The team that went to Ireland met for a reunion last night. Michael McNamee, missionary to Europe and our Irish host, joined our reunion. Michael oversees Convoy of Hope Europe, church planting, Masters Commission Europe and a prayer team. His passion for the church of Europe is continually forefront on his mind, but he always takes time to salt in good humor.

A group of us paid tribute to Jean Carley, a dear woman who hosted several of our team at her house in Ireland. She died from an aneurism a few weeks after we returned home. The tribute included a simple country western line dance.

With all the unique dancing in Ireland, Jean desired to learn one country western dance. One night without music, a group of us taught her some simple steps. After the lesson, she told us that she would come to America ready to dance at our reunion, but we had to provide the music. It was befitting for us to add music last night to the same steps and dance in honor of Jean.

It was fun getting reacquainted with the team and reminiscing about those terrible (long hours of hard work) wonderful (joyful love filled) days. Smiles filled every face and all had a great time. There were even talks about heading to the Philippines in January to finish building a partially built church or care center.

It didn’t take too long before several of us were talking about returning to Ireland. Michael invited me to join him in Brussels for a time, as he past on greetings from my friends in Belgium. We have definitely become a close-knit family sharing a great ministry of touching other people’s lives.

The best part about helping others and sharing love with them is the vast amounts of love and joy we receive in return. There is no comparison. And, some how we always receive more than we can give out. So to my dear friends in Ireland, blessings to you:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Copyright © 2011 By CJ Powers

I had a great laugh the other day as my running partner shared about how she entered a wheelchair race and took third place. I gave her a peculiar look since her legs were working just fine. Our discussion went on to reveal how the first place woman took a hairpin curve on two wheels, causing onlookers to gasp. There is nothing worse than watching a runaway wheelchair toss it’s victim to the ground.

The second place woman attempted to cheat, using her grandson’s flare gun from his boat to propel her wheelchair with an added boost. I was taken aback when I learned how my friend swerved at just the right moment to cut off another lady who ended up in fourth place. This was a side of my friend I had never seen before.

I asked why she entered a wheelchair race when she didn’t use one daily. She told me it was a race she thought she could win. She also told me that there were no rules stopping her from doing so and she glowed with pride when she shared how she entered the 80-year-old age bracket because they didn’t check id’s.

It was hilarious. Sick, but funny, especially if you know my friend. Seldom will friends explore a creative story on the fly and here she was making up complete backstory along with her throughline without hesitation. She even kept straight faced, hoping to capture my curiosity to the story’s validity. It was remarkable.

Storytelling can be a lot of fun, whether made up on the spot with creative insights and make believe role-playing like my friend did, or storyboarded milestones for a compelling business story. Not only is it fun for the teller and the audience, but story happens to embed it’s key points into the mind of those we influence.

The power of story is so significant that it was used by Jesus, Hitler, and Walt Disney. It didn’t matter if the stories were about spiritual life, a dominating race, or exploring the world from a child’s perspective, each story compelled people to consider what the teller  desired. It was also an easy and acceptable way to communicate a memorable point worth evaluating.

I heard a preacher tell a story 20 years ago that I still remember. Every time I face a related moral dilemma, I recall the story and make the right decision. But some stories are best forgotten.

Anytime I watch an unsavory type person persuade an unknowing subject, I recall the story that Mrs. Van Hussen told me about her time as a publicist working for Hitler. I was amazed at how they got people to believe that Jewish accountants on one street were actually raping young boys every night.

While Disney told stories for adventure and entertainment, I’ve found myself sharing stories that help people make decisions that improve their lives. Even at work, I’ve found myself answering questions in the form of a memorable story. In fact, I recently drew a picture that prompted my boss’s boss to ask me about the story behind it.

Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, story is a memorable tool that can easily be passed down from generation to generation. It is the one thing that draws us to the point of considering what we haven’t ever considered. It’s also the element that helps us to explore creative angles on any given problem with great results.

Telling a memorable story is simple. Just make sure it has a beginning that allows you to set up the point, a middle that works through the point, and an ending that makes the point. If you are able to present some related form of irony with it, your story will be all the more memorable.

So, like my friend, just dive in and share a goofy story on the fly for practice and see how you do. And, try to make the story something in keeping with your character, as my friend is still wondering if I understood that she was joking, as she told a story completely foreign to her actual choices in life.

Copyright © 2011 By CJ Powers

Photo  © caraman

This morning I read a blog by a woman who claimed that if pouting were an Olympic sport, she would have the gold. What interested me in her topic was her comment that, “Complaining leads to a disconnect from God and to an appointment with the devil.”

While I was surprised by such a strong comment, especially being involved in the arts and in touch with the light and dark side of humanity (Where  art is formed around the human condition), I took a moment to understand her perspective.

It occurred to me, she might have been saying that when we are found in a constant state of complaining, we don’t do anything to improve our situation. Nor do we live by faith, which pleases God. We are lost in the mire of our negatively focused mind and become useless to those around us. Life becomes a downward spiral that ends in a constant dripping of despair and frustration.

Since the owner’s manual to our lives suggests that we should hold the positive perspective of thankfulness…

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

…The opposite would also hold true and supports one of the pouting medalist’s perspectives: Complaining takes us a step away from God.

Complaining once is a healthy action as we verbalize what has hurt us deep inside. However, dwelling on it can prove harmful and lead to broken relationships – No one likes to live with a full time commiserater.

Admitting what hurts us and then doing what we can to improve on the situation takes a step of faith, which pleases God. It also focuses our mind on moving forward in a positive lifestyle that may soon help us to overcome ancillary issues and hinder a pending crisis from occurring.

However, some might try to just put on a positive face in the name of pleasing God and forget that being honest about the condition of our heart is important. They might forget that we are to live free from defects, by sifting and sorting through the garbage in our lives and replacing it with compassion and empathy for others – Something that can’t happen without us experiencing some sort of loss or pain.

Complaining comes from our depraved humanity and acting on our first complaint by taking action for the positive improves our lives and those around us.

My dad heard me complain as a small child when I tried to get on my high tricycle. Climbing it was difficult and the fall painful. I cried and complained, after all, my brand new bright red tricycle was out of my reach.

My dad calmed me down and took me into the basement where his tools were. I watched as he took my tricycle apart. Tears welled in my eyes when it was nothing but a pile of parts. He then reassembled it with the center bar upside down. It looked just like a “Big Wheel” that would be invented a decade later.

I was happy and spent hours a day on that tricycle. Complaining was far from my mind, all because my dad chose action from the first complaint, rather than allowing me to dwell on the negative.

Faith is dead without action, and complaining is foolish without looking into our heart to learn the reason for the pain and then doing something to engage change. Holding a gold medal for complaining isn’t half as exciting as finding the solution that brings happiness and joy to our hearts.

Copyright © 2011 By CJ Powers
Photo © Anatoly Maslennikov – Fotolia.com