A Mile From the Beach

The free books keep coming.  This time, it is My Mother’s Wish: An American Christmas Carol, by Jerry Camery-Hoggatt.

Camery-Hoggatt takes us into the world of Ellee McKutcheon, a peculiar adolescent girl with a penchant for writing sideways across ruled paper, and writing in her diary backwards.  She is a girl determined to live life her own way, yet finds herself at odds with the substantially different expectations her mother has instead for her.  There exists within Ellee a desire to be accepted by her mother for who she is, rather that who her mother wants her to be.  A subsequent journey that takes her away from her loved ones becomes a pivotal moment in her life wherein she discovers how much she means to her family, and most of all, her mother.

My Mother’s Wish is a short book, a scant 81 pages long, but packed with detail that draws you deep into the life of this young woman.  It is a story of hope, of the realization that there are no chance encounters in this world - only Divine appointments - with each appointment playing a critical role in how God grows us in our journey on this world.

Check it out.

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My Mother’s Wish

Summary:

A grandfather’s song turns a diner into hallowed ground, like a church. A contrary girl with a gypsy heart feels the tug of home. A mother, far away, confronts impossible expectations. And a truck driver named Jedidah keeps his foot on the gas to sweep you into an unforgettable story of belonging and grace.

Readers looking for a meaningful, powerful read on a winter’s evening or with the family will love the rich 1960s nostalgia captured in the Midwest of Jedidiah’s and Ellee’s story; the peace found when family strife boils over, and the gentle reminders of the influence and effect every life has on another.

My Mother’s Wish is an unforgettable, powerful tale that ends on a memorable Christmastime note, but will be cherished and reread year-round for its bold message of grand hopes, impossible expectations, and the gift of grace that comes in between.

Author Bio:

Jerry Camery-Hoggatt, Ph.D., is professor of New Testament at Vanguard University, in Costa Mesa, California. A professional storyteller, he is the author of the highly-acclaimed Christmas stories When Mother Was Eleven-Foot-Four (in trade adult and children’s picture book editions) and Givers of Gifts; plus Irony in Mark’s Gospel and Grapevine: A Spirituality of Gossip. His passion is theology and storytelling, which he believes are meant to go together. Jerry and his wife, Shaleen, are the parents of three children.

More from Perry Noble from Newspring Church’s “Beautiful” series. Good stuff here…

John Maxwell says that “Leadership is Influence.”

If that’s the case, then I think I’m barely passing, and more often than not, I’m stumbling through wondering if folks listen to me because of position (oversight of an accounting department at work and volunteer as church treasurer) or because they actually think I might have something valuable to say.

In my mind, I still picture myself as that geeky youth with the straight bangs and oversized thick plastic glasses with an ugly overbite, wearing a red and white nylon vest with brown JC Penney corduroy slacks while riding my red banana boat seat bicycle on the street with my friends on their BMX bikes, or whizzing down the street on their skateboards.  I can hear the bully down the street call me chinaman, the insults as to my race, my size, the clothes I wear, my lack of street football skills echoing as my friends tell the bully to knock it off, before I charge him and push him off his bike.

Then there were those moments in school when I rarely raised my hand for fear that what I contributed was going to be off-topic, appear uneducated, and would detract rather than add to the discussion at hand, regardless of whether it was an English class, a history class or any other subject in which class participation was encouraged.  I feared that my contribution was going to be lacking…so why put myself in a position to be shot down by my teacher…or worse…by my classmates?

Going back to those weird moments in my youth make me think about how I have moved beyond such an awkward point in my life to where I am today as a husband and father, working professional overseeing a staff of 5, baseball coach, and church leader.

In so many spheres, it seems that my influence (that which I have, anyway) has more to do with position and title rather than with what I might deem to be important to add to a conversation.  My staff do what I say because I’m their boss.  My baseball players do what I say because I am their coach.  The church bookkeeper does what I say because I am the church treasurer.

But of course, that’s not entirely true.  I have to remind myself that I solicit feedback from the church bookkeeper on her opinion for how we are managing our funds or handling a specific financial procedure.  I solicit feedback from the senior members of my staff on changes in workflow and procedure or in evaluating the performance of the junior staff.  I solicit feedback from my assistant coach on how best to handle 15 young baseball players to keep their attention during an hour long practice or a two hour game.

In each sphere, though, I have hit moments where I wonder if what I am doing is making any difference.  I wonder if my voice really counts.  It is those moments when I experience a dip in my leadership, a dip in my confidence as a leader, and the realization that what I know is the accumulation of trial and error over the years.

It’s normal to be in that dip, because it keeps me honest.  It forces me to reflect on how I got here - on how God moved me from that geeky youth to this place in my life, and why He has taken me on this particular journey and how I fit into His grand plan.  I know that the journey will only end when He says that it’s time. Until then, these dips will occur over the course of this journey as He continues to scrape out the imperfections and takes me to places where I must confront issues I didn’t realize I had buried. If I am to grow as a leader, I must deal with myself first.

