When WORK is Adventure - Summer 2009- Week 3 Adventure with Kids

Okay, so it’s not a great hike in the outdoors or a wildlife refuge but the Week 3 adventure with my children ended up being Work projects. That’s right. What one of my twin 11year olds said to me during one of the work projects got me to realize that work can count as an adventure and has to this third week of summer as we just didn’t get to do the original adventure we had planned (going to the fountains).
My garage has been bugging me for a while and so one day during week 3 of summer I just could not stand it anymore and I began taking everything out of one half of the garage. What started it is, we could not find a certain pair of boots for one of my children. So, I dumped out all of the boxes where the boots are stored in the garage to search for them and one thing led to another.
Then as I looked at our garage walls I realized they looked terrible and had spider webs all over them and the walls had never really been painted. So I thought, one way to clean walls of cobwebs is to paint them.
So, paint we did.
All three of my three youngest boys helped me.
First, though, we took everything out of the garage. Some things I am guessing had not been moved, and I am embarrassed to admit this, for 20 years. As long as we have lived here.
Paint cans and tarps and shoes and sports gear and tools and sleeping bags and old roller blades and broken toys and and and. The garage becomes a storing ground for a lot of things.
After the prep work we got out the paint brushes and whatever paint I have had the past 20 years and we got to work. My three boys, 11, 11, and 6, were so enthusiastic to paint. That creative impulse perhaps.
They each took a certain section and we tried to keep it from getting too messy but because it was the garage I was not as worried as you are in the house.

When we got one wall completed, we took a break for lunch and Mickael Josef, one of the twins, said to me, “This is so much fun” and that is what made me think of work as an adventure. I have heard of the saying, "work as prayer" and in a way this is the same idea.

Looking at work as adventure - the kids were doing something new and different and somewhat creative and maybe most importantly, together with me. All qualities of an adventure. And, a bonuse of course- learning a skill and feeling good about being important in the family to help with work.
It wasn’t outdoors as my goal for outdoor adventures was, but it was something new, painting.
Yet, as I think of Week 3 of summer, there was another work project my kids were involved with and this one was outdoors- my 17 year old’s Eagle project which all of the boys were part of. Three of my four boys are Boy Scouts and they all helped Ryan with his Eagle project. The Eagle project was to build a new trail off Pimlico Court. The goal for Ryan was to put in 600 feet of trail and they got so much done that first day last Friday that they ended up putting in 1000 feet of trail, making it all the way to the bridge. Which the City of West Linn had hoped for!
It was great fun to see my boys working so hard with a shovel in their hands and a pick ax and the camaraderie amongst the boys and adults helping in the hot summer air.
You could just see and feel the reward of work.Indeed, the adventure of work!

Thursday with Theodore

He sits at the corner of the bend of Carriage Way. Every morning and evening to wave at the passers by rushing to work or wherever the day requires. Just seeing him, makes me want to slow down.
















\\
The first time I drove by a couple of years ago, he waved at me wearing his red hat and I thought he was signaling me to slow down. But later I found out he was just waving.
Every time I see him sitting there, I tell my kids, I would like to stop and meet him but we are always going somewhere and need to be at a certain place at a certain time. And I tell myself I will do it another time. Two years have passed by at least.
The last two or three summers I drove by both in the morning and the evening while taking my kids to church camp, and there he was and I always look for him when I am close to that bend in the road and sometimes when he is not there I worry that something happened to him.

So, finally, last Thursday I was driving home from picking up my 6 year old Augustin at a birthday party and it is about 4 p.m. and I see him in his red hat waving and I say to Augustin my son, “should we stop and meet him?” and my 6 year old says yes.
So we do.

I introduce myself and he reaches out his hand to me and says, “I’m Theodore.”
I ask him his story.

Theodore is 86 and has sat outside his house daily for the past 3 years on his busy through street and he tells me that he waves at every single car that drives by and he does this in the morning when people are going to work every and in the evening he waves at every single car that drives by but in the summer if it is too hot he will not go outside.

