Posts Tagged ‘Compassion Counseling Center’

05
Dec

My Favorite Things: Oakdale United Methodist Church…

Oak Tree at Sunse

Can you say that one of your favorite “things” is a church? Probably not, because God tells us that a church is a living, breathing “being.” But, I’m doing it anyway today. So there.

In 2007 my hubby and I were burned out Christians. We don’t easily transfer our membership from one church to another. To me, doing that is like saying you need a divorce. But, for a pile of reasons, we had to reluctantly say goodbye to a church that gave all 3 of our children a great foundation in Christianity. This church “walked with me” through the valley of the “shadow of death” during my first 2 heart attacks. I wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for some very caring members there. But, no matter how hard I tried to focus only on worshiping and serving the Lord there, it wasn’t happening. Finally, we made the painful decision to look for a new church.

I have to confess that the hubby’s busy schedule turned Sunday mornings into “date time” for us during this time. And thus, while I feel badly about this, we didn’t go to church anywhere for a long time. Not a great way to witness to your teenage children!

Thankfully, a dear friend began a contemporary service at a small church close to our home. He needed a keyboardist and he knew our daughter had some experience in that “realm.” He asked her if she would be willing to play at an early service at this small church and told her it was perfectly fine to continue to attend church at the church we had just left. Our daughter enthusiastically agreed.

Trying to be supportive parents, we went to the first service where she accompanied this newly-assembled group of musicians. And there I fell in love with some preaching by a new minister there. For starters, just about every sermon began with a hilarious story either about himself (and he didn’t make himself look pretty in that story) or “Little Johnny.” I don’t know if “Little Johnny” actually exists, but if he does, I need to pray overtime for his mother. The kid is a little stinker.

And then I fell in love with this minister’s family. All of them were just as talented as the patriarch of the family–each in their own way. And they worked tirelessly, generously, patiently, and lovingly to get out one message and one message alone–“All are welcome here.”

Many churches say this, but don’t really mean it. Pretty much everyone at Oakdale United Methodist Church really means this. People come to church, myself included, in blue jeans, t-shirts and flip-flops. If you want to dress up, that’s fine, but it’s also fine to wear shorts in the summertime. And Oakdale endorses “donut therapy.” Before our two church services, there is always coffee, decaf coffee, hot water for tea and a plethora of donuts. As we indulge our sweet tooth, many great conversations happen in our Fellowship Hall. (Quite a few hugs occur there, too.) But, it doesn’t end there.

This is the first church I’ve attended where it’s perfectly fine to bring those donuts and coffee with you to worship. Yes, you read that right. And trust me, I make full use of that rule. In fact, during our “greeting time,” I may run back for a second cup of coffee! We don’t care how you lived your “pre-Christian” life and we don’t even care if your views on Christianity differ from ours. We don’t care if you’re still questioning whether there’s a God in Heaven or not. Just be a part of some or all of what we’re doing and being. No judgments. Go to another church and only come to our church for an activity or two. Attend regularly and don’t join. Become a member and just soak up the teaching. Actively help and minister to those of us who are burned out or are confused about our place in this world or need some help. We just love you as Christ loves you.

Somehow, through the miraculous work of God, we have assembled a team of musicians that should be contestants on “America’s Got Talent” and “The Voice.” Don’t ask me how this happened. It just did. And many of the musicians are teenagers like my daughter. Just about when we think we have no replacements for the ones graduating and going on to college, a new talent rises up in their place. I just know that I can’t get through a service without at least one electric guitar solo now. And I’m rather fond of some of the percussionists in the band–one is my hubby and the other is my youngest son. Sometimes father and son even play together. We have one mean bass guitar player–and he’s a doctor. One of the electric guitarists is a lawyer. Go figure.

If you think small churches don’t make a difference, this small church started the local chapter of a program to feed “food insecure” children in our community. These children, for a variety of reasons, don’t have enough food to eat on the weekends and when school is out. This is true across America, but not publicly understood. These children rely upon school lunch and breakfast programs to get enough to eat each day. But because there is no school on the weekends, these children often do poorly in school the first few days of the following week.

