To Beard or Not to Beard

As long as Liz and I have been married, I have not grown a beard. Primarily, Liz hates beards— well, on younger guys. Once you become a grandpa or of a ripe old age, then beards are acceptable. I guess it’s the rite of passage to become the wise sage. Since I am neither a grandpa or very old, I don’t fit the criteria. But I decided to give it a try anyway. It’s almost two weeks old and I’m having some doubts. It’s not very itchy but it doesn’t seem to lie down like other beards. My beard seems to stick straight out like a porcupine. See what I mean? In the beginning, I was planning on growing it out for 30 days while Liz and I participate in the raw-food-only diet with her dad and step-mom. If you’re going granola, then go all the way, right? We’ll see.

BridgeBuilders + Prayer Saturated Logos

For over 26 years, BridgeBuilders International have not has a corporate identity. 26 years. Some attempts have been made over the years but nothing has really captured the essence of who they are. Hal and Cheryl Sacks have been very cautious for their brand but, as a result, the organization is more known to not have a consistent identity than to have one at all. Well, we were given a shot to submit designs for a new brand mark this winter. In setting some ideas down on paper, this is the strongest candidate. This is what they have chosen for their Prayer Saturated Series.

With the deadline three weeks away, Adam McArthur from Lion Marketing is in Arizona now meeting with Hal and Cheryl to discuss the logo and other business matters. Adam is heading up the project and is doing a fantastic job of casting the vision of the new brand mark to them. More will follow after these meetings. Hopefully we found a visual solution that resonates with them and they adopt our new image for their brand.

Staring off in the living room of my parents house, I sit here stunned. The weekend visit is so similar to every other visit but deeply different.

Janet Carey, my loving grandma, passed away early Friday morning in her apartment in Kettering. Since the passing of her husband, William Carey, she’s been living One Lincoln Park, a senior living retirement community that facilitated her independent living with a staff to care for the aging. While some of her neighbors were slowly fading, requiring special attention, Janet was sharp and mobile. Her hip injury was her only physical set back that I remember.

Liz and I were taking our lunch break when I got a call from my dad. When I answered the phone, he said that he didn’t have good news. I thought it was something about work. If I would have noticed the change in his voice or the sound of tears held back, I would not have been stunned to hear that his mom, grandma Carey, passed away.

Late in the night Thursday, or early Friday morning, she went to go to the bathroom and her heart gave out. When morning came she did not push the button in her apartment, signifying she was up and awake. The staff came to check in on her. They knocked, called for her, opened the door and found her in the bathroom. Marianne was the first to know and called my dad. My parents got off work and headed over to the apartment. When they got there, the coroner and police officer were just leaving the apartment. The coroner mentioned that she did not have a heart attack or seizure. No suffering. Her heart just gave out. She was 88 years old.

This weekend, we prepared for the viewing and funeral. For the viewing, I was able to serve my parents by assembling a scrapbook of Grandma through the years. I used that project and many others to focus away from the sorrow. At the viewing, I started to feel the sadness catching up with me. It wasn’t until after my reading at the funeral that I was be to fully weep. So many memories were good. I wish I had made more. So many times I thought about visiting. I wish I had visited more. We moved to southern Indiana to be close to our family. I hope it wasn’t too late.

I understand most people who read this, which isn’t many any more, may not be able to connect with my grandma’s passing but I urge you: spend time with your family. You never know how much time you have.

Media

To honor my grandmother, I will be attaching media commemorating her life from the information I have. This is a video of their wedding in 1951.

On December 23, the International House of Prayer lost a dear friend as Derek Loux was united with the Lord after a fatal car crash in Nebraska when his vehicle lost control on black ice. Coming home from a ministry trip in Colorado, Derek was away learning how to further care for young children who have been victims of sex trafficking. In the last several years, Derek and his wife have taken the lead in the adoption movement by taking the unwanted and disabled children. Their first-born child, Josiah, who was disabled, died at 2.5 years old to their devastation. Establishing the Josiah Fund and the Orphan Justice Center was an overflow of their passion.

While death’s sting is with us, I want to remember what inspiration he gave. Below, are some media links so you can experience the gifts he gave us.

Spiritual Warfare, A Willing Heart

Liz and I were in Kansas City and heard him speak at IHOP’s Spiritual Warfare conference on Peter. Opening up how Jesus establishes disciples in love amidst failure, he presented Jesus’ heart for the weak and broken.

Excerpts from Paper Religion

Paper Religion was his Derek’s second release at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Here’s three tracks from this album.

IHOP Acronym Song

This song and impersonation of Dave Sliker is great! IHOP has an enormous amount of acronyms and it’s hard to keep up with all of them. Derek’s song completely illustrates how confusing it is. In a separate video, Mike Bickle shares some of his thoughts about Derek and his family on his video blog.

Derek’s Funeral

Over the last several weeks, I’ve been searching for the video of his funeral. On the family blog, René has posted the media. Here is the video of his service.

Shelley Paulson, a fantastic photographer, shot photography from the service and created a slide show.

This morning, while we were in the office, Liz was talking to me about… something and I had to take her photo. The morning light coming into the office was just perfect. It’s been a while since I’ve got the camera out, and I’m glad I did.

This morning we were headed to a funeral service for Jeff Jordan, Emily Rowland’s father. Thanksgiving day, Emiliy and her husband, Justin, were with Emily’s family making dinner with her parents. I’m unclear on the details but her dad had a massive heart attack and died that day at the Margret Mary Community Hospital here in Batesville.

Although I didn’t know many of the people there, it was so moving to hear people talk about Jeff. It was especially hard for me to hear his wife talk about him. I’ve said the very same words and phrases that she did in describing the gratefulness for her spouse. I couldn’t help the tears on my face. Once the service was over, we paid our respects, spoke briefly with Justin and Emily Rowland and drove back to Osgood.

Driving back, I was so grateful for Liz. Life is given by the Lord and nobody knows when our souls will be asked of us. I have all kinds of hopes and dreams for our future together. What would I do if she was taken away so suddenly? I’m sure Jeff had hopes and dreams too. Now he stands with the great cloud of witnesses watching his family from a far. I sit next to my wife and I’m so grateful. Live life to the best of your ability to the glory of Jesus. It’s a life well-lived.

This weekend, Josh Petrillo introduced me to the music video, “Jesus is my friend.” David Crowder covered this song in a video at the end of some message. Click the link and tell me what you think. Is this a spoof?

It’s been a while since I’ve been online, outside or done much other than stay diligent behind my desk. And while work is on-going, we passed over the hump today getting a large portion of work completed. I don’t know if I have been holding my breath but it felt so good to exhale. Almost there. :)