fickleness

Ahh the fickleness of feelings.  Fickle is an old fashioned word.  It is defined as being characterized by erratic changeableness, or instability, especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious.  Now I want to look up capricious as well but I will leave that for another day.

Feelings are fickle.  They come and go.  You must have something, then you get it, and you no longer want it.  We throw something away and then we want it back.  Emotions have a great ebb and flow.

Emotions need to be managed.  We are not our feelings and we should not act solely on the feeling of the moment.  Each of us has jumped out in response to some thing and then wished later we had not said that, had not done that, had not pushed the send button.

God is great.  Our emotions tell us that.  Our brain tells us that.  When the wonder of thanksgiving is over, may we look past good feelings that may have come and gone.  May we remember that there is always something to be thankful for, whether we feel it or not.

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

interesting story....

Jeff

I just had to share this with you --- I have been an active advocate for children for almost 25 years and just recently resigned my volunteer position as Vice President of the PTA.  I was just standing in my kitchen telling my husband about a family I talked to yesterday who is homeless. The daughter was at school  -- Junior High age.  She was sitting in the hallway waiting for her mother to pick her up.  The principal walked up and said, "Oh look at the homeless girl."  Multiple people heard. I have been praying about how I wanted to tackle this issue without making things worse for the girl, but have to be her advocate.  So... as I am telling my husband this story my phone beeps letting me know I have a email.  The email is your blog .... well you know what your blog says ..... God at work if you ask me!  Now  using your words  -- you can decide if that is a good story or not -- but it is a true story.

L

On Nov 21, 2013 7:12 AM, "Can you hear the birds sing?" <jeffb@woodschapelchurch.org> wrote:

Can you hear the birds sing?

---

your voice Posted: 21 Nov 2013 02:30 AM PST You have a voice.  Will you hear me?  Will you listen to my words?  Stop discounting yourself.  You have a voice that needs to be heard.  You know what to do.  You know what to say.  Intrinsically inside of yourself, you know that you can lead.  Do it.  Stand up.  Get your licks in for Jesus. If you don't lead, who might do it?  The ranks of leadership are sometimes filled by those who fall into the position because no one else would do it.  Don't let that happen.  You are a leader. You have a voice. This is your time.  This is your moment.  You are needed. It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

things to say

Happy Thanksgiving.  Today is the day. 

It is a happy day for me today because all of the kids will be home.  :-)

Thanksgiving is a day when most people think of family.  And often, family that are no longer with us.  There is a bit of melancholy to this, but I want to use that feeling to make a point. 

Today you will have a chance to say some very important things to members of your family.  Some of them may not be at thanksgiving next year.  Take the opportunity that you have to say some of the most important words of living:

• I am sorry.
• I forgive you.
• I love you.
• Thank you.
• Good bye.
• I love you. [its in the list twice on purpose.]

Happy thanksgiving!

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

head, heart, soul

Christians begin with head knowledge.  A simple belief, an acquiescing to the claims of the gospel.    A list of beliefs in one's head that one agrees to.  You are now a believer.  John Wesley called this the faith of a servant.

Stage two for Christians we like to call heart knowledge.  A sense that we are loved, that Jesus died for us.  This is something that we can feel.  It has moved from our heads to our hearts.  There is more joy and more compassion in this stage.  Fear is replaced with trust.  John Wesley called this the faith of a son.

Some people gain heart knowledge and then poo poo the time that they had only head knowledge.  Wesley looked back on the earlier stage of his life and did not discount his early experience.  One was simply faith as a servant and the latter the faith of a son.  Don't ever discount your early experience of Christ.  We never arrive, we should always be growing.

Mystic and contemplative Christians have talked about another kind of relationship with God.  An intimacy, a union, a joining, a being lost in the soul of God.  A falling into the mystery.  Two souls intertwined in ways that defy explanation.  Almost as if a person's soul has brushed up against the divine.  Moses' face glowing from being in the presence.  Elijah sensing God walk by.  Jesus hearing the voice of his Father.  The transfiguration.

I can talk about head knowledge and I can talk about heart knowledge.  Soul knowing is hard to explain.  But I think it is something that we can continue to pursue.  It's being at home with God.  Complete trust.  Union with God.  An amazing topic indeed.

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

New rules

I believe that I read this in one of Peter Rollins' books. 

We know the story of Jesus asking the people to turn the other cheek and go the second mile.  It was a law in Roman times that a soldier could ask you to carry his pack for a mile.  Jesus said, "go the second mile."

