thanks

Someone stopped me on Sunday and asked how I was doing.  Not in a passing way, but they were asking for real - HOW are YOU doing Jeff?  To that person who asked how I was doing on Sunday:  Thanks.   Thanks a bunch.  Your kindness means the world.   I am fine, but I appreciate the candid question. 

Is there someone in your world, in your office, in your life that you might want to ask that question to?  How are you doing?  Really, how are you doing?  You have the power to make someone's day.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

making new friends

When you go to church, do you see people that you don't know?  What would happen if every single one of us introduced ourselves to one new person each week?

Families are invested in each other.  I know that you already know some folks, but what's wrong with meeting a few more?  What is wrong with expanding the size of your family of friends?

Show some hospitality.  Make  a new rule.  From now on, I promise to meet one new person every single week.  You may make some great new friends.  Jesus is always looking for new friends.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

from a friend.......

A friend shared this with me.......

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

garage door

I lose my keys.  I lose my wallet.  I always find them - right where I left them.  One of my favorite authors tells me that if you can't remember where you put things, then you are

in too big of a hurry.  He suggests that we slow down and savor the moment of emptying our pockets, of setting out the collection of things from the day.   What most of us do is set our stuff down, all the while our brain is already in another room.  No wonder we can't remember where we put anything.

And so there is that garage door.  That darn door.  I shut it almost every time I leave the house.  But, I rarely remember doing this.  At least three times a week I have to turn around and go back home to check and make sure.  Now I am usually just a few blocks away from home when I turn around, but I go back to check that the door is down way too often.

I guess I need to learn to savor the lowering of the garage door.  I need to live in the moment and the joy of that instead of rushing off to begin the day.

You know, when I think about that, it bears some merit.  Many people in this world do not own a home, much less a home with a garage or an automatic garage door opening device.  Maybe I should stop to be thankful every time I push that button.  Maybe that would turn a frustrating moment of forgetfulness into a brief time of prayer and thanksgiving.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my dear wife Cathy.  Today she is 29 years old.  She is wonderful and delightful and the older I get, the more I like her.  It is an interesting thing, being married for a long time.  It starts to feel like an old shoe or a pair of jeans that has acclimated to your shape.  It just fits.

Join me in wishing her a happy day.  She is a delightful soul.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

behavior

Behavior.  Some of it I like and some of it I don't.  I have values.  But I am not throwing you or anyone else away.

I don't like everything that everyone does.  I don't condone what everyone else does.  I don't even understand what everyone else does.  I am not going to do some of what I see others doing.

But I am not throwing them away.  Or you.  I hope you won't throw me away if you see something in me that you don't like.  When we love people, [and that is why we are here on this earth] we love them in spite of their warts.  Plain and simple.  When we dispense our love only to the worthy, we don't get to give very much of it away.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

sometimes

Sometimes I don't understand.  Sometimes you won't understand.  There are things that we see in this world that we can't explain.  We don't have power over them and we don't know all the details. 

I don't like a thing, but I am powerless to change it.  I know there is more to the story.  It is certainly more complicated than I know.  But I still don't like it.

I can quit.  Or I can hang in there.  Every job, every marriage, every church, every country is going to have things in it that we don't understand and we cannot control.  Don't quit your job, divorce your spouse, go looking for the perfect church or renounce your citizenship.

We just aren't going to know all the details.  We just don't  know the entire story.  It is still a great job.  A great marriage, a great kid, a great church, a great country.  Let me focus on the good and worry less on the rest.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

ten reasons

I read a couple of articles the other day on the internet about managing money.  I thought they were wonderful.  They were like, Ten reasons why you will never be rich......

Here are some of the highlights, and I added some of my own:

• you spend money like you are already rich.
• you don't have a plan.
• you don't have an emergency fund set up.
• you don't save.
• you started to save too late.
• you neglected retirement.
• you sacrificed tomorrow for today.
• you did not invest in an education that will put you into a good job.
• you have too much debt.
• you pay too many fees.
• you are easily influenced.
• you have no budget.
• you don't pay attention to the budget that you have.
• you don't track expenses.
• you don't balance your account each month.
• you don't save via automatic withdrawals.
• you buy high and sell low.
• you buy everything new.
• you think you deserve the best.
• you try to keep up with the Jones'
• you are living a life of consumption rather than generosity.
• you try to retire too early.
• you have no sense of urgency.
• you would rather complain than commit to change.

