5440 Navajo Bridge Trail

Thu, 4 Dec 2008 15:44:12 -0600

Glen Roachelle: What Matters to Me

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:23:22 -0600

Joanne and I have known Glen and Roberta Roachelle for more than 40 years. Glen is our pastor and they have remained dear, tested, and completely trustworthy friends for most of our lives.

I don’t know anyone on earth who loves the Lord or His kids more than Glen and Roberta. Like Jesus, they seem to walk in total dependence on Heaven. And, because they don’t “need” anything on earth, that frees them to love people just as they find them. They never relate to people from need or agenda.

It is appropriate that Glen’s essay appears on Thanksgiving. Gratitude saturated his comments and reminds any reader of the deeper springs of thanksgiving.

Joanne Chinn: What Matters To Me

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:47:58 -0600

Joanne and I were married 43 years on November 6 (I think we were about 9 on our wedding day).

One of the reasons I love this lady is her deep sense of contentment. Her spirit carries a continuous purr. I’ve never known her to demand more than the Lord was pleased to give her. She is very low-maintenance. Joanne walks in a profound trust in God, His provisions, and in all realms and layers of His authority.

I was, at first, surprised that she didn’t write one word about health as something which matters. And, 2008 took her through over a bad road of personal health. Incredibly, she never even thought to mention health as something which matters in this piece. Apparently, she will accept whatever His hand gives.

Joanne finds great joy in simplicity. She knows what many people do not: that the uncluttered and quiet life is best. Joanne loves good coffee, good friends, good paper, good pens.

More than that, of course, she loves the Lord and her family. And, she is absolutely the funniest person I’ve met in my 62 years on this planet. I suspect I’ll have the same testimony 500 years from now.

Now, let this beautiful and joyous lady tell you what matters to her.

_____________________________

I once sat with a group of 8 friends and listened as each one told what they had wanted to do with their lives; not one had done what they had really set out in life to do. I realized (very quietly) that I was the only one in the room who had exactly what I wanted from life.

While in elementary school in south Texas, I remember walking to and from school, seeing mothers hanging clothes on the clotheslines or playing with their children. And, I thought, “When I grow up I want to be a wife and mother.” That was it.

I truly found the desires of my heart. Now, after 43 years of being a wife and many years of being a mother to Eddie, Paul, Amy (and mother-in-law to Myra, Libby, and Curt) it still matters to me to love my husband and children and be to them what they need me to be. They are my joy!

After Eddie married Myra, another desire was to be a grandmother. At age 50 I was blessed with our Ashley. Holding that baby a few minutes after birth may have been the happiest moment of my life. Now, five more granddaughters and one grandson later, it matters to me to be a good “Maw maw” and “Nana.” Those seven children have brought so much joy to my life.

Friendships matter to me. Over the years I’ve been blessed with such good and long time friends (including my own sisters and other family members). Ten years ago I started writing pen pals. I now have 42. They have become new gifts from the Lord. It matters to me to stay in touch with them to be a blessing, to pray for them and help them. Many of these ladies have become true friends.

God has blessed me so and given me the desires of my heart. I am enriched by His gifts.

Oh yes, that includes Starbucks...

Eddie Chinn: What Matters To Me

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:12:18 -0600

“Place” has always been central to what matters in life. Because of gravity (natural and spiritual), we are often pulled into a significant relationship with specific places.

Consider the catalogue of place names throughout the Bible. From “the oaks of Bashan” to the “plain of Mamre” to “Joseph’s tomb,” apparently God considered the names of forests, fields, threshing floors, burial grounds, and other places to be important.

In this essay, my son Eddie describes a place which matters to him (and to all descendants of my great-grandparents, Eddie and Stella Chinn).

_______________________________

Seven miles southwest of Coats, Kansas lies a 240 acre-farm that, to me, is the most sacred piece of real estate on the planet.

This parcel of Kansas prairie contains a farm house, garage, barn, overgrown corral, pond, dilapidated chicken house, pole barn, and wind mill. For some reason, the large thicket of trees below the house takes my breath away.