Ruth Haley Barton writes in “Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership”:

This is a leader’s invitation to freedom from the inner bondage of being subject to the deeply patterned responses that were helful to us at one time but could cripple us now in what we are being called to do. This is a call to liberation that we are often able to hear only when we have finally become desperate enough to consider a radical departure from life as we know it so that we can be made well. Only those whom God has freed at this level are prepared to lead others into the freedom that they seek. Only those who have been brave enough to ride their own monsters of anger and greed, jealousy and narcissism, fear and violence all the way down to the bottom will find a truer energy with which to lead. Only those who have faced their own dark side ca be trusted to lead others toward the Light.This is where true spiritual leadership begins. Everything that comes before is something else.

The answer to my own effectiveness in leadership, personally and professionally, begins in my past.  It is no easy task to face my own demons - but it is a necessity if I am to grow.

And if I am to move out of this dip in leadership.

An excellent outtake from Perry Noble’s message a few weeks ago empowering women. Check it out.

Margaret flew on a trapeze this past Saturday at the birthday party of a good friend.I can guarantee this is one thing that she will have done that I will not do…

Jon Acuff says it better than anyone else.

Check it out.

If Yoda can participate in small groups, so can you.

On Sunday we had a guest speaker…Steve Horner, from Rancho De Sus Ninos, an orphanage that he runs in Mexico.  He discussed the ministry to the community through the orphanage, how they have reached so many for Christ there.  It was one of those talks where we came out fired up, ready to head to Mexico and serve.

Of note, however, were some takeaways which have lingered in my mind since Sunday…

Horner said:

• “God works through ordinary people who walk by faith.”
• “If you walk in faith, you’re usable.  If you walk in fear, you’re unusable.”
• “There is real power in the Word of God.”
• “You’re at the safest place when you’re obedient to the Word of God.”
• “When you read the Word, you hear the voice of the living God.”
• “God wants to work through this church for worldwide vision.”

Do we really walk in faith?  Do we really hear the voice of the living God?  Are we really obedient?

Something to think about…

They’re back!

Praise songs, done to TV show themes!  Some of you may remember these from a couple of years ago…particularly in this nutty post.

Well…the challenge is on again!

Pick a TV show…use the theme…redo the lyrics Biblically…and voila!  You have praise and worship music set to a TV theme.  Post ‘em in the comments!

Game on!

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The Fall of Man (to the tune of “The Facts of Life”)

You take the Man, you take Woman,
you take them both and there you have
The Fall of Man, the Fall of Man.

There’s a fruit you should not eat and now
You’re ‘shamed about your nakedness
The Fall of Man, the Fall of Man.

When the world never seems
to be livin’ up to God’s dreams
And suddenly you’re finding out
the Fall of Man is all about you, you.

It takes a lot to get ‘em right
But thankfully we now sure have the Son of God (lovin’ the Son of God)
When you’re lovin’ the Son of God. (lovin’ the Son of God)
Loving the Son of God (lovin’ the Son of God)
Loving the Son of God.

The post below is taken from Perry Noble’s blog post from yesterday - he is senior pastor of NewSpring Church.  He says what I’ve been trying to say much better than I have.

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I’ve just about had enough…and am so glad I left the country yesterday…that way I don’t have to listen to this crap anymore.

And no, I’m not talking about the politicians and their crazy adds on television that are right in line with a middle school “yo mama” fight!

I’m talking about the Christians who have prostituted themselves with the political process and taken their eyes off of Jesus as their Savior and put them on either McCain or Obama as their Savior.

It’s STUPID!

Should we have a political opinion as Christians? HECK YES! Should we vote? ABSOLUTELY! I think a Christian who doesn’t vote is completely missing an opportunity that God has blessed us with as citizens of this country.

BUT…we can’t actually think that the salvation process is tied to who happens to be in the White House!

In reading through the Gospels the other day something HIT ME like a ton of bricks…the Jews missed the fact that Jesus was the Messiah because they were looking for someone to deliver them from the politics of Rome.

Let me say it more clearly–they missed Jesus because of politics!!! (And religion as well…but that’s another post!)
For a Christian to claim that the world is going to be doomed to hell because a particular party happens to “control” the White House is a slap in the face of a Sovereign God.

He reigns! Read through Scripture & it is so clear…God has used kings and princes that were sold out to Him…and He’s also used those who had no love for Him at all…all for HIS glory!

So…next Tuesday…go vote! “For who,” you ask…well, here’s an idea…ask Jesus who to vote for…and then do what He says. (Yes, it REALLY is that simple.)

Then…whoever gets elected…PRAY FOR THAT MAN OFTEN! Even if the guy you want to win doesn’t…all the more reason to pray!

One more time…YES, we should have political opinions…and YES, it is OK if they are strong AND we believe in the cause…BUT PLEASE let’s not make the mistake of thinking that God is somehow limited by the policies and philosophies of a particular party!

HE REIGNS! Always has, always will!