Makeovers

The Today Show chooses a somewhat ordinary-looking woman who is sent off to another room and, a little later on the same two-hour show, is brought back with a whole new look: hairdo, makeup, clothes, and accessories.

Time magazine features an article describing the television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It tells the story of Alive Harris of South Central Los Angeles.  She still remembers the day the good people from ABC volunteered to demolish her house.  In 2003, a flood had left the uninsured community activist and her family living in just one bedroom of their destroyed home.  Worst of all, the waters had ruined a stash of Christmas toys Harris had collected for underprivileged children.  Harris said, “I figured no one was going to come to Watts and help us.  No one had ever done that.”  But Extreme Makeover: Home Edition found her.  Its bullhorn-wielding host, Ty Pennington, shipped Harris and her family off for a week’s vacation in Carlsbad, California, while over 100 workers and neighbors tore their home down to the foundation and built a brand new and bigger one.  They replaced the Christmas toys and donated appliances, mattresses, and landscaping to her flood-stricken neighbors.  They even threw in a basketball court for the neighborhood kids.  Now that’s an extreme makeover.

So what does all this have to do with New Years?  Simply this—all of these extreme makeovers have something in common: an outsider comes in with a one-two-three program.  First, the outsider sees the possibilities the recipient couldn’t see.  Second, the outsider does what the recipient couldn’t possibly do. Third, the outsider pays for what the recipient could never afford to pay.

As you face 2015, remember that there’s an amazing God who is in the makeover business.  He’s in the business of transforming your life and mine.  He has a similar three-step program.  

One: He sees possibilities in you and me that we’re not apt to see in ourselves. 
Two: He is able to do for you and me what we simply cannot do for ourselves.  
Three: He’s able to pay the price for what He does.  We can’t afford the price so He paid it for us.  

However, God’s makeover is slightly different in one area.  The reality show makeover is an external job; God’s is an internal job.  He makes you and me a new person from the inside out.

As you face a new year, please, let Him do His work.  He’s really, really good at it.

Bill Crofton

What If Everything Isn't Awesome?

I did the good father thing recently and took my daughter, Autumn, out for a date. She wanted to see The Lego Movie, and I obliged. I was pleasantly surprised with the wit of the film, and it landed at a place I wasn’t expecting. The theme song, “Everything is Awesome,” has a catchy enough dance flavor that it has the kids singing:

   Everything is awesome

   Everything is cool when you're part of a team

   Everything is awesome, when we're living our dream

I like it when everything is awesome, and sometimes it is, but what happens if it isn’t?  What do we do then? When you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, or when your spouse is leaving you, or when you lose your home. Hang your head? Play morose music? Indulge in unhealthy behaviors? At those times when our world seems to be falling apart, we attempt to cope, and we all have different coping mechanisms.  The outlet we choose plays a major role in the way we view and deal with our circumstances. What works for me might not work for you. I often revel in my despair with the saddest music I can play for a time, and somehow this practice can make me feel immensely better afterward. This might not work for you and may even sound strange. But that’s okay, and that’s the point.

Psalms 118:24 states, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” The verb demands action, we will rejoice. It almost appears as if the psalmist is stamping his foot, refusing to be beaten by his circumstances.  Through the good, through the bad, throughout all generations.

I met a World War II veteran recently at Costco. At my prompting, he told me about part of his journey in the Pacific during the war.  HIs stories were sobering, and in one particular situation he spoke of struggling through rain and mud coming up to his knees as he pursued his mission.  But he didn’t dwell on all the negative things that had happened, and he didn't allow the challenges - as gruesome as they were - to define his life. He had such an attitude of joy that I could tell, even though he acknowledged life's trials, what a wonderful life he had lived.

So today, whether everything is awesome or you are in a season of warfare, remember that, though the challenges you face may be completely out of your control, you can choose to come before a God who is able to sustain you.  With the Psalmist, may your strength for the journey be found as you will rejoice and be glad in it.

Richard Hickam

The Wisdom of Maya Angelou

This week I listened to a rebroadcast of NPR’s Diane Rhem Show that revisited an interview with Maya Angelou, who died this week.  As I contemplated what this woman overcame in contrast to the minutiae that I sometimes allow to discourage me, I whispered a prayer asking God to give me just an ounce of the grace to see good, passion to persist, and ability to forgive that this wonderful woman exemplified.

I thought it would be a fitting tribute as well as an inspiration to use this week’s FHC blog to feature just a sampling of the wisdom of Ms. Angelou.

Tami 

"I believe that each of us comes from the creator trailing wisps of glory."

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them."

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back."

"You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive."

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest."

"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope."

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." 

  

"Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option."

"I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life."

"It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody."

"We can learn to see each other and see ourselves in each other and recognize that human beings are more alike than we are unalike."

"If you're always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be."

"The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise and most possible."

"Have enough courage to trust love one more time. And always one more time."

"Nothing will work unless you do."

"If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love."

"The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free."

"Nothing can dim the light which shines from within."

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."

 “Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances."

"While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated."

"My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return."

