A Slower Pace

This morning’s drive into work was a bit different. While I have seen some wonderful scenery both God-made and man-made, this morning it was an opportunity to serve.

I was almost to work driving along the fast, busy four lane divided highway road and I noticed and passed an older man strolling along the side of the road. As I approached, he lifted up his hand to wave while I drove by. It wasn’t abnormal but it also wasn’t normal either. The industrial area is not conducive to people walking along the road. I watched him in my rearview mirror and he would repeatedly lift his hand and wave at each passing vehicle. It was at that point that my heart tugged at me to turn around (and we all know that it was the Holy Spirit telling me to be obedient and “love my neighbor”).

I hit the next U-turn opportunity and headed back to him. I rolled down my passenger window as I rolled up and asked him if he needed anything. He just smiled and said no and continued his stroll. I was unsafely and partially blocking traffic (no cars were coming…..yet) so I pulled all the way over, shut off my car and exited the car to walk with him. I asked him again if he needed any help and that people usually don’t wander along this industrial road. It was at that point I noticed a name tag pinned to the front of his shirt. It was one of those metal dog-type name tags and it had his name, the word Alzheimers and a phone number on it. Because my father-in-law is suffering from the same disease, I knew that he probably shouldn’t have been out wandering the streets in an industrial area. I introduced myself to “Blaine” and told him that we should find one of his family members or friends. He was cooperative but seemed very incoherent.

I was pulling out my cellphone to call the number on the tag when a Louisville Metro Police Department officer pulled up. I walked Blaine over to the officer who had gotten out of his car and introduced him. I then informed the officer of Blaine’s situation and what I knew. The officer took over from there and insisted Blaine wait in the front seat of his car while the officer could locate one of Blaine’s family members.

The public service message of this is:

If you have a friend or family member that has Alzheimers, get them a metal ID tag like Blaine had. Put their name on it and their Alzheimers condition along with a contact number of someone who is always available. It is a simple, great idea and allowed me to understand Blaine’s situation and help him when he couldn’t help himself.

Do it now because that simple act could save their lives and return them back to your family.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

This post is a follow up to my impromptu lunch with Jesse from a week and a half ago. If you haven’t done so already, read it first.

As Jesse got into the back seat and we headed towards our nearby lunch destination, I became aware of the unpleasant smell of alcohol. Knowing that my friend and I had just come from work and neither one of us had been drinking, my acute deduction powers kicked in pointing to Jesse. In a respectable way as lovingly as I could, I asked him if he had been drinking already today (seeing as it was only 11:30am). Jesse confessed to having a beer and I made it clear to him that I had provided him funds for a bus ticket to get home and that I wanted to see him use that money for just such an effort. Expectedly, he stated that he, indeed, would be purchasing a bus ticket after having lunch with us. It was a disappointing, but very human, piece of information.

The three of us grabbed a table and began the process of making the situation as normal as can be. I gave Jesse a summary of the day’s events on how my friend and I ended up at lunch and what our relationship was. My friend and I have many similarities in our lives and it was kind of neat to summarize a few of those in front of a stranger. It was my goal to get Jesse to feel comfortable and be a part of the conversation and lunch events, not just be a third wheel or spectator. I have found that in situations like these it is very important to, not only tend to someone’s physical needs, but to make them feel wanted, loved and important. It is these human aspects that society often misses when trying to take care of these situations. And they are almost always left out in government “solutions” and programs because it is subjective and not quantifiable. But that doesn’t mean it is not important. Quite often, it is more important than the problem itself whether it be homelessness, unemployment, addiction or abuse.

My friend and I asked Jesse some basic informational questions and answered similarly — where we live, where we’re from, people in our lives, etc. We found out Jesse lives down in Franklin county outside of Bowling Green. He does carpentry construction and has not had a good go of it since he fell off a roof a while back. Unfortunately, he is also recently divorced and out of work. He was up in Crestwood visiting his 17 year old daughter and was trying to make his way back home. He has lived in Kentucky all his life and seems like a pretty nice guy when he isn’t drinking the 6-10 beers a day he said he had a problem with. I found it interesting that he clarified that he doesn’t get “drop dead drunk” but rather just drinks throughout the day. He admitted he had a problem with alcohol and said he had been to a few AA meetings but didn’t “get it”. He wondered how a bunch of people sitting around saying their name and admitting they were alcoholics actually helped anyone. I told him that I knew many people have been helped by AA and that he might need to give it another shot.

