Life...to the max!

...one of my last prayers for 2016.......

Friday--6Jan17:   Mid-month, last month, a friend from years back was in touch with me just hours before we left for Christmas vacation with our daughter in Texas.  The story is way too long to go into here, but this evening, looking over pictures from the past month, I was reminded of this tender and sacred time I had been invited into. 

        At the end of this fast first week of 2017, I am more thankful than ever that I responded.  It did set a certain "heart tone" for the sincere blessings we experienced this past Christmas.

        My friend had been a youth pastor years back in Southern California.  At that time he and his wife befriended one of the young women in that group.  Years later, after these good folks had kept in touch, that young woman asked if they knew anyone in Denver.  The reason was that her birthdad, whom she had located, lay dying in a Denver hospital in intensive care, and did they know someone who would go and pray with him.

        Thus contacted, I went into a local ICU, and prayed for this man.  The attending nurse was most kind to let me speak to him.  His communication was reduced to a blink of the eyes for a "yes" and two blinks for a "no."  Thus we had care-filled communication for a few minutes.

        His daughter wanted him to know how much God loved him, even though he had forsaken her as a baby.  She wanted him to be reminded that he was forgiven by her, and by God...and that she loved him.  What a priceless gift she offered her birth father.

        As I quietly continued to ask him questions, with the permission of the nurse, he came, via blinks, to indicate he knew what I was saying.  I prayed God's peace over him and told him that Jesus was waiting for him in heaven, that it was OK to let go...that our God was waiting to welcome him home.

        Having held his hand during this brief encounter and speaking ever so slowly, the nurse was convinced he had heard every word I had said.  Not only did this patient have a trickle of tears in his weary eyes, but so did the nurse and I.  She told me his heart rate and blood pressure was close to normal by the time I had finished praying for him, and that his system seemed to be at peace for the first time since she had been on duty.

        As I sit here in my office this evening remembering this encounter, I am ever more humbled at this sacred task I was invited to partake of.  It was what one of my finest of friends would call a "bubble of heaven." 

        Do I believe this old gentlemen, who could not talk to me but could only blink, understood what was happening?  No doubt in my mind.  Some day when I get to heaven, I can only imagine an olde gent coming up to me and saying, "Do you remember the time in mid-December in 2016 when you came to see me in ICU at Swedish Hospital in Englewood, Colorado?" 

        Indeed, I will.  Hoping to see you there in heaven, as well........... (74+216)

...on this first day of the new year--1Jan17:

...for this first day of 2017

...the sky is the limit for

   what we want to make of the months to come

   within this new year!

...one more poem by Ted Loder

...from Guerillas of Grace:

I Hold My Life Up To You Now…

Patient God,
the clock struck midnight
   and I partied with a strange sadness in my heart,
      confusion in my mind.
Now I ask you
   to gather me,
      for I realize
         the storms of time have scattered me,
            the furies of the year past have driven me,
               many sorrows have scarred me,
                  into a hundred hiding places,
                     one of which is pretended gaiety.
I am sick of a string of “have-a-nice-day’s.”
What I want is passionate days,
   wondrous days,
      dangerous days,
         surprising days.
What I want is You!

Patient God,
this day teeters on the edge of waiting
   and things seem to slip away from me,
      as though everything were only memory
         and memory is capricious.
Help me not to let my life slip away from me.
O God, I hold up my life to you now,
   as much as I can,
      as high as I can,
         in this mysterious reach called prayer.
Come close, lest I wobble and fall short.
It is not days or years I seek from you,
   not infinity and enormity,
      but small things and moments and awareness,
         awareness that you are in what I am
            and in what I have been indifferent to.
It is not new time,
   but new eyes,
      new heart I seek,
         and you.

(74+211)

 

.......with winter's arrival...

        With the temperature hovering close to 70° both day and night, where we are spending time with our daughter for Christmas week, and later some other good friends in this huge state, and looking into the Weather Channel app for when we return to Denver, where on that 4th day of 2017 it is suggested the high temp will be 19°, we are going to soak up all the warm we can.  The change of seasons, anywhere, is necessary for the continuation of life, whether the climatic change is severe or slight over the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, seasons of a year.

