we are all going to die

Some folks are terrified about the virus.  The flu is not as deadly, but it is deadly.  Yet in past years, we all kept running around, not so worried about getting the flu.

I understand the seriousness and the danger of this virus and I grieve with every family that has lost a loved one.  But, at some point we are all going to be exposed to Covid19 if we haven't been already.

When we get it, some of us will die.  You will recall that I have sarcoidosis, a chronic lung disease that is currently in remission.

We are all going to die of something.

Personally, I would rather live than live in fear.  I am glad to be able to have friends over.  I am glad to go out to eat.  I can't wait to get back to church.

Life is beautiful.  If you need to stay home, then stay home, but there is a life out there to be lived and it is not going to last forever.

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.” Is 40:6-8

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

back to normal

My house was toilet papered last night.  I quickly rolled up the paper, took it to the bank and I am using it as collateral on a second home.
[it's a joke.]

The picture attached to this post was taken on Wednesday of this week at Lowes at about 11am.  An entire pallet of highly sought after Scott Comfort Plus TP.  Please note that they had been open for 5 hours and it was still there.  Also note that there is no crowd of people rushing to grab up the much needed first world product.

Things must be getting back to normal.   And I personally am glad to see it.  Restaurants open, people going back to work, toilet paper on the shelves.  Now that is a beautiful day in God's world.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

a handshake and or a hug

I can't speak for everyone of course, but during this pandemic, staying at home thing, I am missing hand shakes and hugs.

When we open back up, when I see you, I just want you to know that I am good for a handshake or a hug.  If you are not ready for that, I totally understand and I want to respect your space.

But for me, I am ready for a hug and a hand shake.  Just let me know what you are up for.

I love you and I miss you all!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

an old saying

"Where values are present, no rules are necessary. 
Where values are not present, no rules will help."

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to Jsbrink57@gmail.com

why the homeless are homeless

So, lots of people judge homeless people.  Go get a job, they say.

So let me give you a little background.  Every church that I have ever attended in my life, and that is around 16 [I counted] every church that I have ever attended, helped the homeless, the marginalized.  We would load up our cars with stuff, drive to where they were, give them the stuff, and then drive back to where we lived, get out of our cars, and go back into our nice safe, air conditioned homes.

One of the things that I love about being a part of the church in Ft. Pierce, is that it is in old down town Ft. Pierce.  I see homeless people every day.  Some of them attend our church on Sunday [when we still had live worship before the pandemic.]  On my first Sunday at Ft. Pierce, during the greeting time, I turned around to shake hands and the guy behind me, clearly homeless, shook my hand and said, "hello, my name is Steve, welcome to my church."  I loved it.

Now, back to why most homeless are homeless.  This may not be true everywhere, but what I have seen of the folks that I have met at Ft. Pierce, 95% of them have some mental issue.  Low IQ, damage from drugs, fetal alcohol syndrome, who knows what else.  The few that remain are homeless for some other reason.  I had breakfast with one of the "guys" before the pandemic who is very normal [no mental issues] and he talked for an hour.  He told me his entire story.  It was heart breaking.  His story made the problems of my childhood sound like a fairy tale.  I can remember thinking.... I might be homeless and drifting if that was my story too.

Any way, let's not be so quick to judge those who are in the alleys, the parks and the gutter.  They may be there for no fault of their own.  The issue isn't whether or not they deserve help, the issue is that they need help.  For crying out loud it only cost me $3 to buy Steve breakfast.  It only cost me a sandwich.  It only cost me a little time.

Anyone who gives a cup of cold water in Jesus name will surely not lose their reward. Mark 9:41

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

don't help the homeless

There are people that suggest that we should not help the homeless.  They are just going to buy a bottle of wine with the money. 

Well, let me ask you my dear friend, if you and I were going to spend a night under a bridge, wouldn't you want to have a bottle of wine?

When the homeless guys at our church wanted the church open earlier on Sundays so that they could shower, some thought it was a bad idea.

