"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, they make them."
George Bernard Shaw
Are you creating life or are you waiting for life to somehow show you the way?
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to get up after it, see the good and create the good.
This is a terrible truth, but it is true...
Sometimes in life, you get what you want, and sometimes in life, you get what you get.
If you get what you want, then you can just carry on blithely enjoying the days. But when you get what you don't want, it can be very difficult.
And when we get what we don't want, we have to work harder to remember that life is beautiful. Whether you got what you wanted or not this last week or this last month, we still need to work so see the good.
Because everything is ok, and everything is good.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
This is a terrible truth, but it is true...
Sometimes in life, you get what you want, and sometimes in life, you get what you get.
If you get what you want, then you can just carry on blithely enjoying the days. But when you get what you don't want, it can be very difficult.
And when we get what we don't want, we have to work harder to remember that life is beautiful. Whether you got what you wanted or not this last week or this last month, we still need to work so see the good.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
The next day she comes in wearing a brown dress and the result is the opposite. Her parents, her brothers and sisters belittle her. That is a terrible color they say. The girl hangs her head. Her heart is crushed.I received a note the other day from a friend. They described going through a heartbreak. I felt and I feel so bad for them.
I don't know what to say and I don't know what to do.
This is not the first time in my life that I have felt completely unprepared for a situation. It is not the first time that I had no idea of what to say.
When you are a pastor, you are supposed to have all of the answers. But sometimes in life, if we are honest, we just don't know how to help.
So I will say this to my friend... I love you. I am so sorry. If I were there I would sit with you at the breakfast table. You deserve better than pain. I hug you from afar.
Sometimes we cannot fix things. All we can do is to be with the person, love them, listen, and hug them.
It is a beautiful, yet sometimes painful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
My neighbor saw me in the driveway and came over to say good bye. She and her husband are moving.
I about fell over.
For 9 years we lived next door to each other. They hardly ever spoke to us at all. But, when they needed help, I helped them. I hauled off brush and downed trees after hurricanes. They never said thank you. They never said anything.
I find it so strange to live next door to someone and not even speak.
Well the new neighbors are here. A husband and wife with a 5 year old and a 7 year old. I have already knocked on their door and introduced myself. Very nice people.
I am hopeful that the next 9 years will be better.
The moral of this story... always be kind, even when the kindness is not returned to you. Kindness is a reward in and of itself.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
The Brinkman's tend to hold their cards close to their chest. We can tend to be kind of private.
So, here goes...
A month ago Cathy had an abnormal mammogram. We told almost no one. A week later she had an ultrasound. The results showed 4 abnormalities, one of which they wanted to biopsy. We waited a week for the biopsy, then we waited for the results... and we waited.
Although there was not much talk about any of this, in private, as you can understand, everyone was concerned.
Well, three days ago, at the Silver Oak winery in Napa, Cathy finally got her results.
This is the face of someone who just found out that everything is all right. No malignancy, no more worries. Tension lifted.
Some would say to me, "Jeff if you would have let us know, we could have been praying..." I get that, but this is just not how my family operates.
What I can say to you today, is... please rejoice with us.
It is an exceptionally good day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
It is not uncommon for we humans to provide mixed messages... for example...
"I love you, but"
We can provide mixed messages by being mean to people that we should love. We can provide mixed messages by insisting that we support something, and then never committing resources to the program. Any inconsistent behavior can provide a mixed message.
On our vacation to Napa, Calif., Cathy and I visited this restaurant. The front doors were double doors. A left and a right door. Each door had a message on them.
The sign on the left door said, please use other door.
The sign on the right door said, please keep door closed.
I thought that was funny. I also thought about how it made people do a doubletake. When you see those signs, your brain just wants to stop and say, "what???"
And so may we always be consistent and clear in our communications.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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Rrrr!!!!
It's National talk like a pirate day!!!
What kind of movies do pirates watch? Rated RRR
Why are pirates cool??? They just RRR
What is a pirate's favorite letter???
RRR you say, no it's The C
A pirate walks into a bar. The bartender say, Hey I haven't seen you in months. You look terrible. What happened to your leg? The pirate says, RRR a cannon ball took my leg off at the knee so now I have this wooden leg.
The bartender says, and what about your hand? How did you get that hook? RRR the pirate says, I was in a sword fight, and right before I run the bloke thru, he chops off my hand. So now I have this hook.
The bartender say, and you eye? How did you get the patch? The pirate says, RRR don't che know, a seagull pooped in my eye.
