Semper Vita

It's a Bird, It's a Plane - No, It's Semper Vita!

A guest blog post by Tamara Dull, executive VP of Semper Vita

Hi there! Henriet asked me to jump in here and start talking about what's on the horizon for Semper Vita. I've been working with Henriet on everything Semper Vita since 2006, and one thing I can tell you is that the time is now. Folks are excited and ready, and we're hearing a lot more "Can we start using Semper Vita now?" vs. "Sounds great. Let us know when it's ready to go."

And that's why I'm here: To tell you when you can get your hands on Semper Vita. So hold onto your hats because that object you see in the sky is coming soon to a virtual street corner near you.

What is Semper Vita Exactly?

When Henriet talks about Semper Vita, she talks about its vision, its mission, its purpose and its core values - for both individuals and organizations. She often creates a "What if...?" picture to help consider the possibilities in a "Semper Vita world." This discussion is key to what Semper Vita is all about.

When I talk about Semper Vita, however, I tell a very different - but complementary - story. I usually focus on the technology - or rather, the website - that's going to make this Semper Vita world a reality. For those of you who have been so kind to let me babble on about Semper Vita, you know what I'm talking about!

So let's take a quick look at what you can expect from the Semper Vita website:

• It's a missional connectivity tool that will enable churches and those who want a richer volunteer experience to serve more effectively in the communities in which they live.
• It's a tool that will be used equally by everyday folks like you and me, as well as the non-profit organizations, including churches, who want to connect more effectively with the folks in their communities.
• It will provide tools to help you understand how you're uniquely wired so that you can find volunteer opportunities more suited to your liking - and find other like-minded folks to connect and serve with.

So that's the website in a nutshell.

When Is Semper Vita Going to Launch?

We're tentatively planning on releasing a beta version in early fall. Many "early adopters" have expressed interest in participating in this beta. If you're interested, please don't hesitate to contact us so that we can keep you in the loop.

As for the full-on production release, we are targeting early 2010. We are planning to make a big splash at the Northwest Ministry Conference in March - so ready or not, we'll be there!

If You're on Facebook

A good friend of ours, Alex Seidel, created a Facebook group called Friends of Semper Vita awhile back. We have over 200 friends in this group. In the next month, we'll also be creating an official Facebook "page" so that "fans" can stay more easily updated on everything Semper Vita. If you're on Facebook, we invite you to join the Friends of Semper Vita group for now - and then become a fan when we launch our Facebook page.

For Those Who Aren't Afraid of (or Bored with) Tech Talk

One thing is for sure: The website is going to be very interactive. To manage all this activity (and to keep our costs of running this non-profit down), we are using the open source Drupal content management system software to build out the website. We're securing some of the best Drupal resources out there to help us make this "dream" a living reality. We also have two professional graphic designers helping us with our logo, identity and look-&-feel of the website. We are in very good hands and are eager to see it all come to life.

So There You Have It (For Now)

I'll jump in every few weeks here and give you an update on where we're at, providing you with more details along the way. Thank you again for your ongoing support and enthusiasm! If you have any questions or "wish list" items you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to contact us. This site is for you and we want to make sure it works for you. Blessings! 

Love Always

Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping."

1 Corinthians 16: 13, 14, The Message.

If you want to change your world, love without stopping.

What does love like this look like? It means choosing to love and give love always. It's not necessarily a feeling but the act of loving. It's action. It's a choice.

If we loved without stopping, the world would be a different place. There was a group once that took these words seriously:

The believers studied what the apostles taught. They shared life together. They broke bread and ate together. And they prayed. Everyone felt that God was near. The apostles did many wonders and miraculous signs. All the believers were together. They shared everything they had. They sold what they owned. They gave each other everything they needed. Every day they met together in the temple courtyard. In their homes they broke bread and ate together. Their hearts were glad and honest and true. They praised God. They were respected by all the people. Acts 2:42-47, NIRV

The result was that God added to their group every day. People found hope, health, community, healing, joy and most of all a relationship with God.

Semper Vita: a White Water Adventure?

Seeing the parallels between following Jesus and going white river rafting.

Why did I sign up for this adventure?

