Redeem, Reconcile, Restore

During the break, I've been working on a house project in the midtown area of Kansas City, MO.  I thought this picture of the basement went well with today's post at king.typepad.com.  He posted something written by Kurt Rietema about the restoration happening in the Argentine district of Kansas city, Kansas.  Kurt is a friend and fellow Youthfront employee who is also a gifted writer and thinker about community development.

Let’s exchange these locked doors for newly, mopped floors

Abandoned places for sacred spaces

Let’s trade silence for singing 

Languishing for laughing

Let’s turn cracked concrete into green grass

Bored teenagers and boarded up windows into wide-eyed wonderers with wide-open futures

Let’s exchange negligence for neighborliness

Hostility for hope

Graffiti for gratitude

Let’s turn ‘unfit for human habitation’ into the beginning of our own emancipation

---

Gender Cake

Last night we had a party at my parents house to find out the gender of our next baby.  When we had our sonogram last week, we told them not to tell us the gender, but instead to write it on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope.  Then we took the paper to a baker who made a cake with blue or pink icing in the middle.  Here is the video of the cake cutting.  We've never done anything like this before.  It was so much fun.  

Modular Courses

This week I'm in Louisville taking a week long intensive course on Leadership and Family ministry at Southern Seminary.  I really like these modular courses.  I get much more professor and peer interaction than an online course and I complete class time for the entire course in a week.  There are a lot of books to read and assignments to complete outside of the class, but it can all be done before the week-long seminar starts or after its over.  This class has been a little more free-flowing with schedule, but usually class is from 8am to 5pm with an 1 to 1-1/2 hour break for lunch.  During lunch you can usually grab the professor and get some personal interaction.   This is a picture of one of the buildings on campus.  Its so beautiful here.

Advent

I love Christmas.  As crazy as Christmas can be with family in two different states, I love seeing everyone. There are gifts, good food, games, and lots of laughter. Christmas is a celebration unlike any other holiday.

Throughout history, God’s people have had celebrations. There were feasts that lasted days and holidays that were so big everyone who held debts forgave them. Can you imagine that?

Unfortunately, it is typical to forget the reason for a feast or a party and be consumed by the planning, logistics, and the good things gained from the holiday. Christmas is no different. We get distracted by wonderful things and forget the purpose of it all.

Thousands of years ago, God made a promise, the first in a series of promises that point to someone who will make things right again.

Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and God promised that one of their offspring would one day crush the head of that serpent and bring humanity back to the garden. To Abraham, again, the promise came that one of his offspring would be the avenue through which God would bring blessing on the earth again.   David, King of Israel, was meant to be someone who reminded us, that God’s true King was coming. 

Throughout the Old Testament, over and over and over again, God declares that he is sending a hero to reverse the curse and restore humanity.   Imagine being one of those ancient people, seeing history, wondering, “will the Messiah ever come?  We need a better ruler, who is courageous and just.” Imagine looking at your heart, knowing its brokenness and saying, “will the messiah ever come and make things right.  When, O God, will you come to reverse this curse.” Imagine the longing year after year after year. 

Now, read the story of Jesus’s birth. This is not just about trees, lights, gifts, and parties. It’s about the coming of the long awaited Messiah. It’s about the reconciliation your heart has longed for. Its about the stomping of the serpent, reversing the curse and the coming of a True and Just King.

More Sonogram Pictures

Sister Fun

We’re going to have a new baby!!! I don’t know if its a girl or not, but I would like a brother. Anna loved playing in the leaves this fall, and started swinging in a big girl swing. One of my favorite things is to make popcorn in the Whirli-pop and eat it with Mommy while we watch a Christmas movie.  ABi

Thanksgiving and Junior Asparagus

I think every year about this time, I write about Thanksgiving. Its without a doubt one of the highlights of this season for me. We normally have a couple family gatherings during this time of year, and often we have a third Thanksgiving meal/gathering composed of friends and/or people to whom we minister (see picture).


My favorite tradition during our Thanksgiving meals, is what we call "Thankful Time." After we have stuffed ourselves with all kinds of delicious food (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry salad, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, and various pies), a bowl of candy corn is passed around. Each person takes five pieces representing the five things for which we are most thankful from the past year. Then, one by one, around the room we share.

