Adventures in Community Outreach: Part 1 - What is a Free Market?

My writing has been quite limited as of late because my time and efforts have been redirected a bit.  This is the first of a 3-part series about my distraction.  My church has been working on something called a "Free Market".  It's a pretty foreign concept for most.  It's like a traditional flea market with one great big difference.  It wasn't a fundraiser.  No one was selling spaces for people to come and put out their "junk" to sell.  No, a free market means that the goods - new or like new - are all donated and then given away.  For free, no strings attached.

It's an idea that been more than 2 years in the making and about 5 months in the planning.  I've shared the background before, but for those who are unfamiliar, here's a brief synopsis...a little more than 2 years ago, after reading the book "The Externally Focused Church", I went to my pastor and told him about the nagging feeling in my spirit that we were just not involved enough in our community.  The CommunityConnections ministry was born.  I invited 4 or 5 like-minded individuals to form the team and we began with a food drive.  In the past 2 years, the outreaches have gotten larger and more involved: from serving meals at a Salvation Army drop-in center, re-modeling a local Dress for Success office, and adopting a shelter to do an "Extreme Home Makeover" on its 17 bedrooms, to hosting a Christmas store this past December that involved purchasing gifts and allowing those in local shelters to maintain their dignity by choosing and purchasing items for their children at 10 cents on the dollar.

The Free Market was something my pastor had encouraged me to investigate in those early days, but it took two years for God to grow our ministry team to about 15 people, and to have service truly become part of our congregation's DNA.  That's why, when we put out a call for over a hundred volunteers just 3 weeks before volunteer intensive Kids Camp (our VBS program), people still answered the call.  God had prepared their hearts and minds to do what needed to be done.

As the ministry head, I am blessed to work with people who aren't afraid to step up and take the reigns on different outreaches. This time around, Cathy, a woman who's organizational skills know no bounds, stepped up to the plate.  Her previous church had done a Free Market a few years prior and so she was the one to cast the vision to our team and supply the details.  Her former church was several times bigger than our congregation of about 600, and their budget for the outreach was slightly more than double ours, so we needed to tailor the specifics to what our numbers and budget could handle.  For the past 5 months, our ministry team and some additional individuals who joined us specifically for the task at hand, have been working out the details. 

To fully explain the Free Market concept's purpose and goals, Cathy shared a passage of scripture with us.  Deuteronomy 24:19:  "When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back and get it.  Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord you God may bless you in all the work of your hands."  People were to harvest their fields in a circular pattern, leaving the corners (as well as any 'overlooked sheaf' from the circular harvest) for those on the fringes of that ancient society - strangers, orphans and widows, so they could survive.  There was nothing less desirable about what was left behind...it was just as viable a crop.  The idea was that God had given them a harvest, but it wasn't to be assumed that it was all for them.  He gave them bounty and they were to share out of that bounty.

The Free Market was rather like a modern day concept of gleaning.  God has been generous to us, so we need to in turn, be generous to others.  A three week sermon series entitled "The Blessed Life" instructed and encouraged the congregation to see exactly what God had put into their hands and what they could do with it.  God doesn't need a lot - He just needs a person who is willing to give what they have for Him to use.  Think David with his sling and a few stones...or Moses and his staff...Shamgar and his ox goad (yes, that's someone in the Bible - you'll just have to research it :)

So that's how it all began...an idea, a vision, some teaching.  In the next installment I'll share about the actual details of planning the event - just in case it's something you'd like to bring to your church.  Trust me, if you do, the harvest of blessings you'll reap will be difficult to contain!

The Summer of the Blue Bike

I was just talking to my friend and fellow blogger, Pam from In the Shadow of His Wings, about my blog posts.  I was beginning to feel they don't fit what I've perceived to be "the norm" based on others I've read. Other blogs seem far shorter than mine, more succinct.  Anyone who's read one of my posts knows I tend to write what might be charitably labeled...essays.  That comment led Pam to suggest I add to this blog something I once shared with her.  It was actually more of a short story pieced together from a couple of journal entries back in August of 2007.  I called it "The Summer of the Blue Bike", and in many ways, it's the precursor to Lakeside Lessons.  I doubt this fits that short, succinct norm I mentioned, but today I'm responding to a request :)

"The Summer of the Blue Bike"

"It had been a rough year and an even tougher summer. As the days dragged on long and hot, I ached to sit on the sand of an empty beach and watch the sun slowly rise out of the ocean, breaking into the sky in all its golden glory. If I closed my eyes, I could almost smell the salty air and feel the warmth of the sun on my face. But when I opened my eyes, what I had imagined as the relaxing lapping of waves on the shoreline, was instead the incessant tapping of raindrops on my office window. Another dreary day spent chained to my desk.

