Mark Beeson

This Is Why GCC Volunteers Go To India

In a world of brief text messages and short blogs I’m frustrated.

First, I’m frustrated because I expect everything worthwhile to be accomplished quickly. If it isn’t pithy and clear, I’m annoyed.

Second. I’m frustrated because I don’t seem to be able to fit everything in the Universe into a ten-minute time-frame and describe it with a 140-character Tweet. I want to keep everything concise, but some things resist limits and defy constraint.

This video is like that.

So if you’re in a “mood,” or you don’t have 12 minutes to watch right now, just read the last sentence and move on.  But if you’ve got 12 minutes (which is significantly less time than it takes to fly to India and experience the impact of GCC’s ministry first-hand) watch this update.

Our next team of GCC volunteers leaves for India in less than two weeks.

Isaiah 30:18c  -  God takes the time to do everything right—everything.

Cousins

 

This is the first picture I’ve taken of Lydia and Ruby together.  In fact, today is the first time Lydia and Ruby have ever been together. Lydia isn’t even supposed to be born yet, but she’s already weighing in at a massive 4 lbs 9 oz.  Ruby is almost nine months old so she’s…well…bigger. 

Psalm 38:11  -  My cousins never visit…

Wahoo! The Python Hunt Is On!

 

I talked with my brother last night and he said there is one thing you can say to a bunch of guys, anywhere and anytime, that is guaranteed to elicit the same response: “Oh man. That’s great!”

“I’m going to hunt Pythons in the Everglades.”

That’s what my son will be doing in a few weeks. 

I’m already scheduled to be in Egypt, or I’d go with him.  My nephew is going.  So is my brother.  They’ll come back with fantastic stories and great memories of mosquitoes swarming above swamp water filled with gators and snakes.  It'll be a blast!  I told Aaron two things: "Try not to let 'em wrap around your neck," and "Take along some Neosporin to massage into the fang holes." 

What guy wouldn’t want to hunt Pythons in the Everglades?

I wish I could go.  

Ecclesiastes 10:11  -  The power to charm a snake does you no good if it bites you anyway.

Glen Lake Cougar

 - Photo by Aaron Beeson - 

Before we had grandkids, back before Aaron married Tracy, our family drove north to spend a few days on the south shore of Glen Lake. We saw some "watch out 'cause cougars are in the woods and they'll eat you up" signs at the Sleeping Bear Dunes trailheads, but who knew cougars were actually hanging around?  I mean, really.  The last time someone verified the existence of a wild cougar in Michigan was around 1906.

But apparently there are mountain lions in Michigan once again. Jerome Wiater, an orthopedic surgeon from Bingham, recently took two pictures of an large animal near the south shore of Glen Lake which the Michigan Department of Natural Resources verified as a cougar. 

Oh, oh.

The MDNR suggests if you are attacked by a cougar, "You should fight back aggressively, stay on your feet and not play dead."  

No duh.

1 Kings 13:24  -  As he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him.

What We Do...Together

Sometimes people ask about the transformational ministry we engage together at GCC. Here's an example.

Acts 20:35  -  In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' 

The Journey

 

This was one of the last pictures I took in Tucson.  This big male bobcat was walking across the street in front of Granny’s house.  That seems like it was a long time ago.

Having finally completed the drive across the USA, I’m convinced the people who rent those 16-foot-box-trucks are determined to make the sissy-pants-fitness-freaks on PX-90 look like pansies. No matter what you may have heard on TV, driving one of those trucks a few thousand miles is the ultimate fitness challenge of our day.

Remember the days when you’d strap yourself into one of those “jiggle belts” and turn on the machine? You would gain muscle tone by just standing there as it wiggled your backside around for 20 minutes. Ha! That’s nothing compared to sitting in rental truck seats ergonomically designed, through the marvel of reverse engineering, to transfer 100% of the road’s imperfections directly to your rump. By removing the shocks entirely, and resting the frame of the truck right on the axles, drivers and passengers alike are able experience the road like never before. 

