DLmail 1/27/2009 Pure Joy Bean Spill

Get ready for a thrill ride of a DLmail. I am going to shake things up by spilling some of my beans right at the start. Being a very simple man, I have very little to share. But I have come to a place where I feel I should share the "very little" with you all, calling it wisdom perhaps, gained as I have grown old. January of 05 I purchased my first pair of Maui Jim sunglasses, the Sport model (fitting since I am an adventurous sport of a guy). April 05, dropped them at a Cubs game, sweet scratches on my sweet, incredible, polarized lenses. A quick stop at the MJ home office on Allen Rd. and I have brand new lenses, free of charge. 2006, dropped them again. Went in expecting to pay $60 for replacement lenses this time. Nope, they wouldn't hear of it. 2007, found a stress crack near the screw. New lenses $0. 2008, caused a stress crack near the screw via overzealous cleaning, new lenses...out-pocket-expense...$0. Wisdom pass-on #1, wear Maui Jim sunglasses, fresh lenses every year free of charge.

My daughter loves the potato chips at Panera. One day I ordered extra chips. The server threw them in, no charge. The next time I asked again, same thing, no charge. One time I asked for two extra bags (I put them in Erin's lunchbox...they are natural, only three ingredients: potatos, 100% sunflower oil, and seasalt...very nice). The server pondered the register and then just threw them in. Since then I have asked for extra chips with each order, always free. Seems there isn't a button for chips on the register. Last night I asked for a bag of chips and the guy threw in three. Wisdom pass #2, eat at Panera and order extra chips.

Please use this knowledge wisely. I beg you.

Our kid numbers dropped by about 10 last Saturday. Not sure why, didn't expect it. Kevin, Monica and Zach were awesome with their small groups. We wrapped up the virtue of Resourcefulness and I think Keith will probably stop wearing the hardhat now. I think. Kevin introduced Baggo as an alternative to the tired PS2 games, kickball, foosball, ping-pong, etc. It went over well and will likely be here for a while. Nice thinking Mr. Stewart. Heather Roecker brought herself out of a 1.5 year teaching retirement and presented our last Resourcefulness lesson very well. Good to have our teaching stable bolstered a bit. Would be nice to have a few more, and throw in some small group leaders to boot. Pray accordingly. I cannot give you the info for this coming weekend's small group time, but it will be posted here soon. Also, Cal's message can be heard by clicking right here. One thing, a girl lost her black MP3 player Saturday evening in our room. It hasn't shown up after several looks. Tough lesson. We need to discourage kids from bringing their electronics in. If you see them, let me know and I will offer to hang on to these items for the kids until after church. Actually, I will insist that they let me hang on to these things.

I am sure Jeff Mennel and his girls have appreciated all of your prayers this week (and those that you will continue to submit on their behalf). Rebecca's visitation was hugely attended and her funeral was a great tribute. Gary and Jeannine did a wonderful job honoring Rebecca with their words.

Finally, pure joy. I watched as Sean Allen (Lori E-A's Sean) took little Lane one on one during church so his mom could be in the auditorium. Lane suffers from some obvious disabilities, cerebral palsy for one. But what a joy. His toy of choice, an electric toothbrush. A simple tussle of his hair by Sean evoked joyous giggles. A little toothbrush to the ribs, more of the same. What a blessing to see. I wish more people could find such pleasure in the simple things.

DLmail 1/20/2009 Unmotivated

Unlike Kevin, who was hooked on phonics and writing up a storm Saturday night, I am not really motivated to write this. The news of Rebecca Mennel's sudden passing last night from a heart attack has limited my thoughts. Jeff, Rebecca's husband, just served with us last weekend. He and Rebecca are fixtures in DL. Pray for Jeff and their two girls as they try to accept this all. We know, however, that Rebecca was faithful and she is being rewarded for that faithfulness right now in the presence of her Heavenly Father.

We had numbers close to 40. The trend is continuing upward. Tim joined Kevin, Monica and myself and all went pretty well. Tim showed off some sweet DDR skills and Kevin Elder's teaching was right on the mark. This coming week Tim will exit and Zach VanB will be in. Should be a good weekend as we finish the study of Resourcefulness. The small group info can be seen by clicking here. Our memory verse stays the same, Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." The Bible Story is "God does miraculous things through Moses," found in Exodus 4:1-23, 27-31 . The bottom line is that God gives you what you need to get the job done. Spend plenty of time in prayer as you prepare for this Saturday. If you missed Cal last weekend, here is his message.

