Thought Provoking Essay
I got this letter the other day and I thought you all might be interested in reading it. It is written by a co-worker’s wife, Sarah Metcalf, so please do not copy and re-use this without permission. You can email me and I can ask her if you can use it. Just let me know. It does not have a title yet because she just wrote it last week.
Okay, I have a question. Are adults supposed to say things like “that kid is a drugged up loser”? Aren’t adults supposed to see past all that to a hurting teen who has turned to drugs to escape from his life. Aren’t adults supposed to try to help the “losers” of this world, not leave them on the street corner to hang themselves by their shoelaces? Aren’t we as Christian adults called to reach out to those kids who seem beyond help? It makes me so mad that we would rather leave them to die and rot in hell than love on them. “Oh, those kids are undesirable!” we say. We tell our children not to go near them, and we walk on the other side of the street when we see them coming. Hmmm, kind of sounds like a parable Jesus told doesn’t it? Sure, these kids have made some really bad choices. And maybe they don’t want to give up those bad choices right now. Does that change how our attitude should be to them? Do we really leave them alone to wallow in their sin without ever showing them the love of Jesus? Any Christian would answer “well of course not!” but we do it all the time. We turn up our noses at the teens who dress in black and dye their hair purple. We shun the teens who sit on the couch all day playing video games and wishing someone would take the time of day for them. We shut our youth group doors to kids who cut themselves and don’t shower every day. They are undesirable to us. No one, not even the youth pastor wants them around. How tragic! I hope we are all happy in our plastic perfect lives. I hope that all of us who never have problems are encouraged when we hear of another tragic suicide. Good!! The world is rid of another trashy human being who apparently was not fit to live among US!!
HYPOCRITES!!! Wake up you white washed tombs!! I’m sick of your pharisaical tyranny over those who need Jesus the most!! I’m sick of watching another kid leave church never to come back because all of you act like you’re too perfect and too holy to interact with them. If not for the love of Jesus lavished on us, would we not be in the same place? How ugly we must look to God. How disappointed in us must the Lord of the universe be to see us deem another precious creation of His unworthy of our interaction! How about we let the Lord decide who will come into His presence. And since we do not know who that will be, it is our job, our RESPONSIBILITY to make sure EVERYONE has that chance, not just a select few that we think “make the grade.” Quit being Pharisees and try being followers of Christ. We can’t imagine the joy we’ll feel when one day that “drugged up loser” stands before Christ and says, “Lord, if not for your people I would have perished eternally, but they loved me like You and they showed me Your grace and here I stand in Your heaven today because of them!”
SARAH METCALF.
Party time!
Last weekend was the TreeHouse Winter Blast 2008 retreat and it went very well. I’m going to give you a sample of a letter I received today about the retreat so you can get a taste of what God was doing there. The letter was written by Becky Walker (she is the executive director of TreeHouse).
Here are also highlights from WinterBlast!
This year we had the largest group of kids at Winter Blast EVER! Chaska TreeHouse has 19 teens and 5 staff go and out of those 19 teens 2 accepted Christ for the first time and 4 recommitted their lives to Christ. It has been awesome seeing the hunger and thirst the kids have for God and His Word after a retreat like the one we just had. We are now in a place where we are building upon their desire to know more by starting up a few Bible studies during the week. Yesterday was our first Bible study and we had 11 show up which is very encouraging. Pray that we will be able to communicate the truth of God’s Word accurately and relevantly. They have so many misconceptions about who God is, what His Word says, and how it applies to their lives, so hopefully the Holy Spirit will be able to work on their hearts and minds over the next few weeks. Pray that their hearts and minds would receive the truth and it would change them.
On a more somber note I wanted to ask you all to pray for a family that is involved with TreeHouse. Two of the teens in the family attend TreeHouse and were at Winter Blast with us last week. When they got home their mom told them that their dad had died on Saturday. Their dad is in an out of state prison and suffered a deadly heart attack. Over the past few days we’ve been trying to help the family figure out a way to get to the funeral because they can not afford plane tickets for all 5 family members. Several of the tickets have been purchased by individuals who know the family but there are still a few tickets left to be paid for. They left today for the funeral so please pray that they would experience closure and be able to grieve their lose in a positive way. If any of you know anyone who would be willing to donate money toward a ticket for the family please let me know and I’ll pass the information on to the right person. This family really has no money. Both kids come on Winter Blast and did not have any money to put toward the trip ($110 per kid was the cost) so I gave them both a scholarship. If anyone would like to send money to my scholarship fund to help cover their costs I would appreciate it very much. Thanks!