That ground is the Chinn family farm.

Following the death of her husband, my great-great grandmother, Stella, bought it for $200.00 in 1903. The one-bedroom house where she and her kids lived soon expanded. She bought a house ¾ of a mile away in 1906. The house had to be cut in two so that it could be moved across the prairie to where it sits today.

Chinns have lived and died on this land for 124 years. Many family reunions and other gatherings have been convened at the farm.

My brother Paul married Libby in front of the farm house in July of 2007. As I stood in his wedding, I couldn’t help but remember that Paul and some of our cousins had almost burned down the garage as they were experimenting with matches and gasoline.

Some of my greatest memories are being with my Grandpa Chinn as we drove to and from, worked, and talked on the farm. I would follow him around the property and help him load stuff in his pickup as he told stories of his life when he lived on this sacred ground. We would trudge through the weeds avoiding the rusted farm implements as he would talk about what happened in that spot when he was 10.

I’ve also spent countless hours on this land listening to my dad and uncles as they told stories of their own experiences on the farm. Some of my favorite times were when my uncle Vernon lived on the farm. I loved riding horses through the trees, ravines, and across the grasslands of the farm.

Every time I set foot on this property, I am reminded of the faith, love, and sacrifice that touched and shaped this land. In fact, sometimes it’s almost eerie; chill bumps like sandpaper wrap around me as I feel the presence of those who walked that ground before me.

When I gaze over this hallowed piece of earth, I am always reminded of how much God has had his hand on me these past 42 years. I am forever grateful for those men and women in my family who suffered and triumphed through unimaginable odds.

I know that I was born and am still alive for a reason. I also know that this land and those that cultivated it for decades, including my Grandpa, played a significant role in the matrix of that purpose.

This past October 28th marked three years since Grandpa passed away. He slipped into Alzheimer’s before arriving in much greener pastures. I will always believe that when he arrived in Heaven, the pastureland there looked very familiar to him.

COMMENTS

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 03:55:13 -0600

GLEN ROACHELLE WRITES: Your essay was so powerful and rich! Thank you for this clear window into your heart and passion. Your reference to Ezekiel 16:49 was a knockout. You know I have read the Bible for many decades, and i do not remember reading that verse. Are you sure you didn't put it in Ezekiel when I was not looking? ;-) I will now have to go read through that portion of Ezekiel.

GARY HENLEY WRITES: Nancy, your statement: -- "What matters to Him is His vastly encompassing purpose. And being finite, we only catch facets of it as He reveals it." -- reminded me of one of my favorite poems.

Prophets of a Future Not Our Own

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection …
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities. .

We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results …
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador,
assassinated in 1980.

Nancy Peifer: What Matters to Me

Sun, 2 Nov 2008 06:00:18 -0600

Nancy Peifer and her family have lived and worked in Kenya for the past nine years. Like others who represent Heaven-on-earth, their attitude and labors have pushed them beyond the walls of their official job description. They have poured out their lives as an offering to Him.

To read more about (or contribute to) their work, go to http://kenyakidscan.org/. Their work was also featured on CNN’s “Heroes” special in 2007.

Nancy has been a devout Christ-follower for as long as we’ve known and loved her (she lived with our family from 1982 - 1985). But, any field of challenging service has the effect of peeling “me” away and revealing “Him.” Keep that in mind as you listen to Nancy’s heart.
_________________________________

What Matters to Me?

What used to matter to me was doing right—doing right according to the Bible. A good thing, right? Not completely right; as I’ve aged, I’ve realized that my “doing right” is marred. It’s marred with selfish motives. Because in “doing right,” I looked good, but all the while these “good deeds” were coming out of a very self-centered heart.

Now what matters to me more and more is what God wants to matter to me. I’ve discovered that a formulaic approach to “doing right” does not matter to the Lord. What matters to Him is His vastly encompassing purpose. And being finite, we only catch facets of it as He reveals it. What matters to me is to find out what matters to Him and what part of that He invites me to participate in.

