Christian Conservation - thoughts on Human, Technology and what we're doing to our planet

Today's guest blogger is Nicki Smith, the Aquatics Director of the CHCYCMA:

I have never written a blog before but I am guessing it’s like a diary that everyone can read. Interesting; so, now you will get a glimpse of the battle I have in my brain as I drive the interstate home most days.

There is something out there called Christian Conservation. I am sure you have heard of it; it is becoming more popular in mainstream churches attended by younger people. Excessive consumption and disregard for our environment has left us empty and devoid of feeling toward those of God’s creatures that have no voice and cannot compete with the works of man, his bulldozer, and his lust for “things” and his pollution.

My husband and I watched the BBC’s documentary Planet Earth a couple of months ago. It is amazing, the landscapes, climates and animal diversity that has been God’s creation for millennia captured on film for us to view. The unfortunate conclusion after watching such a documentary series seems to be that the hands of man pollute the beauty and purity of the earth. How sad that some of the creatures we watched on this video, in time, will disappear forever from the planet and our children will only be able to see digital imagery of what once was. Perhaps we need to go back and read the Old Testament: The very land itself becomes polluted by the sins of its inhabitants (Jer. 3:1-3), and its beauties are destroyed by human pride (Is. 2:12-17). There is a Christian responsibility for nature that has been forgotten that we as a people, with our intelligence and resources need to reclaim.

Forget the polar bears not being able to swim from ice shelf to ice shelf and drowning; forget the primates of Africa, our closest relatives, becoming extinct; I hope to one day see these creatures of strength and resiliency for myself but for now let’s come back to my drive home every night; this is the season that the DMV and other agencies remind drivers to watch out for deer. I know that many regard deer as vermin, like rats, and I know they like to eat everything out of the garden; but I also know that they were here first. How can they compete with hulking mass traveling down an asphalt roadway at 65 miles per hour? Sometimes I wish we could just press pause on the recording of life and take a look around to what we have done to our earth.

So, when I drive the interstate at night, the lights of the vehicles brightly, weaving and winding on the path, like snake on course to please its desires. I look on the grassy banks and see groups of deer grazing, then a little while later a corpse. Does anyone stop and think about the spirit of this creature, that God made, where does it go? As a society we keep pets on our terms. In nature, we corrupt and spoil the land so creature and plant cannot survive. What would happen if we as a people redirected our frantic forward movement to technological advancement was redirected preserving our planet? Perhaps in the future the thread of the idea of Christian conservation will continue to develop within the body we call church, true harmony to pass on to generations to come.

a cure for the common control freak

I'm that type of person who always gets worried when projects I start at work have to be put in others hands.  For whatever reason, I suppose I'm a bit of a control freak and would just as soon deal with things on my own because I know I can depend on me.  In my years of experiences before working for the YMCA, I think I must have gotten "burnt" on more than one occasion, which lead me to take this stance.  Or not.  Who knows.  

The refreshing thing since joining the YMCA is that I'm discovering some interesting things about how things can work and should work when the right people come together.  This week is National America on the Move Week and YMCAs across the country are trying to walking 10 billion steps.  The idea is that if we can encourage each other to walk 2,000 extra steps a day and eat 100 less calories a day we can start to move people toward an "energy balance" and make a dent in the obesity epidemic in our country. 

At our YMCA, we have a goal of 6 million steps.  We've planned a great week and the events have started, including some special classes like Zumba and fun programs for kids at our afterschool program, seminars for families and other great stuff for our members.  Our members have responded to the challenge with great excitement.  We have nearly 200 people signed up, which is more than I can ever recall being involved in a fitness challenge at our Y.  

So the deal is, I'm in an airport in Birmingham, just finishing up a conference as I write this.  I'm hundreds of miles away, completely not in control of the event.  I've left it in the hands of our Membership Director, our Health Enhancement Director, and our Youth Director, each of whom have only been in their positions for a matter of weeks.  Here's the cool part - it's going GREAT!  As of this morning, our YMCA had walked 3.8 million steps.  Our introductory fitness classes had great attendance.  Our seminars had really good attendance numbers.  The Afterschool Program has contributed almost 1 million steps.  The Health Enhancement Director just sent this great email out to the staff that was so well stated and encouraging, it made me so proud I wanted to cry (corny).  

