together and talking with each other. This kind of event is very helpful in nurturing a sense of community and has become a recognized community event. Norma was able to catch up with one friend and was able to restart the weekly Bible studies she has been having with their family. Will is well known and liked by many in this neighborhood… so this event became a good chance to catch up with old friends including some inactive members of LA Street Productions. On top of all this we got to meet some neighbors that we have never met before.

At the end of the day Will was having some car trouble. In old time barter/neigborhood fashion he was able to get help getting his truck fixed in exchange for one of the donated tables in the yard sale.

I also had a great time talking with Will – (thanks Will for your help with everything). We have shared hopes and dreams together over the years. May God continue to grant us the grace to receive His blessings and to share that blessing with others.

This Little Light of...

In a recent prayer time, God gave my friend, and fellow LAIC Team member Rikki, a thought that I have been meditating on it for over a month....

I decided that I wanted to share it with you all...

"A Candle can only burn if it has enough oxygen.

*****So, if you're the Candle.....what is your Oxygen?"

Tues.Feb. 1 -- A Prayer meeting that moved me.

Prayer
February 1, 2005



Silence – 5 minutes
Focus heart and mind to be here together with Christ


Read Psalm 103


Silence – God’s relationship with His children
“He does not treat us as we deserve”
His Mercy
The Cross


Prayers of Intercession
Our Teams here in Los Angeles
San Francisco
Minneapolis
Venezuela
Romania
Cambodia
Individuals in IC who are struggling
Those in pain
Those who are sick
Pray for Kristen’s health

Prayers of Blessing for IC

Read Romans 12 together:

Romans 12

And so, dear brothers and sisters,
I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will accept.

When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask?

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.

As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of His one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.

God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. When God’s children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.

If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible.

Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written,

“I will take vengeance;
I will repay those who deserve it,” Says the Lord.

Instead, do what the Scriptures say:
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink,
And they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.”

Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Close in prayer

Some of what's been keeping me Busy...

Each of these items could deserve their own space in my blog. That said it is better to note them than toneglect blogging them completely:

• Tues.Feb. 1 -- A Prayer meeting that moved me.
• Sat. 22nd... a very sucessful Yardsale that made over 250.00 for a Scholarship fund and tsunami victims.
• My weekly Internet Radio show has come to an end and been replaced with other work.
• We have 2 neat APU Students as interns with us this Semester -- Shawna, and Alisha... See their blogs...
• I have Joined a Gym for both Exercise and Ministry Purposes.
• Congradulations again to Steve and Sandy who are getting married mid Feb.
• Willie is working full time and selling stuff on Ebay... He has a perfect record and close to 100 independent positive feedback messages.
• Miriam just got back from a short-term missions trip to Purue.
• We are starting the Mentoring Initiative again this week.

Rikkell sent me this Poem by William Blake.

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine;
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Through the world we safely go.

-Blake

A great reflection on Charity and Justice!

From Dry Bones

What I am reading these days

I have been reading the book Soul Survivor by Phillip Yancy and Strength To Love A collection of Surmons by Martin Luther King. I am reminded in these books of the power of those who inspire us to life.

It is not enough to wade through life... it is important that we move through life with vigor and joy. I am setting asside Mondays for the next few weeks to do some significant reading and writting as well as vision/planning for LA InnerChange. Pray for our work here in LA. More than that... Pray for our very souls... If you don't know where to start then try praying -- Ephesians 3:14-21.

Much of our work has to do with creating paths of hope with and for our neighbors even when there seems to be little hope to be found. I am glad for this assignment by LAIC because I had slipped into a mode of too much outreach and not enough inreach.

If anyone has some comments on what has been feeding their soul lately I would be glad to hear it.

My frined Alan sent me this poem and it is a good reminder to my soul these days...

My friend Alan Wrote:
John,
Hope all is well as you engage the streets of the city.I just completed my first full semester as a PhD student atthe University of Texas at Dallas. I had the opportunity tobe a student in Fred Turner's (son of anthropologist VictorTurner who wrote "The Ritual Process") poetry class thissemester. I am no natural poet, but I thought I would sharesome of what I wrote this semester. I still remember theafternoon you tried to teach me the art of poetry.... -- this poem has references to Nietzsche.

