This Is Home – Now I’m Finally Where I Belong

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Grove City College for my 15th Year Reunion and for Homecoming.  It was so great to be back on campus.  It brought back memories of fun times with friends, times of personal growth, challenging times of learning, and especially of meeting the love of my life.  It was amazing to see how the campus continues to get even better with new building and added features.  I was also inspired by how the focus of the campus and it’s leadership seems to be in the right place.

As I spoke with a good friend, Dave Johnson, it was fun to recount specific stories of the good times and rivalries that existed between our housing groups.  We really had a blast while we were at “The Grove.” As our conversation moved towards our families, jobs, and church involvement, we both commented that we wouldn’t trade our present circumstances to go back in time to our Grove City days.  God has truly blessed us.

On the ride home last night, I was listening to Switchfoot.  I was struck by their song “This Is Home.” I’m so thankful for the memories.  But I don’t want to go back.  I’m finally where I belong.  I’m so thankful for my wife, my family, my church, my job, and exactly where I’m at right now.

Here’s the first verse and chorus from the song:

I’ve got my memories
Always inside of me
But I can’t go back
Back to how it was
I believe you now
I’ve come too far
No I can’t go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place
I’ve never known

Chorus:
This is home
Now I’m finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I’ve been searching
For a place of my own
Now I’ve found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

How about you?  Are you home?  Do you realize that your where you’re supposed to be for right now?

Kenya – CCV in Kenya 2010

Here’s a glimpse into the Kenya trip coming up next summer.  I’m looking forward to making a difference!

Disturbing the Peace – I Would Never Do That, Or Would I?

Last night, my family took a long 12 minute journey north to Green Lane Park to go camping for one night.  It was nice to get away, and it was great to have such a quick trip.  Overall, it was a pretty good trip.  We cooked, we relaxed, we fished, and we enjoyed time around the camp fire.

One of the not so great parts of the trip was late night noise from our neighbor campers.  First, there was a guy blaring the Phillies game so loud that I thought I might be sitting in Milwaukee County Stadium at the game.  Thankfully, he turned it down when he saw our family heading to bed.  Then around 11:30PM, I heard things heating up at another site.  By 12:15AM, these campers were pounding branches against trees and sawing logs and talking with a fairly high volume level.  Well, that was it, I’m not normally confrontational, but I needed some sleep.  So I got up and went across to ask them if they knew what time it was.  I think I was fairly calm, but I was pretty angry.  These young guys seemed to settle down; however, they continued to talk around their fire until after 4:00AM.  Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep.  This part of the trip certainly soured my experience at Green Lane.  Unlike all the PA State Park campgrounds that I have been to, there weren’t any rangers driving around at night to make sure people were quite during the posted “quiet hours.”

Well, I would never do something like those young guys.  Or would I?  As I was cutting the grass this afternoon, for some reason, I thought about a time that I was on a canoe/camping trip with my high school youth group.  As we were camping, I was up late with Brian Willem and James Harton.  We were carrying on late into the night (or maybe it was morning).  All the sudden, Dave Kennedy (one of our youth leaders) scared the C*** out of us when he snuck up and screamed that we better quiet down before he really got mad.

So…I guess those guys at Green Lane weren’t all that different from me.  This thought certainly brought a smile to my face as I finished cutting the grass.  I hope those guys had a good time.  I know I had a blast with Brian and James so many years ago. 

For now, I better get to bed.  I’m exhausted!

It’s So Hard to Say “No”

Tonight, I said “No” to something.  I stink at saying this word.  I don’t want to let people down.  I didn’t see “Yes Man” starring Jim Carrey.  But I’m guessing this movie would fit me.  I would just rather say yes and avoid the whole no thing all together.

For we people pleasers, it’s probably important to realize that “No” is not an evil word.  “No” can be the best way to prioritize things in life that need to be a “Yes.”  “No” can be a way to say “not now” but “maybe later.”  “No” can be the way to make sure you’re not doing things half-way.  “No” keeps us and others safe.

In my case, I’m pretty sure it will be a “Yes” later, but for now “No” it is.  And that’s okay!

The Chicken or The Egg

As many of you know, I’ve ventured into the world of “chicken farming.”  If you know me, this idea seems a bit crazy.  This past May, a good friend of mine gave me six Pearl White Leghorns baby chicks (they will eventually lay white eggs – nearly one a day per chicken).  He added two more Araucana baby chicks (they will lay blue or green eggs)  in late June bringing my chicken farm total to eight hens.

Besides all the fun of building the chicken coop which still needs some final touches and a coat of paint, it has been quite an adventure.  I have learned a lot so far – how much chickens poop, how to clip their wings, how fast they grow, how much they like to run around the backyard, how they establish a pecking order, and all kinds of other interesting things.