The Backpack Buddies program allows school counselors to identify children in this situation. Then, through generous community donations, volunteers purchase food from an area food bank (all of which requires no cooking or refrigeration, including a unique kind of milk), load the food into backpacks, and deliver the backpacks to those school counselors. The children pick up the backpack from the school counselor on Fridays. This way no volunteers ever know the identity of the children needing these backpacks and the kids just look like they’re taking home their homework. It’s an effort to make them feel just like every other kid. This program is now providing food for over 110 children per week and the school districts are seeing improved school performance from these kids! And last summer we tried a pilot program to feed these same kids in the summertime.

But, Oakdale doesn’t stop there. They regularly make blankets and small kits of necessary items for people around the world. We have an OAK program (Organized Acts of Kindness) and you never know when a group of Oakdale members might be building a handicapped-accessible ramp for someone or helping with Habitat for Humanity or other projects in town that just need doing. There is always some need being worked on in our fellowship and probably more than one, particularly at this time of year. If there are angels to adopt, they are all adopted. The list is endless on how this church reaches out to others.

Oakdale members were the first to see a need for a nonprofit counseling center and said, “We have a building that’s not being used all the time; let’s do it!” Yesterday I spent the majority of my day creating “counseling rooms” and cleaning up the inevitable clutter that accumulates at all busy churches sooner or later. I don’t even want to discuss the current state of our choir room right now! And as each volunteer left to get on with their own busy days, another quickly took that person’s place and asked, “What can I do to help?” Today even more are expected. One member is a successful Pampered Chef consultant and she is creating a very ambitious schedule of fun and interactive displays and activities, all with the main focus of helping the Center.

I realize many of my readers can’t come to Oakdale, but oh, how I wish you could. If you do live close by, I invite you to visit. Be forewarned–your neck may get hugged and we’ll likely steer you towards the donuts.

Monday’s Post: What is a malversation?

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01
Dec

Word of the Week: malversation

Book Club: Today is the first day to begin reading Unstoppable by Christine Caine. Have you started to read it? Go here to get Unstoppable. 

Compassion Counseling Center Update: Only 45 days until Compassion Counseling Center begins receiving clients! Also, this Saturday (December 6th) we will have our first fundraiser and Open House from 10 am to 4 pm at Oakdale United Methodist Church, Stephenville, TX. Have your Pampered Chef gifts shipped directly to your gift recipient in time for Christmas and try out Pampered Chef products! Tour the rooms that will be set up as counseling rooms and hear from Compassion staff members! Free childcare and cooking demonstrations! A portion of the proceeds go to benefit Compassion! Click here to shop online!

Last week’s Word of the Week was adscititious. My daughter attempted guesses, based on the prefixes and suffixes of this interesting word, but quickly admitted she had no clue, just like me. Thankfully, we can consult Merriam-Webster Online which tells us that adscititious means: derived or acquired from something extrinsic. Yeah. That was helpful.

Maybe we should just move on to this week’s WOW (Word of the Week) which is malversation. Here are my guesses for malversation:

malversation (mal-vər-ˈsā-shən) 1. a bad conversation 2. a conversation with Mallory 3. a description of discussions between Congress and President Obama

What’s your guess for the definition of malversation? Go here to let me know what you think.

Wednesday’s Post: The Return of Fast 5!

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26
Nov

Things I Hope to Be Thankful For in 2015…

Pumpkins

Pumpkins

I, like many of you, have engaged in expressing my thankfulness for various aspects of my life. While I will probably do the same this Thanksgiving as my family gathers around that all-important turkey, I do find myself wishing I could be thankful for other things in the coming year. Some are simply sarcastic; some are serious. What would you add to this list?

1. That Congress and the White House remind themselves that they are paid, elected servants of the people of this country and will actually work together to accomplish some good things for Americans who want nothing more than to be self-sufficient.

2. That Ebola will be eradicated around the world.

3. That those protesting the unfair treatment of various races and nationalities will remember the concept of peaceful protest constructed by Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

4. That all countries will respect other countries’ borders and only enter and exit them legally.

5. That more and more of us will be prompted to eradicate the hunger and thirst of the thousands of people who die in Africa, every single day, as a result of extreme poverty and a lack of knowledge and supplies to take care of this on their own.

