Eating the Poor Like Bread: 2 year update

"The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

I was listening to the Psalms and a verse really struck me. It was Psalm 14:4. The two preceding verses are quoted above. Psalm 14:1 is widely known as an April Fool's joke but I didn't want to focus on that one for we've all been fools. None of us look for God. He draws us to himself. We are all fools.

But if we look at verses 2 and 3, we see God looking for anyone righteous, anyone who follows in the ways of God and he finds not a single person. Where does this lead us? I want to look at verse 4.

"Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord."

Psalm 14:4

Looking at what God calls evil in this verse, there are two things. The second one is not talking with God. Prayer is important and something we should do as if our souls depend on it. I really want to look at the first thing that makes one evil.

"They devour my people as though eating bread." Evildoers use people without regard, as though eating bread. Bread is easy to get. My family usually buys enough bread that we have to throw some out every couple of weeks because it has molded over. We really don't think too much of it as bread is cheap. One of my favorite meals is to grab a loaf of cheap bread from the grocery store, a can of deviled ham, and a bowl and spread the ham thinly across the cheap bread until all the ham, and usually the entire loaf, are gone. My kids have began helping me with the loaf so I'm not scarfing it all myself anymore.

I don't think a lot about bread besides what to put on it. Likewise, I don't put a lot of thought into where my clothes are made, where my electronic purchases are made, or even where my food comes from. It's on the shelf. It's cheap. It feeds, clothes, and entertains my family. Why should I care where and how it is made?

I benefit from a society of evildoers, partaking as one myself. I devour the livelihood of other human beings as though I devour bread. Who cares if my clothes are made by 6 year old kids in Bangladesh or China because it doesn't affect my kids? What about if my bananas are picked by slave labor in Central America? I'm okay with that because I get my bananas at $0.58 a pound. 

I want to figure out how to better consume products not made by near-slave or slave labor. Our society devours the lives of children and adults all over the world so we can buy $5 shirts at Wal-Mart and not break our budget while the people who made these shirts may make that $5 in a week. What can we do about it? 

I'm not sure. Our entire economy is built off of cheap labor because keeping prices down on the production side makes the sales go up on the output side and making a shirt for $1 instead of $1.50 really adds up fast on the profit margin. I think one of the most important things we can do as Christians is to learn self-discipline. Do we need a whole closet of shirts that we are going to wear twice a year? How many pairs of pants do we really need? Can we research how the companies that make our clothing do business and find clothing that may cost a little bit more but pay a living wage to their workers and treat them fairly? That may be a hard job to do but in order not to consume people, it is worth it.

One of the things I did about 6 months ago was clean out my closet and only keep about 7 outfits that I rotate through, plus all my work shirts (which I have way too many of) and my umpire uniforms. As some of these old outfits start to fall apart, I can find fair-trade clothing in the future. Not only does this limit my spending and unnecessary usage, it shrinks my footprint on throwing out excess clothing that I outgrow or deteriorates. I told Trina yesterday while walking around shopping that it was actually relaxing to know that I don't have to pick up any clothes just because they are there.

I am actually looking for more ways not to consume people for my own relaxation. We have been blessed so there are a couple people we pay to help us in our lives. We look for ways to bless people when tipping or making a purchase from a small shop that we really would like to see make it. 

It's a struggle in our society to look for real opportunities to help bring resources to those who need it most. I still buy stuff from Amazon, adding to Jeff Bezos' $200 billion stockpile. I shop Wal-Mart and Target. I can't help noticing stuff that we get that says, "Made in China." I am nowhere near where I want to be and it is mostly because I am lazy and don't put in the work to research. But God reminds me that I am not righteous on my own. No one is righteous, no not one. Everything we try to do good, outside of the will and motivation of God, is self-serving in the end and draws us to devour people for our needs. 

We can take heart that God is in the business of restoring those who society consumes. Verse 6 says, "You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." The poor can take refuge in God who has a preferential care for them. I pray that God will begin changing my life so I can be part of the plan of the poor in bringing refuge to them. I have a long way to go and a long history to overcome but I pray that I don't consume others and that I call on the name of the Lord through it all. Then, maybe, I can live a life not set on evildoing.

