theVERSOgroup » theVERSOgroup

Me Too

Johnny LaLonde — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:37:35 +0000

It amazes me what people remember whenever I have the opportunity to teach. The things I am positive will have impact often don’t. Things I think will have mild impact often resonate deeper then planned. I think it speaks to the work of the Spirit whenever we are given the chance to teach.
At the UPC Men’s Seminar this past weekend, that topic was “Me Too.” I spoke about how much all of us need to be transparent about who we are and what we struggle with. When we do that, we need to have others around us who can lovingly say, “me too.” This really seemed to stick in the minds of the men at the weekend. I have heard several comments about it already.
Part of me is surprised at my surprise. The very reason I included it was because of how impacting those words have been to my heart. Ironic.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Rock the Universe

Johnny LaLonde — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:53:45 +0000

My wife and I had the oppourtunity this past weekend to chaperone some high school students at Rock the Universe. My friend Dusty just recently started a position as Youth Pastor at Crossway Community Church. Dusty put together a great discipleship weekend that led up to some fun at RTU. It was an awesome weekend. All of the guys in my discipleship group were great- very present and engaged with the time we spent together. I enjoyed the chance to invest in their lives and be encouraged by their openness and honesty. RTU was a nice perk as well. The term chaperone is used pretty losely here. The kids had free roam of the park and just had to check in once or twice with Dusty. That meant all the chaperones got to hang out and enjoy the rides. So, we did. Mummy was the highlight for me. Rode it twice. Wish we had done a few more rounds on it.

Can You Hear Me At All?

Johnny LaLonde — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:01:49 +0000

Yesterday, I spoke at UPC for a Life Group Leader Training event. My time was devoted to an overview of listening skills. I think listening is one of the most overlooked skills a person can have. It is far too rare to find someone who really listens to you. It is funny to me how we take such an interest in our kids listening to us. We check to make sure they heard what we said. We make them look at us when we are talking. We sometimes even have them repeat what we say back to us. And yet, throw an adult into a situation when they need to listen and all of these fundamental skills seem lost. Going into the talk I felt self conscious. Who wants to listen to a talk on listening? Isn’t this a basic thing? And yet I and the people there seemed to get a lot out of it.

There have been days when I have come home from counseling frustrated and told my wife, ” counseling exists because people don’t listen.” Far too many of my clients really just need someone to listen to them. And I mean really listen. Not just hear the words. But hear their heart and their story coming through in the circumstances of their life. Sometime down the road I will expand my material and post it on here.

Thanks for listening.

Story

Johnny LaLonde — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:19:06 +0000

A couple of days ago, I had the oppourtunity to speak at the orientation day for Circle Christian School. They wanted me to speak briefly about teenagers and what they are capable of. To do this, I shared some of my story. I was a good kid. I did everything right. I got good grades, I was concerned about adult issues. I matured quickly and didn’t get wrapped up in high school commitments. Seemingly, I did everything “right.” Yet, as I shared with the folks at CCS, I had a lot more going on underneath the surface. I had sins in my life that no one knew about. I had addictions that were taking root very deep within my heart. I had no clue what was going on inside of me emotionally and I had no intimate relationships to speak of.

As I got up to share my story with a group of strangers, I was reminded of two things. First, God has done some amazing work in my life. He had laid His hand on me from a very early age and set me on a path of His choosing. For that, I felt loved and humbled. Second, I was scared. I tend to forget how hard it is to get up and be honest about my heart. To be honest about my struggles. When I stood up on stage and looked out into a sea of faces, I felt my anxiety creeping up. I could feel the pull to turn inside of myself and hide. But, then I remembered that turning and hiding is the very path that God set out to rescue me from. He gave me the power to open up and not hide. I felt honored to be able to do it.

The Hot Seat

Johnny LaLonde — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:16:30 +0000

I recently had the oppourtunity to be the client again. It is a strange feeling to walk in to a counselor’s office and sit down to talk about your heart. After years of being in the counselor’s seat, I had lost sight of what it is like to be in the “hot seat.” Week in and week out, I see so many people that I forget what it can feel like to be sitting in the waiting room. Especially for that first sit down. It can be a very anxious experience! A lot of thoughts went through my mind. Is my problem really that serious? Why am I paying this person to listen to me? What if I get in there and they tell me that I am the problem? What if they don’t like me? Can counselors not like a client?

It was a little surreal but I am happy I had the oppourtunity. It was a good reminder of how intimidating counseling can be. And, I am glad to say, it turned out to be a very rewarding experience. I am glad I did it.

South Carolina

Johnny LaLonde — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:09:25 +0000

My wife and I just got back from South Carolina. We had the chance to go on a getaway to Bowman. If you don’t know where Bowman is then you are like the majority of the world. It is a very small town. But, it was only an hour or so from Charleston and not too far from Santee State Park. We had an awesome time relaxing and having some amazing seafood.

I was happy to feel literally relaxed. I have a tendency to dwell in anxiety and worry about things on a trip. I worry before we leave about going. While we are on our way about what we are going to do. While we are on vacation about the trip home. And then to finish it off, I worry when I get home about how much I worried. This trip, I felt like I left my anxiety in Orlando and actually took a vacation. It was a great feeling. It was much easier to get recharged and connect with Christy.

It was a big emotional victory for me. Anxiety is definitely a place my heart is prone to run. I sometimes feel like I battle it constantly. So, being able to lay it down and put some distance between me and my anxiety was very significant to me.