Stretching To The Finish

During our vacation to the Midwest, we had an opportunity to visit my Grandma (I’ve written about her before – click here.)

It wasn’t a very long visit.  I think we were at the nursing home where she lives for a little more than two hours.  When we came into her room, she immediately knew who we were.  She mentioned my name and our kids names, and she had to ask for a little help with Leanne’s name (although it was clear that she knew who she was).

If you remember, Grandma is 93 years old.  Physically, she’s been struggling for many years thanks to the pain of arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and a broken arm.  Only in the last few years has she started to fail mentally.  Grandma was always the sharpest person in the family.  She could remember details better than anyone else in the family about people, places, and things from the past.  She skipped two grades in school.  Needless to say, this has been the hardest part of the aging process for her and for the rest of the family.  She simply can’t keep all the details of life straight in her head any longer.

All in all, it was a pretty good visit with Grandma.  While the staff at the nursing home indicated that she wasn’t having the greatest day, she seemed to be doing pretty well compared to my visit with Grandma a month ago.

There is the moment during our visit that I will always remember.

Grandma and Grandpa always had a strong faith.  I remember doing a morning devotion with them and praying for missionaries and people groups from around the world.  As we were getting ready to leave, Leanne suggested that we pray.  I prayed first and somewhat expected that to be it, but Grandma picked up right where I left off.  Her prayer was powerful.  Despite her physical and mental ailments, she clearly is in great shape spiritually.

Grandma’s prayer and our visit was a great reminder that God isn’t through with us.  While Grandma would prefer to be in heaven with Grandpa and God, she continues to demonstrate a growing faith.  It’s easy to think that we’ve arrived – that we’ve grown as much as we possibly can physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Grandma reminded me that spiritual growth is a journey that continues throughout our lives.

I don’t have any idea how long I will live.  I could live until 50, until 75, or even until 100.  I want to be remembered as someone who continues to STRETCH and grow.  I want to grow physically (not in size), and I want to continue to grow mentally.  But most of all I want to STRETCH and grow spiritually.

May our journeys through life be marked by spiritual STRETCHING!  May our faith be a testament to those around us and to those who come behind us.  Thank you, Grandma, for your STRETCHING example!

Who in your life has reminded you to keep on STRETCHING?  Who in your life has faith that moves mountains?

The Stretched Blog Visits Lynn Mosher – Out of Control

Today, I’m guest posting as part of The Network for Lynn Mosher at her blog, Lynn Mosher – Devotionals That Encourage.  In my post (Out of Control:  Faith Lessons From Flight), I share some thoughts about letting go and enjoying the ride.  Here’s an excerpt to get you started.

 

This week, I’m traveling for business to the Chicago area. Last Monday, I took a flight from the Philadelphia International Airport to Chicago O’Hare Airport. I have always enjoyed flying, but I have to admit it’s become a little more challenging to fly as I’ve gotten older. I don’t like the turbulence, and I don’t enjoy the butterflies in my stomach I used to like.

While the plane was coming in for its landing, I was sitting in the back seat of the plane looking out the window. My natural tendency was to grab onto the arms of the seat and to force my feet into the pretend brake. But something made me change my mind and loosen up the tension flowing through my body.
(Click here to read the rest of this post.)

If you’re visiting from Lynn’s blog, I’m glad you stopped by.  I hope you’ll check things out and become a regular part of The Stretched Community.  You can sign up to receive daily blog updates by adding your e-mail on the main page (I promise not to send you spam).  To help you get a taste of my other writing, here are a few of my favorite posts:

• Leap of Faith
• Less Like Scars
• Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know
• The Power of the Next Question
• How To Respond To The Election Results

What are you holding onto too tightly? How could loosening your grip and giving up control make your flight/life more enjoyable?

Visiting Grandma

Last night, I had the honor and blessing of visiting Grandma in Illinois.

My grandmother turned 93 years old in April.  I wrote about our last visit in a previous post.  She’s definitely a special woman.

