Henriet's Blog

Semper Vita now on Facebook and Twitter

Now there are more ways to stay current with Semper Vita and to participate with us in the online community. 

Are you on Facebook? Please check out our Facebook page and join the community. 

Love pictures? We posted an album on our Facebook page of our Northwest Ministry Conference launch in March, 2010. Like the page? You can help us out by signing up!

On Twitter? Please consider subscribing to our Twitter feed for the latest on us and our partners.

Do you Twitter? If you do, follow us and we'll follow you back.

Participate For Good: Blog Comment Day

Use your voice to do life together, share community and make a difference.

Can you hear me now?

When I hear those words I picture a guy in with black-rimmed glasses in gray overalls walking around with a cell phone to his head. You too? It's a great commercial. Isn't "can you hear me now?" what we all say when we're on the phone - especially in those poor coverage areas. It seems like there's more to it. Isn't it also how we really feel as we barrel through life? When we're not feeling connected, when people aren't paying attention, when we seem to be speaking to the wall - don't we all want to do something to get someone's attention and then say, "Can you hear me now?"

A few words can make a difference

People are wired to connect and do life together. That's why at Semper Vita connecting is a core value. We all look for ways to be in relationship, communicate meaningfully and make a difference. The recent 1000-person pillow fight that happened through online contact illustrates that people want to have contact. Blogging is another way people are using to communicate, have their voice heard and make a difference.

John Smulo, a friend and fellow blogger, writes:

"People blog for all kinds of different reasons. Some blog to get their thoughts out in a public diary; others blog to share their expertise with others; many more blog for a dozen other reasons."

John's reason for blogging is "the interaction, learning, and friendship that comes from putting my heart and mind out in public and the privilege of people responding through comments."

Blog Comment Day on December 3, 2008

He likes it when people comment on his blog. I like it too. It creates conversation. It's a way to share thoughts, leave a challenge, share an idea or make a difference. 

Here's how Blog Comment Day works:

• On December 3, 2008 leave one comment on at least 5 different blogs.
• Out of the 5 blogs make at least 2 of them blogs you haven't commented on previously.

As part of spreading Christmas to everyday, why not visit some worthwhile blogs and find out about other great causes. Let the person leading the effort know that you appreciate them. It will make their day - trust me!

Some suggestions (Besides John's Blog):
Cheerful Givers
Billy Calderwood
Epic Change
Jesus Creed
Conversant Life

Time For Christmas Cards; Add One For A Soldier

Send one more card and support a recovering soldier.

Staying in touch

Every other. That's about my pattern when it comes to Christmas cards. I always have the best intentions to write the cards but it doesn't always work out. As much as I dislike the process of writing the cards, I love the practice. It's great to hear from friends, family and acquaintances around the world. For some of the people I know it's the only time that we actually touch base...but it's meaningful nonetheless.

One year, about 17 years ago, Fred and I traveled back from France. I sat next to a couple who were on their way to visit their daughter in California. They spoke about two words of English. I spoke a few more words of French - but not many more. The flight crew had few French speaking personnel. So, I spent much of the flight translating and explaining...using my little French-Dutch dictionary (yep, then translating it into English - don't ask.) We made a real connection. So much so that we still exchange Christmas cards - in French of course.

Even though we hardly know them, the cards still mean a lot.

Sending an additional card

As I'm writing Christmas cards this year, I will add an additional card. This card will go to a wounded soldier who's served our country. I hope this will mean something to him or her and bring a smile or some hope. There's a movement to get people to add a card to make a soldier's Christmas a little more special.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and Christmas a month away, it's time to write the cards. I spoke to my mom earlier and she's already started. How about you? Are you working on your cards yet? Would you mind adding just one more? One card can mean a lot to a soldier who's served the country.

Send the additional card to:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

Express your thanks and Christmas wishes to a soldier who has sacrificed for us. If you like this idea, pass it on. Let's spread the Christmas cheer and surprise these men and women with gratitude and Christmas wishes.

Call To Say Thanks; Make Someone's Day!

A few minutes could spread cheer!

As I waited for an appointment my cell phone rang. It was a good friend whose mom had been fighting cancer. Of course I answered right away.

    "How are you?" I asked wondering what the news might be.

She sounded OK. I asked about her mom and I learned that she had died the morning before.