Talent & Practice by Richard Hickam

I have had a number of discussions with parents lately about getting their child to practice, so I thought I’d write a blog this week on talent and the art of practicing:

I often get told how talented I am and asked “just how many instruments do you play?” People have this idea that I came out of the womb with a guitar in one hand and a saxophone in the other, playing a lovely duet to my mother from birth. The truth of the matter is that every single detail of my musical life has come from practicing. I am borderline obsessed with practicing different instruments all the time.

Lately, I have been reading a great book by Daniel Coyle entitled 52 Tips For Improving Your Skills. The book is filled with clever, quick tips that seem part Stephen Covey and part Stephen Colbert. Mr. Coyle analyzed hot beds of talent throughout the world and looked at common traits from a variety of fields. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Stare at who you want to become - Covey’s keep-the-end-in-mind is a rationale that works to keep the ship heading to its destination.

2.  Spend 15 minutes a day engraving a skill on your brain - If you can spend 15 minutes for 30 consecutive days on a specific small task, you’re on to great things!

3. Steal without apology - The year is 2014; learn from the past . . . from everyone.

4. Buy a notebook- Keep a record of what you are doing . . . in detail.

5. Be willing to be stupid - Taking chances is the only way that great things happen.

As you can tell, it’s a great book that I would highly recommend for yourself or others on the conquest of developing a skill. A few other suggestions that I’ve garnered from my years of teaching:

* Play in a group - Individual practicing only goes so far.  Playing music with friends is one of the greatest conversations in the world.

* Find another adult to encourage your child - Receiving outside encouragement is like compound interest on an investment.

* Having a child-friendly teacher is wonderful, but make sure it’s not all fun and games and that good, sequential learning is taking place. Sometimes honesty is a difficult and necessary companion to growth.

* Perhaps the single biggest component to practicing is taking the time to practice slowly. Most young people love to play fast through everything. If you can isolate a problem and play it 10x correctly, you will be ahead of the game.

What does this have to do with spirituality? Well, think of these tips in regards to Bible study, or memorization, or your prayer life. The art of practicing has many applications.  I challenge you to pick up some of these tips and put them into practice today!

Richard Hickam

Baby, It's Cold Outside! by Chad Hess

It's cold outside!  At least it feels that way to me.  Even though I grew up in Michigan and remember weekends in which the temperature was never above zero, 50 degrees still feels cold to me.

I read an article recently about the way we perceive cold.  Our perception of cold is based on our expectations and our comparison to recent temperatures.  Fifty degrees feels cold to me because it was 80 degrees two days ago.  But if I were coming from anywhere else in the country that has been dealing with ice and snow and literally freezing temperatures, 50 degrees would seem quite warm.  The actual temperature is the same; it's our perception of it that changes.

The same is true when the "cold winds of life" blow our way.  If life has been going well, we can be thrown when trouble comes.  If we subconsciously expect life to go smoothly, that makes the hard times more difficult.  We can sometimes feel betrayed by God—not because he promised smooth sailing (He didn't), but because we weren't expecting things to get rough.  I'm not saying we should pessimistically walk around expecting problems.  Rather, we can know that the winds will blow and the temperature will fluctuate, but we can always be confident of God's presence and praise him for being with us, regardless of the weather.

Chad Hess

Happy New Year! Let Us Feast! by Richard Hickam

If your holiday season was anything like mine, food was involved . . . too much food: food I love, food I crave, food I hate, foods that are strange, and best of all - new foods! The occasions were many: school parties, parties by friends, work parties, church and family gatherings. I know that dieting is on many people’s resolution list, but I say, “Let us feast!” And here is why.

When I hear the word feasting, I think of holidays, wedding receptions, and of course, Renaissance fairs and turkey legs. I was recently reading an article about historic Jewish feasts by Carmine Di Sante, and I learned a few principles that I thought could apply to our modern day feasting as well.

A feast celebrates the positive character of existence. In the face of evil and pain, feasts proclaim the goodness of creation and the freedom to enjoy the world because God made it. It is in this sense that a feast becomes a rejection of the negative of the world around us. Life is full of hardship, poverty, sickness, and death. When we feast, we are renouncing the current state on this planet and celebrating what is to come with our blessed hope.

Feasting is a time for rejoicing and sharing. Deuteronomy 16:14 states, “You shall rejoice in your feast . . . and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns.” Rabbi Elie Munk made this commentary on the passage:

When we eat and drink, it is our duty to provide the necessities for the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, that is, for all who are in need. Those who double-lock their doors and eat only with their own families, without helping the unfortunate, will not experience the joy of the mitzvah (the commandments in the Torah)  but “only the satisfaction given by their meal.”

It seems that the blessing comes when we enjoy the fruits of the earth and then share it with those around us. One is a means of taking, paired with a means of giving. Christ also speaks to us about a wedding feast where we are invited for eternity, and he asks us if we will wear the clothes of his righteousness.

This brings to mind the line from an old hymn, "All Things are Ready," by Charles H. Gabriel, which begins:

“All things are ready,” come to the feast!

Come, for the table now is spread;

Ye famishing, ye weary, come,

And thou shalt be richly fed.

Who will you be feeding this year? Will you accept the invitation to the feast? As we are beginning this new year, and whether you are dieting or not, I say, “Let us feast!”

Richard Hickam