Voice from the Sea Gull

She rides the sky and watches fishermen
Peaceful and free in grave contrast to me.
My will to power crushed on rocks again
And washed in salt that burns my troubled sea.
Subdued by waves of doubt that give no rest
I seek a drug to calm my angst and haltThe storm,
the hail that leaves my mind undressed.
Can truth be found to sear my wounds like salt?

Unfettered by the winds the gull confides,
³Homo ecco, ego remains the sourceof your despair.
The truth you seek abidesin God¹s design.
All life obeys His course,or breaks.
The storm that leaves your mind undressed
Results from fruit outside what God has blessed.²

If anyone like to share poetry with a friend... and maybe getr it posted on this blog... do send it to me at jawpoetry@yahoo.com

Thanks Alan

Jaw’s ’05 New Year Mix

Well I am back at it and spinning tunes and making mixes...

I will also be reflecting on Matthew 24 & 25...

Always Keep God in the mix -- Peace out!!!

Jaw’s ’05 New Year Mix

1. Resplendent 5:02 Bill Mallonee & Vigilantes of Love, Audible Sigh
2. Gone 3:45 Switchfoot
3. Track 12 2:57 5 Blind Boys of Alabama Spirit of the Century
4. Track 03 2:26 Blackalicious Arrow
5. Track 09 4:25 Cross Movement Human Emergency
6. Light 3:12 Apt Core #2
7. Track 16 3:23 Daniel Amos Mr. Buechner's Dream
8. Track 15 3:40 Tobby Mac
9. Track 07 1:57 RadidoHead OK Computer
10. Track 01 4:02 Steve Taylor Squint
11. Track 09 4:09 Azreil the Activist Axiomatic
12. Zombie 5:06 Cranberries No Need To Argue
13. Track 07 4:59 Lauryn Hill Un Plugged
14. Any Day 3:45 Zehnder Breathing
15. Track 01 4:08 U2 All That You Can't Leave Behind
16. Love is the Movement 5:10 Switchfoot
17. Path of Life 4:47 Ruth Naomi Floyd With New Eyes
18. Track 05 2:52 SkyPark

Christmas Greetings to Everyone!!!

Merry Christmas!!! and Merry Making...

This weekend was very satisfying. The work of love changes lives... Our lives...

Saturday we had a gathering at Kathy Henry's house (a very full house at that). Mostly people who have shared our journey in the neighborhood for the longest... I challenged people in a short devotion to consider Mary the Mother of Jesus and her willingness to allow God to radically alter the whole of her life so history could be made. Would you let God do whatever so God's good could reshape history in and through you??? And Jesus still knocks at the door of our hearts... Revelations 3...

Sunday was a gathering of LA ST. Prod. The possiblity that God has already let one generation of active members continue in their own course and opened up a new generation of new souls to journey through this community is a real possibility. What that looks like is yet to be seen. It was really good to meet both the old friends from the group and some of the folks who are looking for a context to grow in and through... MAY GOD LIGHT OUR PATH.

Monday InnerChange sponsored one of the "LA Posada" celebrations at the Cambria building. We had a blast being embraced at the heart of a this Annual Christmas celebration that we had a small hand in kindling... that has helped nurtrue a sense of community in that building over the years.

Love is the only power on earth that can change an enemy into a friend. Martin Luther King
We were once enemies of God. Saint Paul

Merry Christmas... the love of God is why I celebrate...

A copy of a posting from "My New Biblical Diet Blog"

I have been very busy. So I have had less time to stop and share tangilbe meals with friends. But my discipline has made me more aware of those around me that are hungry. The irony that I start reaching for food in response to stress has added a smile to my face; Now it is another reminder to pray for my friends and not just another craving. We pray, "give US this day Our daily bread."

This year I around before the Thanksgiving holiday I prayed for Turkeys. A prayer that comes from having hungry friends. I asked a church contact that had provided Turkeys for Thanksgiving last year... they had already promised the food to others... Latter on they came through with 3 bags of food but no actual turkeys...