        We humans, too, go through seasons, not just aging.  A cherished book I often take down from my book shelf lined with the wisdom of poets is one by Ted Loder titled Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle.  

        Since here in the Northern Hemisphere winter is now officially upon us, whether it’s 70° or 19°, wherever you may be, here is Loder’s take on the arrival of the winter season from his past Philadelphia, PA perspective:

Grant Me Your Sense of Timing…

O God of all seasons and senses,
grant me your sense of timing
   to submit gracefully
      and rejoice quietly
         in the turn of seasons.

In this season of short days and long nights,
   of gray and white and cold
teach me the lessons of waiting:
   of the snow joining the mystery
      of the hunkered-down seeds
         growing in their sleep
            watched over by gnarled-limbed, grandparent trees
               resting from autumn’s staggering energy;
                  of the silent, whirling earth
                     circling to race back home to the sun.
O God, grant me your sense of timing.

In this season of short days and long nights,
   of gray and white and cold,
teach me the lessons of endings:
   children growing,
      friends leaving,
         jobs concluding,
            stages finishing,
               grieving over,
                  grudges over,
                     blaming over,
                        excuses over,
O God, grant me your sense of timing.

In this season of short days and long nights,
   of gray and white and cold,
teach me the lessons of beginnings:
   that such waitings and endings
      may be a starting place,
         a planting of seeds
            which bring to birth
               what is ready to be born—
                  something right and just and different,
                     a new song,
                        a deeper relationship,
                           a fuller love—
                              in the fullness of your time.
O God, grant me your sense of timing.

...the dawning of a new day, and year...with possibilities...

...Friday...30Dec16...

(74+209)

 

16Nov16: Wednesdays with Wes...........

        Two mornings in a row now I've been awakened before 4:30am.  It's almost like someone tapped me gently on the shoulder and whispered,

"It's time for another day.

There is good work to be done.

You are not alone, you are alive to be present, to be involved, to nurture, to encourage, to be a part of both blessing and releasing those you mentor today into all they were designed to be and to do.

Get up.

It's time for you to be fully alive and step into the reasons, the purpose for your very own existence for this day. 

Get up...there is good work to do.......this day."

        And so, here I am, fire going in the fireplace to ward off the morning chill.  Coffee not even yet brewed because it has been crucial to sit in the quiet of this hour to ponder, to pray and to purposefully peer into this day that I have been granted. 

        There is work to done within my own soul.  There are people to connect with.  There are some wrongs that have come to mind that need to be made right.  There are some places where complacency needs to be exorcised and courage, deep courage, needs to be activated and allowed full sway. 

        Wisdom and trust needs to replace some lingering fears.  Life needs to be fully lived, not just observed. 

        Hope is beginning to ooze into the fibers of these beginning moments of this Wednesday.  A new day will be woven into a fabric that has never been before, nor will ever be again. 

        It's now 6:20am.  Time to get going.  I hold lightly the plans for this day, because the next phone call or email could alter the trajectory of this day.  But until a need for honest change shows up, I need to purposefully step into the plans for this day that has quietly arrived here in Parker, even in the midst of the turmoil of our world. 

        This day I plan to be fully alive in every minute...purpose-filled...prayerfully focused........... 

        In what ways have you planned to be fully alive within this day?  Just imagine what that will be like...for just this day.

And then...oh, wow...........!!!

I just opened the shades on my home office window, and this is what greeted me.

Indeed, for both you and me, welcome to this day....................!

(74+165)

       

 

Meaning-filled Monday: 14Nov16

        This is one more picture from this past Saturday when I was up in Breckenridge with my good friend...as the last rays of daylight were chasing us down an olde mountain mining road, from where we had hiked up to timberline on Mr. Baldy.  Life is a lot like this as we find our way with the light we have, no matter our circumstances...what has happened to us...what we may have done to others.

