Tuesday, October 14, 2008

You Just Had To Be There

Words and pictures cannot accurately report what "simple truth" women's retreat was like. You just had to be there. You had to see the ocean view from the deck, you had to feel the balmy sunny windless weather, you had to see the deer grazing within arm's reach, you had to taste that amazing gravy.

Twenty-eight women attended the EHA retreat in Ocean Park, and we knew from the very beginning it would be great: Dessert the first evening was "Death by Chocolate". As far as we know no one really died from it, but it would have been worth it!

Our time together was marked by a real sense of unity and joy. During messages from God's word we heard about unity, diversity, and margin. We sang to guitar and piano music provided by Becky Cox. We played crazy games, had quiet times of reflection and prayer, and even shopped a little bit. There was something for everyone.

I came home blessed, refreshed, and so impressed with the women of East Hills and their talents and care for each other. And I fell deeper in love with a kind and caring Savior. That is the 'simple truth'.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Rockin' With The Forge

God is doing a mighty work in the Jr. High ministry at EHA. Not only are tons of kids showing up (and I mean tons if you weighed them all together on a huge elephant scale), but lives are being impacted and changed. We are seeing the unsaved drawn to Jesus! And that is exciting! On a typical night I show up at 5:30, prepping my heart and my body for the night's onslaught. Near 6:00 a few kids will have trickled in, and by 6:15 the place is a madhouse; balls flying everywhere; screams and laughter resounding throughout the lower building; and hugs and high fives creating a cacophony of smiles and joyous outbursts.

We play a few rousing games that get the blood moving, and I'm usually hoarse by this point. Then we file into the youth room and sing songs at a level that would register about a 2.5 on the Richter scale. After worship I share a brief message, trying to be relevant to the cultural issues these youth are facing in the world today. After that we play a closing game that will make them sleep well that night. It's awesome every week, because God is at work. At this point there are three leaders, and we are stretched pretty thin... so if you feel God's tug on your heart to help out, we could really use you! What can you expect if you show up? Lots of energy, lots of life, and a very sore back the next day! But it's so worth it! Even if you can't help out, I encourage everyone to come at least once to check out what God is doing in the Forge…!

Heart to Heart

This fall we decided to try Heart to Heart as evening only sessions.  This decision allows us to meet together as one group, and also allows guest speakers the opportunity to participate without having to prepare for two sessions.  Our current series, “10 Things Every Woman Needs to Know” is subtitled, “Practical wisdom for everyday…and eternity.”  We have had a great time hearing from guests on practical topics and are excited to hear the remaining presentations.  Also, each week, I have been privileged to share from God’s Word on related subjects.  It is truly exciting and energizing to open my Bible and put together messages that I know are specifically for the women of East Hills.  

God has been so good to bless us each week.  We enjoy the mid-week break, the snacks, and the excellent childcare.  All of this together allows us to grow closer together and closer to God.  Each message of this series stands alone, so that you can join in at anytime and be part of the community of women who are learning ten new things.

Kidville On The Move Update

The revised format of Kidville has had a trial run of a couple of weeks.  After lots of planning and rearranging, we have gotten underway on the rotation style of children’s ministry.  Last Spring when I began considering this way of doing kids’ ministry, I thought we were inventing something new that was a hybrid of traditional Sunday School and VBS.  Just last week I found online a book called “Rotation Style Sunday School” and found out that this is the newest trend in children’s ministry.  Too bad we didn’t’ write the book! 

The format moves kids each week from one specialty site to another where there is staff to teach in a variety of ways.  From a traditional story time to big motor activities, crafts, songs, and skits, each child will have the opportunity to participate in the way he or she learns best. For me, one of the most gratifying parts of this change has been the new people who have volunteered to staff it.  None of us knew on day one exactly what to expect and this staff has jumped on board to minister to kids in creative and effective ways.  

I think as you observe what is going on, hear from the kids themselves, and take a turn at helping out, you will see the value of Kidville On The Move.  Kids truly are important to us at East Hills and we know that our commitment will pay off.

God's Perfect Timing

By: Jim Fishel

Have you ever said to yourself, “Now why did that happen? What am I supposed to learn from this? Is this just a random event that has no lesson to learn or benefit to me or others, or is God about to show me something special?”