So the story is told of a disagreement between two groups of Christians.  One group insisted that Jesus meant that you should always be helpful, always kind, always going out of your way for others.  The other group insisted that they only had to turn the cheek once and that they only had to carry the pack for two miles.

Based on Jesus teaching, the second group has advocated for Jesus based rules that ultimately make our lives about ourselves again.  The law has returned.

Be careful of "spiritual" rules that protect your ability to be selfish.  The true rules of Christ throw us head long into giving our selves away for the sake of others.  "I was hungry and you fed me," is not just something for the holiday season.  The life of Christ beckons us to follow every single day.

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

back problem resolved

I have had back problems for years.  I have taken celebrex, done exercises and complained.  Well, I may have found the culprit.  Some years ago my wife upgraded cars to a 2004 Nissan Maxima.  At that time I inherited her 2005 Civic.  We can't get rid of the Civic, even though it has 133,000 miles on it, because it is the most dependable car we have ever owned.  It has a long life ahead of it.

A few weeks ago I drove 240 miles one day and another 260 the next.  My back was killing me.  I got to wondering if it had anything to do with the seat in the Civic.  The car is a great car, but the seat is pretty basic.  It has no lumbar support.

Coincidentally I was at a friends house after one of these long drives and my back was sore.  They had an extra lumbar pillow.  That did not quite do it, so I took a book off of the passenger seat and added it to the support.

Perfect design!  My back is healed.

Here is the funny thing.  The book that I used was from a class that I was in with 28 pastors.  Everyone hated the book.  It was so technical and so theologically painful.  Now, it is put to good use everyday and I have been pain free for weeks.

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

Thankful

This week holds the holiday called Thanksgiving.  A day of giving thanks.  This is the week of thanksgiving.  An entire week where we are thankful.  This is the month of thanksgiving.  An entire month when we are thankful.

Is that enough?  Is that the point?  Does the rest of the year belong to us?  Did we do our bit for God by saying thank you, and then take the rest of our life back for ourselves?

How about a year of thanksgiving?  How about a life of thanksgiving?  How about we start this life philosophy today?

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

I thought of this story the other day

A father asked his 12 year old daughter to mow the back yard.  She did a pretty good job it seemed.  She finished and put the mower away. 

The dad figured that all was well since the daughter was watching TV and texting on her phone.  He looked outside at the back yard and noticed that there was a small section that was left un-mowed.

The dad had been having a bad week and this was just the last straw.  He started in on his daughter about the small area that she had left un-mowed.  The daughter tried to explain, but the dad was so angry that he did not give her a chance to speak.

[this is not a good place to be as a parent]

The dad went to the garage, got the mower out and headed for the back yard.  He started the mower and began working on the section of long grass.  When he got close to the middle, he stopped.  He let go of the handle and the mower died.  There, right in the center of the un-mowed section was a box turtle.  The turtle was camped out, taking it easy in the back yard.

The dad started to cry.  He felt ashamed.  He went inside and found the daughter.  She had been watching through the window.  She was crying too.  The dad apologized.

The moral of this story?  There are several.

Sometimes you have to break the rules to keep from hurting people.
Don't be so sure of yourself.
Think before you speak.
Maybe someone that you will be dealing with today has run across a turtle.

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

on being patient

It is difficult to be patient.  We want this thing to go our way.  We have an idea about how the thing ought to go.

Sometimes things are not in our control. Sometimes we have to be patient.  Patience is one of the fruits of the spirit.

Here is something that I think I know:  When  a thing is right, it will work out that way, when a thing is not right, it usually won't. 

Sometimes what I want to happen is not the right thing.  We all have to make peace with things that are beyond our control.  In a few weeks, it will all probably pass along in the river of forgetfulness.

Patience, its a virtue.

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

your voice

You have a voice.  Will you hear me?  Will you listen to my words?  Stop discounting yourself.  You have a voice that needs to be heard.  You know what to do.  You know what to say.  Intrinsically inside of yourself, you know that you can lead.  Do it.  Stand up.  Get your licks in for Jesus.

If you don't lead, who might do it?  The ranks of leadership are sometimes filled by those who fall into the position because no one else would do it.  Don't let that happen.  You are a leader. You have a voice.

This is your time.  This is your moment.  You are needed.

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

a person to be sought

Last week I went looking for someone.  Someone who is solid, dependable and true.  I called them and asked if they had time to meet.  I hoped that they did.  And, not surprising to me, they met me.

In this life, you will meet great people.  People that get it.  People that you can count on.  People that will drop everything and come up to the church office to sit with you.  You have know them for years and you know that they have your back.

Keep an eye out for exceptional people. They are all around you and they will join you in the great effort of the Kingdom of God.  Look for them.  Call to them.  Invest in them.  Enjoy them.  They are all around you, more of them than you might think.