Update: 8/30/22

I read this blog and am forced to look into my life to see if my desires expressed here have made any chance in the way I live. While I am hesitant to buy new clothes still, I don't know if I've made major life changes to be more conscious of the poor worldwide. 

I try to be generous with those who serve around me. I shared graciousness and gratitude to these same people. It's so hard to be countercultural in a society that makes it comfortable to go along with the feast on the poor. It's so easy to be evildoers instead of empowerers. I guess the hardest part for me is the limited reach I have. I need to realize that my reach is what God has given me and I can only use the talents he's given me. With that, I can be successful in being humble and generous.

Any Dream? Nah...

I finished reading "Me, Myself and Bob" by Phil Vischer.  One of the biggest things that hit me was how much Phil's journey was like Joseph's in the Bible.  You see, God gave Joseph a big dream.  It was a dream that he would one day lead his family.  It was going on schedule.  His father had already agreed that this would happen when he gave him the coat.  His brothers knew it and hated him for it.  Suddenly it was all ripped away from him. 
Phil was much the same way.  God gave him a dream of a media company.  It was going along splendidly and then it was ripped away.
I think of Moses and there is a very interesting verse in the book of Acts.  Stephen is talking to the Sanhedrin about to be executed.  He goes through a systematic theology from Abraham to Jesus and this verse is part of his narrative on Moses: "He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand."  According to this, God gave Moses the vision to see that he would one day lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.  And then he had to spend the next 40 years having his dream broken.  Joseph spent 17 years having his dream torn asunder.  Phil took about 10 years from the death of his Big Idea and Jellyfish really taking off. 
I see it over and over in scripture and in life that God gives people dreams of what is to come but then they take those dreams and manipulate them to their own, take ownership and begin believing in the dream instead of the God who gave the dream.  Then it takes God ripping the dream back away and refocusing the person back on God, forgetting the dream and becoming completely empty, humble beyond measure.  It is at this point that God can use the dreamer again because it is not about the dream anymore. 
A while back I talked about the song from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat about how any dream will do.  It's not the dream.  Any dream doesn't do -- it's the dreamgiver.

15 Days

Alright.  I was at work today and began to talk about some of the stuff that has happened over the last 2 weeks and realized that it has been packed.  I need to write some of this down so my memory doesn't fade in time and I can refer back and say, despite all the highs and lows, it has been a very good two weeks.

So why?

I started my vacation on Friday, November 9th.  I was going to be off of work for 5 days officially, from Friday to Monday with 2 weekends and Veteran's Day in between.  Not bad, 10 days for 5 vacation.  And like any good vacation, this one was starting with the return of one of my favorite bands doing an album party at a local venue.  The OC Supertones just released a new album and it is fantastic.  So my wife and I waited until the kids got off school, then took them out to Hemet to spend the night with my parents.  We then headed to Pomona to the Glass House to have a skatastic good time.  Well, Becca went to Winter Jam with a couple of the college girls from church and then spent the night out at CBU.  She had fun but I think our concert was better.  The Insyderz were pretty good (Trina liked them a lot more than I did) and the Supertones rocked the house.  Here's one of their new songs they did as an encore -- not quite rocking but very, very cool.  The Supertones have all grown up, like me I guess.




So Saturday morning we went back out and picked up Becca then picked up Micah, Ali and Zoe from Hemet and really didn't do much that I remember.  Kinda relaxing like that.

Sunday was Veteran's day at church.  It's nice that the twins are learning to appreciate our nation's veterans and that they hug me and thank me for my service.  They're sweet.  After church, I visited my grandpa who was in the hospital.  He had a major infection in his leg that led to a heart attack.  He was suffering with dementia and Alzheimer's and didn't really remember me at all the last time I saw him, so it was nice to sit and listen to him snore during my visit.  It gave me a chance to remember who he was, how he affected my life and how much I really admired him.  I guess shortly after I left, they moved him out to a rest home in Redlands (about 30 miles away instead of 1 mile when I visited him) so I guess I had good timing.

Monday was a stay-at-home day.  I need those more than occasionally.

