Prunes & Pruning - Flo & Gro

I have to admit when I think of prunes, I think of obstruction and laxatives. When I think of pruning, I think of cutbacks, layoffs, and trimming bushes. Yowzers! This does not sound like great material for a Bright Spot Report!  Bear with me my good friends, there is fruit underneath all of this trim or treat.

PRUNES! YUMMY!

Life is meant to be a flowing river. When a dam is constructed, life becomes bound up and unmoving. Nature provides obstruction removers if we are wise enough to learn about them. A laxative for a butterfly is it's struggle out of the cocoon. The butterfly needs the struggle to force fluid into its wings. That process is needed for the butterfly to fly freely. The prune is the struggle that causes the free flow of the natural gifting of the butterfly. These beautiful creatures do not live very long and their very purpose in life is to "struggle and reproduce." You cannot force life, you have to flow life. You need fluid in your wings. If you are experiencing a blockage, go eat some brain prunes!

What's a Brain Prune?

I'm glad you asked, so let's ease into the answer. Take a rest. Take stock of your life. Reflect without interruption. Identify your strengths and abilities. How are you gifted? Are you using your talents in their highest and best form? Are you creating more love in an excellent way? Have you banished negativity from your thoughts?

Life is not meant to be easy. Please don't misunderstand my discussion of prunology. Cool beans! A new word! You were meant to struggle and wisdom is the prune (fruit) you gain from the struggle. Struggle helps you become stronger and more intelligent. Embrace struggle, yes embrace is a fruit called a prune. Ask God why He created you.

Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! A Pruning We Will Go!

Brokenness is a gift designed by God to give you a lift. The tree cannot hold on to last years leaves if it wants bigger, and bushier branches this year. The rose doesn't grow among thorns if the bush isn't pruned. The grape vine needs pruning or it will experience poor fruiting. I took the following from the website of Washington State University Extension:

1. Don't be afraid to cut.When you finish, about 90% of last year's growth will be cut.
2. Grape plants are vigorous, and forgiving. Even if you make a mistake, you'll get a chance to fix it next year.

With that said, you can approach your pruning in a spirit of learning and adventure, not panic.

(http://extension.wsu.edu/maritimefruit/Pages/GrapePruningBasics.aspx)

 

Beautiful and free.

Thanks for your time and patience with my fruiting prunology. I hope these words of wisdom will help you flow and fly!

Go do something nice for somebody.
Jesus loves you and so do we.

Discarded Returnables in Buffalo

There is a bigger picture in life. Winter can be a time of rest or a season of cold. People can allow their attitudes to emulate the weather. Neighborliness can be as fleeting as a cold wind. The bitter cold can reflect a lonely soul. Look deep and you will see a heart that yearns for love and acceptance regardless of the frozen exterior.

The van was cold and covered with a dusting of snow. Enough snow to use the windshield wipers to remove it. I left my driveway and felt the cold air from the defroster as I drove. The first person I saw was an elderly man standing at the corner of Main and Carlton. He was standing at the curb and wanted to cross the street in front of me. I waved him on and he hesitated. He lowered one foot off the curb and then pulled it back several times before he finally made contact with the pavement. It probably took about 15 seconds or so for the gentleman to get off the curb that was approximately 6 inches high. He looked up and spoke loud enough for me to hear through my windshield: "Getting old!" I smiled and gave him a peace sign.

A curb might as well be a cliff to someone unsure of their ability to balance themselves.

The next person I saw was a lady getting off a bus with a cane. Her cane was the kind designed for blind people. She stepped to the curb and somehow knew it wasn't safe to cross at that moment. Maybe the flashing red hand was making noises for her to hear when it would be safe to cross the street.

After several more blocks of empty streets, I had to slow down to avoid hitting a man in the middle of the street. He was pushing a shopping cart full of cans and bottles. I'm not sure why he chose the middle of the street to push his cart. He was on his way to the supermarket to redeem his nickel valued treasures for some cold, hard cash. Many homeless folks spend their days canvassing trash cans for discarded returnables. Their nights are spent in cold lonely places most of us would never set foot in.

A lone soul walks on a cold, deserted street.

