Were you in the tiger suit, the adult Raggedy Ann costume, or the big black cape??
Once again the Horizons community had a blast at its annual Trunk 'r Treat party! Adults and kids fully costumed, with elaborately decked out trunks handed out candy to well over 600 kids. Including accompanying adults, Horizons served over 1,000 of Lincoln, offering a fun, safe, and thrilling evening of fall festivities.
BUT Trunk 'r Treat is not really even about the candy and the costumes or the church giving it out for free.
It's so much more! This is where people who may be largely unfamiliar with church get to be face-to-face with those who LOVE church and Jesus who gave His life to breathe it into existence. It's not about dutifully filling a spot in the parking lot for the success of the event. It's about letting the joy and the gratitude we have for life wrap us together as a church dressed up in the oddest combinations of costumes. And it's about letting that joy and gratitude we have because we have been given real life flow out of us in the shape of love that others can see. It's about showing others that we all can be okay in the arms of Jesus, even when really hard things happen.
It's about sharing our broken but lively-beating hearts with a community of broken hearts yearning to beat with life again.
Trunk 'r Treat is for the name of Jesus! Did you miss this year's event? Don't miss your next opportunity to join in.
More to Come!
Jason <><
Monday, October 28, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Bigger Ears!
They say that a person's facial effects, specifically the nose and ears, never stop growing over a person's lifetime. What a bizarre set up. Why just those things? Why do they need to keep growing at all? I suppose if anything has to keep growing, it's better that just a couple things do rather than the whole head. But it really doesn't make much sense.
I'm sure more than a few might be wondering why on a Monday morning, the thought of ears and noses is first on my mind. There's a good reason.
I'm reading Isaiah currently, and today I landed on one of my favorite verses: Isaiah 30:20-21. Leading up to this verse are many instances of God intervening in the lives of the wayward peoples and nations. There is much said of the destruction and discipline that God chooses to deploy in his anger. From this we have to imagine there is a great deal of panic and fear in the hearts of those as they witnessed all this destruction.
But this what God says in the midst of it to bring peace to the faithful: "Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'"
I know that I can hear that voice fairly clearly already, but I cannot express how eagerly I desire to hear it even clearer, with even greater frequency. This is my constant prayer.
So if it means that my ears need to grow a little larger in order to hear God's voice speaking in through the chaos, let them grow... Let them grow! Here's to bigger ears!
More to come!
Jason <><
I'm sure more than a few might be wondering why on a Monday morning, the thought of ears and noses is first on my mind. There's a good reason.
I'm reading Isaiah currently, and today I landed on one of my favorite verses: Isaiah 30:20-21. Leading up to this verse are many instances of God intervening in the lives of the wayward peoples and nations. There is much said of the destruction and discipline that God chooses to deploy in his anger. From this we have to imagine there is a great deal of panic and fear in the hearts of those as they witnessed all this destruction.
But this what God says in the midst of it to bring peace to the faithful: "Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'"
I know that I can hear that voice fairly clearly already, but I cannot express how eagerly I desire to hear it even clearer, with even greater frequency. This is my constant prayer.
So if it means that my ears need to grow a little larger in order to hear God's voice speaking in through the chaos, let them grow... Let them grow! Here's to bigger ears!
More to come!
Jason <><
Monday, October 14, 2013
3 Lessons from the Spartan Race
Most of Saturday was spent covered in mud, running, and celebrating with friends. A question many ask is "Why would anyone really want to spend a lot of money running through mud and barbed wire, just for the fun of it??"
Good question! It was worth it; here's why and what I learned:
Good question! It was worth it; here's why and what I learned:
- I'm Not as Strong as I Think:
Sure, everyone standing at the starting line believes they're truly Spartan-Tough enough to conquer the race. We all imagine we'll breeze through the obstacles if we have the right "go-getter" attitude. But as I approached my first set of slippery monkey bars, or my first 300 lbs tire to flip, or the 20 ft rope to climb, I realized I was not nearly as tough as I thought. It's good to be reminded of our limits and the need to ask for help--especially when it comes to tires... - I'm Stronger than I Think:
And in the same token, everyone is secretly standing at the starting line wondering if they'll have what it takes to make it through even the first obstacle. Sometimes in life, leadership, love, and other challenges of the heart (including Spartan races), we can actually benefit from no longer thinking about the challenges and festering over the worries, and simply just do it. I had no idea I could climb that rope until I rang the bell, or that I could do many of the other things until I just jumped in and did them. I think most people, even after just finishing the race in general, learned that they are stronger than they first thought--in the race and in life! - Getting Messy May Be the Best Way:
I think the goal for many at the race, as well as in life, was to get through the course without getting too muddy, or without fully submersing in the mud. That's admirable, but sometimes, our efforts to stay neat and clean in the midst of life means we also keep from getting fully into situations that can teach us much, give us life experiences, and that can reach to the depths of our protected hearts. After a few cool dips in shoulder-high mud pits, I figured that getting messy was part of the day. And so I did--to the point that mud continued to ooze out of my eyes hours after the race. And today, I'm reminded that getting messy in the rest of life might also be the best approach.