Now I am not talking about handing out Turkeys to strangers... but to hungry Friends and Neighbors.

Wednessday night the day before Thanks Giving... I was on the way to celebrate a friends Birthday (a Shout out to David... we are just growing older... and hopefully wiser...) ... Christy who works for APU called me up on Jude's Cell phone and said they had placed a student with an organization... that chose to support the striking Hotel and Restaurant workers in Los Angeles by providng food for the holiday. They came through for them with plenty. They had extra food and 100 extra turkeys to give out.

That same day Dan a friend and past IC intern was visiting with Kathy and Reina in our neighborhood. They were able to go and pick up 15 Turkeys. More than we needed. (I am learning that God can answer prayers without me being part of it; this is the flip side of learning that sometimes God's provision is within my power and responsibility.)

The fun part of this is the "more than enough" that was provided at the last minute for more people than I had thought of... and we still have a couple Turkeys to share... and so it goes...

Thank you God!!!

Thank you Christy for being the unplanned connection for this secrete prayer request. Thank you all who have been involved in being part of this answer to prayer.

When we know those whose needs are greater than what we have to give... it gives us a chance to learn to pray... to cry out to God!

See Isaiah 58...
and Share your food with the Hungry ; )

Today's Mix

Here is a list of some of what I spun today on my Internet Radio show:



1. Track05            0:35            Martin Luther King

2. Track03            2:26            Blackalicious            Arrow

3. NeverGive Up            3:17            KRS ONE        Spiritual Minded

4. T-BoneSpeaks            0:32            KRS ONE            Spiritual Minded

5. Standto the Glory            3:49         Ruth Naomi Floyd  With New Eyes

6. Gone            3:45            Switchfoot  Gone

7. Track07            1:57            RadioHead            OK Computer

8. Track01            4:02            Steve Taylor            Squint

9. TheNations of the World            1:48            Animaniacs

10. TheyAll Fall Down            5:23            Grits

11. Resplendent            5:02            Bill Mallonee & Vigilantes of Love Audible Sigh

12. Track11            1:07            Hildegard Von Bingen

13. Track06            3:21            Matt Redman

14. Track01            3:52            Staind

15. Zombie            5:06            Cranberries

16. Stuckin a moment you can't get out of            4:32            U2

17. Track06            3:55            Tobby Mac

18. Track28            4:41            Rez            XX

19. AnyDay            3:45            Zehnder            Breathing

20. The Blind Boys of Alabama a full 30 minutes of Gospel blues

A Prayer request From Willie

Hello Folks,

Willie has asked for prayer today.

Currently he is a temporary employee. His immediate boss wants to hire him permanently, but it has to be approved by the “powers that be” in their company.

Please pray that they would approve his hire.
The issue isn’t Willie, but that they usually work with temporary people, which is cheaper for the company.
The decision will be made Friday or Monday.
Thanks,
Jude & John... for Willie

My Current Worship Mix

I sent a few friends a copy of my current favorite worship songs. (Let me know if you want one.) What some find surprising is the range of the kinds of music I like. I love all kinds of music... from Tazie, and Jazz, to Gospel and HipHop, from Hard Rock to Munk Music... Track # 9 from the HIPHOP Group Cross Movement is thick with our yearning for our eternal Home. What music draws your heart towards God??? The most important thing is that our hearts and affections are drawn towards God's Embrace. This is what I'll spin on my show this comming Tues.


1. Track 03 4:02 Taize
2. Path of Life 4:47 Ruth Naomi Floyd With New Eyes
3. There is a Redeemer 3:13 Kieth Green
4. Track 03 4:51 Apt Core #2
5. Track 06 3:21 Matt Redman
6. Track 07 3:18 Julie Miller Orphans and Angels
7. Air 4:18 Barry Taylor Love Songs for Underdogs
8. Espiritu Santo Venga Aqui 5:42 Costarica Vinyard
9. Track 09 4:28 Cross Movement
10. Track 11 4:38 John Micheal Talbot Come to The Quiet
11. Tu Primer Amor 4:00 Giovani Aniversaio
12. Track 09 4:19 Forever After
13. Track 03 2:24 Mahalia Jackson, The Greatest Gospel singer In the World
14. Track 09 4:20 Kieth Green
15. Bargin 4:57 Rez XX
16. It is Good 4:47 Beth Meres Tree
17. Multiply Your Love 5:03 Andy Park All I Need

The verb of my late Father-in-law Mark Tiersma.