6. That my kids’ stuff will actually leave home with them.

7. That more people emulate Jesus‘ actions. I don’t care if you’re Christian or not; believe in Him or not. The Man set a wonderful example of how we should treat each other.

8. That I will run my first official race this year. If you’re expecting me to do the Ironman Triathlon this year, your expectations are going to be thrown to the ground and stomped on unceremoniously. Can we call the snail pace I run on my treadmill running???

9. That I will stay out of hospitals. It’s not that I’m adverse to visiting them; it’s when I take up residency there that I wish for a trip to Tahiti. I am getting way too familiar with hospital cafeteria menus and when to arrive in hospital parking lots to get the spot closest to the entrance.

10. That hurting people near us will come to Compassion Counseling Center for help.

11. That people/organizations will donate to Compassion Counseling Center so that we can produce simple brochures, business cards and flyers to let people know we are here to help. So far, that has not happened.Better yet, that people and organizations in our communities will spread the word about Compassion without us having to spending a dime for such materials.

12. That 2015 will bring great joy for my family and friends. Many of my friends have children getting married and having babies in 2015. What a wonderful way to continue the world.

13. That MaryAnn will get back to actually writing her book. Note to self: Locate rough draft.

14. That those who are sad, for whatever reason, will know that people care about them.

15. That I have the ability to give myself my own allergy shots and can travel with my hubby.

16. That the Texas Rangers will be injury-free. If this happens, get smelling salts for the DSL, his wife and half of Texas.

17. That the Backpack Buddies program in our community will be fully funded so that we can feed all food-insecure children in our community. A quarter a day keeps the “hungries” away.

18. That celebrities and professional athletes will take responsibility for their irresponsible and dangerous behavior. I’m severely tired of them hiding bad behavior and making excuses for it. Send that memo to politicians, too.

19. That I will learn patience. Yesterday.

20. That the last year of Women of Faith conferences will lead to bigger and better things and that God will select the people who will accompany me to this last conference in October 2015.

21. That our own little community and one even smaller community to the southwest of us will both win state championships in football. Both teams are stellar examples of what teenagers can accomplish when people believe in them. Pride about that successful school team often translates into success in the classroom and in other extracurricular pursuits.

22. That my children will be successful at their pursuits and be happy and healthy. They deserve such success. I am so proud to say that I miraculously got to be their mother or play at least a small role in their lives (Yes, my dear DSL, that includes you.)

23. That my hubby will continue to enjoy success in his career and be healthy. Why? Because he’s supporting all of the crazy causes and interests of his silly wife at the moment.

24. That my Thanksgiving dinners (Yes, plural) will be calorie-free. (A girl can hope.)

25. That chocolate will be calorie-free. (I’m sensing a theme here.)

26. That I will become a better Bible Study leader. (Given the little project described in # 11, this may take a miracle along the lines of the parting of the Red Sea.)

27. That our marriage makes it to anniversary # 33 and that we make it to “double-nickels” this year. Gray hairs, wrinkles, reading glasses, stubborn cellulite and arthritis are a victory dance. Given the arthritis, probably a slow victory dance.

28. That God will bless our church. Our church pretty much accepts people as they are and has a huge heart. They deserve to have a financially struggle-free year.

29. That I read my Bible every day, regardless of my ever-changing health, my sometimes-lousy attitude, and overly-long to do list.

30. That you and yours will also have much to be thankful for this year and the next. Your loyalty to this blog does not go unnoticed or unappreciated at this end. You are my energy, my enthusiasm and my inspiration when I write.

What do you hope to be thankful for in 2015? Comment below!

Friday’s Post: My Favorite Things Returns!

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19
Nov

Lessons Learned from Starting a Nonprofit Counseling Center…

Just because writing a blog, writing a book, teaching Bible study, organizing trips to women’s conferences, taking care of an ailing brother, taking care of his estate, serving on the Board of Trustees at my church, and recovering from 2 heart attacks apparently wasn’t enough to keep me out of trouble, I decided, in September 2013 to work on a new project. The project?

logo2

It’s good that I helped with its formation, because after this 14 month process (that often reminded me of childbirth–without the epidural), I probably need my head examined.

What is Compassion Counseling Center? A non-profit organization dedicated to helping those in our community who need counseling, but can’t afford it. But that’s not all it is.