Life...to the max!

Life By Design--31/334

Thursday--31Jan13

OK!

Fess up!!!

Who stole January?

        It was a good day of catching up from a wild ride of a month.

        In the middle of some necessary office work, a 3 hour mentoring moment with a good friend, Ryan Taylor, (watch this video as well) a truly dedicated young leader who is making a radical difference, for the better, among the severely marginalized in Denver, made the day.  I celebrate this man's creativity, dedication, tenacity and depth of character.  He inspires me and those he meets.  What a good way to conclude this first month of 2013.

 

 

Life By Design--30/335

Wednesday, late--30Jan'13:  30/335

        Arriving back in Denver yestrerday from Kansas, it was a kick to wait at DIA for a friend who also was flying to Colorado to meet with some clients.  He would be a welcome guest in our home for two nights, as I was in his home months back.

        Almost 20 years ago we met in Nashville.  A sincere and deep friendship began, that continues to this day.

        If you know him you know he is one exceptional soul.  He is a man of creative integrity.  His care for others runs deep, deep.  As a husband and father, few finer (wonderful wife, kids and grandkids).  He, without putting him on an unnecessary pedestal, is the real deal of a good, lively, deep thinking, growing man.  Judy and I count him as a special and trusted friend.

        Wes Yoder, including just a few months back when I was thoroughly stuck in the development of a major media project with regard to mentoring, has stepped into my life/our lives at unusual and needed times.  What a gift of a friend he has been.

        We have some great stories, some hilarious, about the mutual importance of our friendship over these years.  I'm always refreshed after time with him.

        His book, Bond of Brothers, is in the category of "must read" for men and women.  If you have not yet read it.  Do.  What he writes about he's lived, with a grace-filled authenticity.  He even had the significant privilege of being interview on the Today Show about this excellent book.  Watch and listen.

        Wes walks his talk.  Sincerely.  He is one of the men on the planet I respect at depth.  He is a life-giving friend.

        Today I took him to some appointments in Denver and down in Colorado Springs.  In his work he is the mentor and guide and friend of some unique souls through his speakers bureau and literary agency.

        When he was with his clients I was with some of those amazing souls I mentor in Denver and CSprings.  It was a good day for each of us.  Both of us benefited and were encouraged by the time we had together as men in the third 3rd of our lives.

        Indeed, he is a brother of a friend.  It's good when a friendship refreshes.  Who refreshes you?  Have you let them know that lately?  Who would say knowing you is also refreshing?

 

Life By Design--29/336

Tuesday evening--29Jan13:  29/336

        Made it back to Denver late this afternoon.  Humbled at all that took place in Wichita, KS since arriving there this past Friday.  That grace that is amazing was rampant.

        Saturday I took many of the leaders of Eastside Community Church (see previous post) and other community leaders through the Circle of Life Mentoring Workshop.  Helping them grasp a clearer, more life-giving vision for their individual lives, and their varying life responsibilities, was both fun and serious work.

        They were troopers...literally.  :-)  A mid-afternoon "hike" around the property brought them to a place of being energized about the creative impact of their lives, at home, at work, at church, wherever them find themselves.

        Today began, in almost a déja vu moment.  Dennis Turner and I met with one of the smart, energetic young businessmen he is personally mentoring. 

        It was in this exact place, same restaurant space, about 17 years ago that our mutual friend, Ron (also mentioned in the previous post), had first introduced us.  Whoa.  Time does fly by.

        Mentoring, good mentoring, is not to be kept to oneself, should you be well mentored.  It is to be passed on.  Paid forward.

        On the left you see Mike, who is being mentored by Dennis, on the right, who is being mentored by me, in the middle.  Three "mentoring generations."

        This is the hoped for impact of mentoring.  This is the purpose and focus of mentoring where lives are being changed.  This will change the world.  One valued life at a time.

        I could not encourage you more (you, the reader) than to consider being a mentor.  Intentional, deep-change, whole life, transformational mentoring, in time, will help change the world.  As long as you are also willing to change.

        Tonight I am home.  A bit weary, for all the right reasons.  Grateful, to the max, for these past four days.  I hope the same for you and the past four days of your own life.