The bartender quite confused asks, you lost your eye because a seagull pooped in your eye? Nooo the pirate says, but don't che know it was the first day of my new hook!!!
I love that joke!
by the way, where do pirates buy their hooks? At the second hand store.
RRR its a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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Rrrr!!!!
It's National talk like a pirate day!!!
What kind of movies do pirates watch? Rated RRR
Why are pirates cool??? They just RRR
What is a pirate's favorite letter???
RRR you say, no it's The C
A pirate walks into a bar. The bartender say, Hey I haven't seen you in months. You look terrible. What happened to your leg? The pirate says, RRR a cannon ball took my leg off at the knee so now I have this wooden leg.
The bartender says, and what about your hand? How did you get that hook? RRR the pirate says, I was in a sword fight, and right before I run the bloke thru, he chops off my hand. So now I have this hook.
The bartender say, and you eye? How did you get the patch? The pirate says, RRR don't che know, a seagull pooped in my eye.
The bartender quite confused asks, you lost your eye because a seagull pooped in your eye? Nooo the pirate says, but don't che know it was the first day of my new hook!!!
I love that joke!
by the way, where do pirates buy their hooks? At the second hand store.
RRR its a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Last week I was on a cruise with my wife's cousin, Jay Dorst. Now any of you that know Jay, know that he is an absolutely fantastic human.
One night on the cruise, we went to a magic show. I thought it was great.
One of the things that was wonderful was that the magician brought a 7 year old girl up onto the stage to help with one of his tricks.
He asked her her name. She said, "Lilly." He introduced Lilly to the crowd. He asked them to applaud for her. And the crowd gave a rousing ovation for Lilly.
I thought about how little Lilly must have felt in that moment. Up on the stage... 300 people applauding her.
I hope she felt great. I am sure that she did.
And I thought about how I wish every human could have that happen to them at least once in their life time. Or maybe even once per week. Imagine, you up on stage, the focus of it all, and everyone is applauding.
You deserve it.
Today, I am applauding for you. You are amazing. You deserve to be celebrated!!!
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
These pictures were taken from his deck by my friend John.
For 22 years, this was my church home. It was and is a fantastic place: Great people, hugely missional, generous to a fault, and the building is amazing.
Woods Chapel, I love you, and thank you.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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| I set my wallet down on the driveway to offer a sense of the size of this guy. |
Years ago, on Sunday mornings, I would wander the crowd and shake hands with as many people as possible. We had some doctors in the church back then, and I would shake their hand and then ask them if they could look at my elbow. It was just a joke, there was nothing wrong with my elbow. After a while, one of the Docs, Dr. Irons came up with an answer. When I asked him to look at my elbow he would say, "sure, but on a gown!!!"
So I fell in the kitchen the other day and bonked my elbow pretty hard. It's been almost a week and the swelling has not gone down yet.
Now I can really ask if you will look at my elbow!
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
So, when I was a kid, we gave money to help people at our church. That is how it went for most of my adult life. Charity happened through what you gave at church.
Now in the last few years, every body is wanting a donation. I get requests from the Salvation Army, St. Jude's children's hospital, the diabetes foundation and many others.
When I go to the grocery store, they ask me if I want to give to some cause. At the grocery store!!! At McDonald's I am asked if I want to round up to the next dollar for their charity... This picture is from Lowes.
I have to tell you that I am surprised by all of this... I am disturbed by this. Because I give at my church.
I am sorry but I did not go to McDonalds, Lowes or Chipotle to make a donation. I go to church for that.
I am sorry, but I am a bit put off by all of the requests for donations.
People...
people... just find a church. Everyone find a church. Give there. And stop with all of the shopping solicitations.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be srue to see the good.
It's not that hard... it is actually free...
My friend Paul sent this to me. He found this bar code at his local coffee shop...
Friends, it is not that hard to be nice... it costs us nothing but a little bit of effort...
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
To see the good, we have to pay attention. We must pay attention to each moment of each day.
Don't get lost in what is happening later. Don't get worried sick about what ever the issues are.
All of these will rob you from seeing the good.
And so the other afternoon I was driving somewhere in Vero Beach and I noticed this sunset.
Don't be consumed by the worries of what ever is on your mind. Keep your eyes pealed for the beauty of God's world. It is right there for the seeing.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Seen on a sign in the Mayflower Coffee Shop in Chicago...
"as you wander on through life sister/brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the donut, and not upon the hole."