To end on a more positive thought I want to reiterate how awesome it is that we had 15 kids come to know Christ as their personal Savior for the first time! There is a serious party going on in heaven now! The work has only begun though because now the seeds need to be watered, pruned, and cared for as they grow. Please pray that we will be able to help them in that journey and they will be able to sustain their desire and yearning instead of it being a once-a-year feeling they get at a retreat.
Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. Please remember Maggie and I in your prayer as we are thinking through some tough decisions for our family that may be coming up in the near future. Thanks in advance. Prayer really works! 
 I’ll update you soon!
Yes, I am still alive! :)
Wow, I just looked at the last time I updated you all on what’s going on at TH and I am embarrassed at how long it has been! Sorry about that. I’ll try and keep you all informed and updated more frequently.
So, in the last month a lot has happened. I won’t bore you all with the details and such but I will give you a general idea as to what has gone on.
Thanksgiving was great with my whole family around. We had fun spending time catching up and letting the grandparents bond with the grandkids. I was especially happy that Pop Pop (my grandpa on my Dad’s side) got to see all 3 grandkids because I don’t know when our next trip to PA will take place. When they all left our house it was really quite and empty. It was good though because it gave Ruby and Titus a chance to get back into their sleeping/napping/eating routines. All in all it was a great week with everyone around.
Things at TreeHouse have been really busy this month. Typically we have program nights on Tuesday and Thursday nights with another event every two weeks or so. So far in December we’ve had the regular programs but we have also had an event each week. It’s fun to give the kids an opportunity to get out the house and experience community but it is also hard on my family because I am gone more than usual. Last week the earliest I was home was 9:30pm (except for Monday, that was a “normal” workday). Weeks like that can get kinda stressful at home. Pray that Maggie and I are able to learn how to balance work, family, personal time, and time together so each need is met. Thanks!
It has been great seeing the progress some of the kids here are making. Sometimes its hard to see because we’re in the midsts of it but when I think back and look at where a few kids were and where they are now I am encouraged and grateful to have been a part of that transformation. I don’t feel like I do a lot for some of the boys I meet with but thankfully God works in ways I have no idea about! It is good to know He is faithful despite what I may say or do in these kids lives.
I am in charge of our Winter Blast event which is a huge event for TreeHouse and the kids. We are going to Camp Forest Springs in Wisconsin for a weekend retreat. All the TreeHouse locations will be attending so it’s gonna be a huge event! Thankfully I’m not in charge of all the TH locations, only Chaska, but it’s still a big responsibility. The trip costs $110 per kid so it is hard selling a trip of that cost to kids who struggle with the $5-$20 trips and activities we do throughout the year. So far though it has gone well but I am still trying to figure out how many kids are going to need scholarships and how much they’ll need to pay. I think I’ve got it all figured out for now but please pray that I’m able to be financially responsible with what has been given to Chaska and what each one of you have given me.
Lately I have been challenged with a quote I read in a devotional booklet I read online. The quote was this. ” No day is complete without worship.” It was in reference to the word “Selah”, seen mostly in the book of Psalms. (What Does Selah Mean?) The author was talking about the meaning of the word and how we need to have a “Selah” moment each day. A time where we are quite, reflective, and meditating on God’s Word. Our lives get so busy and crazy that we often skip the opportunities for “Selah” in order to get more work done, to catch up, or busy ourselves with more work. I have been challenged because that’s what I a lot. I don’t know if anyone can relate to this, but I have a problem with always coming up with something else to do when I arrive at the time of the day where I want to spend time with God in His Word and in prayer. I always seem to find something that I need to quickly do before I start. Normally that “quick” little project becomes a huge project and before long I have wasted my time on other things. Again, I don’t know if any of you can relate to that or have experienced something similar before but that is usually the reason I miss my “Selah” moments during the day.
