In 1989 I walked onto the deck of the Brooklyn Park TreeHouse and there was Anne Marie Bovie.  “Hi,” she said, “who are you?”  I feel in love with TreeHouse, a home away from home for thousands of teens and parents.  Each person is expected to “help make this a safe place and to build community,” and they do.

When people join our community they find an caring environment with consistent values.

Our Values

* Spiritual Vitality
* Multidimensional Personal Growth
* Caring Relationships
* Service
* Teamwork & Collaboration
* Community
* Accountability
* Innovation & Growth

Over the past twenty years it’s been a privilege.  It’s been a challenge.  There have been heart-warming highs and heart-breaking lows.  Through it all I’ve seen lives transformed, families changed and futures re-directed.

TreeHouse’s legacy is one of love.  Loving Kids.  Bringing hope. Transforming Lives

The legacy of love that I am building upon comes messages of love that resonate in my heart.

From God’s Love Note:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

To An Expression Of  Love

Say all your “I love you”s, all your “I’m sorry”s and all your “thank you”s every day.

To A Loving Mindset

“True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.”

I Found A Method To Love

“Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear…”

Fear that warns us to beware of the price of sin.

“Jesus said, ’Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’” And, when I remind people of Jesus’ advice I’ve seen many who’ve “turned… from sin.”

Love’s Power

We are more than conquerors through him who loved us…For I am convinced that nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Love people like Jesus and when they look at you step aside and let them see it’s Jesus they were really in love with.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God:

Say all your “I love you”s, all your “I’m sorry”s and all your “thank you”s every day.

My thanks to God and everyone who contributes to this legacy of love — 20 years and counting.

And, my great thanks to the gifted Stephanie Vroman for creating this wonderful collage in which she expresses her love for TreeHouse:

I felt so unworthy.  Ever felt that way?  I was smart but “stupid”.  I was gifted but misguided.  In my anger and angst I would make foolish and hurtful decisions.  Those decisions would make my life harder.  Leading, of course, to more anger and angst.  Building one upon the other anger became bitterness and angst became depression.

In the deepest part of me I would ask God to forgive me knowing I’d done something wrong, but I did little more.  What little faith I had was mostly cause and effect: if I got caught I didn’t like the consequences: “I’m sorry” I might have said, but it meant little.

“Love” Was Not Enough

I believed that God loved me — “For God so loved the world…” — but it never went deeper than that.

Paul Benware once wrote, “If we are love God and fear Him, we must discover what He disclosed about Himself…One truth without the other leads to a distorted view of God and eventually produces wrong attitudes and actions.”

Once God finally got my attention I have been on a wonderful journey ever since to discover how I can both love and fear God at the same time.  To love God is to appreciate who God is.  To fear God is to appreciate who I am, who you are, and that we are not God.

God is our Creator.  We are the created.  God can be ignored, but never fired.

God inspired a song-writer to capture God’s character in an ancient song.  This song known as Psalm 103 joins the concepts of fearing God and loving God beautifully.

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!

God loves us with caring support — compassion, mercy, and patience.

God leads us with high expectations despite our propensity to forget, reject or ignore God’s rules and role as the Creator.

]]> http://mysilentscream.com/love-was-not-enough/feed 0 http://mysilentscream.com/the-price-of-fear-is-too-high http://mysilentscream.com/the-price-of-fear-is-too-high#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:51:31 +0000 Scott http://mysilentscream.com/?p=421 Last night as I sat in a TreeHouse support group I was awed with the humility and accountability of the teens present. They listened patiently and compassionately.

Directly and indirectly each teen reminded the other that “this is a safe place.”

Each teen who wanted caring support received it. And, remembering previous concerns, teens asked one another about issues and concerns that were mentioned in previous groups.

Without breaking confidentiality, similar questions include “How’s it going with…?”, “You said that…?”, “Wait, did you…or didn’t you?”

Accountability, safe accountability,  is a precious gift.
- Accountability reminds us who we are when we forget.
- Accountability grounds us when we’re unsteady or tempted.
- Accountability holds us close when we start to wander away.
- Accountability teaches us truths when we’re learning and believing lies.

Accountability is a part of a fearing God lifestyle — a lifestyle which includes humble interdependence.

Fearing God places out lives in a context of humility and accountability.

We are not just our own. We are not just a mirror or echo of our parents. Nor are we pawns sacrificed in a divine chess game.

We are precious sons and daughters, friends, inheritors of the wealth of our Creator. We’re people blessed with a terabyte of potential. Blessed with compassion. Blessed with leadership. Blessed with creative gifts.

Sadly, without accountability we can crumble and throw our lives away.