I’ve enjoyed the various banter from my Facebook friends about what to name the chickens or how to cook the chickens (which we don’t intend on eating).  More recently, I’ve been on egg watch.  I’m expecting that we will start seeing eggs real soon.

My wife is amused by the whole thing (and I think she’s secretly excited about the arrival of the first egg).  The kids have loved it.  They even named two of the chickens (I’m holding Pepper in the photo above).  And so far, I’m loving it!

Stay tuned…I’m sure you’ll hear when I get the first egg!  Until then, I’m quite certain that the chicken came before the egg.

I’m An Engineer

Last night, I had the privilege of explaining to 17 Webelos Cub Scouts what I do as an engineer.  I enjoyed the opportunity to share, and it was interesting to me to hear some of the different reactions from these boys:

“You work really hard.”

“You work a lot.”

“I’m a software engineer.  I write some of my own software, and I work on computers.  I know all about this stuff.”

“An engineer drives a train.”

“Did you work on my school.”

“This seems pretty technical.”

“It was interesting.”  (Isaac responding to whether I was boring or interesting.)

“Thank you, Mr. Stolpe.”

After sharing with these kids, I thought about ways that I could have explained myself in a way that was more understandable to them.  But more than that, I’ve been thinking about how important it is for kids to hear about all the different opportunities that they have as they grow up.  I’m glad I had the chance to share.

Kanye West – A view from Prodigal Jon

I read a lot of blogs.  One blog is called “Stuff Christians Like” by a guy named Prodigal Jon.  I thought his commentary on the recent Kanye West episode tied in very well to the last post “Zip It!  Be Slow to Speak…”  Here’s what Prodigal Jon had to say.  I’d love to hear what you think.

Kanye West deserves less grace and forgiveness than I got.

I don’t know the exact amount, unfortunately the Bible’s not terribly clear on measurements. I mean sure, I know Goliath was six cubits and a span, everyone knows that, but when it comes to doling out grace, there’s not a clear form of measurement.

Is grace a liquid? In the songs people sing about God’s love it’s always in the form of water, “fall down like rain,” “wash over me,” etc.

So let’s say that Kanye West deserves one less gallon of grace and forgiveness than I got.

Or maybe a jug. It’s hard to say what the precise amount is but that’s what I was thinking when I heard he ruined Taylor Swift’s moment at the Video Music Awards. After he walked on stage, and interrupted the nervous teenager to tell her about another performer who deserved the award more than she did, a few thoughts popped up. I didn’t think about the whole situation a lot, on the Jon scale of thought I gave the incident more time than Salt and Vinegar Pringles but less than the new season of “So You Think You Can Dance.” But here’s what ran through my head:

“Kanye West always does that. He’s got a history of doing that kind of thing.”

“Kanye West probably did that on purpose, it was staged. He planned it.”

“Kanye West just wounded a teenager, a kid, that is horrible.”

“Anyone who supports him is dumb.”

“He’ll probably apologize but it won’t be real.”

And I felt pretty good hating on Kanye. I got a hit of that, “I’m not as bad as somebody else” drug. I felt better than him and told my wife the whole story with smugness.

But then I thought about it. That was a worst moment, staged or not, that was a mistake and I am so happy my worst mistakes were not televised.

Then I thought about Kanye the person, the son whose mom died. The broken man with a savior who is longing to see a glimpse of him on the road back to the farm. Then I thought about who I wanted to be in the prodigal son story, the older brother who condemns or the servant who helps plan the party? I know which one is easier. I know which one I usually run to. But this time I couldn’t.

Suddenly I didn’t like the first things I thought:

“Kanye West always does that. He’s got a history of doing that kind of thing.”
So do I. I’ve never committed a single sin, a single time. I am a repeat offender. I have a longer history with sin than Kanye does with running on stage at events. Have you ever repeated a sin more than once?

“Kanye West probably did that on purpose, it was staged. He planned it.”
My worst moments were planned. I didn’t fall down the stairs and suddenly find myself landing in a heap of unexpected garbage at the bottom. I made plans. I was deliberate. I set things up that at the time seemed to be what I needed. I did the things that crippled my life on purpose.

“Kanye West just wounded a teenager, a kid, that is horrible.”
He did and it’s inexcusable, but I wounded my own kids, not a 19-year old stranger. I hurt my own kids by working 70 hour work weeks and chasing money instead of them and mortgaging everything that mattered about being a dad. I did that.

“Anyone who supports him is dumb.”
Do you have to support to show love? Do you have to condone to offer grace and forgiveness? Clearly Proverbs spells out a million reasons you shouldn’t support fools and foolish behavior and what Kanye did was foolish. And it’d be equally dumb to judge people for judging Kanye. Are there only two options though? We love him which means we’re pro “running on stage and hurting people” or we hate him? Can’t we disagree with the behavior and offer love to the person? (I think I just invented the phrase, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” I should put that on t-shirts.)

