Pure, Unbridled Joy

     As I was growing up, Easter was fun but not especially significant.  There was the Good: Easter baskets filled with toys and candy, not to mention the amazing food we would always have.  There was the Bad: Having to dress up in a suit and tie and give the house a thorough cleaning for guests.  There was the Quirky: Easter egg hunts in our bedroom with blindfolds on because it was too cold and snowy to attempt anything of the sort outside.  I hear that is different in other places.

     Easter was fun, but it paled in comparison to Christmas or Thanksgiving.  I would say that it is the one holiday that has actually become more fun and more significant to me as I have matured.  I believe there is a simple reason for this: my problems are bigger now than they were when I was younger.  Instead of being concerned about my grades or swimming times or action figure collection, I am thinking about my mortgage and running my organization and raising my kids.  The stakes keep getting bigger and bigger.  To add to that, I am coming face to face with real, systemic problems that are destroying the world around us.  8-year-old-me did not spend much time thinking about racism or income disparity or the church's response to same-sex marriage or the effects of globalized capitalism.  Small problems that we deal with daily at Joel's Place are linked into large, systemic problems which are linked into other large, systemic problems.  I see the effects on our kids and I get angry and I get sad and I get frustrated and I grow apathetic.  And then along comes Easter.

     Easter proclaims that all of  this...all of the troubles, all of the strife, all of the pain, all of the sorrow...all of the weight that we carry as men and women of this earth...all of this will pass away.  It will be replaced by a new reality that is free of tears, free of pain, free of hatred and cruelty and injustice.  It will be replaced by a new reality that is so remarkable that our present existence is merely a small taste, a glimpse, a foreshadowing of its wonder.  It will be replaced because Jesus confronted the worst that the darkness could offer: humiliation, abandonment, suffering, death and separation from God...everything that we fear the most.  How much pain in the world is caused by people using their resources to avoid those things?  Jesus did not avoid them; he intentionally stepped into their path.  The power of the Enemy broke as Jesus rampaged through Hell.  The myth that Darkness and Light are two equal powers battling for supremacy was busted as Death, the only certainty in life, was overcome.  Jesus emerged from the tomb as more than a good teacher or a holy prophet...he emerged as the GOD of reality, the sustainer of all life, the champion of all who place their trust in Him.

     What that means for us is this: There is freedom.  Freedom from worry.  Freedom from doubt.  Freedom from hating ourselves and despising others.  Freedom to love.  Freedom to give generously.  Freedom to take extravagant risks.  Everything that holds us down and beats us up?  Everything that drives us into despair and isolation?  Broken pieces of rubble that we need only let go of to be free.

     I imagine Jesus emerging from the tomb with a laugh that echoed for miles.  Easter is the time for laughter and joy.  It is the time to embrace a new reality:  We will be free from the problems of the world.  They will pass away.  We can be free from the problems of our soul.  Jesus has broken their power.

     Tomorrow is Easter.  Let us not be absorbed in worry about the eggs and the baskets and the suits and the dinners.  Instead let us laugh and love and remind each other of the extravagant, outrageous love that our Father has for us.

Amen.

The Search

     Tis the season for Fairs: Job Fairs, Careers Fairs, Mission Fairs, Summer Fairs.  We get invited to them all.  Currently I am sitting at the Fairbanks Job Fair at the Carlson Center, banner displayed, skate helmet filled with candy.  That's right...a skate helmet filled with candy.  I'm just that cool.

     What am I supposed to be doing with my life?  How do you know?  How do you know if you are in the right job or doing the right thing?  These are the questions that I see behind the eyes of everyone who stops by my table.  We only have a finite amount of time and resources; we each carry a specific skill set.  What do we do with these gifts that we have been entrusted with?  Is there a right answer that guarantees happiness and fulfillment?  Is there a wrong answer that means that we are wasting our lives?

     As with most questions worth asking, this one does not have a simple answer.  I believe that when you are working out of your strengths and passions, the work is more effective and fulfilling.  It is extremely frustrating to try writing with your less-dominant hand.  Put a champion weightlifter into a swimming pool and a world-class athlete can look foolish.  Finding what we are passionate about and good at is a central piece of discovering how we can positively impact our world.

     However, the right job, the right promotion, the right paycheck...none of these are requirements for a life full of joy and meaning.  That is internal.  That comes from a willingness to choose joy in the midst of circumstances and faith in the face of challenge.  God does not waste lives or moments.  Every circumstance that we find ourselves in is an opportunity to grow in love for our God and love for His children, whether that is taking care of one baby at home or hauling washers around a vacant warehouse or teaching a room full of annoying, prepubescent children.  It is so easy to get absorbed in what comes next that we lose out on seeing what God is offering us in the present moment and situation.

     So we strive to find the vocations, activities and pursuits that bring out the best from us while being aware and alert for the wonders that God has for us right here and right now.  This is the Search we are all on.

     Although I must say...a helmet full of candy helps.

