The Clothers...

The Perfect Church, Part 2

My friend and I were talking about picking a church. He commented he would err on the side of grace versus legalism. My response was on a different vein. I tend to err on the side of Bible teaching versus application based teaching.

Regardless of what "type" of church, teach me who God is, who I am, how I can be in God's family, and what my part is once I am. And then disciple me to follow Jesus in His ways.

That first part is simply the Gospel. And it can so easily be communicated in context with any Christian church teachings and conversations.

Don't make me wait until the next message or the next conversation, when it might fit in better. Tell me (or remind me) now.

It doesn't have to be offensive or defensive, just loving and factual, just the Good News in context. Because the Gospel is the context.

As Cynthia and I talk about where we belong, we think of house churches, megchurches, and everything in between.

We think about how we can be of help to a local body and how the local body will help us be prepared and accountable to God for our calling as His ambassadors to our community.

We think about who we're supposed to pour into, and who will pour into us. And we think about a family that is all on this journey together, loving God, speaking into each others' lives in love, learning together, and demonstrating to the fallen world around us what God's Kingdom looks like.

We think about our neighbors and a church where we can invite them to join us, and maybe even where we can learn Spanish.

And so we pray.

One thing for sure. God is faithful, and He will land us right where He wants us, if we keep our eyes focused on Him and not our personal inventory of the "perfect church."

 

 

 

 

 

Empty Nesters once again

Friday we took our kids and grandkids to the airport. They are off to their next chapter of life in Pennsylvania, after living as a three generation household with us this last year in Oxnard.

They are now living at Camphill Soltane again, outside of Philadelphia. This intentional community is formed around the care and education of learning disabled young adults.

Soltane has fond memories for us. Chris and Cate served there for three years, Finley was born there, and many of our vacations were spent there.

After finishing up some more education, and some soul searching, Chris and Cate have re-engaged this community and will raise their family at Soltane for the foreseeable future.

So, our big ol' Oxnard house is kind of quiet. Our next chapter here in the Magnolia House looks like lots of remodeling, lots of guests, and lots of trips to Pennsylvania!

Here's an aerial view of Camphill Soltane, and where the kids are right now:

With lots of room to roam, and a community with shared values, the family will do great. We're excited to visit there once again, probably this August after Cate has grandchild number three!

We hear Simon was not quite sure what to do about the cold weather, and that Finley had already been out helping tap maple trees to make maple syrup...

Can't wait to see them all again!

 

Early Christmas in Oxnard

Christmas came early at the Magnolia House.

Laura and Dan are here for a visit, completing our household with all of our kids and grandkids.

So yesterday we did an early Christmas Day that just happened to time out with Oxnard's Christmas Tree lighting and parade, and the annual Tamale Festival to boot.

It's great to be together as family, sharing new experiences, and simply sharing time together.

Isn't it wonderful that  the birth of Jesus is synonomous with family and relationships? The very thing he calls us to?

 

 

 

Tailgate Party

Miss Cynthia and I started a tradition a few years back that once a month we take a day to be a tourist where we live. We call these days "tailgate parties."

The name originated with a trip to Arizona where we had made several day trips for hikes and site seeing and brought our own lunch. We'd pop open the cooler and sit in the back of the SUV with the tail gate open. Hence, tailgate party!

Back in Portland, we'd schedule a day each month and pick a place we hadn't really explored, or somewhere we really enjoyed. We'd pack up a lunch and hit the road.

Since moving to Oxnard almost every day's been an adventure, but mostly home remodeling and learning a new job and community in general. A couple of weeks ago, Cynthia suggested we schedule out tailgate parties again. Days with no measurable tasks to complete; free time to be tourists.

So today, we had Subway sandwiches at the beach, took naps, and strolled in the surf. Then we explored the local beach resort run by Embassy Suites. Very nice.

We always have wondered what goes on at Oxnard's little airport not far from where we live, with four rental car places. We stopped by to learn they are commercial and private aviation, but do have a shuttle service to LAX (convenient for catching good fairs from LAX without having to talk someone into the drive through LA).

We then hit most of the thrift stores in town, comparing and contrasting, looking for things that could be turned into speaker stands. We capped off our shopping adventure with a trip to the brand new Lowes that is closer to us than the Home Depot that has supplied all of our remodeling materials so far. Nice.

To finish the day off, we headed to a little hole in the wall called Jessie's for what I have heard is some of the best Mexican food in town. And it is.

Whew!

 

 

 

 

 

Don't let them take your child, let me help you...

Daniel and Rachel Graham are visiting us! OK, this picture wasn't taken in Oxnard, but it's a great picture.

We've known Rachel since she was a very little girl, and she has been a close friend and partner in church ministry. Daniel's a veteranarian she met at church last August that God had kept busy in school until the timing was right, and now, boom! They are married.

They are headed for Uganda as missionaries to help people with their livestock in the name of Jesus. Meeting people where their real need is.

At first I thought "That's really cool. Meeting real needs in a livestock based culture to show the love of Jesus that way." Then last night Rachel described poor families with sick cattle, who can not afford to lose their only source of survival. They become easy prey to unscrupulous people who tell them they'll take their children to help out and give them a better life. They'll send money back to the family.

The families want to believe its true, even though they may have heard differently about what really happens. But time and time again, desperate families allow others to take their children in hopes of a better life, and they never see them again; their kids sold off like property for the unimaginable.

Suddenly the idea of offering a different way of taking care of these families' means of survival, their livestock, becomes much more than a matter of social charity in the name of Jesus. It's saving lives on earth and for eternity.

Here's a link to their web page if you'd like to play a part in their work: Daniel and Rachel

And their blog: Daniel and Rachel's Blog

Charging Forward without Stopping

Cynthia and I sat and just chatted about life the other morning. 