As He has called my family to minister in sub-Saharan Africa for the last 9 years, the facet of His purpose that has come to the forefront is His tender and enduring love for the forgotten—the orphans, the widows, the poor. And caring for them is more and more what matters to me.

Yes I want to be the best wife and mother to my 4 children that I can be. Yes, I want to excel in teaching . Yes, I want to be a good friend, a supportive staff member of this school, and a good representative of the church of Jesus Christ. But I’m beginning to see those things more as by-products. If I love my Father God, then what matters to Him will matter to me and everywhere I turn in the Scriptures right now I see his desire for the “least of these” to be cared for.

Although Sodom and Gomorrah were immoral cities where all manner of the sins of lust were in full bloom, what condemned them was their treatment of these “least”. Ezekiel 16:49 says, “Behold this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.”

More and more, what matters to me are the orphans, the widows, and the poor…

Tricia Mills: What Matters To Me

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:33:26 -0500

Most people who have the time and inclination to think through what matters in life are older. And, those who have shared their personal essays in the tavern have ranged from 50s to 70s.

So, it is refreshing to read the thoughts of a young lady who is, well, at least a couple decades younger than anyone else who has opened up in the tavern.

Tricia is a young wife and mother in Columbia, TN. Joanne and I have known Tricia all her life. Her parents are Glen and Roberta Roachelle.

I love this lady’s heart and I hope others reading this -- young or old -- will catch sight of things which matter:
_______________________

What Matters To Me?

To make sure I have an ongoing conversation with God everyday.

That people walking through my front door feel like they have a porch rocker and a warm-by-the-fire welcome.

That I ask my husband what I can do for him each day and that I, at the days end, thank him for his sacrifice of love in going to work. I am proud of him.

That I live in the moment with my son -- seeing through his eyes and dreaming in his world of books and trucks -- so he knows how special and loved he is.

That my Dad knows how much his love and guidance in my life is helping to shape the man I am raising in my son.

That my Mom knows what a special and unique spiritual bread-giver she is, and it matters to me to try to give her a little bit of my own bread each day at 6:45 a.m. in our usual phone call.

That I tell my oldest sister, “There is always a bridge over troubled waters and no matter how troubled the waters, He always filters them clean again.”

That I tell my other sister how wonderful it is to have her as my best friend and how grateful I am that she can make me laugh at the bad times and cry tears of joy at the good.

That I tell my brother how proud I am of him and, “Never forget to go back to your roots and remember how sweet the water of remembrance is if you remember the good times.”

That I tell my other parents Roy and Madolyn, that they are everything and more that anyone could wish for as in-laws, and I treasure them for who they are and for the man they raised to become my husband. Thank you.

That everyday I remember my family and friends in prayers that my heart feels for each one, and that I thank each of them for feeding a place in me that no else can, and for making me feel so special to be their friend, their sister, their wife and their daughter.

Mike Bishop: What Matters to Me

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:03:50 -0500

A strong sense of “place” has always marked the terrain of what matters to people. That comes through so clearly in Mike Bishop’s translation of “What Matters to Me.”

Mike works all day in a (Phoenix, AZ) business environment, but he is a true secret agent of another country. Like Superman, he clothes himself in the robes of the realm, but operates according to the powers and rules of another place. The photos above capture only small parts of Mike and his sweet wife, Pam.

Listen to my friend’s heart as he describes a place which matters:

_____________________

Usually when people use the words "what" and "matter" around me, it sounds like, "What's the matter with you?”

Not in the sense of, “Oh, you look like you don’t feel well – have some chicken soup.” More like, “Do you have a village full of odd characters living in your head?”

As a matter of fact, yes, I do. My psycho-village (as Ed Chinn so appropriately dubbed it) is very important to me. MPD means never having to say you’re lonely. But that story appears on my own blog -- http://www.rattlingz.blogspot.com/ -- and doesn’t need to clutter up Ed’s Tavern.