The Verb of my late Father-in-law Mark Tiersma was Gratitude in all things. I am finding this a good season to practice this in the midst of chaos... and the sense that every day is a gift is gripping my soul in a deeper way than ever before.

Happy ThanksGiving to all with much love.

• I am glad that my friend who was homeless for a few days is now renting an appartment that he can afford.
• I am glad to recieve art supplies from a stranger during a yard sale... just because what we are doing is something he wants to contribute to...
• I am glad for the hawk I got to see up close... there is wild life in the city skies... and it is not only pigeons and crows (which are also cool to me).
• I am glad for the generosity of friends who buy hats at yard sales ; ) and chose to pay much more than I ask for it... and how I was able to pass on this generosity to others...
• I am glad for neighbors who feed neighbors when they are hurt and hungry.
• I am glad for the gift of over 15 turkeys for neighbors... an answer to prayer this Nov.
• I am glad for generous churches, unions, and foodbanks.
• I am glad for old interns who visit and find themselves right back in the mix... even if it is for a day -- Thanks Dan!
• I am glad for two great new team players with us in LA InnerChange: Rikki and Kristin.
• I am glad for Doctors and all who are wise in the healing arts.
• I am glad for a loving wife and life partner... We are coming up on 10 years now.
• I am glad to make the love of God and Neighbor my highest aim.

I thank God for this and much more.

Pray More and Nothing can seperate us from the Love of God

This Week has been about getting a friend out of harms way. We all have a past... and many of us wish we could change the realities of that past... We become tired at some point at hurting others and ourselves... and those of us who find God and work the 12 steps of AA / NA also seek to make amends whenever we can... but to do that we have to be safe and stay safe... Avoiding the people, places, and things that might hinder God's work in our hearts.

One of my friends this week chose to become homeless rather than take the path of violence... I respect that. We got to share our small home with him for a couple of days... Not enough room for 3 of us in our humble home...

We recovered as much of his stuff from his old appartment... and God ansewred our prayers quickly for a new home...
We moved his stuff into storage one day and two days latter we moved his stuff into his new home.

What others intended for evil God has worked out for our good to the glory of His name and praise -- Less rent in a safer environment.

We will by God's grace seek to live, love, and return only good for whatever comes our way, in order that we may become on the inside more like Christ -- Romans 8 and Ephesians 3:14-21.

Pray that our faith will become stronger having once again gotten tested. May we grow the seeds of love and grace that can sustain us and the coming generations. May God's peace rest on all that read this...

JAW1

We continue to find Joy in the midst of the Drag of Life

Norma called me this morning. Her son is in the hospital with a blod clot in his leg. She and her daughter both have the flu... and she is still recovering from her car accident. She so much wants life to get back to "normal". Her neighbors have poured out a tremendous amount of love in this season. She has not hardly had to cook a meal since her car accident. This is one of the strengths of our neighborhood -- its loving hospitality. She is very thankful to God for the many answers to prayer in the journey.

Kathy Henry also asks for prayer for a mystery illness... maybe caught in her sacrificail work at Clinica Oscar Romero... that is causing her considerable suffering and discomfort.

Saturday I had a very sucessful yard sale. We raised enough money to help 3 friends with thier living expenses. Pray for my formation of a business plan to start a thrift store. Also I hope to have more yard sales in the future. If you have stuff that you might like to contribute... let me know.

My friend Willie is currently living in a weekly rental hotel. He longs to be in a regular appartment by the new year. He is paying much more rent than Jude and I are to live in a space less than half than what we have... and we live in a small one bedroom apt. Prayer and any tangible help and support in this journey is welcome.

