Call Me Gumby (Carol Peterson)

Today, Carol Peterson shares her STRETCH thoughts while I’m on vacation. Carol is guest blogging as part of The Network. For more information about Carol, check out her bio at the end of the post. After you read her post and add your comment, I hope you’ll go check out her blog!

CALL ME GUMBY

Toward the end of June I dropped Jon a line and told him I’d write something “stretchy” for this site. Instantly, a big green Gumby with my face on it appeared in my head.

Gumby—that guy from the 60s made of green rubber. Pull his leg and it bounces back in place. He’s flexible. He stretches to the fullest and then springs into shape even if things get a little too stretchy. Because Gumby teaches us that we can stretch. And even if life gets twisted, we’ll still be alright in the end.

But Gumby is not like Mr. Fantastic of Marvel comic book fame. No, Gumby, is the nerdy, folksy guy we loved before we knew about super heroes. He’s a regular guy. A t-shirt sold online has Gumby’s picture on it saying: The original Mr. Nice Guy.

Because, have you ever seen Gumby when he’s not smiling? And waving?

Gumby makes me want to be a nice guy, too. I can’t be the original Mr. Nice Guy because Jesus claimed that role before the beginning of time. But I can try to be Christ-like. And sometimes that means—like Gumby—I smile and wave at people to give them a cheery hello and a “have a nice day.” Really—have a NICE day. And is there anything I can do to help make it nicer?

It also means being green. Not green as in environmentally responsible, although that’s good, too. But green, as in fresh and full of life. Living life to the fullest and keeping the smile on my face while doing it. Having a childlike freshness to my faith. And sharing that faith with others.

So today as I think about what it means to be stretched, I have decided I want to live like Gumby—flexible, friendly and green. I hope next time you see me; you’ll smile, wave and call me Gumby. I’d like to call you Gumby, too.

In what way do you need to be more like Gumby today?

BIO

Carol Peterson’s mission in writing is to educate, entertain, and inspire. Her published books provide busy teachers with creative ways to help assure compliance with curriculum standards. Her first self-published book helps folks study the Bible, because the Bible is even better when you know what it says. Her blog From Carol’s Quill (http://carolpetersonauthor.com/) encourages faith in Jesus.

How To Respond When You Are Stretched To The Limit (Zak Schmoll)

Today, I present guest blogger and extraordinary young man, Zak Schmoll. Zak is blogging his way through the Bible one chapter at a time, and he offered to share his stretch thoughts while I’m on vacation this week. For more about Zak, check out his bio at the end of the post. In the meantime, enjoy!

How To Respond When You Are Stretched To The Limit

Image by Hulagway (via Flickr)

I think that Jon’s blog title pretty much sums up the life of one of my favorite biblical characters, and that is why I decided to send this guest post into him.

Job was certainly a man who was stretched to the limit.

Of course, most of us know the story. He was a wealthy man with a great family. He was very successful by the standards of the world, and he was a man who followed after God.

You might say, “It was pretty easy for him to follow God. After all, look at how good he had it. It is easy to follow God when life is going good.” In fact, that is pretty much what Satan said in Job 1:9-10.

God obviously was not intimidated or worried. He told Satan that he could do whatever he wanted to Job besides killing him. It doesn’t seem like it took Satan very long to start trying to knock away all of the things that he thought made Job want to follow God. His land was overrun, his children died and his entire source of income (his crops) went away. His wife thought he was pretty much crazy, and he was virtually left all alone outside of his friends who didn’t think any more of him than his wife did.

I would say he was pretty much stretched to his limits.

However, there are a few important things to remember in this situation. I think these points can apply when we feel like we are being pushed to the limit as well.

God was always right there. In the beginning of the book, we know that God allowed this to happen. It is hard to understand why, and I cannot say that I have a perfect answer. However, I can say that Job was not abandoned. In fact, an interesting proof of this comes from the fact that God told Satan that he was not allowed to kill Job. The final verse of the book has Job dying long after that period of tribulation ended. It all happened in God’s time. He truly held his life in His hands. God never stopped caring or watching the situation even if we don’t understand His actions or lack thereof.
Job understood what was important. He did not sin in this entire process according to Job 1:22. It doesn’t mean that he did not question God, and it certainly does not mean that he was not upset over the loss of everything. He never lost perspective on the fact that God was ultimately in control. In Job 1:21 he came out and said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.” This is a point that people like to slam Christianity on. They always say how it is impossible for a loving God to allow terrible things that happen. Job may not have understood what God was doing, and we might not understand why he allowed all of these problems, but what we do know is that God is good. Job also knew that. That is important.
Finally, we know that Job’s friends spent most of the book trying to question him. Like the people I mentioned in the previous point, they didn’t understand what God was doing. Job was not pressured by his friends though. He remained faithful, and he persevered. This is why we hear about Job all the way in the book of James. We remember him for his perseverance, and that is a trait that we all need to develop at some point.