Life By Design--28/337

Monday evening--28Jan13:  28/337

        Beginning this past Friday, it has been a privilege to be hanging out with the creative leadership of Eastside Community Church (ECC) in Wichita, KS.  In 1995 one of our valued, former LDG Board Members, Ron Baldwin, brought me to that town to meet a developing leader, one fine young minister and his wife, Dennis and Cathy Turner.  Ron was correct in believing that these two were in the class of "world changers."

        Over these seventeen years I've watched the Turners grow and develop into leaders of influence, not just in their community, but in several foreign countries, as well.  They are not afraid to tackle the tough issues of our world and their community.  What a sacred privilege it's been to be a mentor to each of them, as as a couple, in the 8 dimensions of their own wild and precious lives.

        Last Friday afternoon, when I landed, Dennis took me by the church were 44 Wichita police officers were being hosted by ECC.  It was my understanding that this was the first time these fine women and men who faithfully serve that community were being made this aware of a very serious issue in our world.  They were hearing what to look for and how to work with those caught in this tragedy.

        Cathy's heart has been burdened by the rise in human trafficking in our country, and around the globe.  Thus, she has taken on the challenge of supporting and starting initiatives that deal with this critical reality.

        These officers were blown away by the exceptional hospitality of ECC.  They were sobered by the reality that human trafficking is, indeed, happening in their neighborhoods.  They learned that a major conduit of this is taking place from Texas, up through Oklahoma and into their state.

        This is not just a Kansas issue.  This is happening in every state of our country and the provinces of Canada.  This is not just something happening "over there."

        Today found me encouraging Cathy and some of her developing team in the intricate process of developing a new needed NGO.  Their dreams are both real and huge.  They have an exceptional, savy, caring local lawyer taking care of all the legal details. What a gift he is!

        Meetings later this week will include significant interaction with local social service agencies, who are eager for the added support and care through the creation of a new enterprise:  Hope Ranch for Women.  I could not be more thankful for, nor more proud of what these good, courageous women are beginning to achieve.  Amazing, frankly, to see them step up and step into doing something about this increasing need in our land, and in their community.

        Tonight, my olde heart is full of gratefulness to have walked with this couple for all these years.  Their willingness to own their stuff, to be hungry and curious to learn and to be committed to living courageously in tackling life, has forged a safe place for people to come and experience wholeness.  They have dared to step into all they have been designed to be and do.

        No wonder, even through the thick and thin of almost twenty years of growth, Eastside is making a difference that has the angels watching over them clapping their wings with delight.  What grace abounds here.  Welcome.  Needed.  What an honor to count them as special friends.  Them and their whole team.

 

Life By Design--27/338

Sunday evening--27Jan'13

        This is one of the faster Sundays I've experienced in awhile.  Interacting with good friends (father, mother, daughter, son-in-law, baby awaiting delivery the end of May) it's been a meaningful time of celebrating life for every one of these three generations.

        There is something about the generations being passed on, something about the delight in future grand parents, something about the expectation of new parents, that warms my soul as this day fades to tomorrow.  That baby growing in the mother's womb?  What a miracle.  Life.  Any life.  Born.  A miracle.

        Who will this baby be?  With grand parents from Missouri.  With a Mom from Kansas.  With a Dad from Guatemala.  With two cultures already surging through this tiny body.  What will become of her?  Or him?  What will this child experience when your age?  Or mine?  How many years will this child even be given thier own one wild and precious life?

        How do we handle the new?  Not just with a newborn.  But with a new day.  A new hour.  A new friendship.  A new privilege.  A new responsibility.  A new hope.  A new sorrow.  A new joy.  A new opportunity to live life.

        As I unplug from a meaningful Sunday.  As I peer into the potential of a very potent and important Monday.  I wonder.  About life.  Mine.  Ours.  Yours.

        I wonder what will present itself to guide, to invite to more, to chart next steps, for our own future.  I wonder about how well I will wander among the decisions that will be made.  Decisions that will further form, shape, instruct, define our future.  Our lives.

        The moon rose tonight here in Wichita in spectacular fashion.  Whole.  Full.  Consistent.  On time.

        May you and I do the same with the lives we've been given.  May we carefully, creatively determine to live the rest of tonight, all of tomorrow, and all the rest of our days to the full.  May we choose to be fully alive in all 8 dimensions of our lives.

