New Phone

Well, I finally did it. I got a new cell phone today. This is a major milestone in my life because this is only the second cell phone that I have ever owned. I got my first cell phone in 2006 in my home town of Mishawaka, Indiana right before I moved to Knoxville Tennessee. The reason that I decided to get a new cell phone was because my old cell phone was having a hard time keeping a charge. I think this might have been what caused my problem earlier this summer when I my phone shut off and I didn't know how to turn it back on.
When I went to the Verizon store today to get the new cell phone, the guy who helped me (who was probably still in elementary school when I got my first cell phone) said, "Your phone is really old." He then proceeded to try to sell me a smart phone with all kinds of bells and whistles. I told him "no." He then showed me their basic phones that were on display in the store. He suggested that I get one with a keyboard for texting and a camera. I told him "no". I then asked him if they had any other basic phone models in stock that were not on display. They had a catalogue and I pointed to some phones and he thought they did have a few of them in the back. I told him I had a $50 credit on my account and I wanted to use that to get a phone and that I hoped that they had phones that would not cost me anything if I used my credit. He went into the back stock room and emerged with my new phone. He told me that I would not have to pay anything for this if I used my $50 credit and that I could walk out of the store with a new phone. The salesman also warned me that this phone didn't take photos, connect to the Internet, or have a flip out keyboard for sending texts. He said it was just a "plain Jane phone." I told him that it sounded perfect.
So, I've spent the evening reading the manual for my new phone. I know. Most people just know how to use their phones and never even unwrap the manual but that's not how I'm wired. I like to read the manual and learn all of the little tricks to operating new phone. Of course, there are very few little tricks because by the rest of the world's standards, I am now the proud owner of the world's most boring phone.
In spite of the fact that I am really excited about my new phone, I also will miss my old phone. I may try to donate my old phone to the Smithsonian. Maybe they will display it next to Dorothy's ruby slippers.
That old phone has been my communication device with the world for the past five years. I think about all of the conversations I have had with friends and family using that phone. I have laughed deeply and shed many tears while using that old phone. I have heard good news and bad news while talking on that phone. I was talking on that old phone when I was offered the Family Services Coordinator position at TriState Habitat for Humanity. I have renewed relationships with old friends and talked for the first time when people who would become new friends. I have made plans and cancelled plans. I have offered and received words of encouragement on that old phone. That phone traveled with me from Indiana to Tennessee to Ohio. It went with me when I traveled. It has been the alarm that has awakened me every morning for the past five years. It has been a faithful companion and I will be sad to see it go.
I am grateful for both my new phone and my old phone. I am grateful for memories and new beginnings. I am thankful for new technology that will carry me into the next season of my life and journey.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Settling In

After living in my apartment for more than a year, I feel like I am finally settling in. I spent a big part of the day unpacking some boxes and consolidating some other boxes of things I should probably drop off at Goodwill. I also finally hung stuff up on my walls. I think it has taken me so long because in the back of my mind is the thought that I may have move again. I guess that's one of the remnants of being an itinerant United Methodist pastor. In addition, I have moved a lot in the past five years. As I was sorting through my boxes, I began to think about how many times I have moved my stuff. In case you haven't been following my crazy journey, here's a run down:

• In the fall of 2006 when I was still serving my church in Mishawaka, Indiana, the church bought a new parsonage. I was not ready to tell the congregation that I was leaving, so I went through the huge hassle of moving all of my stuff into the new parsonage in Osceola, Indiana.
• During December 2006 I moved all my worldly belongings into a storage unit in Knoxville, Tennessee. The day after Christmas I drove to Knoxville and moved in with my sister Shelly and her family. I lived in her computer room and slept on an air mattress. I didn't have a job at first and wondered what in the heck I was doing.
• In June of 2007 I moved into an apartment in Knoxville. By this time I had secured full-time employment at Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County Tennessee.
• In the summer of 2008 gas prices had skyrocketed and the Great Recession was in full force. I had a half-hour commute to work from Knoxville to Oak Ridge. So, when my lease was up in Knoxville, I moved to Oak Ridge to an apartment that was just a few blocks from the Habitat office. I even walked to work a few times until the unbearable Tennessee summer heat set in.
• In November of 2009, I accepted a new position with TriState Habitat for Humanity in Cincinnati. Because there was a brief time and I wanted to take my time to look for an apartment, I moved in with sister Stacey and her family in West Chester, Ohio.
• After a long and exhaustive search, in April 2010 I moved to my current apartment in Hamilton, Ohio.

So, for me to be in this apartment for this amount of time seems a little weird. It's a good feeling to think that I might settle in to a particular place for a while. I feel blessed to be here. I am in a place that really like. It's close to work, to my family, and there's a lot to do in the area. I'm grateful that God led me to this place at this time. I hope that that one day I might even consider this more than just a place to stay, but my home.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

New Walking Shoes

I bought some new walking shoes for my training period for walking the half-marathon in May. I have needed some new tennis shoes for a while but have been putting it off. I was blessed to be able to find a pair of shoes that are very comfortable, were on sale, and are actually not too hideous.
As I went on my first walk in my new shoes this morning, I began thinking about what life lessons these new shoes might teach me. Here's what I came up with:

• It's important to have good support along your journey. My old shoes were really worn out. The souls were worn and cracked in places. I didn't realize how bad they were until I stopped to take a look at them. When I walked for the first time in my new shoes I felt the difference right away. I had support that I was missing before with my old shoes.
• The path to change begins with the first step. I have decided to prepare for walking in the half-marathon to improve my health. In order to be successful in this I have to start now to prepare for marathon day. It all began this morning with my first step.
• It's easy to get comfortable with things that really aren't good for you. I really liked my old walking shoes. I bought them right after I moved to Tennessee and they were comfortable. However, they were really not giving me the support I needed. In fact, I had a real problem with what I think were shin splints when I tried to walk for the past month. I did some reading on the Internet about it and I learned that shin splints can be caused by not wearing good shoes that give you proper support. What I realized is that my old comfortable shoes could really be doing my body harm and I needed to let them go.
• It's fun to get new shoes. When I was growing up, I had a lot of problems finding shoes that fit. I inherited some very funky feet. I've often said that they look like Fred Flintstone's feet or after I saw the Lord of the Rings movies: Hobbit feet. In addition to having two webbed toes on each foot, I have a very high instep and very wide feet. In fact, I had go to Syracuse, Indiana to shoe store that specialized in hard-to-find sizes. I always loved the special attention that the store employees would give to me when I was fitted for shoes. Even though most shoes stores don't give customers the attention they once did, I still like getting new shoes.

So, I feel like I'm off to a good start with my new shoes. I am hoping that they will help me to accomplish my goal of finishing the half-marathon.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I began my new job at TriState Habitat for Humanity. I had just moved from Oak Ridge, Tennessee the week before and I was living with my sister Stacey and brother-in-law Rob. Besides them, I didn't know anyone else in Cincinnati.
I remember feeling both very excited and also somewhat anxious. I knew the first week would be full of orientation and just learning my way around. While I was doing the same job as I had been in Tennessee, each Habitat affiliate does things differently. Also, I knew that I was moving to a much larger affiliate that served many more families than my previous affiliate. I wondered to myself if I would ever be able to keep up. It seemed both overwhelming and like a wonderful challenge that I was ready to face.
After one year of working at TriState Habitat for Humanity, I feel filled with gratitude for so many things. I am grateful for a team of people who support me and who share their incredible gifts to help those in need. I am grateful to be working for an organization that respects my talents and the experience that I bring to the table. I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to help families move from living in substandard housing to a safe, decent, affordable home that they own.
What a difference a year makes. It is only by God's grace that I am here. God continues to pour out grace upon grace in new and powerful ways. In the past year I have found healing. I have found community. I reunited with friends. I have been able to experience God's love in new and powerful ways.
I am living a dream. I get to be in ministry. I get to serve the poor. I get to work with an awesome team. I get to wake up every morning and go to a job that I love. This makes all the difference in the world in my life and in my heart. I give God thanks for leading me to TriState Habitat for Humanity. I give God thanks for the gift of this past year.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Back to Work Tomorrow

Tomorrow I head back to work after being off for nearly a week for my trip to Tennessee. It's been a good week. I am grateful for the time to rest, relax, and renew. I am also grateful for the time I had with my family.
While I'm sure it will be hard to get up in the morning since I've been sleeping in these past several days, I am also anxious to get back to work. I am hoping and praying that there will be new applications for our homeownership program for me to review. I also am looking forward to taking on some new things as our Habitat for Humanity affiliate participates in the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. I also feel excited about implementing some ideas I have for family recruitment.
There is much to do and I know just catching up on my email will take a big chunk of time this week. However, I feel ready for the tasks before me. I feel called to this work like few other things in my life. It is much more than just a job. It is truly ministry for me. It brings together so many different aspects of my life and experience. It allows me to use my gifts. It allows me to serve the least of these. It allows me to be a part of an amazing team of people. It empowers me and helps me find meaning in life. I could really ask for nothing more. I feel blessed and am ready to hit the ground running as I strive to give my best to help eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

A Good Vacation

I'm back from a good vacation to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. My family gathered together in a cabin in the mountains. No cell phones. No computers. There was satellite TV. We played games, relaxed, read, watched movies, ate way too much food, took naps, watched reality TV, and enjoyed time together as a family. I am grateful for this time. I am grateful for the trip. I am truly blessed.
I am off one more day tomorrow and then it's back to work. While I'm glad I have tomorrow to rest up from the trip, I am looking forward to being back at work. There is much to do and there are many families to serve.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Listening

Listening is an art, a spiritual practice. … Listening speaks to one of our deepest needs, to be understood or feel understood. Yes, we might like people to agree with us, take our side, but it is a great gift when we feel that the person understands us, even if the person does not agree with us. … Listening acknowledges and honor’s the other’s uniqueness with his or her own stories and truths. We each need to tell our story, and we each need to hear the other’s story. Being listened to provides the opening we need to tell our stories, to express feelings and ideas we would otherwise be afraid to voice.

- Thomas Porter, The Spirit and Art of Conflict Transformation

The above quote was a part of my e-devotional today. One of the things that I am trying to do is be a better listener in my life. I can often hear what people are saying just fine, but I don't always listen very well. I need to worry less about how I am going to respond to what people are saying and simply listen and be present for others. I want to listen like Jesus listened. While he knew what was really on the heart of those with whom he talked, he let them say the words. He didn't say the words for them. He listened and in the listening he built relationships and was able to be fully present in that moment to whomever was speaking. I want to be that kind of listener.
I'm headed to the Smoky Mountains tomorrow for a weekend with my family. We have rented a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I don't think I will have Internet access for the weekend. I will catch you up on Monday when I return home. I am grateful for the long weekend and some time away.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Re-Connecting

I had two wonderful surprises today. The first was when I checked my email today I had an email from my friend Cathy. She was with her new husband Ron. Ron is a truck driver and from the sound of things, drives all over the place. They just happened to have a delivery to Hamilton, Ohio last night which is where I now live. Cathy sent the email in the hopes that we could connect. Unfortunately, I had already gone to bed and never received it until this morning. I was able to talk with Cathy by phone. They were picking up another load in Fairfield, Ohio which is the town next to Hamilton. I hoped we would be able to have lunch together but that didn't work out with their schedule either.
Cathy is a school bus driver and is off work this summer. So, I guess she decided to join Ron on the road. It sounds like fun to me. I wish I could to that. While I would be a nervous wreck driving a semi-truck, I would love to ride in one. I don't think I've ever been inside the cab of one. I've only ever seen them on Trick My Truck. Ever since I watched BJ and the Bear, I have been fascinated with life on the road. I love traveling and this would certainly be a way to see our beautiful country. As I'm writing this, I'm actually feeling a bit jealous of Ron and Cathy. It sounds like it would be a fun way to spend the summer. Safe travels Ron and Cathy!
I also received a surprise phone call today from my friends Harold and Sherry. I haven't spoken with them for a few months. They are on their way back to their home in Oak Ridge, Tennessee from a trip to Canada and I guess they will be passing through the Cincinnati area tomorrow. So, they invited me to meet them for dinner tomorrow night. I'm really looking forward to catching up with them. I know we will laugh and have a good time together. They are a blessing in my life.
It's funny how God works in my life. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself over the weekend. As I've shared, I'm anxious to get connected to a church home because I am feeling a bit lonely here in my new home town. I only really know my family and my co-workers here. I am not much of a social butterfly and it's hard for me to meet people. I know God has friends out there that I have yet to meet. I know that there are wonderful people like Harold, Sherry and Cathy who will one day laugh with me, listen to me whine, and show me grace for some strange reason and I will be able to reciprocate all of these things.
However, tonight I'm giving God thanks for allowing me to re-connect with dear friends who have been such an important part of my journey. I am so blessed that God puts people in my path who are wonderful companions along the way.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Paper Clips

