Overheard in our House

Last night when I was putting Jonah to bed he said something about how awesome it would be if we had a bunch of money and we could buy a mansion.  I told him that I actually would not want to live in a mansion because it would be more than we needed.  I said that I'd rather give all the extra money away to someone else who needed it.  That got him thinking and suddenly he became an amazing visionary with a plan for the future.  It went something like this....

I'm going to be in a rock band, called Peace.  The lyrics will all be appropriate and positive.  With all of the money that I earn from Peace, I am going to start a home for homeless people called Peace House.  It will be right next door to our house so when people want to come and stay at Peace House, they'll come over to our house to get the keys.  Peace House will have some really big rooms upstairs that have lots and lots of beds in there.  There will also be a kitchen (with lots of food), a dining room, and a room for a TV.  If any kids come to Peace House they will stay in a room just for kids so that they can make friends.  That room will have lots of toys in it.  We should put all of our toy cars in that room because we don't play with those anymore.  When people come to Peace House, we will give them $100 per week for the first three weeks to help them out while they look for a job.  Then, after that, they'll have to pay $1.00 per week to stay there.  Hopefully they will have a job when they leave and won't need to stay at Peace House anymore.

What do you think of Jonah's plan?  Sounds like a kingdom playground to me!  

Unrelated to that, this afternoon, Nicolas and Riley told me what they are going to do when they grow up.  I loved that their future included one another.  Those boys have a pretty spectacular bond.  I hope it never goes away.   

First, we are going to go to Hawaii to hang out on the beach (and in the hotel).
Then, we are going to go to Colorado to practice snowboarding for the Olympics.
Next, we are going to go to Nevada so we can visit Jalon (a kid who was in their class last year and moved).
Then, we are going to go to St. Louis to play on the St. Louis Cardinals for one year.
Then, we'll go to Chicago and practice snowboarding some more.
Then, we'll compete at the Olympics in snowboarding.  If we don't win a medal, we'll practice some more and try again at the next Olympics.
If we do win a medal, we'll move to where Notch lives (the guy who started Minecraft) and we will be video game nerds for a long time.
When we are old, we'll watch football and baseball and movies until we die.     

The Ultimate Kingdom Playground

Last week's Oasis Games at The GreenHouse were well...amazing.  In my ten years of doing ministry in this community, they were perhaps the most exciting project I've ever been a part of.

I've tried several times to sit down and write about the week and all that occurred but I'm finding it very hard to encapsulate all that transpired.

Rather than torturing my tired brain and trying to put my thoughts into cohesive sentences, I thought I'd just write some words that represent what the week was like for us at The GreenHouse.

Kingdom Playground

Justice

Empowerment

Relationships

Collaboration

Reconciliation

Bottom-up Leadership

Listening to the Community

Redistribution

Dreams Coming True
Fast, Fun, and Free

Miracles

Respect
Hard-Work
Dancing
Generosity
Faith
Hope
Love

Model for Future Partnerships
Opportunities to Share my Faith

There is so much more I could say.  The week was SO much more than just that one week.  It was a dream ONE-YEAR in the making and new friendships (with Waldorf) SIX-MONTHS in the making. 

So many times, groups (churches, organizations) want to come to The GreenHouse for a one-day event and then be gone.  Those experiences are terrific for the group doing the project, but they are typically more event-focused than relationship-focused and they are not always what's best of the community.  This was so much different than that.  The Waldorf teachers and students got it.  They loved, listened, respected, and befriended our community so well.  Our friendship with them has just begun.  They can't wait to come back (in fact, they are coming back next week to debrief!).  They have been radically impacted (as have we). 
     
This guy here was the hero last week.  Chopping down trees, building fences, painting murals, calling all the shots.  Truly remarkable.  Can't thank God enough for putting him in my life.  

For those who missed the media coverage we got, here are a few links.  Always fun to get some press, especially for the youth!

A news clip about the project on KCRA-3.

A Sacramento Bee article about the project.
The Sacramento Bee photo gallery.
Facebook photo page

Yes, that's Jonah in the Sac Bee photo gallery "looking for lava" in the hole he dug.  No, he's not a first grader at Sacramento Waldorf, like the caption says! 