I was only 2 blocks away from my destination. I was headed to our Youth Center to open up for an Income Tax Preparation program sponsored by Erie County Legislator Tim Hogues and students from Daemen College in Buffalo. Our Boaz Basketball Program that teaches hoop and character skills had to be cancelled due to another event in the gym. On the corner of Maryland and Niagara, I spotted a man in a wheelchair waiting for a bus. I looked at the temperature gauge on the ceiling of my van, it read 23 degrees. Kind of cold to be sitting motionless on a cold concrete sidewalk without any defense from the wind. The heater in my van was working nicely now.

There's a cross on top of the red brick building. I wonder if help is out of reach for some folks?

I opened the Youth Center and made sure the Taxi servants had everything they needed and then I was back in my van. I turned the corner on Hudson and 7th in time to see another man with his shopping cart full of treasures in the middle of the road. Another car pulled in front of me and honked his horn at the man struggling to push his metal cage on wheels uphill on a snow covered street. The car stopped at the light at Hudson and Niagara. The driver inched up to Niagara as close as he could, blocking off the crosswalk. A pedestrian could not pass in front of him. I thought about pulling down my window and chastising him for his cold and callous behavior. I stopped as I thought about how I was judging him for his judgement of someone else.

I thought about the words that were blowing like snow flurries around in my brain:

 "Struggling, Treasures, Cage, Wheelchair, Blind, Homeless, Motionless, Cold, Elderly, Redeem, Valued, Discarded, Valuables, Trash, Safe, Peace, Cross."

What do those words mean to you?

How can we reach the discarded returnables of humanity? Is the Cross out of reach because of our haughtiness?

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

 

"Find new ways, 

  in as many ways, 

    in more excellent ways, 

      on all of your days, 

        to show love." 

 

Bob Kuebler
YWAP Director

Youth With A Purpose

In School & After School
In The Mountains & In The Hood

157 Locust Street

Buffalo, New York 14204

716-830-8240

Please visit our United Way Page at:http://fundraise.springiton.org/fundraise?fcid=236254

"All Children Are Gifted" 

http://www.facebook.com/bob.kuebler

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Youth-With-A-Purpose-Inc/111808805513470

http://thebrightspotreport.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MentorForce
A Scholarship for a young person to attend a 3 day Wilderness Adventure in the Adirondack Mountains is valued at $185. We are a 501c3 and your donations are tax deductible. You may give online at:
http://www.gofundme.com/73te4
If you are looking for a speaker for parents or youth or both, please call us.  

GO TELL YOUR DOG

Dear YWAPsters,

We hope your day is filled with lots of opportunities to smile!

Tomorrow, March 1, 2013 is the day of YWAPping. You can support our young people by sharing your time, talents or treasures. For one day, the United Way has sponsored a Spring It On fundraiser. If you could help us that would be COOL BEANS!

"This is the window in our Youth Center.
 The other side of the window is a crawlspace
 where a Homeless Dude currently sleeps.
 We are doing our best to help in even though he won't talk to us.
Children are learning compassion."

Could you forward this email, tell your neighbor, post it at work or church or the post office. You could even tell your dog to spread the YWAPnews through the "Back yard Bark!"

Please Facebook it, Twitter it, Linken it AARP it - yes you can AARP about YWAP!

 Thanks for your time, you are changing the lives of children

in a positive way by who you are.

Please share this link:

http://fundraise.springiton.org/fundraise?fcid=236254

VIDEO:

Click on the link below to see our Video to learn more about how we are helping children in the City and stopping the violence - it will be worth 4 minutes of your time:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1546677139548&set=vb.111808805513470&type=3&theater

Summary of Mission and Activities:

1. To encourage disadvantaged youth to lead purposeful lives by identifying their gifts and using them to participate productively in their communities;
2. To provide disadvantaged youth with leadership activities which foster their knowledge and self-esteem, and empower them to make informed decisions about their lives; and
3. To inform disadvantaged youth about issues such as conflict resolution, abstinence, nonviolence, anti-bullying, community activism, and entrepreneurship.

Our three main methods of accomplishing our mission are:

• The After School/Community Outreach Program (Youth Center);
• The High Adventure Wilderness Leadership Camps (Local camping trips and mountain climbing in the Adirondacks)
• Mentor Force (team members go to WNY school classrooms and assist educators and students in building life skills)

"Find new ways, 

  in as many ways, 

    in more excellent ways, 

      on all of your days, 

        to show love." 

Bob Kuebler
YWAP Director

Youth With A Purpose

In School & After School
In The Mountains & In The Hood

157 Locust Street

Buffalo, New York 14204

716-830-8240

Please visit our United Way Page at:http://fundraise.springiton.org/fundraise?fcid=236254

"All Children Are Gifted" 

http://www.facebook.com/bob.kuebler

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Youth-With-A-Purpose-Inc/111808805513470

http://thebrightspotreport.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MentorForce
A Scholarship for a young person to attend a 3 day Wilderness Adventure in the Adirondack Mountains is valued at $185. We are a 501c3 and your donations are tax deductible. You may give online at:
http://www.gofundme.com/73te4
If you are looking for a speaker for parents or youth or both, please call us. 

Please share this blog, thank you.

Releasing the Spikenard of Your Soul

You may feel like a cactus in a desert canyon keeping people away from your heart with needles. Let your cactus heart flower, just believe it's your season.

Spikenard is precious, valuable, cherished, treasured and very costly.
Your soul is irreplaceable; tender, precious, esteemed and loved.
You are a pearl who was purchased at a great cost.

When the preciousness of your soul is leaked through brokenness, the Repairer of broken walls will heal you. You will become like a well watered garden whose spring never runs dry. You were created  to do more than just live a leaky life. You have been designed to live like a river of free flowing love that breaks through the damns of brokenness. 

Brokenness is part of a regenerating design that brings a greater strength than you could ever imagine. Bitterness is a disease that takes root in the brackishness of a stagnant soul - a lifeless, unmoving pond of self pity. Embracing brokenness will help you resuscitate a soul bereft of compassion.  

There is no canyon of despair where God cannot create awe inspiring love.

If you are struggling, imagine a cocoon where you emerge with wings of freedom.
If life is hard, imagine polishing the brilliance of your diamond like future.
If somebody is irritating you, imagine yourself as an oyster creating a pearl of great price.
If you need to forgive yourself, imagine yourself as a tree letting your leaves fall and new buds appearing in a new spring of your life.
If you feel lonely, imagine being the seed just released from the Farmers hand into the broken soil. Soon you will burst forth into the sunshine as a new sprout.

Will you pour out something valuable on somebody today?
Will you pour your time, talents or treasures
when the world considers your actions wasteful?
When you pour out your soul on somebody,
don't wait for them to be grateful or
pour back into you,
just keep pouring. 

Even Niagara Falls flows on a cold, dark winters night.

The source of the precious spikenard in your soul
is unlimited and unfathomable.
The river of compassion needs to flow
through you to keep love moving.

God is the irrepressible refiller of your soul.
His cup of love never runs dry.

Fill someone's cup of suffering with love,
you will flow in rivers of freedom, just let go.

The fragrance of the spikenard in your soul will
smell like a bouquet of love to the broken soul.

A snow heart pushes it's way up through the frozen ground of a bleak midwinter. Your spring is just around the corner.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mark 14:3-9
The Message

3-5 Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her.

6-9 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.”

 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Find new ways, 

  in as many ways, 

    in more excellent ways, 

      on all of your days, 

        to show love." 

Bob Kuebler
YWAP Director

Youth With A Purpose

In School & After School
In The Mountains & In The Hood

157 Locust Street

Buffalo, New York 14204

716-830-8240

Please visit our United Way Page at:http://fundraise.springiton.org/fundraise?fcid=236254

"All Children Are Gifted" 

http://www.facebook.com/bob.kuebler

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Youth-With-A-Purpose-Inc/111808805513470

http://thebrightspotreport.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MentorForce
A Scholarship for a young person to attend a 3 day Wilderness Adventure in the Adirondack Mountains is valued at $185. We are a 501c3 and your donations are tax deductible. You may give online at:
http://www.gofundme.com/73te4
If you are looking for a speaker for parents or youth or both, please call us.  

The Ladies from W.A.V.E

The women from W.A.V.E multiply love through one young lady who touches other young hearts.