Tuesday, we went out to our friend's house, Steve and Shelley, who live literally in the middle of nowhere, half way between Lake Perris and Lake Elsinore in the boonies, about 5 miles from the nearest 2 lane paved road.  We go out there, we hike on their hill and rocks in their back yard, we get away from electronics and stuff (although she had me look at their computer, after starting the generator), and just chill with friends.  Hermit living.  Parts of that are really appealing but others are not, such as totally remodeling the house.  After the visit, we took the kids to the drive in theater and watched Wreck It Ralph.  Very good movie.

Wednesday Trina had class.  We were running late and traffic from our house to CBU is horrible, so we took side streets.  I got pulled over and got my first moving violation ticket, speeding.  I have to pay it by January 25th, which I'm sure will be some extraordinary amount after court fees, taxes, processing fees, the cost of the officer's fuel, a new helmet, 14 boxes of pens and the original fine for speeding.  Yeah, I got caught.  Yeah I signed that I would pay fines when I agreed to get my license.  But I've never been in favor of an officer of the law being a tax collector.  The fine is one thing.  The fees and extras that triple the cost of the fine is another in the long arm of big government.

Thursday, I received a call from my mom that my grandpa had passed away about an hour earlier.  She mentioned that Dad would like me to help his pastor, my former boss and a pastor I respect greatly, conduct the funeral.  I had done both of my grandparent's funerals on my mom's side but this one was going to be a little different.  Ok, a lot.  I barely knew my maternal grandparents due to the distance we lived from them. I cried because I knew my mom and my aunt were going to miss them greatly.  This one hit closer to home as growing up, we lived a block away from my paternal grandparents.  We spent holidays and some weekends over there. I didn't have the detachment that made the services for the other side less taxing.  I knew it was something that I would need to do though, for my dad, my extended family and myself, knowing that as an ordained pastor I could bring perspective to his death and share that it was not the end but that heaven is real.    So I began thinking.

Friday, we didn't do much.  Hostess closed and I made a lot of twinkie remarks.  I went over to my friend Tom's house and brought some Hostess cupcakes and a box of Twinkies -- which I got both for $2 as Stater Bros has the wrong price on the shelf and you get one free if they do that.  So I got discounted fake bakery cakes on discount that now sell on e-bay for 3.5 million dollars.  Take that economy of price gouging!

Saturday, my wife and I were supposed to go out to another friend's house but he had a sick kid and so that was scrapped.  We had a babysitter though so date night!  We went to dinner, walked around Costco, and saw Argo.  Another good movie.

Sunday, church.  I am really starting to like cooking.  I usually do it all in one pan though, so is it really cooking or just combining ingredients and heating?  My kids seem to like it so I am good.

Monday I went back to work.  Missing one week was hard because there is always a pile of work on your desk when you get back.  Knowing that I only had a day and a half to organize it and try to start putting a dent in it would be hard enough if our office wasn't also in the middle of writing a grant for funding, meaning I had quite a few special projects that required some expertise on finding numbers through our local database and the state-wide database which I do pretty quickly.  So I got some work done and worked on these major projects on Monday and half of Tuesday because Tuesday I was leaving early to go to the viewing.  We've got great bereavement benefits.

Tuesday, half day at work.  Got what I could done.  Left at 2 pm.  Went to the funeral home.  No family there yet.  Went to the graveyard.  The hole was dug right next to Grandma's headstone.  I took out some spray cleaner and wiped off her headstone, and stood there, starring at the wood covering the hole that would be the final resting place for the body of my grandfather.  What was I going to say tomorrow?  I had some ideas but I wanted to wait until people got to speak on Tuesday night to see if I could steal anything.  The viewing went well.

Wednesday started out in Hemet as we spent the night out there.  I was up until 1 am thinking and writing the eulogy.  Then their couches aren't very sleeper friendly, meaning I was tired on what was going to be a busy, stressful and social day.

10 am, we start and I deliver the eulogy.  Here's a link to it: http://pastor4kids.blogspot.com/2012/11/reynaldo-leon-escarzaga-eulogy-11212012.html

Dale does the sermonette, a clear call of salvation.  I hope it reached some.  At the gravesite I was able to lead in prayer and then stood and watched as my final grandparent was lowered into the ground, knowing that he was no longer here, no longer in pain and mental deterioration but it was tough still.  That generation is gone in my family.  When the service members folded the flag and presented it to my uncle, I had to fight back tears as I too was grateful for his service and he always did our family and our country proud.