It's so refreshing and invigorating to be working in a place where so many of my co-workers passionately believe in our mission.  It's eye-opening to know that I'm not alone working to achieve the goals we have in place.  You see, what I've realized is this - all those other times, I was in the wrong place.  The times I was let down, it wasn't a clear representation of what all people were like, only those around me at that moment.  In other words, when you can put together the right people, with the right set of beliefs and convictions, and similar drives and dedication, and they really are all working for the same reasons towards the same mission, what I've discovered you CAN trust them.  And that's what it's all about really.  We all want to surround ourselves with people we can trust, no matter what the setting.  It feels so right to be a part of the YMCA as a staff member, and it's my hope that our members can trust that we're trying to do the right things for our community each day.  I want you to be able to trust us too.

Special thanks to Darcy, Abby and Ryan.  You guys are rocking the YMCA world.  Great job!!  Thanks everything!  Till next time....

-G

"Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community."

--Anthony D'Angelo

Building a better world, one relationship at at time

I'm writing today from a conference in Birmingham, Alabama that is hosted by the software company we use at the YMCA and that several other YMCAs and JCCs use throughout the country. Each year I get to come to this conference and learn about the latest technologies offered by the company and how they might help us as a YMCA. I also get to catch up with and network with old YMCA friends from Y's all over the place. We have to the chance to talk about best practices and challenges that we each face and about ways to better serve our communities and deliver the mission of the YMCA. It really is a good conference and I always enjoy it.

This year, the hosting company, Daxko, took a step to bring in some great speakers to speak on some really interesting topics. One of the speakers was Shane Benson, of Chick-fil-a. He spent some time with us and talked about how his company has been so successful and what they do intentionally to find and keep great people who deliver such great service, and in turn, deliver their mission on a daily basis.

He talked about the basic desire that people have - one of wanting to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I think this is a true statement in that we all work, whether consciously or unconsciously to be a part of a collective "thing" that is bigger than us, that makes a difference, that shapes and changes the world. He also talked about trust and how trust is really why people choose one company. It's that they trust that company just a little bit more than the others.

So the question he posed to us was: How do you establish a relationship of trust? Chick-fil-a does it by Connecting, Discovering and Responding. I've thought about this today and I really like this philosophy. The really interesting thing is that it's what we should be striving to do each day at our YMCA and even something that I want to strive to do each day as a person. Here's what he said to us:

Connect: Get to know people. Now for our discussion, he focused on customers and talked about not being afraid to begin a dialogue, a conversation. As I sit here right now, I'm wearing earphones and listening to iTunes (James Taylor if you're wondering). I find that more and more, the technologies that are designed to set us free are becoming roadblocks to the converstation Shane was talking about. We should talk more. And I don't mean debate, or argue, or try to impress. What I got from Shane is that we ought to talk, and find out about each other. That seemed to be what he was getting at with his second point.

Discover: Become someone's problem solver or promoter. We ought to focus daily on discovering what goes on in peoples lives. What challenges or issues or successes they're experiencing right now, and if we can, how we can help. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Again, for his purposes, he was relating these points to the business of Chick-fil-a and how they've worked for them, so he gave this great example of a store owner (called an operator) who approached some customers one evening and started a conversation as they had dinner. He discovered that this group of 3 young women were college students at the local community college and that they were there to celebrate one of the girls birthdays. It was her favorite restaurant. So - he'd connected to them simply by engaging them in conversation - not for any gain, but simply to Discover something about them. Now he wished her a happy birthday, but here's where his third point came into play and what I think really makes the chain such a success and what we can learn as an organization and what I can learn as a person from them.

Respond: Leverage your unique assests in a personal way that can impact that person. Once that operator had discovered that the girls had come to the restaurant for a birthday, he responded this way - he invited the girls to come back the following night to celebrate "on the house" and to invite as many people as they would like to the restaurant. I know, right? To most of us, that would be a pretty risky thing to do, considering how easily and quickly word can spread electronically these days. 55 people showed up the following night and they all ate and had shakes and brownies and danced and had photos made with the Chick-fil-a cow and had a great time. That owner/operator even passed out free sandwich coupons and had the kids promise to use the coupons to bring friends back to the restaurant.