This past Saturday, Tamara Dull, my husband Fred and I joined a group from Life at the Ridge on a white river rafting trip down the Wenatchee River. It's a Class III/IV adventure that leaves from Leavenworth, Washington, and ends in Cashmere, Washington. When we signed up in early May it sounded like a great idea. River rafting was always something I'd wanted to do. Now, in a rented wet suit, booties and a life-vest, serious doubts set in. Will I get tossed out of the boat? Should I have updated my will? Why did I want to do this?

Of course I wouldn't back out or tell people that I feared for my life. No way. So, I swallowed hard, followed directions and got in the boat. At first, the guide trained us and had us practice paddling on a very calm part of the river. We learned to paddle together: forward, backward, left back and right back. Then we headed lazily down the river. The guide still held little practice sessions. It was fun but a bit slow. I wondered if we were being lulled into a false sense of security. There would be rapids, right?

Paddle through a ten-foot wave

Then we hit the white water. The guide steered us right into the roughest part of the waves, told us to paddle, raised his voice so that we paddled harder, and insured that we experienced the full splash of cold river water. Brrr. That water is cold!

Now soaking wet, we had experience the rapids and survived! This was fun!The guide took us through more thrilling sections of river getting us thoroughly wet as we enjoyed every minute.

What about my fear? Most of the time I focused so much on paddling that I forgot to be afraid. We had a blast! Once we completed the rafting, we loaded the boat, boarded a bus and headed back for dry clothes and a BBQ lunch.

Follow the right guide

Reflecting on our adventure, it occurred to me that launching Semper Vita reminds me a lot of this rafting trip. Sometimes I find myself on shore afraid to get in the boat because the rapids might get me. And, sometimes I float lazily along the river forgetting how serious our mission is. Then other times I just paddle hard following Jesus and forget I felt scared.

This Semper Vita adventure feels like riding the rapids. It's intense but great. After a stretch of wild waves, we get to the next patch of calm water - soaked but feeling exhilarated. As we emerge from the spray, we dry off, regroup and get ready for the next set of white water.

How's your adventure? Who is your guide? Want to join us?

"Follow Me" - Jesus

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest." Matthew 11:28 (The Message)

Just a nice story?

Jesus says to his disciples, "follow me." In my imagination I see him walking down the road in "Jesus-clothes." He talks with his team while traveling through a relatively barren landscape. As I look past this group of men and women, I see sun-baked, brown rolling hills, sparse vegetation, and white, flat-roofed houses in a small village just up ahead. It's serene and safe, reminiscent of vignettes in those Jesus films.

Follow right there

However, I live in Redmond, WA. Jesus says, "follow me," here! He's not in a tan robe, it's rarely sunny and it's not brown. As I look out my window I'm surrounded by evergreens. It rains a lot, there's pavement, concrete, houses and glass-clad skyscrapers, people are rushing, there's homelessness, a down-turned economy, teenagers with issue, and elderly struggling to make ends meet.

Even here Jesus still says, "Follow me." This means in good times when it's sunny and easy, and in bad times when it's overcast and dreary. He invites - no gently urges me - to follow even through darkness, while I'm in pain, when I can't see, when I don't understand, when I'm too tired, or when I'm overwhelmed by my life. Following is most important when it's not my envisioned ideal scenario. It's harder too.

A promise to guide

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 32:8 where God promises his followers, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." This is good news in these confusing times. It's what I'm counting on as we build Semper Vita.

(I get up from my desk and rush out the door) "Wait up, I'm coming!"

Live Resolutely With Purpose

Continuing the quest to live my life right, doing what's right, living a life that counts.

How am I supposed to live?

Can you believe that it's June 1 today? Summer beckons and the Western Washington weather acquiesces to that fact. We've had sunny and warm days recently. What a welcome reprieve from the rain, snow and cold that defined our fall, winter and spring! But I digress; enough about the weather.

