Uphill idealist

Here written is a parable I wrote a few years ago based on the parable of the Prodigal Son. This is an updated version (originally posted in 2007) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I remember the day that Mr. G's youngest son left to make a life for himself away from the family farm. Our family had worked for Mr. G even before I was born, so my memories of him and his two boys farming together were an extension of my own family life. I honestly can't remember Mr. G's boys not being a part of my life. Every morning, it was my job to collect water from the well for morning household chores. As I carefully carried gallons of fresh water in the bucket upon my head, Mr. G would smile and greet me saying, "Here you go. “, and place a fresh-plucked flower from his own flower bed behind my ear.” A daisy for my day-star!” he would say on his way out to do his work. Mr. G had planted many different wild flowers in his f...

So once upon a time, there was this kid who thought nothing they did was right, mattered or did anything but cause problems. This kid was sometimes called a boat rocker. It's not like this kid, we'll call him Joe, ran the streets or anything. It's just that 'Joe' always had a question, thought about things in ways others didn't, and had a hard time with algebra. These differences were just enough to place Joe in that space of being, or thinking he was an outsider. There was a time in Joe's family that was really difficult. His sister had died after a long illness and had left the family numb and grieving. His sister was a great person. She was always kind, never a challenge and even though she had trouble with math too - she was so genuinely good, most people never noticed. Months had passed after his sister's death, and Joe came to the point in his grief that he wondered why he, the boat-rocker, had not been the one to be taken. Since his sister's d...

Airbrushed Mural image by Pamela Shanteau Several years ago, I took a group of students to Ohio for a weekend retreat event. It was a large event in a stadium-like atmosphere with lots of bands, speakers, students and very little sleep. If you've ever been on a weekend trip with a bunch of teens, these conditions are par for the course in youth work. On trips like this, you drive a maxi van for what seems to be the entire distance of the US and back and your diet intake is in the categories of candy, pizza and caffeine. The one thing that is always unpredictable, besides the students, is the weather. By the late afternoon on Saturday, the upcoming weather reports were calling for a storm advisory of rain to sleet and eventually to snow. On this particular trip, we'd have to drive back through areas that are infamous in snow belt country. We needed to think of a plan B. Our group held a quick meeting and I let them know the concerns I had about the weather and was surprised to h...

Photo found at Christine P. Newma n. On the return to school in the fall, teachers will often ask students to write an essay on "What I did this summer." Students will have stories from vacations, summer camp, concert festivals and maybe a trip to Grandmas house. Even when I was in school, I used to look forward to this chance to tell my teacher and peers what I'd been up to over the summer. Taking a moment to look what we've been doing can help to indicate where we are headed in the future. This last weekend, I took some time to read Donald Miller's newest book, " A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." In this book, "Miller chronicles a rare opportunity to edit his life into a great story, to reinvent himself so nobody shrugs their shoulders when the credits roll."(Back dust cover,Million Miles by Donald Miller) While reading Donald's book filled with his own adventures of life editing, I began to ask myself this question, "If I were ...

Last weekend, I came across an article in Neue magazine about the I am Second movement. I am second is a more than a series of videos and a website. I am second is an effort for a vast group of people to tell their stories about their journey with G-d. In addition to the stories, people are invited to join in gatherings within their communities to help continue to grow in their faith. Seems like a very cool idea: Faith, people, their stories, G-d, and the opportunity to plug into a tangible community where you live. Nice.

There is a revival of an old teaching method and it is being picked up by youth ministries nationwide. It is the process and practice of storytelling scripture. I had the opportunity to sit on on an example of this teaching method last Saturday at the YS One Day training I attended in Hamburg, NY at the Hub . We listened to the account of Creation and had the time to really focus on what depth the story held. At the end of the listening, we reviewed the story, and then broke up into small groups to discuss different aspects of the story. So often in ministry, discussions and learning can feel rushed and hurried. This approach did not, in fact all this week I've found my mind wandering back to the story of Creation and I'm caught up in my imagination with the activity and wonder of it. What if storytelling could help spark not only my imagination, but that of the students I work with each week? Echo the Story offers a web-site full of free resources: downloads of story lessons...

Jedidiah Community , a creative clothing company that gives a percentage of their profits directly to mission and social justice efforts worldwide, has been holding a storytelling campaign that gives voice to the principals of hope, love and sincere community. The following video was a story that won the campaign and has been translated into a t-shirt design that is available for purchase here . 20% of the profits of this shirt will go directly back to the mission and help the people from this story. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve. :) Jedidiah Community: Erin Lyde from Jedidiah Clothing on Vimeo .