Cedar Chips, July 2020 Chips, News

In a Perfect World

JULY 2020

IN A PERFECT WORLD

I have one goal every summer – nurture the perfect pot of flowers. The perfect pot contains the perfect flowers, sits in the perfect spot on the patio, and grows in perfect symmetry. Flower paradise.

Of course, the forces of evil align against the perfect pot. Weeds, pests, heat, wind, squirrels – these enemies of perfection collaborate to defeat me. Because of these wicked rivals, it is too much to hope for a perfect garden, I settle for just one pot of beauty, harmony, and excellence. My little backyard utopia.

My pursuit of horticultural magnificence brings job security. There is always one more task. Weeding. Watering. Fertilizing. Pruning. More weeding. The work never ends and sometimes I grow weary, but I never give up hope that one day it will be just as it is supposed to be.

I want a perfect world: perfect relationships, perfect health, and perfect justice. I grieve over the brokenness. I pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN!” I endeavor to do what is right. I battle spiritual forces of evil aligned against excellence. I work to make the world better and sometimes I grow weary, but I never lose hope that one day it will be just as it is supposed to be.

One verse in particular inspires me to press on. Philippians 1:6 – “I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion!” God finishes what God starts. Perfection is coming. Until then, keep weeding the garden.

Kent Landhuis
Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

 

 

 

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    Cedar Chips, Connection, July 2020 Chips, News

    Turmoil as a Time of Blessing

    JULY 2020

    TURMOIL As A TIME OF BLESSING

    “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:13-14).

    2020 seems to be slipping into deeper and deeper turmoil, and we as Christians are right in the middle of it, whether we like it or not.  Here’s the thing, this time of turmoil is really a time of blessing for we who belong to Christ. Right about now, there are some reading what I just said, who are ready to toss me out on my ear. But wasn’t it Jesus who told us to love our neighbors as ourselves in the verse above? Isn’t it Jesus, the Creator of the entire universe, who said, “Whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:27-28).

    It seems to me that loving our neighbor looks a lot like serving our neighbor. Jesus said it like this:

    “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’“ (Matthew 25: 34-40).

    We, who are Christ’s hands and feet on this Earth, need to be moving toward the turmoil and chaos of our day. We are called to actively love. We have been set free from curse of sin, which looks inward to our fears, but we are called to now turn outward in love. Love always looks outward to God and our neighbor, and here’s the great part about it, as we love we actually help heal the world around us. 1 John 4: 16-19 says, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgement, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.”

    There you have it! We drive out fear by acting in love. Our loving action actually replaces fear. That is a pretty good thing. I am going to go out on a limb again and say it is even a blessing.

    Gary Sager
    Ambassador of Care

     

     

     

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      Cedar Chips, COVID-19, July 2020 Chips, News, Noah's Ark

      Noah’s Ark July Update

      JULY 2020

      Welcome Hannah!

      Welcome to Hannah Pelling, our newest staff member at Noah’s Ark!

      Hannah comes to us with her BA in Elementary Education from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago IL. She recently did her student teaching at Isaac Newton Christian Academy in Cedar Rapids. She will help us with July summer school and lead our four-year-old class this fall. We love her positivity and can’t wait to share her with our students and families.

      Noah’s Ark is now in search of an assistant to work with Hannah in our four-year-olds’ classroom this fall on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Send inquiries to www.noahsarkcr.org.

      We have many COVID-19 requirements to complete in order to open school in July.  Many of the cleaning guidelines are in use at Noah’s Ark already, but we are having a difficult time purchasing a specific cleaner recommended by DHS for use in preschools. If you are out shopping and discover any spray bottles of Clorox (Anywhere Hard Surface Spray) please purchase them and Noah’s Ark will reimburse you!  It must be only this cleaner.

      Kris Crowther
      Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

       

       

       

       

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        Cedar Chips, Connection, July 2020 Chips, News

        Authenticity Killer

        JULY 2020

        AUTHENTICITY  KILLER

        I started crying in my car as I drove past the NewBo area of town. I saw dozens of people enjoying each other’s company in the sunshine and it made my heart hurt. Gathering with friends is exactly what my heart needs to be healthy. Several of my friends are on the cautious side of getting together; which means they are not ready to make many social plans yet. As a fun-loving extrovert, this has been soul-crushing. Hospitality and authenticity are key elements to relationship-building and it turns out that Zoom (a platform to hold meetings online) makes these elements hard to access.

        I’ve recently come to the realization that Zoom is an authenticity killer. In fact, in all the busyness of trying to move everything over to Zoom, learning how to use the platform, and then helping others do the same, I’m only now realizing that authenticity takes far more energy when using Zoom. Most of our communication with others is non-verbal. All the body language, tone of voice, direction of eye gaze, guttural sounds, hand motions, posture, and movement away from or towards the speaker offers us far more information about what the person is saying than their actual words. Part of me thought that Zoom would work because of the camera focused on the face, allowing for some of the non-verbal clues to be captured by the listener. However, so much is still missing or left to interpretation. This lack of clues about the speaker(s) makes it hard to share authentically.

        The Marco Polo app (a platform that lets you leave video messages) allows for different results than Zoom. I think one of the main differences is that people can share when they are ready, any time of day they choose. That means if I’m thinking things over in the grocery store I might be ready to leave a thoughtful or heartfelt response from my car in the parking lot. Zoom demands that you produce thoughtful responses at the moment everyone else is in the meeting. Marco Polo has allowed my small group the ability to share what is on our hearts, from a distance. Admittedly Marco Polo and Zoom are different platforms with different functions, but one has allowed deep connections to continue and the other allows for business as usual (as usual as it can be in a pandemic).

        The moral of the story for me is that connection is essential and complex. We all need time with our friends and family in order to stay healthy. Doing life together with hospitality, authenticity, forgiveness, and restoration is the answer to my heartache.

        Lindsey Ungs
        Connection & Communication Architect

         

         

         

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          Funeral

          Gage Underwood Funeral

          Gage Underwood

          The funeral service for Gage Underwood is Tuesday, June 30 at 11am here at Cedar Hills.  Visitation is Monday night 4-8pm at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home (4200 1st Ave N.E.), and Tuesday, 9:30-11am at the church just prior to the funeral.  Please continue to pray for this family as they grieve the loss of their son, brother, and friend.

          Obituary (from cedarmemorial.com)

          Gage Bryant Underwood, 18 of Palo, Iowa passed away on Friday, March 27, 2020 at his home.  Visitation will be held on Monday, June 29th from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.  A limited number of people will be allowed in the funeral home at one time. Please plan to wait your turn outside and be respectful of social distancing guidelines.

          Funeral Services will be 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30th   at Cedar Hills Community Church: 6455 E Avenue NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405.  The family will greet friends from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at the church. A mask is encouraged due to social distancing guidelines. Burial will follow at Linwood Cemetery in Cedar Rapids.

          Gage was born October 15, 2001 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa the beloved son of Jason Underwood and Heather Underwood.  Gage was a senior at Kennedy High School.  He was active on the football and basketball teams.  Gage worked at Safelite Auto Glass in Cedar Rapids. He enjoyed playing videos games, computers (he always wore his earbuds) and spending time with his favorite pet companion his dog, Louie.  But Gage’s true passion was all the great times spent with his friends and family.  He was compassionate, friendly, giving, a jokester, hard worker and had a heart of gold.  He will forever be remembered as a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew, and friend who will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

          Those left to honor Gage include his father, Jason Underwood (fiancé Kelly) of Palo, IA; mother, Heather Underwood of Cedar Rapids, IA; two sisters, Kayla and Alexis Underwood; step-siblings, Lexi, Logan and Luke Levendusky of Palo, IA; grandparents, Galen (Marlene) Underwood of Cedar Rapids, IA; grandfather, Joe Seng of Cedar Rapids, IA; special companion his dog, Louie; numerous loving aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family members, friends, classmates, and neighbors.

          He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Carol Seng and two aunts, Marlaine Underwood and Nicole Seng.

          Gage was taken from us much too soon, but his spirit, quest for adventure, and love for life will be with us always.

          Memorials may be directed to the family.

          Missions Team, News

          Blueberry Blitz Fundraiser

          We have a unique opportunity to support one of our missions – Lake View Camp – with a blueberry fundraiser! Print ORDER FORM now. (Make checks out to Lake View Camp)

          Lake View will be selling FRESH Michigan blueberries! A friend of Lake View Camp has offered to provide us with as many fresh Michigan blueberries as we can sell, delivered straight from his family’s 4th generation farm. Over the past decade, blueberries have been called the miracle fruit for their outstanding source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, manganese, and antioxidant properties—the things that fight against the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s.

          We here at Lake View Camp know a thing or two about miracles (though of a different sort of course!) and see this partnership between the miracle fruit and a camp where God’s miracles happen every day as a special opportunity to raise some much needed funds. So, join in our BLUEBERRY BLITZ! and help our ministry stay as healthy for our campers as these miracle berries will keep your body and mind.

          *Berries will be delivered to Cedar Rapids on Saturday, July 18 and be available to pickup at Steve and Cathy Poole’s house.  Make checks out to Lake View Camp.

          ORDER FORM
          Payment due upon ordering. Return order form and payment to the church office by July 13.

          Love. Belong. Serve.