He found out that of the 55 kids there, only 12 had ever been to the restaurant before. So the question was then posed to us: Do you think he earned any new customers that day?

Shane went on to tell more stories of employees and owners leveraging their unique assets to become someones problem solver, like the owner who discovered one of his customers was in financial troubles and her washing machine had quit. He got the money together to buy and deliver her a new one. That customer came to him in tears when she found out. That's huge and not only did it represent the company well, but it impacted someone's life on a level that is beyond a typical retail relationship.

I've always been impressed with Chick-fil-a's philosophy and stated purpose -"That we might glorify God by being a faithful steward in all that is entrusted to our care and that we might have a positvie influence on all the people that we might come in contact with." The insight I got today really revealed to me a couple of things. First, how they do it. How it's not something they take lightly or hope to do while selling a lot of chicken sandwiches, but how it's their purpose and how they try to put it first, and allow the rest to happen. Second, how the values they as a company have are very similar to those we strive for as an organization and those I view as admirable and worth striving for as a person. Wouldn't we all want to be a part of a group like that? One that we can believe in and be proud of? It gives me more to work for as a person and more to work for at our YMCA. Special thanks to Shane for sharing and prayers that we can use his lessons to make the world a better place. Until next time...

-G

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

--Addison Walker.

Valencia 826 - Dave Eggers

I just finished watching Dave Eggers on TED.com. Dave wrote the book "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" which won critical praise and was a New York Times Bestseller. Eggers currently teaches writing in San Francisco at 826 Valencia, a nonprofit tutoring center and writing school for children that he co-founded in 2002. I have to highly recommend this video. I'm amazed when I am exposed to people who not only know what our roles in the community are, but go out and give to the community they are a part of. The concept of 826 Valencia is fascinating, and in the video, his recollection of idea strikes me at first as serendipity, and then as a concept that was perhaps meant to be. I think it's a perfect example of what's possible in any community. I am particularly impressed with the fact that it was all locally designed, financed, and supported. The following video is pretty long, but it is one amazing example of what's possible when the right people come together with a mission and the right way to deliver it. You can find out more at 826valencia.org or at onceuponaschool.org. Enjoy.

Courage

The news was heartbreaking to me. Last Thursday, according to CNN.com, a tornado swept through the Little Sioux Ranch in Iowa and killed 4 boy scouts. They were Josh Fennen, 13, Sam Thomsen, 123, and Ben Petrzilka, 14, all of Omaha, Nebraska; and Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa.

According to one scout, the boys were sitting near the entrance of the camp near a bluff at the time of the storm, and they saw the tornado come around the corner of the bluff. The scouts immediately activated the tornado siren at the camp. The scoutmasters there ordered all of the scouts under tables. One scout said it was over quickly and he saw a scoutmasters car tossed 150 into the air.

One scout recounted his experience on the Today Show and described trees bent completely horizontally to the ground. Once the F3 tornado, carrying 135 mph winds blew through, no tents were left standing - they were torn apart and thrown into trees. A chimney from a building had collapsed on some scouts trapping them. The scene was, no doubt, utter chaos.

Then, among these young teens, something truly remarkable happened. As those injured and trapped cried out for help, the boys who could, stood up and moved into action to try to help their friends and fellow scouts. The strongest boys worked as best they could to free those trapped. They set into action first aid training and performed CPR. They set up a triage to treat the most seriously injured first.

Imagine - 12, 13, 14 years old. Pure terror of being trapped in a major tornado - outside mind you, in the elements, with no more than a table to protect you - and then, without thinking, they got up and only thought of what needed to be done to help the people around them.

That's Courage, with a capital C. The initial shock of hearing this story turned to inspiration and amazement as I read about their actions, and I wondered what it was that moved them into action, that lead them to do the things they did, in the wake of disaster.