I hope you recognize me when you see me.  The compression of my spine – through the miracle of vibration enhancements and exacerbating concussion augmentation technologies – has taken me from 6’1” to a much more compact 4’9”.  I’ve lost no weight, but I have increased my density to the point that I now qualify for a new atomic number on the Periodic Table.

Job 4:14 - Trembling seized me and made all my bones shake.

I'm A Stranger In These Parts...

 

Driving a rental truck across Texas with Sheila may change me forever.  In an effort to help you appreciate the experience, I've decided to share what I've learned so far...

1. Several people have admonished me, "Don't mess with Texas."  I have no idea what that means and I awaken each morning filled with dread, unsure whether I've unknowingly messed with Texas or not.
2. Texas songs have lyrics like: "How can I miss you if you won't go away?" and "If you don't leave me alone, I'll go find someone else who will," and "If my nose was full of nickels I'd blow it all on you." No one should sing such songs.
3. Those guys on the Border Patrol are some bad hombres, and the Texas State Troopers are too. In my experience, neither thinks anything is funny, no matter how funny anything actually is.
4. People in Texas live in towns named Bug Tussle, Dew, Spur, Cut and Shoot, Earth and Gun Barrel City.
5. I was told, "When you're down here talking with someone, you shouldn't ask where he's from. If he's from Texas, you won't have to ask because he'll tell you. And if he isn't from Texas, you shouldn't embarrass him by calling attention to it." 
6. Everything is bigger in Texas - even crosses. Sheila took this picture of me standing at the foot of the smallest cross we could find down here. We located this one in a town called Groom, and it's only 190 feet tall and weighs only 1250 tons. 

Is there anything else I should know?

Psalm 119:16  -  Be generous with me and I'll live a full life; not for a minute will I take my eyes off your road. Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your miracle-wonders. I'm a stranger in these parts...

Who's Stalking Whom?

 

Remember when I told you I was so focused on getting a picture of a Quail that I missed getting a picture of a Bobcat?  Well, listen to this...

This morning I was trying to photograph one of the resident birds when I saw a running rabbit. Behind the rabbit I saw this big Bobcat putting on a stalk. She was so focused on the rabbit she paid no attention to me. When she disappeared in the brush I hurried to the place where she vanished. I assumed she'd seen me and I'd need to hurry if I was going to get a picture of her before she ran out of sight.  

Well, she wasn't running out of sight. She was hiding right there in the brush. I was about six feet away when I saw her.  She was looking straight at me and seemed unsure which of us would be easier to catch and eat - the rabbit or me. 

Can you say, "Adrenalin dump?"

I followed her for a while, but this was the best picture I was able to capture. Does it look like she's considering me for a meal, or is it just my imagination?  

Hosea 13:7  -  I'll charge them like a lion, like a leopard stalking in the brush.

All Male / Up Close

 

I got this picture this evening as the sun was setting. Isn't God's handiwork glorious? 

Psalm 92:4  -  For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

Granny's Front Porch

 

When I married Sheila I resolved to honor and serve her for the rest of my life. Consequently, I help her care for her father and mother. I don't care for them because they need care. I do it because I do care. They gave me the high privilege of life with Sheila by my side. I'll be grateful for the rest of my days.

I was asked yesterday why we're in Arizona.  I'll tell you.

Sheila's folks are in their early 80's. For years they've spent their winters in Arizona and summers in Indiana. They sold their Tucson home a few weeks ago so Sheila and I are packing their belongings into a 16 foot rental truck and driving it back to Indiana.  I'm old, but they're older, so we're getting them moved. It's physically challenging, but emotionally it's more so. Granny has grown accustomed to looking out from her front porch to this view of the Catalina Mountains. Who can blame her for wanting to stay? I took this picture last night. This place is awesome.

As I watch Sheila care for her parents I marvel. She's incredible. She's kind, compassionate and helpful. When we hit a difficult spot - where emotion strives with reason - Sheila listens, comforts and moves forward to get the work done. I would stand around, gawking in amazement at her gifted manner, but I have many assignments so I stay on task.  I learned a long time ago, I help most in circumstances like these, by doing whatever I'm asked to do.

