Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

What I Learned About Life from the Death of a Police Officer

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Last week I had the privilege of guest blogging on another site.  This week I get to host by own guest blogger.  I think you will like her – in fact, you may not be able to tell us apart.  My twin sister Kristen Koepf Ray had some rather astute observations after attending the funeral of one of the police officers killed here in Dallas on July 7.  The message she got was very timely for our society in general and the global church in particular.  I asked her to share it here.  Maybe you will learn something too.

A few weeks ago, I was honored to attend the funeral service for Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens, one of the Dallas police officers killed in the line of duty on July 7th during a protest demonstration.  As someone who has lived and/or worked in the Dallas area for the last 18 years, I was deeply saddened and affected by this act of violence.  I did not know Officer Ahrens personally.  The funeral was held at the church where I work, so I decided to attend to pay my respects for this man who gave his life in protection of others.  The 7,000 seat sanctuary was almost full – and a vast majority of those people were uniformed police officers from all over the states.  My co-workers and I met police officers from North Carolina, Illinois, California, Washington – many who took a couple of days off and drove just to be there to pay their respects.  I watched in awe as the Freedom Guard, the police cars, and the police motorcycles lined up and drove out in the processional to the cemetery.  News anchors said it was likely the longest funeral procession in Dallas history.  As I watched the pageantry of it all, I thought to myself that this was a bond that those of us not in police service could never understand.  A bond that compelled officers to drive across the country for someone they didn’t know.  Since then, I have thought about that moment – and I can’t shake another thought.  As Christians, why don’t we have and understand that kind of bond?  Our bond isn’t based on putting our life on the line for others.  Our common bond is the love of Jesus Christ who lost HIS life to save all of us.  That should be the strongest bond of all!  Do we feel this kind of bond with other believers?  Do we show up for each other?  Not just in death, but in life?
Some Christians and some churches are good at this – being there for each other, living life together.  Some are not.  There are a lot of believers that I love.  There are friends, family, church members, and co-workers that I pray for, spend time with, and/or check in with on a frequent basis.  There are people in my life that I would drop everything and show up for if they needed me.  No matter how far I had to go.  Most of the time.  Then there are those times that I am so wrapped up in myself and what is going on in my little world that I don’t even notice what is going on in the life of others.  The bond in Christ falls prey to my own busyness, trials, distractions…  I can give it a lot of different names, but it all boils down to selfishness.
I am so thankful for the sacrifice of our men and women in blue.  And I am thankful for this reminder of what our bond should look like as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Loving each other and showing up for each other selflessly – could there be any better witness to a searching world?  Lord, forgive me of my selfishness and help me show the lost your love by loving your children better.

Energy Crisis

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Since I live in Texas and we are firmly entrenched in July (just typing this sentence is making me sweaty), the temperatures are constantly hovering around 100 degrees.  This year the humidity has been high and the breezes almost non-existent.  Can we just agree that this is obscene?  In this weather it takes roughly a nanosecond for me to feel wiped out.  I become a sweaty mess doing any kind of chore inside my air-conditioned home, for pete’s sake.  So I am writing myself a little pep talk, hoping that I can be at least slightly more useful than the “g” in the word lasagna for the remainder of the summer.

I came up with a list of 5 things that I can do to energize myself when all I want to do is “lay like broccoli”(credit Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman).
1.  Move my body.  Even though it makes me more hot and tired, when I go more than 1 day without meaningful exercise it makes me feel increasingly sluggish.  So I get out early – when the temp is only 99 degrees, or go to my air-conditioned local gym, or take the kids to the roller rink (and not watch) or get in the pool and water walk.  YouTube has tons of exercise videos that can be done in the comfort of my own home.  I also love Yogamazing video podcasts.
2.  Take a nap.  The opposite of moving my body.  If my sleep quality has been sub par, sometimes I really need to close my eyes and catch a few winks.  For me, short naps are best for increasing energy.  Passing out for 1-2 hours in the middle of the day can make me feel worse.  So if the kids aren’t in the house to ensure that I get interrupted, I set an alarm.
3.  Eat a healthy snack.  Emphasis on healthy.  When I’m tired, it’s so tempting to reach for simple carbs (read “junk food”), but in the long run this will only make me feel worse.  Something with a good mix of healthy fat, protein and carbs is best if possible.  Some nuts, or a string cheese and fresh fruit, or an apple with peanut butter.  Including healthy fats can help clear the cob webs from the brain.
4.  Cross something off my “to-do” list.  Now wait.  Wasn’t the problem that I didn’t have the energy for the things I need to do?  Yes, but nothing puts the pep back in my step like accomplishment.  So I choose something I need to get done that I don’t consider draining.  I don’t choose scrubbing my tub because that drives me to want to drink.  But I could clean out my e-mail, or make a grocery list, or wrap a birthday gift, or choose a household chore that I can do while watching my favorite TV show or listening to a podcast I love.
5.  Whereas my #1 and #2 were opposites, #4 and #5 are as well.  As a creative type, I sometimes need to set aside my to-do list for some artsy-fartsy time.  I love to write, so taking time to put my thoughts to keyboard is important to me.  But what if I don’t have any ideas?  One of my favorite things right now is The Write Brain Workbook:  366 Exercises to Liberate Your Writing by Bonnie Neubauer.  It is full of pictures and ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

I chose 5 things because there is no 1 size fits all solution.  Not all of my energy-generators are appropriate all of the time.  If I am the only one at home with my kids, am I going to be able to take a nap?  I felt all the wistful eye rolls from you mamas as soon as you read that one.  So my challenge to you would be to create your own list.  You may have wanted to throat punch me at the mere thought of doing something on my list.  And I might equally hate one of yours.  The idea is to think about what brings you joy and rest and have the ideas in your back pocket for a rainy – or sweltering, sweaty day.  What are your 5?  I would love to hear.

“One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.”  Eccl. 4:6

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