Yesterday, our country/culture celebrated Father's Day as we do in June of every year. Each year this holiday makes me stop and think about what it means to be a father. As with all of us, my first thoughts go to my own father David Zilkie, son of Samuel and Vivian Zilkie. My father was born during World War 2 and had his own issues and struggles during his adolescent years. I do not think Grandpa Sam was all that communicative and he died in 1969, when my dad was in his twenties. My dad (David) was a good and humble man who wanted to help and do the right thing in his life. However, he was not an ambitious man and pretty much accepted life as it came to him, the good and the bad.
As I reflect on my father and his influence in my life, his easy-going and often passive approach to life left many gaps in my adolescence and those developmental years. (Isn't it interesting how the sins and flaws of the father are passed on to their children one way or another, as he did not receive much from his father from what I can learn.) Well, in the world of Romeo, Michigan in the 1980s I needed more than I received. In 1993, at 19 I mourned the death of my father and began to really think about my future family. I remember determining that I did not want to leave so many gaps in the lives of my children should God bless me with a family of my own.
Fast-forward to today, I am the father of 5 children ages 8 and under and I love the life God has given me. I see each child developing their own strengths, personalities, love languages, sinful tendencies, and more. Although Julie is the primary care provider for all our children day to day, I know from personal experience in addition to numerous studies and surveys that my role as father to my children is without comparison the most influential role in their lives. My choices for good or for bad will resonate with them for the remainder of their lives and their identity and value is primarily drawn from my influence therein.
So fathers, I want to encourage and exhort you to enter into the life of your children. Be mindful to lead in your home whenever possible, even if your wife is capable of leading without you. Take the initiative to pray at meal times and at other times, setting the example of a spiritual leader...even if you are not yet the leader you want or need to be. Speak of the Scriptures and the importance of God in your life, even if it is not normal or comfortable for you. Connect for them the word of God to everyday life since nobody else is speaking these important truths to them.
Also, true masculinity is under assault and our boys need to see leadership from their fathers whenever possible. Our daughters need to see men lead well so that they will know who to look for in selecting their future husband and they will hopefully find a man who is strong and worthy of their heart and hand in marriage. Also, our love and affection to our daughters will actually delay their natural desire to pursue male relationships until later in their teen years when they are wiser and their potential boy friends are a little wiser and more mature as well.
These are just some thoughts from the heart of a very passionate and zealous father. If as a father, you are not sure how you can learn and become the father you want to be, consider me... I was not given the example of an engaged, communicative, or active father though he was a Christian and generally good man. I have had to learn how to become the father I am even as I have so much further to go. You too can learn and grow as a father if you will seek after wisdom and knowledge from those who are a step or two ahead of where you might be. Ironically, our humility and willingness to be a "learner" is one of the greatest characteristics we can model to our children.
Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there. Let's embrace the influence and authority God has given us as earthly models and representations of Him as our Heavenly Father. We have the promise of his grace for when we fall short and fail, and we have the promise of His Spirit to lead us and show us the way.
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The Narrow Path
Monday, June 21, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Julie's Birthday
Julie had another birthday this month. They seem to happen about this time every year...I just can't figure it out. Well the children are getting older and with each year they are able to be more involved in celebrating her day. Along with the normal Zilkie birthday traditions like:
...not only that, but Selah who acted as if she wasn't hungry when I fed everyone breakfast before taking Julie hers, ended up eating most of Julie's breakfast anyway...
...needless to say, Julie loved it and the children thought it was the coolest thing in the world...
Happy Birthday Partner!!!
- getting your favorite meal prepared for you (I cooked Julie's favorite, "Chicken Cakes" for the first time and didn't do too bad.)
- a birthday cake of your choice
- you are exempt from your chores for the day and everyone else enthusiastically volunteers to do yours for you
- the whole rest of the family gathers around you and each person prays out loud for you whatever they feel led to pray
...not only that, but Selah who acted as if she wasn't hungry when I fed everyone breakfast before taking Julie hers, ended up eating most of Julie's breakfast anyway...
...needless to say, Julie loved it and the children thought it was the coolest thing in the world...
Happy Birthday Partner!!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
He Missed the Call!!!