Her health has continued to slip, and her memory is failing which is frustrating for someone who skipped to grades of school and is often referred to as the family genius.

When I arrived at her home (which is now a nursing home), the entire residence was in the middle of a tornado warning.  All the residents were lined up in the hallway in their wheelchairs with the doors closed to their rooms.  It appeared that they were getting ready for some type of wheelchair NASCAR race.  As I rounded the corner into the hallway, I was initially concerned that I might have trouble finding Grandma.  But I quickly found her lined up with the other residents eating a “Blackhawk” cookie.  (The Stanley Cup Finals started last night, and they were giving the residents “Blackhawk” cookies to help them celebrate the home team – the Chicago Blackhawks.)

She kind of smiled at me as we started to talk.  I asked her how she was doing, and I explained that I was in town for a business trip to my company’s home office.  After talking for a few minutes, she looked up at me and asked:  “What’s your name?”  The more recent year’s have clearly been unkind to Grandma’s memory.  Once I told her that I was her grandson, Jon, she seemed to spring to life as she pulled some information from the murky corridors of her brain.

Eventually, the tornado warning let up, and we went into her room where we could sit and talk.  We talked about Swedish Christmas food and about our family which is now spread from Guam to Pennsylvania and from Texas to Wisconsin.  We talked about Grandpa who passed away over six years ago and about the church where my grandparents used to be so active.  Some of the details came out clear and some were a bit cloudy.  Despite some of the confusion, it was amazing to me to see Grandma’s faith which has remained steadfast through the ups and downs of life and through the current physical and mental failings that seem to accelerate in more recent years.

Grandma has a hope for heaven.  She has a clear confidence in God.  She prays for her family – especially that they would follow Jesus.  Above her bed, she has a photo family tree that allows her to show off her two kids, seven grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren (if I did the math correctly).  This photo collage also serves as her reminder to pray for each one of us.

Our visit contained laughs, smiles, some silent moments, and even a couple of tears.  As I left to return to my hotel, I told Grandma that I loved her, and I explained that I would see her next month when our family makes a swing through the Midwest on our vacation.  I’m not sure if she’ll remember our visit.  And I guess it doesn’t really matter.  For a couple of hours last night, I hope I brightened her day.  I know she brightened mine.

What is special about your grandma?

More Than Words (#Riot140)

I was looking through my journal and notes from about a year ago, and it seems like God was hitting me over the head with a message.  Following Christ and sharing His love is so much more than words – knowing words, memorizing words, and studying words.

While I think it’s important to read, study, and understand the Bible, I think it’s so much more important to put these teachings into action – into following Christ with our hands and feet.  This message has been hammered home in a few different but obvious mediums.

First, I was catching up on my blog reading one August Saturday morning last year when I came across this video in a blog post by Ryan Tate at Discipulus.  In the video, Francis Chan shares some simple but obvious thoughts about discipleship – what it is and what it is not.

Next, I was finishing up Love Does by Bob Goff on the same week (I shared about this book on my blog here).  Towards the end of the book, Bob offers his thoughts on Bible study:

What’s up with equating “Bible study” with knowing God anyway?  Wouldn’t it be a horrible thing if we studies the ones we loved instead of bonding in deeper ways by doing things with them?  I’d never want to get married to a girl no matter how much I studied her.  I’d rather take her sailing or fishing or eat cotton candy with her on a Ferris wheel.  I don’t think knowing what her name means in Greek is going to help me love her more.  In fact, they have a name for guys who just study things about a person they like but don’t do anything about it – they’re called bachelors.

So I started getting together with the same guys each week and instead of calling it a Bible study, we call it a “Bible doing.”  We’ve been at it for fifteen years now, and I’ve found there’s a big difference between the two.  At our Bible doing, we read what God has to say and then focus all of our attention on what we are going to do about it.  Just agreeing isn’t enough.  I can’t think of a single time where Jesus asked His friends to just agree with Him.