You can also check out the Oasis Games 2012 facebook group to read some of the cool comments that both GreenHouse and Waldorf students have written about the experience.  And while you're at it, "Like" The GreenHouse's page! (Yes, I'm a facebooker now). 

 

One last link...The GreenHouse newsletter that went out today with a brief summary of last week:  http://ymlp.com/z5etEX

Education is on the Brain

What kind of crazy people intentionally put their high-performing, spirited child in an under-performing, Title 1 school with very traditional teaching methods and very few resources?

We do!

Yes, it's our neighborhood school so getting there is very convenient for us.  But we know that we have other options.  Thanks to the internet, we can easily find out which schools in our area have higher API scores or better ratings on GreatSchools.org.  We even know which schools in Sacramento would be a better fit for his gifts and temperament.  And yet, we've chosen to put our son in our neighborhood school (at least, for now).  

Why on earth would we do that?  Shouldn't we find the "best" school around and make sure he has access to every opportunity available to him?  (In fact, one of his teachers last year hinted that's just what we should do.) 

Well, for whatever reason, I sometimes go against the flow.  (Good thing I married an against-the-flow kind of guy!)  While I know that conventional wisdom tells me to put him in the charter school on the other side of town, I can't help but wonder what's to become of the other 600 students at his school.  Who is going to stay and fight for them?  Who is going to help bring resources from where they are in excess to where they are lacking? 

Idealism?  Dreaming?  Faith?  Calling?  Maybe a little bit of each. 

For the most part it's been a really positive experience. 

• I love that Jonah goes to school with our neighbors and we can't walk up or down any of the halls without seeing one of them and saying hello. 
• I love that he is a minority at the school (only 8% of the students are White).  This gives him an amazing opportunity to make friends with children from different cultures and backgrounds.  (Also...really good for me to be a minority and to experience some of what that feels like).  
• And I love the teachers at the school who are completely heroic in my book.

But, there are also things that have caused me a whole lot of angst over the past two years. 

• I really don't like the lack of strong leadership.  How can we be an excellent school without a strong vision and a plan to carry it out?  
• I really don't like the lack of parent empowerment.  Part of this is because I know too much. I've been trained in Asset-Based Community Development and I've seen it work in powerful ways.  So it kills my soul to see many talented and gifted parents who, I believe, want to be involved, but don't feel empowered to offer their gifts, skills, and talents to the school.  (For example, at the "Parent-Admin Chats," why is the principal leading the meeting and doing all of the talking?).  
• Finally, I really don't like that the kids do a whole lot of boring worksheets, which are taught to the "middle" of the class, rather than creative writing, art, and science.    

So, where does that leave us?  Most days, it's fine.  The truth is, Jonah loves school and is happy as a clam.  He has a terrific teacher and a bunch of friends and he loves the last part of the day when his teacher reads them the Junie B. Jones series.  So, as long as he's happy, I'm happy.

But as I mentioned in my last post, last week was a really hard week - and frustrations with the school were a big part of that.  I felt utterly powerless and that led me to want to control things.  My mind started reeling, attempting to "fix" the entire broken system - in my own strength.  That didn't go over so well.   When I finally realized that I could not physically handle the pressure of "saving the world," it was too late and I'd already become a big stress ball with a leaky eye.  Thankfully, God reminded me of who He is and who I am not.  

In the midst of all of this thinking about education and school this past week, I saw this video on another blog.  Please take a minute to watch it - and then let me know what you think!

 

My favorite line from the video: "We should be waking them up to what they have inside of themselves."  Amen!  I couldn't agree more. 

Also, I don't think I've mentioned here that Steve is doing an (unpaid) internship at StudentsFirst.  It's been a really positive experience and we are so grateful that he has a stimulating place to go everyday to work on meaningful projects and meet new people (while he continues to look for a job).  It's so interesting to have him on the front lines of education reform, something that's been a passion of mine for so long.  We've been having lots of interesting discussions lately.  Education has definitely been on our brains. 

Every Thirty Minutes

I read this passage a few weeks ago in Just Courage, by Gary Haugen.  It keeps popping back into my mind, which is usually what happens when I'm challenged by something and wrestling with how to apply it to my life. 