Worship, the only way we don't get coopted by "the World"

JAWS Favorite Worship Mix


1. Track 03 4:02 Taize
2. Path of Life 4:47 Ruth Naomi Floyd With New Eyes
3. There is a Redeemer 3:13 Kieth Green
4. Track 03 4:51 Apt Core #2
5. Track 06 3:21 Matt Redman
6. Track 07 3:18 Julie Miller Orphans and Angels
7. Air 4:18 Barry Taylor Love Songs for Underdog
8. Espiritu Santo Venga Aqui 5:42 Costarica Vinyard
9. 4:28 Cross Movement
10. 4:38 John Micheal Talbot Come to The Quiet
11. Tu Primer Amor 4:00 Giovani Aniversaio
12. Track 09 4:19
13. Track 03 2:24 Mahalia Jackson The Greatest Gospel singer In the World
14. Track 09 4:20 Kieth Green
15. Bargin 4:57 Rez XX
16. It is Good 4:47 Beth Meres Tree
17. Multiply Your Love 5:03 Andy Park All I Need

I have been looking back on my life. I have noticed that what I give myself too the most ... both in terms of passion, intention, and action... that is what I worship. I have found that a centered focus on God through Jesus Christ cause me to love deeply -- Ephessians 3:14-21. When I drift on this "Practices of the Presence of God", then the quality of my love drifts as well.

Some say that worship is easy... not for me... I get easily distracted from the main point of focuss... I have found that I need support in the journey... Fellowship, good supportive tools, Like Don Postama's Book "Space for God", and I need Music...

Today I am feeling a call back to worship. We can serve a lot of small and insignificant wants and desires... or we can worship with our lives the God who made us.

If you are worshipping God, then your love will grow and overflow... If you find yourself inwardly blocked and tied up somehow... figure out what has to change... You can not worship and then not love... without the meaning of your worship becoming hollow; You can not love with out drawing from the source of love -- That is the point of Worship.

Matthew 25, Isaiah 58, Eph. 3:14-21

I plan to spin The above worship songs tommorrow and to continue to reflect on this call in my heart.

Stand with us in praying and supporting our friend Randa -- thanks.

Randa has just found out she has breast cancer. This means that she gets to stay with us longer... it also means that she has to wait on her dreams. And so it goes... Here are her own words and a mailing address where notes of encouragement can be sent ; )

Greetings once again from Los Angeles.

I had intended this newsletter to be the one where I explain to you all the details of when I would be moving to India and what I would be doing there. I am learning once again that we are not in control of our lives and must rely on the Lord for wisdom for each day.

In my routine medical check-ups before leaving for India the doctors found breast cancer. Within 48 hours all my plans have changed. I have met with the surgeon and will be having a lumpectomy on November 24th (the day before Thanksgiving). After the surgery they are expecting 6 weeks of radiation and possibly chemotherapy (this depends upon what they find when they do the actual surgery). With this in mind I will be delaying my move to India.

My mom & two sisters will be coming for the surgery. They will stay with me until Nov. 30th. At that time I will move in with my friend (and also my boss), Sue Lloyd. I'll stay with Sue until I leave for India, which is tentatively set for late August at this point. Since I'll be able to work while getting the treatments the wisest decision seems to be to stay in LA and continue to work with InnerCHANGE.

I would appreciate your prayers. It looks like the cancer is contained in one mass and has not spread to the lymph nods. A lumpectomy will take only the mass and the surrounding tissue. They will also be doing a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy which means they will follow the path internally that the cancer would have traveled to my lymph nodes and take samples of these to check for cancer. If cancer hasn‚t infected these first few lymph nodes it will mean that it hasn‚t traveled outside of the immediate area.

I have always loved reading the Old Testament, especially the books of Israel‚s history. Many times Israel was surrounded by enemies who outnumbered them and the situation seemed impossible. Cancer is a huge "enemy" and from the first day of hearing that I had this disease I felt assured that the God of Israel is my Lord and Protector. He will fight this enemy and I will come out of this fight victorious. Prayer is the weapon that will conquer cancer and I would appreciate your joining me in this stand of faith in God‚s power to deliver me.


P.O. Box 26427
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Blessings, Randa

Feeling the Blues

We all have days like this... and none of us want to have days like this.