Job was a man who was stretched to the limit. He had everything taken away from him, and he was pretty much scorned by his friends. He could have easily given up and denied the existence of God. After all, if there was truly a powerful God, why on earth was he allowing all this stuff to happen?

However, he persevered, and I believe that he is one of the best models of how to live for God in tough times. We might question, and we might ask God why. However, I think that we can learn a lot about living like Job when we are pushed to the edge.

Question to ponder:

Why does God allow hard times to come into our lives?

Biography:

Zak Schmoll just graduated from the University of Vermont with a double major in Accounting and Statistics. On July 23, 2012, he went on a mission to write about one chapter of the Bible every day from start to finish. You can follow his progress at http://achapterperday.wordpress.com/.

The Impact You May Never Know (Matt McWilliams)

Today, I’m honored to present Matt McWilliams. Matt writes an incredible blog about leadership and life. And he has become a great friend, and he is a revolutionary. He started the Thank You Revolution that has helped many leaders and businesses including mine. I’m humbled and privileged to share Matt’s words today. For more information about Matt, check out his bio at the end of the post – then head over to his blog for more great encouragement.

The Impact You may Never Know

It’s time I came clean.

I’ve been keeping a secret from Jon Stolpe for way too long.

He is the reason I started a movement. He is the reason I started the Thank You Revolution.

Not the hundreds of thank you notes I’ve written over the years. Not the hundreds of responses I got. Not the even the prospect of turning it into a money-making venture.

None of those led me to start a movement.

But Jon did.

Last December, he wrote a guest post on my blog about the impact that a single idea had on him. Go ahead and read his post. I’ll wait while you do.

When I first wrote about thank you notes, I did not intend to start anything official. I had no delusions that hundreds of people would subscribe to a weekly newsletter about thank you notes. No idea that I would write a book or get the opportunity to speak publicly, do podcasts, or write elsewhere about something I am so passionate about.

Until he wrote that guest post.

Jon’s post inspired me. It made me realize how big this idea was. And I wanted to make it bigger.

That’s the impact we have on others when we share the impact they have on us.

It starts a cycle.

Here’s how it looks:

Image source: http://www.mattmcwilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/inspiration-cycle.jpg

Imagine thousands or even millions of circles forming all over the world simply because one person shared the impact that another had on him or her.

That is the power of letting others know that we appreciate their work and the positive impact it had on us.

The people who encourage and inspire you…they need the same. They need your stories.

I encourage you to practice this right away.

Thank your pastor after the message this Sunday. Tell him how a recent message impacted your life. (Or write him a note that arrives mid-week to lift his spirits)
Write an author to share how his book saved your marriage or grew your business.
Tell your wife how much her loving voicemail meant to you.
Do you remember your first customer? (You should!) Tell him or her how much their business means to you.
Share with others how much one employee’s efforts have helped the team.
Tell your kid’s how inspired you were when they offered their shoes to a girl without shoes (true story with our two-year old)

And then do something with it. Act on it. Tell someone else. Spread the word.

Share the message.

Give someone a copy of the book.

Leave a voicemail for your spouse.

Give the customer or employee a gift.

Deliver shoes to those who don’t have any.

Don’t miss an opportunity to say “thank you” and “here’s how this helped me.” You impact not only that person, but everyone else they will inspire as well.

Who has inspired you? What can you do to say “thank you” to him or her?

BIO: Matt McWilliams is a blogger and thought leader at MattMcWilliams.com, where he writes about life, leadership, and love…learned the hard way. He likes to tweet about business, leadership, family, and the Red Sox at @MattMcWilliams2 (don’t forget the 2 or you get an egg).

The Truth About Unconditional Love (Catherine Lee Daugherty)

Today, I’m honored to present guest blogger, Catherine Lee Daugherty. In her post, she shares a story that will give us all a glimpse into the unconditional love that our Father has for each one of us. You can find the link to Catherine’s blog at the end of her post. Thank you, Carol, for sharing your stretch story with The Stretched Community while I am on vacation this week.

The Truth About Unconditional Love

Image by Vinoth Chandar (via Flickr – Creative Commons)

Can anything good come from divorce? With divorce rates between 40% to 50% nearly everyone in the United States has been touched by divorce either directly or indirectly. When I was an 18 year-old, know-it-all, woman of the world, I got married. Fourteen years and two children later, I got a divorce. Still thinking I knew it all, this just made sense. After all, surely God wanted me happy, didn’t He?

Through many events where the devil held my hand while raining down fire in my life, my Heavenly Father never gave up on me. He must have seen some hope for me to make better choices while pruning and shaping my heart and my soul.