When he first started this people thought he was trying to get them to slow down but he is only trying to say hi to people. When he is not out there, people stop at the door to ask him if he is okay and that they miss him.

When I told him that every time I have driven by and I have wanted to stop and talk to him but I have always been going somewhere or needed to be home for something, he said to me that most people are too busy to stop.

That affected me and that is why I needed to stop on this Thursday. I did not want to miss out on his story and seeing him make time for others and just being out there waving at passers-by and not worrying about to-do lists and schedules. He did not even have a book out there with him to read. He was just smiling at the people. In the moment.

Some other people have stopped to talk to him, they will park nearby or walk by and he asks them what their plans are for the day.

June is Theodore’s birthday month and he received 30-40 birthday cards from some of those "friends" he has made and they have given him bottles of wine and other gifts for his birthday. They found out about his birthday because he held a sign up that said "today is my birthday"- At first when he started doing this-waving at people-they thought he was trying to get them to slow down but he was not.

Theodore is a retired music teacher and a church choir member and leader and played the organ and when Augustin and I stopped to meet him, he started breaking out into song several different times and he told me jokes and stories. He told me about his family and his children and he asked me about my children and we talked about church and life and God and music and heaven and children. I asked him why he sits out here every day and he says he likes to wave at people and he is outgoing and he likes to meet people.

Meeting him made me want to go back every Thursday. To take the time out of my busy mom schedule, to listen and talk to Theodore who has lived 8 decades. To hear his wisdom and advice. Today I rode my bicycle by to see him after riding with my daughter to work in Oregon City.

I am thinking about taking the time to make every Thursday with Theodore.

My Summer Kid-Goal: Every week a new outdoor adventure

My goal this summer is to get the kids back to nature, to get away from neon lights and schedules and life in the fast lane and computer screens and electronic devices. As one mom calls it-to "get away from manufactured fun".

Each week I am making a commitment to do something outdoors, some kind of adventure, some kind of new park, new hike, new outdoor area, new natural area.
Last week was the first week of summer (well, the kids had school on Monday), and my friend Jeanie told me she was going on a hike to Multnomah Falls so we invited ourselves along. It was great fun seeing that amazing waterfall, walking –sometimes running--up the hill to the top of the falls, and looking down, meandering along the trail with the big cliff to our side.

So, this week, the second week to do a new, non-neon light adventure took us to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Sherwood, Oregon. I had read about this in The Oregonian sometime back and have been wanting to take my children.

As my friend Nancy Trumbo and I had talked about getting together this week it was a perfect time to suggest going to the Wildlife Refuge. Nancy had first suggested a local park near her Tualatin house but I wanted something different and she was thrilled to go with me.

Wow, amazing spot right by the City. We saw pelicans, bullfrogs, tree frogs, a creek, lots of birds, woods, and our kids walking along the path talking up a storm. It was just a mile walk on the path to the lookout area and we saw another group—a camp for kids- exploring the refuge.

Rolling Hills church founder led 31 years of growth

Dale Ebel, founding pastor of Tualatin’s Rolling Hills Community Church, was returning to Oregon with his family in 1975 for graduate work at Portland’s Western Seminary when he sensed a call to start a church.

“We were driving on I-5, and right at Exit 290 – the Lake Oswego/Durham exit – it was like I heard God say to me, ‘You are going to start a church in this area,’¤” recalled Ebel, a native Oregonian and a West Linn resident since 1978.

After Ebel finished his Master of Divinity degree, four families, who were friends of the Ebels and had been commuting to church in Portland asked him to be their pastor.

When Ebel agreed, the families established Rolling Hills Community Church on Feb. 1, 1978, meeting in family homes.

Their first public service was Easter Sunday, 1978, when 120 people gathered in a bank building in Lake Oswego. Then they rented Lake Oswego’s Palisades Elementary School for six years, before moving in 1984 into their newly constructed Borland Road building on land found by Paul Sundstrom,a founding member.