One of my earlier sports memories as a child is from 1983 when I watched Milt Wilcox of the Detroit Tigers almost pitch a perfect game on the small black and white television in my room. For those of you who don't know, a perfect game in baseball is when a pitcher faces the bare minimum of batters, 27, and gets them all out...no hits, no walks, no errors...27 up and 27 down. I watched Milt Wilcox almost get a perfect game 27 years ago. You can hear the late Ernie Harwell making the call on the radio here...
Well last night another Detroit Tiger, Armando Galarraga, again got the first 26 batters out and was one out away from a perfect game. Sadly on this night, he would get the final out except for the blown call of the umpire covering first base...
Armando handled this whole deal with a ton of class. The umpire has since apologized to Galarrage personally for missing the call and was in tears after realizing his mistake.
The commissioner of baseball Bud Selig should override the call on the field and award Galarrage a perfect game, both for his sake and for the sake of the umpire who will have to live with that mistake for the rest of his career. You don't believe me??? Just ask St. Louis Cardinal fans about Don Denkinger blowing a call in the 1985 World Series. They are still upset about that one.
Well last night another Detroit Tiger, Armando Galarraga, again got the first 26 batters out and was one out away from a perfect game. Sadly on this night, he would get the final out except for the blown call of the umpire covering first base...
Armando handled this whole deal with a ton of class. The umpire has since apologized to Galarrage personally for missing the call and was in tears after realizing his mistake.
The commissioner of baseball Bud Selig should override the call on the field and award Galarrage a perfect game, both for his sake and for the sake of the umpire who will have to live with that mistake for the rest of his career. You don't believe me??? Just ask St. Louis Cardinal fans about Don Denkinger blowing a call in the 1985 World Series. They are still upset about that one.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Coffee Talk
One of the most enjoyable traditions here in the Zilkie home is "Coffee Talk". Yes, it was inspired by the old SNL skit done by Mike Myers back in the late 80s and early 90s. Anyway, when David was 3 or 4 and Jonathan was about 2 they used to always ask for sips of my coffee when I made it. Now I am not an everyday coffee drinker, but when I do have some the children always want some. Now you may think "a child wanting coffee", that is weird. Well, truth be told the joke in our home was that I like my coffee so my 2 year old can enjoy it...lots of cream and sugar.
Every now and then I would brew some coffee and put a little extra in cups for the boys and instead of just drinking it, I suggested we sit down at the table and talk as we drank our coffee...hence the name "Coffee Talk". Early on the conversation was pretty simple and repetitious. Their questions without fail were:
As the years have passed Caroline is now a coffee fan as well and we recently had another good ole' Coffee Talk and it was a blast. The boys are much more articulate and adding Caroline is always a bonus for any gathering as she is so full of smiles, joy, and life.
Apart from some great memories, there is an important value being developed during our times together over coffee. I am able to teach our children how to converse, ask good questions, listen to someone speaking in a conversational tone, and more. If coffee isn't your drink, find one that is. But in the mean time...give it a try. I think you will enjoy it. I know your children will!
Every now and then I would brew some coffee and put a little extra in cups for the boys and instead of just drinking it, I suggested we sit down at the table and talk as we drank our coffee...hence the name "Coffee Talk". Early on the conversation was pretty simple and repetitious. Their questions without fail were:
- What is your favorite color?
- What is your favorite animal?
- What is your favorite food?
As the years have passed Caroline is now a coffee fan as well and we recently had another good ole' Coffee Talk and it was a blast. The boys are much more articulate and adding Caroline is always a bonus for any gathering as she is so full of smiles, joy, and life.
Apart from some great memories, there is an important value being developed during our times together over coffee. I am able to teach our children how to converse, ask good questions, listen to someone speaking in a conversational tone, and more. If coffee isn't your drink, find one that is. But in the mean time...give it a try. I think you will enjoy it. I know your children will!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Update on David
I wanted to let you all know that David is doing well. We are not sure about the tooth, but his spirits are great and what we do know is that it will take months or years to know everything. In the meantime, the tooth is still in the socket with no pain and he is getting back to normal. He will have to have a small splint on the back of his two front teeth to hold it secure for a number of weeks or months. Currently he has a big metal wire on the front of his teeth which our most recent dentist called "a crowbar". He said he wanted to put something on a little more subtle.
Thanks for your prayers and for checking in on us and David.
Here is a picture of the original splint that didn't stay on so well...
