"came for the fun, stayed for the grace"

one of the members of our congregation summed up his family's experience with our UPWARD basketball program with "we came for the fun - and stayed for the grace."

i can't think of a better endorsement of Arlington Countryside Church's commitment to reaching out to our community through the ministry of UPWARD sports. . . check out how you can be a part of this year's exciting season. (this was posted earlier this month on ACC-Leadership Online blog.)

October is Upward Promotion Month

October 1st, 2010

ACC’s Upward Basketball and Cheerleading practices begin in January, but plans have been underway since the summer. This will our seventh year hosting the Upward league, and it is exciting to anticipate its growth. Upward is a self-esteem building, Christ-centered sports program for children in grades 1-6.

On Sunday, October 17, you will hear more about how you can get involved. The challenge is for every person at ACC to be part of Upward in some way- whether coaching, serving as a referee, attending games, advertising, working at the concession stand, or praying. To have a successful season, there are many roles that the church body needs to fill. Will you consider how you can be part of Upward? We welcome your help with small and large jobs!

- In order to recruit players, we need to get the word out. Will you hang a yard sign, invite neighborhood children to play, and distribute brochures?

- If you love basketball, please consider coaching a team or serving as a referee. Games are on Saturdays beginning in late January. God can use your sports knowledge to impact children for eternity!

- If you have an Upward T-shirt, please wear it on Sunday, October 17. Children who have played are encouraged to wear uniforms or jerseys on this date too.
We look forward to your involvement. Please pray for a fun, successful, and God-honoring season!

Guest blogger: Allison Bies

the benefit of having adult children

dave and i have been in pastoral ministry for over 29 years this year. we have shared with others in the celebration of marriages, babies, graduations, new homes, new jobs, new and renewed faith. we have also shared with others in the loss of marriages, loved ones, promising futures, homes, careers, and faith. and in those times, we have sought to be an encouragement, to be God-with-skin-on for those who are sharing life's journey with us.

with dad corlew passing away this week, we were reminded that there is a time to minister to others and then there is a time to allow others to minister. the hospital chaplin who came to dad's room to share scripture and pray with us pointed out to me that dave's role was that as "son" - not "pastor" to our family. the chaplain was right.

over the last couple of days, friends and family have been right along side of us, encouraging us bringing food and flowers, hugging and listening, sending us cards and messages, and driving down to Joliet to be physically with us for the service. i am more than grateful - i am overwhelmed by their kind words and actions but also by their generosity of time.

yesterday was not only dad's life celebration, but also the 19th anniversary of my mother's death and i couldn't help but think about losing her.

i was 30 and our children were little - between 3 and 7 years old. i cannot tell you what a comfort those kids were to me and to my father. watching them play and fight and make up and ask for another snack was healing. the kids were generous with hugs and kisses and home-made drawings when they realized we were still sad. and having to jump back into the routine of running the house and nurturing them was just what i needed to move on in the grieving process.

i realized today that the benefit of having adult children is that they are adults now and know you almost as well as your spouse. they allowed us to be there for them, to listen, to encourage, to wipe away tears, to hold and to remind them of how God answered papa's prayers. and then, they did the same for us and more. we heard dad corlew's words of wisdom and humor come out of their mouths. . . wow!!!

i am thankful for the heritage dad corlew handed down to all of us. but i am more thankful to see that heritage reflected in the lives of our adult children.

thanks, kids!

the wisdom of a greeting card

today i sat at the kitchen table with dave while he opened the mail. there were quite a few condolence cards. they were beautiful and many had wonderful messages of comfort - but the thoughtful reflection of one of the cards really caught my attention. it was simple and profound and short. . .

remember the love.
mourn the loss.
celebrate the life.

hopefully, that is exactly what we will be doing tomorrow morning at dad corlew's memorial service.

thank you all for your concern and prayers. we have been truly blessed by the kind words and thoughts of friends and family.

the circle of life

yesterday was one of those rare experiences where you find yourself serving as witness to the precious last moments of the life of another. most of our immediate family had the privilege, and i do mean privilege, of sharing dave's father's last hours together.

the hospital called and told us that dad corlew was no longer responding and they thought we needed to come immediately. so, throwing off covers and throwing on clothes, and after making calls to family members while brushing teeth and getting ready, we rushed off to be at dad's bedside.