Sure, I guess you can help homeless people too much, but most people that I know, don't help enough.  Friends, it is much better to help one time too many, and be taken advantage of, then to not help enough and leave legitimate needs of God's people unmet.

I have written before about going to the park on Monday mornings with my friend Dick to deliver sandwiches to the homeless.

Every week, they say thank you.  And it is not an obligatory thank you, it is a sincere, THANK YOU!  Every week someone asks for two.  Every week when we ask, "Good morning, would you like a sandwich?"  Someone says, "OH, YES, PLEASE, I AM SO HUNGRY."  And you should see the looks in their eyes, it would break your heart.

Sure, there are fake homeless people that stand on the corner to collect money.  But don't let the few bad ones jade your heart from helping the needy.  There are many many needy, hungry people who live food scarce lives and I think we should help them much more than we do.

1 John 3:17 says,
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?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

overdoing kindess part 2

So I often search the web for pictures to go with blog posts.  Sometimes I get them wrong, as when my dear friend pointed out that my picture of a 56 Impala was actually a picture of a 1962 Impala.

When I was looking for a picture for yesterday's blog, I did not find one, but I did find a web site that suggests that people that are overly kind are messed up.

Here is what they said about people that are too nice, too kind:

1.  People that insist that they are too nice, rarely are.
2.  They have a martyr complex.
3.  They can be manipulative.
4.  They don't allow themselves to be fully human.
5.  They are on drugs
6.  They are annoying
7.  They are not honest

Just so you know that I am not making this up, here is the link to the web page about 7 reasons to be wary of nice people.
https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/4920/7-reasons-wary-overly-nice-people/

Now, in response to these seven ridiculous thoughts, I share the following.

1.  You may not think I am really nice, but I don't care.  I am just going to keep being nice- every day in every way that I can.  I don't care if you don't believe my kindness.  Keep watching, in time you will get it that there are people that are genuinely nice.  I strive to be one of them.

2.  A martyr complex.  No, probably not.  I just believe that being kind is the good stuff.  I am not a martyr.  Ride in a car with me sometime and you can see by my driving that I am not a martyr.  Sure I want people to like me, but kindness goes beyond that.  Kind people are kind to people who will never learn their name.

3.  Manipulative.  Hmm.  I am not kind to you to get you to do something.  I am kind to you because I love people, because it makes me happy to be kind and because it is why we are here on this earth.

4.  Not fully human.  Ha ha ha!!!  I think the most fully human, most healthy humans are those who seek to follow kindness.  Kindness is the innate sense of purpose within all of us.

5.  On drugs.  No.  Bourbon from time to time, but not drugs.  Sorry, #5 just shows me that the author of this web site does not understand the purpose of life.

6.  Annoying...  I hope that I am not annoying.  The person behind the counter that I am nice too, probably appreciated that I was nice to them.  The person sitting on the concrete outside of the Dollar Tree that I gave $5 to did not think that I was annoying.  He popped up and went into the store to buy something to eat.  The guys in the park that we deliver sandwiches to did not think we were annoying.

7.  Not honest.  I don't even know what to say about that.  I help people because I like to do it.  It is fulfilling.  If someone thinks that there is something less than honest about being kind, that is their problem in their head.  Being kind is just good stuff.

Honestly, I feel bad for the person that wrote this web page.  I hope that one day they wake up and find the joy in helping a neighbor.  May all of us continue to wake up and embrace a life of kindness.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

overdo kindness

During New Testament times, the Romans forced people to carry the backpacks of Roman soldiers for a mile.  Imagine how people hated to do anything for the foreign occupying Romans!!!  To this law, Jesus added a thought of grace.  The Romans were humans too.  Let's show some kindness, even to the Romans!

Going the extra mile is something that Jesus taught his followers.  So I guess if we consider ourselves Christ followers, we might think about being overly kind.

Some have suggested that being too kind is a sign of weakness, of low self esteem, of trying to prove our worth by being overly kind.

