Author: Shawn

Perhaps you’ve seen one of my 2 million tweets in the last few days. Or my 700 Facebook statuses (statii?). But just in case you missed it, here’s something you won’t want to miss:

The First (Annual?) Benefit Poker Tournament in Gap, PA.

Yes, I’m talking about bringing Texas Hold ‘Em to the bastion of Anabaptism that is Central PA.

Yes, we’re playing on a Sunday afternoon.

Yes, there are cash prizes involved.

If the combination of those three doesn’t smash every paradigm there is of Amish Country, well, I don’t know what it would take. But the thing is, it’s for a great cause. My sister and brother-in-law are adopting an Ethiopian child any day. They’ve gone through the process, been approved, and are now waiting for the phone call introducing them to their new baby.

But as well all know, adoption isn’t an inexpensive process. So all buy-in and concession money raised at our poker tournament will go directly toward their adoption costs. The prize money ($500 for first, plus other prizes) is all being raised from separate donors.

To check out the details for the tournament, and to RSVP, click HERE.

To check out my sister’s blog, click HERE.

If you have a spare minute, do me a favor: I won’t have access to the internet all day (ie, I won’t be able to pester you today with innumerable tweets and status updates of this blog post), so please share this post if you can.

Have a great weekend!

I don’t like paying bills, mostly because it makes me feel like I’m running out of money.

Sometimes, when I compare myself to others, I wonder, Do I have the right contacts? Do I know the right people?

More than a few times I week I sit down in front of the keyboard and doubt my ability to accomplish the task at hand.

Fighting a mindset of lack is something I have to do almost every day.

* * * * *

When Jesus sent 70 of his guys out, the first thing he told them was, “The harvest is so great!” Talk about a mindset of plenty. He knew that for them to accomplish their goals, they had to see the cup as more than just half-full – they needed to see it as overflowing.

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In our new book “83 Lost Sheep,” Gerry Stoltzfoos writes:

Wherever you see abundance, you will be the leader. If you don’t see abundance, you aren’t leading. Vision is the ultimate, essential core of leadership, because if you can see abundance somewhere, you will lead in that area.

If you see bits of poems lying around everywhere, then you are probably a poet.

If you see emotionally hurting people on the street and believe that there’s huge potential to set up a program to help them, then you probably will.

If you see high demand for a thingamajig and can envision how to create it cheap and sell it for a profit, then you will be the leader in that industry.

* * * * *

So what’s your outlook? When you look at your life, do you see a lot or a little?

Sometimes we need to adjust our vision. Sometimes we need to train ourselves to see possibility, instead of impossibility; opportunity, instead of dead end; a path, instead of a ditch.

What do you see?

When’s the last time your church talked about abortion?

No, not to discuss the moral or legal sides, but to listen to someone who is struggling with a decision they made years ago, and to love them.

When’s the last time your church talked about what it means to be gay?

No, not to denounce the lifestyle, but to pause a moment and listen to someone hurt by the marginalization of a sibling who has come out as gay, and the impact it’s had on their family. Or to listen to someone in the LGBT community, to let them tell their story without judgment.

When’s the last time your church talked about doubt?

No, not as the opposite of faith. Not as a weakness, but as an experience all of us encounter at one time or another. Or live with.

Last Sunday at The Red, some of the folks who came out to the meeting shared their stories. And instead of judgment, or shocked stares, they were greeted with acceptance and encouragement. Some of them, for the first time, were able to talk about the circumstances in their life that bring the most pain. Henri Nouwen writes that:

Joy is hidden in compassion. The word compassion literally means “to suffer with.” It seems quite unlikely that suffering with another person would bring joy. Yet being with a person in pain, offering simple presence to someone in despair, sharing with a friend times of confusion and uncertainty … such experiences can bring us deep joy. Not happiness, not excitement, not great satisfaction, but the quiet joy of being there for someone else and living in deep solidarity with our brothers and sisters in this human family. Often this is a solidarity in weakness, in brokenness, in woundedness, but it leads us to the center of joy, which is sharing our humanity with others.

Pain that goes unshared leads to death. Pain let out into the open can lead to healing.

When’s the last time your church or community of friends let pain or confusion out into the open?

Before we all die from the winter-storm-of-the-century, I thought we should get to know each other a little better…So let me know:

1) Your name

2) If you blog, the title of your most read post so far this year (with the link)

3) If you don’t blog, you could let us know the best post you’ve read. Or you could let us in on your favorite cereal (check out my Tuesday’s Top 10 list of all-time favorite cereals HERE)

Happy Tuesday.

(Please include the links if you can – this may mean your comment doesn’t show up right away, but I’ll get it approved as soon as I see it).

Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers. ~Mignon McLaughlin

Self-doubt is a nasty old thing. Sometimes it drops me in a pitiful heap in my comfy armchair. Sometimes it just follows me around, like that monster in “Lost” that you rarely saw (at least in Season 1). Sometimes self-doubt holds me up and gives me a good, old-fashioned carpet-beating.

I’ve begun to realize something about self-doubt though – it cannot exist in a vacuum. It thrives when I’m comparing myself to others, their accomplishments or characteristics. But when I stop comparing myself, self-doubt starves for lack of nourishment.

Don’t listen to the voices shouting your limitations and comparing you to others. Keep moving forward – your powers are on the other side.

* * * * *

I’m guest posting for Brenda Boitson (aka Crazywidow) – it’s the story of my mad mini-van driving skills and how my family nearly got stranded in the snow last week. You can read it HERE.

1 – Good dialogue is unique and doesn’t just convey information but also helps develop the characters:

Don: Hey, Napoleon. What did you do last summer again?
Napoleon Dynamite : I told you! I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines!
Don : Did you shoot any?
Napoleon Dynamite : Yes, like 50 of ’em! They kept trying to attack my cousins, what the heck would you do in a situation like that?
Don : What kind of gun did you use?
Napoleon Dynamite : A freakin’ 12-gauge, what do you think?

2 – Your characters need to want something. And let them be brave enough (or stupid enough) to go after it.

Napoleon Dynamite: Well, nobody’s going to go out with *me*!
Pedro: Have you asked anybody yet?
Napoleon Dynamite: No, but who would? I don’t even have any good skills.
Pedro: What do you mean?
Napoleon Dynamite: You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills… Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.
Pedro: Aren’t you pretty good at drawing, like animals and warriors and stuff?
Napoleon Dynamite: Yes… probably the best that I know of.
Pedro: Just draw a picture of the girl you want to take out… and give it to her for like a gift or something.
Napoleon Dynamite: That’s a pretty good idea.

3 – This is a painful one – you have to let bad things happen to the characters, especially the ones you love:

Deb: It’s Deb. And I’m calling to let you know I think you’re a shallow friend.
Napoleon Dynamite: What the heck are you even talking about?
Deb: Don’t lie, Napoleon. Your Uncle Rico made it very clear how you feel about me. I don’t need herbal enhancers to feel good about myself. And if you’re so concerned about that, why don’t you try eating some yourself?

4 – If your story is falling flat, introduce someone completely unlike your main character:

Pedro: Do you think people will vote for me?
Napoleon: Heck yes! I’d vote for you.
Pedro: Like what are my skills?
Napoleon: Well, you have a sweet bike, and you’re really good at hooking up with chicks. Plus you’re, like, the only guy at school who has a mustache.
Pedro: That’s true.

5 – Finally, always end with a killer dance scene