jwestfall.com Blog

Well it’s my birthday today, also Eileen’s birthday.  I feel particularly grateful this year.  Of course with my Mom’s health issues, I am grateful for her love throughout my life.  I am also very mindful of the value of friends particularly during times of transition.
I just returned from Seattle where we spent several days with long time friends whose relationships go all the way back to our ministry at University Presbyterian Church.   To hear the stories of how God used us in different ways to impact the lives of each other and the city was amazing.  It got me thinking of how my life would be different if it weren’t for the relationships that have been formed at different times of my life.
I’m feeling a little sentimental, but hey, it’s my birthday, so give me some slack. 
We are heading out to see Kite Runner.  I just finished the book after carrying it around for two years or more.  It was a book that I couldn’t get into, but then I couldn’t put it down.  I have put off seeing the film version because I didn’t want the ending spoiled.  I still remember how someone told me the ship sank in Titanic- and that ruined the whole thing.  (:{>
Any Who… wherever you are tonight, light a candle on a Hostess Cupcake and sing Happy Birthday to the whole world.  Bye for now.

Everybody has a story to tell.  Everyone has a book in them.  After authoring three books, I took a hiatus for a few years taking a break from writing.  Perhaps I’m too much of an extrovert to invest the alone time putting thoughts to print.  I also have the misperception that only special people write books.
          But if we believe that everyone is special and experiences life in a unique and personal way, than I want to encourage all of you to start writing your book this year!  Tell your story.  Tell your dreams. Share your struggle, and share your wisdom.  Wouldn’t it be great to make this the “year of writing dangerously?”
           I prefer novels for my personal reading.  I was the only professor at Fuller Seminary who required Stephen King’s book On Writing as required reading for the course on Homiletics (preaching).  I told the class that telling stories communicates the gospel in an intriguing way.  So why not learn from one of our greatest story tellers?
          Eileen is hooked on true crime books and biographies of interesting people.  Though that doesn’t seem all together interesting to me, I decided to give it a try the last couple of weeks. 
          I just finished reading a book that I loved! I bought it for her at Christmas, but when she finished it, I grabbed it up.  Steve Martin has written about the early part of his life growing up and growing into stand up comedy.  I found my own history throughout this fabulous book.  I even used to work at the Ice House nightclub in Pasadena where he developed his unique style of comedy.  His analysis of the theory behind his whacky humor was just like the process I go through in preparing a sermon.
          He majored in Philosophy at UCLA, so its no wonder he integrates thoughtful observation of life into a seemingly disjointed physical comedy approach. 
          His movies are often retelling stories of classic literature: Cyrano de Bergerac, Silas Marner, Homer’s Odyssey, and Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. 
          Anyhoo, I was inspired.  So I might even claim this gift of time to rekindle the flame that burns within me.  What about you?  What story do you have within you that a little encouragement will bring to light?     
 

Well the New Year is here and I say, “Just in time.”  I’m ready to let go of last year, even though I realize that it is popular to hang on to the past.  Not me.
‘07 was filled with strange and wonderful living.  Eileen was sitting in a restaurant with me looking out on the ocean having an anniversary lunch, when she went into what we thought was a stroke.  A few days in the hospital and they said it was a brain seizure, which led her on a nine month journey of neurologists, examinations, and long hospitalizations.  By the end of September she pretty much stopped having incidences such as falling down the stairs in the middle of the night, etc. 
I was loving Colonial Church and the exciting ministry that we were involved in.  I preached through the Psalms and had the members write their own psalm which I incorporated in the sermons. Of course a mission trip to Kenya and Zambia in October was extra special since it was my first time back in Africa since childhood.  Though my camera was stolen in the Nairobi airport, others on the trip shared some of their pictures with me, so I have some photos on the Jwestfall.com web site.
Of course all things change, and it isn’t always in our plan or timetable.  In November my time at Colonial ended suddenly, and though it was unexpected, we have a sense of excitement about the next steps for ministry.  Many of you know about power struggles and control issues that arise in organizations and even churches.  So when some of the staff wanted to take Colonial back to the old days, I was not the person to lead them in that direction.  So I wish them well, and have a grateful heart for the many friends and teammates in ministry that are in our life because of our time here. 
If you have questions or issues you’d like to discuss, please jot them down and I’ll answer on this blog, that would be better than me just making stuff up.  Bye for now, John :{>