Here are the links if you want to read it all.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-reasons-not-rich-yet-000000742.html?page=1

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-reasons-youll-never-rich-050001764.html

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

three things

I rolled out of bed early the other day.  I had three things on my mind.  Three things.  In the middle of the night.  I can't stop thinking of them.  Over and over my mind is thinking about them.  I am dreaming, thinking of them.  No I am awake thinking of them.  I don't know for sure, but I can't stop thinking of them.  Three random things.  Here they are:

1. I don't feel well.  They Mexican food from last night is upsetting my sleep.  No more green sauce for me.
2. The movie Pitch Perfect.  The songs are going through my head.  "When you walk on by, will you call my name...."
3. The sermon.  It's being preached in my head, over and over.  This is not a bad thing.

So, I couldn't take it anymore.  I rolled out of bed and got to work.  I took an antacid.  I sang some songs from the movie.  I worked on the sermon.  Finally, I am at peace and can get on with the day.

What do I take from this dumb little story?   Our minds are amazing.  Incredible.  They are certainly a gift from God if not a spiritual thing.  They are beyond our understanding.  To think that in the middle of the night, while I am sleeping, my brain is still working.  And on all kinds of things.  Amazing.

I pause in this moment to marvel at the wonder of our minds, our bodies, our lives.  Thank you God.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

What would Jesus do?

Judgment or welcome?  Which do you choose?  I am often asked, "if Jesus loved everyone and welcomed sinners, why do so many churches push people away with judgment?"

It is a very good question.  I don't know why.  The only people that Jesus squared off with were the Pharisees.  Everyone else, he welcomed.

In my opinion, churches should focus less on judgment and more on welcome.  On, loving people instead of trying to straighten them out.  It is the job of the Holy Spirit to straighten people out.

Life is too good and too short.  Give to others what you want Jesus to give to you- open arms, a loving heart and a sincere welcome.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

fickleness

Ahh the fickleness of feelings.  Fickle is an old fashioned word.  It is defined as being characterized by erratic changeableness, or instability, especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious.  Now I want to look up capricious as well but I will leave that for another day.

Feelings are fickle.  They come and go.  You must have something, then you get it, and you no longer want it.  We throw something away and then we want it back.  Emotions have a great ebb and flow.

Emotions need to be managed.  We are not our feelings and we should not act solely on the feeling of the moment.  Each of us has jumped out in response to some thing and then wished later we had not said that, had not done that, had not pushed the send button.

God is great.  Our emotions tell us that.  Our brain tells us that.  When the wonder of thanksgiving is over, may we look past good feelings that may have come and gone.  May we remember that there is always something to be thankful for, whether we feel it or not.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

interesting story....

Jeff

I just had to share this with you --- I have been an active advocate for children for almost 25 years and just recently resigned my volunteer position as Vice President of the PTA.  I was just standing in my kitchen telling my husband about a family I talked to yesterday who is homeless. The daughter was at school  -- Junior High age.  She was sitting in the hallway waiting for her mother to pick her up.  The principal walked up and said, "Oh look at the homeless girl."  Multiple people heard. I have been praying about how I wanted to tackle this issue without making things worse for the girl, but have to be her advocate.  So... as I am telling my husband this story my phone beeps letting me know I have a email.  The email is your blog .... well you know what your blog says ..... God at work if you ask me!  Now  using your words  -- you can decide if that is a good story or not -- but it is a true story.

L

On Nov 21, 2013 7:12 AM, "Can you hear the birds sing?" <jeffb@woodschapelchurch.org> wrote:

Can you hear the birds sing?

---

your voice Posted: 21 Nov 2013 02:30 AM PST You have a voice.  Will you hear me?  Will you listen to my words?  Stop discounting yourself.  You have a voice that needs to be heard.  You know what to do.  You know what to say.  Intrinsically inside of yourself, you know that you can lead.  Do it.  Stand up.  Get your licks in for Jesus. If you don't lead, who might do it?  The ranks of leadership are sometimes filled by those who fall into the position because no one else would do it.  Don't let that happen.  You are a leader. You have a voice. This is your time.  This is your moment.  You are needed. It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

things to say

Happy Thanksgiving.  Today is the day. 