I think my favorite example of courage from the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. For many of us, this story is one we could paraphrase from memory pretty quickly, but I think it bears really looking at to realize how courageous David was in battling Goliath. The first thing to remember is that David was only a teenager when this happened. He was maybe the age when most of us were getting our drivers license, or getting our first part-time job. Now Goliath-according to the Bible, he was over 6 cubits tall. That puts him somewhere between 8.5 and 11 feet tall. That's freakishly, scary big, right? Now here's how the battle went down, according to The Message, 1 Samuel 17: (A foreword - The Message takes some liberties in what some of the dialogue between the two men would have been and goes into clear detail on what some of the details of the battle may have been.)

32 "Master," said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this Philistine."

33 Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced—and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."

34-37 David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine."

Saul said, "Go. And God help you!"

38-39 Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge.

David told Saul, "I can't even move with all this stuff on me. I'm not used to this." And he took it all off.

40 Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

41-42 As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.

43 The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods.

44 "Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice."

45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he's handing you to us on a platter!"

48-49 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.

50 That's how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David!

Pretty impressive right? A couple of images jump out at me. The first is in verses 38-39, when David is wearing all of this armor. I get this image of a thin, gangly teenager, with a bronze helmet falling down over his eyes, stumbling about under the weight of this armor. It's a humorous image. The second is in verses 48-49. As Goliath, this 11 foot giant of a warrior begins to move toward David, you'll notice that without hesitation, he too begins to move too, running toward Goliath. There's no note of hesitation or fear, because David, in that moment, was filled with courage. He never considered doing anything but facing this giant. That's an amazing image to me, and it must have been such a strange sight in that moment. I imagine what the other soldiers on the battlefield must have been thinking as they watched this small, maybe frail-looking teenager and this huge giant of a man racing toward each other in that moment.

Eleanor Roosevelt said this about courage - You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. I really like this quote. I appreciate the fact that Roosevelt recognizes that courage doesn't mean not being afraid, but rather recognizing that fear and grasping what growth you gain by facing it each and every day.

Now most of us will never face the type of fear or be required to summon the same kind of courage David or the Boy Scouts in Iowa did, we shouldn't discount that we're called upon each day to summon courage in simple, daily tasks. Maybe it's having the courage to stand up for a personal belief that doesn't jive with something going on where you work. Perhaps it's being willing to stand up to someone mistreating a co-worker, family member or friend. Maybe it's being brave enough to be honest with a loved one, no matter what the consequences may be. I'd say that these little moments of courage are what give us the ability to summon courage in the wake of crisis. As a community, its important that we support each other in the little moments of courage, because without support every day, we won't have the opportunity to build that courage we may need in moments of great fear.

It's my hope that every day at the Y, people find it easy to have the courage to do what's right and say what's right every time. We are working to sustain an environment and create a community where courage is a cornerstone of its citizens. Through our mission, we strive to help build strong people, and part of that strength is courage.

I get my strength through many places, the most important being my personal relationship with God and my ability to lean on His word in every situation. I also recognize that every persons source of courage is different, and so I hope your fountain never runs dry and that in some way the YMCA is a place to renew that source for you. That is so important to us and we'll continue to work toward making the YMCA a place that will do that for everyone.

In the aftermath of the Iowa tornado, the courage of the scouts involved was heralded as those impacted mourned the loss of those lives taken. Surely several factors led to that courage, including those young men's families, hard work, belief in scouting and the influence of their community. For some it may have been how they believed God was acting in their lives. Thomas White, an 18-year old Eagle Scout who lay on the ground through the storm with several younger scouts said "The grace of God helped us for sure."

hmmm...Grace...that's for another day.

So may you find strength - strength from God, from your community, from your family or from each other. And may your source of courage never run dry so that you can face the giants in your life and defeat them and be healthy and strong in spirit, mind and body.

If you get the chance today, stop and be still, and say a prayer for the families of those four boy scouts, and hug your kids.

I'll see you at the Y...

Take Care

"Take Care!"  It's a parting comment I hear often and use myself.  I never really thought about what it means, as it seems that most of the time greetings are not really meant to carry any weight or actually mean what they say.  I'm sure you know what I mean.  I can't count how many times someone has asked me "How are you doing?" and not even taken a second to hear my answer.  Most of us are probably programmed by now to simply say "I'm fine." without even thinking of it.  As a matter of fact, after asking the question, I'm often shocked when someone actually tells me how they really are, and then I find myself embarrassed and disappointed in myself for being so shocked.  