The first time everyone shares, we get around the room pretty quickly, maybe 10 minutes. The second time takes about 20 minutes, as people begin to elaborate on the things they share. By the time we get to the final candy corn, a round of sharing lasts at least an hour, and is usually paired with a lot of happy tears and perhaps a third piece of pumpkin pie.

This is why I like thankful time:


1. Watching spiritual progress and maturing in the lives of my nephews and nieces. I remember when they participated in their first Thankful times 14+ years ago. They would share about things kids care about, like Mom and Dad and special toys (which consequently are the type of things my kids share about now!). As they grew older and began to realize how fortunate they were, they began to share about other physical realities like having a nice house, a loving family, and a good school. Finally, about the time they graduate from High School, the things they are most grateful for change to abstract realities like "the gospel", and the way God has been shaping them. 


2. It helps me see God's work in my life. It is the perfect opposing pair to New Years Eve. On New Year's Eve we "look-forward." It is a time of dreaming, hoping, and planning. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is a time of "looking-backward" to recognize God's movement in accomplished plans, unexpected surprises, and dream progress. Perhaps another way of saying the same thing is that gratefulness bolsters my faith in a faithful God. Faith is forward looking. It is a daily depending on God for provision in every facet of life. Gratitude acts as a witness to God's providing in the past, which reinforces his promise to provide for me in the future.

3.  "Thankful time," makes my heart happy. In the words of Junior Asparagus (from Veggie Tales), "a thankful heart is a happy heart." Why does it make me happy? I think when we reflect on a year with gratefulness in our hearts, it is as if we are taking a look at the balance sheet of all God's intangible deposits in our lives. Deposits that he makes daily and in great quantity, but somewhat unnoticed. It reminds me that I have everything I need, that I am greatly known and loved, and that I have reasons for great hope. This makes me happy.

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving also. If not, I hope you will take some time today to think about things for which you can be thankful..... and go rent/borrow VeggieTales "Madam Blueberry" and learn the song of Junior Asparagus.

I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!

For our home on the ground,
For His love that's all around,
That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
Thats an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
'Cause He listens to my prayers,
That's why I say thanks every day!

Morning prayer

This a picture of Caleb, my assistant, and Ben, a staff member in the community here. One of my favorite parts of our rhythm here is morning prayer in lakeside chapel. Our community meets everyday at 8:30am for a brief time of reflection on scripture and prayer together. I love starting the day in a way that places God as the priority in every action. It serves as a reminder of psalm 127:1. "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."

Idea Generation and Human Nature

I've been wrestling recently with ways to get more productivity out of my time.  I feel like a work a lot!!  However, the list of things to do seems to grow faster than I can complete them.  To complicate the matter, being a good husband and father (and other roles) also requires a significant amount of time.  This article has me reconsidering my perception of what it means to "work hard."  Here is the link:  Idea Generation and Human Nature.  Thanks @mattperman.

Pilgrimage

I thought this was interesting - http://www.neticons.net/music_life/.

Thanks to Topher and Andy.

Our third baby is on its way!!!!

The baby is due May 9th.  Here are the first sonogram pictures.  I really like the last one.  You can see his/her fingers.

Retreats

This weekend, Olathe Bible Church youth group is here. Paintball, costume parties, disc golf, root beer floats, a concert, bonfire, reflection, prayer times, a good speaker, and 30 volunteers. Sounds like the makings of a good youth retreat. Retreats can be so good when there are a lot of volunteers. I believe a spiritual mentoring relationship between the older and younger generations is the real secret of a successful youth ministry.

JP


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:The dining hall

A Year-round community at camp

Most of you know that there is a small group of people who live, work, study, pray, and play together in a regular routine here at camp. Each of them have promised to work 8 hours per week in exchange for someplace to live and be in community.

During our weekly Bible Study last semester we spent some time talking about how God had been working in each of us, and what have been the high and low points of our lives.

Each person shared. When Jeff shared, he spoke about how living in community these past two semesters has been one of the best experiences of his entire life.

Several of the guys seemed to agree. I began to ask why.

I couldn’t help but smile at their responses. They said many things, including solitude, exploring, getting food from the land (wild berries, winter cress, frogs, and fish), and learning new handyman skills.

What they have loved most however has been getting to spend time together in a way that really fosters their spiritual growth. Being a free, honest, committed group of believers has allowed them to explore and embrace their faith in a way that is difficult for someone who is living a more isolated life.

