For the beauty of the earth

 And so I was driving home from Ocean View UMC in Juno Beach, FL and I saw this.

Sometimes, we just need to take a deep breath and say "wow!!!"

Look for the beauty.  See the good.  It is there is we are paying attention.

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

We have much to be thankful for

On July 4th my friend Mary shared this story from her family history:

Mary's Parents 1946

My mother was born in Poland and in November 1939 she was 16 and taken by the Gestapo from her parents who were beaten because they wouldn't tell them where her older sister was.  She then spent 6 years as a forced laborer in a German factory until the Americans freed the small town of Backnang. She then worked for the American soldiers as a cook and maid before going back to Poland.  My father was in the army and was part of a group of men who organized entertainment for the troops.  Before going back to Poland my mother and her friends decided to go to a party they had in a local bar.  When she and her friends came in, my father saw her and told his friends that he was going to marry her!  There's more to the story, but she came to America because after living as a slave for 6 years she didn't want to go back and live under Stalin as a slave anymore.  After the war she found out her sister was turned in for getting food from the family farm and giving it to some neighbors in the city where they lived.  Her sister spent 3 years in Mauthausen Concentration camp making ammunition.

My mother loved America and although she never saw her parents again, she was proud to be an American because as the saying goes "she was free!"

If I have said it once, I will say it 100, no 1,000 times.  We have so much to be thankful for!!!

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

Bless the World Today

So last week I was staying at a hotel in Galax Virginia.  It’s a real Place.  Look it up.

In the morning, I go down to breakfast and employees have written on the bananas.  They wrote fantastic hopeful messages.

My banana said, Today is a good day to try.

I loved the messages, and I loved the idea.

You have a chance to bless the world today.  

What will you say? How are you leave your mark?

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

laughter

If you want to watch yesterday's sermon, here is the link...

click here to listen to or watch the sermon

And now on to today's post...

Last week I was sitting in a hotel room in Galax, Virginia.  It is a real place.  Look it up.

I wanted to watch a movie before I went to bed.  I found an Adam Sandler movie.  I laughed.  I laughed hard.  I guffawed.  I belly laughed.

It was fantastic.

One of the things that I love about really laughing is that when I really laugh, I sound like my Dad.  I remember hearing him laugh from time to time when I was a kid, and it was the best thing.  It made me feel that he was happy.

Laughter is good stuff.  It is good for the soul.  If you haven't laughed for a while, pull out a good comedy.  You will be glad that you did.

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

A note from Dad

I received this note from my friend Kathy.  Her dad had written it some years back.  

"Dear Family - Call me naive or simple - but it does seem to me that the happiest most contented emotions we have are the ones which help us to see the good in people and to embrace that good with genuine affection.  Love, Dad"

I loved what he wrote, and I love that she saved it.  I hope that my kids are saving the notes that I send to them.

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

Happy Birthday to me!!!

So I’ve been wondering what to write about on my birthday.
Probably should pick something sort of profound and meaningful!!!

I hadn’t really come to anything till I was at church last Sunday.

Sunday was my last Sunday at Ft. Pierce First United Methodist Church for six months. I’ll be the interim pastor at Juno Beach starting tomorrow - unless I get voted off the island.  If that happens, I will head back to Fort Pierce. I told my friends on Sunday "if you see me back before six months is over with my head hanging down and my tail between my legs. Then you know I got voted off the island."

Anyway, in church on Sunday, there were more homeless people than normal because the church had advertised a dinner after service. When it’s time for the greeting, the passing of the peace, I got up and started to wander around.  There was a homeless guy sitting on the back row, and I looked at him and I started towards him. He looked right at me and he shook his head. His head shake said, "No."  He held up his hand like waving me off, and I knew that he didn’t want me to approach him so I didn’t.

I got to wondering later what that meant.  Did it mean that he didn’t feel well?  Was he sick?  Was he embarrassed of how he was dressed or how he smelled?  Maybe he was tired of people that seemed to have it together coming and stooping down to care for him.  If that was the case, I kind of hate to be put into that category.  I honestly just try to be friendly and gracious and caring.  But obviously he had some things on his mind and he didn’t need the handshake of an almost 68-year-old. 