“There were no other churches in the area, and we saw it was where we needed to be, and it started to grow,” Ebel said. “Now, there are so many other churches around there.”
Today, between 2,700 and 3,200 attend the two Sunday services.

Ebel, who stepped down last month from his role as senior pastor, recently reflected on why Rolling Hills grew so much.

“We are rooted in the reality that we are weak and God is strong. There’s something about that that resonates with people, that sense oftransparency, that we are all in process, and that brings authenticity,” Ebel said, adding that he also held fast to “teaching the word of God.”

Original member Cheryl Doerr believes the church’s multigenerational feel is appealing: “So many people are still here who have been here for 31 years. I think that stability is an attraction for young families.” Her son Aaron, is music pastor at Rolling Hills.

Though Ebel acknowledged you want to grow, for Him, “it’s never been about the numbers. I’ve always said, it’s about the people.”

Church member Deana Ruppel of Oregon City credited Ebel with what she called huge people skills. “He has a way of making people feel important,” she said.
And Paulette Jones, Ebel’s administrative assistant from 2005 until he stepped down, noted, “He’s been instrumental in marriages and raising kids. He has poured his life into people.”

In his three decades of service, Ebel has also made strong ties outside the church.
Jerry Nihill, principal at Tualatin’s Bridgeport Primary School, where Rolling Hills members help with various programs, said, “Rolling Hills has been a fantastic community partner with Bridgeport, making it a better place to be.”

Yet, in the midst of his devotion to ministry, Ebel has remained dedicated to his family.
Bill Towne, the church’s interim senior pastor since June 1, who has been on staff in various roles since 1983, said of Ebel, “He was an entrepreneur in starting this church, but he was not sacrificing his family to do so.”

RECEPTIONS JUNE 27-28:
Receptions honoring Dale Ebel’s 31 years of ministry at Rolling Hills Community Church will be held after church services scheduled for 4 p.m. June 27 and 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. June 28at the church, 3550 SW Borland Road, Tualatin

WHAT IS NEXT FOR DALE: Dale recently established the non-profit Dale Ebel Ministries. He plans on continuiing to mentor pastors, disciple others and teach as well as write a book. Reach him at www.daleebel.com

My daughter is back home!

When she saw us waving at her past the security gates and we all started calling out her name, Rachel, Rachel, and Augustin was holding a tulip and a balloon and the twins and Ryan were holding a tulip each and several of her friends joined us at the airport and we had homemade Welcome Home signs and she started running towards us with her arms wide open. She had a backpack on and a smile as warm and bright as her large heart.

It was sweet to watch my SonnenscheinGirl interact with her adoring brothers. Augustin who is 6 just loves his older sister and Rachel told him they would go on a walk soon to Coffee Nook and it was neat to see each of her brothers share about a few details in their lives. School projects, church and school musicals and girls they liked. And in signature Rachel fashion, Rachel listened with sincerity.

She’s back with us all. My daughter dear. We all took turns hugging her and embracing her and I told her Coffee People was open after all this late- past 9 pm so we walked over and got coffee mocha milkshakes and talked and Rachel’s brothers surrounded her and took turns sharing with her as her friends asked her lots of questions and Rachie asked lots of questions and it was just a moment that I had been waiting for for so long. And now it was here.
After arriving home, the seven of us gathered in various rooms to talk to Rachel. We ended up in her room talking on her bed. We stayed up talking until 3:30 the next morning. It was neat being gathered in her bright cheery room as she unpacked a few items and talked and shared. She had a Milka Schokolade for Chris and me and Kinder Schokolade for her four brothers. We were finally back together as a family. Finally complete again.

P.S. I always try to credit the photographer: Thank you Brandon Porter for shooting the picture. I love Augustin's face in this one.