It seemed this summer, more than any other, everyone I knew was vacationing on some sandy beach or cruising to an island - and they all wanted to tell me about it in raptured detail. 

There were many things that kept me from the ocean. Money was first and foremost. Even a day's jaunt to the beach cost a tank of gas and fixings for lunch. An elongated stay with the cost of rent was out of the question. Then there was the matter of time. Going with the rest of the weekend warriors meant the stress of battling them on the road and the dunes. And taking off a day from work was akin to a miracle since apparently, I alone in the universe knew how to do what I do...job security is a two-edged sword.

Instead, I entertained myself on the weekends by going to yard sales and searching for bargains and that's how I found my bike. A man's blue Huffy Expedition for the bargain price of $15. It needed a tire changed and a bit of 3 in 1 oil and it was as good as new.

At first, I bought it for the exercise...but as the summer waned, I discovered that my blue bike was no mere piece of exercise equipment. It was a 2-wheeled ride to freedom. I packed it up in my Nissan Pathfinder and headed off to the County Park where there were plenty of miles of trails.

As the pavement rolled out ahead of me like a black ribbon in a sea of green grass, I took in my surroundings. A larger number of blue jays than I'd ever seen in one place flitted back and forth in a grove of trees chasing each other in a playful game of tag. 

As dusk began to fall, rabbits ventured out for a bit of clover and the deer began to graze - close to the wood line at first, they slowly gained courage and ventured out into the center of the field. First I spotted a mother with her 2 fawns, coats still sprinkled with the white spots of youth...then another doe and another, some with fawns, some without until I counted a dozen grazing brown statues. The elusive buck was not in sight however.

I cruised around the lake, through the woods and across the fields where shouts and clapping cheered on soccer and baseball players battling it out in fierce summertime competition.

Finally, my legs had had enough - my thighs screamed for mercy. Somehow all the miles of walking I had done for months on end had not prepared them for the ups and downs of the bike trail.

I put my bike back into the Pathfinder, locked the door, and grabbed a bottle of water to cool off. As I downed the thirst-quenching liquid, I was slowly able to regain the feeling in my legs. Gradually, I put one foot in front of the other, struggling like a toddler trying to find his balance, eventually making my way down to the water's edge.  I chose a bench looking out over the relatively still waters of the lake.

The first thing I noticed was the blue heron strutting on the dock piled high with rowboats. A pontoon boat and paddle boats lined the far side of the dock - a reminder of all the activities the water provided in the heat of the day. Without warning, a flurry of wings broke the silence and a pair of seagulls lifted skyward from the water. I chuckled to myself thinking, "I may not have the ocean, but at least there are seagulls!"

This would become my routine for weeks as the summer flew by. Then, as if with the turn of a page, it was almost fall. The days seemed to grow short ever faster, but the tradeoff was glorious sunsets. Streaks of red, orange and purple painted the sky as the sun sank below the horizon in a burst of fiery light...and then it was gone.

It was on one such evening that I sat gazing at the water listening to the cacophony of honking geese as they arrived, wave upon wave to rest for the night. Hundreds covered the surface of the lake as a long boat cut the water, sending them flapping and splashing in all directions to get out of the way.

I pondered the past 8 months and all that had happened in that short span of time. Just a few days into the start of the new year, my husband and I had an argument. Not that arguing was anything new for us. In the 28 years of our marriage, we'd made it into an art form. Like the bob and weave of a boxer, we could land a blow and get out of the way, then come back together in a clinch until one worked loose and tried to score a knockout punch. Yet somehow this time was different. The fights had become more intense and more frequent in the past few months, but this one ended with him walking out the front door, never to return. 

