Italy - Day one and Day 2

Many of you know that I am on a trip with 41 friends in Italy.

Day one was travel day... drive to the airport, fly to Chicago, long layover, then fly to Milan.  And then a 4 hour bus ride to the hotel in Venice.

Day 2 = Venice.... words cannot express the beauty of it all.

Lots and lots of statues

amazing historical craftsmanship

The armaments museum was so very cool.

Leaning tower of the Greek Orthodox Church

St. Mark's bell tower

Next trip, I hope that you can join us!!!

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

Great thoughts from Dr. Stacy

Dr. Stacy is a friend from church... a Doctor of Education.  I found this information from her quite thought provoking...

A good teacher must be able to put himself in the place of those who find learning hard. -Eliphas Levi

“Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.” -Vernon Howard

In other words, get over yourself... realize that you have something to learn.  I don't know everything.  Approach life with a teachable posture... and you will learn and grow.

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

Christianity and Politics

I have tried to keep pretty quiet about politics.  This is because there are both kinds of folks in the churches and they all deserve to be loved.  They all deserve to feel welcome whether I or others agree with them or not.

But I have a question... What comes first... what feeds your brain first, your Christianity or your politics?

In my opinion, our politics should be shaped by our faith, not the other way around.  When we compromise key elements of our faith because of our politics, I think we are sliding down a slippery slope.

Love comes first.  What comes first for you?  The words of a politician or the words of Jesus?

Something to think about.

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

Halloween Food Pantry

A friend's Facebook post popped up on my computer.  I read their post.  

For Halloween, they have candy for the kids... come on by.  They have also collected some groceries for those who are in need.  You could message her if you wanted to come by to hit their Halloween food pantry.

I loved this idea.  I loved it that someone out there is looking for and finding creative ways to help the needy.

The world needs less selfishness and more compassion.

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

sermon notes and an expensive card

Here is the link to yesterday's sermon if you want to watch or listen.  I am leaving for Italy on Tuesday so I will not be preaching again until Nov 23rd.

click here for the sermon

Now on to today's blog post...

I had a long list of things to do last Wednesday, one of them was buying an anniversary card. Then I broke a tooth and had to fit in a dentist visit. Funny about the dentist you know no one wants to go to the dentist until you need to go to the dentist and then you’re just praying that they can fit you in... soon.

So I’m a little early to go to the dentist. I stopped at the grocery store next-door, I'm gonna pick up some celery sticks and an anniversary card.   I should not have been surprised when I got to the checkout and the anniversary card was $6.99. Usually I buy my cards at the Dollar Tree for $.50 or a dollar. I felt bad for wasting that much money. But I’m on a time crunch.

Which took my brain to the two thoughts about money that I’ve always told my children.

1. It doesn’t matter how much you make, if you spend it all, you’re going to be broke.

2. The other thing that I tell them [and anyone that will listen] is people have money for two reasons - number one they make a lot - number two they don’t spend very much.

I need to stay away from $6.99 anniversary cards.

It’s a beautiful day in God‘s world. Be sure to see the good.

"I love you and I am proud of you"

I do not remember my mother ever telling me that she loved me.  Maybe she did, but if she did, I do not remember.

I do remember the first time that my Dad told me that he loved me.  It was Easter Sunday 1996.  I was 38 years old.  Mom had been dead for a year, so Dad was finally able in his adult life to be the person that he wanted to be. [how sad is that.]

Anyway, he came out to church that Easter Sunday and came to the house for lunch after church.  He was sitting on the deck and I walked by to get something out of the kitchen.  As I walked by he said, "Son, I love you and I am proud of you."  I was pleasantly surprised.  I still think of it as a very happy moment.

Because of the lack of hearing that I was loved, I made sure that my kids heard it, and that they still do.  No one should grow up wondering if they are loved or not.

If you are not saying "I love you" to the people that you love, then it is time to start.  3 small words that mean a great deal.

I love you!!!

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

All Saints Day

Today, November 1st is All Saints Day.  It is traditionally a day when Christians remember those loved ones who have gone before us. On the night before, All hallows eve [Halloween] [yesterday] worshippers would have a party and remember the dead.  On November 1st, there were special church services.


Today is a day to remember those we love who have gone on before.

Today, among many other things, I will think of my Parents.  They were not perfect.  They were children of the depression.  They had a hard life.  They wasted nothing.  They did not tolerate anything that smelled like disrespect.  Boundaries were kept very firm between a parent and a child.  Questions were frowned upon.

But, they loved us, they cared for us, they fed us and they protected us, as they knew how.  They got us through college and they survived our craziness. [we were children of the 60's and 70's]

They gave me a chance at life.  I know that they loved us and if they had the chance today, they would tell us that they are proud of us.  