Thanks for your prayers and for checking in on us and David.
Here is a picture of the original splint that didn't stay on so well...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Life's Not Fair
One of the things that excites me most about heaven is that "life" will finally be as it is supposed to be. So often in our lives, things happen that make us shake our heads and think "that is just not how it is supposed to be". Sadly, this is the consequence of living in a world negatively impacted by our sin, which God initially intended to be perfect...and will some day in the future will make perfect again.
An example of this took place on Saturday evening here at our home. Our former neighbors, married couple with two boys the same age as David and Jonathan, were over for dinner. We had just finished dinner and were enjoying some dessert while the boys were playing upstairs. All of a sudden we hear a scream from upstairs. Screams and cries are not uncommon in a family of 5 children, especially with 2 additional children thrown in, but this one was different. When we got upstairs I saw something that broke my heart. David, our eldest, was standing there with blood flowing out of his mouth and his right front adult tooth was gone...and I, who usually acts smoothly and decisively in a moment of crisis was honestly stunned.
What happened??? Well, this is where life is not fair. Jonathan and the other boys were starting to get a little too wild in their play. David sensing this and wanting to do the right thing had asked the boys, all three of them, to settle down a little bit. Their friends listened and settled down, but not brother Jonathan. He continued to act foolishly and threw a big plastic toy at his brother David and "POW", hit him right in the mouth, cut his lip, sliced David's gum, and knocked his permanent tooth clean out. (I will blog more about Jonathan and this part of “the deal” at a later date...)
It truly was a surreal moment for me. Growing up, I always had this fear of getting one of my permanent teeth knocked out and I remember checking my teeth every time I got smacked or hit in the mouth with something. I was kind of paranoid about it and probably still am.
At first we were trying to treat David for the bleeding that was coming from his mouth. Then I went upstairs and found the whole tooth, root and all, lying on the carpet. I tried to insert it at that time, but was not sure I was seating it correctly and placed it in milk instead. After trying for 10-15 minutes to contact a dentist or someone else to help guide us, which was impossible on a Saturday evening, we grabbed the cup of milk with the tooth and headed to the ER at the Children's Hospital here in St. Louis.
Before too long we were in a room in triage and a doctor came in and helped insert the tooth as much as it would go in. Unfortunately, it had been about an hour since getting knocked out and the likelihood of saving the tooth is best when reinserted in 30 minutes or less. Well, as David applied pressure on the tooth while we waited for the pediatric dentist who was on call to come in, he was able to get the tooth fully inserted back into his the cavity in his mouth. The dentist was great, especially on a Saturday evening having been interrupted while eating out with his wife. Once he arrived we did some x-rays and saw that the tooth was inserted perfectly. Then the dentist explained what was going to happen in the coming weeks.
Three things would/could happen:
1) The best scenario would be for the nerve in the tooth to reconnect with the nerve in the gums and for the tooth to reseat in David's mouth. This would save the tooth fully and cost little in the way of dental expenses. We are praying that is what has and will ultimately happen.
2) If the nerve did not reconnect, the body will not recognize the cells inside the tooth which has been reinserted in David's mouth and it will begin to attack it sensing it as a foreign object in the body. This would be bad for David, cause pain, and lead to a whole host of dental procedures and expenses we are not looking forward to.
3) If situation 2 does occur then David will need to get a root canal to deaden the exposed nerve in the empty cavity where the tooth used to be. Then they will take the dead tooth, clear the nerve out of the tooth and fill it with some substance that would allow it to stay up in the cavity for years to come. This is important because of the need for spacing as David's other adult teeth come in.
*Remember that David had the whole Perthes Disease in his hip last summer which we prayed over and saw the Lord heal him of that.
So, a couple things to remember as I close this blog...
1) Life is not fair. David is as just and as well tempered a 7 year old boy as you will find and "he" gets his tooth knocked out even as he is trying to bring peace to a wild situation.
2) We would appreciate your prayers for David and for this tooth to heal. Granted it is only a tooth, but the fixing of it will be extensive and expensive and he didn't even get it knocked out playing hockey.
Finally, this has been harder for me than it has been for David. Why, I am not sure, but Saturday night while he slept great, I tossed and turned all night which is very rare for me. Julie finds this funny and says how interesting it is to learn something new about someone you have been married to for almost 10 years. David keeps trucking forward enjoying life, while we wait for several weeks to see what in the end has or has not occurred.
