Southwood Lutheran Church

Hot and Ready

Hot and ready...that's how Meals on Wheels arrive at the homes of the people who need them.

In 2008, Southwood's volunteers will deliver about 4,000 meals on Mondays and Saturdays ...hot and ready and delivered with a smile and a word of encouragement. For some of the folks who receive Meals on Wheels, their lunch delivery will be their only chance for contact with another human being that day. For them, that meal means so much!

My family volunteers for Meal on Wheels about once every 6 weeks. It takes a couple of hours, and we usually drive 10-20 miles round trip to deliver 12-15 meals. Our car gets pretty good gas mileage...so even with the high gas prices we probably spend less than $5 to do it. The three kids argue over who gets to accompany mom or dad to the door to deliver the meal at each stop. We go out for lunch together afterward.

Yesterday I heard a story on NPR about how rising food and fuel prices are making it difficult for Meals on Wheels programs around the country to survive. Click here for the story - it's only about 4 minutes long.

The story saddens me because I know how much Meals on Wheels means to the people who receive that service. The NPR story is about a central Texas Meals on Wheels program that has had to cut back to delivering only one hot meal a week, along with 4 frozen meals...folks in that area have to find their own food for the weekends...and they may only see a smiling face once a week now instead of once a day.

Lincoln's Meals on Wheels has not been immune. They continue their commitment to delivering a hot meal 7 days a week. But they need people to help make those deliveries happen.  Could you be a part of the solution?

• You could serve on one of Southwood's routes on Saturdays or Mondays (contact Rhoda Claridge, who coordinates Southwood's routes, to get involved).
• Meals on Wheels is also looking for people who are interested in delivering meals on a weekly, monthly, or on call basis on any day of the week. Contact Susie Brown at Meals on Wheels to learn about how you can get involved.

I promise that once you take a few meals...hot and ready and delivered with a smile and a word of encouragement...you'll be hooked!

Kim

VIDEO of the Week: Relationships

In this video Dr. Townsend answers the question: What can you do when loved ones completely lack empathy for one another or have an unapologetic attitude?

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

VIDEO of the Week: Goals and Successes

In this video Dr. Townsend answers the question: I work with someone who often will take credit for work I did during our staff meetings. What is the most appropriate way to correct the misinformation? Should I speak up at the time or go to my supervisor afterwards or not at all?

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

Its a Dirty Job!

Doing a Dirty Job for Jesus

Recently 15 high school and college students and adult leaders canvassed a neighborhood in east Lincoln. We walked door to door and asked residents if we could clean up their doggie droppings, free of charge, no strings attached. The responses we received were priceless! The most common question was, “Why?” To that we gladly told them that we wanted to show God’s love in a practical way.

We ended up cleaning up about a dozen yards total. Some people were even taken aback by our act of kindness and couldn’t accept our help. Our youth group organizes a servant evangelism project for the second Sunday of every month. In June we are planning a game night at a local retirement community.

Check out the attached video for footage of our recent doggie dropping experience!

Chip

VIDEO of the Week: Goals and Sucess

Where does your motivation come from? Dr. Townsend talks in this short video about what fuels us. A good question to ask is - Does your motivation come from others or from God?

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

VIDEO of the Week: Prayer

In this video Dr. Henry Cloud talks about some of the problems that we encounter in our prayer life. How do we take some steps to have a prayer life that doesn't feel like a failure?

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

VIDEO of the Week: Seeking God's Will

In this week's video on Spirituality Dr. Cloud stresses the need to leave your expectations behind when seeking God's will.

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

VIDEO of the Week: Parenting Influences

One parent asks: I don't like my twelve-year-old daughter's friends. I find them stuck up and gossipy. I told her what I thought, but she got very angry and stuck up for them. How do I keep her from becoming like them?

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

VIDEO of the Week: Non-Negotiables in Parenting

When a married couple is on different spectrums in their parenting ideas, how do you compromise or establish values that are agreed upon? Watch this video and think about your values when it comes to parenting.

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

Link of the Week: The Dragonfly Project

The Dragonfly Project

A small act of kindness to help a grieving family, following the death of their son, led to the creation of The Dragonfly Project in 2002.

When an 11-year old friend died from a brain tumor, Anne Marquardt Brooker sent his family a story about dragonflies and their significance in the cycle of life and death. The story so moved the grieving family with its "message of hope" that it inspired Anne to create a nonprofit corporation that would reach out to others who were grieving the loss of a family member or friend.

The Dragonfly Project consists of volunteers who help put together and mail condolence cards, a copy of the dragonfly story and a dragonfly keychain.

Anne, who is now 17 years old, continues to lead the organization in its mission to offer a message of hope and encouragement to those in need.

Here's the Dragonfly Story by Walter Dudley Cavert:

"In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their group ever came back after crawling up the lily stems to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what had happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain he tried to keep his promise. Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our friends or communicate with them after the transformation which we call death is no proof that they cease to exist."

Click here to learn more about the project or here to send a card to someone who is grieving.

Pastor Sara