    "I'm sorry, Lea. How are you holding up?"

I wondered what the reason for her call might be. Her answer surprised and delighted me.

    "I'm calling everyone who supported my family and me during my mom's illness," she said.

Wow! What an incredible thing to do. I told her, 

    "You're so welcome! I was glad to be there for you. Just wish we could have done more."

We continued our conversation and exchanged updates. At the end of the call she again affirmed that her purpose had been to thank her friends for their support. Amazing!

That call, though sad in some ways, really made my day. What a tremendous way to express gratitude and spread hope. I was so impressed and encouraged.

Part of Semper Vita's mission is to help people connect in meaningful ways. Lea's call sure meant a lot. She inspired me! Then I thought about who I could call to say "thanks" or share encouragement. How many people have been there for me? Who has invested in my well-being or supported me through a tough time? Lots of people came to mind.

I'll be making some calls to say, "Thanks! You made a difference in my life." It's just a simple way to spread cheer and extend the spirit of Christmas. Gotta go. Some calls to make!

True Religion

What is your religion? Is it true religion? How does it compare to God's view on the matter?

Leonard Sweet commented that God is always up to something. Reggie McNeal tells us that God is always doing something new. God's at work in the world. Religion revolves around God. The Apostle James tells us how God views religious activity:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27.

Living my religion

What's my religion like? Does it measure up to God's version of true religion? I want my faith, and how I live it out, to please God. If I'm going to be religious I want it to be a true religion that God accepts, don't you?

How can we accomplish this?

Living our faith requires action. So what can we do? Here are some suggestions:

• Volunteer locally (there are many non-profits doing good in the community)
• Adopt a child (My family sponsors a child in Brazil through International Childcare)
• Adopt a widow (Sister Connection is one place). 
• Participate in good organizations that help alleviate hunger, help the least of these, aid the poor and needy.

As Semper Vita we want to make helping easier. The goal is to allow us to connect quickly and easily to people and to volunteer and/or giving opportunities.

What's your way?

Join the conversation. What are some ways we can do this? Which organizations do you support? How do you live this out?

What's God Up To?

Apparently God is up to something all the time.

God's up to something

That's what Leonard Sweet stated at a talk given on Thursday, October 8, 2008, to a group of Free Methodist pastors. Then he asked, "Do you know God well enough to know what God is up to?" Hmmm, interesting question to ask pastors. Do we?

If God is up to something all the time and we want to be part of what He's doing in the world, then it behooves us to know Him well enough so we can join Him. Unless of course we don't care about going where God is at work...

God is rebooting the church

It seems that one place that God is at work is in the church. In fact, according to Sweet, God is rebooting the church. Instead of worrying about attendance, buildings and money, the church of the 21st Century needs to focus on God and on people. He claimed that the church needs redefine itself to be a missional community.

What does that mean? Sweet discussed three things: missional, relational and incarnational. Missional implies action which means that we need to be intent on going out to be with people. Relational entails being with people in a way that mirrors God who exists in and for relationship. And, incarnational in essence refers to living out Jesus' love to others in tangible ways unique to the situation and environment.

Following God's design

When we live out God's design for us, know Him well enough, and follow His lead then we can make a difference in the world. Connecting with opportunities, connecting with people and living according to God's design for us are three practical ways to join God to love people.

Pillow Fight Connects People

Last week about a thousand people participated in a pillow fight in Grand Rapids. How did this happen? Rob Bliss posted the idea on Facebook to gather about 100 of his friends for a pillow fight at a local plaza. Well, one connection led to another and at the appointed time 1000 people showed up-pillows in hand. And they went at it-Red team against Blue team. Feathers flew, people wacked and a good time was had by all.

Connecting: A Core Need

When asked why they showed up people answered that they thought it was a fun idea. Total strangers connecting for a pillow fight. New friends were made as they smacked each other.

"If nothing else, this pillow fight battle proved how powerful Facebook and other social websites can be at unifying people under a coming cause." (See the complete story at WZZM13.com.)

Connect To Make A Difference

At Semper Vita we believe that people have a core need to connect. Especially with people who share our interests, passions, hobbies or likes. If a post about a pillow fight can bring people out, what could a post about something significant and meaningful do? Can you imagine if people connected with others via social networking or real time "on the street" for a good cause? Can you imagine how we might make a difference? Can you imagine creating a movement of friends doing life and doing good together?