Earlier this month Sharon and I and our friend Elaine Sharer were on our way home from Alberta, Canada when I asked myself all those questions. We were towing a small 4’x 8’ box trailer with perhaps 200 lbs in it. The route I had chosen was to go through Yakima, then Hwy 12 to I-5 and home. We were on a long uphill run on I-90 when my chauffer said “Jim wake up, we’ve got smoke coming out the back end.” Less than a half mile ahead was a rest stop so we kept going and came to a stop in the truck parking area. Oil was pouring out of the transmission.

Disaster always seems to draw a crowd, and just as I verified that the oil was from the transmission the man already parked next to us came over and said “tranny’s hot, happens a lot on that long grade”. I’m not always sure what to say when someone states the obvious so I just nodded, but he continued, “Do you have any ‘tranny fluid?” I didn’t and he said, “I have a couple of quarts you can have, and a funnel to put it in with.” I thanked him and tried to pay him but he wouldn’t take any money. This modern day ‘Good Samaritan’ said, “Just pass it on, there aren’t enough people who care nowadays to help.” Then he gave me a 3rd quart of fluid and left.

We had to wait for the transmission to cool down before we could continue and as we waited a young family in a pickup pulling a big travel trailer rolled in next to us. Oil was pouring out of the transmission and I walked up and said, “tranny’s hot, happens a lot on that long grade. Do you have any transmission fluid?”

In retrospect it seems obvious to me that the reason my transmission over heated was so I could be in the right place and at the right time to help the young family. We drove away from that rest stop rejoicing and praising God for His goodness to us and His perfect timing. Now if I could just see what I’m suppose to learn from the turn signals not working.

Parsonage Sale

After over a year without a tenant, the East Hills parsonage has been sold to Residential Resources for our asking price, $250,000.00. When occupied, a paid-off parsonage is a major asset. The use of the building was a form of compensation for staff that was equivalent to several hundred dollars a month, but with no cash outlay for the church. However, since Caleb and Becky Cox moved into their own home a year and a half ago, the parsonage has gone from an asset to a liability. With no pastoral staff member living there, its local property tax exemption had expired. Using it as a youth center or office space does not confer the exemption, so with no plans to use it as a residence, we would be paying taxes on it into the foreseeable future.

A sale of the parsonage would have paid for our recent remodel with a great deal left over, but the feeling of the Administration Board was that the remodel needed to stand on its own, supported by the current membership rather than the effort and giving of the past members who bought, maintained, and expanded the parsonage.
"For me, personally, I had always been opposed to selling the parsonage," Elder Tom Hight said. "We could, in effect, pay someone $600.00 a month, and here's our property appreciating, and we're not out of pocket. But we just came to a place where it made more sense to sell than to keep."

The church leadership put the house on the market in early July, and Residential Resources expressed interest within a few weeks. After the EHA members voted in favor of allowing the property to change hands, Pastor Nick closed the deal on our behalf. We asked for, and got, 10 percent up front. From that down payment, we paid the closing costs and the back property taxes that had already come due.
Founded in 1980, Residential Resources cares for both children and adults with developmental disabilities and other medical needs. They are a well-established non-profit agency and already own three other group homes in the Kelso-Longview area. They are also associated with AmeriCorps and United Way. After some modifications, the parsonage will serve as a home for disabled children. They have committed to paying off the property in two years.

We have not yet decided where and how to deposit the incoming payment. We have the ability to put it to work earning interest, but there are strict limits on what we can do with the principal itself. The Christian and Missionary Alliance allows member churches to spend money from the sale of property only on capital improvements, so we could not use it to pay pastors' salaries, for instance. The elders have proposed the idea of earmarking the money from the sale to help plant a daughter church."We were no longer tax-exempt and had no real hope or expectation of regaining that," Tom said. "That was really the entering wedge. And we had already years back considered that if we grew to a size where we could do this, that we wanted to daughter a church -- it's a long-range goal. The two are separate but parallel."

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Lunch Money

The money fast continues, and on Monday morning I was faced with a fresh dilemma. As I prepared for my day I remembered that I was scheduled to have lunch in Portland with an old friend. This is a friend who I had not seen since last summer, and who had paid for our last several lunches. When we made the date a couple of weeks ago I made a big deal about how it was really truly my turn to pay. Hmmm, now here I was with a week long no-spending policy. I couldn't make lunch and take it because I had not bought groceries and we were down to half a bag of ice and three eggs. Nothing there.