It is a happy day for me today because all of the kids will be home.  :-)

Thanksgiving is a day when most people think of family.  And often, family that are no longer with us.  There is a bit of melancholy to this, but I want to use that feeling to make a point. 

Today you will have a chance to say some very important things to members of your family.  Some of them may not be at thanksgiving next year.  Take the opportunity that you have to say some of the most important words of living:

• I am sorry.
• I forgive you.
• I love you.
• Thank you.
• Good bye.
• I love you. [its in the list twice on purpose.]

Happy thanksgiving!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

head, heart, soul

Christians begin with head knowledge.  A simple belief, an acquiescing to the claims of the gospel.    A list of beliefs in one's head that one agrees to.  You are now a believer.  John Wesley called this the faith of a servant.

Stage two for Christians we like to call heart knowledge.  A sense that we are loved, that Jesus died for us.  This is something that we can feel.  It has moved from our heads to our hearts.  There is more joy and more compassion in this stage.  Fear is replaced with trust.  John Wesley called this the faith of a son.

Some people gain heart knowledge and then poo poo the time that they had only head knowledge.  Wesley looked back on the earlier stage of his life and did not discount his early experience.  One was simply faith as a servant and the latter the faith of a son.  Don't ever discount your early experience of Christ.  We never arrive, we should always be growing.

Mystic and contemplative Christians have talked about another kind of relationship with God.  An intimacy, a union, a joining, a being lost in the soul of God.  A falling into the mystery.  Two souls intertwined in ways that defy explanation.  Almost as if a person's soul has brushed up against the divine.  Moses' face glowing from being in the presence.  Elijah sensing God walk by.  Jesus hearing the voice of his Father.  The transfiguration.

I can talk about head knowledge and I can talk about heart knowledge.  Soul knowing is hard to explain.  But I think it is something that we can continue to pursue.  It's being at home with God.  Complete trust.  Union with God.  An amazing topic indeed.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

New rules

I believe that I read this in one of Peter Rollins' books. 

We know the story of Jesus asking the people to turn the other cheek and go the second mile.  It was a law in Roman times that a soldier could ask you to carry his pack for a mile.  Jesus said, "go the second mile."

So the story is told of a disagreement between two groups of Christians.  One group insisted that Jesus meant that you should always be helpful, always kind, always going out of your way for others.  The other group insisted that they only had to turn the cheek once and that they only had to carry the pack for two miles.

Based on Jesus teaching, the second group has advocated for Jesus based rules that ultimately make our lives about ourselves again.  The law has returned.

Be careful of "spiritual" rules that protect your ability to be selfish.  The true rules of Christ throw us head long into giving our selves away for the sake of others.  "I was hungry and you fed me," is not just something for the holiday season.  The life of Christ beckons us to follow every single day.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

back problem resolved

I have had back problems for years.  I have taken celebrex, done exercises and complained.  Well, I may have found the culprit.  Some years ago my wife upgraded cars to a 2004 Nissan Maxima.  At that time I inherited her 2005 Civic.  We can't get rid of the Civic, even though it has 133,000 miles on it, because it is the most dependable car we have ever owned.  It has a long life ahead of it.

A few weeks ago I drove 240 miles one day and another 260 the next.  My back was killing me.  I got to wondering if it had anything to do with the seat in the Civic.  The car is a great car, but the seat is pretty basic.  It has no lumbar support.

Coincidentally I was at a friends house after one of these long drives and my back was sore.  They had an extra lumbar pillow.  That did not quite do it, so I took a book off of the passenger seat and added it to the support.

Perfect design!  My back is healed.

Here is the funny thing.  The book that I used was from a class that I was in with 28 pastors.  Everyone hated the book.  It was so technical and so theologically painful.  Now, it is put to good use everyday and I have been pain free for weeks.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Thankful

This week holds the holiday called Thanksgiving.  A day of giving thanks.  This is the week of thanksgiving.  An entire week where we are thankful.  This is the month of thanksgiving.  An entire month when we are thankful.

Is that enough?  Is that the point?  Does the rest of the year belong to us?  Did we do our bit for God by saying thank you, and then take the rest of our life back for ourselves?

