From my friend Bruce...

"Living with regrets is like driving a car that only goes in reverse"  Jodi Picoult

Some years ago, I was reaching out to my college dorm mates, asking if they knew where a particular person was.  I needed to apologize to this guy.  I have been carrying guilt about an incident for years.

One of my college dorm mates, now a retired police officer wrote back to me and said, "Jeff, you are a pastor, you should know more than any of us the importance of forgiving yourself."

He was right.  I have done everything I can to apologize to the man that I hurt.  I even apologized at the time.  I should stop carrying this guilt.

Every day, every moment that you spend regretting something or feeling bad about something is destructive.  In effect, you are keeping your mind stuck on negative things so that you cannot be positive to the people that you’re around.

Sometimes we have to let a thing go and forgive ourselves and move on.

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

Lead with love

To quote the Bishop of Florida, Tom Berlin, "lead with love."

I received a note recently from a friend who was concerned that many of their friends were leaving the church over the "gay issue."  

Let me say this to you all... please do not leave your church.  We must decide.... do we want a church that is based on the judgment, shunning and rejection of those with whom we do not agree?  Or do we want a church that models Jesus' life of unconditional love.

There were lots of gay people in Jesus' time.  He never addresses the issue.  Why?  This was not his mission.  He never tried to separate the perceived "good from the bad."  He just loved people.

We who claim to follow Jesus, might want to do the same.

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

We are all the same at heart

I was listening to a podcast called "the kindness podcast" and a person being interviewed told this story.

A Christian mother in Ashtabula, Ohio sends her son off in the morning on the school bus. As she watches him board the bus, she has a feeling in her heart.

A woman in Nairobi, Kenya watches her son leave the small house and walk three-quarters of a mile to the school. As she watches him turn the corner and head out of sight, she has a feeling in her heart.

A Mother in Beijing watches her son, clad in his school uniform, board the bus to go to the state run elementary school.  As she watches him board the bus she has a feeling in her heart.

A mother in Tehran, clad head to toe in her hajib, watches her son board the bus for school.  As he steps onto the bus, he looks back at her and smiles. This mother has a feeling in her heart.

The point of the story is this: ultimately, we are all the same. What we feel in our hearts, what we desire for our children, and many many of the feelings that we have, they are all the same. We are all the same.

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

our bias

We all have a bias.  We all have a filter.  None of us see with clear glasses.  We all have a board in our eye.  Even me.

Post election, I am reading posts by people who are celebrating God's anointing of Trump.  Then I am reading posts of Trump's election meaning that judgment is coming upon America.  He is God's chosen one... or he is the anti-Christ.  It is amazing how people will invoke God in the name of their opinion.

We can never understand the other side until we put our personal paradigm on hold.  Please be aware of your own bias.  Please be watchful of how your bias can affect and cloud how you see the world.  

I will do the same.

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

two people

All of the following people are real, and all of them are Christians...


One made over a million dollars last year.
One is living on social security.
Both have the calling to follow Jesus.

One person lives in St. Louis metro with a population of over 1 million.
Another lives in Elsberry, Mo with a population of 1900.
They were both put on this earth to show kindness.

One person voted for Trump. Today they feel what they feel.
Another person voted for Harris. Today they feel what they feel.
Both, as Christ followers are here on this earth, first and foremost to show and share love.

May we always remember our priorities... Rich, poor, urban, rural, right or left... all Christians are here to be people of love. Let us never forget this.

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

thinking before you speak

There is an old saying, "be sure to engage brain before putting mouth into gear."  We should think before we speak.  We should also think before we write.

I always proof read what I write before I post it, but sometimes, things sneak by.  On Veterans Day, I posted about watching the draft "online."  Obviously, in 1975, we did not watch anything online.

A savvy reader caught that timeless mistake on my part.

Always read what you write more than once.  In fact, if you have to send something that is sensitive, have a trusted friend or coworker read what you intend to send.  They may save you a headache later.

Just a few more moments of thought will save us from speaking or emailing words that we cannot take back.

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

the pain of others

Other people have pain.  That is a fact and it should not come as a surprise to us.  And, when we take time to notice their pain, an affinity is built between us.

Take the person at the store that works the return counter.  We have all been in line and witnessed them taking abuse from an unhappy customer.  Maybe, but I hope not, surely not, we have been the unhappy, abusive customer.

I have made it a habit of thanking the people that work the return line.  Sometimes they shrug off my appreciation, but more often than not, they look at me... right in the eye... and they say thank you.

When we take time to notice and affirm the pain of others, it builds a bond between us.

Take time to say thank you for those who work in thankless professions.  You will be glad that you did.

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

things that I think about

One of the things that I think about from time to time is how the church has focused on certain scripture passages and totally neglected others.

It is like we hung our hat on one passage, and that was all that mattered. The choice of that passage, set the course for the church for centuries.

For example... the church has hung it's hat on John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

What do we get from this passage? You are lost and you need to be saved. If you don't believe it, you will perish. And somehow in the middle of all of that, God loves the world. Well, in my opinion, hanging our hat on this passage has caused many Christians to become very judgmental, insisting that these folks are in and those folks are out.

What if instead of focusing on John 3:16, the church focused on 1 John 3:17. [note the proximity of the references 3:16 or 3:17]

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

Wow.  If that is what the church focused on, we would be a very compassionate organization.   We would care about those in need.  We would stop talking about who was in and who was out.  We would stop making salvation formulas.  And the sign of God's love in your life would simply be based on your kindness toward others.

- - - 

Remember friends... you don't have to believe it the way that you were taught it.  You can hang your personal hat on any scripture that you want.  It is your choice.

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

Seabiscuit

So I was sitting in a hotel room in St. Louis on Sunday, waiting for the Chiefs game to come on.  I switched around surfing the TV channels and landed on HBO's showing of "Seabiscuit."

If you have not seen the movie, it is the true story of an undersized race horse who beat all odds to become a great success during the depression.  Many down and out Americans, suffering in the late1930's could celebrate and relate to this second chance, come from behind little underdog horse.

If you have ever felt that you were always coming in last, if you have ever felt like a loser or like the underdog, you will enjoy this movie.

His success made me cry.  It is a fantastic show.

May we all reach deep down inside of us and find the potential to rise up and fulfill our dreams.  It's not too late.

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

Veterans Day

I've told this story before, but here goes.

Today is Veterans Day.  Sometimes people ask me if I am a veteran.  I tell them I am not.  Here is why...

When I was in high school, Vietnam was roaring along.  So were the anti-war protests.  Back then, there was a lottery for the draft.  They spun a cage holding cubes with numbers on them.  When they drew for your birthday, you were assigned a number.  The higher the better.  The best number to draw from the draft lottery was 365.  The worst was of course #1.  When I was a junior in high school, I watched the draft online.  The number for my birthday, July 5 was 22.  I would have surely gone in the draft.

But, then over the next months, the war was winding down and the draft ended.  When I was a senior, they didn't draw any numbers.  I never had to go.

But, I have thought often about those who did go and did serve.  Although I do not agree with every war that our country has been a part of, I am very appreciative of the men and women who went and served.

Thank you veterans.

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

another great quote

From my friend Bruce...

"I wake up in the morning asking myself, what can I do today, how can I help the world today?"
                                                                   Julia Butterfly Hill

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

A dear friend sent this in...

One of my sisters is 77 and has health challenges. This election was lowering her spirits, so she donated her two TVs to the Veterans. (Will this in turn lower their spirits?)   She was adamant that she would not vote — until she suddenly made up her mind the day before Election Day on how she wanted to vote.  Then Panic set in!

Her driver’s license and passport were expired, so I drove her to her voting station, a United Methodist Church, so she could vote.  I told the poll workers that I was her sister, that she brought documents to prove her identity, and that we believe she would qualify for a provisional ballot because her signature today would match her signature in their records for past votes.

She was escorted to the voting room by courteous poll workers. I sat in a chair and tried not to worry. Thirty minutes later she returned, face glowing, waving a sticker that she voted. She was proud of herself and thankful to all the human beings who helped her.

I drove her to the Country Club Plaza and we ate a celebratory lunch.

God bless America.

 - - - - 

I love this story because you can see a sister help her sister.  I also love it because you can see the desire to vote, and the appreciation of the opportunity to vote.

Again, whether things turn out the way you want them to in an election, or just in day to day things, there is much joy to be found in life.

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

One person's perspective on the election

I have lots of friends and they have differing political views. This comes from my friend Jennifer [who is a fantastic human] and I thought that it was worth sharing.  Any other views that you might send in I am glad to share as well...


When your political values and beliefs don’t fall far right or far left but somewhere in the middle, you are able to see some good parts of each. Although the elected party is not the one I voted for, he will be my Commander in Chief. I choose not to bad mouth but to respect. As in most things in life, I will agree with some decisions as well as disagree. And THAT is the American way. 

Be sure to see the good

grateful

Gratefulness is a common theme in this blog and I am grateful for that.

Today let me say that I am grateful for our country.  I am glad and thankful to live in a free society.  We can have our opinions and voice them.  In many other countries, this gets you in trouble.

I am thankful that in our country we have the freedom to travel.  You can go from state to state without anyone's permission.  You are free to visit other countries.

We have the freedom of religion.  Pretty good stuff.

We have the freedom of the press.  Amazing that we have the spectrum of fox news, msnbc, cnn, abc, etc.  And each news outlet is telling their story.  You won't see that in every country.

If you are happy with the outcome of the election, I am happy for you.  If you are not, then I would just remind you that we still live in a great country.

As Monty Python sang, "always look on the bright side of life..."

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

what topic to write about

It is Tuesday night and I am watching election returns.  By the time you read this, we may have a new president.  Or maybe we won't know who won for several days.

So I am sitting here watching returns, wondering what I should write about for tomorrow morning.  I am going to post it here about 8pm and you will read it in the morning.

What should I write?  Something religious or spiritual?  Gratitude?  Something humorous?  Something benign?  Share something that someone else wrote?

And then I say, I will write this... I will tell this.

Tomorrow night I am meeting friends for dinner.  I am really looking forward to it.  They are some great  folks that I don't get to see very often.

Election worries?  No.  Just looking forward to seeing my friends.

I hope that you have friends, and I hope that you appreciate them.  I would rather have friends and lose an election than have my candidate win and have no friends.

Friends are amazing.

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

Election Day

Today, Americans will choose a new president.  I hope you vote.  I voted last week in the early voting process.

Tomorrow night when the election is over, some will be happy and  some will be sad or even angry.  I just want to remind everyone that Christians are first and foremost, people of love.  They are not Trump fans first or Harris fans first... Christians are fans of Jesus and follow in his ways of love.

I have voted in 12 or 13 presidential elections.  Some of the people I voted for won.  Some of them lost.  Something that I have noticed over the years is that presidents that I was for and the ones that I voted against, all did a smattering of things.  Both did some good and some things that I wish they had not.

At any rate, I have survived all of these presidents over the years, and so will you.  On Wednesday, the important parts of your life will still be there.  You will still have kids, you will still have your favorite music, you will still own a house and you will still have friends.

Presidents come and go.  Life goes on.  Love goes on.  Don't ever forget that for followers of Jesus, love must always come first.

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

read the signs

This picture is from the Melbourne Florida airport. I’ve been to this airport many times. I’ve used these restrooms many times and I was sure that as I approached them from the far side, the men’s was the first one and the women’s was the second.

You can see from the picture that I had them backwards.

Uh Oh... I wandered in without even looking and met a polite young lady who was on the way out.  I saw her and I said oh my gosh, I am so sorry.

If you don't see urinals in the bathroom, that is a sign that you are not in the men's room. If you run into ladies in your bathroom, you may also be in the wrong location.

Paying attention is an important function in this life. Reading the signs can keep one out of embarrassing moments.

It's a Beautiful day in God's world be sure to read the signs!!!

why we are here

I met a man the other day.  We visited for 30 minutes.  He told me that since he retired from his job, he did not understand his purpose.

I told him what I tell people all the time... we are not here on this earth to be doctors, nurses, teachers, policemen, etc.  We are here to be kind to each other... we are here to be good to each other.

A few weeks back, my friend Bruce sent me this...

Once we realize that we are here to be kind, every moment makes sense.  It also makes us happy to be good to others.

Each day, may we remember why we are here on this earth.

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

living simply

I fell for it.  

I saw an advertisement from living simply.com.  I thought that it would be great to join up and get their living simply tips.

I now get emails daily or more.  Sometimes there are good ideas in them, but usually it is all a big advertisement ploy.  They redirect you to some other site and then you have to read 8 ads to get on idea about living simply.

I just don't have time for it.  And it is disappointing.  I wish that someone could just put some information out there without having to try to sell you something all the time.

So what is the point of this blog post?  I guess that we should all strive to be genuine humans and stay away from the bait and switch.

It's a beautiful, ad free day @ can you hear the birds sing. com be sure to see the good.

Nov 1 - 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. 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.

Halloween

Why don't Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate Halloween?

They don't like it when random people knock on their front door.

So I haven't told this story for a while.

my mummy took this picture in our front yard.
Halloween 1972.

I was 14 and my mom dressed me up as a mummy for a Halloween party. This is the picture and I still remember her taking it!

There were several hundred kids at the party at the local Christian church.
I won a prize for the best costume and I danced to the long version of In-a-godda-da-vida all 17 minutes of it!  I don't remember the girl's name.

For the many times that I have questioned my childhood and discussed it's dysfunction, this was one memory that was a very good one.

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

Mission statement found in Ireland

I picked up a flyer at one of the Catholic churches that we visited in Ireland.

The flyer had a missions statement on it.

"Our faith is the good news that Jesus Christ is the God of love.  Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ accompanies us both in this life and in the life to come.  To live and to share that good news is our mission."

I love that.  It is not about fixing people or changing them.