I'm sure there was a time in our world when that question, "How are you doing?" was asked not as simply a greeting, but because we were genuinely concerned how our neighbors were. Things seem to move so fast today that we are hard-wired to move through our days without taking the time for the relationships we need in life.  

I'm an admitted technophile.  I love the internet.  I use a blackberry.  I want an iPhone.  I read blogs.  I know what a "Wiki" is.  In his web article "Technology isolates and brings us together" Jamie LaRue talks of a society with Attention Deficit Disorder.  The article describes the coffeehouse, an American Classic - a place where people gather for a good cup of Joe and social interaction.  A place where politics, sports and local gossip can be shared.  Then he looks around and points out the kid on his laptop, listening to his iPod and waiting for a text on his cell phone.  He even goes as far as to say that the technology of automobiles isolates us from the once social act of riding a bus or train.

As little as 20 years ago, a poll in the U.S. showed that people had what they considered 10 "close" friends in their lives that they could share their dreams, hopes and intimate secrets with.  In the past 3 years, the same survey was taken and that number was down to 3.  Three.  Almost every day, a new product is introduced that will bring us closer, help us communicate faster and give us opportunity to be as close as the push of a button.  Yet we're still isolated.

So as I thought of this, and sat here typing on this computer, I thought of the stories I used to hear of kids playing in neighborhood streets until sundown and neighbors sitting on front porches and visiting each other, sharing stories, laughing together and leaning on each other in hard times.  When was the last time you stopped to visit your neighbor or invited them over for dinner?  

I know it's been a while since I took the time to visit with the important people in my life.  I want to know how they are doing, know what's happening in their lives and how I can be a part of it.  And I want to find out face-to-face, not via email or text message. 

So let's commit to it.  Let's commit to caring for each other, in real life, one-on-one, in the moment.  Let's remember that the energy gives us all life is shared among all of us and that we can recharge, energize and inspire each other through our relationships together.

Matthew 18:18 says "I mean this.  When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action.  And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there."  If that isn't enough motivation to find time and be with the ones you love, then I don't know what is.

I'll see you at the Y.  Now I need to check this email before bed....

May the Force Be With You

This past weekend, I was relaxing on Sunday afternoon and came across a portion of one of the great American Movies - Star Wars Episode V - the Empire Strikes Back. I can't tell you how much I loved and still love this series of films. As a child of the 80s, I'm able to claim this as part of my history, as I grew up watching this epic come to life.

In Star Wars, according to Wikepedia, the force is defined as "an energy field created by all living things, that surrounds and penetrates living beings and binds the galaxy together." I couldn't help but smile as Yoda talked to young Luke Skywalker about the Force. In the scene where Luke is training with Yoda, and he says he'll try to move his X-Wing Fighter out of the bog, Yoda says "Try not. Do or do not, there is no try...." That's one we've probably all heard, and know well. It's been used as a motivational phrase for a long time and I think you can get a lot of mileage out of it. He also described the force this way:

Yoda said "For my ally is in the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. It's energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we...(Yoda pinches Luke's shoulder)...not this crude matter. (a sweeping gesture) You must feel the Force around you. (gesturing) Here, between you...me...the tree...the rock...everywhere!"

Now stay with me here...this morning, I sat down before work and watched one of a series of NOOMA videos by Rob Bell. In the video, called "Open," Rob talks about prayer and the origins of prayer. In one part of the video, Rob talks about how Jesus prayed and how Jesus took seriously what he called the "creation poem." In the book of Genesis, God creates. But he creates things that are capable of creating more. So, God created trees, but he gave them the capability to create more trees. He created animals and plants and fish, but then empowered them to create more. And then God created people, and gave them the ability to create more. So everything is basically unfinished and we are invited to take part in this amazing, ongoing creation of the world. Now here Bell says that prayer is the tool God has provided to us to take part in that creation. He says that God's inviting us to take part in how the world continues to be created through open, honest, one-on-one prayer. In James 5:15-16, it says:

"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Bell goes on to say that when someone prays, then "somebody who believes that the God who created the universe is at work here and now...Somebody who's aware, who's watching, who's listening...Somebody who's looking for their role to play in the ongoing creation of the world, well, that is going to be powerful.