How about a year of thanksgiving?  How about a life of thanksgiving?  How about we start this life philosophy today?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

I thought of this story the other day

A father asked his 12 year old daughter to mow the back yard.  She did a pretty good job it seemed.  She finished and put the mower away. 

The dad figured that all was well since the daughter was watching TV and texting on her phone.  He looked outside at the back yard and noticed that there was a small section that was left un-mowed.

The dad had been having a bad week and this was just the last straw.  He started in on his daughter about the small area that she had left un-mowed.  The daughter tried to explain, but the dad was so angry that he did not give her a chance to speak.

[this is not a good place to be as a parent]

The dad went to the garage, got the mower out and headed for the back yard.  He started the mower and began working on the section of long grass.  When he got close to the middle, he stopped.  He let go of the handle and the mower died.  There, right in the center of the un-mowed section was a box turtle.  The turtle was camped out, taking it easy in the back yard.

The dad started to cry.  He felt ashamed.  He went inside and found the daughter.  She had been watching through the window.  She was crying too.  The dad apologized.

The moral of this story?  There are several.

Sometimes you have to break the rules to keep from hurting people.
Don't be so sure of yourself.
Think before you speak.
Maybe someone that you will be dealing with today has run across a turtle.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

on being patient

It is difficult to be patient.  We want this thing to go our way.  We have an idea about how the thing ought to go.

Sometimes things are not in our control. Sometimes we have to be patient.  Patience is one of the fruits of the spirit.

Here is something that I think I know:  When  a thing is right, it will work out that way, when a thing is not right, it usually won't. 

Sometimes what I want to happen is not the right thing.  We all have to make peace with things that are beyond our control.  In a few weeks, it will all probably pass along in the river of forgetfulness.

Patience, its a virtue.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

your voice

You have a voice.  Will you hear me?  Will you listen to my words?  Stop discounting yourself.  You have a voice that needs to be heard.  You know what to do.  You know what to say.  Intrinsically inside of yourself, you know that you can lead.  Do it.  Stand up.  Get your licks in for Jesus.

If you don't lead, who might do it?  The ranks of leadership are sometimes filled by those who fall into the position because no one else would do it.  Don't let that happen.  You are a leader. You have a voice.

This is your time.  This is your moment.  You are needed.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

a person to be sought

Last week I went looking for someone.  Someone who is solid, dependable and true.  I called them and asked if they had time to meet.  I hoped that they did.  And, not surprising to me, they met me.

In this life, you will meet great people.  People that get it.  People that you can count on.  People that will drop everything and come up to the church office to sit with you.  You have know them for years and you know that they have your back.

Keep an eye out for exceptional people. They are all around you and they will join you in the great effort of the Kingdom of God.  Look for them.  Call to them.  Invest in them.  Enjoy them.  They are all around you, more of them than you might think.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

what drives a person?

Some people are driven by hatred.  By what they are against.  By what they are mad about.  They spend their lives reacting to things that they don't like.  It is easier to be against something than for something.

I think that most of us have been there at one time or another.

But there is a better way.  What if we live our lives, focusing on what is good instead of what is bad?  What if we spend our lives celebrating what is right instead of focusing on what is wrong? 

Gosh it just seems to me that life will be more joyful and peaceful if we can see the good and give thanks for it. 

It's just a simple choice, a turn of the mind, a change of the brain direction.  A chance to focus on what is positive, to focus on grace.  Lets keep working on this.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

skunk

The other day I was driving down 291 and I was changing lanes.  65 mph and I am moving over into the slow lane because my exit is coming up.  I notice in the road, right in between the lanes, is a dead skunk.  Flat, smashed, squished, skunk.  Flat as a pancake.  He looked much like the one in this picture.

Well, I am not worried about this.  I don't even try to avoid him.  After all, I am going 65 mph and how stinky can he be as flat as he is?

I did not even feel him as the truck rolled right over him.  But let me tell you what, there was plenty of stink left in that flat skunk.  My truck smelled like a skunk for the rest of the day. 

Lesson learned.

There are some things in life that are just stinky.  Dangerous things that need to be avoided.  See them for what they are and avoid them.  A skunk is a skunk is a skunk.

It's a beautiful, good smelling day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

visitors

There are going to be visitors at church today.
Will you find them?
Will you be able to recognize them?
Will we even slow down enough to notice?