I watched the most wonderful documentary last night through my Netflix subscription online. The name of the documentary is Paper Clips. I cannot recommend this film enough to you. It is a powerful film that had me crying and laughing and thinking a lot about the brokenness that is our human condition.
Paper Clips is about the Paper Clips Project begun by middle school students from the small southeastern Tennessee city of Whitwell who created a monument for the Holocaust victims in Nazi Germany. It started in 1998 as a simple 8th-grade project and evolved into one gaining worldwide attention. At last count, over 30 million paper clips had been received. The film came out in 2004.
Through Internet research, the students discovered that Johan Vaaler designed a loop of metal, that he was Jewish, Norwegian, and the Norwegians wore them on their lapels during WWII as a silent protest against Nazi policies. The students decided to collect 6,000,000 paper clips to represent the estimated 6,000,000 Jews killed between 1939 and 1945 under the authority of the Nazi government of Adolf Hitler.
At first the project went slowly, as it did not gain much publicity. Students created a website and sent out letters to friends, family and celebrities. The project began to snowball after it received attention from Peter and Dagmar Schroeder, journalists who were born in Germany during World War II and who cover the White House for German newspapers. The big break in the US came with an article in the Washington Post on April 7, 2001, written by Dita Smith. After the article, many more paper clips were being sent. Soon, millions of paper clips started to flood the school.
One of the most amazing and surprising things to me as I watched this documentary was the location of the project. The small rural town Whitwell has about 1,600 residents, and according to the U.S. census, 97.35% of them are white. There was not a single Jewish person among the population of 425 students when the project began. Out of the 425 students that attend the school, there are only five African Americans and one Hispanic.
Even more surprising is that about 40 miles away from Whitwell is the Rhea County Courthouse, where, in 1925, a teacher was convicted for teaching evolution during the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. The trial upheld a statute which outlawed teaching any theory that denies the Divine Creation. Along with this is the irony that a hundred miles from Whitwell, in Pulaski, Tennessee, the infamous Ku Klux Klan was reportedly born.
The result of the Paper Clip Project is the Children's Holocaust Memorial. The memorial, located on the middle school grounds, consists of an authentic German transport car (which arrived in Baltimore on September 9, 2001) surrounded by a small garden.The rail car is filled with 11 million paper clips (6 million for murdered Jews and 5 million for Gypsies, Catholics, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other groups).
Eighteen butterflies sculptured of twisted copper are embedded in concrete around the rail car. Butterflies came from a poem written by a child who lived in Terezin concentration camp in 1942 (I Never Saw Another Butterfly) and the number 18 in Hebrew symbolizes life. Inside the rail car, besides the paper clips, there is a suitcase filled with letters of apology to Anne Frank by a class of German schoolchildren.
A sculpture designed by an artist from Ooltewah, Tennessee stands next to the car, memorializing the 1.5 million children murdered by the Nazis, incorporating another 11 million paper clips.
Since watching this extraordinary film, my heart has been a bit overwhelmed by what these students accomplished. At an age when teens try so hard to fit in and run with the herd, these students chose to celebrate diversity and embrace tolerance in profound ways. In the film, the vice-principal talks about the prejudice he grew up with and was taught by his father. He vows to break the cycle in his family and raise his sons differently by teaching tolerance in his home. The students seem to be filled with pride as they give tours through the railroad car outside their school and answer questions about the project.
I can't recommend this amazing film enough to you. It is one of the most powerful stories I have ever seen told on film.
I hope you are having a great week. I'm watching the season finale of Glee tonight - a little less serious than Paper Clips. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Road Trip Tomorrow

I'm headed to Tennessee tomorrow for a quick trip. My nephew Paul will be graduating from high school on Saturday. My sister Stacey and I will be driving down together. I am looking forward to seeing Paul graduate. It's been a long road for him and it will be time to celebrate.
I'll do my best to blog during the weekend. If not, I'll catch up when I get back.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had the blessing of having my Mom here in Ohio this weekend. My parents came up from Tennessee for my nephew Cameron's birthday. They also were able to bring up my washer and dryer that were being stored at my sister Shelly's home in Tennessee.
Last night we celebrated Cameron's birthday together. Today we attended worship and then had dinner together. This is the first time I've seen them since they left for warmer weather in December. It was good to see them. They are headed back to Tennessee today and then will be there for a few weeks before heading to Indiana for a while.
Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you!