My back seems to be holding up and we're making progress.  

My love for Sheila is increasing by the hour. She's navigating this move with the same remarkable grace that's shaped so much of Granger Community Church for the last 25 years. She helped form my faith. She nurtured, trained and raised our three kids. She grows closer to Jesus with every step she takes. She's amazing. If you have the inclination, I'd appreciate your prayers for us as we close out this chapter in Granny's life, and drive the 2,000 miles that lie ahead.

1 Timothy 5:8  -  If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Instructions

Peter tells us how to live so we never fall. HIs words are directed to us, our children and our children's children. 

2 Peter 1:5-8  -  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Focus On The Right Things

 

When you're locked on one target, you can miss another. That's what just happened to me. I was so focused on getting this picture of a Gambel's Quail that I missed the Bobcat that walked right past me. 

Aargh!

Brave the blizzard and come to Journey Bible Study tonight. Get focused on what matters most.

Romans 8:5  -  Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. 

Acting Like "It Didn't Hurt" Gets You NO POINTS. None. Zero.

= Photo by Jeff Myers -

Sometimes I'm amazed at the beat-downs people have to endure.

Watching the Super Bowl I marveled at how hard NFL players hit each other. Zow. Every time I consider the violent collisions they experience, I think, "Whoa! DC played in the NFL. DC is THE MAN!"  (He's the guy on your left, with his padres Jeff and John, celebrating a GSM moment last week.)

Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars are going to know exactly how hard their players are hitting - and getting hit.  They've got some crazy hew head gear. Upon impact a sensor encased in foam, and stuffed between the helmet's padding and outside shell, transmits the impact data to a sideline computer. A hit registering an impact above 100 G's lights up pagers on the sidelines, and alerts coaches, so they can assess the player's condition. (One documented example of a hit registering as "worthy of a concussion" came from a 180 pound defender chasing down the kickoff returner. In a collision with a 250 pound lineman the smaller player was knocked completely off his feet, his head accelerating at 158 G's. The magnitude and direction of the hit, its location on his head, its duration and the exact time of impact was all recorded.)

For $65,000, teams can get 40 Riddell helmets modified by Simbex, the company that developed the system.  The question yet to be answered is whether the teams will actually heed the warnings and respond to the alarms.

A man who's head is bounced back at more than 100 G's shouldn't act like nothing happened. Playing with a concussion isn't tough, it's stupid.

I wonder if the same is true of us?

Do we falsely label "insanity" as "courage" when someone pretends like nothing happened after suffering a terrible blow? Are we foolish enough to ignore a legitimate need for healing and restoration?  How ridiculous. When someone needs the Great Physician it makes no sense to pretend they don't. 

• Wham! He's leveled when he learns his wife cheated on him. Her adultery is devastating.
• Blind-sided! She get's fired after 23 years of good reviews. She never saw it coming and she's smashed to the ground in shock and loss.
• Whipped! His legs are knocked out from under him when he realizes he has failed his son. He can go on from here, but how does he get past the agony of his past failings?
• Stunned! She can't believe her professor meant it when she said she'd "fail anyone who didn't get their work in on time." For the first time, she's not getting away with it and she has no idea how to cope.
• Knocked out! A mother dies and her son is buried with grief and sorrow. He wishes he was a better son, and now it's too late. She's gone.

We can all agree when someone takes a vicious blow, "Boy, they got jacked-up!" Our alarms light up. The information is clear, "That person is really, really hurt."  But it remains to be seen whether our team will actually respond to the alarms. 

Sometimes I'm amazed at the beat-downs people have to endure. When it happens, are you concerned for their healing? Do you acknowledge they've been knocked for a loop and respond to the emergency with love and care? 

When someone needs the Great Physician, do you get them to Him, or hope they'll pretend they're not hurt and keep playing like nothing's wrong?

Jeremiah 8: 21-22  -  I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?