And so there is plenty that is wrong in this world if you want to focus on it. Plenty to get upset about. And if you want your life to be filled with negativity, you can choose to focus on what is wrong.
But, but, but... there is so much more. There is so much more to life. So many good things. So many things that are going right.
If we can focus on the good, if we can see the things that we should be grateful for, oh my, that will make for a beautiful day.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
I love handyman work. But as I am getting older, there are some jobs that I have to turn down. For example, I don't climb ladders to the second story anymore.
So I had a job to hang a chandelier for one of my favorite clients. She is currently up north for the summer. I finally got a day scheduled to install it.
I opened the box and the light was much larger and heavier than I thought I should try. It is also a very complicated chandelier...
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| So it is like a tree with branches. You bend the branches out like an artificial Christmas tree. Oh, I would hate to break one of these branches. |
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| The ends of the branches have little holes in them. You hang pendants in the little holes. |
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| There are lots of pendants... this is pile one... |
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| This is pile two! |
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| This is one of the pendants. |
So I had to make the call that it was too heavy and too complicated for me to install. I felt like a loser. I hate to disappoint people. Part of the fun of the handyman work is doing a good job and making people happy.
I called my client to explain. She was so understanding and gracious. She made me feel better.
Here are the lessons from this story...
1. know your limits. discretion is the better part of valor.
2. be honest with yourself and with those you work for.
3. don't beat yourself up. Most people are very gracious and understanding.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Football season has started. I have teams that I root for. So do you. Let's just begin by agreeing that your teams are just as important as mine. Your loyalties are just as important as mine.
Too much energy is spent on demeaning one team over another. Peggy McB loves the Steelers. I don't particularly, but if they win, I will be happy for her. I think Pastor Tim loves the Eagles. I don't. But if they win, I will be happy for him.
Half of the people on "our team" will be gone in a few years. Heck, they may end up on your team.
I have come to believe in this life that it is ok for me to be happy for you if your team wins and mine does not. Conversely, I would appreciate it that if my team wins, you will be happy for me.
A few years ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were in the Super Bowl. I tried to find my college roommate, Dallas Moore, to tell him that I was rooting for his team. But I have lost touch with him. If you can find Dallas Moore from Bethel, Ohio, please tell him that I am rooting for his team.
This is how we should handle my team vs your team.
I will always root for my team. But if your team wins, I will be happy for you. I will not be hateful or negative if my team loses. I will be happy for you who are on the other side.
Life is short and remember... it is only a game!!!
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
So, how many people love you? This is not a romantic question... This can include friends, church friends, neighbors, cousins, family, and I don't know, but if you had to guess, what number would you come up with???
How many people love you?
1-5?
5-10?
10-20?
more???
So here is my point... there are 3.8 billion people on this planet. How many of them love you? Compared to the total human population, it is a small number. And so that makes them very valuable people... they don't come along every day. So lets appreciate them! Let's be exceptionally good to those who love us.
In my experience, they don't come along very often.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
If you decided that you were not going to the grocery store until there was no food, zero food in your house, how long could you eat on what you currently have?
Well we have a refrigerator.
We have a freezer.
We have a pantry.
Some people have 2nd freezers or fridges. Some people have walk in pantries.
Add it all up. How long could you eat for? In our case, weeks if not months.
Stop and think about that...
Ok. I have thought about that Jeff, what should I do about this?
1. be grateful for the abundance that you have.
2. never waste food.
3. eat all leftovers.
4. donate hugely to food pantries.
Remember, there are many people in our country [approximately 12%] who live with food insecurity. We have so much. We are so blessed.
Let's work harder at filling the pantry's of those who need help.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
I told you that I was inspired last Sunday... here is the 4th post that has emerged from Sunday August 24.
Church pt.4
Quotes from the sermon...
Every single person that we meet today, may we see them and love them.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Church Pt 3
One of the things that blessed me a week ago Sunday was the "call to worship." This is the little responsive reading that comes at the beginning of the service.
I have never cared for them. I had always found them so dry and so trite. I have written hundreds of them over the years... and I was never inspired by them.
Anyway, Sunday's was different:
L: No matter what you have done or left undone...
P: No matter who we love or who we have failed to love...
L: Whether you are here to be joyful
P: Or here to mourn...
L: Whether you are here and still working on figuring out the beauty and messiness of faith, our God welcomes us in this place.
P: All are welcome in this place. Amen.
I loved it!!! And I might add, not just that all are welcomed, but also, all are embraced. We need more churches with this philosophy.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
