Leah Rade

Life

The past two weeks have been somewhat of a blur and many of you have noticed and commented that I haven't tweeted or blogged much. Life is happening fast and I want to fill you in for several reasons, but primarily so you'll remember us in prayer.

You may or may not know that my mother came to live with us five years ago when her pulmonary fibrosis worsened to the point that she could no longer care for her self.  Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive lung disease that slowly consumes the lungs until oxygen can no longer be absorbed through the air sacks (crude explanation, if you're a doctor reading this).  Last Tuesday evening her fibrosis turned that ugly corner and she was hospitalized for 4-1/2 days.  After extensive evaluation the doctors determined that Hospice should assume responsibility for her care.  We brought her home on Saturday night and met with the Hospice team on Sunday.  I'll be posting more about Hospice, as they have literally carried us this week.  I have told the team they are the "Disney" of care. 

So, if I'm not tweeting as often or not posting as often, know that we're eyebrow deep in life and trusting God more and more than ever.  Thanks for your prayers.

Michael's Debut Sermon

Sr. Pastor, Randy Carter, of First Baptist Church, Hillsborough, invited our son Michael to deliver the message during both services on August 9th.  Here is the mp3, Be Holy.  Please indulge a proud mother and listen to Michael's message to Christians.

Lots of Life Going On

Sorry about my absence...lots of life stuff going on.  Let me share a few of them with you.  First, last Sunday, Michael, our youngest child (hardly a child), graduated from Wheaton College.  To say we we proud is understated, as he not only excelled academically, graduating with two degrees; but more importantly, he excelled in his character and personal growth.

Our trip to Chicagoland included a stop in the Columbus, Ohio area to visit our daughter, Alana.  It was so fun to see her all nested in.  Her apartment was very "Alana-esque", which is very comforting to a mom.  From Ohio we traveled to Chicagoland to spend 3 whirl-wind days celebrating with friends and family, the achievements of our children.  It was awesome to meet some of Michael's beloved professors who invested so much of themselves in our son.

Monday was crazy as we picked up Michael from his campus house and drove out of Wheaton.  It was a new experience for us, as we had never brought Michael home from school, always flying him home.  We dropped Alana off at O'Hare airport and hit the road, heading toward Cincinnati, where we planned to stop and visit my dad.

We arrived in Cincinnati late in the afternoon, after losing that hour traveling from central time to eastern time.  It was a bit sad to see dad, who suffered a massive stroke last May.  It had been nine months since we visited last, and sadly, there has been no more progress in his recovery, as he fully relies on aids and my sister to care for his every need. 

We arrived home at 4:30am, Tuesday morning, frantically unpacking the van so we could return it to RDU before 5:00am, which surprisingly we did.  We fell into bed at 6:00am and slept for 3 hours or so, then I came into the church.  It's always an awesome feeling to miss your colleagues and ministry that much!

Since Tuesday I've been eyebrow deep in ministry planning, as well as meditating on our upcoming series, So You're Dead...Now What?, which begins tomorrow.  I've been praying for our pastor, as I know this series, while bringing comfort, also brings pain. 

Preparing my heart and mind for the upcoming series, I came across this comment by Billy Graham on Heaven: "Heaven will be a place in which its inhabitants will be freed from the fears and insecurities that plague and haunt us in the present life...We will be free from the economic and financial pressures that burden us down here, free from the fear of personal and physical harm...There will be no fear of personal failure...Our relationship with Him will be intimate and direct.  I'm looking forward to that glorious day of going to heaven."

Not sure about death?  Heaven?  Join us tomorrow at 9:30 or 11:00am for Dave's first message in this series, Death.

Dads, Your Kids Are Watching You

What are they observing?

I called our 22 year-old son, Michael on Monday night to share the news that his dad's team had won the Dart Ball championship game.  I know, you're asking, "What is Dart Ball?"  I'll address that later.  But for now, I want to share part of the conversation that happily took me off-guard, and caused me to reflect, ponder and give thanks. 