Instead, why don’t you join me for a stroll among the hidden secrets of a sacred and peaceful place that matters to me very much? We can explore the house and all its oddities later. Right now you should just go on through the doorway and head outside. That isn’t a back yard you see ahead – that’s God-Harmony Garden.

The always-green trunks of a grove of palo brea trees buttress an arching, lacy ceiling of the same lively color.

Sparrows, finches, doves, and a host of other birds find a welcome place to whistle, chirp and warble among the living beams and rafters.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. (Psalm 84:3)

Flowery terraces all around offer up a lavish sacrifice of colors for the eyes and the nose. Warm white sand hints of exotic, tropical beaches. Follow the tempting sound of splashing and you’ll find a magical little watercourse swimming with living jewels. Sit down on one of those benches that look like carved blocks from an ancient ruined temple wall. Now, relax, enjoy the colorful koi and the vivid water lilies.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. (Psalm 84:5-6)

This garden temple is where I rest and wait. Where I dare hope for a “cool of the day” when God Himself will grace with His presence this place I have prepared. Sometimes I sit and meditate, playing my guitar or a flute as I wait for Him to speak. But most of the time I find that the sound of rustling trees, singing birds, dancing water and splashing fish is all the music I need, and more than I can comprehend.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah. Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah. (Psalm 84:4, 8)

God may not walk in my garden as He once did in His own, nor live under its green roof as He used to dwell inside great stone walls. But He drops in from time to time. And we have conversations that matter.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (Psalm 84:1, 2, 10)

Comment

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:00:40 -0500

DALE SMITH writes: I greatly enjoyed reading Charles Simpson's thoughts on what is important to him. I resonate with his love for Costa Rica. One of our favorite places in San Jose is what, when we were there many years ago, was called the Car“iari. A wonderfully relaxing pace to stay in a busy major city. Our most favorite places are along the west coast."

Charles Simpson: What Matters To Me

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:12:18 -0500

Charles Simpson -- Bible teacher, pastor, preacher, and author -- is a true spiritual pioneer.

This “giant in the earth” has remained faithful to God, his family, and his ministry throughout his life. Charles has blazed many trails for people of faith. He is probably my all-time favorite preacher. Furthermore, I’ve been honored to know him, and be his friend, for most of four decades. Joanne and I actually lived with Charles and his dear wife, Carolyn, for three months in 1998.

Carolyn was one of the most gracious people we’ve met on planet earth. In February of this year, she died after a long battle with cancer. The loss was enormous to Charles, their family, and to so many around the world.

Consider the backdrop of his great loss as you read this interview.

____________________

Charles, let me ask you some questions regarding what matters to you:

First - If you had one month to live, what would you do? Who would you want to see? In what one geographical place would you most want to stand (again or for the 1st time)?   “I would probably write, visit family, and men I pastor. I would write about investing in the next generation and family. I would probably visit the Costa Rica Marriott in San Jose. I've had many peaceful times there. A close second would be return to Zermatt in Switzerland and look at the Matterhorn. I had good memories there.” 

What doesn't matter to you -- at all?

“Public opinion or position mean nothing to me. Relationships -- beginning with the Lord -- mean everything.”

What personal possession would you fight to rescue from a burning building?   “Possessions mean less and less to me. But, I gave Carolyn three Royal Dresden plates on our 12th anniversary (1972). She loved those plates. Of course, Dresden was bombed in WWII, and the plates were gold gilded with royal figures.”

What patch of earth means most to you?

“I love the Gulf Coast beach where I have walked and prayed when life was hard to understand.”

What words mean most to you?

“Matthew 28:18-20 would be first. Isaiah 40:28-31 would be close behind.” 
At your age, what matters now that didn't matter when you were younger? And, of course, what did and now doesn't?    “What matters most now is my children and grandchildren's ability to move forward after I'm gone. A close second is the future of men whom I pastor. When I was young, I cared too much about what others thought about me. As my life draws to a close, my main concern will be did I fulfill the reason I was born. That concern has been with me for a while.

“In addition to trusting Christ, I would suggest that any young person read a chapter of proverbs each day and ask God for wisdom.”