To be continued...
An example of this took place on Saturday evening here at our home. Our former neighbors, married couple with two boys the same age as David and Jonathan, were over for dinner. We had just finished dinner and were enjoying some dessert while the boys were playing upstairs. All of a sudden we hear a scream from upstairs. Screams and cries are not uncommon in a family of 5 children, especially with 2 additional children thrown in, but this one was different. When we got upstairs I saw something that broke my heart. David, our eldest, was standing there with blood flowing out of his mouth and his right front adult tooth was gone...and I, who usually acts smoothly and decisively in a moment of crisis was honestly stunned.
What happened??? Well, this is where life is not fair. Jonathan and the other boys were starting to get a little too wild in their play. David sensing this and wanting to do the right thing had asked the boys, all three of them, to settle down a little bit. Their friends listened and settled down, but not brother Jonathan. He continued to act foolishly and threw a big plastic toy at his brother David and "POW", hit him right in the mouth, cut his lip, sliced David's gum, and knocked his permanent tooth clean out. (I will blog more about Jonathan and this part of “the deal” at a later date...)
It truly was a surreal moment for me. Growing up, I always had this fear of getting one of my permanent teeth knocked out and I remember checking my teeth every time I got smacked or hit in the mouth with something. I was kind of paranoid about it and probably still am.
At first we were trying to treat David for the bleeding that was coming from his mouth. Then I went upstairs and found the whole tooth, root and all, lying on the carpet. I tried to insert it at that time, but was not sure I was seating it correctly and placed it in milk instead. After trying for 10-15 minutes to contact a dentist or someone else to help guide us, which was impossible on a Saturday evening, we grabbed the cup of milk with the tooth and headed to the ER at the Children's Hospital here in St. Louis.
Before too long we were in a room in triage and a doctor came in and helped insert the tooth as much as it would go in. Unfortunately, it had been about an hour since getting knocked out and the likelihood of saving the tooth is best when reinserted in 30 minutes or less. Well, as David applied pressure on the tooth while we waited for the pediatric dentist who was on call to come in, he was able to get the tooth fully inserted back into his the cavity in his mouth. The dentist was great, especially on a Saturday evening having been interrupted while eating out with his wife. Once he arrived we did some x-rays and saw that the tooth was inserted perfectly. Then the dentist explained what was going to happen in the coming weeks.
Three things would/could happen:
1) The best scenario would be for the nerve in the tooth to reconnect with the nerve in the gums and for the tooth to reseat in David's mouth. This would save the tooth fully and cost little in the way of dental expenses. We are praying that is what has and will ultimately happen.
2) If the nerve did not reconnect, the body will not recognize the cells inside the tooth which has been reinserted in David's mouth and it will begin to attack it sensing it as a foreign object in the body. This would be bad for David, cause pain, and lead to a whole host of dental procedures and expenses we are not looking forward to.
3) If situation 2 does occur then David will need to get a root canal to deaden the exposed nerve in the empty cavity where the tooth used to be. Then they will take the dead tooth, clear the nerve out of the tooth and fill it with some substance that would allow it to stay up in the cavity for years to come. This is important because of the need for spacing as David's other adult teeth come in.
*Remember that David had the whole Perthes Disease in his hip last summer which we prayed over and saw the Lord heal him of that.
So, a couple things to remember as I close this blog...
1) Life is not fair. David is as just and as well tempered a 7 year old boy as you will find and "he" gets his tooth knocked out even as he is trying to bring peace to a wild situation.
2) We would appreciate your prayers for David and for this tooth to heal. Granted it is only a tooth, but the fixing of it will be extensive and expensive and he didn't even get it knocked out playing hockey.
Finally, this has been harder for me than it has been for David. Why, I am not sure, but Saturday night while he slept great, I tossed and turned all night which is very rare for me. Julie finds this funny and says how interesting it is to learn something new about someone you have been married to for almost 10 years. David keeps trucking forward enjoying life, while we wait for several weeks to see what in the end has or has not occurred.
