Randy's August, 2010 Update Something a little different this month - a spiritual practice I’ve found helpful… with photos I recently took at the Morton Arboretum (something I’m grateful for). My Gratitude Journal: About a month ago, I resurrected my Gratitude (Thankfulness) Journal. I resurrected it because I could sense a nagging feeling of discontent in my spirit, with more scarcity thinking than abundance mentality. For … [Read more...]
Randi – Out of Africa
July, 2010 Update Follow-Up on Randi: Here is a follow-up on Randi Bahnick’s month-long serving trip to Africa. Just a reminder: Randi is a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The country in which she served has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. She wrote the following while she was serving at a hospital in Africa: Randi’s African Adventure: “Salaam ah lay … [Read more...]
Randi & Charity Go To Africa
Randy’s June, 2010 Update "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Proverbs 22:9 Would You?: Would you consider going to one of the poorest, most dangerous countries in the world to serve people you don’t know? They Would!: Two of the women I spiritually mentor are doing just that. They recently embarked on a one-month and a two-month humanitarian trip to one of the poorest and most … [Read more...]
Cleaning the Lust on the Inside
Randy’s May, 2010 Update “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” (Matt 23:26b) “We become like the God we adore.” - Unknown The photos in this month's update are from this Spring, in my yard. I think they are appropriate, because this is a story of renewal, of Spring. Cleaning the Lust on the Inside: “I used to shame myself a lot. I thought I needed to be hard on myself in order to change … [Read more...]
Finish Well
Randy’s April, 2010 Update TED Conferences: Have you checked out the TED conferences at ted.com? It’s an annual conference that brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers from the areas of Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) and more. These speakers are challenged to give “the talk of their lives” in 18 minutes or less. A Colonoscopy Study - Learning From Our ENDS: I was watching one talk from this … [Read more...]
Todd Summits Mountains!
Randy’s March 2010 Update Todd Katter plans to summit the tallest peak on each continent. So far he has made it to the top of two. The way things are going, I think he’ll summit more than just mountains. Spring, 2006: When I first met Todd Katter, he was 27 years old and working as a manager at Deloitte Touche, a public accounting firm. Outside of work, as a volunteer, he was leading a medium sized group of 20somethings in the … [Read more...]
Leader’s Retreat
Randy’s February 2010 Update Transparency: Recently, around sixty 20something Missional Community Hub leaders and their team members went on an overnight retreat at an amazing log house in Wisconsin. The topic for the weekend was Transparency (Transparency with God, self, and others). I was invited along to listen and pray with anyone desiring an older person’s presence, especially if the talks and exercises stirred up difficult … [Read more...]
Something to Celebrate?
Randy’s January 2010 Update Support Raising? Yuck! No Thanks!: There are times when I think, that at some point in life, everyone should have the experience of raising support to meet their daily needs and to do whatever redemptive thing they feel led to do with their life. It truly is an amazing journey – filled with humble surrender, redemptive trust building, hurtful discouragement, life-giving excitement, courageous fear … [Read more...]
Top Ten Lies
Randy’s December 2009 Update Merry Christmas! It's a season of celebration! Here is an anonymous story of life-change worth celebrating. It’s a great representation of some of the lies that many people struggle with: My Top Ten Lies List - by Anonymous: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) “Identifying and naming my Top … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas!
Some simple decorations at my house Macy's. Merry Christmas! I haven’t written a Christmas letter in years – which some people may appreciate! Here's a brief pictorial update on my life (outside of ministry). Friends Return: Andy: Around Christmas last year, one of my closest friends, Andy, moved back to Chicago from San Diego. “Are you sure you want to come back at the beginning of winter?” I asked. Talk about a rude … [Read more...]
Uma from India
Randy’s November 2009 Update One of God’s many surprises for me this year showed up in the form of a woman named Uma from India. Though Uma would not label herself a Christian and doesn’t fall within this ministry’s target age group, through God’s mysterious design, Uma and I have recently begun a spiritual mentoring relationship. Here’s a bit of Uma’s fascinating story: UMA'S BACKGROUND: “I was born Hindu, and raised … [Read more...]
What a Weekend!
Randy’s October 2009 Update YOU CAN'T CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH: Imagine standing in front of eight of your peers and finishing the statement: “The truth I don’t want you to know about me is…” How would you complete that sentence? How would you feel being that vulnerable with other people? That was how we kicked off an intense men’s retreat weekend, I recently co-facilitated, for seven 20something leaders. All weekend the retreat … [Read more...]