The calendar merely reminds me that time keeps marching on. So, on my quest to live right and make my life count, what's the plan? How am I supposed to do that in the midst of my everyday regular life? I think that in the past I've wanted to get to a place where there's a lull in the activity and time to do something BIG! Well, that's never happened. I've also hoped for unusual energy, motivation or focus to accomplish that significant thing. Didn't work either. (For fellow StrengthsFinder people it should be obvious that I don't have Focus or Achiever as my Strengths. Mine are Arranger, Activator, Woo, Communication and Connectedness.) So, I begin to understand that life happens everyday and to accomplish the big things you keep working steadily on the little things. One day at a time, doing what you can (like saving) it adds up to something that counts.

Intentional daily living to reach the goal

It takes determination to stay focused on what matters regardless of the challenges along the way.

"Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping."

1 Corinthians 16: 13, 14, The Message.

If this is my life and I want it to matter, than I have to live my everyday life with my purpose in mind. Instead of being well-organized, disciplined, focused or driven, maybe I need to just show up and do what's next. I've been stopped by distractions, by serious challenges, by relationships that needed attention, by tiredness and who knows what else. And, time keeps marching on. Today, I will keep my eyes on Jesus and do resolutely do the next thing.

Do you have a dream?

Have you found a way to beat the distractions and stuff of life that get in the way of doing what you're meant to do?

Living So It Counts

It's your life. It's my life. Let's live like we mean it.

Lost time

As I realize that another month has flown by and I've hardly done what I want to do - no, need to do - frustration rises. Life continues to happen and everyday brings new challenges. I long to do more to grow Semper Vita but stuff gets in the way. It's my life and I want it to count! I want to live like I mean it. Is that your heart's cry too?

In March, I presented a workshop on missional volunteering at the NW Ministry Conference. The group of pastors, church leaders and ministry workers positively responded to the message. Living life intentionally to make a difference appeals to most of us I think. I wonder if their recent six weeks have been filled with life's challenges hindering them from getting to what their soul is calling them to do? Or is it just in my life?

Newsboys, sing it to me

Tamara Dull just gave me the new "In The Hands of God" CD by the Newsboys. We saw them in concert at the NW Ministry Conference in March. Great stuff!

I've been listening to the CD while driving. And then God spoke to me via the lyrics from "This Is Your Life."

You had a dream but it got lost in a life of regret.
The devil knows you get just one shot.
You had a dream, are you still dreaming? Or did you forget
that heaven's calling for your best shot?

Ouch! I don't want to look back on a life of regret. I need to give God my best shot...and it's now. The chorus of the song urges me to get on with it:

This is your life
Treat yourself right
Treat others right
Live like you know you should.
This is life
Fight the good fight
Fight for what's right
Do what you know you should.

My prayer today is, "God, please help me to live my life right, doing what's right, living a life that counts, a life without regret."

Celebrating the Launch of Semper Vita Institute

We love to see missional endeavors at work.

A new chapter begins

Two days ago, I announced that we've been working hard behind the scenes on two endeavors.

• The first was the NW Ministry Conference. I'll be presenting a workshop on Missional Volunteering today. (More on that soon.)
• The second big project entailed creating a sister company, called Semper Vita Institute, to handle the training. 

Today we celebrate the launch of this new company.

What does this mean for Semper Vita?

By helping to start Semper Vita Institute, we are now able to outsource our training. SVI, as its called internally, provides quality training to both non-profits and for profit corporations to help people discover their unique wiring. The training includes Gallup's Clifton StrengthsFinder, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and one-on-one coaching.

By partnering with Semper Vita Institute we are doing a couple of things:

• We are able to focus on our core purpose of connecting people to meaningful volunteer opportunities in their local community.
• We can provide quality training to non-profits now.
• We can go missional faster.

Through this new resource, we can immediately partner with non-profits and help them discover how to work more efficiently and maximize their team efforts. We can serve churches and allow them to help their people understand their unique wiring for volunteering and beyond. Semper Vita Institute has several trained coaches that can work with individuals, teams, departments and organizations.

Check it out for yourself

Semper Vita Institute launches its new website today. Check it out at www.sempervitainstitute.com. Congratulations Semper Vita Institute. Go get 'em.

Semper Vita at the NW Ministry Conference

We are introducing Semper Vita and presenting a workshop on missional volunteering.