Gambel's Quail / Callipepla gambelii

 

This morning I learned you can get up early, lay on the ground and photograph quail...if you are near Tucson.  Here's a dainty little female - up at the crack of dawn and looking for food. The sun isn't up yet and she's already going strong.

Proverbs 12:27  -  A lazy life is an empty life, but "early to rise" gets the job done.

Lydia Is Home!

  

Here’s Sheila, holding her granddaughter during the Super Bowl. Incredible.

Five weeks ago Angela gave birth to her firstborn. Lydia weighed 2 pounds and 11 ounces. She arrived 10 weeks early. We assumed she’d be in Memorial Hospital’s NICU until March, but yesterday we heard great news. Lydia was coming home!

This is my “Thank You” post.

• “Thank you,” to good friends and family, who prayed for us.

• “Thank you,” to Memorial Hospital’s incredible medical team: devoted nurses who watched over Lydia, skilled doctors who saved Angela’s life and delivered her daughter and compassionate physicians who managed Lydia’s care.

• “Thank you,” to our church family, for giving us encouragement, strength and faithful support during the difficult journey.

• “Thank you,” John, for being a trustworthy husband and father.

• “Thank you,” Jesus, for mercy in times of unknowing, grace when we deserve none and miracles when all seems lost.

Lydia is home. It’s a good day.

Philippians 1:3  -  I thank my God every time I remember you.

What's This?

 

See this thing Mark Pitcher is playing at the Granger Campus this weekend?  

What in the world is it?

1 Chronicles 16:4  -  Then David assigned some of the Levites to the Chest of God to lead worship—to intercede, give thanks, and praise the God of Israel. Asaph was in charge; under him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, who played the musical instruments. Asaph was on percussion.

Pass It On Without Ripping It Off

 

If you're familiar with our annual Food Drop you'll know what I'm talking about. If not, try to picture this...

Once expenses are covered (someone has already paid for trucks, fuel, communication, supplies, leadership, facilities and administration of the process) volunteers line up and pass along boxes of food, from the back of one truck to the back of another. But as the boxes are passed down the line, each person reaches into the box and takes out some food.  By the time the box reaches those for whom the food was intended, it has a lot less in it. Some boxes might even be empty. 

If everyone volunteering to help assumed they could take whatever they desired, before they passed the box along, the people at the beginning of the line would be shocked! Unauthorized use of the food could undermine the entire effort. That's why we're sending the money we raise for Haiti to partners we trust. Sure they've got expenses! But they don't siphon money off the top of our donations and squander it in irresponsible and unauthorized waste.  

As an international cry rages against the hundreds of thousands of dollars being lost and wasted through fraud and mismanagement, the money we're sending to Haiti is being used for the purposes we intend; it goes directly to our trusted partners on the scene. They are accountable, and I'm not sure about you, but that reassures me. When I give I want my donation to be used for the purposes I was promised it would be used. 

All that to say, we've now given more than $30,000 for Haiti relief.  And we're passing it on without ripping it off.  

2 Corinthians 8:20  -  He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can, taking every precaution against scandal.

Waltzy

 

I love Mark Waltz. (And it's no wonder, since we're often mistaken for each other, because he and I share almost identical ectomorph physiques.) We were leading a meeting last night when DC grabbed this cool photo. 

Mark is remarkable. Raising kids is really a challenge; he's raising a great one. Making any marriage succeed takes effort; he's madly in love and demonstrates passionate devotion to his wife, which she reflects back to him in a great marriage.  Leading ministry can be daunting; Mark leads with courage, compassion and remarkable allegiance to our mission.  Like I said, he adds great value and we're blessed to have him on the team.

3 John 1:2  -  We're the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul!

Faithful Living No Matter What

Several people have asked why we’re memorizing 2 Peter 1:2-12.  

In an effort to help people understand what Peter was trying to do when he wrote the Church I and II Peter, I spent a few minutes talking about the persecution Christ’s followers were enduring under Nero. Knowing God calls us to faithful living – no matter how difficult our circumstances – helps all of stay the course.