After that we headed back to Tio Rey's house for food and family time.  It was nice but I really was socialed out by the end.

Thursday was Thanksgiving so I couldn't be a recluse.  We got to Trina's grandma's apartment for breakfast and spent the morning there.  I was probably too reclusive there but I think people understood.  Thursday afternoon/evening was going to be harder.  We went to my parents house and joined a group of about 40 people celebrating Thanksgiving as a huge family.  I watched football and conversated when I needed to.

Black Friday is Trina's favorite day of the year.  She goes out at midnight and fights the crowds.  Me, I stay home with the kids and hope I get to go out about 10 am the next day to see the carnage, clothes and toys strewn across the store, ripped to shreds by eager shoppers who just hours earlier were thankful for what they had.  I didn't get to go see it this year as Trina was doing some different things.  I did get out around 4 pm to take Trina's mom home and then drive to different stores to see the leftovers.  I was planning for Saturday too.

Saturday was a big day.  It is Five Iron Frenzy Day.  November 22, 2003, Five Iron Frenzy retired.  November 22, 2011, Five Iron Frenzy became zombies and rocked again.  November 22, 2012 was Thanksgiving so it was decided that we should have some regional get togethers to celebrate the zombification of FIF and I was hosting the Southern California one.  I chose a beach out in Ventura (Marina Park - quite the beautiful park with great amenities -- highly recommended.)  So my kids and I took off on Saturday morning to hang out at a park and beach 2 hours from home in order to meet fellow Five Iron Frenzy fans.  Well, no one showed up until around 1pm -- we got there at 10:30 am.  It was nice though.  We played as a family, ate lunch, slowed down and looked around.  It was nice family time.  Then Nick, his wife Tiffany, and their daughter showed up and our kids played like they had known each other for years.  It was really nice to meet Nick and I hope that isn't the last time.

So the kids went nutso when we drove through Hollywood and you can see the Hollywood sign from the 101.  We reached our destination and H.G. Wells was expecting us behind some desk somewhere with the standard Rich and Famous contract in their minds.  It made me laugh and enjoy the trip.

Sunday I washed dishes.

So that was my unexpected 2 week vacation.  Ups and down, but like Grandpa, not too high and not too low.  I'm pretty sure I inherited that from him.

Reynaldo Leon Escarzaga - Eulogy - 11/21/2012

Reynaldo L. Escarzaga Sr. was born on May 11, 1927 to Ramon and Candy Escarzaga in Riverside, California. Grandpa was so gungho about serving his country that he lied about his age and joined the Army at the age of 17 during World War II, serving as a supply truck driver in Italy where he earned the Army of Occupation and World War II Victory medals. After leaving active duty service, he worked for 35 years at Norton Air Force Base as a Pipe Fitter maintaining the heating and air conditioning systems throughout the base.
Rey was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Carmen Escarzaga. He is survived by his five children, Marian, David, Thomas, Cindy, and Rey Jr., Sister Emma Gutierrez, and Brother Henry Escarzaga. He also leaves a heritage of 15 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
May 11, 1927 to November 15, 2012.  For those who pass his grave, there will be little else to remember him by but the day of his birth and the day that he left this world.  To us in this room, the days between those two have changed our world and have made us better people because we knew Grandpa. 

What kind of man is he?  For me, his overwhelming quality was what could be called stoicism, or his even-manner.  Grandpa was not one who wore his emotions on his sleeve.  The highs never got too big and the lows too low.  He was very even keeled.  That is not to say that he was emotionless though.  When he was proud of you, he would get a half smile, nod his head and get a tear in his eye.  His love for his wife, children and grandchildren guided his life every step of the way. You could say that his emotions ran deep and pure, greater than what could be outwardly expressed in his mild-mannered way.

He was a committed volunteer.  Grandpa not only loved his kids but loved his kid’s friends.  He coached Little League at Del Rosa Little League for 20 years.  I heard testimony yesterday from one of the moms whose boys played for Grandpa and she still remembers the time he invested in them, not only teaching them baseball but building character, loyalty and courage in their lives.  I learned from him that when I have a passion for something, I need to do it with to the best of my abilities and spread the passion to those around, touching their lives, helping them grow.  I am still involved in Little League because my grandpa believed in Little League.  I am involved with the community because he helped his be a better place.