Today I read about a news report entitled: “Online ‘Pastor’ Arrested in Child Porn Bust.”

I do not know whether the person is guilty or innocent, nor do I know if the “facts” of the case were reported accurately. I do know that incidents like this would be few and far between if we truly lived a God-fearing lifestyle.
- Judgmental people would remember their own sins and feel humbled.
- Humble people — remembering their own weaknesses — would be approachable.
- Approachable people would be perceived to be trustworthy.
- Tempted people would ask for help from people they trust.
- Trustworthy people would hold the tempted accountable.
- Accountability would help guard the tempted from the lies they believe and the sins that lure them in.

Change is possible.

“Dear brothers and sisters, if [someone] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.”

We need one another.

No one is totally safe.

No one is beyond sin.

No one is beyond saving.

We need one another.

“For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done.” (Heb. 4:12-13, NLT)
 
It’s in those moments of vulnerability that we can experience the amazing grace of God. Rather than crush us or drive us to the ground in condemnation God shows us love. Jesus “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” (Heb. 4:15-16, NLT)

Amazing and wonderful, fearful and loving the presence of God stretches us. Only when we’re real do we experience God’s greatest help.

Evernote Web Clipper – While creating curriculum or planning ahead for an unwritten article or an as-yet unplanned message I save nuggets I read online with Evernote.  Evernote Web Clipper let me copy and save the article I want.

Extended Copy Menu – My apologies to the author of Extended Copy Menu, but I really only use it for the “Copy As Plain Text” option, but I love it.

For example, if I found one of your brilliant insights I just highlight it, “Copy As Plain Text”, and save it without all the annoying formating, photos and advertisements which clutter and surround your wisdom.   Different than Evernote Web Clipper I use this for a sentence or two or a paragraph of text.

Forecastfox – A quick glance at the bottom of my browser and I see a quick 3-day forecast.  It reminds me to dress for the weather, and sometimes it reminds me to make sure I get away from the computer and enjoy the outdoors.

NoScript – It allows JavaScript, Java and other executable content to run only when I want them to run.  It prevents unwanted prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities.  It’s a bit paranoid, but I like the control and safety it helps assure.

RoboForm – Some of you only use one or two passwords, not me.  I use Roboform to keep track of my passwords on PCs.  I primarily use free programs, but like Roboform so much it’s one of the few programs I am willing to spend money on.

As I mentioned yesterday, technically 1 Password and Roboform are both toolbars but I think of them as extensions of my browser’s productivity.

Note – Use a Mac?  I love 1Password!

WOT [Web of Trust] – As a researcher I often follow the trail or wade into uncharted waters.  WOT [Web of Trust] warns me to avoid unsafe web sites.

Xmarks – I use several computers, a couple OSs & even run apps from flash drives.  I love having my Bookmarks available to me wherever I go.

Happier surfing!

Extensions

1-Click YouTube Video Downloader – I like to save & play my favorite videos on my computer.

1 Password – Some of you only use one or two passwords, not me. I use 1Password to keep track of them on Macs. I primarily use free programs, but like 1 Password so much it’s one of the few programs I am willing to spend money on. Use a Windows computer? See RoboForm.  Technically 1 Password and Roboform are both toolbars but I think of them as extensions of my browser’s productivity.  So there!

Adblock Plus – I hate being annoyed — and offended – by all those ads and banners the long web page load times. Adblock Plus helps get rid of them. I’m always amazed when I work on someone’s computer who does not have an adblocker how much more trash they see than I do.

Auto Copy – My apologies to the author of Auto Copy, but I really only use it for the “Copy As Plain Text” option, but I love it. If I found one of your brilliant insights I just highlight it, “Copy As Plain Text”, and save it without all the annoying formating, photos and advertisements which clutter and surround your wisdom.

AutoPager – Ever get tired of constantly clicking a link on a page to read a whole article online? AutoPager automatically loads the next page for you. Note – It works great on some sites [google.com] and it’s annoying on others [biblegateway.com], but you can change your settings.

DownThemAll! – Ever wanted to download all the articles on a web site but wish that you could grab them all at one time? DownThemAll! does it in a flash.
For instance, I was reading Tom Peters’ and wanted some more.
I went to his Free Stuff page and found several interesting articles.
Rather than “save as” several times
I: Firefox –> Tools –> DownThemAll! Tools –> DownThemAll! –>
I set where I want them saved, for example: Save Files in: Documents/Leadership/Tom Peters
Filters: I checked no boxes
Fast filtering: pdf
Scroll down and yup, 28 articles, in pdf format, are green checked ready to download into the folder I chose.
Hit start and I’m all set!