The following story has many components. I want you to focus on some ladies of action who are changing the world one young person at a time. They are the women from W.A.V.E - "Women Against Violence Everywhere." Some folks talk about stopping violence. These ladies help teach relationship building skills and self esteem development. They help young people form personal foundations that multiply love and servant-hood instead of fear and violence. They are mentioned only briefly. A seed stays briefly under broken dirt and then it grows, Oh! How it grows! Their efforts are causing a ripple effect that will bring a tidal wave of love that washes and restores the broken hearts of young people.

The HOMELESS DUDE Wasn't "HOME"

I took some pizza wrapped in 2 paper plates out to where I thought he was sleeping. I told the young people inside the Youth Center where I was going as I stepped out the side door.

 There is a covered area on the side of the church next to the Youth Center. The homeless dude stacked up some mattresses and box springs for walls. The floor is dirt and the wind is frigid as it blows against the cold concrete.

I called into the darkness to see if he was "home." My callings into the shadowy stillness were met only by the sound of the wind. I left the paper plate covered pizza with a napkin on the barred window sill that serves as his night stand.

 He usually sleeps on top of one mattress with another pulled over his body for insulation.  He's been "evicted" several times and the Police deliver him to a shelter. I don't know why he keeps coming back.

I was my first night back at the Youth Center after a couple of weeks away in heaven - I got married to a wonderful lady who loves God and her neighbors. The first story I heard was about another fight amongst young ladies. It saddens me to hear about people who take the pain that was heaped on their hearts and they enlarge the pain by inflicting wounds on others.

The young people were hungry and they ate mini tacos and waited for pizza. I told them we had to save a few slices for the homeless dude. After dinner, we opened the gym and we were packed until about 9. One of the highlights of the night was the appearance of the ladies from W.A.V.E. They demonstrated commitment and love in action by coming to the Youth Center for an audience of one. All of the girls were absent except for one. They came for the one.

 Imagine what Buffalo would be like if we taught our children how to love their neighbors one neighbor at a time. What if we taught them that each individual is just as important as a group of individuals? In a world where big numbers seem to equal success, the ladies from W.A.V.E. are changing the world one young person at a time - that's a more excellent way.


Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

"Find new ways, 

  in as many ways, 

    in more excellent ways, 

      on all of your days, 

        to show love." 

Bob Kuebler
YWAP Director

Youth With A Purpose

In School & After School
In The Mountains & In The Hood

157 Locust Street

Buffalo, New York 14204

716-830-8240

"All Children Are Gifted" 

http://www.facebook.com/bob.kuebler

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Youth-With-A-Purpose-Inc/111808805513470

http://thebrightspotreport.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MentorForce
A Scholarship for a young person to attend a 3 day Wilderness Adventure in the Adirondack Mountains is valued at $185. We are a 501c3 and your donations are tax deductible. You may give online at: http://www.gofundme.com/73te4 or
 http://fundraise.springiton.org/fundraise?fcid=236254
If you are looking for a speaker for parents or youth or both, please call us.  

Sex, Rubber Chickens & Spongebobism

Niagara County Community College was filled with high school students today for the Annual Police and Community Relations Seminar. Many speakers on a variety of relevant topics addressed the students through out the day. Suicide, drugs, alcohol, sex and decision making were presented to the students in classroom sessions after the keynote address.

"IT'S GOOD TO SEE YA!" That was the greeting the students received as they entered the classroom where the YWAP Director from Youth With A Purpose was presenting. The name of my presentation was "Good Decision Making." The students were urged to make decisions regarding their future before they faced the actual need for the decision. An example would be: "I am making the decision now to wait to have sex until I am married. When I am faced with the decision of whether or not to have sex because I am being tempted, I am deciding now that I will wait." It's similar to what you would do if your house is on fire. You already have made the decision that you will run if there is a fire.  The same principle of "Forward Decision Making" applies towards sex.

Everything in life starts with brokenness. The weightlifter breaks down muscle to get stronger. The farmer breaks the ground before he plants a seed. A butterfly struggles. A diamond is made from stress and pressure. A pearl is made from an irritant. It takes courage to make a decision to embrace brokenness to gain understanding and wisdom about life. The rubber chicken is a metaphor for someone who lacks the courage to become a "Forward Decision Maker."