for the next 6 hours we sat in dad's room and talked and cried and reminisced and prayed and cried some more. we didn't know how long he would hold on but it was obvious that his body was tired and spent and that the end was near.

and so dad's number one prayer request - that he would fall asleep and wake up in heaven - was answered. he quietly slipped away leaving us very much aware of how great a debt was owed to a man who lived his life humbly and honestly, loving his wife, his children, and his savior. our lives were richer and our character stronger because of the choices, the million and one little choices he made, day after day, month after month, year after year.

i know that we tend to paint our loved ones with broad strokes of charity and good intentions in our remembrances of them - but for those who knew him, dad corlew doesn't need our help. he was a good man who lived a good life.

during the watching and waiting, dave and i made a quick trip two floors down to the hospital's maternity department. we visited with two new mommies and met their newborn sons. dave and i actually got to hold one of the boys for a few brief moments. how wonderfully fantastic to cuddle a tiny baby - to whisper in his ear how happy we were to finally meet him and grateful that he arrived safe and sound.

with that wee little one in my arms, i found myself overcome with emotion. i suddenly felt the very "realness" of the circle of life. there is birth and then death. and in the middle, there is life and living.

dad corlew's journey was almost over and tiny baby tristan's was just beginning. a vibrant reminder that we should live each day mindful that life is fragile and mortal - an encouragement to live life well, no matter how much time we may have left.

i couldn't help but think of Micah 6:8 - "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

jury duty

jury duty. . . hmmmm. . . got the notice in mail one summer day – knew it couldn’t be for me. . . i have never ever been called up. (side road – i’ve wondered about that. . . like am i on some list somewhere that says “not normal enough?” - ok, don’t answer that. . . but you know what i mean. . . i lived in the same state for 26 years and one county for like 16 years and no court system was ever interested in my services. i figured that i was off limits for some reason. not exactly miffed about that. . . just feeling curiously unwanted.)

0k, i’m no longer feeling unwanted. . . the notice was for me. it asked me to be available for a certain wednesday – less than a week away (side road #2 – only the worst the possible day to be called up, first of the month, inventory, reports. . . etc., etc.,). but good news, i was only a standby juror - so most likely not even going to make the first cut.

i called the night before on my cell phone. (side road #3 - now let me share that my personal cell phone has always been the “freebie” that comes with the plan – actually i have found it is usually last year’s model voted most likely to double as a door stop thereby becoming our provider's give-away-phone. you definitely get exactly what you pay for with quality.) so i called the number and listened and punched in the courthouse code and found out that i didn’t make the first cut – only people with last names starting with the letters H – T had to actually show up.

ok, i admit i was a little disappointed - but hey, at least i got a notice and i made my one phone call.

so i was talking to a friend later that night and i mentioned my near brush with the rite of passage to “juror” and she said that it was a weird alphabetical cut-off and was i sure i heard right???? of course, i heard right and i was off the hook.

but that bugged me – could i have heard wrong??? nah. no way. i heard what i heard.

i got up the next morning and got ready for work and was just about to walk out the door when i decided to go ahead and call from our neglected and soon to be discontinued land line – just in case.

i called, i listened, i punched in, and heard “only people with last names starting with the letters A – T. . ."

ok, so i notified work and took off for the courthouse.

suffice it to say that after watching the very informative film “You, the Juror” and then sitting around for hours and hours and hours watching most people chit chat, make friends, exchange email addresses, eat vending food while i was going back and forth trying to read Steinbeck’s East of Eden or Chesterton’s Orthodoxy – my name was called and i was handed a check for $17 bucks and some change with a seemingly sincere "thank you."

a couple of things here. . .

one, i shouldn’t use my cell phone for important calls – say jury duty or 911 emergencies.

two, theology and literature are not the best choices for reading material while waiting in seclusion. i’m guessing a People/ Rolling Stones magazine or mindless summer beach fiction would have made more sense.

three, there are a lot of people who have not had the good fortune of being notified of their opportunity for civic duty AND there are a lot of folk who have been notified but never made it into one of the twelve chairs. It’s not just my personality or lack thereof. . .

all in all, it was an experience – just that – an experience.

i no longer feel curiously unwanted - and actually, it’s ok with me if i’m overlooked in the future.

and i still have to finish Othodoxy. . . maybe next week’s doctor appointment. . .