Of course, I didn't realize it was the final blow that night. Many was the time he'd threatened to leave, each time telling me I'd discover how difficult life would be without him. Occasionally, he'd even manage to stay away for the night - and once for a long weekend. But what was really different this time was my reaction. I didn't cry. I didn't get a feeling in the pit of my stomach that my world was ending. I was okay.

It was the beginning of a new life, but like most births, it was a traumatic experience. Something wonderful would be produced as the end result, but it could only come to fruition through pain. And so that was why I spent the summer without seeing the ocean.  And that was what led me to the blue bike and ultimately a new found sense of freedom and a real joy. I was finally living life."

When I wrote this, I talked about something wonderful being produced as the end result of a traumatic experience.  I had no way of knowing what the next 5 years would bring.  Highs and lows, sadness and joy.  But ultimately, a closer walk with God, a wonderful support system from a new church, a ministry calling, and much, much more - including a friend who has lent me his beach house for a few days the last few years so I can see and feel and smell the ocean.   Lastly, the blue bike has been replaced by a purple one aptly named "Magnum Rebound", but I still find freedom and joy in riding.

How big is your God?

How big is your God?  After several recent conversations, I feel the need to ask that question.  Some seem to assume because they can't see or imagine the immensity of God, He must only fit into the little box they've envisioned in their finite mind.

These people say I'm crazy to think God can hear and address the prayers of every person on this planet. That it's actually pompous of me to believe He would care about me and my silly little needs. 

If they want to believe that for themselves, that's fine.  Well, actually, it's not fine, it's very sad that some would believe God exists, but not believe He cares about them.  Or worse, as one put it, that they were created to be "messed with".  But why do they feel the need to talk me out of my firm belief in a supreme, loving, caring being?  Why do they think I'm being naive?

I recount story after story of how God has answered my prayers in big and small ways over the years.  This is the 'abridged' version of one of my favorites from a few years ago...after crying out to Him in the privacy of my car, defeated and desperate about a number of things going on in my life, God sent a woman I'd never met, speaking a language I didn't understand, to pray over me minutes later.  As her words were translated by another who had no idea about my circumstances,  it was as if she'd been given a checklist from God.  The way she worded things, the issues she prayed for...the exact same things in the same way I'd laid them before His feet moments before.  I've walked with God a long time, but the experience gave me goosebumps and I feel it's a powerful, convincing argument that God truly hears prayer.

Others don't believe at all.  They are unmoved by my accounts.  They drag out their rationale.  They want to talk about coincidence, energy, spirituality, and myriad other "forces" to explain away the things that my Big God has done and is doing.  To me, it's far easier to believe in an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent GOD than some energy force bumping around in the dark impacting the whys and wherefores of my existence. 

So how big is YOUR God?  Can He part the sea to allow 2 million people to cross on dry land?  Can He shut the mouth of a hungry lion in it's den with a man?  Can He walk around in a furnace with three others to keep them from being consumed?  Mine can.  And because He's a God that's the same yesterday, today and forever, His power isn't just ancient history.  He does miracles in the here and now.  He provides jobs, heals sicknesses, and restores marriages.

My God is a big God but He's also a caring God.  His word tells me He knows me by name and that name is written on the palm of His hand.  He knows how many hairs are on my head.  He formed me in my mother's womb.  It tells me that He withholds no good thing from me. Can "energy" do that for you?

He's a big God, but He's a God of details.  He put the stars and planets in their places, but He also clothes the lilies of the fields.  And He knows when one of His children are hurting, so He sends just the right person to pray so she knows her requests have been heard.  This is not coincidence...it is Godincidence.

My God is the one of whom it is said gives me exceedingly, abundantly more than I can ask or imagine.  How big can you imagine?  Can you picture your town?  Your state?  Your country?  How about your world?  Your solar system?  Your galaxy?  Well, then, you can imagine quite a bit!  But He goes beyond that.  He has not created us to mess with us or abandon us.  He created us in His image.  He loved us first, so we in turn love Him. 

I don't want a God so small I can wrap my mind around him and define him.  That would make him all too human, and not God.

So think about it...how big IS your God?  I'd love to know what big things He's done for you...