I suggest that being kind is the root of Christianity.  Without it, what do we have?  Without kindness, who are we?  Without kindness, what is our christianity [little c] really about?

Some have made a new law out of going the second mile.  They will help the second time, but that is all.  I suggest that we go the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth mile, and so on.

"Always be a little kinder than necessary." J.M. Barrie

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

I am special

It sounds funny to say... I am special.  Humble people are not supposed to say things like that.  Yet, we all know that we are special to God.

Enough of that.  I have a funny story.
Since the pandemic, I have been shopping for instacart and I have spent lots of time in grocery stores. One of the new innovations in the grocery stores is that the lights in the freezer cases are motion sensitive.

It used to be that when the stores were open, the lights in the freezer cases were on all the time.  Now, when you walk down the aisle, they turn on.  Magically, and just for me!  I am the only one on the aisle and I am not even stopping, but as I walk down the aisle, the lights come on, one after the next after next, as if I were some kind of a king.

It makes me feel special!

Next time that you are having a down day, Go to the grocery and walk up and down the freezer aisle.  Allow the lights to pop on, just for you.  It will make you feel special!

Now if we could just get them to start playing some music!

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Julian of Norwich = no wrath in God - good thoughts in a pandemic

I read Richard Rohr's devotionals almost daily. Last week he wrote about Julian of Norwich. 1343-1416.

Author and Episcopal priest Mary Earle explores the difficult questions that beset individuals during Julian’s time as well as our own. She writes,

In a social and cultural context [the fourteenth century was] so saturated with suffering and death, it is no wonder that many believers interpreted the plagues of those times as clear signs of God’s anger with humanity. (Certainly, we still see vestiges of this way of interpreting events) . . . The underlying theology draws on a medieval doctrine known as substitutionary atonement . . . [which] held (as it still does today) that because of our many sins, we owe God a debt we can never repay—our burden of debt is so vast and we are finite. That is why Jesus, by dying on the cross, offers himself . . . as a sacrifice in order to satisfy the Father’s wrath. It is easy to see how this theology in its crudest form evolved into a belief in an angry and vengeful God, visiting humanity with punishing events. [1]

Thus in Julian’s day popular devotional art often depicted horrific scenes of the Last Judgment, scenes in which souls were being cast into hell, tortured endlessly by devils. Laymen and [lay]women of the fourteenth century would have constantly been wrestling with the “Why?” of suffering and the wrath of God. . . . When someone receives a terminal diagnosis, or a sudden death occurs, or a natural disaster devastates a region, the first question that occurs is usually, “Why me?”. . . The context out of which Julian writes, although in some ways so remote from our own, is one full of universal questions and themes. . . .

One of Julian’s most radical insights, with which I fully concur, is that there can be no wrath in God. Mary Earle continues,

Julian’s radical insistence that we know there is “no anger in God” directs us all to look at ways in which we project our own bitterness, anger, and vengeance upon God. In a resolutely maternal way, Julian encourages us to grow up, to cast aside our immature and punitive images of God, and to be honest with ourselves about our own actions that have their roots in spiritual blindness. . . .

Julian tells us, again and again, in a variety of ways, that God is our friend, our mother and our father, as close to us as the clothing we wear. She employs homely imagery and language, the vocabulary of domesticity, to tell us her experience. At the same time, she demonstrates a degree of sophisticated theological language. Julian is firm and steady on these points:
God is One.
Everything is in God.
God is in everything.
God transcends and encloses all that is made.

The only point I would add to that list from my own study of Julian is that she really believes that God is Love.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

The theory of

We have all heard of the "theory of evolution."  Yet we talk of evolution as if it were a fact.  It is in fact, a theory.  That means that we really don't know.

Personally I am fine with micro evolution.   Small changes over time.  But I have trouble believing that one little amoeba became a fish, a bird, a pig and a human.  Somewhere I believe that God had a hand in creating different species.

The theory of evolution is a theory only.