Grandpa was a provider. Some people show their love to others by giving gifts, others by saying “I love you.”  Grandpa showed his love by providing for the needs of his family.  He worked for 35 years at Norton Air Force Base in a job many would not consider glamorous but he did his job and did it well.  When raising five kids in a small house required more than his day job paid, he found a way to make it work through teaching himself small appliance repair.  Even this was more than just earning a buck though, it was to help out those in need even if they couldn’t pay.

Grandpa was hospitable.  Growing up, I always thought it was strange when we visited Grandpa’s house that my dad would walk up to the front door, check the mail box, and then walk right in.  That wasn’t what I was taught about other people’s houses but it was appropriate here because Grandpa’s house was the family’s house.  Even though my dad had moved away, got married, and had 3 kids, the door was always open on Holly Vista for a visit, a quick peak in the refrigerator, and a chance to sit, talk, watch some TV where apparently I took my dad’s place as the remote control, and be with grandma and grandpa.  Holidays were always a major event where the families got together, the adults talked inside and us cousins would go entertain ourselves outside, trying not to get caught and get in trouble.  Grandpa’s house was comfortable and safe – a place where we could go and slow down, enjoy life, and be family.

Grandpa was a team player.  One of his favorite pastimes was bowling.  Grandpa was a fantastic bowler yet the team was always most important to him.  If the team needed him to throw a strike, he threw a strike.  If they needed him to throw a spare or miss a few pins to keep the team handicap down, he would do whatever was needed.  He was so good that other teams thought they brought in a ringer, a retired professional to guarantee they would win – which his team did. A lot.  He never tried to be the superstar but because he was such a great team player, he was. 

Grandpa was loyal and committed.  He was a man of integrity who kept his word and taught that quality to his children.  This was best demonstrated by his marriage.  He was married to Grandma for 49 years, through years of illness and hospitalizations, yet he stayed by Grandma’s side through everything.  I remember writing to my grandma when I was in the Navy and she would brag about how great Grandpa was and how much she loved him.  His love brought her comfort through the painful times.  His example guides me still as there are always family issues but running away is never an option – Grandpa would stick it through.

One of the last things my grandfather said to me was that he was going to beat me up for smiling.  Not quite as good as Amanda’s story yesterday.  The last few years have been hard for us as many of the qualities we loved about grandpa started to fade but his strength, his loyalty and his love continued to shine through.  Now that he has shuffled off this mortal coil, the pain is gone.  The disabilities have ceased.  I’d like to think that as Grandpa enters Heaven, Jesus is there to greet him with a half-smile, a nod of the head and a tear in his eye and welcomes him into his rest.  I look forward to the day when I will meet him again in joy.

The Annual Birthday Post, Edition 38

Another year down.  I am now 38.  Let's go over what has happened since last year.  Here's the list from last year's blog.

1. Be a better dad. Less computer time, more reading time.
2. Finish my BA. Find the money to do so.
3. Get that Challenger program up and running with Steve Bailey up at North Rialto.
4. Get involved with Children's Ministry.
5. Be a better umpire. Go to umpire school.
6. Go see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat live.
7. Stop procrastinating, some.

Updates:

1.  I don't think I have done much better with this one although it may be minor steps.  Trina and I just watched a pretty compelling documentary about how the church has usurped the responsibility for the spiritual development of the family away from the dad and how the church, through youth ministry/children's ministry, should be equipping the dad in his God-given responsibility.  Pretty convicting on two parts -- 1. Am I that dad taking responsibility at home and 2. Am I hurting the family by doing what I do at the church?  I had a lot of kids that I have loved over the years and have tried to help them build that relationship with Christ but towards the end, I always believed that the family should have been the first line of discipleship.  More on that in 4.
2.  Well, Trina is actually working on her B.A. right now through online courses through CBU and I have to say, I think I could do that.  It would have to be after she finished but seeing her do it is encouraging to me because I have always been better at the school thing (test taking, writing papers, stuff like that.)  She is better on the motivation thing though so she'll have to keep me on task.
3.  North Rialto fell through.  Completely.  My dream is still to start a program in central Rialto for the district but it is back burner.
4.  Get involved with Children's Ministry:  I was asked if I would step up and be the Children's director this year.  After much prayer and discussion with my wife, I had to turn it down.  There were two reasons that I gave -- 1. We live too far away to really do it justice and 2. I can't give it the time it deserves with the rest of my schedule.  I don't think it really came to the surface until Trina and I watched that documentary -- I don't know if I agree with Children's ministry in the status quo.  That may be why I have been burned out for a while -- trying to push through something that I have not really believed in for a while.  If our church really started moving the way towards family ministry, I could really see myself getting back involved in a major way.
5.  I went to umpire school.  I had a blast.  I was sore beyond all ends.  I did a lot of baseball games this year.  Trina and the kids took a cross country trip in June and I umped almost the entire time they were gone.  I really enjoyed it. Looking back on 38 years, I only say that I should have started umpiring sooner.  A couple of days ago I put in an application to do the Intermediate Division Western Regional tournament.  This is the new division in Little League where the mound is 50 feet away from home and the bases are 70 feet away (as opposed to 46/60 in majors or 60.6/90 for the big diamond.)  This is the inaugural season of the 50/70 division so I am expecting a lot of people to apply for it but you never know.  I don't even know where the tournament will be held.  It would be quite the privilege to do it though.
6.  Haven't seen it playing anywhere yet.
7.  I got this done on time.  That's a start.  I am doing better in several places though, when it really matters to me.

Some new stuff from the past year:
1.  Five Iron Frenzy got back together.  That is amazing.  They are like my favorite band and I had the chance to see them twice this year, two days apart from each other.  This was during the family roadtrip that I was not able to go on.  The concert on Friday was at the Glass House in Pomona.  Their second concert back.  It was good.  The concert on Sunday was at the House of Blues down in San Diego.  Fourth concert back.  It was the absolute best concert that I have ever been to.  It was like karaoke night with Reese Roper all night long and I had a blast.  Don't tell my wife.
2.  Netflix is amazing.  Trina and I have sat together and watched quite a few shows together.  Star Trek: TNG, Doctor Who, Merlin, etc.  I have really taken a liking to British shows.
3.  We had some new employees in our office that I consider more than co-workers. It's nice to work with some people who I can invest my life in and who invest their lives in me.

So some goals:
1.  To be a better umpire.  I need to work on game management this year.
2.  Be a better dad.  While I am becoming a better umpire, do not let my family fall by the wayside.
3.  Read more.

Well, happy birthday to me.

Some thoughts from this weekend

This may have been a life-changing weekend for me.

It’s not every day that something like that comes out of my mouth (or in this case, my fingers.)  I am a pretty mellow guy, flowing with the go, never high nor low.  So what happened this weekend that has me thinking?

It started off Friday.  I had the opportunity to conduct a wedding for Beth and Samuel.  Beth is someone I work with and someone I really enjoy talking to and knowing.  Samuel was her fiancé from Africa.  I had the opportunity to talk to them 2 weeks ago about marriage and how the ceremony was going to go… a small pre-marital counseling session.  Samuel was shy but when he got more comfortable, he talked his fair share.

Anyway, Friday night we went to the place where the wedding was going to be.  I got off of work at 3:30 to make sure I got there on time and I did.  In fact, I was the first one there.  I walked around and made sure everything was set up (which we did most of the night before at the walk-through.)  They did a great job setting it up.

The wedding went off well.  I felt comfortable – I also had the entire “sermonette” written so that I would not say, “Um” or try to adlib which I tend to do and chase rabbits.  What really got me was the collection of people who were there.  Beth has always been a bit eccentric and has a very interesting past.  She has made friends in each of these past lives (the best way to put it as these are different time periods in her life where she grew and changed from never to be there again) and even though she is not part of those scenes anymore, the lives she touched there are still impacted for their betterment.

While she is not a “big fan” of Jesus (probably because of the shortcomings of the church), I am sure that Jesus would be pleased if my circle of influence and my friends included everyone that is in Beth’s circle.  The people who showed up to her wedding are what I picture as the people who gathered around Jesus because He didn’t judge them.  He loved them and welcomed them, allowing His goodness rub off on them instead of bickering and demanding they change like we are so accustomed to today.  He never recommended the sin but neither did he condemn the person, instead showering them with love because they deserve love, if not even more than at least as much as the ones “too good” for this group.