Finally, I was in church that Sunday morning when our guest pastor, Paul Williams, asked the question in his sermon – “What if we loved our neighbor as ourselves?”  In Paul’s sermon, he used the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) to point out that anyone and everyone is our neighbor.  Then he used the story of the Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-30) to remind us that we’re to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and part of this is learning to love ourselves.  Finally, Paul turned to Matthew 22:15-40.  In this passage, the Pharisees and Sadducees are having a conversation with Jesus.  (These men were known to have the Bible (The Old Testament) memorized knowing every single law that was supposed to be followed.  At the end of this passage, Jesus answers questions thrown out with a famous passage, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  It’s that simple.  It doesn’t matter how much we know about the Bible if we’re not loving God and loving others with all we’ve got.

Bam!  Bam!  Bam!

Three times nailed over the head in a matter of 24 hours.  Do you think God was trying to tell me something?

The truth is I grew up in a pastor’s family.  I was known as the Bible geek in my freshman English class for knowing all the answers to the Bible questions.  I’ve even prided myself on the knowledge I’ve gained and retained along the way.  Knowledge is okay (and is important for maintaining a sound doctrine and for reminding us of Biblical truths and standards), but action is even more important.  James states it well:

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  James 2:17

I get so tired of all the political back and forth that ebbs and flows and is especially loud during the key election years.  One side is trying to find the candidate who is the most Christian.  The other side is trying to find a government who will fix everything and create programs for our neighbors.  Wouldn’t it be a different world if Christians actually stepped up and loved their neighbors with action and not just words.  I think this is a challenge for all of us – including me.  And that’s how I’m being stretched right now!  I want my faith to be more than words.

How about you?  How are you loving your neighbor?  Is your faith and love for others based on words or based on action?

Answers From Me Part 4 – Biblical Dinner Party

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been answering questions that you posed to me in response to an Ice Breaker question.  Today’s question comes from Lulu:

If you could have a dinner party with characters from the Bible – which 3 would you invite? (Old or New Testament and not our Savior – as He is there anyways…ha ha.)

Thanks for the question, Lulu!  Here’s my answer.  David, Daniel, and Peter.  All three of these characters from the Bible were leaders and were remembered for their faith.  I consider David to be one of the original bloggers.  I’d love to tap into his creative mind.  I’d also love to meet the man who was known to be after God’s own heart.  Daniel also had tremendous faith.  I would tap into his inspirational story and learn more about his willingness to take a stand against what was against his beliefs.  And Peter was a bit crazy, but his faith is remarkable.  Anyone who would willingly get out of a boat in the middle of a storm and attempt to walk on water would be worth listening having at a dinner party.

And that’s my answer!

Now, it’s your turn.  Answer my Lulu’s question:  If you could have a dinner party with characters from the Bible – which 3 would you invite?

The Voice Over

A voice-over is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative—is used in a some type of presentation.  [See Wikipedia.]

Earlier this week, I posted about two different voices I heard Sunday night.  In the post, I wrote about the importance of relying on God’s Voice and about listening to positive voices in our lives.  While I stand on The Voice that reminds me that I matter, I keep going back to the first voice.  If you recall, this was a voice of someone telling me I wasn’t needed.  I haven’t been dwelling on his words.  But I have been thinking about him.  In fact, thoughts have been running through my head like a voice-over as I rehash this experience.

As the girl in our youth group was getting baptized, I watched this man from the corner of my eye as he observed the service.  He did not appear to be a participant but more of an outsider looking in.

Sure the baptism service was an opportunity for believers to celebrate the decision of someone to follow Christ.  And it was a chance for the young girl to publicly state that Jesus is the leader and forgiver of her life.  But the service was also a reminder to me that there are others out there who are still lost.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.  Luke 19:10

Christ came for the owner of the first voice that I heard on Sunday.  Obviously, I don’t know the true condition of his heart, but I can presume that he wasn’t on the same page spiritually as many of those in the room.