Trying to find an appropriate word for being underground, under the groundhog, I reached out to my browser.

“My browser”?

Yes, I love the dictionary.com search engine. If you’re using Firefox I hope you have the dictionary.com search engine, if you’re not and want to here’s how to get it:
left drop-down arrow
Manage Search Engines
Get more search engines takes me to: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:4/cat:all?sort=name
Click here or just cut and paste: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9227
Add to Firefox

When was a time you were surprised? Really surprised?

If you asked me when I was a teen if someday I would want to read the Bible on purpose I would have said no. If you said later in life I would want to read it, read it everyday, and then want to help others to understand it I would REALLY have been surprised!

I read my Bible almost every day because when reading it:

- I’m learning to really love myself.
- I’m learning how to really love others.
- I’m learning to have deep friendships.
- I’m learning that God love me despite my mistakes.
- I’m learning to forgive myself and others.
- I’m learning not to be as angry when people hurt me.
- I’m learning to be brave enough to really be myself.
- I’m learning that God’s rules protected me.
- I’m learning that God’s rules freed me.
- I’m learning how to have a happy marriage.
- I’m learning to understand myself.
- I’m learning to understand why people do what they do.
- I’m learning to see beyond the obvious in life.
- I’m learning that more I get to know God the more I want to know God.

I don’t know why “You should WANT to study the Bible…” unless you want those things too.

I would have never guessed that the Bible would give me real answers to life questions.
It has, and does.

For hundreds of athletes this is an exciting day. Today at “National Signing Day” young football players will reveal at which university they will transform from boys to men. Millions of dollars will be spent on indirectly paying young men to play football as a fundraiser for the university.

Fans of the chosen universities will celebrate at their good fortune. Hopes will rise for the winners and hopes will be ravaged for those left wondering what their favorite university will do without this or that teenager.

The Future Is Uncertain

Without stellar athletic or academic success no one begged me to attend their university. I had choices to make but none of them included thousands of dollars in scholarship offers.

I chose a college with a “lifestyle statement” — a list of dos and don’ts — that I may or not prefer but I didn’t mind them because in order to get the education I wanted I gave up some rights.

My rights are important to me. I value the right to use my time and talent and money wisely.

With that mindset I don’t mind paying my fair share of my taxes. I care about the poor, uninsured, and less fortunate even if I do not know them. I want some of my resources to help those who need the help. I’ll give up my right to use some of my money because I hope that there will be a fair return in services.

President Obama undoubtedly is trying to convince the American citizens that his tax plan is a sound investment in our country’s future; a fair return.

Perhaps it’s a good plan, I haven’t read it thoroughly, but I’m skeptical. So many of our national budgets have been mismanaged in the past that I have little hope that this plan will not punish our grandchildren.

The Past Plans Punish Us Now And Later

I’m skeptical that such plans really have our citizens’ best interests in mind. Past plans leave our future burdened by previous financial mismanagement.

If the numbers are correctly posted on CBS the trend of exponential increases in national debt are staggering:

Recent additions to the public debt of the United States:
2001 $144.5 billion
2002 $409.5 billion
2003 $589.0 billion
2004 $605.0 billion
2005 $523.0 billion
2006 $536.5 billion
2007 $459.5 billion
2008 $1.017 trillion

While the tax burden grew heavier I shook my head in dismay as the debt increased with the bailout of our financial institutions.

The Past Plans Reward The Wrong People

We paid, and will pay, and pay…to keep the banks running, but as NPR reported some of those same financial giants again will disrespect the public and our hard-earned tax dollars. In order to fill their pockets they will empty ours.

“Bank of America, the largest lender in the U.S., plans to pay its investment bankers bonuses totaling about $4.4 billion for the past year — which works out to about $400,000 for every employee in the unit, according to a report in Bloomberg News. The insurance giant AIG is also forging ahead with plans to pay out bonuses worth about $100 million to employees of its financial products division. Some have been critical of the move because the unit was responsible for nearly bankrupting the company.”

Despite the inevitable outrage and silentscreams of the people millions and billions will be given to those who need it least.

It’s been said that there are only a few things that we can count on including death and taxes. I’m afraid that the burden of the taxes will bring a premature death to our nation.

Well, that is unless they are taking these huge bonuses to give them to world-changing and worthwhile causes. That would be amazing, and unlikely.

And, again I will feel silenced by my smallness but at least I’ll express mysilentscream.

While trying to shake free from my malaise I read what other writers did when enveloped in writer’s block. A google search led me to this quote by Maya Angelou:

“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’” ~~ Maya Angelou ~~

Note – quoted by Richard Nordquist on About.com

I love her humility and sense of humor expressed in this quote.

Time to get to work!