Living in a committed Christian community allows one to ask real questions, pray with like-minded people, and learn by watching. Last year I saw a ton of growth in the guys who lived here, and I’m looking forward to another year of life in community.

A brief summary of a busy year (in snapshots)

Its been a while since our last update, so I thought a brief summary of the last year would be helpful.

Summer 2010. If you will remember last summer, I had planned on leaving Youthfront and moving to Louisville for seminary. Through a strange set of events, God called us to stay here, where I would work as Youthfront Camp West operations Manager and take seminary courses from a distance.

Fall 2010. After finishing an intense summer of camp, and starting in on retreat season in my new role, I began to realize that the “off” season for a manager does not come till after Thanksgiving. In addition to opportunities for ministry at retreats, I really enjoyed pouring into the community of five guys who lived on site here.  During the Fall of 2010 I took New Testament 1.

Winter 2010-2011. Finally a break! Sort of.. During the winter, is really the best time to do projects around camp. I and the “camp community” refinished the kitchen floor, put a kitchen in the chapel basement, and replaced a circle stairway. One cold night, going up to check on the guys at camp I fell emptying some trash and suffered a mild concussion. It really could have been much worse than it was. A few days later I flew to Louisville to take a one week Systematic Theology course. Everyone loved my scar =). This winter was also FULL of snow, which the girls loved!

Spring 2011. Retreats started back up (though not quite as intense as the fall). Our time was consumed mostly with getting camp ready for summer camp, leading two Bible studies, and being a family. Anna turned 1 and Abi turned 3. It was crazy, but our lives were starting to find a rhythm in this role.  In the spring I took New Testament 2.

Summer 2011. Wow! Camp. This summer was a great first summer for me in this role. I was the busiest I’ve ever been, but I learned so much. My favorite part of the summer was pouring into the summer staff and seeing spiritual friendships develop that would exist far beyond the camp season. Abi and Anna loved the pool and playing with their best friends Mason and Brody, and their uncle who came and worked for me this summer.

Fall 2011. Here we are. One year in, I'm now taking old Testament 1 and finally getting a good rhythm for being in the role of camp manager. Daily responsibilities aren’t quite as overwhelming, Hopefully this new rhythm will prove helpful for both us and you, our loving faithful supporters. More news to come!

A New Newsletter Rhythm

I realize you have not heard from the Philgreens in a long time.  I sincerely apologize for the lack of communication. Starting today I will be taking on a new newsletter rhythm.

First, rather than blogging once a month, I will transition to a shorter weekly blog update. There will be some sort of brief update on our activities, ministry, prayer requests, pictures, or perhaps some devotional thoughts.

Second, rather than sending a monthly newsletter, I will transition to a quarterly newsletter. This newsletter will be the one for the third quarter. The next newsletter will likely come in December. Then march, June, and so on.

There are several reasons for this new rhythm.

1. More current updates. We strongly desire to have a team that prays for us on a regular basis. Sometimes a monthly newsletter just isn’t frequent enough to accomplish that. Personally, when I read a monthly newsletter, I pray for the person as I read it, but then often forget about them the rest of the month. Our hope is that a weekly update will create more regular opportunity for you to pray for us.

2. Better fits my rigorous schedule. It has been very interesting learning the details and duties of my new role at Youthfront. The schedule, waxes and wanes seasonally, yet is quite rigorous and structured. It used to be the case that I could pause my other ministry duties temporarily and dedicate a chunk of time to newsletter writing. Now, because of my structured schedule, opportunities to write come in smaller doses.

3. More fiscally responsible. While this is not a primary reason, it is an added benefit. By increasing electronic communication and decreasing paper, we’ll have less waste and less cost, which means there is more left to do the ministry we love.

An absence in newsletters and blogging

It has been a long absence from this blog. I don't want to simply give excuses, but I apologize for neglecting to pass on news and prayer requests. Soon I will be transitioning to a new rhythm of weekly blogging and quarterly newsletter writing. I'm hoping this new rhythm will fit my current position better.

I am still at Youthfront, working as the Manager of Operations at Youthfront Camp West, a role which is daily sharpening my management skills, expanding my mind, increasing my ability to shepherd people, and FILLING my schedule. It has completely demolished my old rhythm. Though, I'm praying that soon a new and better rhythm will be in place..... Thankfully I serve a sovereign God in whom I am confident that he will, after demolition, set in place something better fit for his plan during this season.

Please continue to pray for us,

Jonathan and Amanda