        Yesterday, at the church we attend, Southeast Christian Church in Parker, CO, the lead pastor, Phil Vaughn brought another exceptional message reminding us all to live forgiving and forgiven...which is like walking from the dark into the daylight of our lives.  On the way out after the 9am service we were all handed a bookmark...much needed for this season in our world, in our country, in our neighborhoods, no matter where we live, in our own unfolding lives.

        The texts of the bookmark are taken from a book by Lewis B. Smedes--The Art of Forgiving: When You Need to Forgive and Don't Know How.  As we all begin a new work week, there is something in this list for each one of us (...most likely even several somethings...which I will share from time to time as we all get ready to leave 2016 behind and step into our futures in 2017...):

The most creative power given to the human spirit is the power to heal the wounds of a past it cannot change.

We do our forgiving alone inside our hearts and minds; what happens to the people we forgive depends on them.

The first person to benefit from forgiving is the one who does it.

Forgiving happens in three stages:  We discover the humanity of the person who wronged us, we surrender our right to get even, and we wish that person well.

We forgive people only for what they do, never for what they are.

We forgive people only for wounding and wronging us; we do not forgive people for things we do not blame them for.

We cannot forgive a wrong unless we first blame the person who wrongs us.

Forgiving is a journey; the deeper the wound, the longer the journey.

Forgiving does not require us to reunite with the person who broke our trust.

We do not forgive because we are supposed to; we forgive when we are ready to be healed.

...more to come soon...

(74+163)

 

 

 

How do your personal beliefs measure up for the common good and the important good of others?

Monday--7Nov16:

        Sleep was intermittent last night.  It was not a bad happening, even though I do like deep, at least 6-7 hours per night is all I seem to require.  But last night, 1:30am mind meandering had me reliving much of what I had seen several hours earlier.

        Some special friends treated us to the new Mel Gibson movie, Hacksaw Ridge.  Even, to my warm surprise, my bride wanted to see the film, though she is not at all a fan of violence in movies.  

        We were both moved by what we saw and experienced.  This morning I find it way important to have seen the film, to reflect further on what all took place back in our past history.  It’s hard to fathom what the men and women of WWI and WWII and the Korean 
"Conflict” and Viet Nam and all the Middle East battle went through…for the sake of you and me here in the US of A, and our whole world, even today…even with the craziness of this current political season being “part” of what was fought for.

        A theme, to be written about several more times in this year’s personal blog posts comes from exploring a simple, yet utterly profound pronoun with only three letters.  When this word began to show up last evening in this film in powerful ways, I admit, these olde eyes teared up, often.

        My first thought was, “There’s that word again…and again…….and again.”  It too often gets traded in for a four letter word (…and know, it’s not ‘that’ four letter word…….), which brings consistent systemic confusion to how we live out our lives.  

        Purposely keeping you guessing just a bit…what do you think that word is, and why?  I’ll keep unpacking some crucial thoughts here between now and when 2017 arrives in our lives.  Come back and catch up, as you are able, or interested in doing so.

        For now, here are two important clips about Desmond Doss, a real life person, who’s story is the “star” of the movie.  This is some of film making and storytelling at it’s finest.  Here are the "addresses" of some of the clips that you can plug into your own computer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-1hz1juBI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3j8brm25Ao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxdHOitLjY

.............and, when you have the time, don't miss this interview with some of the producers, directors and cast.......what a team!  (...PS:  Will someone please give Mel Gibson some itching powder for his beard.......lol..?!?...)  Sincerely...what follows is well worth watching...even though it will take up some of your own important and valuable time.  This is one cast and crew that was engaged in the honest telling of an important story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfkRC7WU5bg

 

 (74+156)

Wednesdays w/ Wes: ...focusing on the future...........

Wednesday--5Oct16:  ...a beautiful fall day here in CO

        In the leadership mentoring I've the sacred privilege of doing in many of the hours of my days, I have the truly amazing opportunity of experiencing people, from around the globe, grow and change in ways some thought not possible.  Few moments are more rewarding than seeing good men and women move, by their creative and courageous choices, from impossible.......to possible...to new life-changing potentials for growth in all 8 dimensions of their own lives.