Now let me slide over to theology.  There is the substitutionart theory of the atonement.  I have written about this many times.  This is the idea that God was mad and had to kill someone to get even.  So Jesus was our substitute.  While there is much evidence for this in the bible, it is not the only theory of atonement [how we are made right with God.] 

The original theory of the atonement was called the ransom theory.  God paid the Devil a ransom [Jesus] to get us back.  What a horrible teaching!!!  But it was the teaching for the first 600 years of the church.

The theory of the atonement that I subscribe to is called the moral influence theory.  It was first taught by Peter Abelard, died 1142.  This teaching suggests that in sending Jesus, God is showing us his love.  The cross is a sign of great love.  It is so moving, that it touches our hearts and changes us.  We not only come to love God, but we come to value ourselves and we come to live lives dedicated to loving others.  [That sounds like a Christ follower to me!]

Every thing that we have been taught about God is just a theory.  It is all someone else's ideas.  Just because I say something, does not make it right.  Just because your pastor stood up there shaking the bible and sweating during sermons, does not mean what they put in your head is right either.

Some Christians today have extra books in their Bible.
Some Christians believe that Jesus was a man that was adopted by God.
The rapture was not believed in prior to 1850.
Some Christians cast demons out of each other.

I want to keep it all simple.
Love God.
Love others.
That's it.

And to me, loving God and loving others feels like so much more than a theory.  It feels like the right thing, the good thing, the simple thing, the true thing.  It feels like something worth dedicating a life to.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Long car rides

For all of my complaints about my parents, they did some good things too.  When I was 8 we started the practice of annual family vacations.  My Dad loved to camp and so we went every year to national parks, west of Kansas City.

The first year we went to Yellowstone, but I have also seen Yosemite, the Petrified Forest, Brice Canyon, Crater Lake, Three Forks Montana, and about every other Park in the west.

My Dad had a 1965 Ford Fairlane, 2 door, which the five of us rode in on these trips.  Just the thought of three kids in the back seat trying to get along on those long drives makes me shake my head today.

Anyway,  along the way we would do all kinds of things to make the time go by.  We would count windmills.  We would make a list of license plates from various states.  We would play the a, b, c, game... "I am going to Yellowstone and I am taking an apple."  Then the next person says, "I am going to Yellowstone and I am taking an apple and a bear."  Etc.

Later, our family made such trips in the LTD station wagons with the rear seat.

My friend Georgia wrote about their family trips in the Ford Wagon...
"Our wagon had the rear seats that faced each other. My parents even had a foam pad cut to fit the back and we used to crawl around and play games, etc back there on long trips. That was before seat belts, of course. When we were fighting, one had to sit in the back seat, one in the far back and the really bad one had to sit up front between mom and dad!"

Anyway, I hated taking our kids on long trips, until the miracle of car TV's came into being.  Thank God, when we finally got a little TV and VHS player, the children were finally entertained.  Today of course, kids have ipads and telephones but I am sure that they still ask, "Are we there yet?"

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Peacocks

The church that I work at part time in Ft. Pierce is right in the center of the "Peacock Arts District."  Now I must be honest that some love having the peacocks around and some hate them.  The haters point to the poop which is everywhere.  The lovers of peacocks point to their beauty and the novelty of having them living in the midst of the city.  The peacocks have regular feeders that come by with food and water.  There are also many many who stop to take their photos.

They are fed so often by humans that it is not uncommon for them to strut up towards you expecting to be fed.  The males are big and their approach can be a bit unnerving.  They also like to eat bugs off of your car and fight with themselves in their reflection off of glass.

I guess I am a peacock fan.  I park in the grass lot across from the church and enter the back side [west door.]  This entire area is filled with peacocks.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't see
them.

Enjoy the photos...  beautiful things don't need an explanation.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

remember when

The post about going on a Sunday drive has conjured up a lot of nostalgic thoughts and stories.

My friend Dee wrote in about their family's Sunday drives.

