The "Ten Minutes From Now" Guy

     I am a "Ten Minutes From Now" kind of guy.  My attention tends to be focused on what is coming up and what I need to do now in order to be ready for the next meeting, event, project or report.  I have passed this trait on to my daughter.  This morning she had a rip in her pants and her mom was patching them up before we headed off to school.  Their interaction went something like this:

• Girl (obviously antsy): Hurry, mom...we're already two minutes late for school
• Wife (confused): Honey, school doesn't start for another 10 minutes. I don't think you are reading the clock right
• Girl (highly insulted at her ability to tell time being questioned):  Yeah but dad says that it normally takes us 12 minutes to get to school unless we hit the lights just right and make great time but we can't count on that so we are already probably late for school and it will be my fault because they are my pants and I didn't plan ahead and we will need to get tardy slips and give them to my teacher who makes fun of us when we are late and now we are three minutes late so could you hurry?  Please?
• Wife (looking baffled as her husband proudly snickers on the other side of the couch):  Ok.  Done.  Off you go.

     The benefit of being a "Ten Minutes From Now" person is that I am usually on time and prepared for whatever comes next.  I anticipate problems before they arise and work to fix them before people know something is broken.  I have a strategic view of work and life and strive to help those in my circles succeed.  Each of these traits has been tremendously helpful in my work at Joel's Place.

     There are a couple of drawbacks to having this personality trait.  First and foremost is that you do not live in the present.  That means that if something good happens, I very rarely enjoy it because I have already moved on to the challenges of my next thing.  It also means that I live my life by my plans and if...when...they are disrupted, my entire world is thrown off a little bit.  I get grumpy when chaos enters my life.  The third piece is that I have a hard time being thankful.  Thankfulness requires that we stop and reflect on the blessings that have been poured upon us.  It is not about fixing anything or planning anything or doing anything.  It is simply being present and soaking in the goodness that we have been given while acknowledging that these are things we have been given, not that we have earned.  Thankfulness is directly tied to receiving.  If the things that we celebrate are earned, we are less thankful and more proud of our accomplishments.

     So in acknowledgement of my natural tendencies and out of respect for this Thanksgiving week, here are some things that I am deeply thankful for:

• My wife and children are all happy, healthy, full of laughter and so much fun.
• I have a great house to live in and a good car to drive.
• My job pays a liveable wage, regularly challenges my mind and my faith and pours resources into our community for a demographic who really need people to invest in them
• I have a tremendous staff
• I have a Board of Directors who love Joel's Place and volunteer their time
• We have hundreds of supporters who give of their time, money and resources to allow Joel's Place to exist.
• Fairbanks is an outstanding place to live and raise a family.
• It is snowing outside right now.
• I have a book coming out in the spring
• My parents live in town and are astoundingly generous and helpful
• I work somewhere that specializes in making people smile
• The Faith Community loves youth and works with us to serve them.
• I have a flexible schedule that allows me to be with my family as they grow
• My wife made me chocolate cupcakes for my birthday breakfast
• I have people who read this blog and offer me encouraging feedback.

     I am thankful for holidays that are scheduled into the year that remind me to step out of "Ten Minutes From Now" and embrace thankfulness. I invite you to join me, take a step back, stop all the cleaning and preparing that you are doing today and remember the good things you have been given.  Allow Thankfulness to propel your holiday weekend instead of panic and duty.  See you on the other side.

Welcome to Joel's Place, Jay.

Our newest employee is Jay Byam.  He is a college student and musician who holds the unofficial title of "Floater" at Joel's Place.  He helps at the front desk, the Red Room, outside or wherever else the kids are.  For his first Monthly Report he sent me this story which I felt I should share.  Sometimes this job is just fun.

A Story:

At about 8:20 on a Sunday night, 40 minutes until closing, Kelli asked two very fine young men, S and I, to do something.  The task was to empty the huge freezer that was in front of the sound booth, move the heavy and awkward freezer outside and fill it back up with what we removed. 

Initially excited, we retrieved the key from Kelli and opened the freezer lid.  Much to our dismay, the container was packed to the brim with everything from hot dog buns to 20 pound roasts to Reese's ice cream cakes.  