Do you remember your first time at Woods Chapel or at your church?
Today is someone else's first time.

Look for them.
smile at them.
Talk to them.
Welcome them.
That is what Jesus would do.

"I was a stranger and you took me in."

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

lame

Guys like sports.  They all secretly want to be professional athletes.  Well, that did not work for me, and it does not work for most people.  I played softball as long as I could, and then, I resorted to bowling.  Does that sound lame?

Some would say so.  Well, I just want to keep active.  Last night I bowled my all time high game...
228.

That is very exciting.  Good friends, a good time and a good memory.  The problem of course with a high score is that only a higher one will beat it. There is always a little bit of pressure around the corner.

Life is good.  Let's keep at it.  No matter how seemingly simple or lame the endeavor, lets keep at it.  All of us still have a high score within us.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

that one chord

I taught myself how to play the guitar when I was in seminary.  I bought a chord book and learned the basics.  Now I say that "I taught myself to play" - real guitar players would dispute this.  In fact many that heard me play today would wonder if I taught myself how to play.

I used to play in church.  I used to sing too.  Anytime the special music did not show up in the old days, I would pick a hymn from the hymn book and the pianist would play and I would fill in.

Over the years I stopped doing this.  We have so many good singers, so many good guitar players. 

You know, that is probably wrong.  I would advise all of you to keep playing and keep singing.  Even if you have one chord that never sounds quite right.  We have to keep playing.

I should take my own advice.  Maybe coming to you soon at WCC- an old guy trying to play the guitar and sing.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

somebody told me

I thought of an old song the other day.  I knew it and sang it as a youth. 

When I was a young pastor I was invited to speak at a revival on an Indian reservation.  Almost sounds like I am making this up, but I am not.  They asked me to speak on the topic of "prayers, presence, gifts and service."  I guess they figured that the Indians needed more of that.

A few older ladies came up to the revival arbor and listened.  Most of the people sat off from the arbor.  They sat at picnic tables and on the porches of their cabins, listening over the loudspeakers and drinking cheap wine.  Sounds like I am making this up, but I am not.

At the end of my sermon, I decided to sing a song for them.  [Lord only knows why] The song has this one guitar chord that is difficult for me to play.  I struggled through the song.  I am sure my guitar playing sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard to them.

The song was "somebody told me."  For some reason, I thought of that song this morning.  I still can't play that one chord.  Here are the words:

Somebody told me of the joy they'd had.
Somebody told me that in sorrow you could be glad.
Somebody told me, they were blind but now they see.
I didn't think it could be til it happened to me.

Now let me tell you of the joy I've had.
Now let me tell you that in sorrow you can be glad.
Now let me tell you, I was blind but now I see.
I didn't think it could be til it happened to me.

No, I didn't think it could be til it happened to me.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

thankful

When I was a child we would sit at the thanksgiving table and my dad would ask us a question.  Each in turn around the table was invited to answer this: "what are three things that you are thankful for?"

It was very uncomfortable because I was not yet accustomed to the gift of gratitude.  We would circle the table and awkwardly mention that we were thankful for our brothers and sisters, which of course, was not true.

But, thank God, today I am much more thankful.  Thankful for 100 things.  For 1,000 things.

Here are my three things for today.
1.  for my wife and children
2.  for my friends
3.  for a loving church family

What are you thankful for?  I would like to know if you have three things that you are thankful for.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

welcome

I will never forget the welcome extended to me by this church.  I hope that you have felt welcome at WCC.

Sunday I am going to be speaking on the power of "welcome."  Would you mind sharing your story with me about your experience at WCC?  Were you welcomed?  Were you not?

Hopefully you certainly feel welcome now.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, and you are graciously welcomed into this day, be sure to see the good.

your comfort zone

Your comfort zone.  You have one, I have one.  We would prefer to live within our comfort zone.  However, usually the needs of others lie outside of our comfort zone.  We have to change our schedule, our plans and our temperament to meet the needs of others.  We have to make ourselves uncomfortable to do much of what God would ask us to do.

It's like the Holy Spirit lives just beyond the edge of our comfort zone.  Do you want to be used by God?  Do you want to make a difference for Him?  Then prepare to be asked to leave your comfort zone.  Are you willing?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.