“He’ll probably apologize but it won’t be real.”
According to whose standards? Mine? Is that what Christ says is the second most important commandment in Matthew 22:39 “Love your neighbor as yourself, only if their apology is legitimate and you feel that their repentance is real?” Or is it written, “Rebuke your neighbor as yourself?” Or is love the thing we’re supposed to do? And let’s be honest, what are the chances that I get to heaven and God says, “You offered too many hurting people grace. You over graced the world Jon. That is whack.”

The more I thought about it, the harder it was to hate Kanye.

So I tweeted and wrote on facebook:

“If we all had our worst mistakes televised we’d give Kanye West grace instead of hate.”

Some people got mad and defriended me (worst verb ever) and some people were cool with that idea. I understand both reactions. I’m not justifying a dumb mistake from Kanye or desupporting Taylor Swift (second worst verb ever). I can only tell you what my experience was because it’s 100% of the experiences I had yesterday. When I heard the story about Kanye, I judged him. I hated on him. I did not correct him or try to offer wise counsel, I hated.

Maybe you didn’t.

Maybe you laughed at how silly and insignificant the whole thing was because it’s just a bunch of celebrities, who cares. Maybe you threw on Kanye’s “Jesus Walks” and got down like the awkward girl from the rich part of town that inexplicably moves to the inner city high school and has to learn how to dance to survive some sort of all girl gang but ends up falling in love with a tough on the outside by soft and tender on the inside street youth while learning the valuable lesson that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.

Maybe that was your reaction.

Mine was hate.

And I hate that.

And I love that God loves me like He loves Kanye.

Because we are both in desperate need of it.

Zip It!!! Be Slow to Speak…

There are many examples of public figures speaking before they think.  Last night, Republican Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina put aside political appropriateness when he was quick to call President Obama a liar during his televised speech on health care reform to Congress.  Several weeks ago, President Obama was called on the carpet after he accused the Cambridge, MA police force of acting “stupidly” in the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.  I’d like to think that both of these men regretted opening their mouths before thinking after they said these things.

It’s easy to point the finger at these public figures – after all, leaders are expected to be above reproach, and they should know better.  And they are easy targets.  Upon further thought, I know we’re all guilty of this kind of speaking without thinking.  I was reminded today of a time when I was in junior high, and I was at a dress rehearsal for a musical that I was in at our church.  Believe it or not, I was selected to sing a solo (who would have thought).  As a result, I was equipped with a wireless microphone.  During one of our breaks while I was in the men’s room, I said some things that I later regretted.  When I returned from the break, I discovered from one of the sound people that my initial words were shared loud and clear in the sanctuary thanks to the wonders of wireless technology.  Thankfully, they quickly muted my microphone.  But it didn’t stop the feeling of embarrassment and regret that swept over me when I found out.

In all the cases above (including mine), the regret came after being caught.  Did we ever stop to think that God can hear us even if no one else can?  Did we ever stop to examine our hearts.  I’m reminded of two passages that speak to this.  First, in the first few verses of Psalm 139, we’re told that not only does God know our words but he even knows our thoughts:

¹ O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

Secondly, in the first chapter of James, instructions our given that we should be slow to speak:

¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Sounds easy?  I’m not so sure.  I know that my thoughts and words are not always what they should be.  So where do I go from here?  I think it starts with being more in tuned to God, becoming more aware of times we think and say things that aren’t appropriate, and seeking God to help make a change.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Kenya – Mathare Slums (from CCV investigation visit Feb 2009)

Earlier this year, our chuch sent a team of four to Kenya to scout out our opportunities to serve and make a difference. Here’s a short video that shows a small glimpse of the slums. When we go to Kenya next summer, we’ll be serving people who live in these slums. (Notice, the sewage that is flowing down the middle of their streets. I can’t even imagine the smell.)

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.3388967&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Special Delivery – A Note From Our Sponsor Child in Kenya

Today when I arrived home from work, there was a letter from our sponsor child written by his teacher.  Here’s what it says:

Dear Jon and Leanne Stolpe,

Praise God – Jonathan says he is very grateful for sponsoring him.  He says that you created ways for him where their family had come to an end.

He likes our feeding programme and his favourite dish is rice with meat stew.

He likes to socialize and share materials with other children in class and in the playing field.

His prayer request is to pray for him to excel in his studies and his family members.

He likes to recite this memory verse from Mark 10:14 (Jesus said let the little children come to me).

Yours,

Jonathan’s teacher

Pretty cool (the letter even had artwork from Jonathan on the back of a sun and a window).