What would make you show up? Pillow fight? Good cause? Common passion? Send us your suggestions.

Friends Donate And Volunteer For Friends

Science demonstrates that connections matter and personal relationships impact donations.

As reported in ScienceDaily on September 1, 2008, people tend to be moved to help or give more readily to people who suffer from the same misfortune as a friend - whether that is a long term or new found friend. This according to the authors of a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Friends cause friends to care about their issue. Connections matter.

Now, knowing someone who's suffering does not cause people to become more sympathetic to all and any problems. Sympathy did not increase for all causes, just for victims of the same misfortune as a friend's misfortune.

That seems to makes sense because we can't possibly care about everything out there.

After three studies, authors Deborah A. Small and Uri Simonsohn of the University of Pennsylvania, confirmed that "people are more sympathetic to victims suffering the same misfortune as a loved one than victims of other misfortunes." They conducted the studies to understand the driving forces behind the phenomenon where people become more sympathetic when a friend or loved one falls ill or suffers some other misfortune. "The sympathy inherent to a close relationship with a victim extends to other victims, leading benefactors to prefer charities that help those suffering from the misfortunes that have affected their friends and loved ones," write the authors.

It's why Semper Vita will partner with many charities and causes - because people can't care about everything. Each of us care about the issues that come close to home... When we relate we want to help out. If a parent has Alzheimer's we will raise money to fight the disease. When we know someone who dealt with breast cancer, we're likely to walk for the cure. If a loved one suffered a stroke, we might Train to End Stroke. And we will volunteer to help out the charities that care for those who we care about.

What's your charity of interest? Does it relate to the misfortune of a friend or loved one? We'd love to hear your story.

HT: Professor Jane for sharing the study.

Wired To Connect

Responding to a question from a friend looking for a touch of familiarity and closeness across the miles and via social media.

A friend mentioned that we are both wired to connect. That's right. In fact, I believe all of us are designed to be in relationship with others - meaningful relationships. Yet how do we establish those? Some of us live in a place or situation that could be described as full of chaos and clamor. Sometimes we feel like we're in a sea of confusion and it feels like we're alone in the midst of a tumult of people. In those places our need for meaningful connections with people who we relate to - whether because of our common interests, experiences or wiring - seems heightened.

Core Connections

At Semper Vita we believe that everyone longs at some level for a life-giving connection with others who relate to us and understand us. We want to be loved and accepted.

Our desire, through Semper Vita, is to provide just those kinds of opportunities where people with similar interests, hobbies and passions can connect and find each other - even in a chaos, clamor and confusion. We want to provide the opportunity for people to pull up a virtual chair online with old and new friends. And, we also want to provide a way for people to find each other so that they can connect real time and in person if they want.

What do you think?

Semper Vita and Doing Life Together

Living a week of meaningful connections and doing life with friends.

Most of us want to do life together with friends and family. Yet, the reality of our lives often determines that there's little time for hanging out or we don't have too many of those kinds of friends - the kind that we can actually do life with. Sometimes we don't know how to make that happen as we spend time with people.

It seems like most often we briefly interact with people over a business lunch, at the mailbox, with another parent at school, in the foyer at church, or in the grocery store. Teenagers seem to hang out with scores of people but none of those connections seem to run deep. So, who do we share life with and how?

Really Doing Life Together

Last week I wrote about training and and finding your fit. The week before I wrote about people connecting. One of the core values of Semper Vita revolves around doing life together in meaningful ways - whether that is through developing deeper friendships or by finding out more about yourself so that you can be more authentic and transparent, or through doing life with others by volunteering in ways that make a difference in the world.

This week I did life together with several friends - some new some friends and some old friends. I connected on the phone with a friend who's moved and we encouraged each other. I walked with a friend and we discussed Semper Vita and life. I coached a person regarding her MBTI and she feels validated and wants to improve her relationships. I also worked with friends at one of our partner churches to discuss training leaders. And there were more of these meaningful times. In all these connections, we did life together, we shared stories, and we prayed for each other.

I just love Semper Vita and how it's all about people - people connecting with people to help people. It really is about experiencing life through service in community. How's your life? How's your community?