A Chef's Gift to Transitional Youth

It is a warm, blue sky, sunshiny Thursday about 1 p.m., and Mauro Cettina is driving back from the Grocery Outlet in King City with 10 dozen eggs, a bunch of carrots and celery and other items for the potato salad he will be preparing for tonight’s Transitional Youth meal. He plans on cooking for about 100 youth, but the numbers vary each time.
“Tony Slyter, the Grocery Outlet owner, donated these items,” Mauro shares.
Mauro decided to make potato salad for dinner for the kids because potatoes are what he had the most of.
“I was walking around downstairs in the church and I saw the 100 pounds of potatoes that Tony had donated a while back,” Mauro explains. “I thought I’d make potato salad and serve it with hot dogs. It’s a nice picnic kind of summery food for the day.”
“I try to make homemade stuff. This isn’t Sisco potato salad. It has pickles, celery, eggs,” Mauro, the church’s facilities manager, a former professional chef, explains. “I am always getting the word out to every ministry in the church that I need food for Transitional Youth nights. Like if we have a ton of ham left over from an event, I will freeze it and use if for another event, but you cannot keep ham that long, and I will ask the ministry if I can use it for Transitional Youth. It is a great way to not waste food. I can pretty much make something nice out of anything.”
Recently, after the high school ministry’s All-Church Old-Fashioned Spaghetti Feed for Missions that I organized, Mauro used the left over sauce that he had made for that event for a Transitional Youth meal night.
“Tony had donated stew meat and I braised it with onions, chicken broth, garlic and simmered it for a while, then added it to the spaghetti sauce and put it over pasta. The kids just loved it.”
Mauro has been using his culinary gift on Mondays and Thursdays for Transitional Youth for about six months. Sometimes he is just there while another group has prepared the meal.
He loves getting to know the youth.
“You focus on the kids that you have a little bit of rapport with. The thing that I have to remember is it is not about me. Sometimes I don’t get any response, not even a thank you, but that’s okay. You’re not doing it for that. It is easy to compare with our kids, how we’ve taught them to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ for everything. But at Transitional Youth, sometimes it’s just, ‘Where’s the mayonnaise, where’s the mustard?’”
At 3:30 that Thursday, the potato salad is completed. A 100 to 110 pound potato salad.
“Linda Saxton and I cleaned them and pealed them yesterday, and today we sliced them and put together the salad. I have a lot of people helping me,” Mauro notes.
He has to be at the First Baptist Church in downtown Portland, where Transitional Youth now meets, by 4:30 to start the set up for the youth who will start arriving between 5:30 and 6 p.m.
“It’s neat knowing that the kids get a home-cooked meal. And just seeing the volunteers who feel called to serve the kids. The humility behind that. No one says thank you. We don’t expect it. I love to see the community of servants gathered.”

Ahh, it's graduation season. . . then...college ahead

Ryan will graduate a week from tomorrow. We are in the thick of things, planning for the party, getting invites out, end of year things, the all-night party, senior "kisses", end of year events, concerts, projects and. . . college ahead for our second child and our first deciding what to do next year. . . all the while, keeping up with our youngest three and all their activities...it is all good and fun and a whirlwind. Trying to help our children make life long decisions - what college, where to go, what jobs to find. Trying to help them get scholarships to fund the college of their dreams...

Is it a Christian novel? . . . Then, it's boring. . . Ouch

I was at the church library to get some books for my husband to read to our 6-year-old. My husband had asked for some new books as he was getting tired of the same old same old.
As I looked around, I also thought of our 11 year old twin sons who love a good story.
I ended up with two books in a series of young teen novels for the boys.
When I picked up the twins from their church musical practice after finding the church library books, I told the boys that I had some new novels for them to read.
“Are they Christian books?” one of my twin 5th grade sons asks me.
“Yes, they are from the church library,” I answered.
“Then, I don’t want to read them. Christian novels are boring,” he answered.
Ouch.
“Why do you say that?” I probed.
“Because there is no plot and there is no mystery. The always give all the answers,” he replied like a literary critic.
It did get me thinking about Christian literature and sometimes the moralizing that takes place within those books. Or has in the past.
I have not, I confess, gotten into Christian adult literature for some time as I just have not found the story line in them. Not since I was into Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and that series. . . I know I have not tried as hard, but to have my 11 year old son say it so honestly made me think about Christian literature and the importance of creating quality art for kids and adults. I know it is getting better and better and I am excited to meet Christian writers and their excitement. I just hate to hear my twins say that they think Christian lit is boring.

I think sometime about the market and how maybe I need to be the one to create quality literature with good morals without the story being moralizing -- and boring.

And keep looking for those who already are.

Thoughts on Big Church and kids leaving the church

I have heard of a statistic that notes how a large majority of kids are leaving the faith as they get beyond high school and move on to collegiate life.

I think of church life sometimes and have to wonder:
So much of our church is segregated times.

The grade schoolers are in one section, the junior high in another, the high schoolers in still another area.

There have been times when I am in big church and I think, I wish my high schooler was in here. Or my grade schoolers.

A couple of weeks ago, our pastor was giving an important talk and we kept our grade schoolers with us for the first church service instead of sending them to their fifth grade Sunday School class. I love their teacher Mr. Tate and I like a lot of the things they do in the class, but I also like my children with me to hear the service. With us.

And when it came to the second service, which I was staying for as well, I had told my high school son, who attends the high school service during the second hour, that I wanted him in “big church” with me, but he had said he wanted to go to his own high school class. I had thought about going to his youth leader and saying I think the high schoolers need to be in “big church” this week, but then I did not do it.

Soon,I found out that the high school class was canceled so the teens could be in with the “big church” as the youth leader also saw it as an important service. I was so happy that my son would be hearing the things going on in big church.

Maybe if we would incorporate the high schoolers and other students into the “big church” more often, they would not leave church as they move into college. Because they will have already found a place in big church while still in high school and earlier.

We do a combined service every few months which sort of does this. I hope we do more of these. Bringing everyone together. Into one body. One church. Big church.

Now it's Greece. . .

Rachel is close to being done with her 7 weeks -- count them - of traveling. . . I am keeping up via the internet. . .she is in Santorini Greece right now then by Friday back in Duesseldorf Germany with family- my sweet cousin Christiana's family - and in two weeks from today she will be home!!

Playing Jesus. . . for real

Jim Caviezel who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie, The Passion of the Christ – wow, what an amazing man Jim is. And that his initials are JC and he was 33 years old when Mel asked him to play the part.
He spoke at Rolling Hills Community Church last weekend and was so passionate about Life and sticking up for Christ no matter what. Counting the cost. That was the message I took away from it. Pastor Dale from Rolling Hills interviewed him during the service.
Dale asked Jim what it was like playing Jesus. Jim was actually on the physical cross for the filming of the movie. He was up there for hours. He actually almost died of hypothermia. His shoulder was dislocated. He notes that he could not have played the part without his heart being there. With his head alone, he would not have had the strength. With God’s strength.
Playing the part of Jesus in a film had such an impact on his life that he is careful how he lives his real life. People come up to him and say, “There’s Jesus,” and that is a hard act to follow in real life, but he takes it seriously. And again, he says, not in his own power.
He and his wife adopted two children over the past few years. The children both had brain tumors and would have not been adopted very easily by others. His passion for life and the unborn and standing up for doing the right thing is refreshing.
His current project is the release of CD of the entire New Testament Bible being spoken and narrated by various actors.
Not surprisingly, JC plays JC.

Writers Connection Meeting Monday May 18

We are having our next Writing & Culture Connection meeting this coming
Monday May 18, at 6:30 pm - at Rolling Hills Community Church, in Tualatin, located at 3550 SW Borland Road. The meeting will be in the conference room- all writers are invited to share inspiration, what they are working on,
publishing opportunities, current projects, dream projects, upcoming writing
conferences, poetry.

I have a fun writing prompt we will do.

The meeting is a great connection time of encouragement-We will gather for about an hour

The link on the church's website:

http :// www . rollinghills .org/writing-and-culture-connection-meeting