The conversation progressed as we ordered and received our food. I found it interesting that Jesse didn’t order extravagantly or even get a drink. He ordered off the lunch specials menu and asked for water. As we dug into our grub, the discussion turned spiritual. My friend and I had an opportunity to witness to Jesse and share the hope we have in Christ. (“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” — 1 Peter 3:15) Jesse said he believed in Christ and occasionally attends church at home. I encouraged him to fully pursue his relationship with Christ and to seek help in defeating his alcohol demon. I told him we all have our demons and that none of us can do it alone. It is only in the freedom and redemption in Christ’s death were we can truly live free from sin’s declining spiral.

After finishing his meal, Jesse kindly thanked both of us and said goodbye. He left out a side door and headed down the street towards the local bus line that would take him downtown to the Greyhound station. We watched him walk out of sight as we finished up our meals and drinks. I was hopefully optimistic that he would use the funds to get back home. And hopefully, just hopefully, it will be a small step towards normalcy and possibly recovery some day. He has been in my prayers often since that day and will continue to be.

And a lesson I learned a while ago continues to ring true. Again, I have learned that I don’t need to have all the answers to be a part of the solution.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Today I was extraordinarily blessed with a spectacular day. However, I wavered back and forth about whether to blog about my day. The reason being is that, while I enjoy identifying opportunities to serve Christ with my whole heart, I am hesistant about writing or talking about them.

On one side of the coin, I want to blog about them to share with others ideas on how they can identify opportunities and serve Christ. It also might be an opportunity to inspire others. At the least, it probably makes for a good story.

On the other side of the coin, I do not want to bring attention to myself. When I act on these tugs at my heart by the Holy Spirit, I am merely being obedient and doing what God calls me to do. It is nothing special and I continue to be amazed at how God can use a broken vessel like me to fulfill His plan. I write about this solely for #1) the glory of Christ and #2) to hopefully inspire others to get out there and make a difference. Additionally, scripture gives us some good guidance on this as well. In Matthew 6:1-4 (New International Version)

1″Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2″So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Just to show the entire picture, I have also blogged about my failure to serve Christ in the past, as highlighted in these posts — I failed….. , Turtles and failure….., and I’m ashamed….. .

So with that all being said, here is a summary of my day as I was able to serve Christ. I blog about this to bring glory to Christ and inspire others to do the same.

As most of you regular readers know, I spot all sorts of cool things in the morning and on my drives to work. From gorgeous sunrises, to patriotic signs, to wildlife, to a combination of almost everything. I have learned that the morning and my commute to work is when I am freshest and when I am most open to God speaking to me.

So this morning it was no different as I cruised to work in the drizzling rain. I was about 1 or 2 miles away when I noticed a TARC bus stopped in the middle of nowhere in the industrial park dropping off a nicely dressed lady in heels. Now, this was peculiar because it was a part of the industrial area where there is no intersection, no bus stop, no strip mall, no stores……nothing but warehouses and industrial buildings. She didn’t have an umbrella and was holding a Walmart bag and newspaper above her head. I sped by the other direction at 55mph and didn’t think twice when I heard my heart say that I had to make a U-turn to go back and offer her a ride to where she was going. It took me a 1/4 mile to find a break in the median (again, this was an industrial area with not much around). I spun around and pointed the car back to where I saw the bus drop her off. She had made her way not far down a side street. I pulled up, rolled the window down and asked if I could give her a dry ride to where she was going.

It turned out she was just going to the next large warehouse building where she works but she was thankful for the sheltered escort to the front doors. I didn’t even get a chance to ask her name but said goodbye and “have a nice day”.

