Broomball In A Blizzard

The snow fell relentlessly. By the end of the game the ice on the rink was covered by inches of snow.

My friend Matt Benson, pictured here, was playing goalie during this Spring storm. He lay in goal on a comfy layer of fresh snow.

He’s safe but more than once while playing broomball I’ve been bruised and bloodied, but on this particular day I felt nearly invincible.

Snow fell while we raced across the ice. The falling snow made falling on the ice a far safer venture than usual.

Breakaways & Broken Spirits

A beautiful February day filled with sunshine, laughter and friends.  It was a TreeHouse staff retreat and we had the morning and afternoon off.  A group of us headed to a local hockey rink for some broomball.

Since many players enjoying scoring goals more than stopping them I volunteered to play goalie for our team.  I also knew that most if not all the players were more athletic and better broomball players that I was. I also assumed that the differences in our abilities would be less evident with me in goal.

Synched together with rope I approached the rock.

I called out “On Belay?” I received the reply “Belay On”. I responded “Climbing”. Followed by “Climb On.”

My friend David Villringer learned to rock climb.  David’s courage and determination were both admirable and seemingly unreachable.  Graciously and patiently Dave taught me to climb.

David climbed the Tetons.  I struggled at Devil’s Rock.

I lacked both David’s strength and his will.

I wanted to climb, and I wanted to succeed, but I wanted NOT to get hurt far more.

Discomfort & Disappointment

Healthy role models break the cycle of shame. 

They emotionally and spiritually empower healthy communities.

How can you recognize a safe, healthy church, synagogue, workplace or family?

Here are ten attributes of healthy communities:

Feel empathy
Exude warmth
Demonstrate genuineness
Are emotionally stable
Are caring & supportive
Promote and practice honesty
Have appropriate expectations
Maintain respectful boundaries
Persevere through inevitable relationship challenges
And, love one another

Last week I was on a TreeHouse staff retreat.  While we were there we were each invited to take a full uninterrupted hour to “tell our story.” Our autobiographic tale had no apparent form or content requirements.  Each person told it her or his way.

I loved listening to others talk about their childhood.  I admired their successes.  I commend their humility in sharing some of their lowest lows.  We laughed.  We cried.  We prayed.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the retreat early.  I didn’t get to hear two of colleagues stories [yet!].  And, I didn’t get to tell “my story.”  Our small group leader mentioned that I “have other means to tell my story.”

I believe your level of self-esteem can be higher, stronger and more stable.

Yesterday I invited you to Assess Your Strengths With A Reliable Tool.  It’s FREE!

If you haven’t read yesterday’s post you might wanted to just back for two minutes before coming back here.

Really, I believe this will help you to honestly assess your strengths.  If you haven’t  You can find it here.

Be Honest…

Look back over your results.  Do they describe you?  Do you like the list? Is it a familiar list?  Were you hoping to have your strengths identified and affirmed? 

Jesus offers us a strategic program to defeat the giant of worry.

Jesus said, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” 1

David Jeremiah summarized it this way: 2

– Don’t dwell on yesterday’s mess
– Don’t dwell on yesterday’s success
– Don’t dwell on yesterday’s distress

1 – Matthew 6:34

2 – David Jeremiah’s book is available here on Amazon.com

May 3rd I quoted Randy Alcorn, “You are a special creation of a good and all powerful God. You are the climax of his creation, the magnum opus of the greatest artist in the universe. You are created in His image, with capacities to think, feel, and worship that set you above all other life forms. You differ from the animals not simply in degree, but in kind.

Not only is your kind unique, but you are unique among your kind. God has masterminded the exact combination of DNA and chromosomes that constitute your genetic code, making you as different from all others as every snowflake differs from the rest.”

Many cutters cut because they believe lies about their nature.  They feel that their very existence is under a foreboding cloud that leave them hopeless to change.

Hopeless Lie – I Deserve It

“I’ve never made my daughter feel inadequate.  She’s an honor student.  I just don’t understand why she says she cuts herself because she’s “a failure at life.”

“My brother feels so guilty all the time.    He cuts himself and says he deserves it.”

The shame of a wounded conscience is a trap.  It’s a lie that tries to convince us that hopelessly defective: “I am what I am. I cannot change. I am hopeless.”

Shame is the deep feeling of guilt, sadness, and hopelessness that we experience when we become convinced that our shadows, scars and scandals doom us.  That past failures, bad habits or poor appearance has made a permanent scar on our self-worth.

Moses’ self-worth was wounded.  God chose Moses to be a hero, but Moses protested, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me?”