I hope that you have parents or mentors that helped launch you.  Although not perfect, where would we be today without them?

While I grieve the loss of family and friends, I savor their lives and I am thankful for them.

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

Happy Halloween!!!

My mom was a pretty fundamental Christian.  Everything was black and white.  Lots of judgment.  That was then, this is now. She is in heaven with Jesus now and I know that she is basking in his love and sharing it with others.  She is whole.

So what does this have to do with Halloween?  My mom, the fundamental Christian,  loved Halloween.  She set aside all of her dogmas and let the dogs out for Halloween.  Demons that were feared and riled against during the rest of the year were amicably welcomed on Halloween.  She had more Halloween decorations than Christmas ones.......

One of my favorites was a sign, which went up every year on the front door.  The sign had an ugly witch on it and it said, "Welcome kiddies, put all your goodies in the box below... go quietly and no one will get hurt."  Yes there was a box underneath the sign.  No one ever left any candy, but I find the story to be so funny.

As a child we would run from house to house, covering many blocks.  When our pillow cases got full, we would go home and empty them out and go back for more.  Sometimes when we got home, we found that our Dad had raided our candy and pulled out the Hershey bars!!!

These days, things are different. Children do not run unsupervised... they go out protected by parents.  It is a shame what our world has become.

But my family still loves Halloween. Chili on the stove, scary movies on the TV. Kids coming to the door... it is a great day that we look forward to each year.

Have a Happy Halloween. October 31 is the Lord's day too. This is our father's world.

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

Harry Chapin

So I am driving down US one.  I’m hurdling down US one at 60 miles an hour.  5 miles over the speed limit.  A song comes on the radio by Harry Chapin.  I remember how he died tragically in a fiery car crash in the year 1981.  He was 39 years young.  

It occurs to me as I’m flying down the road that we are all very frail and that life can be dangerous and at any moment it could end.  No, I’m not expecting for it to end anytime soon, but I’m just hoping that this reminder will cause me and others to slow down and appreciate every moment.  Every waking hour is a gift from our Father.  It is not going to last for ever and it can end all too soon, so appreciate it all.

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

Sermon video and such...

Here is the link from last Sunday's Sermon

click here

Someone was rude the other day.  Someone cut me off in traffic.  Someone is routinely nasty to me.

I want to fight back.  I want to get even.  I want to get revenge.

But if I do, I am giving in to a lesser life.  If I retaliate I put myself on their level.  If I allow my mind to linger on what has happened, it will poison my mood.

As they sang in the movie Frozen, "Let it go..."  Just let it go.  Release that person.  Refuse to relive the moment.  Lean away from the pain and towards the joy.

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

The Rope Bridge

A few weeks ago I attended a meeting where our District Superintendent gave us a nice message.  She is a fine person for sure.

In her message she talked about life and leadership as walking across "a rope bridge."

She said that while you are walking on it, it is going to move.  Heck it is going to move when you aren't walking on it.  It will likely be scary and will test you in many ways.

But...

But, you must keep moving.

I loved the illustration.  This is what leadership is like.  This is what life is like.  Not as solid and steady as we like.  More moving to and fro... a bit unsettling.

But we must keep moving forward.

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

worry gets in the way

 

We can only think about one thing at a time.  If you are worried, if you are focused on what is wrong, you are going to miss the good.

Set aside your worries.  See the good.  Most of what we worry about we won't even remember in two weeks.

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

Ignoring passages that hurt people

I often save things that I find inspirational to share later... I wish that all of my fundamentalist friends would read and digest this...

"Jesus consistently ignored or even denied exclusionary, punitive, and triumphalist texts in his own inspired Hebrew Bible in favor of passages that emphasized inclusion, mercy, and honesty. For example, referencing two passages from Exodus (21:24) and Leviticus (24:20), Jesus suggested the opposite: “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you . . . turn the other cheek” (see Matthew 5:38-39). He read the Scriptures in a spiritual, selective, and questioning way. Jesus had a deeper and wider eye that knew which passages were creating a path for God and which passages were merely cultural, self-serving, and legalistic additions."

Richard Rohr January 7, 2019

When people use scriptures to exclude or judge people, they are not following the way of Jesus. Just because something is in the Bible does not mean that it is helpful. Jesus ignored passages that hurt people. We should do the same.

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

unexpected disappointment

Yesterday I posted about disappointment and I said that I did not have any at the present time.  Well, later yesterday, my right knee popped.

This is the knee that was replaced in June of 2023.  This is the knee that has been a miracle since the surgery.  It was so bad before the surgery and it has been so good.  Until yesterday.