Of course there are other lessons to learn from this, but these were the first that came to mind. Here's to life and living in ways that help us simply enjoy being alive!
More to come!
Jason <><
Monday, October 7, 2013
Littlest Fish in the Sea
I went fishing this weekend, and it changed my life.
When I was a kid, my dad literally fished the love for fishing out of me. We'd spend 9 hours of hot summer days in a boat with no sun cover, in a lake with no fish (seemingly). We'd agonize over the "catchless" day until my dad would finally reel in the lines and agree to get out the skis. Water skiing was much more my idea. I could do that for 9 hours any day!
And so, on these long days in the boat, the stage was set for my responses to my father's unending invitations to go fishing over the years: "No thanks Dad. But we could do something else!"
As my years have begun to go by, and as I move fully into my vocation, my own family, and my own household, I see my world around me constantly building speed and intensity. I once believed the faster and more intense, the better. But more recently, the idea of sitting in one place with little to do or watch, accomplish, or overcome sounds more inviting than ever. Somewhere along this realization, the idea of fishing came into my mind. To spend a day fishing, sitting by the water, rubbing worm guts on my jeans, hoping for hours to feel a tug on the line and sharing lazy conversations with my dad began to sound more like a dream come true.
To my dad's surprise, one day mid-summer of this year, I called him up and said that we needed to schedule a fishing trip. "Really??" he asked. "What do you want to do?" I told him my dream. Although still a little confused, my dad quickly started making plans.
It took a while to make the day happen, but finally we went fishing. It's late in the season to be fishing, and without a boat, we were told not to get our hopes too high. We were the only fishermen on Branched Oak for most of this last Friday. It was windy and a little cold. But my dad and I were kings of the world for a day! AND we caught tons of fish!! Some of them (most of them) were bait-sized, but most all of them, especially the bigger ones, put up good fights.
It was a beautiful day. We talked, laughed, got lures stuck on invisible, underwater debris, forgot to eat lunch, and got worm guts all over our jeans. It was perfect, and it offset the trajectory of my life just enough.
Sometimes it's the littlest fish that matters the most--even if that little fish is a day at a windy lake catching throw-backs with your dad.
My recommendation--take some time to do the things you would otherwise look back and regret not doing.
More to come!
Jason <><
When I was a kid, my dad literally fished the love for fishing out of me. We'd spend 9 hours of hot summer days in a boat with no sun cover, in a lake with no fish (seemingly). We'd agonize over the "catchless" day until my dad would finally reel in the lines and agree to get out the skis. Water skiing was much more my idea. I could do that for 9 hours any day!
And so, on these long days in the boat, the stage was set for my responses to my father's unending invitations to go fishing over the years: "No thanks Dad. But we could do something else!"
As my years have begun to go by, and as I move fully into my vocation, my own family, and my own household, I see my world around me constantly building speed and intensity. I once believed the faster and more intense, the better. But more recently, the idea of sitting in one place with little to do or watch, accomplish, or overcome sounds more inviting than ever. Somewhere along this realization, the idea of fishing came into my mind. To spend a day fishing, sitting by the water, rubbing worm guts on my jeans, hoping for hours to feel a tug on the line and sharing lazy conversations with my dad began to sound more like a dream come true.
To my dad's surprise, one day mid-summer of this year, I called him up and said that we needed to schedule a fishing trip. "Really??" he asked. "What do you want to do?" I told him my dream. Although still a little confused, my dad quickly started making plans.
It took a while to make the day happen, but finally we went fishing. It's late in the season to be fishing, and without a boat, we were told not to get our hopes too high. We were the only fishermen on Branched Oak for most of this last Friday. It was windy and a little cold. But my dad and I were kings of the world for a day! AND we caught tons of fish!! Some of them (most of them) were bait-sized, but most all of them, especially the bigger ones, put up good fights.
It was a beautiful day. We talked, laughed, got lures stuck on invisible, underwater debris, forgot to eat lunch, and got worm guts all over our jeans. It was perfect, and it offset the trajectory of my life just enough.
Sometimes it's the littlest fish that matters the most--even if that little fish is a day at a windy lake catching throw-backs with your dad.
My recommendation--take some time to do the things you would otherwise look back and regret not doing.
More to come!
Jason <><
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