"How do we find that abundant heroic life for which we were made?  How do we enter in to God's kingdom now and experience the authentic power and presence of God? 

We do it in weakness, and we are comfortable with (and even boasting in) our weakness because we actually believe that our heavenly Father is both all-loving and all-powerful - and that all is well as long as we are with the One who neither leaves us nor forsakes us. 

Accordingly, I can take my gifts and passions and training and strengths beyond the places of safety and control, and into the sphere of the kingdom where I actually need God.

Perhaps the first indicator that I am approaching such a place will be seen in my life of prayer.  Mother Theresa said that she couldn't imagine doing her work for more than thirty minutes without prayer.  Do you and I have work that we can't imagine doing for thirty minutes without prayer?

If not, perhaps we need a new life's work.  Or perhaps we need to do an old life's work in a new way.

I won't need to be in prayer every thirty minutes in my work if I don't really need God's power to get it done, or if it's work that God doesn't really need done because it has nothing to do with his kingdom."

As I prepare to re-enter the "real world" I'm treading cautiously...hoping that I don't resort to my comfortable, frenzied, I-don't-need-You-because-I-can-do-it-all-if-I-hold-the-reigns-tightly enough ways. It sure would be nice if I could slow down enough to remember - on a daily basis - where and in Whom abundant life is found. I can only imagine how exciting that abundant life would be and where it would lead. I know it would be marked by courage, perseverence, fighting for justice and the cause of the oppressed, filled with love and mercy for those who are different from me, and yet completely peace-filled because of its humble submission to the One who can use me mightily despite my weaknesses.

CCDA Conference

I'm looking forward to going to the Christian Community Development Association Institute this weekend in Oakland.  Anyone want to join me at the Saturday class?  Click here for more details.  Oakland peeps...anyone free?

Brave or Safe?

I read this sermon today, after seeing it on another blog that I follow.  It gave me a lot to think about so I thought I'd share it here.  Give it a read when have a moment - it's challenging and even has some great practical applications. 

Putting a Face to a Debate - Part 2

So, to finish up the previous post....how does Jonah's story relate to the health-care reform debate?

1. "Pre-existing conditions:"  Since Jonah has a "pre-existing condition" we can't just go out and buy him an individual plan.  He would be denied, or he would be offered a plan at a ridiculously high rate that no one could afford.  Our only option is to get him on a group plan, which can be very tricky when his mom works part-time for a nonprofit and his dad is in law school full time (no group plans here!).  Thankfully, Steve's fantastic employeer (who he works part-time for while he is in school) recently agreed to get a group plan on our behalf and let us pay for it (and he is even paying for part of Steve's coverage).  So, Steve and the 3 boys are on that plan.  I'm on a "cheaper" individual plan.  But, gosh...it sure would be nice if Jonah had the same access to individual plans as everyone else so we didn't have to stress about that so much.  And, it would be better still if any of the plans out there were actually affordable.  Which brings us to #2....

2. Crazy out-of-pocket expenses.  Last year we spent $15,000 on health care expenses for our family of five.  Most of that was our monthly premiums to the insurance company, just to have coverage. But a good portion of it was from the co-pays that we paid each month ($300 per month) for Jonah's medication.  A smaller portion was from co-pays for office visits.   We might as well have a second mortgage with the amount of money we spend each month on health care costs!  We make too much money to qualify for any of the assistance programs, but we don't make enough to afford the premiums we currently have.  So...it would be nice to have an affordable option for those times in your life that you need it, so you aren't going in debt because of health care costs. 

3.  "Prior authorizations:"  A prior authorization is an extra step that insurance companies require before they decide if they will pay for certain medicines.  Jonah's medication requires a prior authorization because it is very expensive and insurance companies do not like to pay for it.  Unfortunately, these prior authorizations can take a very long time, creating gaps in treatment like the one we just had when we changed insurance companies.  It would be nice if this process could somehow be streamlined to prevent gaps in treatment.  And, it would be fabulous if doctors were making the decisions on what a patient needs, rather than someone at a desk in an insurance office who is looking at a checklist (and not physically seeing the patient).