        Today, from the southeast corner of our country, like in Georgia, y'all, another mentoring moment began with a young leader I've been mentoring for almost a decade now.  Listening to him, watching him on FaceTime, having had him, his wife and kiddos in our home, I had to smile as the man I was interacting with today is such a long growth-filled distance from the man I first met at at conference in Texas, way back when. 

        It's easy to cheer on his own growth and development in all of the 8 dimensions of his own life and relationships and growing influence.  He is a brilliant learner who is hungry to keep growing, evolving, changing, living into who he was created to be. 

        To hang with me for awhile is to know that one of my "gifts" is "library enhancement," as my dear wife once said when asked to introduce me at a conference.  I read a lot.  I recommend many books to others to read and be encouraged for where they are in their life journey.  I sincerely enjoy it when one of these exceptional mentoring friends let's me know about I book I should also read...this is a Circle of Life we are living together.  ;-)

        At my young friend's encouragement, I've added Visions of Vocation by Steve Garber to my next Amazon order.  In today's FaceTime mentoring moments we were further talking about vocational training for this friend, which he is accomplishing in a grad school to the north about five hours from where they live.  He quoted me the following from Steve Garber:

...to embrace our calling

is “to see ourselves implicated in history,

to see that we share a common vocation

to care not only for our own flourishing,

but for the flourishing of the world.”

        In 50 words, or less, what is your calling?  How, in what ways, are you currently living out that calling?  Where do you need more encouragement, training, hope to even more fully live into and out of your calling?

        I am one of those who firmly believes we all have a calling.  No one is without one.  To help others discover that...and to be fully alive in that calling...what deep joy. 

Not to be redundant,

but to be hope-filled for you,

what calling is calling you out

to be more fully alive

in all of who you

were designed to be?

 

 (74+122)

 

Wednesdays w/ Wes: ...an honest war on words

        It’s time.

        Frankly, it’s overdue, with regard to time.

        I am declaring a “war” on certain words and phrases.

        This war within has been building for some time now.  I can “blame” it on a good, long time friend*** who, years back, got right in my face to challenge me on why do I even use those words/phrases.  

        His was an act of both courage and great caring for how I communicate.  I gave him permission to get in my face.  He obliged.  I am grateful to this moment in time for his serious, life-enhancing coaching, concern and care.  

        What are those words and phrases?

        Do not read further unless you are sincerely ready to change, for the better, your own ways of thinking, speaking, communicating.  This will not be easy.  But the journey to clearer communication, even in the most casual of conversations, right into the most serious and important conversation you may be having, those words have just gotta go.

        Yes!  Indeed…….!!!

        No doubt, you can add to this list.  I would welcome hearing about that from you at your convenience.  I will do my best to not use these in your presence, whether written or in person.  I ask, with care and honest concern for how you also communicate, that you take the challenge and learn to avoid them as well.

        Here we go…………………

        …kinda
           …sorta
              …shoulda
                 …woulda
                    …coulda
                       …gotta
                          …things
                             …and such
                                …stuff
                                   …OK?
                                      …right?

        I realize that every language in the universe does have it’s shorthanded way of communication.  Preciseness does have it’s proper place.  “Slangeuage” is fun to use from time to time when we are feeling relaxed and a bit goofy.  

        However, good men and women of the 21st Century, stellar leaders continually in the making, attention to your language, spoken and written, is crucial to healthy communication between you, and those you care about the most, as well as the stranger you may meet today in your town or an an airplane to somewhere.  You do want to be a clear communicator throughout your days, don’t you, whether in your work or having fun with family and/or friends?!?

        There is not a person I know (and all those I don’t know…) but what they need help with this.  Honestly, the need for help begins with me, too.  Therefore, when you hear me use any one of those words or phrases, check me on it.  Seriously.

        Please.  And thank you!