To be continued...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Small Group Update
I wanted to post an update on our Financial Peace University small group since I mentioned it last month as we started up. Julie and I love the group. This is the first small group we have hosted in our home in many years and subsequently the first group we have hosted here in our St. Louis home. It is such a joy to have our friends over every week. Julie does such a great job hosting and I always love having people over and around.
In addition to getting to know our group members much better than we previously did, each and every group member is taking this group so seriously. We are seeing people face some of their fears and struggles related to finances and walk in the victory that God has for us when we place our faith and trust in Him. We are seeing couples in our group come together to tackle their financial struggles rather than let the struggles drive them apart.
One thing I have seen in my years of ministry and encouraging people to pursue God honestly and more passionately, is that he uses real life stuff to help us and grow us. It is kind of like working out in the gym. That which may cause us some temporal pain is actually the thing that will benefit us most in the long run. Facing our fears and even our personal failures is not ultimately bad, as much as it may hurt in the moment. Yet, the soreness that comes can reassure us that we have exercised our spirit and our spiritual muscles.
Finally, I want to share something that I have shared numerous times in the past couple weeks. Since we Americans are so good and controlling our lives and not needing God because all of the security and comfort we can bring to our own lives, I believe God uses our finances as a means to speak to us. Money and how it impacts us is one area we cannot totally buffer ourselves from and as a result it is a great way for God to speak to us in the depths of our heart.
In addition to getting to know our group members much better than we previously did, each and every group member is taking this group so seriously. We are seeing people face some of their fears and struggles related to finances and walk in the victory that God has for us when we place our faith and trust in Him. We are seeing couples in our group come together to tackle their financial struggles rather than let the struggles drive them apart.
One thing I have seen in my years of ministry and encouraging people to pursue God honestly and more passionately, is that he uses real life stuff to help us and grow us. It is kind of like working out in the gym. That which may cause us some temporal pain is actually the thing that will benefit us most in the long run. Facing our fears and even our personal failures is not ultimately bad, as much as it may hurt in the moment. Yet, the soreness that comes can reassure us that we have exercised our spirit and our spiritual muscles.
Finally, I want to share something that I have shared numerous times in the past couple weeks. Since we Americans are so good and controlling our lives and not needing God because all of the security and comfort we can bring to our own lives, I believe God uses our finances as a means to speak to us. Money and how it impacts us is one area we cannot totally buffer ourselves from and as a result it is a great way for God to speak to us in the depths of our heart.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
An Important Issue
If you think about it, I would appreciate your prayers. Presently I am venturing into an important issue at Rooftop, one that perplexes the church of America as well. The issue is "How do we best minister to and train up our children and youth?" At Rooftop this is taking the form of how to shape our forthcoming youth ministry effort. Presently, I am reading Wes Stafford's, Too Small to Ignore and enjoying it. Yet, his conclusions and suggestions fly in the face of typical Western culture and the way most Christians have raised their youth in the recent decades.
I am beginning this venture through reading a number of books, plan on talking to a number of parents, consulting our staff and leadership, and praying a ton. The most daunting statistic that is driving my pursuit is that 90% of church attending teens in recent decades leave the church and potentially their faith, once they graduate from high school. What this means is...what the church and parents have been doing has NOT been working. Only 10% of American youth have continued with church involvement into their young adulthood...that is insane and a horrible tragedy!!!
Interestingly, Julie and I did experience this reatlity firsthand through our struggles reaching young adults and growing the young adult ministry at our last church in Grand Rapids. During 5 years of focused and steady ministry to young people ages 18-29, we had only TWO seniors from the church's high school minsitry transition into our group and stick. This is in a church of almost 3,000 people with 50-100 graduating seniors every year. TWO people, Adam and Michele, everyone else in our group had little or no connection previously to Kentwood before joining our ministry. Is this not crazy???
Well, now we are trying to address this problem from the other end, developing a ministry or discipleship plan for our children to help them avoid being one of these statistics. What this looks like, I do not yet know. What I do know is that it will probably be different from what people experienced themselves or have been used to. With a 10% success rate, we can only hope that it is different. Thanks for your prayers and your interest. Stay tuned for more of my findings and learnings as we continue on this journey...
I am beginning this venture through reading a number of books, plan on talking to a number of parents, consulting our staff and leadership, and praying a ton. The most daunting statistic that is driving my pursuit is that 90% of church attending teens in recent decades leave the church and potentially their faith, once they graduate from high school. What this means is...what the church and parents have been doing has NOT been working. Only 10% of American youth have continued with church involvement into their young adulthood...that is insane and a horrible tragedy!!!