There are many casualties in a divorce. The children are the obvious ones, but the pain goes beyond to the parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, cousins, and in my case, my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law was 73 years old when her son and I divorced. It is hard to know how to handle this part of the split. Am I no longer her daughter-in-law? Does she loath the ground I walk on? What about my boys, her grandchildren? What do we do with the love we shared?

My sweet mother-in-law, Mom Anderson is now 98 years old. In the 25 years that have passed she never quit praying for me. She never said one harsh word to me. She sent Christmas cards and thinking of you cards. She would quietly say to me “You are the mother of my grandchildren, I will always love you. I am praying for you.”

Wow, where did she learn that kind of unconditional love? I know she has read her Bible more times than the number of years I have been alive. But to be the recipient of God’s love put into practice is more humbling than I can even explain.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:15-16 ESV

On a recent trip to visit her, I asked her, “Mom, what do you attribute your long life to?” She didn’t pause for even a moment before she said, “Never stop serving the Lord.”

At 98 years old she is such an inspiration to me. She shows me undeserving, unmerited love and forgiveness. I thank God for her life!

If I knew how to work Photoshop better, I would have replaced this striped shirt and thinned down my thighs. But Mom Anderson had fallen the night before and sported a couple black eyes and she wasn’t bothered in the least when I wanted a picture. She is still teaching me what is truly important in life.

Who is the one in your life offering you undeserved love and grace?

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

P.S. Thank you Jon for allowing me the privilege of sharing with your readers. My usual blogging is done at www.praycookblog.com. Since my website is about food for the soul and the body, I think it is only fair I share the potato soup recipe Mom Anderson taught me how to make during my first year of marriage, some 39 years ago. I still think of her every time I make potato soup. I have tweaked the recipe through the years but she is the one who taught me to make it first!

http://praycookblog.com/2012/01/12/my-favorite-two-cheese-potato-soup/

Ice Breaker – How Did I Get Here

Image by VerseVend (via Flickr – Creative Commons)

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

Tomorrow marks the 6th birthday of The Stretched Blog. With this in mind, I hope you’ll answer this week’s Ice Breaker Question. You can listen to my response by clicking the video link below.

Question: Tell us how and when you started following The Stretched Blog (Jon Stolpe Stretched).

My Answer: You’ll have to watch the video below.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep STRETCHING!

Happy Fourth of July – Independence Day!

Image by Paraflyer (via Flickr – Creative Commons)

Happy 4th of July!

For those in the United States, today marks Independence Day. This flag has come to represent many things for Americans over the years. Today, may remember to be thankful for the freedoms we experience living in the United States.

Let us also not forget to pray for our leaders, for our servicemen and service women, and for those who do not experience the same level of freedom that we enjoy.

May this not only be a great holiday for you and your family, but may it be a day of reflection, celebration, and thankfulness.

How will you celebrate July the 4th this year?

Guatemala Final Support Request

(Note: We’re sending out this letter to family and friends this week as we approach a month before our family departs for Guatemala. Since I consider many of you to be family and friends, I thought it only made sense to send it to you as well via today’s blog post.)

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello! We hope everything is going well with you. It’s hard to believe we’re already into July. The summer is sure to rush by quickly. We hope you’ll have time to relax and enjoy time with family and friends this summer. We wanted to reconnect with you, and let you know about some of the great things that are happening in our family.

We have already been busy with summer activities. Hannah finished up her first year of high school with a great overall experience, and she has already started cross-country practice for the fall season. Isaac will be starting his last year in middle school in the fall. In the meantime, he continues to work on his trumpet and piano skills over the summer. Both the kids are active in the youth worship team at our church. Leanne continues to work part-time as a behavioral therapist for a couple of preschool aged children, and she recently found out that she will be teaching at a preschool in the fall as a four-year-old classroom teacher. And I continue to work at Siemens. Running, blogging, and volunteering with our church’s youth group have kept me busy.

By the time you receive this letter, our family will be less than a month away from taking a trip to Guatemala. August 4^th – 11^th, we will be traveling to the village of Santo Domingo Xenacoj in Guatemala where we will meet up with others from around the country and Dave Sgro of GO! Ministries to serve in this small village located an hour and a half northwest of Guatemala City. Last summer, Hannah and I journeyed to Xenacoj with a team from our church’s youth group. While we were there, we built a house, installed stoves in the homes of widows, and we led a sports/Bible camp for kids from the village. (To see a video that recaps our experience go to: http://youtu.be/OQ_mQioXHqY)

This year, we will again be ministering to the children and widows in the community. We will help with a feeding program to children in the village. We will also be ministering directly to the ~200 widows in the village. From our experience last year, we learned that Guatemala is home to the 4^th highest malnutrition rate among children five and under in the entire world. Most people in the village live on a couple of dollars a day, and there are many who struggle with basic health issues. By returning to Xenacoj, we hope to make a difference for people in the village as we share the hope of Jesus Christ through actions and words, and we anticipate God using this experience in the life of our family as a milestone event.