The Lessons Trees Teach

Today's walk began like any other.  I laced up my sneakers, put on a hooded sweatshirt to guard against the misty rain, pocketed my cars keys and cell phone and hit the trail.  I was a little disappointed there were no majestic birds or curious deer to see today.  All I came across were acres and acres of trees.  Every one the same stretching as far as the eye could see.

Or were they?  As I made my way through the woods I felt God speaking to my heart.  "The trees are representative of people.  Their personalities, attitudes, lives."  After that, I began noticing subtle differences and as I did, I saw the lessons in the trees.  As you look through these pictures, can you identify with any?  Which tree are you like?  Is God speaking to you through the stories the trees have to tell?

Some people try to stand alone.  They have pushed away the protective hedge of God's love and peace.  Why are you standing alone?  Anger?  Pride?  Insecurity?  You don't have to be in a solitary situation..  Unlike the tree rooted in one place, unable to move, you can choose to do as it says in James 4:8: Draw near to God...and He will draw near to you.

Some people are cliquish.  They surround themselves with like-minded people, but it's almost as bad as standing alone.  They tend to think of themselves as superior to others.  Psalm 1:1 says, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers."

Hebrews 12:1 cautions "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Are you ensnared and entangled in sin?  Does it have such a grip on your life that it's becoming difficult to separate it from who you are?

It may be slowly, insidiously becoming part of your framework or the ugliness of what you think you're hiding in your soul may be obvious to everyone around you.  2 Peter 2:19b "For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him."


















Perhaps you're mired in circumstances.  Life is one big swamp, and the water's edge is creeping up.  You feel if one more thing goes wrong, you may just start drowning.  It's not anything you've done necessarily, it's just life.  Psalm 40:1 & 2 promises "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire."

Or maybe, everyone around you seems to be enjoying life.  They seem renewed, blossoming, growing...it just doesn't seem fair.  You know they aren't living a godly life, and yet it appears that all is going well for them.  By contrast, you love God, you try to walk in His ways, but you're in a season where you feel dried up, dead, and you're barely hanging on.   Psalm 73 addresses this.  In verses 2 -4 it says "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.  For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  They have no struggles, their bodies are healthy and strong."  Further on the psalmist laments in verse 13 "Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence."  But by verse 16-17 he sees the truth "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their final destiny.  Surely you place them on slippery ground, you cast them down to ruin."  Finally in verses 27 & 28 it says this "Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."

When you find yourself in an unpleasant situation like that, how do you react?  Are your words life affirming and sweet like honeysuckle despite how you're feeling?  Or harsh and critical?  Does your thorny demeanor make people run in the other direction?  Proverbs 15:1 says "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

And when you see someone falling, do you come alongside and bear them up?  Proverbs 17:17 says "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." 

When we are not rooted in the Word, and the full force of life's fury comes against us, it can be easy to get knocked off our feet.  We may be tempted to believe false teachings which  twist God's truth to try to form a new truth  But it leads nowhere and bears no fruit.  However, when we keep our focus heavenward, we become unshakable in our certainly of what and whose we are.  Single-minded in purpose, growing in His strength and power.  Psalm 1:3 says "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields his fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever he does prospers."

When I listened to the simple prompting of the Spirit to look beyond the surface of sameness, I was blessed by what I came across.  I invite you to discover some insights for yourself - there's so much more than I've shared here.  The next time you walk in or past a grove of trees, look at them.  REALLY look.  Marvel at the variation in the shades of green and diverse shape of their leaves.  Notice the patterns of the bark, the health of the trunk.  Like the people in your life, they are all different, and yet, God created and loves each of them.  The trees have lessons to teach, but above all, they speak to the majesty, creativity and glory of God.

Changing Seasons

Last night I went for my usual walk around the lake.  Spring is definitely here!  All kinds of babies from fawns to goslings have their parents scrambling to feed, care and protect.  Under a foot bridge, the cacophony of cries from nests filled with tree swallow chicks was almost deafening.  Moms and dads darted back and forth, gathering insects for their young.  They seemed none to happy to be disturbed by the noise created as I walked across the wood and iron structure.