After I told Michael about the win and how excited his dad was about the win, I commented, "I picked a really great dad for you."  Michael responded that he was talking with his girlfriend about his dad just the night before.  Michael told me that he was sharing about his week and about how one of his mentors had been a guest lecturer.  Michael went on to describe Dr. Root as a very Christlike person who demonstrated genuine care and love for people.  He then stated that these Christlike qualities were the same qualities that he witnessed in his dad while he was growing up.  He shared that from an early age, he watched how his dad interacted with clerks at stores, gas stations and fast-food restaurants, demonstrating genuine kindness and care for every person he encountered.  He then said, "I want to emulate the Christlike qualities I see in daddy."

Men, whether you're a dad or not, how do your family members and friends describe your influence?  Want to optimize your influence?  Join us for a five-week series designed just for men...Ultimate Fighter begins on Easter weekend.  Check out our New Horizon Church website for more information.

Another Reason to Build a Great Marriage

Today our daughter Alana moved to Ohio.  She's moved away to college, but that was different...it wasn't the "permanent" move away from home.  Today represented permanent, as Alana is off to pursue her life and build her relationship with a super nice guy.  Boy-o-boy, me and Mike were sad earlier today, but we just finished a great talk that included lots of plans  for togetherness now that we have a semi-empty nest (still take care of my mom).  We ended our conversation by expressing delight in how both of our kids have grown and matured...then acknowledged that we were excited about spending time doing things that we have always dreamed of.  The bottom line is this - the pain of your children leaving is balanced by the wonderful love and relationship that you have with your spouse.  When you don't derive your emotional fulfillment from your kids, but from your spouse, letting them leave represents an opportunity to focus wholly on your marriage.  So while we'll miss the day-to-day experience of Alana, and believe me, Alana is an experience...there's a renewed excitement for focusing on us.  Looks like I may even have to take a day off here and there...mountain biking, rock climbing, bird watching, fishing, perusing galleries and museums, day trips to the mountains...

"How do you raise a Michael Rade?"

If you regularly follow my blog you know how proud I am of our adult kids, Alana & Michael.  If this is your first time reading my blog...I'm really proud of our kids!

Michael, who is heading into his last semester at Wheaton College, will graduate May 10th with two degrees - BA in Biblical Studies & BA in Christian Education, then head off to seminary.  Michael served NHC this summer as our summer intern, serving along-side and building relationships with several NHC'ers.  Upon getting to know Michael, one of our NHC'ers asked, "How do you raise a Michael Rade?" 

My answer is born from simple origins..."Raise your children through the church!"  Neither Alana, nor Michael remember "life before church" because they were in their age-appropriate environments pretty close to coming from the womb.  For Alana, the consummate extrovert, going into her new class or any new environment was an exciting adventure.  Not so for Michael, who until age...well, um, age 18, was...clingy is putting it mildly.  I know you've seen the original cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the scene where the Grinch had to wriggle out of his dog Max,who had wrapped around the Grinch, holding on to the Grinch for dear life?  That was Michael. 

As hard as it was t pull a screaming child off of my hip and hand him to another adult, I did it because #1, I knew he would stop crying; #2, I trusted the teacher; #3, I was the mom and knew he would learn more about Jesus in his age-appropriate environment than he would sitting bored in the service with me.  We encountered this experience with Michael, literally until four years ago when we took him 880 miles away to Wheaton College.  Michael loved Wheaton College, he just wanted to stay in North Carolina near me and Rademan (Michael's pet name for Mike).  A well-respected couple, who Michael spent a lot of time with on a mission trip, tried to talk us into keeping Michael closer to home because Michael told them he wanted to stay closer to home.  As hard as it was to take him to Illinois, we knew our kid. Over the years we experienced, time-after-time, Michael's personal and spiritual growth, when we were...his parents.  That couple admitted to us later that they respected us for doing the right thing and taking Michael to a college that was a phenomenal fit (even though it was 880 miles away).  By-the-way...I cried the first eight hours of the trip home.  I didn't say it was easy leaving him.

