Italy

I am officially announcing a group tour to Italy for next year, November 4-13.

I went on this trip 8 years ago and it was fantastic. There are so many wonderful things to see. Ancient Rome and the Vatican museum are amazing. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Catholics roamed the Mediterranean area and collected some of the most amazing artifacts. The museum also hosts items presented to the church over the last 2,000 years.

On this trip you will see: Lake Garda [beautiful], Verona, Venice [a must see in this lifetime], the Piazza San Marco, the Basilica of St. Mark, the romantic Bridge of Sighs, Pisa [the tower is really cool... it is actually a church bell tower], Lucca, Florence, San Gimignano [fantastic little city], Siena, Assisi, the magnificent Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Circus Maximus, Arch of Titus, famous Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Constantine, and much more!

The link to read more or to register is below... Let me know if you have any questions or if you are interested in going.

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

Here is the link to the Italy trip that I am leading in November of 2025

click here for the brochure

judgment

One of the most difficult things in this life is to be judged by other people.  It just hurts.  And for most of us, who try to be nice, we try to set aside the mean things that people say, but it still hurts.

I came across this quote and I love it.

Don't worry about the judgment of others.  They are telling you their story, not yours.

You see, their hateful attitude, their demeaning manner just tells you about them.  You have a right to tell your own story.

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

make sense

One of the reasons that we humans have problems with Christian belief/theology is that a good deal of it does not make sense.  Or some of it is mutually exclusive.

For example... we say that slavery is bad [and it is,] but the Bible condones it.  We say we believe the Bible, but it condones slavery.  We say that God is love, but then he will also send you to hell to be tortured for eternity. 

It's can't all be true.  Either God is a god of love or he is not.

Pastors and teachers have come up with doctrines and beliefs for years.  They pull from all kinds of places in the bible without much consideration of the consistency of the ideas.

We in the pews are just not supposed to ask questions.  Many don't ask questions.  Personally, I don't think that God is offended by our questions.  

I do think that many of our pat answers that have been offered to the world can be offensive.

We do not have to have all the answers.  It is ok for us to question beliefs and to choose our beliefs.  Personally, I am taking a stand on the basic truth that God is love.

God is love... that comes first.  All other beliefs and doctrines have to fall in after that.

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

My mom

So my cousin Rob Wagner found this old picture and sent me a copy.

My grandma and grandpa are on the right.  Julius and Louise Heising.  In the center of the picture is my uncle Ken - he was in the navy.  His first wife is back row on the right with the dark hair.  I never met her.

The three youngster on the left side are my mother in front, then uncle Ed and Aunt Jewel.

I am guessing this picture to be 1949-1950ish.

It is an interesting feeling to see my mother as a teenager.  Before she knew my Dad, before she had children, before she lost three of them.  She was just a kid.

Melancholy.

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

Christmas wish

Some of my KC friends support a charity called Phoenix Foundation.  It helps very needy families in the Kansas City area.  They help through out the year, but of course they help at Christmas.

My friends shop for the needy family's gifts.  One friend stores the gifts in his workshop.  I was working there one day this week and I saw the pile of presents.  

This is just some of the presents...  

I was also amazed at the numbers of packages of paper towels and toilet paper. 

I asked one of the donors about this.  Evidently, the parents ask for clothes and such for their kids, but for themselves, they only ask for the basics.

Imagine that for Christmas, you asked for paper towels.

We are so fortunate.  We have so much to be thankful for.

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

how we think

People have lots of divergent thoughts about religion and spirituality.  Some of my friends have left the United Methodist Church for more fundamentalist leanings.  That is their choice.

But I do want to say this... 

"When the gospel becomes defined by rules and salvation formulas, the core of love is lost."  Me

Never lose the core of love.  They will know we are Christians, not by our formulas, but by our love.

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

sunrise #2

The day my sunrise pictures posted, I got these pics from my friend Shawna.  I love it that many of my readers are thinking the same thing - "look for the beauty of God in every day moments."

Then, five minutes later... even more beautiful!!!

My pics were from Columbus, Ohio.  Hers are from Lee's Summit [KC] MO.  It just goes to show you that the amazing witness of the Lord at work in this world is available anywhere that people are simply paying attention.

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

your eyes

how are your eyes doing?  Stop and ask yourself, how do your eyes feel?

I never ask that.  I just take it for granted that my eyes are fine and that they will feel fine.  Or better, they will do their job and I won't feel them at all.  I usually don't feel my eyes... they just do their thing.

This changed last week.  On Thursday, I was working on Judy's fence in Sebastian, FL.  I pushed some bushy branches aside and pushed in towards the back of the fence.  I was wearing my glasses, but somehow, one of the little branches got by and swept over my face.  Suddenly I was aware that a leaf was in my eye.  My left eyelid was closed and an entire leaf was in my eye.

I stopped.  I carefully pulled it out.  I could feel it scraping.  I thought, "this is not going to be good."  Sure enough, within an hour, my eye was irritated and hurting.  The leaf had scratched it pretty good.

We should not take our eyes for granted.  We should give thanks every day for the ability to see.  In general, we take way too many things for granted.

The eye was upset for a couple of days, finally it started to feel better.  Now it is back to normal.

Dear Lord, may we not take the simple things for granted.  

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

awareness

So I was driving last week between Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio.  I left when it was dark.  It was cold and I was thankful for a heated seat and heated steering wheel in the rental car.

Cold, drab, gray winter day. Cold, drab, gray winter day.  Repeat.

Then I saw it.  Out of the corner of my eye... a bit of pink... the pictures do not do it justice...

It was amazing.  Just a small reminder of the beauty of God's world if we but pay attention.

What will you see today if you are looking?

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

when you want to leave

This is another post about high demand churches.  I guess that my brain is stuck there right now.

Sometimes people leave churches.  It is going to happen.  People change, and they have a right to their own spiritual journey.  They have a right to move on if that is what they feel is best for them.

We had a couple leave the Ft. Pierce church not too long ago.  The church was very gracious to them and I know that they would be welcomed back if they wanted to return.

When I was pastor at Woods Chapel, we were always gracious to those who wanted to leave.  Sometimes they even came back.  Nothing is to be gained by hurting those who want to move on.  Grieve their loss, sure, but don't hurt them.  Love comes first.

Then there are churches that will shame you if you want to leave.  They will tell you everything that is wrong with the new place that you want to go.  Some groups will shun you and be hateful.  Some will tell your friends to no longer associate with you.  I hope you hear the unhealthiness in such behavior.

If you are a part of a group and you want to move on, do not let any guilt, shame or shunning stop you.  Church groups that practice such behavior are not doing the work of Jesus.

Love comes first.  Always.

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

certainty vs ambiguity

These discussions come up from time to time... why are the more conservative churches growing?  My answer is simple and clear- many people in this world need structure, and conservative churches will line your life out for you.   Some people also need a sense of certainty.  They just want someone to tell them how it is.  Conservative churches will do this for you.  In many of them, the pastor has little or no education whatsoever.  In some denominations, all you have to do to become a pastor is to tell the congregation that you are feeling "a call."  But if you want to know for certain, there are churches that will tell you how it is.

The problem is, they don't know how it is, anymore than I know how it is.  God is not an idea, a person or a god that can be controlled.  He is by nature bigger than us and so there will always be questions and ambiguity about this life and our relationship to God.

I personally am comfortable with ambiguity.  I don't have to know it all.  Heck, if I know everything about God, that makes God pretty small.  I am fine with knowing that he is bigger.  I am fine with knowing that there are some things that I will not have the answer to in this life.

For me, to pretend that you have the answers is just that- pretend.  If you talk to Christians that seem to know it all- run the other way.

I am totally fine with falling into the joy and mystery of a God who is bigger than me and my questions.  To me, that is the essence of loving God and the core of the concept of worship.

I don't need certainty.  I am fine with ambiguity.

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

Versions of Christianity that I have known

Christianities that I have known

I was raised on conservative Lutheranism, and this is my experience of that upbringing… Go to church, dress for church, help when you can. Go to the rescue mission once a year during Christmas. Believe the right things. Sing in church. Don’t fall asleep during the service. Go home after church and live your life. Only worry about church on Sundays. These thoughts are my experience only.

Later, I followed my mother into a fundamentalist cult like sect. Raise your hands, praise the Lord. Look the other way when the preacher steals the money. Don’t ever question church leadership. We are in, others are out. Judge them, recoil from them, have the pat answers. During this time I attended worship where demons were cast out of people [supposedly.] Needless to say, those few years affiliated with that group left a mark on me that I am still trying to navigate.  It was complete craziness!!!

Then I found the United Methodist Church. It is a big church where many diverse people live under a very large umbrella. In this phase of my Christian journey, I learned about love. I learned about accountability. I learned about authenticity. I learned about trying to apply your faith not just on Sundays, but every day, every time to every person. The UMC isn’t perfect, but it has been a good home to me.

We all have our own spiritual journeys. I hope that you are brave enough to move on if you find yourself in an abusive or highly demanding church. It is ok to move from one phase of your life to another. God is not offended by our growth toward grace. Don’t be ashamed of your past, and don’t be afraid to carve out a new path for your future.

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

The Way

Jesus set the example.

Jesus showed us how to love and how to live. He taught us to give and forgive.

He overlooked the faults and sins of others.

He was self-less. He showed us what sacrifice means.

Anyone who can follow that way of living is saved.  If a person can follow that example, they are a true Christ follower and will find a life that truly is life.

Living by these principles is living the abundant life.

It is a wonderful way of living. That’s why early Christians called their faith, “the way.”

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

No more turkey

I actually said this... "I don't think I can eat turkey one more time."

There were left overs after thanksgiving.  We like to eat leftovers.  We hate to waste food.  But if you are like me, after a while, I have this feeling... "I have eaten that for 4 days in a row, I cannot eat it again."

Then I stop and think... how arrogant.  Gosh, there are people here in my city that would love to eat these left overs.  Heck there are people around the world, that live in food scarcity.  Some of them have never eaten chicken or turkey.

And I am tired of eating it?  Shame on me.

We need to stop and remember how much we have.  We need to think really hard about how the rest of the world lives.  It just might make us a little more grateful.

And gratitude if a very very very good thing.

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

reward and punishment

Richard Rohr wrote recently about the church's paradigm of reward and punishment. He told this story-

“The Angel with the Torch and the Pail.”

An angel was walking down the streets of the world carrying a torch in one hand and a pail of water in the other. A person asked the angel, “What are you doing with that torch and pail?”

The angel said, “With the torch I am burning down the mansions of heaven, and with the pail I am putting out the fires of hell. Then, and only then, will we see who truly loves God.”

And I add... only then will we come to know and believe in a God that loves us.  Just plain loves us.


Most Christians believe that we will be punished if we are bad and we will be rewarded if we are good. This is why so many people live and die in fear. It is also why many people live their lives feeling that they are not good enough.

I no longer believe that God will torture people forever in a hell.  Isn't it time to come to believe in a God that truly loves us?

Let's rid our lives of the carrot and the stick.

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

prayer

I came across this prayer by Dr. Randy Woodley... I found it to be profound...

"I am humbled that I will never know everything about you [God], but I am grateful that through the lives of others I can know more of you. While I thank you for those who are like me, I especially thank you for those who are different than me. I thank you for those who are younger than me and those older than me; for those who have less than me and those who have more than me; for those more physically able than me and those less physically able than me; for those whose skin is of a lighter hue than me and those of a darker hue than me; for those of a different gender than me and those of the same gender as me; for those of a different worldview than me and those with a similar worldview to mine. May we together discover a new story for our country where everyone has an equal voice—even those with whom we disagree and even with those who have no voice."

Something to think about.

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

perspective is everything

Perspective is everything.  What do Israelis think about the war with Hamas and Hezbolla?  What do Palestinians think about the war?

Perspective is everything.

Now, I love thanksgiving.  It is probably my favorite holiday, but I read this the other day and it reminded me that perspective is everything.

"While Americans celebrate Thanksgiving as a harvest festival following colonists' survival, Indigenous people observe the holiday with sadness, since it commemorates the European immigration influx that ultimately took away their lands and cultures."

We may not agree with other's perspectives and we may not like their thoughts and feelings, but I think that it is important to remember that there are more ways to see the world than the way that we see the world.

We will never understand others until we take the time to consider their perspective or walk a mile in their moccasins.

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

Nothing to buy

I used to rush out on Black Friday.  I used to rush for the "bargains."  I remember one year, probably 2002ish, I walked into the Kohls store in Independence at 4:15am.  There was this kitchen appliance that was on sale.

I walked past the already long line and went back to the kitchen area.  I was lucky to pick up one of the last items.

Then I got in line.

Evidently, the line was well over an hour long.

For $10 off.

I decided that it was not worth it to me to wait in that line.  I put the item back and went home.

Over the years I have bought things on black Friday and cyber Monday.  This year, I am reading the ads and I don't see anything that I want.

That is a good thing.  Wanting less is a good thing.  Maybe I finally have everything that I want?

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