It was a good time.

Saturday morning I am part of what is called the “Challenger Program” for Little League Baseball at a baseball park out in Alta Loma (about 25 minutes from where I live.) It is also where I umpire.  This program has kids with special needs and helps them play baseball, learning the character, loyalty and courage that the “normal” kids pick up playing in the other divisions.  It is a great day each Saturday and I wouldn’t trade it in for the world.  My son is in the younger division of Challengers and plays each week at 9 am.  After the morning session, one of the other board members (yes, I’m on the board too) told me that our league president, Bill, had passed away that morning.

This is my third season at Alta Loma and Bill has been away this entire season thus far due to illness, so I got to know him over two seasons.  Bill was an older gentleman but approachable and never a cross word passed his lips.  He was the type of person who welcomed you like you were a dear friend for the last 25 years and he was glad to see you.  I had many opportunities just to sit next to him while waiting for a game and just talk about baseball, life, and everything else.  A Little League takes the personality of its league president and Alta Loma is a great place to work because it has his gentle spirit.  I am going to miss him.  What I will miss most is his welcoming voice and smile making me feel like I belonged with my good friend.

This makes me think, compounded by the group of people at Beth’s wedding, what is going to be said about me?  Am I as welcoming to everyone, makes them know that someone cares about them?  My introverted-ness is no excuse as people don’t care about how shy you are –  they care that you care for them.

Saturday afternoon we had the older division of the Challenger program play.  These are people, ages 11-25, with special needs and the game is fun and inspiring.  I got to umpire the game – more of a symbolic thing than actually umpiring.  There are a few kids that make me cry whenever they play, Joseph in his wheel chair with his huge smile as he flies around the bases; Mario as he scoots down to first using only his arms, turning around and “moonwalking” halfway down the line with great joy.  All these young adults just love to play and be part of something normal.  Do I make these kids feel as my life-long friends?  They are special, not just special needs, but people who Jesus would hang out with too. 

Sunday morning was a little hard.  I have spent the last month in Children’s Church and our theme has been, “Jesus the Superhero.”  This week’s lesson was about how Jesus is stronger than death.  With Bill passing away the day before, this lesson hit home.  Ron, one of my puppets, a habitual exaggerator, had his goldfish die this week.  It ended up being funny but it hit close.  How jaded is my love for my fellow human being right now?  This week has been a wake-up call that I need to stop going through the motions and get on board with what I am called to do.

This morning, I went to work and can’t help but think that stamping my name on thousands of pages, doing student attendance, and answering phones really isn’t my calling. I knew that already, but I need to start working to be in the people business, not in the paper business.

Earlston Edgar Dale - 1931 - 2011

This weekend, I went up to Napa for my grandfather's funeral.  He died on December 23.  It was a rough year for my mom as her mom died in March and her dad in December.  We spend the weekend (weekend being Wednesday-Sunday morning) with my step-grandmother.  She was a great host -- very gracious and accommodating. Well, Saturday was memorial service and I was asked to coordinate a memorial service for him.  It went very well.  I'm going to post the eulogy here for your reading remembrance.  Let's just say that I am drained -- emotionally, physically from the drive up and back, and mentally from being an extrovert for so long yesterday.  I'm just not an extrovert.

It was nice to see family I haven't seen in a while though.

My eulogy for my grandfather, Earlston Edgar Dale:

Part 1 -- Welcome statement:
Today we are gathered here to celebrate the life of Earl Dale. I wanted to start off with a story he once told me about my mother.
It was summer of 1962. The kids were out of school and grandpa was at work. He received a call from home that day. It was my mom. She was 6 years old at the time and loved doing puzzles. Well, he said that she was hysterically crying on the other end of the phone call. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“Daddy, I’m smart, right?”
“Yes dear. What’s wrong?”
“Daddy, I’ve been working on this puzzle for an hour now and I haven’t been able to put two pieces
together.”
“What is it a picture of?”
“It’s a lion.”
“Well honey, keep working on it and I’ll help you out when I get home.”
Well, the day progressed as normal at work. When grandpa got home, there on the coffee table laid
the puzzle, no two pieces put together. My mom sat there with tears in her eyes. With a chuckle, he
walked over and picked up the box.
“Audrey, first, this is a lion, not a tiger. And now, would you please put the cereal back in the box.”