God is love.  God is with us.  Let people know that however you can.

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

Mission statements

Most churches have mission statements.  The United Methodist Church's mission statement is "Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."

I used to like it.  These days, not so much.

Here is why... I find the word "making" to be confrontational.  We don't make people do anything.  Surely Jesus didn't force anyone to do anything.

Churches for centuries have gone to far away lands to "convert" the heathen.  The church largely ignored and demonized the native religions.  We taught people to talk like us and dress like us.  It was a form of colonization.

In the 1920's churches went into rural Nicaragua and built churches.  But they did nothing to help the people who were starving.  Is this the kind of outreach that God hopes for?

In my old age I have come to believe that it is not my job to convert people.  God can do that with out me.  It is my job however, to love people.

And I believe that when we get good at loving people, they will be drawn to our spirits, to our way of life and to our God.

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

Trip reflection

Looking back on the Ireland trip I have a few reflections...

First of all, it was wonderful to see the beautiful and historic places.  Secondly, I so enjoyed the people that travelled with me.  We also met some new friends on the bus from the other group.  So people wise, it was fantastic.

The guide was great and overall I give the trip a 10.

Those who were injured on the trip have recovered and I hope they will join me again next year.

I am working on a trip to Italy for next year, October or early November.  Let me know if you are interested.

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

Irish saying

I was talking to one of the porters in Ireland.  We were chatting about life and kindness.  He told me that his grandfather shared with him this old Irish saying...

"everyone's shoulders are broad enough to carry manners."

I love that.  Kindness is not out of anyone's reach.  Having manners and being kind is a simple choice that any of us can make.

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

Ireland Day 7

 Today we visited 2 awesome castles.  One was the Blarney Castle where many in our group made the climb to kiss the blarney stone.  Both castles are in fantastic condition.

we saw lots of swans in Ireland!

protrusions above the castle door where hot oil
and other nasty substances were poured onto enemies.

Best preserved castle in Ireland

view from the top of Blarney castle

Blarney castle stairway.  Ugg I had terrible
fear of heights, but I made it to the top
to kiss the stone!

Blarney Castle

One of the joys of visiting foreign lands is appreciating the amazing things that you see.  May we also get better at seeing and appreciating the things right here at home.

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

Ireland day 6

Today we drove the ring of Kerry.  It is a famous scenic drive in western Ireland.

beautiful scenic views

circle fort, bottom right.

cliffs of Kerry

stopped at a church.
they had the stations of the cross on display.

probably going to go down as one
of my favorite pictures from the trip

Unfortunately while we were visiting the cliffs of Kerry, a very large wind came up and literally blew three of our travelers off of their feet.  One landed on her knees and was ok.  One fell face first.  Her nose is broken and her hand is injured.  One fell and hit her head.  She was knocked out.  

Long story short... we fixed her up and cleaned her up.  While the bus when on to lunch,  a few of us took her to the doctor.  The doc checked her out and we met the bus and were on our way.  Later that night, the bleeding started again and we had to take her to urgent care where they got the bleeding to stop.  Then later to the hospital.

I am glad to tell you that she is now ok and seeming back to normal.

Oh, my how life can change in a short moment.

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

We also saw the cliffs of Kerry.  The cliffs of Moher were closed due to weather.

Ireland Day 5

We continue to see amazing sites.

Sometimes words cannot describe what you are feeling and seeing.

It was cold.  Gina Harris loaned me a scarf.

Visited a castle from the 1600's 
bedroom furniture from that time.

view from the castle down onto the plains
below.  Lots of sheep grazing.

Store in Irish town nearby.

Embry and Heck Methodist Church.
John Wesley Preached in this building.

tallest round tower in Ireland.

So it is odd to write a blog with words.  Sometimes words cannot capture what you are thinking and feeling.  We learn so much on these trips.

I thank God for the opportunity to go.

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

Ireland Day 4

We are enjoying the country and the guide.  We are learning a lot.  The people are friendly and the music is fantastic!

lots of sheep in Ireland.
It is very green.  It is called the Emerald Isle
because it is so green.  And it is so green because
as they say, they have two weather forecasts:
rain and it's going to rain.

lots of rain = lots of rainbows.

Shannon Bridge built 1757

I absolutely love visiting the old monasteries.

Another tall round tower to protect the
monks from the Vikings.

I love going on these trips.  The things that you see, the people that you meet, and the people that you travel with... it is all such a blessing.

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

Ireland Day 3

We visited Northern Ireland for the first time.  We learned about the civil wars and the difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

We saw some lovely churches.  

This church, was built in the 1400's.  It was partially destroyed by Henry the 8th and rebuilt in 1780.  John Wesley preached here.

This is a beautiful country!

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