Thursday, February 25, 2010

Which God Are you Talking About?

Welcome back. You belong here.

In counseling one of the things we talk about is "What is true" and opening myself up to God, letting him into my junk. The problem is that each time my life coach says that I ask myself, "which God are you talking about?" The nice, good God I'm supposed to believe in or the mean God who left me when I was a young boy.

To me, there are two Gods, the Good God, and the Real God who left me, disappointed me and did not provide me with the guidance I needed when I was 12 years old. Which God do I turn to? Everyone tells me, "the Good God", "God is Good!". The issue is that the Good God is not always good. In fact, I hardly talk to that God because of the baggage we have.

So who is the Real God? Are they the same? I know God has been good to me, he has shown me grace and mercy. But when it's time to talk to God about the pain and the hurt, I have no memory of it. It's tough to talk to the Real God about tough things. But I'm trying...

Today, I started to talk to the Real God. It was just a few simple words, not a lot of worship, verses or Bible, just me, trying to be unafraid but believing that this is good for me...We'll see.

Have a great day.

Into the future,

davidT

Con Artist

Welcome back. You belong here.

A guy walked into church today to meet with the pastor on call, me. He told me a tale of racism, how here in Denver people don't see many African Americans and that's why we don't help each other (him). He told me of his wife's illness, and after 40mns he finally said "I need $314" I'm still not sure what he wanted the money for, something about that's how much it would cost him for 3 bus passes to Texas. Wow. The kicker was when he said two guys from this church had helped him a few months ago

I asked for their names, he gave them to me, two leaders in the church. I called them, they both said "Nope, never heard of him". I told the two guys the details this gentleman gave me, "They dropped off chicken, salad and $150 bucks cash", they said "Nope, never heard of him"

At that point I should have said, please leave. Instead he kept pushing, I kept backpedaling, wishing I was buff and 7ft tall, maybe that'd scare him off. Instead he got $50 out of it. I hated the whole process, but that's the best I could do. I know what I should have done, but I'm not the type to say "leave or I'll call the cops".

I feel stupid, robbed, conned even though I knew in the first 5mns this was a scam. I've alerted our team of this guys description and story and told them to never let this guy in the church again.

These kind of things sure put a damper on "helping the poor" don't it. But you have to learn from it and keep going. For every bad apple, there are 10 people with legitimate needs.

Have a great day.

Into the future,

davidT

Monday, February 22, 2010

Focusing Our Schedule

Welcome back. You belong here.

A challenge our family is facing is to focus our schedules around the things we value. Currently, we've got a lot of social justice, volunteering at school and family life things going and something has to go.

Tonight, we went to an immigration/detention center visitation planning meeting. We love taking our children to these events to keep them involved and explain to them why we do what we do, but we got home at 9pm, skipped baths and ate dinner in the car.

While we met, the children had to watch a movie and have one too many sugar cookies. Not a good sustainable set-up for them or us. It takes 30mns to get to the meeting and 30mns to get home. Eventually this group will expect us to do visitation at a detention center 45mns away, field phone calls and emails. We do this together.

Next week I have another immigration meeting downtown with a different group than the first. This group is just getting off the ground, we don't know what the expectations are. Currently only I go, as it's Thursdays at 4pm right as school gets out. Normally these meetings don't work for me as I work Thursday nights.

We have monthly PTO meetings we lead, last week I led a monthly Café de Padres (Parent's Coffee) meeting. We both attended. Tomorrow night we are organizing an event at our school where we volunteer. Wednesday night we have normal stuff (David's basketball practice), Friday and Saturday I'm working a retreat through Saturday night and Sunday is a work day. We all attend the practices and Saturday games.

Monday night, R' and I have our every 2 weeks date night. Yes!

Both R' and I need to cut something, we don't like to do things separately where she stays home while I do an event or vice versa, we value "doing things together". But we are at a place where we need to make some choices and focus on things we have a passion for and can sustain.

Have a great day.

Into the future,

davidT

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

My Passion for Social Justice


Welcome back. You belong here.

When I was a little boy in Nicaragua I remember "los borrachos". These were men from the neighborhood who were drunk outside our door. My dad would come home from work and instead of kicking them out of the way, he'd give them work, paint the fence, clean the yard, talk to them, give them their "dignity".

About 10 years ago, I was thinking of planting a new church in downtown Long Beach among the urban hip and the urban inner city poor. At the doorstep of the church I was looking at was a drunk. I stepped over him, thought of my dad, but kept walking feeling guilty.

Yesterday, together with 50-60 people, I was outside a GEO/ICE Immigration Detention Center praying, chanting, protesting and singing "Y Volver Volver" at the top of my lungs. Just a small step in my pursuit to be like my dad and to be like Jesus, being with the poor.

Social justice runs deep in my family. From my father, to my uncles and aunts, from those who joined the Sandinistas to my Catholic family who help the poor, I've seen faith and justice together my whole life. Dr. King said "Compassion is giving the beat-up man on the road to Jericho a drink, bandaging up his wounds, doing it every time. Justice is asking 'Why do people get beat up on the road to Jericho"

I still have a long way to go, but my heart and now my hands and feet are moving closer to the drunks, immigrants, the poor among us. May God help me to continue to do so and to stand for those who can't speak for themselves (or aren't allowed to), for the poor in spirit whether locked in jail or the single mom in my own block.

My hope is that just as I saw my father and family love mercy, do justice and walk humbly with their God, our children see me doing the same.

Have a great day.

Into the future,

davidT