The subject of God always comes up during school presentations. Everybody has an opinion and unfortunately many people shut the subject down when students really do want to explore religion and faith issues. I talk about faith freely. I explain to the students that if I were to describe my own faith, I would say that I'm a Jesus freak, God geek and a Holy Spirit fruitcake. I explain that means I go to the highest highs and the deepest depths to explore my own personal relationship with God. I also make sure that they know that it doesn't make any difference to me what their own faith or lack of faith is. I love everybody the same and will respect their beliefs. My canned statement usually sounds something like this: "I don't care if your are a Christian, Muslim or Jew. I don't care if you're into, Buddhism, Hinduism, or spongebobism. We all are worthy of the same respect.

All children are gifted. The students are told repeatedly how special and valuable they are. I use a variety of rap songs, poetry and humor. We have a blast, spread a positive message and they leave feeling esteemed and energized . It was a great day at NCCC.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

Bob

Raunchy Dope, Court, a Flying Chair and Jesus

Some days stretch into nights and and you really have to focus to find the good parts of a hard days night. I'm on auto focus right now as I review some special moments of my day. The end of the day had some episodes that could easily cast a pall on the whole day, Including smelling some real raunchy dope outside our gym. (No, I didn't inhale!) 

My morning began with a haircut. It wasn't just any old haircut. It was my last haircut by the talented lady whose been making me look better for quite a few years. She's losing me as a customer to my fiance. I will not begin to talk about my fiance here because you would hear a never ending love story! Let me know if you are looking for a great lady to cut your hair. I left my last haircut with this nice lady and headed to court. Yep, it was trial day once again. I won't comment on the trial as the Judge will give his decision on the case next week. Trials are not fun and most of them appear to be contests devoid of compassion and truth. Even after people lay their hand on a Bible and swear to tell the truth, seldom does the truth seem to appear. The trial took the whole morning. I would much rather be mentoring in the Buffalo Schools than spending time in courtrooms but a mentor is involved in every aspect of a young person's life.

In the afternoon, I visited a Buffalo Councilman's office to pick up a check that would support our youth programs. That is great news. I also visited a friend in the Buffalo School Superintendent's Office. She is a great lady who helps children become believers in their own abilities. She raises those people around her to another level of belief in themselves. We had a short visit and hopefully we can plan more collaborations on behalf of school children in the near future. After a trip to Boy Scout Headquarters and a brief stop at my mechanics garage (let me know if you need a great mechanic!) It was time for the real fun to begin and I headed for the Youth Center.

The first few hours were uneventful. A couple of young ladies who are like daughters to me borrowed the YWAP Van. They were giving a bed to somebody who had never had one before. They were helping somebody and that's cool. I was sitting in the gym when a boy walked in and smiled as he said: "Jesus loves you and so do I." Soon it seemed like the sky started falling. A phone was stolen, a basketball became stuck in the ceiling (we only have one left,) food became a weapon and the smells of the neighborhood started to change. I walked over to the gym and I could smell the raunchiest dope that I ever smelled. The guys inside were playing ball and knew nothing about the smell outside. It could have been somebody just passing by who ducked into the parking lot to catch a quick buzz.

The worst event of the night was a physical altercation between a young guy and a couple of girls. Where I come from, A GUY NEVER HITS A GIRL! I watched a young guy pick up a metal chair and throw it at the young girl. Thank God the chair missed and bounced off the wall behind her. The wall will have to be repaired as the plaster was gouged. I called the Police. That event made for a pretty sour evening.

While waiting for the Police to arrive (they never did,) I chatted with an old friend outside the Youth Center. He just happened to walk by and I haven't seen him in years. I used to take him and his friends and cousins camping. We had some good times and some hard times. Some of his friends went down the wrong path. We both know some people who have been shot and killed. He said he is doing great in school and learning a trade. He said his family members are doing great. He said they found Jesus. That's is the bright spot of my night. He told me that in front of some other young guys who were suspended from school. One of our young guys was growing up and becoming a good role model for some other young guys. Jesus was involved.

Most of the young people who come through the programs at Youth With A Purpose are really good kids who are trying hard to be good in a hard world. It's the few, out of control and usually fatherless children who cause the majority of the trouble. We know that teaching the message of how God the Father loves us unconditionally enough to let His Son die for us is the only answer. It works and we will keep teaching.

Thanks for your time. Go do somethinfg nice for somebody.

Bob