The cool thing is that he felt comfortable coming into our church.  There are many churches out there.  Many of them say they want to reach out to the lost, but lots of churches fail when it comes to showing Christ’s love in a way that attracts, convinces, and accepts the lost.  In fact, many churches won’t let “outsiders” in to hang out – divorcees, adulterers, homosexuals, and thieves.  This isn’t meant to discourage churches from speaking the truth.  It’s more of a challenge to consider how we can have an impact on the lost of this world.  After all, we’re called to flee from sin, but we’re called to love everyone – and to go into ALL the world to share God’s message of hope and love.  Christ set the example for us.  He hung out with the “outsiders”.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  Then Jesus told them this parable:“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:1-7

Over and over again, I hear that voice from Sunday night.  Again, I don’t hear the words, but I hear the reminder – God loves the lost, and He’s calling us to hang out with the “outsiders”.  I hear the voice-over calling me to keep stretching and growing.

When have you heard voice-overs in your life that cause you to stretch?  How are you intentionally hanging out with the “outsiders”?

Return of Religion

When I was in 3rd grade, our family moved to New Jersey when my dad became a full-time pastor.  I’m not sure if it was the spelling of my last name or that my dad was a pastor, but kids soon started to call me Pope.  Growing up in a fairly sheltered Protestant area (Wheaton, Illinois) and family, I didn’t know much about the Pope.  The nickname stuck for a year or two before kids moved onto other nicknames.

Last week, the real Pope resigned.  His resignation was a pretty surprising and rare event in Catholic history.  The last time a Pope resigned was over 600 years ago.  His resignation got me thinking a little bit about religion.

What do you think about when you hear the word religion?

• Structure.  Organization.
• Denominations.  Hierarchy.
• Church.  Buildings.
• Priest.  Deacons.  Elders.  Pastors.  Order.
• Corruption.  Manipulation.  Hypocrites.  Power.

Unfortunately, the term religion has come to carry a negative connotation.  People are leaving the church and are being turned away from “religion” because of the inconsistencies and abuse of organized religion and of those who claim to follow Christ.  I’ve been part of churches that stay away from the word religion and replace it with relationship.

When I was in Guatemala this past summer, Joshua Crabbs (our Casas por Cristo project leader) shared a couple of verses from James that talk about religion from a whole different and more positive perspective:

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:26-27

James’ definition of religion says nothing about church or organization.  His definition is about action – about putting sneakers to our faith.  If we as Christ followers pursue this type of action – if we would return to religion under this definition, “religion” would stop being a dirty word.  It would be something that attracts others.

Part of our upcoming trip to Guatemala is about helping orphans and widows (H.O.W.).  This is a real practical way for our family to practice the kind of religion  that James writes about.  (To find out how you can help our family on this trip, click here.)

How can you return to religion as prescribed by James?  What can you do today to put sneakers to your faith?

Another Leap of Faith

I’m excited to share about another leap of faith I’ll be taking with my family this summer.  You may remember last year I wrestled with a leap of faith that involved me deciding to go to Guatemala.  The decision to go on this trip was not an easy decision to make.  But I learned that it was a leap of faith decision worth taking.

While I was in Guatemala, I fell in love with the people and the town of Xenacoj.  Since I returned in early August, I have been in communication with Dave Sgro of GO! Ministries.  Dave and his family moved to Xenacoj a few years ago to establish a full-time ministry to the people of Guatemala.

As I’ve spoken with Dave and shared with Leanne about this town, it became more and more obvious that we should consider taking our whole family to Xenacoj for a family missions trip of our own.  And so today, I’m excited to share that our family is planning a trip to Guatemala in early August 2013.

Details of what we will be doing are still being ironed out (and I’ll share more specifics in the coming days and weeks).  It’s likely that our trip will have a feeding program focus, a construction focus, and a medical focus.  We will get to serve among the same streets with the same people we served this summer.