Operation OnRamp

     Spring Break is almost over!  For many of you this fact does not result in much excitement.  For the parent of two twitchy, school-aged children whose inherent volume constantly wakes up their 3-month old sister this is some of the best news ever.  I mean...hypothetically that would be the case.

     Spring Break at Joel's Place has been much more fun.  We have put on a skate camp for kids wanting to learn (pictures coming).  We have lots going on and a lot of foot traffic.  Last night when I left there were over 40 kids biking, eating, playing and simply hanging out in the building.  The staff had their hands full, but they are exceptional and we have a large enough group that our environment can continue to be safe.  For those who haven't heard, we have added Ariel Lane as our Director of Youth Development here at Joel's Place.  She is an amazing woman of God whose job revolves around helping our older members to transition into employment or higher education.  She is just starting off and building relationships with the kids, but I am excited to see our youth receive the kinds of connections and skills to succeed in the world after they leave here.

     Speaking of new additions, this week the Board of Directors added two new members: Andy Duff and Christopher Huffman.  Both bring great ideas and resources to our organization and I am extremely excited to have them on board.

     This past Board Meeting I also threw out an idea that I really want to pursue:  Operation OnRamp.  The long-term lament that I have heard from our Board, the staff, parents and kids alike is that we have to charge kids for skating.  The costs are minimal: $50 for an annual membership and anywhere between $3-$7 for a two hour session.  The money goes towards paying for our Front Desk Attendant and Skate Park Manager, our utilities, skate park insurance and our KidTrax software subscription.  Without the earned income of the skate park, all of those pieces would go away...meaning Joel's Place would have a really nice skate park that no one could set foot in.  But what if there was a way to cover our earned income without charging families with limited resources?  What if the kids who needed to be at Joel's Place the most did not stay away because they wanted to avoid feeling poor again?  What if Joel's Place was viewed as an amazing gift from our community to the kids who so often feel discarded and rejected?

     Enter Operation OnRamp.  I am looking to find 12 funding sources that will provide $5,000.  That will cover our 12 months of earned income and allow us to offer our skate park without charge for one year.  I am applying for as many grants and looking for as many major donors as I can find to try to make this happen.  If we were able to pull this off, the impact would be enormous: foot traffic would increase and more kids would be able to take advantage of our other resources like free meals, life skill/job skill trainings and tutoring.  This is a gift that would continue giving as an entire generation of high-risk young people would see the direction of their lives change.

     I am excited and throwing myself into trying to make this happen.  If you are interested in helping, either by donations or you have some ideas, please let me know.  I would love to head into the summer with the first 4 months of funding in place.

With much hope and joy,
James

It is not Magic

     It feels like 75% of my job is talking about Joel's Place in one way or another.  I speak at churches and meetings.  I talk with potential donors or volunteers.  I write grants...lots of grants.  I blog.  I write letters and proposals.  As I spread the word about our organization, I get into lots of conversations about who we are and what we do.  It being a small community, I get to answer lots of questions and dispel lots of rumors.

 

"Yes. We are faith based."

"No.  We are not a gang base."

"Yes. We do offer free meals to kids."

"No. We do not allow them to bungee jump off the roof."

     The most common questions that I get are about how our crew got out of our financial crisis this past year.  What is my secret for solving financial hardship?  What grant did I find or donor did I develop or incantation did I recite to pull us out of the hole?  There is good news and bad news:  It is not magic...it is process.

     The hole we were in was not going to be solved by any one thing.  There was no single grant, no single donation, no single program that would magically solve our problems.  Even if we won the Nenana Classic and had thousands of dollars dumped on us, that would merely be a temporary fix, not a long term cure.  Eventually we would end up in the same place again, looking for another miracle.  What we needed was a series of steps that methodically pointed us in the right direction.

• We needed an Accurate Assessment of where we were at.  How much money did we owe to whom?  How far behind were we on which payments?  How much revenue were we really generating? We needed to know where we stood in order to know where to go first.
• Clear Vision. This is the most valuable resource you can have as it dictates direction.  It is also the one that is hardest to achieve.  It is much easier to define what you do not want to be instead of what you do want to be.
• Hard Cuts.  There were some programs and positions that we loved that we had to let go. They were draining resources that we did not have and not lining up with our vision.
• Community.  It is impossible to overstate the importance of partners.  We had advocates, encouragers, donors, volunteers, family and friends that held us up.  Without our 400 partners, we would not exist, no matter how strong our vision or leadership is.
• Creativity in using our resources, especially our building usage. We looked at what we had and tried to figure out how to use it better.

Any one of those pieces by itself would not have been enough.  They all work together to help us achieve solid footing.  It is no surprise, really.  These pieces are the same ones that we utilize for personal development:

• Accurate Assessment.  Where are we at, really, and what do we need? 
• Clear Vision: Where are we headed?
• Hard Cuts: What do we have in our lives that draw resources away from our goal?
• Community: Fuels every aspect of this journey.
• Creativity: How do we use what we already possess in order to arrive in a new place?

Progress and transformation are not magic...they just take time and a few tools.