And so now, back to my birthday.  Looking back over the years, I guess I can tell you that I’m really happy that finally I think I’ve learned to see people and care about them.  I think that for the most part, I have learned to look past how they’re dressed or what color they are and to just really see an individual as a valuable human.  To have compassion for them.  That makes me feel very happy and fulfilled.

Happy Birthday, Jeff

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

Where were you born?

I can remember a time or two when during a sermon I would ask people where they were born.  Kansas, Oklahoma, Florida and such were usually the answers.  I would ask them if they knew why they were born in America.  For years people shook their heads... why born in America?  I guess we were lucky, they would say.

Then one smart guy said, "I was born in America because that is where my parents lived."

Well, my original question is a good one to consider on the 4th of July.  Why were you born in America instead of Vietnam, China, Russia, or Guatemala?

Well, we were fortunate, we were lucky, we were blessed.  There are many places around the globe where people live in poverty.  Where freedoms are oppressed.  Where travel is limited.

Say what you want about America, and America gives you the freedom to do so, say what you will, but I can't think of a better place to be born.

We are so very blessed.

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

They did not intend to hurt you

I have said this before, but it keeps coming up and bears repeating...

We need to keep this in mind...

Most of the time... almost all of the time... when you are hurt, the other person did not mean to hurt you. Their original thought was not to harm.  They had something else on their mind, and one of the byproducts of what was on their mind was that you were hurt.

Someone was trying to protect their version of the Christian faith and verbally attacked their pastor. They didn't mean to hurt the Pastor, they just felt that they needed to protect their version of the faith.

A boss releases you from employment.  They don't do this to hurt you, they do this because for some reason, it seems to them to be the best move for the corporation.

A neighbor is upset about something going on in the neighborhood that you were in favor of.  Their words hurt.  Again, they were trying to protect their vision for their life.

Someone comments negatively on your football team or your political candidate.  They shake their head and use the word "stupid."  Again, they are simply guarding "their world view."

If someone has hurt you... ask yourself... was their main intention to hurt you?  If you can see that they may have had other things on their mind, then don't take the hurt so personal.  You being hurt is a byproduct of some other thing that is going on with them.

Offer grace.

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

The Lord's Prayer

After yesterday's post, a couple of readers asked why the Lord's Prayer is taped to the wooden stand.   The answer is simple.

Has your brain ever forgotten something that you knew?  In the heat of the moment it can happen.

True story:  In 1987  Bishop Bob Farr, then just Pastor Bob Farr was the Pastor at Randolph United Methodist Church near 87th and Wornall Rd in Kansas City.  Cathy and I attended there and on a couple of occaisoins he asked me to fill in while he was on vacation.

Well one Sunday, I was leading the worship and got to the Lord's Prayer and my brain had a cramp.  I stuttered and stammered quite embarrassingly through the entire prayer.  After service, a guy came out, shook my hand and said, "the sermon was great, but you sure do need to do some work on your Lord's Prayer."

Since then, it has been taped to my stand.

And now you know the rest of the story.

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

Out of mothballs

After WW2 thousands of ships were "mothballed" or put away 
in storage in case they were needed in the future.

In 1994, Bill and Maryanne Wiley bought me this wooden stand for my sermons.  They were tired of me preaching from a metal music stand.  I used it for 22 years at Woods Chapel, 6 months at Cape Coral and for the full interim period of 14 months at Ft. Pierce.

It is a familiar friend.

The stand at use in 2016 in Cape Coral.
From this picture, it looks like the sermon was boring.

Anyway, the stand, which has been up in the attic for years is coming back down.  It will make it's return to active duty on July 6 at Ocean View UMC in Juno Beach.

In mothballs in the attic.

Down and getting cleaned up
to be returned to service!!!

It feels good to be out of mothballs and back on the field again!!!

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

life cycle of a church

This is from Wm Bridges book, Managing Transitions.

The life stages of an organization.