From what I heard on the news today, it sounds as if change is on its way.  Hopefully some of these issues will be addressed and maybe even alleviated?  At this point, we're willing to try anything!

Kingdom Playgrounds

Well, I’m taking the leap and joining the millions of others who are blogging these days. My friend DeAnna tried to get me to start a blog a year-and-a-half ago, and I think I’m finally ready…so here we go! No guarantees that I’ll actually be able to post with any kind of regularity, but I’ll give it my best shot.

So, what’s with the name: Kingdom Playgrounds? The term is not my own. I stole it from Robert Lupton, author of “Theirs is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America.” We read a chapter out of this book each month at our GreenHouse Board meetings and it never fails to challenge, encourage, and inspire me. A few months ago, we read the chapter called “Kingdom Playgrounds.” It so clearly expressed the recent longings and desires of my heart that I think I giggled out loud as Rose was reading it to us that night.

Below is the chapter. It’s a bit long for computer screen reading, but it’s worth a read when you have a quiet moment.

“There they sit, row after row of remarkably gifted grown-ups. Dressed in proper Sunday attire, they are waiting. Waiting for the minister to step to the microphone with words to ignite them. Hoping that this Sunday he will challenge them to more than a capital funds campaign for the new family life center. They wait, these talented ones, for words to stir them, to drive them from their comfort to challenges worthy of their best. Perhaps today they will hear the call to tasks of greater significance than their own personal success or the growth of their church.

An architect, a CPA, a surgeon, and seven other professionals file down the center aisle. They bow for prayer, then dutifully fan out with offering plates to collect a cut of the profits from the marketplace. With the exception of a CEO from an international trade organization who reads the morning scripture, ushering is the most noticeable role that lay leaders fill.

Less visible are the real estate developers, insurance brokers, and educators who serve on church committees. But there they sit, a people with the nature and the gifts of the Divine, fully equipped with every skill and ability necessary to tackle the complex problems of the world. Although domesticated by their culture, they long for the courage to throw off the obligations of consumerism and spend themselves for the God who has called them.

Outside the stained glass windows, beyond the parking lot, toward the skyline where most of the gifted ones make their living, there is a place that churns with the challenges of eternity. It is the burgeoning center into which the peoples and perplexities of our shrinking globe pour. A place filled with adventure and intrigue, it calls out for the full investment of every gift entrusted to God’s chosen ones. It is the city.

Amidst the chaos of its crowds and the ominous power of its structures, there exists small, nearly invisible pockets of vigorous, healthy growth. In old storefronts and empty warehouses of decaying communities, gifted ones are finding each other. Called from different places by the same voice, they are joining hands and hearts to take on the overwhelming problems of the city. In the process they are creating kingdom playgrounds.

Strange things happen in kingdom playgrounds. Adults become children and learn to play again. They bring their best tools and talents (the toys of the kingdom) and dream together. They invent ingenious methods to feed and clothe the poor, methods that enhance rather than destroy. They create new economies in destitute neighborhoods, and build homes and businesses and hope where despair has reigned.

In these kingdom playgrounds, impossibilities become probabilities and visions become reality. Here children discover the secrets of how kingdom magic really works.

In kingdom playgrounds, God’s children play with great intensity. At times they may grow weary, but they are never bored. They learn that their gifts, which they once thought were useful only for making money in the marketplace, are actually the exact abilities needed to work in God’s kingdom. In these unlikely places, God’s children discover that the serious work of eternity is simply the joyful employment of the talents they desire most to express.

The gifted ones are standing up now. Doctrine has been masterfully restated, the large Bible on the pulpit has been closed, a proper benediction pronounced. The one-hundred-member choir sings an impeccably harmonious AMEN and all the responsible, gifted adults file out. They return once again to their adult obligations, not knowing that they were never created to be adults anyway: “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 18:3)”

For me, my kingdom playgrounds are The GreenHouse, my family, the families on my street, and my friends. I look forward to sharing more about those areas of my life with you on this blog!
What about you? What are your kingdom playgrounds? For the countless hundreds who have made The GreenHouse their kingdom playground over the last 8 years, it’s been such a JOY, honor, and privilege to “play” with you! I can’t wait to see what we can dream up together in the future.