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

what drives a person?

Some people are driven by hatred.  By what they are against.  By what they are mad about.  They spend their lives reacting to things that they don't like.  It is easier to be against something than for something.

I think that most of us have been there at one time or another.

But there is a better way.  What if we live our lives, focusing on what is good instead of what is bad?  What if we spend our lives celebrating what is right instead of focusing on what is wrong? 

Gosh it just seems to me that life will be more joyful and peaceful if we can see the good and give thanks for it. 

It's just a simple choice, a turn of the mind, a change of the brain direction.  A chance to focus on what is positive, to focus on grace.  Lets keep working on this.

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

skunk

The other day I was driving down 291 and I was changing lanes.  65 mph and I am moving over into the slow lane because my exit is coming up.  I notice in the road, right in between the lanes, is a dead skunk.  Flat, smashed, squished, skunk.  Flat as a pancake.  He looked much like the one in this picture.

Well, I am not worried about this.  I don't even try to avoid him.  After all, I am going 65 mph and how stinky can he be as flat as he is?

I did not even feel him as the truck rolled right over him.  But let me tell you what, there was plenty of stink left in that flat skunk.  My truck smelled like a skunk for the rest of the day. 

Lesson learned.

There are some things in life that are just stinky.  Dangerous things that need to be avoided.  See them for what they are and avoid them.  A skunk is a skunk is a skunk.

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

visitors

There are going to be visitors at church today.
Will you find them?
Will you be able to recognize them?
Will we even slow down enough to notice?

Do you remember your first time at Woods Chapel or at your church?
Today is someone else's first time.

Look for them.
smile at them.
Talk to them.
Welcome them.
That is what Jesus would do.

"I was a stranger and you took me in."

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

lame

Guys like sports.  They all secretly want to be professional athletes.  Well, that did not work for me, and it does not work for most people.  I played softball as long as I could, and then, I resorted to bowling.  Does that sound lame?

Some would say so.  Well, I just want to keep active.  Last night I bowled my all time high game...
228.

That is very exciting.  Good friends, a good time and a good memory.  The problem of course with a high score is that only a higher one will beat it. There is always a little bit of pressure around the corner.

Life is good.  Let's keep at it.  No matter how seemingly simple or lame the endeavor, lets keep at it.  All of us still have a high score within us.

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

that one chord

I taught myself how to play the guitar when I was in seminary.  I bought a chord book and learned the basics.  Now I say that "I taught myself to play" - real guitar players would dispute this.  In fact many that heard me play today would wonder if I taught myself how to play.

I used to play in church.  I used to sing too.  Anytime the special music did not show up in the old days, I would pick a hymn from the hymn book and the pianist would play and I would fill in.

Over the years I stopped doing this.  We have so many good singers, so many good guitar players. 

You know, that is probably wrong.  I would advise all of you to keep playing and keep singing.  Even if you have one chord that never sounds quite right.  We have to keep playing.

I should take my own advice.  Maybe coming to you soon at WCC- an old guy trying to play the guitar and sing.

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

somebody told me

I thought of an old song the other day.  I knew it and sang it as a youth. 

When I was a young pastor I was invited to speak at a revival on an Indian reservation.  Almost sounds like I am making this up, but I am not.  They asked me to speak on the topic of "prayers, presence, gifts and service."  I guess they figured that the Indians needed more of that.

A few older ladies came up to the revival arbor and listened.  Most of the people sat off from the arbor.  They sat at picnic tables and on the porches of their cabins, listening over the loudspeakers and drinking cheap wine.  Sounds like I am making this up, but I am not.

At the end of my sermon, I decided to sing a song for them.  [Lord only knows why] The song has this one guitar chord that is difficult for me to play.  I struggled through the song.  I am sure my guitar playing sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard to them.

The song was "somebody told me."  For some reason, I thought of that song this morning.  I still can't play that one chord.  Here are the words:

Somebody told me of the joy they'd had.
Somebody told me that in sorrow you could be glad.
Somebody told me, they were blind but now they see.
I didn't think it could be til it happened to me.

Now let me tell you of the joy I've had.
Now let me tell you that in sorrow you can be glad.
Now let me tell you, I was blind but now I see.
I didn't think it could be til it happened to me.

No, I didn't think it could be til it happened to me.

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

thankful

When I was a child we would sit at the thanksgiving table and my dad would ask us a question.  Each in turn around the table was invited to answer this: "what are three things that you are thankful for?"