Interesting that what this fictional wise character, Yoda, has to say is really very similar to what Bell interprets for us. I see Prayer as our "Force." It's the opportunity to use a great gift God has given us to take part in the ongoing creation of the world.

It's easy to imagine prayer as passive, as a simple request and answer, but if we see our role in Prayer and this continuing creation as one that is bigger, we can become aware of Prayer as an active use of a power that lives between us and around us all the time, always working, creating and changing. And we can use Prayer and its power to impact our world for the better.

So, may you grow to know and feel the power of Prayer, and may the force, our Force, one strong and effective, given from our Creator, be with you.

-G

NOOMA is a small nonprofit company working to do things for the right reasons. (taken from the NOOMA website, http://www.NOOMA.com.

I suppose it might be the best....

I'll admit that one of my guilty pleasures is America's Funniest Home Videos.  Cindy and I usually sit down to dinner on Sunday night about the time it comes on.  I know it's low-brow and silly and really cliched, but I find that the humor is easy.  As a matter of fact, it's probably the biggest belly laugh I have each week.  I think of it now as a great way to prepare for the work week.  As any of you, some of my interactions at work mean some disagreement, heated discussion or debate.  Being able to let go and just laugh at silly things seems to put me at ease.  

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to an article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about laughter, and how it's becoming a popular piece of the puzzle in fighting illness.  The article talks about hospitals that have created "laughter groups" as a piece of a larger treatment regiment for a variety of sicknesses.  I tend to believe in the positive power of laughter.  To me it's pretty simple - at least as far as how it works for me - I laugh, sometimes wildly, until my eyes water and my gut hurts, then I - at least temporarily - forget about my worries.  Here's the link to the article about laughter.

When you think about it, laughter is an important part of the YMCA mission to build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.  We're not just striving for stronger bodies or a more fulfilling spiritual life or more enlightened mind.  We hope to encourage all three.  And if laughter can improve you body's ability to heal, it's a key part in that mission.

Laughter has been an important part of lives since the beginning of time, in all walks of life.  Laughing is even an important teaching in the Bible.  In Romans 12:14, Paul says "Bless your enemies, no cursing under your breath.  Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down.  Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up.  Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody."

Victor Borge said "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people."  At the Y, we're working hard to build relationships and shorten the distance between you and me, and the person next to you on the treadmill.  

So remember, live well, love often and laugh.  Laugh loud and hard, bent over with your hands on your knees.  Laugh until stuff comes out of your nose.  Try hard to find something to laugh at today, and if you can't find anything, be sure you can laugh at yourself.

Thanks to Zach for the article, and I'll see you at the Theater.

New water restrictions coming to our community...

Well it looks like new water restrictions are coming to Chapel Hill - Carrboro.  OWASA's website reports that their board will meet on February 28 to discuss the possibility of moving the community to phase 3 water restrictions.  The expectation is that they will move the area to phase 3 restrictions.  Stage 3 is really a step up from stage 2 and will have quite an effect on all of us.  Here's what stage 3 restrictions mean:

• No irrigation except with hand-held hoses or watering cans, limited to 3 days per week and no more than 1/2 inch per week.
• No outdoor use, except for emergency fire suppression or other activities necessary to maintain public health, safety or welfare.
• No refilling of ornamental fountains, ponds, etc.
• No washing of vehicles
• No filling, refilling or topping off operating swimming pools.
• No pressure cleaning of building exteriors.
• No flushing or pressure testing of new mains unless water is recycled.
• Water use for heating and cooling to be reduced to the maximum extent practicable.
• Residential water use terminated for use over 600 gallons/day in a billing period.

In addition, non-residential customers will see the charge for water more than double per 1,000 gallons.

So, as a group, the leadership team at the Y has been talking for some time about what we can do to lessen our impact on the shortage and on the environment as a whole, while trying not to reduce the services we're providing to members.  The process has been pretty excruciating, as our goal is always to take care to provide you with the services you need.  As far back as the fall, we began to talk about what the future might hold for us, and we've put off any decisions simply in an effort to continue to offer the services our members have become accustomed to.  There has been some hand-wringing, and actually, some fairly heated discussion what we should do.