Two years ago, before the surgery, I was on a trip to Israel and Egypt.  Some of my friends had to push me in a wheel chair.  The knee replacement fixed all of that.

As  I write this, the knee can barely bend and I am supposed to leave for Italy in 9 days with some of the same people.  I hope that they don't have to push me in a wheel chair again!

 In the picture I am using a walking stick that was loaned to me by Bill and Pam Carpenter.  They are not going on this trip so I will buy my own stick in a few days if the knee does not improve.

I was talking with a friend who felt bad for me.  I thought, well, this is not so bad, at least it is not lung cancer.

I think that it is important to put our disappointments in perspective.

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

last Sunday's Sermon and disappointment

Here is the link to last Sunday's sermon

click here to watch or listen

I was thinking about recent disappointments that I have heard about.  Fortunately, I don't have any 
disappointments at present. But here are some that I have heard of...

• Someone spent too much money and now is stuck in between pay checks.
• Someone did not get the car that they wanted.
• Someone's child has yet another cavity.
• Someone did not get the job.
• Someone misses a friend...

Disappointment comes to all of us.  The question is not will it come, but what we will do with it when it does.

We can react to the thing or we can accept the thing.  We can have a bad attitude about it, or we can put the pain in perspective.  We can be in pain and choose to suffer or we can be in pain and choose not to suffer.

We have choices.  We can choose to be miserable, make ourselves miserable, and everyone else around us.  Or we can choose to put on a brave face.

In my experience, most disappointments come and go.  Don't let whatever it is ruin your day or your week.

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

Thursday's blog

Here we go.  I feel like I am running in 5 different directions at the same time.  I am doing well.  I am enjoying life.  I am in Chicago with my grandchildren.  

It is hard to find time to post something.  So I thank God for all of you who send good ideas in.

Joyce sent me a note about Steve Hartman with CBS who's children join him online for a feature called Kindness 101.

His daughter Meryl ends the segment by saying, "remember to stay kind."

I love that.  and I love that someone is teaching their children that from their youth.

Remember to stay kind.  All day.  In every way.  Remember to stay kind.

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

from my friend Bruce

 "More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness"

                                                            Charlie Chaplin

nothing to say

Sometimes I have nothing to say.

I have one reader who swears that they can tell when I am passionately writing something and when I am just simply putting something out there because I have nothing else to say.

hmm...

Well, no one is, no one feels inspired every day.  Sometimes we struggle to articulate good things about life.

But for me, I am 68 years old and I woke up today.  So I am happy.  Life is good.  Many other people did not get the wake up call for today.

And did I tell you that today I am flying to Chicago to see my grandchildren???

That makes it a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good!!!

my Dad said...

My Dad said, "son, there will always be people who have more than you, and people who have less.  Work hard and be content with what you have."

So Mark Wahlberg just bought a $30 million dollar place in Delray Beach.  I love Mark.  I love his movies.  I love eating at his restaurants.

Ok, he has more than we do.  No worries.  We need to be positive.  We cannot focus on not having enough.  We all just need to do what John Wesley said, "Make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can."

Life is good.  Be thankful for what ye have.

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

Despicable Me

So, one day last week I had a bad day.  I had a very tough meeting.  I cried that day.  Several times.  Disappointment can be a very powerful thing.

All day long I suffered with discouragement.

I met some friends for the Italy trip in Ft. Pierce.  That was good.

My wife and I ate dinner at Chili's.  That was good.

I got home and I needed to change my mood.  I searched on Netflix for the movie Despicable Me.  It is a movie for children, [or adults...]  I needed to laugh.  I laughed and laughed and I cried.

It was a totally awesome mood breaker.

If you need a lift, watch Despicable Me on Netflix.

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

great question

A few weeks ago my friend Tim C asked me a fantastic question.  "What is the best part of being Jeff Brinkman right now???"

I immediately started thinking of, and naming off every thing that was going wrong in my life.

Then I realized, that is not the question.  He didn't ask me what was wrong... so I got to thinking about what was going right.

Instead of seeing the good, my brain went to my complaints and ailments.  How sad.

What is the best thing about being me right now?  I am in relatively good health.  I have a ton of friends and people that love me.  I am enjoying being the pastor at Oceanview UMC.  I have a great family.

There is plenty for me to appreciate and be thankful for.

What is the best part about being you right now?

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

Shame

Shame leaves marks that last for a long time.  Sometimes they never go away.  99 people say that they love you.  1 person says something bad to you and we are thrown into a downward spiral.

Why do we allow the words of the 1 to impact us so much?  For me, it takes me back to my childhood.  There was so much guilt and shame.  It was the major way that we were raised, disciplined and controlled.