A Semper Vita-based workshop

I am presenting a workshop on Friday morning, March 27, 2009 at the NW Ministry Conference. The title of my workshop? "Missional Volunteering: Let's take the church out of its box."  It will be my third (and final) workshop at this year's conference.

The NW Ministry Conference

What is the NW Ministry Conference? It's an annual conference for pastors, leaders and workers from churches and faith-based organizations. This conference is the premier event for equipping church staffs and ministry organizations. They offer workshops for pastors and leaders, worship and drama, as well as for adult, youth and children's ministries.

Two workshops for women leaders

My first two workshops are pre-conference intensives on Thursday, March 26. One is about the biblical basis for women in church leadership. It's called, "She Serves: What did Jesus really say about women in leadership?" The second is all about leadership, especially as it pertains to women leaders. It's entitled, "She Leads: Women leading in the church and in the community."

Semper Vita presents

Tamara Dull has been working hard to help me get ready. She's the mastermind behind the visual aspects of the three presentations. I couldn't have done this without her. "Thanks Tamara for helping me and Semper Vita look our best."

In addition to the presentations we will also have our official business card with new logo. Thanks to Craig McBreen and Jacqui Lott. "A big thank you to you both!"

What's Going on With the Semper Vita Blog?

Or, why haven't you written for a while?

45 days is a long time

Wow. Has it really been 45 days since we met in this space? It's hard to believe but true. You might be wondering what Semper Vita, the team and I have been up to? Some may even ask, "Are you OK?"

More than OK. We are excellent!

Though this blog has been silent, we've been hard at work. Specifically, we've poured our efforts into two initiatives. What are they?

1. We've been preparing to unveil Semper Vita and the concept of missional volunteering at the Northwest Ministry Conference. This conference is held at Overlake Christian Church, March 26-28, 2009. I will be leading workshops on Thursday and Friday.
2. We've created a sister company to handle the training. More on that Friday!

What else?

We are now ready to focus on moving Semper Vita forward. We are looking for partners both in the church world and in the non-profit realm. We need volunteers. Mostly, we need your ongoing prayer support.

High Hopes For The Economic Stimulus Package

Will the nearly $1 trillion get us back on track or chain us to an unimaginable debt for life?

It's our money!

I am feeling queasy about the inevitable green light that will be given to spend nearly $1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) of our money. Am I queasy because of the 12 zeroes or because I fear a lack of wisdom and integrity? Probably a bit of both.

Apparently, President Obama expects to have the final stimulus package bill on his desk today. He will also take it to the American people - both at a Town Hall meeting in Indiana and through a prime-time press conference today.

Reuters reported yesterday that President Obama's top aides "urged Democratic and Republican lawmakers to set aside political differences and quickly approve a massive economic stimulus package this week."

It's important but why the rush?

In my experience, any offer that requires an immediate decision ends up being a bad deal. When we rush into something, we're sure to miss some key things, include uneccesary things, and pay a greater price. Of course the issue of stimulating the economy is of the utmost importance but do we need to rush this decision? What happened to our last 750 billion dollars? Did we learn anything? Is throwing money at the problem the only and best solution? Where should the money be spent?

While we can't spend years studying the issue, racing to the solution will ensure bad choices. My concern is a lack of wisdom and integrity. The character, tax and unethical issues of our recent nominees have done nothing to assure me that integrity ranks as a high priority. It seems like business as usual in Washington D.C. despite promises to the contrary. It's not just Obama's administration. The previous administration didn't put any accountability in their stimulus package. The banks enjoyed their bailout...it helped the banks but not their customers.

The aforementioned Reuters article contained a quote by Christina Romer, a top Obama fiscal adviser, from her appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation." She said, "If we can get this (rescue) package through, we can turn it (the economy) around and be back on the road to growth."

Our response

I hope she's right but I doubt it will be a quick turn around. We're in the biggest financial crisis in 70 years. There are lots of our neighbors and friends who are struggling now and are facing a tough road ahead.

What can we do? How can we help? Maybe one way is to practice simple ways to give back. We will all need to live differently and adjust to our current economic times. We are dealing with tough times and it will requires patience, endurance and generosity.

What's your view of the stimulus package, our current times and ways to respond?