        With your permission, I will do the same for you.  When you and I are trying to communicate clearly, those are empty words that sincerely take us no where…as in nada nowhere…for our listeners or for ouselves.

        Or kinda said another way with this kind of stuff, when you and I are kinda trying to communicate some important stuff, we need to sorta realize that the sloppy things we say to others in any setting, when we coulda and shoulda been intentionally more clear (right?!!…) will help us communicate better, and such, to those with whom we are sorta sharing something life-enhancing that woulda made some difference if we had only been kinda more clear.

        Right?  OK?  Hey!  Wake up!!  I’m talking to you!!!  Don’t zone out on me when I’m kinda sharing some important thoughts with you to sorta encourage our friendship and work together, and such, on this planet where we coulda done, and can sorta yet do, better than we’ve done.  

        Right?  OK!

        By now I sorta hope you get the picture of this war on these words.  Ooooops!  Pardon me.  Big time.  I sincerely hope you do get the picture of this war on words.  

        My good friend***, who is still my good friend, cared enough to get right in my face, in front of others, to demand I tell him what I honestly meant by those words.  He didn’t just kinda get right in my face.

        I will be eternally grateful.  That grateful is not the kinda kind of grateful.  That being grateful, all these years later, still lingers as I write, speak and engage others in meaningful conversation.

        Therefore, when your own teasing me about this post settles down (which has me laughing outloud as I type…not just sorta laughing and sorta typing…), let’s be good enough friends to help each other communicate clearly.  Enough of the sloppiness, and such.  ;-)

        I believe you get what I’m proposing.  This is war.  For your benefit.  For mine.  For all those with whom we will communicate for the rest of our days.

        Got that?  Good.  In fact, excellent…….!!!

       *** That good friend is Ken Davis:  http://www.kendavis.com/  His Dynamic Communicators Workshops are significant for anyone who has the desire to improve in their communication skills, no matter the size of the crowd, 1 to 1, or you speaking before dozens to hundreds:  http://dynamiccommunicators.com/  

    Eternally, thank you, Ken, for getting in my face.  Your investment in me, and hundreds of others (more likely thousands than just hundreds…) has paid dividends that show up every day of my life.  Keep at it, my friend.  Thank you!!!  (74+115)

...we can't take threads for granted.......

        Last Saturday on our "conquering journey" of 9 Colorado passes, we went from warm, full sun, to bitter whipping cold.  Having the right gear, the right clothing was important as we made our wonderful "mad dash" across the Continental Divide four times...it was a very good day.

        My heart and mind do go to those in our cities who are facing the cold of winter without the right gear and clothing.  How do they do it?

        Too often they are huddled under makeshift tarps they've found...and throw away clothes gets layered on.  We ran from the warmth of a car to a lookout point and back again...cold for a moment...but then back to being thankful for the threads woven together in fabric to keep us warm.

        Threads.

        Easy to take for granted, until a thread begins to unravel or wear out.  Then, as the olde saying goes, we go to buy some "new threads."  How welcome.  How convenient. 

        Threads are important in a whole lot of ways and places.

        Threads are not just made of fabric, however.  There are a variety of threads that have been weaving through both your life and mine...holding our own moments together.

        I'm reminded of a poem by William Stafford (...a favorite poet...) simply titled, "The Way It Is."  When I first read this poem in July of 2011 I thought of a favored "distance mentor," Richard Rohr, who, in his significant, life-giving teaching and writing will often say, "It is what it is...now what are we going to do with what is?" 

        So.......wherever you find yourself on the planet I hope you will be thankful for the multitude of threads that make up your own life (74+113):

The Way It Is...

There's a thread that you follow.  It goes among

things that change.  But it doesn't change.

People wonder about what you are pursuing.

You have to explain about the thread.

But it is hard for others to see.

While you hold it you can't get lost.

Tragedies happen; people get hurt

or die; and you suffer and get old.

Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding.

You don't ever let go of the thread.

...William Stafford

Wednesdays w/ Wes: ...stop the "no listening game!"