My challenge for you this Christmas season is to remember that “No day is complete without worship.” Whatever it takes for that to be accomplished needs to be done. Ignore those ‘quick” little tasks that seem to come up when it is time to enter our prayer closet or kneel before Him in the Holy of Holies. This is something I am working on and I know it is something others struggle with so please continue to pray for me and each other in this. We are a community, a body, not a lot of different random parts trying to figure it out on our own. Supporting and lifting each other up is very important and impactful.
Well, I have to go pick a kid up to hang out but I’ll keep you all updated more frequently! Promise! Thanks for all your prayers, support, and encouragement. They keep me going each day. Have a great Christmas (yes, I said Christmas, not Holiday because it’s about Christ) and I’ll talk with you all soon!
Dan
“No Day Is Complete Without Worship”Â
Giving Thanks
It’s been a while since I updated you all on whats going on. Things have been really crazy at work and at home so I haven’t had time to sit down and write to you all. Here is a short update.
HOME: Things are going good at home. It is SUPER busy with two kids in the house. The regular breaks we used to get are no longer available so once they both go down for the night we can finally relax…. OK, so we don’t relax we clean up and eat something. Typically its 11PM before get to bed. Oh well, we love our kids and are enjoying watching them grow up. Ruby is SOOO big and is a great big sister. Titus is a very happy baby and loves to smile a lot. He has started to laugh/giggle lately so when I hear that it usually makes my day. We are looking forward to all the Schmoyer’s being around for Thanksgiving. It’ll be crazy and fun all at the same time! I’ll let you know how it all goes when it is over.
WORK: I created a simple and quick website for Chaska TreeHouse (www.chaskatreehouse.wordpress.com) so the kids can keep up to date on whats going on, when events are scheduled to start and end, and what is coming up. Tim (my brother) has been helping me look at some other options for a more user friendly and interactive website for the youth here. It should be pretty sweet when it’s all done.
Over the past few days I’ve been asking kids what they are doing for Thanksgiving. The responses have varied. Some have talked about going to relatives houses, others have mentioned their house as the “host” house, and a good number of kids have said they are not doing anything at all. No special dinner, no relatives, no change from the ordinary. Each time I’ve heard that I’ve felt so sad inside because the family get-together holidays are always a lot of fun. For me, it has been the only times I get to see my cousins. It has also been a time to just relax and talk with family. For so many of the kids here “family” isn’t anything important of special to them. They’d rather be with their friends or alone than with their family. I would be so mad and full of bitterness if our Thanksgiving dinner was sitting at KFC. I know that sounds like a joke but I know it will happen this year for a few of the kids here. It’s just another day. Nothing special. No family to enjoy and laugh with.
I have so much to be thankful for and yet I take it all for granted. I don’t know if any of you relate to what I am saying or have noticed that despite all we have and all we can do (physically, financially, and many other ways) we don’t take time to give thanks. I think about the nation of Israel in the book of Judges. They would experience awesome blessing and grace from God and would begin to trust themselves and wouldn’t recognize Him as their Jehovah Jira. As a result they would fall into deeper sin and suffer the consequences of their actions. Only when they hit rock bottom would they return to their first love and repent.
This is a cycle I do not want to fall into. I want to be thankful always. It is super hard because I get so distracted with my own thinking and selfishness. I think I had something to do with the amount of money we made during the month or the way we were able to put money into our savings account. But when I look back over the past year I can see that God has TOTALLY blessed us in huge ways and I have yet to fall on my knees to praise and thank Him for being my Jehovah Jira.
We have so much to be thankful for this year. I want to challenge and encourage you to take some time today to think about how God has been your Jehovah Jira. Have you properly thanked Him for His awesome blessings? Don’t let another day pass without doing it!
Psalm 95:1-6(KJV)
“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”
Psalm 107:1(NIV)
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Baby Dedication
Yesterday Titus and Noah were dedicated at church. We decided to have both boys dedicated on the same Sunday while wearing the same outfits! I’ll post some pictures as soon as I get them from David. I also have a video of the dedication so when I format it I will post it here so you can watch it (if you think it’s that exciting).
We were sad that our parents weren’t able to be at the dedication (Adrienne’s parents were able to fly in for the week so they took pictures and did the grandparents thing for us all while we held the kids). I hope the movie is good so you can get a good glimpse of what went on.
Keep your eyes open for the the movie and pictures!
Dan, Maggie, Ruby, and Titus