We must learn to live as faithful followers of Christ. To that end, I’m asking you to participate in our Journey Bible Class each Wednesday for the rest of February. I’m asking everyone to memorize 2 Peter 1:2-12. To help you with that task, I’ve asked Ron Vandergriend to teach, three weeks in a row, on that text.  I willingly sit at Ron’s feet, to study and learn, every chance I get.

Studying 2 Peter 1:2-12 will strengthen and encourage you.  And your participation in Journey will encourage others to start growing. So will you ask two or three of your friends to join you for Journey this month? What they learn may empower them to stay on mission for the rest of their lives.

2 Peter 1:10b-11  -  For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Every Church Has A Wonderful Talent Pool

Several times in the last few months I've been asked the same question: "Why does GCC have so many talented people?"  

Here's my response...

Every church is loaded with talented people: artists, musicians, creative communicators, innovative thinkers, entrepreneurs and gifted leaders. When those people are encouraged, they soar. When they are appreciated, they shine. And when talent soars and shines everyone benefits. 

The essential question is whether there is a place in the church for talent to soar. Are talented people encouraged? Are they supported? Are they valued as they add so much value? Do they feel the congregation's gratitude? (And yes, I used the word "feel" on purpose.) Talented people who don't "feel" like their effort, their art and their creativity is appreciated will not thrive. In fact, they will eventually leave and offer their artistic contributions someplace else - for those who make them feel like their efforts are worth something. When talent isn't valued you'll eventually get what you apparently want, a church where the remarkable gifts, skills and talents of God's people are withheld from the congregation - and unveiled elsewhere. 

Every church has a wonderful talent pool, but if you create systems that stymie innovation, environments that strangle creativity and choke the joy out of talented artists, the "talent" will leave. However, if you bless it, affirm it, support it and resource it, the talent will blaze away - igniting a fire that warms hearts, purifies worship and spreads across your community.

Count on it.

1 Samuel 16:18  -  One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that—he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him."

Absolutely Incredible

The Culps were brilliant this weekend. They treated us to musical highlights from the lives of David, Moses, Mary, Solomon and Peter and it was absolutely incredible. 

Psalm 105:1  -  Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! 

Tufted Titmouse / Baeolophus bicolor

  

I got two pictures of a snowy Tufted Titmouse. 

These little guys aren't very approachable (though they're notorious for pulling hair from sleeping dogs, cats and squirrels to line their nests). They're much more wary than Chickadees, so when I got a couple of decent photos - and couldn't decide which one I liked best - I chose to post both pictures and let you decide.

Want to vote?  
   Which is your favorite and why?
     (I'm really curious about the "why" part.)

Philippians 1:22  -  If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I'd choose.  Hard choice!

Haiti Relief Reflects Your Generosity

 

I talked this weekend about Simon Peter.  In a time of horrible suffering, Peter encouraged Christ's followers to live strong, stay true and continue growing in faith.  Peter didn't want anything to keep God's people from being ineffective and unproductive. He wanted Christ's followers to be able to do something in the face of suffering.

Many people are suffering today, some by persecution, others by unexpected tragedy. 

So it is in Haiti.

Immediately after the earthquake we put in place an efficient, well-monitored strategy to get needed relief to the suffering. The GCC finance team did a remarkable job. Your donations go exactly where you want them to go - to desperate people in Haiti, through our on-the-ground partners.

So far, so good. You've given $20,618 to the relief effort. That money is already dispensed. 

If you'd like to donate more, go here.  Your money will be leveraged against great need and it won't be lost, wasted or siphoned away by fraud. It's good to know when you give, that what you give is used as you intended for it to be used.

2 Peter 1: 5-8  -  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do You See Three?

 

I had a great weekend, preaching live at the Granger Campus on Saturday evening and preaching live at the Elkhart Campus on Sunday morning. By the time I got home on Sunday afternoon, the sun broke through the clouds and I had an some time for wildlife photography. I got this shot before these deer ran away. God's camouflage is amazing.

Psalm 42:1  -  A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God.