1. Original Vision - dreams
2. Growth and Building the Organization - sacrifice and hard work.
3. Maintenance - let's keep it going
4. Decline - failure to make hard decisions.
5. Recognizing Decline - decline become undeniable
6. Crisis or Death

What stage is your church in? Are you sure? If your church has reached the stage of maintenance or decline, are you ok with that? 

What discomfort are you willing to suffer for the greater good of your church? Can your church change if you do not change? What changes are you willing to make to help your church reach its potential?

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

wanting nothing in return

In general, I believe that true kindness is never about what you get back. Our reward is the joy of giving or of doing the right thing- of showing love.  How they respond to your kindness is immaterial.

Yet I have found when I have given a kindness and there is no acknowledgement, it can be hard.  I gave someone a gift.  They snarled and said that they did not want it.  Ouch!

Yes.  Sometimes our kindness will be met with coldness, and that is difficult for us.  But, let us continue to live lives based on sharing the love.  How they respond and how we feel about it is ultimately less important than delivering the grace.

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

Comfort Zone

Read somewhere...

"Spiritually developed people are those who are willing to give up their comfort and their preferences for the sake of the mission."

Are you a consumer of life or a giver of love?

Must it be your way or are you following the way of grace.

The Holy Spirit lives just past the edge of our comfort zone.

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

Letting a Ministry Die

Most churches face issues with ministries that have run their course.  Their lifespan is over, but there are some well meaning members that refuse to let it go by the wayside.  They don't want to take responsibility for the ministry, but they want someone to keep it going.

Years ago a church had a ministry to a women's shelter clothing closet.  Every week, women from the church would go down and take clothes and fold clothes and spend time with the ladies that would come in looking for clothes.

Well, the person that led the ministry and organized it moved away.  There was now no longer a leader.  A notice was placed in the bulletin.  Leader needed.  The members of the group were informed that if no one would organize it, then it would take a break.

No one stepped forward. No one felt the call.

I made a trip to that closet to explain to the people who ran it what happened.  I said, "This is why we will not be back for a while.  But I promise you, when someone steps up to take responsibility, we will be here again."

The manager was so appreciative.  She told me, you know, so many times, people just disappear and we don't know what happened.  Thank you so much for coming to explain this to us.

Sometimes, ministries need to retire.  No one left to run a thing?  Don't force it on the congregation.  Let people be involved with missions that they feel connected to.

Just because we always did it, does not mean that it must go on forever.

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

Prayer

Prayer -

It might make me feel good. It might not.
It might give me what I want. It might not.

Prayer takes me from my will - to god's will.

It takes me from my preferences - to gods

In prayer I give up my demands.

In prayer, I give up.

Prayer takes me from what has been - to what can be

In prayer I let go of me - and fall into God.

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

Compassion

Compassion is defined as a "sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others." As followers of Jesus, we do not share compassion only with those that we agree with. We don't limit it to those whom we love.

Jesus' compassion went out to the Romans, the Samaritans, the thief on the cross and on it goes. To Jews and to non-Jews.

Compassion is, or should be non-negotiable for Christians. If your version of Christianity limits compassion, maybe it is time for a reset.

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

Grace upon Grace

I needed something the other day.  I didn't realize that I needed it, but I did.

When that thing showed up, I realized that I was missing it.  I realize that I needed it.  I was suddenly filled with gratitude.  I was reminded of the phrase "grace upon grace."

It is a quote from John 1:16 "from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace."

In this life, I have experience much grace.  Much forgiveness.  Much love.  Much more than I deserve.  But I thank God for it.

I didn't know that I needed it, but he gave it.

Grace upon grace.  Coming to a neighborhood near you.  Be watching for it.

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

ways of thinking

I find it very interesting that two bright people can have such different opinions on a thing.  I see it one way, they see it another.  They may see it the opposite way.  How can this be?  It seems so strange to me.

If they were thinking right, wouldn't they see the world as I do?  I can't be wrong, can I???

I must, we must remember that people who think differently than we do are entitled to their opinions.  Just as I have mine, they have a right to theirs, and I need to show them respect.