As I turned around in the parking lot, I turned back up the radio to my normal dial — 88.5 WJIE. At that time one of my favorite bands — Tenth Avenue North — was on playing their latest hit single from their new album – Healing Begins (which I am listening to as I blog write this). Uncharacteristically of me, I lifted up my hand in praise as an obedient servant. It was just coming off a small task of service and now was acknowledging my Savior. I was overcome all the way back to my work.

So, as you can imagine, my day was off to an awesome start. Unfortunately, one of my really good friends who I was having lunch with had to cancel. This is one of my “anchor” people — someone who is a brother in Christ and where we can build each other up. (Editorial: make sure you have “anchor” people in your life that can build you up and who you can build up. It is important to have the encouragement, accountability, wisdom and perspective of other close believers.)

Being the resourceful person I am, I inquired with another anchor friend of mine who agreed to head out to lunch with me. We decided on a local BBQ place and headed a bit before noon so we could beat the lunch crowd.

We enjoyed nice conversation on the way there and I exited the freeway eagerly anticipating a nice meal with a friend and the large sweet tea I have come to love. As we went under the freeway I noticed someone standing at the bottom of the offramp from the other direction. That area is quite a bit away from the city and not known for panhandlers. He looked down on his luck but wasn’t filthy or ragged. He was holding a cardboard sign that I couldn’t see from our angle.

I looked over to my friend and informed him that I was going to take a detour. Now this is a bit of a sidebar here — I am very lucky to have a friend in Christ in this anchor person. He and I have had all sorts of interesting conversation in our trials and tribulations and have been able to share and build our faith together throughout our growing relationship. And while making this kind of detour is not in my everyday activities, especially with someone else along for the ride, it was something I felt comfortable enough within our relationship to be able to do. I thank him for being someone I can share that with.

We crossed through the intersection and pulled to the side shoulder. My friend hung out in the car while I jogged back to inquire as to what the offramp fellow needed. He couldn’t hear me across the traffic and was initially hesitant to leave his vantage point. He finally “Froggered” his way through the offramp traffic over to my side. He was an older guy with graying shoulder length hair. I asked him if he wanted to join us for lunch. He said he was stranded here and was trying to get back to Bowling Green (just a short 2 hour jaunt south down I-65). He said he didn’t want lunch but needed a bus ticket to go home.

Now, normally I don’t give cash to panhandlers, homeless or cardboard sign folks. It is too easy for them to use it for nefarious purposes (alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, and other things they don’t need — which is quite often why they are in the situation to begin with). But for some reason, my heart spoke to me and I gave him the needed money for the bus ticket. At that time, I was able to convince him to join us for lunch. That test he passed — I was thinking that if his “real” need for a bus ticket was met, he would then spend time with us over a meal. If he just wanted money, he’d take it and get back to his prime spot on the offramp.

I introduced him to my friend who was patiently waiting in the car and he said his name was Jesse. We headed down to our lunch destination and worked through the initial uncomfortable moments such situations come with.

Stay tuned…..part 2 and the lunch conversation will come tomorrow. It is late and I need to get my beauty sleep. (Ha!)

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Earlier this week R had a foundation meeting in support of January’s Chrysalis flight. She attended last year as a participant and this year has volunteered to be a youth leader for the flight. If you didn’t know, Chrysalis is an awesome organization and experience for young folks. It takes their young caterpillar belief in Christ and propels it through a growth stage – hence the name Chrysalis – to transform them beyond themselves to be servants in Christ. It is a very important step in their faith journey.

Because my wife was not feeling well, I had the evening pickup. I brought K along for the ride with a promise of a side visit to Sonic for a drink. We had to wait a while, but finally R came out and we were headed home via Sonic. On the way there cruising along the freeway, I noticed a van on the interchange connector going much slower than normal with its hazard lights blinking. I looked back and saw the whole front hood smashed in. That looked weird because there were no other vehicles around. Because I was doing 65mph I was soon beyond view. It was at that point that I realized that the car had hit a deer. And with it being a minivan, the thought of a mom and her kids going through that had me exit the freeway and get back on going back to see if they needed assistance. My daughters were a little miffed because this delayed their Sonic but we all knew it was the right thing. A couple of minutes later I was able to pull up in front of them and jog back to see what help I could offer. I had some room in my car for a ride and a cell phone for them to call for a tow truck. Upon arrival, the family of four was out of the smashed vehicle. They all appeared ok which was confirmed when I asked. The mom was on a cell phone and the dad said he appreciated me stopping but that they had it all covered. He shook my hand and thanked me again and I returned to my daughters.

That stop for assistance took some conscious effort but after arriving there I really didn’t do much for the thanks and appreciation. Now contrast that with this morning’s event.

On the way to work I was running a bit late. I enjoyed the bits of sunrise I could see behind me (but not like this one earlier this month) and listened to enjoyable music on the radio. Towards the end of my commute as the highway ends and transitions to a four lane road thoroughfare I noticed about a half mile up ahead a vehicle in the left lane with its hazards flashing. I could see a young man standing on the median and liquid under the older Ford Explorer. The light was red and I pulled into the right lane next to the disabled vehicle. As the light turned green, I continued on my way. How easy would it have been for me to pull onto the right shoulder and ask him what help he needed? I had my cell phone. I could have helped him push the truck to the right out of traffic. It would have taken less time than it took me to turn around and drive back to the deer collision vehicle. All I know is that I failed to serve when an opportunity was placed in front of me.

Here are other times I have fallen short.

Turtles and failure…..

I’m ashamed…..

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

UPDATE: at lunch, I was given a second chance.

Over the next several days, it is my hope to reflect on and process the material and notes I have. This first output is a response to one of the last sessions on Friday with Bono of U2.

If you didn’t know, Bono has become more and more famous for his Africa hunger/famine/AIDS outreach than for his being the lead singer for U2. While I haven’t always agreed with his methods or politics, I do admire his passion and drive. And you do have to give it to him — you don’t see many other rock stars hanging it out there beyond their narcisistic selves.

I was very impacted by the interview with Bono…..specifically, what we need to do about the world health and poverty crisis. And I have been moved by an idea. An idea way beyond me but an idea I feel needs to be acted upon none the less. This idea revolves around the medicines that have significant impact to the lives of impoverished people. Let me set the stage for you.

I currently work for one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies. While we have a wonderful mission — serving patients — the company has slowly eroded into a corporation whose primary pursuit is the dollar and quarterly approval by Wall Street (quite a different place where the company was 12 years ago when I joined).

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Now don’t get me wrong – I understand all about capitalism and the pursuit of a dollar. What I do not support is the pursuit of a dollar at the expense of someone else. And I am seeing that more and more in today’s world — both on the business side and the politics side. I feel that sometimes the politicians are more self-absorbed power and dollar chasers than our capitalistic CEOs although quite often it is an even tie.
==== tangeant off ====

In the sole pursuit of the dollar, the company has discarded with resources — specifically a biotechnology manufacturing facility site in Washington state. The question I asked my colleague who is also attending the summit was — “what if a team acquired the Washington site for the passionate manufacture of pharmaceuticals specifically for compassionate use — using some of those same experts that were let go last month?”.

The pieces are there — facility, people, knowledge. Add the faith, passion and leadership towards a mission Bono discussed in the interview and safe, efficacious drug product would be able to be provided for those without. I realize I may just be planting a seed, but right now I am a sower and tossing out the seeds. I am hoping that by posting this and discussing this with folks I know that a seed might be planted and germinate into an idea worth pursuing for a greater good. And it would be privately or self funded, not reliant on some government handout.

It sure also would infuse passion and mission back into people who have become jaded to the pharmaceutical borg mother ship.

I was just thinkin’…..

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

The quote below came to me this afternoon during my Christian Leadership Summit:

“Our sphere of empathy should be round enough to encapsulate the globe.”

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

The events of yesterday’s Christian Leadership Summit are still swimming around in my head like unfinished ingredients of a delicious cake not yet done baking. I continue to be humbled, inspired, refilled, and refueled. I have recently been saying that God is stirring up something within me. Well, yesterday he hit the “puree” button.

Below are some highlights that I will try to use as future post fodder.

• “Show me God’s way. My way didn’t work so well.”
• Personal sustainability – need to have an adequate replenishment strategy
• “How can I help fill you back up?”
• “The best thing you bring to the table is a filled up you (fresh Spirit, God led)”
• Associate with those who fill you up; avoid those who deplete you
• “Are you changing as fast as the world around you?” NOTE: this is one I will be coming back to because, while I agree with the premise, I also firmly believe that there are bedrock, non-negotiable, foundational beliefs that CANNOT change if we are to remain true disciples in this darkened world. The challenge will be to identify those unchangable foundational blocks while morphing all the other areas.
• “Innovate all of the time and fight bureaucracy none of the time” WOW! My company could sure use this one. Also, one note of clarification – my dad pointed out that we should always fight bureaucracy, which is true. But the point was that we shouldn’t have to. Our efforts should be going towards productive activities and we, as leaders, should remove as much bureaucracy as we can so our teams can be more productive.
• Don’t manage, command, and control but rather mobilize, connect and support
• “God doesn’t have a plan B”
• We have an extravagant, loving God to deal with our wreckless sin
• Meritocracy and the value of co-creation (within an organization)
• A common purpose is the best way to predict outcome in an unpredictable environment.
• Show, don’t tell
• “God has called you to action. He calls us to play the game. Break the huddle. (football analogy)”

And folks, that was just scratching the surface of my multiple pages of notes. And I still have another full day today!
(That is my birthday present to myself.)

Truly amazing!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I am excited because today I am attending the first day of a two day Christian leadership conference. They have an interesting agenda and the timing is very interesting with some recent stirrings going on in my life right now. That partially accounts for some of the lack of blog posts and quiet time here at A Slower Pace. When I get to a point where those new directions can be publicly revealed I will post about them.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to today and tomorrow where I believe God will use me and many others. I pray we will be inspired, lead, spoken to, given guidance, encouraged and directed to further His kingdom.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Today my mom and my sister leave Washington state to head on a mission trip to Kenya, Africa. They will be over there with the Mashaka Quilting Project for a while to teach some ladies over there how to quilt and sew items that can then be used locally for trade or globally to bring in a small income. The idea is to provide them with the skills, tools, raw materials, and resources so, over time, they can ultimately provide for themselves. My sister will be over there for 3 weeks while my mom will continue to stay well into October. They will also try to create a cottage industry and get them plugged into an international marketplace for their wares — which with the internet and community help is an option today that wasn’t available years ago. My mom will be training the first 20 women, who will in turn become the teachers for the other women in Mashaka.

Please keep my mom (Kitty) and my sister (Jill) in your prayers for safe travel so that they can be used as tools by God to further His kingdom and help others help themselves.

Image above is a quilt my mom made prior to the trip.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

If you don’t know about Tom’s story, first go read it here.

Now that you have done that you probably also know that 2 weeks ago I joined the family for a visit out to California to see my wife’s family. We also fit in some entertainment (Disneyland, the beach) along with some friends. In addition, we also packed in visits to all of our old favorite eating spots (In N Out Burger, Mission Burrito, Jamba Juice, etc).

On our way to one of these such spots — Baja Fresh and Jamba Juice — I spotted Tom in his center median spot. I did not have time to share a meal with him but was determined to bring him something to eat. I dashed into Baja Fresh and ordered his usual to go and, with the family in tow in our rental mini-van, delivered it to him as we waited for the green left turn arrow. This was not the first time I had curbside delivered food to Tom and he recognized and thanked me as I handed the bag out the window. I also told him that I would be back in town on business in two weeks and would try to stop by then.

Fast forward to my most recent business trip out to Thousand Oaks. I had many meetings and lots of corporate business to tend to. My schedule was quite crazy and I had forgotten about my previous encounter with Tom. Now, before we move on with the story, you must realize that, while you the reader know how this will end up — with me sharing a dinner with Tom — I did not. And it should be clear as the story gets told how I am steered down the path I am supposed to travel. Hindsight will easily conclude this, however, it has a much bigger impact when you are directly in the middle of it and the light bulb goes off.

So my entire week was filled with schedules and meetings and tasks. I really did not have much spare time. However, for some reason, my Wednesday evening was left open. And throughout that day I ran into a person here, a colleague there, who I would try to schedule something that evening with. I would say “I know it is last minute but you want to grab some dinner?”

I asked this a few times throughout the day to completely different people with the same answer — “No, I already have plans.”

So after a 12 hour day, I decided to take it easy and place a “to go” order at the Cheesecake Factory and take it back to my hotel room for a relaxing end of the evening. The first cell phone call to them was disconnected. The next call had me on hold for 5 minutes (I kid you not!). While on hold patiently waiting, it then hits me that I am supposed to hang up, drive over, and see if Tom is there — remembering my previous statement 2 weeks prior. At this point, it is not me — I am merely being used by God.

NOTE: I continue to be amazed at how God can effectively use us if we are in tune to him and open to serving him. See post “Believe. Serve.” Sometimes, all we need to do is get out of our own way.

Upon arriving over at the Target parking lot adjacent to the strip mall entrance that Tom frequents, I see him in his center median spot in the drizzling rain. I shout out to him to see if he wants to join me for dinner. Again, he recognizes me, collects his assortment of items, and heads over my way. We greet each other and he declines my request to put his stuff in my rental car truck and instead heads over to his VW van that not only serves as his transportation but also his home. I did not know he had such a possession and his resourcefulness increased in my eyes. We drove in my rental over to our default dinner spot — Baja Fresh. We make light conversation and comment on the weather. A front row bingo parking spot appeared in front of us and we took advantage of it as we headed into the Mexican eatery.

It was my intent this time to not only treat Tom as a guest (as I did in the previous post) but to also completely interact with him in conversation and support. This was not our first interaction and I wanted to learn more about him and show him that this was a developing relationship rather than just a random act of kindness. He surprised me by ordering a chicken quesadilla rather than the Baja Ensalada with chicken that he ordered the first time we met (and what I ordered him on every subsequent curbside delivery). I then asked him which one he liked better so I could ensure I was getting him something he liked when I drop off food to him in the future. He responded with the chicken quesadilla which prompted me to make a joke making fun of me always bringing him the Baja Ensalda — which he laughed at. I told him that I was glad to have the new information and from now on would “upgrade” the to-go order to the chicken quesadilla.

He laughed again and said he was thankful for that.

We settled in grabbing some pico de gallo that we both liked and then began catching up more after our dinner prayer. It was a very easy and pleasant conversation — much easier than the first time I met him. I asked him questions about what he had been up to; where he had been; how people have been treating him. He said that he recently went down to a local library to take a test by the U.S. Census people. They hire unemployed folks like him. He passed the test and is hoping to pick up some odd time and hours over the next several months performing some of their menial tasks. I found this information encouraging and a different perspective from that the public has of homeless that they don’t pursue opportunities. I complemented him on his initiative and encouraged him on the effort. It was nice to see his enthusiasm despite his circumstances.

Tom also told me of a regular lady who brings him food each week she collects from her church. Her name is Ellie and she is 80 years old. What an example she is setting by providing for some of his needs. I asked Tom to say “hi” to Ellie for me.

As we wound up our meal, I asked Tom what the fuel level of his VW van was. He replied with a half a tank and I asked if he would like to fill it up. He was receptive to that (as opposed to when we first met where he accepted the meal but declined any additional assistance).

So we returned to his van and I followed him over to the nearest gas station where we topped him off with gas. He shook my hand and I told him that, if he would let me, I would continue to “pester” him with food and shared meals. He laughed and thanked me as he got in his van. He disappeared down the street as I got caught at a red light.

I look forward to continued interactions with Tom. Again, I don’t have to have the answer to be a small part of the solution. I challenge each one of you to get involved with people who have needs like this. Don’t just throw resources at a problem. Roll up your sleeves and get to know the people and their issues. While I believe they get a lot from it, we are the ones who truly benefit more.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net