This past week, our Aquatics Director meet with a member of the OWASA staff to discuss what possible stage 3 water restrictions might mean to us.  He was incredibly cordial and set up for us some scenarios that we may face.  Greg Feller took time to go over most all of our operations, explain how the new restrictions might affect what we do and make some suggestions to us.

After much discussion and thought, keeping in mind the balance between what conveniences we like to offer and what is the right thing to do, we've made the following decisions:

• Effective March 3, we'll be ending all towel services at the YMCA, thus eliminating the use of 500 gallons of water per day or 15,000 gallons of water per month from being used.  The logic is this:  Most everyone who comes for a workout or to swim will wash their clothes when they get home.  Currently, water is being used for that wash as well as the towels washed at the Y.  Surely each load of wash that members are washing has room for one more towel, thus eliminating the use of 500 gallons of water from being used at the YMCA while not increasing water usage in each home.
• We will install new low-flow showerheads (1.5 GPM) in all showers.
• We may not be able to fill or top-off our pool.
• We may not be able to fill or top-off our whirlpool.
• We may not be able to continue operation of the steamroom.
• Prolonged stage 3 water restrictions may result in suspension of all aquatics operations.

It's completely understandable that we all become accustomed to certain conveniences and that those conveniences become important to us, some in different ways than others.  I can tell you that the Y staff works hard every day to serve the community as best we can.  Every staff member I come in contact with does what he or she does because there's a belief among us in our mission, and in our goals of serving all of our members.  We do it because we want to effect change in the world however we can.  Keeping that in mind, these decisions are being made because we believe that they fit in with our mission and goals and can be real ways that the Y can affect change in our community from an ecological standpoint. 

As we move forward, we'll be taking a closer look at how we can lighten our impact on the environment in other ways too.  We're built on four core values at the Y and one of those is Responsibility.  I believe that our responsibility includes being stewards of our planet and community too, and so I for one will champion our efforts to lighten the physical effects we have and hope that you will too.

Again, we're making these moves with the future of our community in mind and look forward to your support and suggestions as we do.  Thanks for all you do!

Y Member in the news

I saw a great article in the Chapel Hill News yesterday.  Seems a long-time Y members is doing great things here in Chapel Hill.  Terry Crook, a loyal member of the morning workout crew here, is the Realtor of the Year for Chapel Hill.  I know Terry from seeing him here, like clockwork, for his workouts.  He always asks for the same radio (he likes the black ones, not the blue ones).  

According to the article, Crook moved here in 1999 from Boston where he was Realtor of the Year for the Greater Boston Area in 1994.  He moved here to escape the cold winters and be closer to his daughter and their family.  Crook has served on several boards, including the local Certified Residential Specialist Board for the last 6 1/2 years.  

I'm always surprised at the "hidden gems" we have here at our Y.  Every day, I discover more amazing and interesting things about our members.  I think these unique stories, talents and experiences are what make this such a great place to work and to be a part of.  Often we get so caught up in serving the over 6,000 members here and trying to keep things flowing smoothly, we forget to stop and get to know you better.  I'll be making efforts this year to do more of that.  If you know of a member who's received special recognition in the community, or who has an interesting story to share, feel free to stop by and tell me, as I'd love to spread the word.  In the meantime, if you see Terry, be sure to congratulate him.  Way to go Terry!

Welcome to the CHCYMCA Blog

Hi!
Welcome to the CHCYMCA Blog. In the coming months, we're hoping that you'll be able to visit this blog to keep up with some of the things going on at your YMCA. One of the things our members have told us is that we need to continue to try to communicate with them better, so it's our goal to stay in touch with you in a more informal and personal way through this blog. We'll post on a regular basis and we'll take feedback from you for topics and news to pass on to everyone.

This won't be official, or formal, or by-the-books. It's our belief that the best things happen when people talk honestly, and share ideas, disagreements, successes and failures. Although one of our goals is to make sure you know what's going on, we're also looking forward to learning about you and from you.

As we continue to grow and offer more programs and services, we'll talk about them here. We'll also look for topics that relate to our mission and to our promise of helping to build healthy spirits, minds and bodies. We think that this will be fun and we hope you will join us on this journey as we strive to improve what we do for you and how we deliver on our commitment to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities.