Can you hear the birds sing?

Last Monday was the first day of Kindergarten for my 5 year old granddaughter Bella.  She was excited.  Mom was in tears.  We sent clothes. ...

I hate compassion fatigue but it is a real thing. Compassion fatigue is what you feel after you watch one too many commercials for starving ...

Sometimes it feels like the world around you is going crazy.  Or at least the world around me is going crazy.  Things happen that I don'...

In our neighborhood we have lots of different kinds of ducks.  This is a Muskogee Duck with her latest waddling of ducks. So cute, so amazin...

Permission Giving I get questions from time to time about what is a permission giving church.  For the last 15 years that I was at Woods Cha...

From time to time I think about the work that we did to help make Woods Chapel UMC a healthy church. One of the things that we did was to ha...

I read the online news.  Maybe I should stop. One of the current headlines is this: "100 foot waves are headed for the US."    Thi...

Before I start this post, I give a pass to anyone who has kids who are in that not quite moved out/moved back in stage... mine filled an apa...

My Uncle Carl had a Ford Model A with a rumble seat.  The rumble seat was like where a trunk would be in a car, but instead of a trunk, you ...

I first posted this story in 2010... it continues to be relevant today... I have been thinking about this story. It is a clear reminder of w...

Healthy growing churches infuse their members with the idea they are all on a mission from God and a mission for God. When we forget that we...

  Not much more to be said. It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

I am a big fan of getting things done. Sometimes responsibility belongs to those who are willing to bear it. Why put off til tomorrow what y...

When we came home from school, my mom used to ask, "what did you learn today?"  Your parents may have said something similar. Rece...

This article appeared in the Missouri Methodist Magazine. If you are not from Woods Chapel, I would tell you that it was my pleasure to serv...

I get so much information into this old brain, it is hard to remember where it all comes from.  I am not bragging, I am simply declaring tha...

What bumps are in the way of your life?  What difficulties are you experiencing that you wish would go away? At some point in life, you will...

There are many miracles in this daily journey of life. On Wednesday I woke up at 2:30 am.  We drove to the airport and flew to California as...

Recently heard: "we can make it work, we can always make it work." This is a very constructive attitude to bring to the table.  It...

The one thing that is constant is change.  The only thing that cannot be changed is change. We humans are fine with change as long as it doe...

Let's start w the scam... some people have received a facebook friend invite from me.  It is not me. the account is @jeff.brinkman.58667...

Living your life scared of going to hell will cause you to miss a life of love. Decide which God you believe in:  the God who judges or the ...

I heard a story the other day about a man who was burned out.  He was exhausted.  He had lost the joy of living.  He decided to take a retre...

When someone passes that we care about, it hurts.  The greater the hurt, the greater was the love. Many random emotions come to us when some...

Last Sunday... It was a nice day. I got up and had a cuppa coffee. Feeling good. Got dressed for church. Had a nice drive to Juno Beach.  I ...

Thirty years ago I wore this tie on Sunday morning... This was the Sunday when we had outdoor worship. Bill Hampton presented Woods Chapel w...

Spirituality is an interesting topic.  What makes someone spiritual?  You have, and I have heard it all. Learn the Bible to be spiritual.  G...

In my family, my mother was my primary abuser. She felt it was her job to break the will of the child. She worked hard at her task. We we...

When grace has a but, it is a sign that we still don't get it. When our brain says, God loves us as long as we do such and such, we stil...

In high demand religious systems critical thinking is turned against yourself and you begin to cannibalize your self-esteem. Your self-este...