By the age of 68 I should be over feeling bad when someone says something bad... maybe I can move past it before I turn 69.

Work on resisting shame.  Jesus never shamed anyone.  You are a wonderful, amazing human.  Let yourself feel like that!!!

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

who we listen to

I think that we should listen to others.  I try to do so.  I get smarter when I listen to others.  And Lord, I need to get smarter.

Someone out there thinks that I am listening to the wrong person.  I think about that and I talk to the person that I am listening to about that.  We do need to self-evaluate from time to time.

Most of us think we are right.  If we thought we were wrong, wouldn't we change?

Who do you listen to?  Are they helping you build a positive future?  Are they reinforcing kindness?

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

mean people

Why do people have to be mean?

Why do they have to be unkind?

Being nice is not that hard.

I am repulsed by selfishness... but I am also aware that I am not that good at seeing selfishness within me.

Lord please help me to be more kind.

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

sermon from Sunday and a shameless appeal

Here is the link to Sunday's sermon/message...

click here to watch or listen

Here is my shameless appeal... In my life I have collected coins, Sunday school pins and hot wheel cars.  A few years ago I started collecting license plates.  I have about 1/2 of the states.

If you have an extra plate laying around I will trade you a Missouri, Florida or California as I have several of those.  Or I will just buy one from you.

Do you collect things?  What do you collect?  Why?

I collect things because it makes me feel good to have a random sampling of certain things.

I hope you get joy out of whatever you collect.  And what a nice first world problem to have.

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

everyone is dealing with something

My friend Donna shared this with me...


"This morning on my way to work, I followed a car with a sign in the back window that said:

“Learning stick. Sorry for any delay.”

Knowing that, I stayed patient through the slow shifts and jerky starts — and honestly, they were doing pretty well for someone still learning.

But then I caught myself wondering:
Would I have been just as patient if I hadn’t seen that sign?
Probably not.

And that thought hit me hard.

Because the truth is, most people don’t wear signs that explain what they’re going through. You won’t see:

“Going through a divorce.”
“Lost a child.”
“Feeling depressed.”
“Just diagnosed with cancer.”

If we could see people’s struggles written out, we’d treat each other so much more gently.

But we shouldn’t need a sign to show kindness.

Everyone you meet is carrying something you can’t see. So let’s choose patience. Let’s choose grace. Let’s choose love — even when there’s no sign telling us to."

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

quote

My friend Bruce sent this in...

"The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention."

I would add, if you have a desire to do good, but do not act on it, your desire is futile.

Compassion is not delivered through intentions, but actual actions.

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

it doesn't matter

Who is annoying you lately???

It doesn't matter how they act, they still deserve to be treated with compassion.

• An old person becomes bitter.
• A child is spoiled.
• A teenager says hateful things.
• Someone robs a store.
• A spouse says something hurtful.

On and on it goes.

Our default is to be nice to those who are nice to us but not to those who aren't. Jesus taught the opposite.

Mt 5

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

Even though someone is crabby or mean, we can still issue them kindness. Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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

None needed

 

No explanation needed.  None.

I saw this fellow wearing this shirt at the Atlanta airport last week.  We had a nice visit.  The message of his shirt is simple.  "Let God sort them out."  "LET GOD SORT EM OUT."

Yes we can stop the judgment.  Yes we can stop the hatred.  We can stop pointing out who we think the sinners are.

All we need to do is come to believe that we are not in charge.  God is.  And God will sort them out. Or maybe God will embrace them all.  

When our brain finally arrives at this thought, our lives become happier because we are no longer worried about who is good or bad, and who is in or out.  We are finally free from the pressure to be right and we can simply love people and let God sort them out.

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

The other person

The other person.  They are not you.  They are other.  Or are they?

It is way too easy in this life to live inside of the cocoon of our life.  Our thinking, our ideas, our ways.  We so easily make it about us.  I make it about me.

This way of living turns life into a me vs them.  I am me, you are you, they are they.  Sometimes we feel that we must protect ourselves from others.  From their ways, their ideas, and their beliefs.  After all, we don't know them do we?

What if we stopped looking at them as "other?"  Am I  really that different than you?  Are we really that separated?  Or is it possible that we have much more in common than we thought.

Tragic moments cause us to pull together.  Complete strangers come together in random moments for survival.

Why can't we act this way all the time?  We don't have to see people as a stranger or different or other.  We can see them as fellow humans.  Fellow travelers on this journey of life.

They are not other.  We are all flowing together in the same stream of life, moving towards a common end.  A little awareness and kindness along the path will go a long way.

We can start today.

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