It was very uncomfortable because I was not yet accustomed to the gift of gratitude.  We would circle the table and awkwardly mention that we were thankful for our brothers and sisters, which of course, was not true.

But, thank God, today I am much more thankful.  Thankful for 100 things.  For 1,000 things.

Here are my three things for today.
1.  for my wife and children
2.  for my friends
3.  for a loving church family

What are you thankful for?  I would like to know if you have three things that you are thankful for.

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

welcome

I will never forget the welcome extended to me by this church.  I hope that you have felt welcome at WCC.

Sunday I am going to be speaking on the power of "welcome."  Would you mind sharing your story with me about your experience at WCC?  Were you welcomed?  Were you not?

Hopefully you certainly feel welcome now.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, and you are graciously welcomed into this day, be sure to see the good.

your comfort zone

Your comfort zone.  You have one, I have one.  We would prefer to live within our comfort zone.  However, usually the needs of others lie outside of our comfort zone.  We have to change our schedule, our plans and our temperament to meet the needs of others.  We have to make ourselves uncomfortable to do much of what God would ask us to do.

It's like the Holy Spirit lives just beyond the edge of our comfort zone.  Do you want to be used by God?  Do you want to make a difference for Him?  Then prepare to be asked to leave your comfort zone.  Are you willing?

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

is something bothering you?

Is something bothering you?  I know a few people who have really bad things going on, things that would bother anyone.  But most of the rest of us are bothered by things that are really not that critical.

How many minutes, how many days in a life time do we spend bothered by things that a short time later, we have forgotten? 

Don't sweat the small stuff.  Life is short.  Life is good.

Don't waste a moment worrying, when you could have used that moment celebrating.  Don't waste a moment sad over something that is not that important.  Jesus asked us not to worry. 

Let's see the good.  It is all around us.  It will remain when that which bothers you falls away.

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

your appointment

This is probably more for my pastor friends, but here goes.......

I am speaking to some pastors today about pastoral care issues.  One of the things that I have watched over the years is what happens when pastors are protective of "their" turf.  Yes, it is "their" church.  They are in charge.  It is "their" pulpit.  The Bishop assigned them to that church.

You are going to get requests to have some other pastor perform the wedding.  The family will want someone else to do the funeral.  It may hurt your feelings.  You have the power to tell them "no."  But just because you can, does not mean that you should.

I have watched many pastors shoot themselves in the foot by insisting that the floor was theirs, the pulpit was theirs, the attention was theirs.  You cannot insist that people love you.  It just does not work.

Once upon a time, a teenager was killed in a car wreck in a particular town.  The Methodist pastor was brand new.  The family asked if the new pastor would allow the old pastor to come do the funeral.  That new pastor said, "no."  The family move the funeral out of the Methodist church to the school.  Someone else did it and after it was over, 5 families left the Methodist church.  That pastor was only there one year.  It was a one moment disaster for that pastor.  One bad decision ruined that appointment.

Bottom line, it is not my pulpit, not my church, not my ministry.  It all belongs to Jesus.  I need to be willing to share.  It is healthy to share.  Share the moment, share the love, share it all.  It is the best way.  It is the only way.

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

comments

Several have asked about why their comments on the blog have not been posted.

Some of you get the blog via email and your comments come to me in an email form.  When this happens, the comment is between you and me and there is no way for me to post it easily.  Writing a daily post is enough of a chore without having to cut your comments from an email and paste them into the comments section.  Just know if you are replying to an email form of the blog, that will be between us.

When comments are posted on the blog site, they can be easily posted, but they do sit there until I read them and moderate them.  I almost always post all of these.  Unless you ask me not to do so.  It may take several days for me to read them, but I will get around to posting them. 

I hope that helps.

And by the way, it is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

sermon from the movie "the tree of life"

I watched the movie The Tree of Life again last night.  A show that really makes me think.  There is a church scene towards the end, and a preacher delivers this sermon.  I wanted to share it with you.

Job imagined he might build his nest on high – that the integrity of his behavior would protect him against misfortune. And his friends thought, mistakenly, that the Lord could only have punished him because secretly he’d done something wrong. But, no, misfortune befalls the good as well. We can’t protect ourselves against it. We can’t protect our children. We can’t say to ourselves, even if I’m not happy, I’m going to make sure they are.  

We vanish as a cloud. We wither as the autumn grass, and like a tree are rooted up.
Is there some fraud in the scheme of the universe? Is there nothing which is deathless? Nothing which does not pass away?
We cannot stay where we are. We must journey forth.
We must find that which is greater than fortune or fate. Nothing can bring us peace but that.