More than just allowing others to think as they wish, we need to respect them and love them.

And I must keep in mind that if I surround myself only with people who see it just as I see it, I will learn nothing.  We only learn when we listen to, and think about the thoughts of others.

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

hurt

When someone hurts a friend, it hurts us too.

This happened to me the other day.  Someone said something hateful to one of my friends.  The spoken words were not about me.  I was not involved at all.  The situation had nothing to do with me.

But, I still hurt, because they hurt my friend.

"When one member suffers, we suffer as well."  1 Cor 12

Today I extend words of comfort to my friend and to anyone out there who is hurt.  Be comforted my friend!!!

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

this cannot continue

Every now and then we come across something that we do not like.   I had this reaction about a thing that I observed... "the current trajectory cannot continue."

Unfortunately, some things we can do something about.  Other things we cannot.

So if there is something that you want to change, then please do so.  If you can change the trajectory, then please do so.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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

Father's Day

Father's Day came and went.  I got a really cool Jurassic Park shirt from my daughter Jennifer.

Note the raptors...

I got to speak with all three of my children on Father's Day.  I received two cards.

First the humorous...

From my wife Cathy.

And then there was the serious card...

That's a keeper for sure.  

And, yes, had I been there,  I could have saved the Titanic.

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

a rock!!!

Darn.  There is a rock in my shoe.  I take the shoe off.  I cannot find it.  It is still there.  I deal with in for a bit and then I take the shoe off and look again.

These are some of my favorite shoes.  Nicely old.  Broken in.  Comfy.  But not with the rock there.  I am discouraged.  I hate to have to throw them out.

I take the shoe off and pull the insole up.  It must be in here somewhere.  I find a little bit of stuff, but I don't think this is the problem.  Shoe back on.  Problem is still  there.

Then I stepped on the tile floor.  I was barefoot.  Oh.  The rock is not in the shoe, the rock is in my foot.  What is it?  I pull up my foot and look.

Stuck to the bottom of my foot is a rubber bumper from a cabinet door.  I remove it.  Problem solved.  How did it get on my foot?  I guess that I stepped on it at some point.

Sometimes what we think the problem is, is not the problem.  Sometimes our reasoning faculties get it wrong.  We are not always right.

I apologized to my shoe.

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

I don't like to do it

The drain was running very slow, problematically slow.  I don't want to do this.  I don't want to take it apart.

I tried the plastic snake.  No help.  I tried the drain cleaner.  No help.  The next thing that I did was to put off the inevitable.  I don't want to take apart the trap.  I don't like to do it.

So I put it off.  I did other things.

If the snake didn't work and the drain cleaner
did not work, I know that this is going to be gross!!!

I delayed as long as possible.

But the problem did not go away.   

Sometimes in life we put things off that we don't want to do.  Sharing disappointing news with someone.  Calling a church member who is upset over something.  Picking up the pet poo.  Paying that bill.  Saying that we are sorry.  We all have things in our lives that we put off doing, because we don't like doing it.

I finally relented.  I got my tools out and took the trap apart.  I am not going to tell you what I found in the trap and pipes, but let's just say that it was a good thing that I finally took it apart.

I take apart plumbing at my house.  I generally don't do it for
clients.  I just don't like doing it.

All cleaned up and put back together.

Now everything is working fine.

Is there something in your life that you are putting off?  Don't make yourself miserable by having the action hanging over your head.  It is not going to go away.  Step out and do it.  Take care of it.  Get it done.  You will be glad that you did.

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

To Pen a Note

Someone made fun of me.

I used a phrase that they had not heard of.  I was emailing about a joint email that we were working together on and I used the phrase that I would "pen a draft."

They called and ridiculed me.  In good fun... well, sort of.

Anyway, I looked it up.

click here to learn about the phrase

Anyway, it is quite a real phrase and it is of correct usage in the English language.  Heck, every day that I write a blog, I am penning a note.  If I write a draft, which I do from time to time, I am penning a draft.

Let's keep an open mind.  Just because we have not heard of  a thing, does not mean that it is not a thing.