One of the most beautiful sights I witnessed was this gorgeous creature perched as happy as you please on a rock.  Pretty sure it's a Great Blue Heron.

I slowly, quietly, made my way to the waters edge, carefully testing one of the larger stones to see if I could get a footing.  I lifted my camera phone and voila! A picture worthy of a postcard.  Within seconds, he was off, and I quickly snapped a few more.

As I rounded corner away from the lake and into the wood, I was suddenly struck by how lush everything was becoming.  It had rained the previous two days and everything had a more intense color.

The brown tree trunks appeared almost black, and the leaves were a deep, rich green.  Everything smelled clean and fresh.  I remembered coming this way not much more than two months before when the trees were barren and the only leaves were brown and crisp and strewn across the forest floor.  How very different it looked today. And I know in another two months time it will appear different still. The vegetation will be even more thick, filling out the gaps and totally blocking the view to the lake just beyond.








As I pondered all the changes, I thought back to a conversation I'd had a few days before with a young woman interning in my office. She knows my penchant for baking and to a lesser extent, cooking. She asked me if I'd always been so passionate about it. "No" I laughed. "I HATED to cook when I was younger." She seemed shocked. "It was a different season of my life" I explained. "The kids were young, I was working several jobs to make ends meet. The last thing I wanted to do was spend time in the kitchen when I got home." I went on to explain that I'm a very different person these days.
I love spending a Sunday afternoon cooking and baking for the week.  I get tremendous joy from creating yummy treats to give to family and friends.  Tangible evidence that I've spent time creating something just for them, to make them feel special.

I've discovered a new found joy in being outdoors experiencing nature.  I've taken to having my camera with me on my walks to capture simple and amazing beauty right in the local park. (Okay, it's just a camera phone, but you can't deny I've gotten some amazing shots with it!)  I feel like I'm beginning to develop a bit of an eye for capturing God's incredible beauty in nature which is a totally new interest for me.









I've become an even greater lover of sunsets...reveling in the rich golds, pinks, and purples painted across the sky and the shimmering glow dancing across the face of the water as the sun slowly slips down behind the edge of the lake to ultimately be swallowed up by the trees.  I have always led a busy life, and my calendar is still very full, but I have learned the benefit - the absolute necessity - of slowing down to enjoy life.  Of experiencing it with all my senses.  Of being quiet before God to hear what He is whispering to my soul.  It is an exercise I wish I had learned many years ago.

I've also discovered the importance of friends.  True friends who will laugh and cry with you.  Who don't care if your house is a mess - they come running when you tell them YOU'RE a mess at that moment.  Who when they say they will pray for you, actually do...and you know it because you feel the peace, the calm, the presence of God when you can't utter a word in prayer.  I now say "I love you" unashamedly and often to those friends because I truly do. 

Yes, I'm in a different season in my life.  It is rich, and full, and beautiful - much like spring.  But it wasn't all that long ago that I went through the winter.  Things were barren and often looked bleak.  However, I've learned to see the pockets of beauty that still existed during that time.  And I now appreciate spring all the more because of it.

Author and speaker Priscilla Shirer (daughter of preacher Tony Evans) shared in one of her studies something that stayed with me.  She said her entire single life she had longed to be married.  And when the day came that her now husband proposed, she was elated...for a few minutes.  Then she looked at the ring on her finger and realized that for all intents and purposes, her single life was now over.  And suddenly, she wondered what she had done with all those single years.  Now that she's the mother of young children she sees it happening again.  The temptation is to wish away the time - waiting for the day your baby can crawl, then walk and talk, then head off to school and before you know it, they are married and you wonder where?  Where did the time go?  Each season of life is to be lived to the full and appreciated for what it teaches us.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 are the well known "a time for" verses.  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."  Verse 11 goes on to say "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

The devotional Jesus Calling put it this way a few days ago..."Here and Now comprise the coordinates of your daily life.  Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived.  They avoid the present by worrying about the future or longing for a better time and place.  They forget that they are creatures who are subject to the limitations of time and space.  They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present."

Don't let another moment slip away.  Begin today walking with Him in the present.  He has made everything beautiful in its time, so live the time you're in right now to the full...the seasons will most assuredly change down the road - don't miss a second of the one you're in.