Interestingly, Julie and I did experience this reatlity firsthand through our struggles reaching young adults and growing the young adult ministry at our last church in Grand Rapids. During 5 years of focused and steady ministry to young people ages 18-29, we had only TWO seniors from the church's high school minsitry transition into our group and stick. This is in a church of almost 3,000 people with 50-100 graduating seniors every year. TWO people, Adam and Michele, everyone else in our group had little or no connection previously to Kentwood before joining our ministry. Is this not crazy???
Well, now we are trying to address this problem from the other end, developing a ministry or discipleship plan for our children to help them avoid being one of these statistics. What this looks like, I do not yet know. What I do know is that it will probably be different from what people experienced themselves or have been used to. With a 10% success rate, we can only hope that it is different. Thanks for your prayers and your interest. Stay tuned for more of my findings and learnings as we continue on this journey...
Saturday, March 27, 2010
A Man of the Earth
Today is my official return to the earth where my dad spent so many years of his life. I know, I know...that sounds a little overly dramatic for putting in a garden. However, we don't realize all the strands of our lives and how they stay connected to one another until certain life events renew or reveal the connection. I grew up on an acre lot in a small Michigan town just on the outskirts of the Metro Detroit area. We lived in a village only 2 blocks from the main crossing. Yet, our land had been in our family for over 100 years and for 100 years 2/3 of our lot was used for planting crops of various kinds. As time passed on and other lots were divided up and sold for lots for homes, our family's lot did not, and every year the big ole' garden was planted.
By the time the 1980s rolled around our town was pretty full and a very typical suburban village with houses lined up and down streets one next to the other. It never occurred to me that our garden and the 1/2 acre of corn growing on our lot in the middle of our village was at all peculiar. As I turned 10, I no longer had any interest in the garden or helping out with it. As my dad got older and his health diminished, the garden grew smaller and smaller. About the time I left for the Marines, our large lot was divided up into 3 smaller lots and sold off for two more homes to be built in what used to be our back yard and garden. The Zilkie garden heritage was gone, having died off through the tyranny of progress and technology.
Well today, "The Earth Strikes Back". With Julie leading the charge, the Zilkies are putting in some raised beds for our own garden and the children's hearts have returned to their fathers. I am putting our raised beds together, mixing the perfect soil without any weeds, leaving behind the old method of rows and spaced out planting. (My dad would be amazed to see how much different and easier gardening has become in the past 25 years.) Most importantly, our children are thrilled to use the tools to assemble the beds and are excited to be given their own sections of garden to care for. I think I am a little better casting the vision than my dad was which helps a bit.
On a personal note, there is something very spiritual about gardening. Gardening is a metaphor for life. In our present day we want and expect everything to come immediately. This is also true of our relationship with God. And yet God says that we are "like a tree planted by rivers of water" (see Psalm 1). A tree does not grow overnight but over a long time and as a result of consistent nuture and care. Also, being involved in something mysterious like watching a little seed become a big, beautiful, food producing plant 4 months later, while all I do is water, is quite amazing. God has a plan, and He has engineered that plan in the life of every seed and in our own lives as well. We need to have a vision for His plan and patiently water each others hearts and souls as well as our own, watching with anticipation for the signs of growth He brings about. I am seeing this growth and God-activity every week at Rooftop and in my own family.
As you consider your life this spring, you may not be planting a garden, but I want to encourage you to reflect a moment if you would. What seed is God planting in your heart and soul and how does He want to see that grow? What is He asking you to do in the area of watering that will allow a "harvest of righteousness" in the months ahead? It won't happen overnight, but one day after many days, you will look and see a spiritual sprout break through the ground of your life. Feel excitement just as children do that first morning the plants in our earthly gardens have broken through the earth and are on their way to a bountiful harvest.
By the time the 1980s rolled around our town was pretty full and a very typical suburban village with houses lined up and down streets one next to the other. It never occurred to me that our garden and the 1/2 acre of corn growing on our lot in the middle of our village was at all peculiar. As I turned 10, I no longer had any interest in the garden or helping out with it. As my dad got older and his health diminished, the garden grew smaller and smaller. About the time I left for the Marines, our large lot was divided up into 3 smaller lots and sold off for two more homes to be built in what used to be our back yard and garden. The Zilkie garden heritage was gone, having died off through the tyranny of progress and technology.
Well today, "The Earth Strikes Back". With Julie leading the charge, the Zilkies are putting in some raised beds for our own garden and the children's hearts have returned to their fathers. I am putting our raised beds together, mixing the perfect soil without any weeds, leaving behind the old method of rows and spaced out planting. (My dad would be amazed to see how much different and easier gardening has become in the past 25 years.) Most importantly, our children are thrilled to use the tools to assemble the beds and are excited to be given their own sections of garden to care for. I think I am a little better casting the vision than my dad was which helps a bit.
On a personal note, there is something very spiritual about gardening. Gardening is a metaphor for life. In our present day we want and expect everything to come immediately. This is also true of our relationship with God. And yet God says that we are "like a tree planted by rivers of water" (see Psalm 1). A tree does not grow overnight but over a long time and as a result of consistent nuture and care. Also, being involved in something mysterious like watching a little seed become a big, beautiful, food producing plant 4 months later, while all I do is water, is quite amazing. God has a plan, and He has engineered that plan in the life of every seed and in our own lives as well. We need to have a vision for His plan and patiently water each others hearts and souls as well as our own, watching with anticipation for the signs of growth He brings about. I am seeing this growth and God-activity every week at Rooftop and in my own family.
As you consider your life this spring, you may not be planting a garden, but I want to encourage you to reflect a moment if you would. What seed is God planting in your heart and soul and how does He want to see that grow? What is He asking you to do in the area of watering that will allow a "harvest of righteousness" in the months ahead? It won't happen overnight, but one day after many days, you will look and see a spiritual sprout break through the ground of your life. Feel excitement just as children do that first morning the plants in our earthly gardens have broken through the earth and are on their way to a bountiful harvest.
Friday, March 19, 2010
New Small Group
Our church recently finished a 6 week series on "Money" and interestingly it was one of the best message series the church as ever done. One of the follow up steps for that is us Zilkies hosting a 14 week small group covering Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU) material. Julie and I have listened to Ramsey for years, going back to our days in Grand Rapids. We like his approach to money and especially money struggles that so many people find themselves facing. So when the opportunity to take some Rooftoppers on a maiden voyage through FPU, Julie and I were excited to do so and to also host our first small group here at Rooftop.
Well, last night was our first meeting and it was great. Our group is filled with various people who felt God prompting them to take a step or steps of action about money as they were part of our recent series. To kick off our group we invited a wonderful couple from our church to share their personal story and journey. They have had significant financial and other challenges, went through FPU years ago, and are now experiencing the joy and freedom this material and ministry can provide. They were open, humble, and so very wise in their sharing. Then everyone who attended shared what they hoped God would give to them from their time in the course...and no one mentioned "money". Rather, people wanted peace, wisdom, to change their spiritual and financial legacy with their children, to hear from God more clearly, etc.
It was a privilege to host and be a part of the group. If you could say a prayer for the men and women who are taking this journey with us, we all need it and would greatly appreciate it. I believe God will want to minister to all of us in the depths of our heart and I am so excited to witness it and experience it firsthand. What we think, feel, and believe about money is such a core component of our spiritual lives and God really wants to minister to all of us in this area.
Well, last night was our first meeting and it was great. Our group is filled with various people who felt God prompting them to take a step or steps of action about money as they were part of our recent series. To kick off our group we invited a wonderful couple from our church to share their personal story and journey. They have had significant financial and other challenges, went through FPU years ago, and are now experiencing the joy and freedom this material and ministry can provide. They were open, humble, and so very wise in their sharing. Then everyone who attended shared what they hoped God would give to them from their time in the course...and no one mentioned "money". Rather, people wanted peace, wisdom, to change their spiritual and financial legacy with their children, to hear from God more clearly, etc.
It was a privilege to host and be a part of the group. If you could say a prayer for the men and women who are taking this journey with us, we all need it and would greatly appreciate it. I believe God will want to minister to all of us in the depths of our heart and I am so excited to witness it and experience it firsthand. What we think, feel, and believe about money is such a core component of our spiritual lives and God really wants to minister to all of us in this area.
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