Skating Outing

Despite the frigid temperatures, the Hope Center kids participated in ConAgra's annual "Shine the Light on Hunger" event downtown. Every winter, ConAgra provides skating for the community to raise awareness on the issue of hunger in Nebraska and Iowa. The ConAgra Foods Foundation collects cans of food and all proceeds go to the Food Bank of the Heartland. The Hope Center was invited to be ConAgra's guest because of their participation in the Kid's Cafe program. Not only was the Hope Center the first Kid's Cafe in Nebraska, but it is also one of the largest Kid's Cafes in the state. The Hope Center is extremely thankful for ConAgra's dedication to helping children!

This night out of skating was a fun way for the kids to enjoy a winter activity. More than 80 youth and staff bundled up to brave the cold and enjoy a yummy dinner. ConAgra provided hot chocolate and warm food for the Kid's Cafe participants when they came in from the cold. Each participant also received a bad of goodies to take home at the end of the night.

Hope Center staff and children are excited every year about collaborating with ConAgra to participate in the event as well as their ongoing support in our Kid's Cafe. Thanks to the ConAgra Foods Foundation and the Food Bank of the Heartland for providing hope for children in Omaha, and a night of fun for the Hope Center Kids!!

Check out more photos from the skating at ConAgra on our Facebook!

www.facebook.com/hopecenterforkids

Special Thanks for the Christmas Blessings!

Thank you to Shadow Lake Community Church for your generosity at the Women's Dessert event! The hundreds of gifts you delivered to the Hope Center for our youth Christmas activities was absolutely incredible! Staff member, Terri Schenzel, and one of our youth staff spoke at the event and were able to share their personal Hope Center stories. What a wonderful night of generosity and fellowship - a true blessing for both the Hope Center for Kids and Shadow Lake Community Church!

Another group who recently blessed the Hope Center with their kindness was the Gallup Organization. They sent an ambitious team over and transformed our meeting room into a magical Christmas setting for our staff and board holiday party. Thanks Gallup, for literally bringing the Christmas spirit to Hope.

We invite you to participate in a service project for the Hope Center with your family, co-workers, or friends!

Contact us at info@hopecenterforkids.com to determine the event that works best for you!

Hope Center's gym is alive with competition on Monday nights with our in-house basketball league. All youth who want to play on a team are eligible for the Hope Draft. Staff coach the teams, and referees are brought in to officiate. A little bit of friendly competition makes for a fun night at the Hope Center for Kids!

Hope Center kids logged more than 1,000 hours of homework and study time in our education center this semester! We celebrated with a surprise ice cream cake and party. Congratulations Hope Center students!

Go to our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/hopecenterforkids to see more pics!

College Visit Day!

With a pop tart and juice box breakfast in hand, eight Hope Center youth piled in a van with Hope Center staff to visit three local colleges – Iowa Western Community College, Nebraska Christian College, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. College visits are one of the most influential motivators of our educational program, the Hope Learning Academy. Members who complete the educational requirements of 35 hours of study and homework time are eligible to attend.

First stop, Iowa Western. With several of our youth already planning to attend this school next year, the students were eager to learn more. One of the favorite topics discussed was the TRIO program, which provides support to first-generation and low-income students. College staff provides individualized services that address students’ specific needs as they confront the challenges of completing a college degree.

En route to the second stop, Nebraska Christian College, many of the kids experienced their first time driving on a gravel road. They were fairly certain that 114th and Highway 370 was indeed the “country.” After the initial location-shock wore off, students were impressed with the new community-focused campus. A non-denominational Bible college with less than 200 students, Nebraska Christian offers biblical-based teachings with a strong focus in service.

Our last tour was at UNO, a school all of our kids are familiar with and a stiff competitor on all of our students’ college determination lists. Visiting the Office of Multicultural Affairs provided an added incentive. This program is responsible for developing and maintaining services to ensure the successful recruitment, retention and graduation of underrepresented students. Through scholarship aid, academic and personal support, students are empowered to attain their educational and professional goals.

Although one of the biggest highlights of the day may have been the delectable nachos from lunch at Qdoba, this college visit trip was a rewarding and enlightening experience for everyone. In just one day, Hope Center youth were able to experience three completely different collegiate atmospheres: a medium-sized community college; a small, Christian-based ministry; and a large, four-year, state university. As they toured, students were asked to record notes and reactions to each school’s visit. Later, they were able to put together full reflections, which encouraged them to decide what components of each place fit their needs best. Alyssa Smith, Hope Center’s education coordinator, said, “When our kids walk onto a campus and stand in a classroom or student center, they can really visualize themselves there as a college student. They say, ‘this is going to be me next year’ and I know they are willing and ready to make that happen.”

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Check out our Facebook page for more pictures from the day!

When God Seems Silent

I mean, I know He's still there and here and everywhere, but what about those times when He doesn't seem to be speaking to my situation, my trial?

So how does He speak to me? How do I know when He's connecting with me?

1. An awareness of His presence- Most all of the time, I have a sense of Him being in me and with me. It just a knowing beyond words. I love it which means I love Him, being with Him.

2. The nudge- You know, that nudge in your heart that is laced with His love and kindness and protection? It's that nudge in your heart that wants some kind of a response. Sometimes the nudge is telling me to make a phone call or text someone. It's a prompting and impression on my heart that interrupts my thoughts. If I initially disregard the nudge, if it's Him, He gently sustains the nudge until I respond.

3. An "aha" in my heart when reading His Word- I love it when I’m reading the Bible and I come across a verse and He, His Spirit personalizes that verse to me and my situation. It feels like the verse that I read a bunch of times before, now is clear and understandable and totally applies to me and what I’m going through.