Our discouragement did not last long, however, as my brain began to formulate a genius ploy.  "You toss stuff to me and I'll put it in a pile on the ground over here.  It'll go lots faster,"  I suggested.  "Okay," was all that came out of S.

We began at what would be considered a normal speed for such a job, but S soon realized that I became quite flustered if he threw me the next item before I had placed the previous one down safely.  This epiphany led to a frantic race to see who could do their job faster than the other.  Our heart rates raced as we stopped only a few times to either make fun of the other's mishaps or catch our breaths.  This continued for a surprisingly short amount of time and the freezer was emptied.

Then next part of the job was getting the freezer outside.  We discovered just how good we were at waddling while a heavy object, with no handles might I add, slowly slipped out of our grasps.  Despite these setbacks, the bulky unit was in place outside, plugged in.

The activity that ensued will be faithfully denied by all who were involved.  I mean, of course, this never happened.  I stood at the back doorway, about 25 feet away from the pile we had made where S took his position.  With very few words the process began, differently than before.  We didn't gradually reach a ridiculous pace; we achieved it immediately.  S would either underhand toss things very slowly as if they were a bowling ball, side-arm fling the objects on a laser beam path or catapult the items much like a soldier with a grenade.  There was no in-between.  My body was the only thing stopping the projectiles from matching the destruction of the objects they resembled as they flew through the red room air.  My job was simple.  I was to absorb the impact of the things of differing masses and varying velocities, often with only one free hand, and toss them into the freezer around the corner, in some sort of order, in time to catch the next projectile, which was normally in the air long before I turned the corner.  When the smoke cleared and all body parts were accounted for, two young men with goofy grins on their faces stood over a fully completed task. Or, so we thought. 

Our grateful leader came outside and saw how happy we were to have done such an outstanding job.  Having had enough, she spoke the words that pierced our vulnerable souls.

"Actually, boys, I need it over there…"

Ramp It Up!

     If you have been following my posts at all, you will know that Joel's Place has been preparing for its annual fundraiser for a while now.  There were a million details floating around and they all came together this past weekend.  It went better than we had any right to expect; we had an incredible night this past Saturday.  The Ride Team was amazing: they helped with the setup, tear down, service and put together a tremendous video for the evening.  The food was exceptional.  The speakers were clear, yet personally involved.  The ask was simple and the program was short.  Everyone had a great evening and we raised over $35,000 for Joel's Place.
   
     There are a lot of people to thank, so I wanted to take this post to recognize as many of them as I could.  If you notice a name that should be on here, let me know.  (The great thing about the internet is that if I remember someone else later, I can simply come back and edit this file without anyone being the wiser.)

     Without further ado:

• First and foremost, Thank you to my staff.  I am specifically talking to you, Kelli.  There was room prep, printing, volunteer management and recruitment, and (most importantly) Centerpieces.  I wanted nothing to do with that.  Thanks everyone for helping this night to go off smoothly.
• Jameson Kapec and his team prepared our meal and it was delicious.  Everyone raved about how much they enjoyed the food.  Special thanks to Lavelle's Bistro for their assistance.
• Friends Church provided the location while The Works Catering provided the kitchen facilities.  Thank you for giving us a great space in which to host Ramp It Up.
• Rod Devore was our speaker from Rocketown in Nashville.  He was a font of information throughout the night and during the training leading up to the weekend.
• Speaking of Rod, Variety Motors provided him with a car and Pike's Waterfront gave him a room for his stay.
• BP and Airport Equipment Rentals were our Event Sponsors, allowing us to put on the event at all. 
• North Pole Coffee Roasters provided a complimentary coffee service.
• Andrea Johnson from The Works was a tremendous help on putting all the food service details together.
• Our Table Sponsors: The Setterbergs, R&D Environmental, Black Gold Express, Black Gold Oilfield Services, The Sadlers, Spartan Construction, Harvest Church, Cribs, Cradles and Things, Spirit of Alaska, MAC FCU, Northland Wood, Family Centered Services of AK., Henry Hedberg, SMRT Construction, Sauer Electric, Seekins Ford, Stanton Construction, Lifewater Engineering, The Meurlotts, RJG Accounting Services, The Johnsons.
• Jon Huff and AUP for running sound
• Rob Prince who shot and edited our video.
• Vince and Nick Meurlott who each gave a testimonial
• Jay Byam and his band, BroTalk, who played to open our evening.
• Our Board of Directors who helped promote and organize the event
• Lacey Shephard who volunteered a lot of hours to help this go smoothly

 Thank you to everyone involved.  We took our first steps into paying for this wonderful building and it was a great success.  



 
I am eager to see what happens next.
 

Encouragement

     I have a personal filing cabinet next to my desk at work.  It contains budgets, programs, evaluations, grant rejection letters...normal, important business stuff.  The file at the very front of the cabinet is the one that I open the least but need to have accessible the most.  I have it labeled as simply "Encouragement."  This is where I keep thank you notes, words of support, drawings from my kids and other items that will remind me of why I have a great job.  

     This fall has been quite busy with travel and classes and putting together Ramp It Up (tickets still available, by the way!) and staff turnover and grant management and...the list goes on.  I talk a lot about how great Joel's Place is and I write a lot about how great Joel's Place is.  The problem that I have is that I get so wrapped up in our administration that I miss out on our mission.  I wonder if we are doing anything important or having any impact.  I wonder if young people are being transformed.  I wonder if the kingdom of God is richer because of what we do. 

     (Quick side note:  When looking for development and transformation in teenage boys, one must take a long-term approach.  Whether they are 9 or 19 they will still chase each other, throw things they aren't supposed to throw, eat things they aren't supposed to eat, act as rude as you will allow and test every boundary that you establish.  The key is not to see if they stop these things but rather to observe if they follow up the socially unacceptable behavior with more compassion, awareness and humility than they used to.)

       When I begin to wonder these things, I have three assets that I have built into my work life. 

• I turn to the monthly reports of my staff.  I ask each of them to give me a report each month with the best thing about their job, a hard thing about their job and a story from the month.  The staff are the ones who are witnessing our mission being lived out.  They are the ones seeing youth grow before their eyes.  It is encouraging to see the staff investing themselves into young people with the result being that both parties come away richer.
• My second asset is field trips.  Joel's Place hosts several events during our closed hours: camps, field trips, playgroups, etc.  Usually the staff are still home, preparing to come in to work at 3 when we open up.  So I get to teach kids how to skate or show them what kind of resources Joel's Place offers.  I run around for an hour or two; everyone has fun and breaks a sweat.  Then they leave and they tell me that this is the greatest place in Fairbanks and they will be bringing their friends back. It helps me remember how much fun this place is.

      (Quick side note 2: When talking about working with at-risk youth, we are talking about a Continuum of Care.  On one side of the spectrum is emergency services: food, shelter, safety and other vital services that pull them out of the spiral they are in.  On the other side of the spectrum is transition into society: job training, education and other resources that set them on the trajectory of being productive members of society.  You cannot go directly from one side of the spectrum to the other...too massive a leap.  Between those two sits Joel's Place and other organizations that provide opportunities for youth to discover the things that they are good at or are passionate about or want to explore more or simply things that they enjoy.  The importance of fun cannot be overstated in this part of the process.  Youth won't change their lives just to get out of bad habits or situations.  They will change their lives in order to pursue something better.  They get out of a bad situation, find a place of safety, discover what they want to pursue in their lives, utilize the resources to pursue it and move into society, ready to transform the world.  This is the continuum and our place in it.)

• My third asset is my Encouragement file.  I see pictures of kids on the autism spectrum learning to skate and garden and play with others this past summer.  I see thank you notes from a housing project who we fed.  There are letters from 6th graders who had a blast.  There are messages from my staff, friends, partners and scripture that are especially poignant and meaningful.  Joel's Place...this silly little skate park...has touched hundreds of lives and made this community a little bit brighter for lots of people.

     I hope you have an encouragement file or drawer or folder.  Something that reminds you why you got out of bed and showed up at work today.  We are not just working for the money, but to make the world a better place.  When reminders of that come in, stash them away; cling on to them.  I find them to be extremely valuable...and who doesn't like having an "Awesomest Dad Ever" sign hanging out by their desk?