As I was describing my quandry to our son, Ross, I listed my possible options: 1) Flake out and ask my friend to pay (again), 2) Break my self-imposed rule and just buy lunch, or 3) Pay with a credit card and pretend like it is not real money. None of these sounded right and the option of cancelling lunch until a more conveneint time did not even enter my thinking.

Ross thought for a minute, then offered to buy lunch for my friend and me. He handed me some money and said, "Go for it Mom, it's on me." I feebly refused, even tried half heartedly to give back part of the money. "No", he said, "don't go on the cheap." So I carefully folded the money into my pocket and at lunch a few hours later explained the situation to my friend.

We splurged, ordered bevereges, lunch, then even split a dessert. When I paid I left a generous tip and still had $5 left. As we parted I asked her what she thought my ethical responsibility was about the $5: give it back to Ross, give it to her, or spend it? Her answer was quick: It was a gift, you should spend it all. So, on the way home from lunch, feeling a little drowsy, I stopped at a Starbuck's. I bought an iced coffee, then dropped all the change into the tip jar. I don't know if it was generosity or contrition, but it felt good.

What am I learning? That not spending money is more complicated that it sounds. You should try it sometime!

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Money and Kids

My spending fast continues. I have spent no money since Wednesday afternoon. I am surprised at how often I think about NOT spending money. Little things like cruising by Starbuck's on my way to church, or stopping by the grocery store on the way home are on hold for now.

So far the hardest thing has been not spending money on kids. We are trying to "train up a child in the way he [or she] should go" by taking our grandaughters to Kelso football games. As part of the bribery...I mean training...we buy them popcorn for the game. Well, this past Friday night I could not buy any. We usually buy two bags, one to eat, and one to spill, and that has worked out well. I felt like a real cheapskate when someone else volunteered to go to the concession stand and get the poor deprived girls their football treat. As it turned out, the popcorn was about the only good thing about Kelso football that night.

And then there is the whole half done birthday gift. A little friend has an October birthday and I had found a good start to a gift a couple of weeks ago, bought it, and planned to add something snazzy to the very practical item I had gotten. Alas, I did not get it done before the big spending fast kicked in. Now I am left with the option of cheating and buying something extra, giving just the practical part and hoping she is OK with that, or trying to find something around the house to add on. Do you think some re-gifted tealights would fill the bill?

Not spending is more complicated than I thought it would be!

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Show Me The Money!

Last month I read an article about a guy who decided to completely stop spending money for a week. The idea grabbed my attention since we have been talking around here about our October series on money. Heart to Heart is also doing a piece on money management. At home we are trying to simplify and consolidate our banking (planning to enter the wonderful world of on-line banking). So I have been thinking about money quite a bit.

The idea of a spending "fast" has really intrigued me, so as of yesterday, I began my one week of spending no money. Zero dollars and zero cents. When I first thought about doing this I figured I would buy a trunkful of groceries, get the car gassed up, and maybe have a little recreational shopping trip to Target, just to get prepared for all the non-spending I would do in the next seven days. However, life got busy and I never did any of that. And I am already feeling the effects of poor planning.

Last night was our first life group meeting. I wish I could tell you that I was so taken with the new spending fast that I chose not to go to the store and get food for our first-of-the-season-these-people-have-never-been-in-my-house-before-life-group. But, honestly, I just didn't want to go to the store. So I scrounged, a practice I expect to get more familiar with in the coming week. I found some really nice strawberries in the refrigerator, invented "punch" from a bottle of Squirt and some secret ingredients; but my real coup was some crackers on a cute little plate served with a spread made from half a container of cream cheese and a glob of forgotten gourmet cranberry mustard (surprisingly good).

So far, so good. I think it will be interesting to see how this little project impacts me. I am not a big shopper, but I will admit that there are times when I look into my empty wallet and wonder where the money went. It seems like it sort of melts away sometimes. But at least for today, I will be able to show you the money: it is still in my wallet. Now, I wonder if there are anymore of those crackers left for lunch...I'll keep you posted.