As we consider this new leap of faith, we would love your support.  First and foremost, we value your prayer support.  Please pray that the details will work out as our plans proceed.  Pray that we will have an effective ministry during our time in Xenacoj.  And pray that our family will experience growth and transformation as we serve together.  Secondly, we are getting our hands around the cost of such a trip.  We’re estimating that the trip will cost approximately $5,000 which would include our airfare.  We’re working towards saving for this goal, but we could honestly use any support possible to make this financial hurdle more obtainable.

In the coming days, I will share about others ways to get involved with this trip.  Until then, I’d like to leave you with this video that my daughter helped to produce.  It will give you a snap shot of our trip last year and a glimpse into the town and people of Xenacoj.

What leap of faith do you need to consider this year?

Wondering: A Guest Post by Leanne Stolpe

Over the next week, I will be inserting some of the top posts from the Stretched blog.  The post today (Wondering) originally appeared on the blog on August 2, 2012 while I was in Guatemala.  This was a guest post written by my lovely wife, Leanne, and it was the third most popular post of the year.  This post was an opportunity for Leanne to process some of the stretching that she experienced during the summer related to her job situation.  In many ways, the stretching process has continued, but this post was a healthy place to start.

While I’m away in Guatemala, several people have stepped up to share their stretching stories with The Stretched Community.  Today, I have the honor and privilege of presenting my wife, Leanne Stolpe.  Leanne is a mother, wife, teacher, friend, encourager, and she is my biggest support and inspiration here on the Stretched blog.

Wondering

This year I began a new adventure into the world of special needs as a behavior therapist. There’s days where I love my job-many of them. There are definite benefits. The flexibility is wonderful. I love working with preschoolers. I especially love when I get to work both with the preschoolers and their families. I can see progress made. I work with amazing people-both teachers, co-workers, and my supervisor. Yet there are times when I feel bored at my job.. I feel like I’m not using all my potential.  I feel like I could do so much more.

Leap of Faith

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be inserting some of the top posts from the Stretched blog.  The post today (Leap of Faith) originally appeared on the blog on March 21, 2012 and was the fifth most popular post of the year.  In a way, this post was the jumping off point for some life changing decisions and experiences in my own life.  I’m excited to repost this and get new feedback from you – The Stretched Community.

I’ve been wrestling with a decision for a while now. The decision is a big deal for me. I see so many reasons to go a certain direction with the decision, but I grapple with my own fears and anxiety that would keep me from going in that direction.

I’ve talked with a few people about the decision. These are godly people whose wisdom and opinion I respect. Each of them have encouraged me to put aside my fears and to take a leap of faith.

What is faith?

Faith is trusting in things we can’t see, in things we can’t control, and in power beyond us. Faith is about dreaming big. Faith is believing that everything will be okay in the end even when we can’t see the way right in front of us. Faith is being able to put aside our fears – or maybe to face our fears – and trust that God will take care of things. Faith can help us break the paralysis of analysis inflicted by life’s anxieties. Faith is more than just words – it’s followed by actions.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

As I was thinking about faith and about my decision, this clip from Indian Jones and The Last Crusade came to mind. In the scene, Indiana Jones must get from one side of a chasm to the other side. When he arrives at the edge, there’s no apparent way to get across. Through his study of ancient literature and archaeology, Indiana Jones comes to the conclusion that the only way across the gaping pit is to take a step of faith. This is exactly how I feel as I head into my decision.

Isn’t this a great clip? You see, in life, we have decisions to make that require faith. Which college should I go to and what should my major be? Who should I marry? Where should I live? Where should I work? Where should I go to church? Should we have kids? You get the idea. Our lives are riddled with decisions that require faith. We have to trust that as we step into the great unknown, God will catch us. And that’s where I’m at with my decision.

Stay tuned for more details about my “big decision.”

What leap of faith do you need to take right now? What’s holding you back?

To read about my “big decision“, click here for a post that appeared on March 22, 2012.