We realized our lives have not been settled since May a year ago when the landscape in which we were living began to change dramatically.

Our journey through the last 14 months has seen friendships we've enjoyed for 20 years challenged, our ministry of 20 years changed. 

We've sold and bought houses, moved to a new city, taken on a new job. We are doing a major remodeling project, had our daughter's wedding, our son's family moved down to live with us and then his appendix burst.  We've moved through each of these events taking on each event with confidence knowing God is going before us in everything. 

But we have been busy pretty much non-stop for 14 months and now we are tired.  We've taken a number of breaks, but they've been more like meetings to plan our next steps than a time to just relax and rest.

And so the other morning we just sat and talked.  We've been so busy as a team with what's before us that we haven't taken regular time to invest in each other. And we need that to stay healthy.

The other night we grabbed a blanket, got Chinese take-out, and headed to the beach.  We ate dinner and watched the sunset.  We didn't get anything done, except enjoy where we live.

It's time for this busy couple to get back into our old routine of regular date nights and regular weekend days away enjoying our community like tourists; to stop the "progress" for just a moment and invest in each other.

How are you doing with busyness?  In a season where there is not much rest? Taking time to listen to God?  Taking time to invest in those closest to you for no other reason than to love them?

Best Friends Forever

Our life long friend Cathy is in town. 

We've all been close friends since we were teenagers working together at Bible camp in the 70's. 

Even though we've lived in different cities,  we have always spent time together with weekend trips, vacations, celebrations, and been there for each other through those occasional life challenges.

And life has dealt each of us some blows through the years, and at the end of the day, we stand together. God gave us a gift in our friend Cathy.  We do life together.

The term BFF (best friend forever) gets thrown around a lot these days, but Cathy is truly a BFF.  So what does a best friend forever look like to me?  Here are a few reflections.

We enjoy time together, including playing, working, and long talks that go deep and challenge each others' perspectives.

We believe in each other and encourage each other in our walk with God and being fulfilled in how He created us, building on our strengths and protecting each other in our weaknesses.

We help each other think straight when things get confusing, and help each other develop exciting new ideas into realities.

Our relationship is built on love, transparency, and integrity.  We fully trust we've got each others' best interest in mind, are safe to share anything, and we each desire and demonstrate a life of integrity. 

We can count on each other.

Who can you count on?  To be there for you through thick and thin?  To call you out when you're headed the wrong way, and root you on when you're headed the right way?  To be your BFF in a world of people that can be so focused on their own selfish desires?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Generations in Oxnard

Our daughter-in-law Cate and grandson Simon arrived Thursday by plane.  Our son Chris and grandson Finley arrived Sunday driving a moving truck.  We are now three generations under one roof in Oxnard.

The house is still a bit of a mess, but we'll pull it all together in coming weeks.

For now, it's time for the kids and grandkids to explore their new town.  They had never been here before simply moving here.  How's that for a step of faith?

Both Chris and Cate are a little overwhelmed with this big step into the unknown.  Wouldn't anyone be?

How cool is it that they trusted us to find a house, to start preparing room for them, and then to move here without ever having been here before?  Isn't that so much like what God is looking for from His children?

What are you trusting God for?  What aren't you trusting Him for?

 

If you lived here, you'd be home now...

I drove from San Fernando Valley Friday and headed towards our house under construction (that we moved out of last week).  An apartment banner "If you lived here, you'd be home now" came to mind.  I miss living in our house and waking up in our neighborhood.

Saturday we were working upstairs and heard friendly voices calling from below.  It was our neighbors from a few doors down. 

They had been wanting to drop by and introduce themselves since they saw us move in.

They are a young couple with two little kids with a deep relationship with Jesus.  They and their family have been praying that the new people moving into this house would be Christ-followers; partners that would be an encouragement and help them touch this neighborhood for Jesus.  When they saw my fence tag with the Jesus fish, they got excited. 

I shared with them that I suspected they were Christ-followers as I had been doing my night time prayer walks through the neighborhood in the weeks before we bought the house.  I overheard conversations, saw bumper stickers, felt warmth as I passed their house.  Simple signs of Jesus...

We ended up at ther house for dinner last night and talked for hours into the evening about our lives, our ministries, our churches.  They had been looking to move to Ventura, but God has not opened that door.  Now they see why maybe they needed to stay.  We'll be joining the small group that meets at their house on Mondays!

God continues to pave the way, and we are so excited to be a part of the story.

 

Settling in to 407 Magnolia Avenue

God is faithful!  Scott Bradley connected us with Steve and Janice Hancock, friends that now live in Camarillo, just five minutes away.  They are a power team, and helped us unload our PODS.  By the weekend, we were just unpacking boxes and cleaning things up.

We continue to be amazed at how all the pieces fit together here. 

On Saturday, I met Luis.  He had seen me paint over the tag on our big flat fence facing the main street (aka excellent tagging surface).  He rode up on his bike and pointed at it and said "You numero one!"  His English is slightly better than my Spanish.  He pointed across the street to his house; "mi casa."  We exchanged names and he rode on his way; I can tell we'll be friends.

Yesterday I met another neighbor, David, and we talked in the street for quite a while.  He and his wife are living with their 80 year-old father to help out.  Their dad likes to sit on the porch and drink too much beer.  It's probably too late to break that habit!

We walked the neighborhood last night and were ignored by some and greeted by others.  This morning,  a neighbor out for a walk brought in our garbage cans as we watched sheepishly from our window.  We'll meet her later.

So, we're settling in and excited to see what happens on Magnolia Avenue!  By the way, I put my own tag up on the fence.