Wednesday Wavers

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Diane

It started today. It goes on early every Wednesday morning. All summer long. The church on the corner that I drive by every morning on my way to work. Seniors showing how it’s done. The Wednesday Wavers!

Each Wednesday I get to witness what it looks like to just be Jesus to a community. For no other reason than to encourage a smile, these committed bunch of senior citizens stand on the sidewalk, holding ‘Have a good day’ and ‘God loves you’ signs and wave at the people in the cars as they drive by. They just smile and wave.

I realized today that I am not a ‘Wednesday Waver’ to very many people – at least not a pure-at-heart Waver. I get too caught up in the result I think should happen – ‘I’ll be kind to that person then that person will want to come to my church/meet God/get baptized.’ or, ‘I could have been mean to that woman cause she was mean to me, but I won’t; then she’ll be nicer/sweeter/more loving to me.’

I too often expect a personal reward of some kind for my efforts, something I can take credit for. The more effort I put into something the more results I think I deserve to see. If I don’t see any, well, then, why should I wave?

Simple.

In Matthew it says that we should do the right things for God, not for people, and not so that we can take the credit, even privately, for the result. Sometimes that means, that I need to stand on the sidewalk waving and smiling, never knowing what happened to the woman who waved and smiled back, to the teenagers on their way to school who honked their horn, to the frowning man who ignored my waving. Just trusting that I am doing what I am doing for God. It’s what he would want me to do, and he sees me doing it.

The rest of it – the outcomes – well, God knows all of that, too, and he’ll take good care of it all.

And that’s enough for me.

Conference Replaced by Road Trip!

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Diane

In case you haven’t heard, the June 13th CLEAR Under the Influence conference has been cancelled. Yes. Yes. A repeat of last year! You’d think we’d learn that June is just a bad, bad time to schedule something when everyone is pulled in so many directions. To those of you who intended to come, but didn’t get around to registering – and to those of you who did sign up – next time, my friends, next time!!

The great thing about turnarounds, is that they often get you pointed in the right direction. So, watch for some innovative CLEAR activities that will make you forget that there was ever going to be a Conference!! Watch this website for more info!!

But since so many of you have freed up your calendar on June 13th anyway, join us for a little road trip. We’ll be jumping into cars and hitting the road for a short trip (about an hour) to indulge in some shopping, some laughs, some food, and some – well, lots of – chatter! Away from kids and hubby and housework and errand-running!! If you dare to take a chance on something different and fun with a bunch of gal-pals, join us on June 13th at 9:45 a.m. at the building. We’ll carpool and caravan and laugh our way through an adventure. Expect to be back by 4:00 – oh yeah – 10:00 to 4:00 – the exact time that the Conference would have been!!

No registration required – just show up! How easy is that?!

Terri and I will be going – hope you’ll join us cause we hate laughing alone!!

Change is Hard

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Terri

Last Friday, CLEAR hosted it’s second connection event of 2009 – “Girls Only Game Night.” Women love to play bingo, trivia games, talk and have fun. Diane and I had a great time emceeing and our CLEAR team, with two amazing volunteers, transformed our church building into a game room, snack bar included! Everyone I talked to as they were leaving said they had a great time, this made our team very happy. But, as it has been with every other event we’ve hosted, there are women who have issues with things we did or didn’t do.

I guess it’s to be expected since we can’t make everybody happy and we have no control over women’s reactions to things. It does sadden me, however. It saddens me because the CLEAR team’s desire, when planning these events, is to create environments where women feel comfortable, accepted and safe. It really bums me out when I hear things like: “I didn’t attend the event, but I heard it was cliquey.” or “I felt uncomfortable because the table I wanted to sit at with my friends was full and I had to go sit at another table.” I’m sorry someone left the event and went and told somebody else the event was cliquey or that another woman felt left out. Maybe I’m naive to think that the women from our church are going to treat each other differently – that they’d be more welcoming and they wouldn’t say things to bring others down.

Change is hard! I know, I’m still working on changing the stuff about myself that’s not so wonderful. I get angry, I love to point out where I’m right and others are wrong, and I criticize. We all struggle. But here’s the thing, for those of us who follow Jesus, we must change, we must begin to treat each other differently. In my experience, women have been against each other, not for each other, treating each other poorly which is a lot more gratifying.

CLEAR was founded to help women transform into women who are the reflection of God. I can’t say it enough – women have to be for each other, not against each other. Jesus calls us to be different in our words and actions. We need to treat each other the way Jesus treated the poor, the sick, the women and the children. He accepted them, he loved them and he cared for them. They were all different from him, but he reached out with love and compassion anyway. My hope is that as we spend more time together at events, in small groups and serving, that we will be Jesus to one another and to those who don’t yet know him.

Let’s change!

The Sexiest Man Alive

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Terri

Yesterday on the Today Show, People Magazine announced its Sexiest Man Alive. Drum rollllllllll – and the winner is: Hugh Jackman. The magazine’s executive editor said that not only is Jackman’s career at its peak, with the “X-Men” movies and his upcoming epic “Australia,” he’s “built like a tank.” His wife of 12 years refers to his body as the “The Body of Doom” – but said what she really likes is what’s on the inside.

Jackman’s wife said a mouthful when she said that! That comment is so true. I don’t want to be too general, but I think women are attracted to way more than physical appearance. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a man’s looks. Personally, I think the current James Bond, Daniel Craig, is up there when it comes to sexiness. But there’s so much more that makes a guy sexy!

I think my guy is very sexy, but his sexiness comes from who he is and how he acts in addition to how he looks. I do love the bald head and goatee and that he’s a ‘manly’ man. What really attracts me, though, is how he treats me and our family. He’s a man of amazing character. There’s never a doubt in my mind that he’s madly in love with me just by what he says. He supports my hopes and dreams and is willing to put his aspirations on hold for me. He works his butt off to support our family through his actions and through the money he earns. He’s as generous as they come. And as corny as it sounds, I feel protected by him, even though I’m not that kind of girl. These things are very attractive and very sexy and what’s amazing is that I feel this way after 24 years of marriage. Hmmm, maybe I’m married to the sexiest man alive?