I couldn’t resist sharing the the world this guy my buddy Zach and I ran into while hiking a local Mesa trail. Note the gardener’s gloves, the baseball cleats, and the old cut-up t-shirt headband. Imagine a wealth of local hiking knowledge shared by a hard-to-understand German (I think) accent. Good stuff.
My buddy Shawn scored 4 tickets to the DBacks home opener tonight from a radio contest (I guess there are actual winners to those things!). What makes him my buddy is that he invited me as one his guests. Here’s a view from our seats. And the diamondbacks didn’t really show up they lost to the Rockies. Oh well maybe next year….or the year after that…or the….
I just learned via the East Valley Tribune (our local paper) that Margie Frost, a local pioneer for the underpriviledged and disenfranchised in the East Valley, died today.?Ǭ†Margie was a local hero of mine who fought for the rights and needs of the homeless and was the founder and director of the East Valley Men’s Center – a redemptive shelter for homeless men who wanted to get back on their feet.?Ǭ†Marge served the needs of the poor and homeless for the past 35 years in various capacities.?Ǭ†I had the pleasure of meeting Margie a few months back and had the even bigger pleaseure of getting a hug from this sweet woman. Here is the articleabout her passing:
For those of who interested in how the HIV/AIDS documentary screening we hosted last week went, check out my post on www.therevolutionarylife.com for details. To follow future efforts, check out www.getamission.com/Blog.
Thanks for your interest!
Six months ago I left the regular salary, the decent benefits, and the job security of a church staff position and exchanged it in for a whole different way of life. Currently, my family and I raise financial support for the role we/I play of church planter/missionary/missional architect.
The change has been a challenge so far. I am not used to constantly having to convince potential supporters that what we are doing is worth their investment. I don’t dislike casting vision to these might-be partners, in fact it like doing it. It’s a privilege to involve others in something that is unique and even pioneering, especially when it could have an impact on countless others.
The part that is difficult is getting people to understand is that the single greatest thing that their money provides for me toward what we are trying to accomplish is availability. Their support enables us to be available for impromptu conversations with neighbors. It allows me to work a part-time job that doesn’t come close to paying the bills, but is a great relationship builder. It allows Kelli and the kids to be regularly involved in a moms/kids play group. It allows us to be free for lunches to network, to get to know people better, and to have meet with others. It has allowed us to be available for hurting friends & family members, work shifts for people in need, and be ready to care for those that we share life with.
For those in our field, relational availability is vital.
It is hard for me at times not to feel guilty about this. Friends and family members entrust us with a share of their finances so that we can be available. I know it is an issue of pride for me to question the value of availability, but nevertheless it has caused to do some serious thinking about the concept and value of availability when it comes to relationships.
As I have poured over this question of availability, I have found myself valueing availability in all types of relationships I have – my wife (am I available to listen, to help, to care, to pursue, to romanticize, to share deepest secrets/fears/dreams?), my kids (am I available to play, to be there, to laugh, to teach them, to feed & change them?), my parents & family (am I available to talk, to share life, to respect, to enjoy, and to learn?), my friends, (am I available to talk to, to share frustrations with, to dream with, to cry with, to have a drink with?), my neighbors (am I available to help with yardwork, to listen to stories, to sense needs, to pray for them, to have dinner, to talk on the front porch?), my coworkers (am I available to listen, to laugh with, to complain with, to joke about, to work hard for, to fill in for?)
I think availability is a (maybe THE) key of any good relationship.
My hope is that you would share in this thought with me. What do you think about the concept of availability? Is it as important as I am making it, or am I missing the boat? How do you create space for relationship – thus being available?
I am excited to hear your thoughts and experiences!
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Last night was a night that us Phoenicians have been anticipating for 66 games. Amare Stoudamire returned to the floor after having surgeru on his knee before the start of the season. There was speculation here in Phoneix that perhaps he wasn’t ready and that he might not return in time for the playoffs. I guess that was all BS. Stoudamire had 20pts and 9 rebounds in just 19 minutes last night in his return. Just in time to too to make a run for a championship – it might actually happen this year. As Kellen likes to yell at any basketball game on tv, suns or not, nba or college, “Go Suns!”
So Starbucks and Ethos water (Starbuck’s owned bottled water) is supposed to be a major partner in world water day. I work at Starbucks and worked today – not one mention of World Water Day. At least other than my mentions of the special cause. I did sell one bottle of Ethos water to an unsuspecting individual who knew nothing of WWD. My manager on duty didn’t even have a clue about what WWD was really all about. It’s a bummer when you have high expectations for something that really matters and it gets lost somewhere in the busyness of making coffee. Once again Starbucks’ value for “recognizing that profitibility is essential to our future success” wins again.
Wednesday, March 22nd is World Water Day. WWD is an effort to bring awareness to the reality that over 1 billion people in the world (20% of the world’s population) lack accessto safe drinking water.
Check out the offical WWD 2006 website here.
A Closer Walk
Greetings,
You’ve been invited to a free screening of the movie “A Closer Walk” at 7:00pm on Thursday, March 30th at Pollack Tempe Cinemas.
“A Closer Walk” is a movie directed by Robert Bilheimer, who is an academy award nominated documentary film maker. This particular film of his chronicles our global community’s struggle with HIV/AIDS throughout the history of the disease and into the present day. As the film’s website states, “A Closer Walk is the first film to depict humankind’s confrontation with the global AIDS epidemic,” and it does so in a powerful and heartbreaking manner.
Our hope is that you come and learn about how HIV/AIDS is impacting millions upon millions of people throughout our global community. Also, we hope that this film might help compel all of us who are a part of this event to step into this issue with a heart of service and justice.
Click here to view a trailer for “A Closer Walk”. We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Justin and Erin Narducci,
Zack and Kelli Newsome,
David and Jamie Mulhern,
Brandon and Andrea Willey,
& Zach and Holly Lind