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

G. K. Chesterton Quotes

Gilbert K. Chesterton 1874-1936

Chesterton was a brilliant man. He had no college degree, but was known as a brilliant orator. When he came to town, the halls were packed. Everyone wanted to hear what he had to say. He spoke many eloquent words on gratitude.

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. –Gilbert K. Chesterton

There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person. –G. K. Chesterton

The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them. –Gilbert K. Chesterton

When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude. –G. K. Chesterton

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? ~G.K. Chesterton

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

End of time bad theology...

A friend's mother recently asked me about  "end of time prophecies."  And as you know, many preachers have made a living out of pulling scriptures out of context, combining them together in ways that are arbitrary, and coming up with maps of the end of time and dates for the end.   There is a great book called, "The Last Days are here Again" by Richard Kyle.  In the book he goes thru church history and outlines every group who made a calendar and set a date for Jesus' return. I guess that humans like to feel that they are special and living in special times.  By the way, none of the predictions were correct.  The authors however, did make a lot of money off of their readers.

In my opinion, this is all a waste of time. The rapture and attached teachings were not taught prior to the 1850's.  It is a new teaching in the timeline of Christianity.  If you don't believe me, read about it online, read about John Nelson Darby and how this teaching emerged.  It is a new comer to Christianity and it is not a helpful doctrine.

A companion thought that I have to this is that the book of Revelation is not about the future, it is about the past.   John wrote Revelation about what was happening in his day and he wrote it for the Christians being persecuted by Rome.  I am not a scholar, but this is the view of all Biblical scholars.

So, in my opinion, except for the simple return of Jesus, all "Biblical prophecy" has already taken place.

To me the good news about this is that we can stop worrying and stop speculating about the end of time, about Israel and the Middle East.  We don't have to worry about some tribulation time coming in the future.  Instead, we can relax and live and live and live - lives of love.

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

loss of community

I had a lovely breakfast yesterday with Dave and Jennifer.  We talked about most everything.  One of the things that I love about people that I am friends with is that we can talk, agree, or disagree, talk some more and still love each other. 

Because, there is something higher going on.   

Dave spoke of the political climate in our country as "we have lost the sense of community."  I love that.  We have made it so much about me that we have lost the we.

It is time to return to love.  It is time to restore the sense of caring.

There is something bigger going on in this world than my feelings about a thing.

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

- - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

the end of the world

This is not the end of the world.

I am almost 68 years old.  I have lived through countless wars and war story lines.  Every time something happens, well meaning Christians say that these things are signs of the end of the world.

Israel attacked Iran last night.  It is not a sign of the end of the world.  It is a sign that they don't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon.  That is all.

Life goes on.  Stop thinking that this is the end.

On Saturday I am flying home to Florida.  On July 1, I start at Ocean View UMC and I am looking fwd to that.  Life will go on.  This is not the end.

Don't waste your time thinking about the end of the world.  Spend your time instead thinking about who you can care about today.

There is love to be shared.  We need to keep doing it.

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

- - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

types of churches

There are churches that claim to be the most Biblical.

There are churches that claim to have the right doctrine.

There are churches that say that they have the key to the future.

There are churches who are the most popular.

Some say that they have the best worship.

I want to find one church.  And I want to go to that church.  I want to find and go to the one that shows the most love.

If I have all of these things and I have not love, I am nothing.

Where is the love???

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

- - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure

see the good

So I was driving yesterday on Independence Street in Lees Summit between 2nd and 3rd streets.  It is a residential area.  I would have taken a picture, but the traffic did not allow me to stop.

One of the residents had put a sign in her yard, right by the street.  On one side it said, "see the good"  on the other side of the sign it said, "you are doing great!"

So here is this random person in Lee's Summit, MO encouraging those who drive by.  A good word at the right time is so helpful.

Please remember that we can use our voice to hurt or to heal.  We can discourage folks or we can encourage them.

See the good.  You are doing great!  I love it!!!

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

- - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Italy in November of this year with Pastor Sherri Swanson. There is plenty of room and we would love to have you join!!!

click here for the Italy brochure