Is the body of the wise man, or the just, exempt from any pain? From any disquietude, from the deformity that might blight its beauty, from the weakness that might destroy its health?
Do you trust in God?
Job, too, was close to the Lord. Are your friends and children your security? There is no hiding place in all the world where trouble may not find you. No on knows when sorrow might visit his house, any more than Job did.

The very moment everything was taken away from Job, he knew it was the Lord who’d taken it away. He turned from the passing shows of time. He sought that which is eternal. Does he alone see God’s hand who sees that He gives, or does not also the one see God’s hand who sees that He takes away? Does he alone see God who sees God turn His face towards him? Does not also he see God who sees God turn his back?

May you find God, even in the difficult moments of life because it is a beautiful day in God's world, even if we face trying times.

I'm over that

There is an odd sensation that I am experiencing.

I find a thing and it becomes my favorite.  My favorite meal, my favorite song, my favorite something.  I can't imagine that my feelings for this thing will ever change.  I just love it and savor it over and over.  A roast beef sandwich at
Subway.  The song "Into the Mystic."

Then one day, the feeling changes.  It still is a great song or a great movie, but it has fallen from the top of my charts.  What was once something that I could not live without has now slipped.  I am just over it.

Odd human sensation.  I guess its ok to feel this way.  but it sure is cool to have a movie or a song or a meal that you just love........am I the only one that this happens to?  Mmm that sandwich still looks good.

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

ouch

Well I am going to be honest and this is a difficult topic.

I was very happy to be out of town for the weekend.  It was great to have a few days away.  [See yesterday's post.]

Then I came back to hear that several people came to church, entered the sanctuary and then left when they found out Jeff was not preaching.  Walked in the door, entered the sanctuary, then left to go home.  Didn't even stay. 

What?  I can't believe it?  Woods Chapel people did this?

This breaks my heart.  Imagine how the other person would feel that was preaching that day.  We have excellent substitutes.  And when did church become about listening to Jeff.  If this place is no bigger than who the pastor is that is preaching, we have a good deal left to learn.

Let's start over.  A church is more than it's pastor.  When you join, you join the family, not the pastor.  When you join, you agree to support it all.  You join it, warts and all.

Friends, I need everyone to be there for everyone.  We must all be in this together.  Everyone matters.  Every member of the body matters.  Please do not walk again.  Ever.  Every time you sit down in God's house there is a blessing in store, regardless of who is praying, singing or preaching.

This is the house of God, and we are all his children.  I love you all.  Thanks for listening.

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

happy anniversary

Friday it was Cathy and my wedding anniversary.  We had the fortunate opportunity to be on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.  We sat outside and ate sushi at Sushi-Siam at the Lincoln Road outdoor shopping area.

A great gal, a warm evening, great food, outdoors, on November 1st.  It was great!  Thanks for allowing us to get away.

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

the eyes

Someone once said, "the eyes are the window to the soul."

When you see a person, what do you see?  They are tall, short, thin, bald, brown, white, old or young.  Is that really them?   Are those really the things that make us us? 

I recently met about 30 new friends all at once at a training.  For the most part, they were a very welcoming, very loving group of people.  They would look you in the eye and you could feel the love.  So the eyes are the window of the soul.

It is odd, but sometimes its like you can look right into a person just by looking into their eyes.  You can sense the goodness coming out of them.  Is that weird?  I don't think so, because I am not the first one to notice this.

We are not our skin color or our age.  We are all living souls.  God bless us.  The next time you see someone, really look into them.  See the good.  Send them your love.  Share a warm moment with a friend.  Life is good and to love others is a really blessing.

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

grateful

So here we are in the month of being thankful.  I love to dedicate the month of November to the cause of giving thanks. 

I have a friend who has posted something every day that she is thankful for.  Every day this year.  Let's find something to be thankful for every day this month.  If we get in the habit, it can become a life style.  A life style of giving thanks.  It does not get any better than that.

I may not post everything I am thankful for, but I am going to think about it every day. 

Yesterday was All Saints Day.  Today I am thankful for my friends and loved ones who lived the life, fought the good fight and have laid hold of eternal life.  So many of them have been a great blessing to me.  I give thanks for their lives, their example, and the memories that I have of them.

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

2 hurts

I have had two of you on my mind the last couple of weeks.  Both of you sent me emails about a hurt that you have experienced recently. 

How I wish I could scoop you up in my arms and make it all ok.  I am so sorry for what has happened.  One circumstance I know, the other person's I don't.  But I feel for both of you.

I know what it is to hurt and I have had many days when I wish someone would come and fix my life.  I want you to know that I love you.  Let's keep at it.  Together we can get there.  You are not alone.

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