Earlston E. Dale, born Sept. 25, 1931, in Sugarette, N.M., passed away Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. He was 80.

Earlston worked for 35 years in the California State Mental Health System. He was a founding member of the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians (CAPT), serving as their first union president. His hobbies included gardening and bingo. Earl was funny, gregarious and full of joy. He owned more than 350 crazy hats and had a joke for everyone.

Earl is survived by his loving wife, Roz, whom he married on March 17, 1992; his sister, Marci
Dale Lockhart, his children, Stephen W. Dale, Concord, Calif., Kenneth D. Dale, Reno, Nev., Audrey
L. Escarzaga, Hemet, Calif., and Nina S. Jones, Sequim, Wash.; 10 grandchildren; and 19 great-
grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Ruthmarie Dale, and parents, Walter and Lita Dale.

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Part II: The Eulogy:

I was thinking of where I wanted to focus on in giving the eulogy for my
grandfather. How do you come up with some sort of semi-comprehensive speech
about the life of a man so complex and rich in personality without writing books
or spending days in conversation with those who love him best? Looking through
yearbooks and old pictures of him, it is safe to say that he marched to his own
rhythm. He played trombone. He loved a good joke. He was a great writer. He
loved silly hats. He loved to make those around him laugh. He looked snazzy in a
bow tie. He loved bingo, dancing and football. He loved to talk with anyone who
would give him the time of day and even those who wouldn’t.
If we look back on his life, you can see what was important to him by where he
invested his life. Grandpa was quite the investor.
He invested in the enjoyment of others. His silly hats and his jokes are
legendary. Grandpa always was ready with a smile and a story, sometime
true. Grandpa would say the way to remember a joke was to tell it to everyone
you met that day. He not only said it, he lived it. If you spent a day with him, you
would know the joke too.
I was talking to my kids about my grandfather and they remembered being able
to go into his hat room and play. It was a great time for them. While he collected
the hats, they never lost their original intent. The enjoyment was more important
than the items. He lived his life in that simple joy of watching others enjoy life.
He invested in people who could not invest in themselves. The Apostle Paul wrote
in 1 Corinthians, “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that
we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the
comfort we ourselves receive from God.” Grandpa worked 35 years for Mental
Health system. He worked as a psych tech, taking care of people in their greatest
time of need. This job took him from San Jose to San Bernardino, then to Sierra
County where he was the entire Mental Health Department. The story goes that
he was once reported to Patient’s Rights because he made one patient laugh so
hard from his jokes that she busted a stitch from a recent surgery. Not only did he
make them laugh, he took good care of them to where they would trust him before
anyone else.
He invested in his co-workers. Grandpa made sure that his people were taken
care of, being instrumental in the formation of the union to take care of Psych
Techs throughout the state. He served as the first president of the union, then as
the steward for years. His nature of talking served him well in this investment
– when management saw Earl Dale coming, wearing his derby, they knew
something was wrong and that he was there to fix it.
He invested in his family. Early in his family life, Grandpa was known to work
three jobs to make ends meet – having 5 kids with bottomless stomachs. But all
this time on the job did not stop him from knowing his family. On trips to sell
Fuller Brushes, he would often take one of the kids with him, traveling from house
to house. The kid would spend the day in the car as Grandpa went door to door
selling brushes. It was time fondly remembered.
When he learned that he was going to be a great-grandfather, he put together
a complete family history spanning generations, to make sure that the future
generations would remember those who came before. He passed on his qualities
to his children and grandchildren. I stand before you today an example of what he
passed on – not just his receding hairline, his tastes in bad jokes and an ungodly
amount of body hair in places that it doesn’t belong, but in his love for life, his love
for people, and his love for his family. Earl Dale’s life on this Earth ended too soon
but is a life well-lived. I can imagine Grandpa walking the streets of gold today
with Jesus chuckling, saying, “tell me that one about Andy again. That one never
gets old.” May he rest in peace.

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We buried Grandpa's ashes in a park in Napa right behind the State Hospital where he worked for so many years.  He was buried with his favorite derby hat.