Guess what happened when until at least age three, when I pealed Michael from my body and "left" him in his age-appropriate Sunday class?  At age 6, he accepted Christ through his teacher, Larry West.  He developed significant relationships with other significant adults, including many Sunday School teachers, whom he still has relationships with.  He became a leader in his youth group.  Yes, he not only stayed a Wheaton, he surprised especially himself by thriving there (880 miles from home).  I, on the other hand, wasn't surprised because he always adapted and thrived.

Michael will soon graduate as a well-equipped 22 year old man with the confidence he gained by experiencing many situations that as a child, he would have avoided, had he been allowed.  Parents, the payoff is when your kids grow up and become self-sustaining, God-loving, people-loving adults.  That happens when you are your kid's parent.  It's not easy, but it's right. 

Thanksgiving Reflections

I really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year.  Michael was home for almost a week.  Alana's boyfriend, Gary, flew in from Ohio; and my dear friend Rob Greenberg spent the entire day with us.  I love to cook - it's a stress reliever for me and I'm told that my level of stress is conducive to the amount of food that I cook.  I don't necessarily believe that...but here's the menu...you be the judge.

Homemade, from scratch, pumpkin pies (2)
Homemade, from scratch, lemon meringue pie (includes fresh-squeezed lemons)
Glazed, baked ham (not from the ham store)
Smoked turkey breast (from the ham store)
Cornbread, sausage, chestnut dressing (I roasted the chestnuts)
Traditional sage dressing
Macaroni and cheese (7 different kinds of cheese)
Mashed red potatoes with roasted garlic
Green bean casserole
Sweet Potato casserole
Grilled asparagus
Steamed corn
Ambrosia (in honor of my mentor, Sherri)
Rolls
Gravy

Guess how much Half-N-Half was used?  Heavy Whipping Cream?  Butter?  Let's just say I made Paula Deen proud.  It was a great day and I'm thankful for my family and friends!

A Lesson In Community From 8 Wheaton Seniors

During our long drive to Chicago-land on Saturday night/Sunday morning, we walked down memory lane with Michael, reminding him that the thing that intimidated him the most before his freshmen year, is the thing he now most embraces - community life.

He was especially excited about his senior year, living with 7 other men who began their Wheaton journey three years ago on the same freshmen hall. I remember Michael completing a survey, somewhat like the one we use to assist us in placing people in community groups.  Then, the housing team, using the information collected in the surveys, strategically placed these men together on their hall; similar to how we place people into groups.

Here's the lesson - while these men did not have a choice regarding their placement in their freshmen year, as they relied on the housing office to place them; they have had every choice since then regarding who they "do life" with.  Each one of these eight men have lived together in some configuration during the past three years, with the great opportunity to live together their final year in a senior house.  They share together, pray together, attend church together, talk about girlfriend issues together, eat together, play together and are in Bible study groups together...they live in community!

If you're not in a community group, let us help you get into one.  Fill out this brief survey and we'll connect you with a group.  While you might feel a bit weird about getting placed into a group, reflect on this story, know that we've got you're best interest at heart (we pray about our groups every day), then see where God leads you.  Michael and his group of unique friends, who were placed together three years ago, will be in one another's weddings; be there when each new child is born; cry over life-stuff, and be there for each other...forever.

Who Is Your Protege?

This summer I've had the pleasure and privilege of working along side my son, Michael, as he completed his internship which was required for his spiritual formation and ministry degree.  I watched as several of the pastors and ministry leaders poured the contents of their cups into his.  As I watched Michael's confidence develop with the loving care of several mentors, I gained a greater understanding of our responsibility to mentor someone...as many as we can.

So, who are you pouring yourself into?  And, who are you allowing to pour themselves into you?

The last three weeks of Michael's internship he had the opportunity to pour what he has learned into the lives of our youth in Spiked, as he delivered the messages.  Thank you everyone, who poured themselves into a future pastor this summer.

Young Love

I just experienced a walk down memory lane when I went to tell both of our kids goodnight and found Alana and Michael, lying in their rooms, in the dark with cell phones glued to their ears, talking with their "sweeties".  I remember those long, late-night conversations with their dad.  Seems like just yesterday...