        In the guest room where I'm staying (dangerous to find so late in the day, as it is one of my favorite books) is a copy of Parker Palmer's magnificent book, Let Your LIfe Speak.  In Chapter 1/page 3 we find the words that conclude this post.

        I go to sleep in a few moments, with hope.  There is value to me and the rest of my days.  And, dear reader, there is value to you.  May hope be yours tomorrow, as well.  Read on:

        Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen to what it intends to do with you.  Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.

 

Life By Design--26/339

Saturday--26Jan13: 

        Close to a new trailhead on a hike my wife and I took this summer, we found this abandoned tunnel on the west side of Pikes Peak.  Closed off to traffic, peering into the dark, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Would be nice it were always that easy to see that proverbial light.  :-)

        Leading the Circle of Life Mentoring Workshop here in Wichita today is somewhat like this picture.  It’s helping people take down the barriers that may be holding them back in being the leaders there were designed to be.  It’s helping them believe that they can walk into the dark of the unknown in their own lives, and as long as they keep walking toward the light they will get to where they need to be.

        The COL Mentoring Model is, in part, about the leader taking a good audit of their own life before they journey into the life of another.  The best mentors are listeners first.  They ask life-giving, life-drawing questions.  They will willingly journey into the dark of a life, a situation not knowing how long it will take, but there will come a moment in time, a day when there will be light at the end of those tunnels.

        What an honor to be here in this town to encourage these fine leaders to grow in their influence of others.  The fragrance of growth was in the air when we concluded at 4pm.  The light was warm and beckoning at the end tunnel of this day.

        There was a taste of hope on the lips of the good-byes expressed.  There was the sound of peace as people gathered the possibilities from being equipped to mentor intentionally, expecting deep change in themselves and those with whom they walk into the future, knowing that all of each person’s whole life will be strengthened and ultimately transformed.

        How do they know that?  Because they took a deep look at their own life journey first today, on the way to being there for others in their places of living out their own wild and precious lives.

        As this day concludes, I, too, am at peace.  Thankful.

Life By Design--25/340

Friday--25Jan13:  25/340

        Finally made it to Kansas this afternoon.  Looking for Dorothy and Toto, among other good reasons for being here this weekend.

        My wife took me to DIA early.  The solitude in the crowded airport was good for getting some last minute communication done.  I was even glad to see the plane would depart late by about 40 minutes.

        A Mrs. Smith was the agent at the gate, B49.  The man in front of me was giving her some sort of obnoxious, entitelment spinning hard time.  It seemed like everyone working at the airport today was full of the grumps.  Everyone's internal fuse seemed to be short.

        Me:  That was a hard moment for you.  You sure didn’t deserve to be treated that way.  Seems like a lot of folks out here are feeling the stress of this Friday.

        Mrs. Smith--taking a deep breath:  Thank you for saying that.  It has seemed hard today.  What may I do for you?

        Me:  I don’t want to add to your busy work, but was wondering if there was any possibility of an upgrade.  I’m currently in 27A. I’m Silver status.  I see there is an empty row in 12.  Any possibilities?

        Mrs. Smith:  Yes.  12A is yours.  I’ll block the whole row so it’s all yours.

        Me:  Thank you.  That is really kind of you.

        Mrs. Smith:  Thank you for being kind to me.

        Finally, we boarded.  I put my computer and other tote under the seats in front of me.  Settled in to do some more work.  Others filed in to almost fill up the plane.

        A few moments later I was aware of someone standing in the aisle, speaking my name.  Looking up, it was my “new friend,” Mrs. Smith:

        Mrs. Smith:  Your Mr. Roberts, right?  Come with me.

        Me:  Ah, where we going?

        Mrs. Smith:  Do you have the boarding pass I gave you?

        Me:  Yes, here it is.

        Mrs. Smith:  Here’s your new one.  It’s not a window seat, but it is seat 1B.

        Me:  I’m right behind you!

        Gathering up my computer and tote I headed to the front of the plane.  Settling in, Mrs. Smith waited until I was in my seat, gave me my new boarding pass and said with a twinkle in her eye:

        You ought to buy a lottery ticket today, with your luck in moving from the back to the middle to the front seat of the plane.  Have a good trip.

        Me:  All that’s left is for me to be up there with the pilots.

        Mrs. Smith:  I’m not in charge of that one, Mr. Roberts.  Have a good time in Wichita.

        Not a bad beginning to a significantly important trip.  Spending the weekend with a leadership team at one of the finer churches in North America.  Helping a group of modern day saints create an NGO to deal with human trafficking in Kansas (yes, there, too.  It’s everywhere.).

        Home on Tuesday.  Now wondering where I’ll be seated.

        Hoping you have as blessed a weekend as I'm expecting to have.  Good to know life is not dependent on lottery tickets.  Unexpected grace is waiting for any of us.

Life By Design--24/341

Thursday--24Jan13:  24/341

        Have you ever seen a “moon set?”

        You read that right.  A “moon set.”  Even crazier, a bright and vibrantly hued moon set?

        Heading out to work out before 5am this morning, backing out of the driveway and heading south, I glanced west, to my right, and wondered what is making the sky so bright?  It’s dark.  But what’s that?

        Curiosity getting the best of me, I had some moments to spare . I headed west on Main Street.  When I came over the slight hill what I saw just about took my breath away.  Quickly, I drove over to a place where I could see the whole front range.

        You've heard me exclaim before about our brilliant sunsets and sunrises.  I had never seen a more spectacular moon set.  Ever.

        I could see the outline of Mr. Evans and other rocky knobs in the Front Range.  There were layered cloud banks behind which a blazingly bright moon was setting.  Truly golden moon beams illuminated the clouds, shining through spaces in the clouds.

        Stunning.  I sat in the car until the moon colors began to fade.  Speechless.

Life By Design--23/342

Wednesday evening--23Jan13:  23/342

        Oh that all days could be as productive as this day.

        Phone calls were made, mentoring appointments were accomplished (good people on the grow, even in the midst of some difficulties), speaking notes refreshed for the long weekend to come.  As tired as I was yesterday, amazing to know, one more time, what a long night's deep sleep will do.

        I get soulishly stunned, times per week, at the sacred privilege we have to walk with developing leaders into their futures.  With some, the privilege of this has been going for a long, long time.

        There is both deep pride in and abundant thanks for what men and women are called into and accomplishing with their own wild and precious lives.  Fully engaged with their unique purposes and designs for their lives, life-giving differences are being accomplished around the globe that are worthy of praise.

        The intentional efforts of these kindred spirits are extra humbling in the quiet instruction and encouragement they bring by their extraordinary acts of care and kindness.  They unintentionally keep modeling what you and I need to keep doing right were we live for the needs of others around us.

        One man I've mentioned before is Tom Albinson.  If anyone has been formed to lead in hard places it is Tom.  His tenacity, and drive, and creativity, and intuition, and care for refugees days down the road of life will be legend.  Of that I am certain.

        Receiving his and Donna's monthly email newsletter (Donna is his deep-hearted and creative wife), I knew that writing about Tom would conclude this day.  A shout out to him becoming an ambassador for refugee care around the globe is thrilling.  You may read about that here. 

        I smile over our first meeing, years back, in Austria.  I give God thanks for his significant wisdom that will now be shared in a wider variety of places, in association with the United Nations connections into which he's been invited.  Amazing to know that that organization is asking for faith based organizations to help them in the care of refugees.

        If ever I needed, you needed, one more illustration of the ways our God has of getting his creation cared for, read on in Tom's newsletter.  This is a whole part of the world's population most of us have little knowledge of. 

        I encourage you to let him know you would like to keep up with his work and receive what he sends out.  It will be worth it to your own soul.  It will help you wear some different lenses to the needs of others, right around the corner, or down the road from where you live, as well on other continents.

        Go, Tom and Donna!  You have our continued care and prayers...........

 

Life By Design--22/343

Tuesday--22Jan13:  22/343

        For a variety of reasons, this has not been an easy day.  There has been hard ground to plow in almost every one of the 8 Dimensions of the Circle of Life.

        I’m rarely exhausted.  Tonight I am.

        As the hours move toward necessary rest, sleep, renewal, I’ve, one more time, picked up Ted Loder’s Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle.  For whatever the prior reasons, I had earmarked some of his welcome words on pages 112-114.  Tonight, they have become my words, as well.

        Please read on: