My Christmas Wish for You

Christmas is a season of giving, grace and love. It’s a time for remembering the past and hoping for the future, a time when we take stock of our blessings and reach out to those who have touched our lives. So it is with heartfelt gratitude that I get to thank you, for following my blog, for your unending support, for your friendship.

My foray into becoming a published author has challenged me in ways I never dreamed of and I’ve made some remarkable friends along the way—readers, publishing professionals, fellow authors. My faith is renewed with a sense of purpose. God, and you, have made me brave.

I don’t write because it’s easy. It’s not. I don’t write because it will make me rich or famous. It likely won’t. I write because I have something to say and it’s worth putting myself out there.

So my Christmas wish for you is this…

May you be brave enough to pursue your dreams. It’s ok to be afraid. Being afraid simply means you’re about to embark on something amazing. Take a breath, say a prayer and go for it! Have faith, trust in Him. He will either catch you when you fall or teach you how to soar.

May you have an occupation or a passion that is worthy of you, one that gives you a sense of purpose and fills not only your days but also your whole heart and mind.

May you have courage and the means to fill a need when you see one. Share your blessings, however small and seemingly inconsequential they may be.

May you find healing if you are ill or hurting.

May you be blessed with someone special in your life, a strong marriage, a close friend, someone who makes you feel like the very best version of yourself, the “you” God made you to be.

May you pause when you feel overwhelmed amidst the hustle and bustle and be reminded of all of the good things around you.

And above all, may you remember the reason for the season – God’s unending love. As you celebrate the miracle of this special time of year, may your heart be filled with joy and peace. And may these holiday blessings linger in your home and stay with you always.

I hope I have touched your life this year, that my words have inspired and lifted you up, if even in a small way.

Have you touched anyone lately?

Prayers for America

I have long been a huge fan of American history. From the revolution to the birth of our country, the biographies of the brave men and women who founded our country have always intrigued me. Benjamin Franklin, one of my favorites, introduced the idea of starting each meeting of the constitutional convention with a prayer. And with the frightening precipice our nation is facing with the upcoming election, his words are as needed today as they have ever been.

The Constitutional Convention had been meeting for five weeks, and had hit a perilous deadlock. The large states were insisting that congressional representation be based on population; the smaller states wanted a one-state-one-vote rule. The entire effort to create a stronger union was in jeopardy. Eighty-one-year-old Benjamin Franklin, quiet during most of the deliberations, then addressed the group. According to James Madison's notes, here is what happened next (condensed).

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered.

To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?

…I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages…

I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business…

With little deliberation Franklin’s suggestion for prayer was approved and the convention went on to draft and ratify the Constitution of the United States of America, a four-page (yes, only four pages!) document that to this day defines our democracy.

Ben Franklin and our founding fathers touched thousands with the labors of their hearts and prayers. Their legacy has touched millions.

Have you touched anyone lately?

The Jonathan Effect

As I researched for my newest novel, looking for inspiration for my male lead, an inner-city man with a heart for kids, I came across Detroit native, Mike Tenbusch. I knew I’d found what I was looking for when I saw the man’s Twitter profile, "Helping young people win their battle over poverty through relationships for the greater glory of God."

With a degree from the University of Michigan Law School, Tenbusch could have chosen a more lucrative career path but with a faith-driven need to serve, he’s given his life to improving opportunities for underprivileged urban youth. He says he became a teacher because he wanted to make a difference, and he certainly has.

In a poverty-stricken world where a child’s zip code defines his destiny, where seventy percent of children grow up in a fatherless home, Tenbusch recognized a dire need for community involvement. He’s led the way and his solutions have produced real results. 

As Vice President of United Way, Tenbusch was instrumental in building a partnership between teachers, administrators, and students to restructure Detroit’s education system. Cody was once a failing school. Under Tenbusch’s leadership, the United Way raised money to pay for a restructuring program that divided the school into three focused academies. The goal was to create smaller, more intimate environments, more conducive to creating relationships between teachers, students, and the community. The result was an incredible increase in attendance and graduation rates.

Student Donniqua Alexander summed it up perfectly, “Every student has somebody who cares about them inside of Cody. Period. I don’t care what school you’re in, everybody has that teacher you can go call on or they can always lean on.” 

Working with General Motors’ executives, Tenbusch also showed how businesses could partner with schools, forming personal connections with students. How the caring capital of a community could provide rewards beyond measure.

 While serving on the Detroit Public School Board, Tenbusch helped a charter school district graduate more than ninety percent of its first high school class and led the effort to turnaround the city's most challenged high schools.

Tenbusch’s plans include a simple formula for churches working with schools to provide mentors and role models, mobilizing Christians to love and serve children. He believes the church is the best source to provide the city’s struggling youth with the relational connections that can help them overcome their circumstances.

While Tenbusch’s life work has touched thousands of Detroit youth, it’s a plan that could prove universal. He has a book coming out in November, The Jonathan Effect, that could take his ideas nationwide, global even. I can't wait to read the stories of the lives he's impacted.

Have you touched anyone lately?

God's Greatest Gift

Late August is always a bittersweet time for me.  How is it possible I can be so proud and excited to see my children return to school and yet so inexplicably sad that they’re gone?

The house is quiet. It’s just my husband and me at the dinner table. Even the dog mopes. We miss them.

We’ve spent their whole childhoods worrying, wondering if we’re good parents, if we’re setting a good example and making the right decisions for their future. Now they’re embarking on the path we’ve set for them, and all I can think of is how much I miss the bygone days of their youth.

Those evenings when I would read aloud to them, the three of us snuggled close on the double chaise on the back deck until the crickets sang and darkness settled in. Only then would they agree it was late enough to go to bed.

The nights when they would ask me to cuddle with them in their beds and sing their baby songs until they fell asleep. Some nights I was so tired it was hard to say yes. But I did anyway, knowing that the day would come when they would no longer ask.

The backyard birthday parties, dance recitals, Little League, soccer and hockey games. The tennis matches, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding and swimming. Always so busy.

Now I look out at the lake. The boat sits empty in the lift. The water is smooth and calm. A few ducks float by. A blue heron feeds in the shallows nearby.

Next to my parents and my husband, no one has touched my life like my children and I thank God, every day, for blessing me so richly. My heart aches with the love I feel for them. I am so grateful for all the wonderful memories, the beautiful pictures nestled in my mind, and the warmth of their love that lingers in my heart.

I could not be more proud of the young adults they've become and I could not love them more. They are truly God's greatest gift.

Have you touched anyone lately?

Rockford Ninja Warrior

What happens when a church and a public school system work together? 

Rockford Ninja Warrior is among the largest community-sponsored ninja fitness events in the United States, featuring top competitors from the hit television show American Ninja Warrior.

Like the show, it’s a heart-racing series of obstacles of increasing difficulty, laid out on a course where athletes try to make it through to the end, a gnarly 14-foot warped wall. Second only to the American Ninja Warrior television program course, Rockford Ninja Warrior provides a seriously challenging professional course for competitors.

Created to help support the youth in the community, the event began in 2014 when Brian Pankratz, then a lead elder at Bridgeway Community Church, decided the growing congregation needed a unique way to raise funds for a youth center.  Rockford is a very active, health-conscious community so it was a perfect fit for a kid-focused outreach.

Proceeds from Rockford Ninja Warrior will go toward local youth development programs, including the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and the Rockford Public Schools’ Developing Healthy Kids education series.

The third annual Rockford Ninja Warrior will take place on August 12 and 13 at the old paper mill, future building site of Bridgeway Community Church, at 7700 Childsdale Avenue, in Rockford, Michigan, and is expected to bring over ten thousand adventure seekers.

With a professional adult course and several youth courses, as well as camps for both adults and kids in the weeks leading up to the event, there is something for all ages and levels of ability.  It’s a family-friendly event, with free admission for spectators and free parking. There will also be concessions and merchandise and, of course, some of the top American Ninja Warrior competitors from the show, including Grand Rapids’ own Andrew Karsen, to support the event, compete and offer meet-and-greets.

This event is powered by volunteers and sponsors from across West Michigan. If you’d like to help, check out RockfordNinjaWarrior.com for more information and volunteer links.

Thank you to Brian Pankratz, with his heart for kids, to Bridgeway Community Church and Rockford Public schools, for collaborating to present this inspiring event, and to the plethora of sponsors, and volunteers it takes to pull this thing off each year.

Have you touched anyone lately?