4. Hearing His Voice- Yes, I said "Hearing His voice.”" Did I really hear His voice? The best way I can describe it I heard in my heart clearly. There wasn't a voice tone; it was a knowing that I heard. I remember back in my early 20's when I was going through a season of wondering whether I was ever going to get married. I was even fearing that He might ask me to be celibate my whole life (what could be worse?!). So there I was in my parents' house visiting for the Holidays. I decided to sleep on the couch that night. I had just turned out the lights and was settling in for a night's sleep when "I heard" clearly "Proverbs 18:22". I had no idea what the verse was or what it said. I got up and got my Bible and found the verse. I was so wonderfully dumbfounded. It says, "He who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." So not only did He speak to me, He spoke to me directly about my situation and struggle. How personable! How meaningful! How timely! So, not only was OK to get married. Getting married increased favor from the Lord!

5. Creation- I'm not much of an "outdoors man" but when I'm in and around creation, wow! How can you not feel His presence? I even experience His presence sometime when I watch the History Channel.

6. People in conversations- Over the years, the Lord have spoken to me through people. Most of the time they probably don't know God is using them in such a way. This confirms that it is the Lord at work.

7. Sermons- I think a lot of people have gone to church and heard a particular sermon and wondered if the preacher had a conversation about us with one of our family or friends. The message was that specific and personal to our situation. I love it when the Lord communicates this way.

So, when He seems silent, when He isn't communicating to me when I feel like I need Him the most, what am I to make of it? Usually these "seasons of silence" seem to occur during the most difficult times. I really don't think it's a "spiritual warfare" issue. I think He's up to something. I think He's initiating the silence, because even in the midst of the silence, there's no sense of abandonment.

It's Ok not to know why the silence seems so pronounced. It doesn't last forever. That I know. When there is silence, there's peace- peace that it's going to be OK. There's the peace that the day will come when He breaks the silence. Maybe then, I get context as to why the silence. But if I don't know why, that's ok too. It's because the silence takes me deeper into knowing Him deeply.

Silence is ok when you're secure. I’m ok with silence when I’m around my wife because I’m not worried about how she feels about me. I feel awkward when I have someone in my car, just the two of us, and there's silence. Why? It's because I'm not secure about the relationship.
When He is silent, I feel secure about how He feels about me. When He's silent, I don't doubt His love or commitment to me. When He's silent, I look forward to when He speaks again.

What I Love About the Non-Profit World

The only part of a non-profit that isn't of profit is that a non-profit isn't supposed to make a financial profit. Other than that accounting reality, there is so much I love about being a part of a non-profit. Let me count the ways:

1. It takes "faith" to run a non-profit. Think about it, people give your organizations money to provide a service for someone other than the one who gave the financial gift. In other words, a non-profit lives, survives and thrives on whether people give financially without getting anything in return (other than the fact that "it is more blessed to give than receive"). Unless the Lord inspires, nudges people to give, it won't happen. "Without faith it is impossible to please God…" living by faith creates a sense that He is pleased that "faith" is being how the non-profit leader and community is living and leading.

2. Non-profit helps those who need help the most. It's the non-profits that are feeding the poor, clothing the naked, mentoring the fatherless, loving kids, providing shelter and the list goes on. Non-profits benefit and bless society more than anyone realizes. Take out non-profits from the fabric of our nation and there would be an implosion within days in our nation.

3. Particular non-profits capture and cause volunteers to come alive like never before. You know that look. It's that look that volunteers have when the plug into a non-profit and feel alive in their hearts as never before. It's as though they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Their world has been rocked. They talk about their experience with their family and friends, encouraging others to get involved like them. This happens at the Board of Directors level as well as the hands on level. Volunteers don’t care that they’re not getting a paycheck. The payoff is the fulfillment of serving and giving hope to others in need. There’s this feeling, "This is what I was created to do!", "This is my purpose in life."

4. Usually, the vision of the non-profit is bigger than those involved. In other words, what the non-profit is trying to accomplish is so big and audacious, it's that impossible vision that draws people in to see the impossible become a reality. People want to be a part of something that is an adventure, challenge…impossibility. The mundane of life fades into the background of the dream of the non-profit. I love dreams like: ending starvation in the continent of Africa, providing drinking water for a whole village, reaching a whole nation with His love. Big words like: nation, all, entire, generation, vision, dream, mission, nations, and world. Non-profits, by their very nature, are attempting something that seems impossible.

5. Non-profits are messy. Every day is an adventure: staff issues, giving, no giving, building issues, parents, families, bi-laws, the Law, victories, devastating losses, joy, tears, confusion, breakthrough, discouragement, growth, lives changed, lives lost, PR, no PR, grants, foundations, great Boards, unengaged Boards. In the midst of the messes, there’s the thrill of the journey, the unknown, and then…"the answer", "the breakthrough", the "changed life", the "saved life". Count me in!

6. Non-profits leave a lasting legacy. People impacted by the mission of a non-profit, forever sing the praises of how his/her life was changed. It was the care and concern of those associated with the non-profit who made an eternal difference in the hearts and lives of others. In the years that follow, even after the death of the non-profit servant, the recipients never stop telling others about how life is different for the good.

7. Non-profits are full of people of excellence. People who lead and participate in the mission of non-profits are some of the most effective leaders in society. They're educated, visionaries, organized, full of character, strategic-thinkers, inspirational and courageous. Many shoot for personal success and hope for significance eventually. Non-profit people experience significance because of the success of those they serve.