We, the Lingenfelter's, caught a bit of a break recently. Last year our Erin decided that for her 9th birthday (2/1/09) she would pass on having a kid party (wooohoooo!) as she just wanted to go to the new American Girl store in Chicago. With our families medical schedule just about to devour all of our time, we decided to give her her trip a little early and it worked out really well last Sunday. We left mid-morning for Chicago under beautiful sunny skies and arrived around 1PM. We were heading north on Michigan Ave. just about to Wacker (just before the river) when Pam questioned, "Hey, is that Sheri Bryne getting into that taxi?" Because of my hipness (I am all about the Facebook), I recalled seeing a blurb on Sheri's page from Dave Marks commenting about her Chicago trip. One quick call to her confirmed it. We were in a city of 3+ million people for approximately 5 minutes when we saw a friend from home. We were in the AG store about 3 minutes when I saw my sister's neice and her family (they live by the Allison's in Cedar Hills Estates). Odd and very uninteresting, but like I said, I am not really motivated today to write anything clever. Maybe next week.

Oh, if you have a minute, Pam has a little surgery tomorrow to put a medi-port in her chest. If you could shout out a little prayer it would be appreciated. Thanks.

One more cold post

It did get colder before it got warmer last week. -21. One to remember.

You have to be kidding!?!

January 16, 2009, 6:00AM...-19.8. I am thinking we could round

this up (down) and call it an even 20 BELOW ZERO!

This thermometer in our kitchen reads 75 degrees (rounded up) inside.

It is on the non-windy side of the house. The windy side is around

66 degrees. Thermostat is set on 68. The furnace never stops running.

This is getting interesting and I don't even know the windchill number yet.

DriveBy Sho...veling

What do a couple of adults, five high school boys and a sixth grader do on a day like today? School is cancelled. 6 or more inches of snow everywhere. 5 whole degrees at 2PM. You grab your shovels, borrow a van and drive around town and randomly shovel driveways and sidewalks of unknown and unsuspecting households. Just serving without the servee even knowing...how sweet. These boys ROC.

Real time at this house, just a touch over 5 min. Lots of driveways and sidewalks cleared. Lots of laughs. And some cold fingers and faces. Chillicothe Campus Life.

DLmail 1/13/2009 Side Effects

Side effects are something my family has learned a lot about in the past several years. I am not talking about the bad ones either. I am talking about the side effects of serving. Pam and I have experienced our church (Northwoods, the largest downstate church in IL) on a small scale, simply by serving in Discoveryland. Let's investigate some wicked good side effects. We connected with Stephanie Elder through DL. Besides being one of Pam's most cherished friends, she is also Pam's "front(wo)man" in her current cancer battle. Stephanie was put into place last year as a physican's assistant (nurse practioner) at Peoria Surgical, the office that houses three of Pam's surgeons. That is so reassuring.

Another side effect, Randy Wilcoxen. I first met Randy in DL as we prepared a little graduation program many years ago for the outgoing 5th graders. It was a love connection of the brotherly kind. Randy is a physician's assistant at Midwest ENT. Our Erin has a shotty history in the ear arena and when her doctor retired several years ago, my new DL friend Randy was there to take over. He has checked on Erin at church and in his home. She had a horrible night last night with a raging infection in her right ear and a quick email and a cell phone call got her in and wha-la, she is feeling better already. Cool side effect of serving. (And yes, this is the only pic I could find of Randy today...sorry)

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of a side effect called Dr. Kathy Arkwell or not. She has only fixed the teeth of about half of the population of Peoria under the age of 35. She has also been a faithful DL servent since forever. We first met Kathy when she spoke to our DLer's about her dad. The timing was interesting as it was 2004, our bad year. When concerns arose regarding Josh's orthodontic work a couple years ago, Kathy stepped in and took such good care of him (and his sister and their parents), we were humbled beyond humble.

The list of side effects are numerous. DL fellow leader Kevin Stewart has become my personal counselor. DL team leader Susan Rychener prays for Pam like none other and is always in touch with her, encouraging her. DL staffer Rachel White has been with us the whole time, from feeding us breakfast in the hospital in 05, to watching our kids...you name it. Another fellow DL leader (Dr.) Monica Stewart gave Pam some much needed input regarding the rehab of her left arm just Saturday evening. DL leader and teacher (& attorney) Kevin Elder is practically on retainer, totally watching Pam's back and letting her know it. DL staffer Keith Lindgren was waiting by the phone to help when Pam was last in the hospital. The captain of DL, Gary, and his first mate Jeannine are always there for us. I could go on and on. I could list side effects from years past. I could list for a long, long time. But you get my drift.

Serving in DL has produced a return for us (and may I add that in review of what I am writing I am feeling a wee bit guilty that we take so much without giving...maybe someday). I/we have seen firsthand the blessing of service in Discoveryland at Northwoods (notice I didn't even go into the blessing of the kids and the relationships and the witnessing of changed lives there, that is a whole other post). My point here was, uh, I forgot...too wordy.

We were three leaders vs. 33 kids last Saturday. Too few, but Kevin and Monica are so good that it went smashingly well. Were we tested? Yes. Are we learning from the kids as we try to serve them appropriately? Definitely. Keith juggled the teaching and worship singlehandedly and all went well. But we do need more help. Connecting with kids in small groups is awesome as long as the small groups are small. That only happens when enough adults step up to serve. Pray for that. We will continue our study of Resourcefulness this coming Saturday. The small group leader info can be found by clicking here. The Bible story is: Hezekiah and the wall, 2 Kings 18:1-2, 5-8; and 2 Chronicles 32:1-23. The bottom line is: Do your best, and trust God to do His part. Our memory verse remains Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." For Cal's mainstage message from last week, click here.

Now...

My camera had a coniption during DL last weekend. The photos I took weren't actually recorded and at one point the thing froze like the battery was dead. Josh and I took the camera apart with my Swiss Army knife and actually fixed it, but the only surviving image from the night was this short video clip. Enjoy.

Finally, I get so many responses when I ask you all to name that tune. Last weeks winner was Emi Ragan, (Be My Lover by Le Bouche). She wins a free subscription to DLmail and an open invitation to serve as the 4th grade girls small group leader any time she wants and as often as she wants, even though she is already a small group leader on Sunday. She also wins the admiration of many of us. Lucky Emi.

So...below is a parting gift for all the rest of you guessers.

Here is a little ditty from my audio archives for your entertainment. Thank you all for all you do.

Pam got out of bed from 1/15/2005

The title seems a little unexciting, but getting out of bed for Pam during chemo was a bit like the Cubs winning the pennant. Newsworthy. This was more of a family update rather than a mass update.

1/15/2005

Pam got out of bed

The battle of the chemo effects continues. Yesterday saw an increase in the pain from the soreness the chemo caused in Pam's mouth and throat, and we saw continued regurgitation. But the sun finally showed up and our temperatures are staying in the easy to add range (single digits). Today is super sunny. Erin spent the night at the Boomer's last night. Josh went to a pool party. This morning he got up early for his basketball game. He did alright, but I think he needed more rest last night as he seemed a little tired.

Erin came home and dug into her Polly Pockets after her shower. Pam even got out of bed and showered today. Then she went totally nuts and put on street clothes, did her hair and her makeup. She is planning to go to church this evening. Hope she doesn't throw up on anyone important. She hasn't eaten anything today, partly due to the sore throat/mouth, partly due to the nausea. It will at least be clear, non-staining throw up. Notice in the photo I just took she still has her original hair. Ten days into chemo and her hair is hanging on for dear life. She is happy about that. She hopes it holds on through Monday. She has a photo shoot that day which involves her, her mom, pinks and pastels, and the largest Race for the Cure in the USA (in 05 it is opening up to men, so it could be up to 40,000 or 50,000 people).

Pam just said she wants to come up with a way to line a purse with a plastic bag so she doesn't have to carry a bucket around church with her. Looks like we have a little project this afternoon.

Hope you are all well. I notice that Fargo and Winnepeg are going to be -20 and -30 respectively tonight. Bet you all wish you were here where we will be way warmer at zero. I also noticed that Miami will dip into the 60's and the Orlando area will be in the 50's. I hope you guys will be OK down there. You could get quite chilled.