This trip provides an opportunity to meet the physical and spiritual needs of a community that is desperately in need. More than anything, we would value your prayers for our team and those whose lives will be touched by God through us. We believe that God answers prayers, and we’re asking you to pray for safety, good health, smooth travel, and financial support. Just knowing that you will be praying will give us peace as we go to Xenacoj.

Beyond your prayers, if you are led to join us by financially supporting this mission, we would be grateful. We still need to raise just over $1,000 to cover the total remaining cost of the trip. We have been creative to raise the rest of the money required to make this trip a reality, and we want to extend an invitation to you to participate to help us reach this goal. To give towards our trip expenses, go to goministries.info. At the bottom of the page, choose option 1. After you enter your payment information, enter a special note to the seller. The note should read “Stolpe Family Mission Trip”. This will ensure that your donation goals towards our GO Ministries expenses. It will also ensure that your donation is registered as a tax-deductible donation. (You can also give money to us which we would utilize for our airfare and other travel expenses or we’ll turn over to GO Ministries to pay for our expenses in Guatemala.) This is a journey that God has called us to and we would greatly appreciate any level of support you are able to offer. (Any money raised above the $1,000 will be used to help further fund the feeding program in the community.

Again, we really hope things are going well for you. We’d love to hear an update on what’s going on in your life if you have the time. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this letter, and if you have any questions, please let us know. Take care, and we hope to hear from you soon!

With gratitude,

The Stolpe Family

(Jon, Leanne, Hannah, and Isaac)

For more information about our trip, visit Jon’s blog. Here are links to a couple of the posts that explain our trip:

http://www.jonstolpe.com/2013/01/07/another-leap-of-faith/

and

http://www.jonstolpe.com/2013/01/15/guatemala-update-whats-the-big-deal-about-lunch/

Man Of Steel

This past weekend, Isaac and I went to the Movie Tavern to enjoy dinner and Man of Steel, the latest take on Superman. We had a great night. This was definitely a great father-son movie, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

The storyline in the movie draws many parallels to the story of Christ. For example, Superman is sent to earth as an infant with a mission. He didn’t quite fit in as a child – he was clearly different. He possessed power beyond earthly imagination. He didn’t reveal his identity until the time was right. And he saved the earth from an evil enemy.

As we left the movie, Isaac and I had great conversations about the movie and about Christ. We talked about our favorite scenes from the movie, and we imagined what it might be like to have superpowers like Superman. And we shared with each other how the movie reminded us of God’s love for us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

It’s amazing how the secular entertainment world can promote worthwhile discussion between a father and a son.

What secular movie, song, or book has promoted worthwhile conversation between you and a friend or loved one?

June 2013 – Top Posts and Commenters

Here are the highlights from June 2013. Thanks to everyone who read along and commented. Your readership and participation in the daily discussions are what make The Stretched Community. Thank you! Overall, traffic was down slightly from May (12.09%). However, traffic was up 12.65% compared to a year ago. The top 10 posts included two book reviews and a post written by guest blogger Terrie Thorpe. If you missed any of these posts, I hope you’ll go and check them out now by clicking below. The post with the most engagement was More Than Words (#Riot140) posted on June 10, 2013.

Top 10 Commenters:

David Paul Stolpe (37)
Steve Y (19)
Larry Carter (17)
Dan Erickson (12)
Leah Adams (11)
Matt McWilliams (9)
Terrie (9)
Carol Peterson (7)
TCAvey (5)
Bill (cycleguy) (4)

As promised at the beginning of the month, I have randomly chosen someone from the top 10 commenters to receive a copy of Renegade by Vince Antonucci. Your chances of winning increased the more you commented and the higher you were on the list. This winner of this book is…(drum roll)…Dan Erickson. Congrats to Dan!

For the month of July, I’ll be giving away a copy of Kingdom Journeys: Rediscovering the Lost Spiritual Discipline by Seth Barnes. Again, the more you comment the higher your chances of winning.

Thanks to each and everyone for reading and for commenting. I’m looking forward to July with The Stretched Community! The month of July will include a few guest bloggers to help fill in the gap while I’m on vacation, and it also marks the final lead up into our families trip to Guatemala in early August. July should be a fun month!

How was your month? If you’re a blogger share a link to your top post in the comments? What was your favorite Stretched post this month? How were you STRETCHED in June?

Ice Breaker – Book or Movie Recommendation

I’m going to try vlogging again for this week’s ice breaker question. I’ll be leaving my response on video. Here goes….

Question: Tell us about a book or movie that you recently read or watched and would recommend to the Stretched Community.