          I know.  I know.  I do know.

        Sincerely.......I do know.....................

        And I want to "warn" you maturing Gen Z'ers right now you will be under scrutiny just like your older relatives and friends who have been labeled Gen X'ers, Gen Y'ers and Millennials.  It is too often an intriguing, sad, anxious, some times even vengeful, confusing, intimidating world the rest of us are handing you...in which many of you in your generation are discovering possibilities all over the place.

        Keep it up.

        My deepest apologies...from my perch on the generational scale of our current world.  Thank you (and many of you know exactly who you are...) for trusting an olde man with your own concerns, hopes, fears, dreams, creative possibilities for how you long to live and influence our future world.

        You've told me that you are surprised that a man my age (fast chasing 75...) is even willing to be listening to you.  You've heard me say, most sincerely, that I cherish listening to you expound on your concerns and your hoped for future joys...thank you for believing that I mean that.  I do.

        Thank you, too, for believing me when I say to you that I'm as imperfect a soul with whom you could ever have a conversation.  Thank you for believing me when I say I want to hear all you have to say about life from your vantage point, that I need and want to be learning from you who will be inheriting the future I, and others, are leaving for you.

        People in my Builder/"Greatest" generation, and those following as Boomers, have contributed significantly to what all is taking place across our globe.  But I care-filled-ly encourage those generational groups to learn to listen about 5 times more than we talk.  The younger generations among us have very important questions to ask and thoughts to share.  They are longing to be heard...because they do have important things to say.

        Yes, we "olders," for the most part were schooled to be "tellers."  To point out the rights and wrongs of life.  To give instructions for what needs to be taking place.  To live by the "rule" of do what you are told, and ask questions later.

        To you younger brothers and sisters, I encourage you to neVer stop questioning.  I wish for that with my contemporaries as well.  Long, in my whole-person mentoring, have I held to the view that the "only bad question" anyone has is the question they are not asking.

        Jesus asked a ton of questions, as recorded in the Bible.  Intriguingly, he answered few of them, allowing, in many places, for a difference of opinion.

        If it were not for questions, Columbus would have not sailed the oceans blue.  Nor would Lewis and Clark have discovered the Columbia River, that mighty waterway to the Pacific.  And those bicycling Wright brothers would not have dared to lift off for a few dozen yards and create flying machines.

        I listened recently, again, to President John F. Kennedy giving his exceptional speech to Congress on May 25, 1961 that we would be landing on the moon within a decade from then.  Someone had to be asking questions to eventually get us up there on July 20, 1969...which I witnessed on black and white TV with a bunch of then kids, teens, in Whittier, CA.  Those "kids" are now well into their 50's and 60's.

        Sad is the fact that on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Kennedy was assassinated.  He did not get to cheer on Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in their "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  But it was questions that got us up there and back again.

        I will be long gone when you Z'ers, Y'ers, X'ers, Millennials arrive at my age.  Personally being one of those who believes in a "hereafter" called Heaven, when I may just be able to peer back over the edge of that "up place," I so hope I do not find you sitting alone in your commitment to keep asking questions of any kind of any subject...to asking people to listen to you...for as I know you today, I know you will be well worth listening to, engaging......now...and then.

        Way, wAy back in the day when I was much younger I found three Albert Einstein quotes that I took to heart:

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

 

The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

 

Anyone who has never made a mistake

has never tried anything new.

 

        Yup, I am getting olde.  Here I am rambling on and on and on.  But I long for all you younger-than-me-souls to know that I enjoy hearing your own rambling thoughts, your concerns, your joys, your possibilities, your commitments to changing our world, now and for the future of your own kids, grand kids and great-grand kids.

 

        You are not as alone as you might think.

 

        There are a few others out there like me who are willing to listen...no matter the topic.  Shocking or sublime.  Question upon questions or newly discovered facts.  Thank you for being gracious enough to read all the way to here...no matter where you find yourself at whatever age you may be wherever you are on the planet.  (74+101)

 

 

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins145949.htm