Hear are the facts:

My Dad is in the hospital because what they thought was Cancer, adn then TB in the lungs is not acting like either... so he has moved into being a mystery diagnosis... and they are trying to figure it all out... Think Limbo.

My mother-in-law affectionately know as "MeM" or Arlene went to the hospital with an irregular heart beat. She is stressed out because her husband just recently passed away.

It is the little things that get to me... Today I went to pick up a donation for a yardsale on Sat. but the person who offered the donation was called away by her job and thus was unable to pass on the donations.

I heard a lecture today that talked about slavery and the Killing fields of the Sudan. Good content with hope in very dificult times... it made all my personal pain seem so petty... and yet I have to be real with God and not ignore my heart.

Got to go to a meeting this evening. Which is both good and bad. The hours won't be wasted... but tommorrow I think I need to spend some extra time in prayer.

My mindset was punctuated with the blues last night and I could not get to sleep because of a large "Ghetto Bird" (a Helicopter) buzzing arround our neighborhood until 2am in the morning. There was a "manhunt" going on looking for someone who had a gun... this also made parking impossible... and so it goes...

Everybody gets the blues sometimes...

Fragmenst on Character Growth for Mel and others

Growth comes from focussing and learning what is within our power and responsibility. That is part of what makes the "Serenity Prayer" such a helpful prayer.

My friend Mel is going to be sharing with a group of JR. high youth about Character growth and development. There are key ideas that I have found useful to point out to my younger friends that have helped them learn to make better choices...

I will be adding some of those comments as I think of them on my blog for her and others. Feel free in the comment section to add your own.

• Growing on the inside is the most effective way to improve the quality of your life, because you live with yourself 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
• Who you are is what you share with someone else in every relationship.
• The content and quality of our lives are built on the content and quality of our rleationships with God, ourselves, one another, and our environment.
• There is pain in the process of learning, but the pain is worth it... Remember when you learned to ride a bicycle... the diziness, the falling, and the triumph... and anyone who has learned to ride a bicycle can ride further and faster than they can run...
• Who bennefits from learning??? You Do!!! Who bennefits from not Learning???
• Do you want to learn enough to choose what you want to do to make a living; or do you want to be doing what someone else tells you to do?
• Timing is everything... Practice is a key way to be ready for the right momment and opportunity... Example... a great batter in baseball knows when and how to swing the bat... and it is not every day that the bases are loaded and you get to be at bat... Either you are ready or you are not...
• Our capacity to Give and Recieve Love depends on our Maturity in Character (I Cor. 13, II Peter 1:3-11). There are no short cuts to growing in Character.
• Poor communication skills will lead to a lonely life. Good communication skills will open the door to many friendships.
  

We are creating history every day by our choices. We Live with the history we create for ourselves and others for the rest of our lives. Learning to make good choices is key to having a good life.

A good life contributes in a positive way to the life of others.

It is a sad thing to grow old and fail to grow wise. It is sad to be an old fool...

Drag when...We are on the verge of new beginnings

Recently Jude went to visit her mom in Visalia. Her mom was ever so glad for her being there with her ... her car broke down three times while she was there.

As some of you know Norma -- who is close to our community -- had been out of work and on disability for months and had just gotten reassigned to a job she could do in the LA School System... and now her accident has her sidelined again... now in pain and seeking to continue to persue what God wants to bring through this... her car was totaled and she isn't sure where she is going to get the money for a new one...

Willie had his ATM and Pin Number Stolen and his Bank account cleaned out of the little that was in there... Yes we have corrected this but we are still working through the paper work... When it rains Willie can't eat at home because water leaks from the roof on to his electric stove.

Paul's car is dieing and he too needs a new car...

Jude's Cell phone has stopped working...

Our computer printer has died and we have yet to get a new one...

In November/December the LA team is going to be lead through a community discernment process to set out on some new dreams together. We have come to a time of closure on some old ones... The Cambria Appartments for example (See our web-site)... are completely in the hands of the tennants and the non-profit corp they have started... and the board that they elect...

There have been an exponential increase in annoying events as we move towards this time... pray for God's guidance and peace in the midst of seeking what new things God would have us do.

Pray for Norma

Hello Folks -- The LA team is requesting prayer for Norma, who was in a car accident yesterday on the way to work. Norma is a single mom from Honduras who has been involved with our team for some years. She was an intern with us two years ago, now lives in the neighborhood near Kathy, and desires to be full-time with our team here. She recently led an entire family network to the Lord.

Anyway, she has no broken bones, but she is in extreme pain and can hardly move or breathe because everything is painful
.
Thanks for your prayers for our Friend and co-worker for the Kingdom.
Jude for the LA team

THE MEMORIAL MESSAGE FOR MARK TIERSMA

Born: February 14, 1924 Death: October 6, 2004
Service: October 12, 2004 Officiating: Rev. George G.Vink

Scripture: John 11: 17-26

Message: “DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

Dear Arlene, Peter & Thea, Jude & John, Brenda & Carlos, Ben & Janine, brothers, sisters, family and friends,

As you know, Mark, your husband, father/heit, brother, fellow believer, did not view death as a friend to be welcomed! He wanted to live! He deeply desired to have more years with his friend and wife of 59 years. He wanted to delight in the lives of his children and grandchildren. He saw life as good, as something to be relished. He enjoyed being among the living. Here too he demonstrated a world & life view consistent with what he had been taught from God’s Word. Death, whether it comes slowly or quickly, despite all attempts to the contrary, remains the enemy of life!

We heard the Psalmist(116:15)say it. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Years later, the apostle John would hear a voice from heaven say, “Write:Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” (Rev. 14:13a) But, the blessing is based on the truth of what we read in John 11 as he tells us the encounter between Jesus and the Lazarus family. To be blessed, you’ve got to “die in the Lord” or be one “of his saints.” We bury those we love with the good confidence that they will rise again! We read that too at the graveside from I Corinthians 15.

That’s the truth of Paul’s writing to the Corinthian church. Then we will be vindicated in our faith! Then we will experience the joy of being with Jesus, never having been beyond His power to redeem! Death is strong, but Jesus is stronger! He never lets us go! Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus! The comfort in death is what comes when we confess our belonging to Him! It’s what Mark confessed and it’s what we heard again as we laid his bodily remains in the earth. I recall our Adult Ed. Class’ discussion on comfort (trooste) when with a twinkle in his eye as well as a strong voice he leaned forward and recited,“…that I belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ!”

If there was someonewho wanted to do what the song “Find Us Faithful” is all about, I suggest it was Mark Tiersma. Did you hear it? “May all who come behind us, find us faithful.” A kind and gentle man of faith gave his testimony to family and friends. His words were consistent with his deeds. Originally a somewhat shy person, he desired more and more to let others know that he had a purpose in life which included making sure that they knew the truth of Jesus’ claim, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Believing it leads to a full life, here and now, and then in dying, to a realization that the dying is a final journey that all must make, but those who “die in the Lord” don’t really die but go from this life to another! Mark is with his Lord, his Redeemer. He was more than confident of that certainty, and as he said his farewells, wanted to make that clear to all.

The question we must now ask is the question that Jesus Himself asked his friend Martha, “Do you believe this?” Do you? Do I? Will you imagine hearing Mark ask you? Whether in the language of his newly-loved country, “Do you believe this?” or that of his schooling, “Geloof gij dat?” or that of his mother tongue, “leauwe jo dat?”

Jesus came to his friends to comfort them. They weren’t expecting a resurrection from the dead. Lazarus was dead and already buried. His sisters were grieving. In the midst of her grief, Martha chastises Jesus for not being there to prevent Lazarus’ death and assurances of his eventual rising weren’t good enough for this outspoken sister! It’s almost as if you can hear her, “I know….I know…don’t tell what I already know….”and we see the patience of Jesus as He deals with her. A patience with people that some like Mark exemplify more than others.

Jesus follows it with one of the wonderful, powerful “I AM…” statements.
It’s not the traditional comfort stuff that Jesus is giving this griever. Jesus wants her to believe in Him! When one with Christ in faith, then death still means life! Bodily death, whether caused by cancer, heart failure or a car accident, cannot end the new life that is yours in Christ. In Christ, you can live forever. Let’s ask it again, “Do you believe this?”
The new life we have in Christ, does not come just at the end of life. It’s new life in the way we farm our fields or the way we treat our cows or love our family. When, in the language of John 3, we are “born anew,” we have passed from death to life. But, that doesn’t happen without believing in Jesus!

Mark believed it! Arlene believes it! Do you? It’s a rather grandiose claim isn’t it? “I am the resurrection and the life!” We’re so inclined to respond with, “Yes, but….” while struggling with the realities of life. How do we explain God’s inactivity when we suggest He could get involved and stop some terrible things? How do we make sense of a world where families feud over finances while losing the most important relationships? We cannot, and we will not.

Walter Brueggemann in a great sermon talks about our being governed by “Yes, but.” He suggests it’s our proud capacity to control or our fearful need to control that makes us resist God’s power for newness, and as such it becomes an act of atheism. We limit or box God in, the God who came in His Son and said, “I am the resurrection …”and went on to raise His friend Lazarus. “Do you believe this?”

Mark Tiersma, husband, father, brother and friend, believed and wanted you to know it. Yes, tears came when we talked about his dying, even weeks before his actual final breath. He wanted to live longer, not being too quick to think of himself as old! After all, what was being 80? He was willing to do what needed to be done, not as a denial of the truth that he believed, but as an affirmation of the joy and goodness of life! So too, we grieve best, when we shed our tears but go on with life! We share the memories, while also affirming life by living as those who believe that God cares about how we live it. He gives us life to live it to His glory. He gave Mark unique gifts that have impacted us all in some ways. Do we thank Mark, or thank God? What do you think Mark would have us do?

Mark spoke of his Lord, and in the stillness of the night, would be caught singing to and about his Lord. Imagine it again would you? Hear Mark’s voice, “There is a Redeemer….God’s own Son…”followed by, “Thank you, O My Father…..” We sang it. “Do you believe it?”

Martha answered, “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God….” and then called her sister Mary. Jesus is deeply moved by the death of Lazarus and how it affected Mary and the others. He knows the pain of death, the separation it involves, weeps, and raises Lazarus! “Do you believe this?”

As we go from this time of remembrance, let’s not forget that question that Jesus puts to all of us, not just Martha! Do you believe His claim?

Believing it made all the difference in life and in death for Mark. It can for you too! Believe it and be living it! Believe it and find comfort. Believe it and make sure your life shows it so that those who come behind you will also find you faithful. Then too, you will hear from the Lord Himself, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Amen.

Back to work and the intensification of Life.

Life and Death pushes us when we realize that what we all have now will be released. I have started by simple things. Cleaning out clutter that I have had trouble getting rid of before. Stuff does not seem very important to me right now. There is a line in a Mark Heard song that haunts me, "Nobody gets a second chance to be the friend they meant to be." I am impressed by my Father-in-law who while he left us earlier than we wanted... still was able to go on without regrets.

It is hard to not drift in thought sometimes. Those who know me will smile at this comment because i have always been easily distracted... but now it is more true... but this is not all bad... I am distracted by life. I see the child walking through my building with a smile or a tear in his eyes. I see the pigeons whirl and fly. I hear more, see more, witness more... and this too is a gift... like waking from a dream and realizing how much has always been going on... and so it goes...

In Jude's own Words about her Father's passing on to glory...

Hello Friends -- My dad was “promoted to glory” (in the words of my mother) on Wednesday October 6, 2004, after 80 faith-filled years on this earth. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. In the last couple of weeks, around 5:00 AM, he would wake up singing the Dutch hymns he grew up with.

His favorite song in recent years was “There is a Redeemer by Keith Green.” The last verse reads:
When I stand in glory
I will see his face
And there I’ll serve my King forever
In that Holy Place.

Jude

Funeral Info:
Monday October 11, 6:00-8:00 PM — viewing at Miller Memorial Chapel
1120 W. Goshen, Visalia, CA 93291 (559)732-8371
Tuesday October 12, 10:00 AM Graveside service at Visalia Public Cemetery (next door to Miller’s)
Tuesday October 12, 11:00 AM Memorial Service at Visalia First Christian Reformed Church