We would go for a drive and stop for a Mugs Up Root Beer or an ice cream cone which we then ate in the car.  Our family car was a very cool blue and white 56 Impala.  We would sit there and watch the people go in and out of the store and our mother would make up stories about what they were there for . We listened carefully and sometimes laughed at what our mother came up with - nothing mean just funny. Simpler times.

Her story reminded me of our Memorial Days when the kids were young.  Leaving the house about 10 am, we would drive North on Sterling, turn left and drive through the Englewood district, left on 23rd Street and then enter the gate of Mt. Washington Cemetery.  After we visited the grave of my mom, and later my mom and dad, we would go out the north gate and hit the Dairy Queen on 24 highway.  What a treat to have the whole family together, driving along, eating ice cream.  It was the best of times.

Remember when?  Remember when...

And so I think of what we are doing now... picking up Applebees to go, delivering groceries, having church on line.  Some day we will say... remember when...

Although it is great to think back, don't wish today away reminiscing on the past.  Today is good too.  Today is great.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

a miracle

Something that I think is a miracle...

So, science knows so much.  We have learned so much.  But there are still some amazing hard to explain miracles in our world.

Take the example of a sperm and an egg.  Two cells come together.  Two.  TWO!

And what happens.  Some process turns on.  Multiplication begins.  But not multiplication of the same, multiplication in an amazing way.  Out of those two cells, eventually come skin, fingernails, a liver, eyes, a brain and more.  AMAZING!!!

Now science can tell me about DNA and such, but still... why?  how?  It is an amazing miracle.
It seems common to us, but it is incredible.

Bones, lips, eardrums and internal organs, all from two little cells.
God is great!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

what I get

Yesterday's post got me to thinking more about what I get out of a situation and what I bring to a situation.

Imagine a church, a company, or a family where everyone said, "what am I getting out of this."  Gosh what a terrible place that would be.  Me me me!!!  It's all about me!  Wahh, I'm not getting what I want.  It's not going my way.

Then imagine a church, a company or a family where everyone understands it is their responsibility to help and love one another.  The culture is healthy because everyone leans in to make the place
better.

This reminds me of the story of the long spoons. The allegory of the long spoons is a parable that shows the difference between heaven and hell by means of people forced to eat with long spoons.

The allegory can be summarized as follows:In each location, the inhabitants are given access to food, but the utensils are too unwieldy to serve oneself with. In hell, the people cannot cooperate, and consequently starve. In heaven, the diners feed one another across the table and their hunger is satisfied.

Who are you trying to feed in this life?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

finding a church

I had a dream the other night that I was helping someone find a church.  Here is some of the advice that I gave them.

1.  Find a church where you like the preacher.  Buy the preacher lunch.  Get to know them.

2.  If you don't like the preacher, that is still ok, there are so many other reasons to stay connected.  If you can't be closer to the preacher, find someone in leadership that you can be close to.

3.  Go to church with your friends.  Meet them. Have a cup of coffee before worship with them.  Sit with them during church.  Go to lunch with them afterwards.

4.  Get personally and actively involved in missions.  Giving to others makes us feel good and by the way, it is the reason that we are here on this earth.

5.  Give generously to your church.  Whether it is donations of food or money or both, give generously.  It will make you feel good.  In my dream, Woods Chapel had a ministry of re-purposing used irons and ironing boards.  I encouraged them to donate their old iron.  Go figure.  Aren't dreams funny?

6.  Go to a church that takes care of itself.  You know, where the walls are painted and the trees are trimmed.  Personally get involved in helping the church look good.

7.  Don't be so worried about what you are getting from church.  Be more concerned about how you are contributing to building a healthy culture.

8.  Stay with your church.  Don't quit the first time something happens that you don't like.  Be a positive voice.

If you are looking for a church, I hope this helps.  And maybe, your current church, should remain your church.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

fear

Let's talk for a moment about fear.
Fear is not a good thing.  When we feel it, well, it is just bad.
Not what we want.  Not what we prefer.

I have received many phone calls and emails in the last month that reflected the fear that many of you are feeling.

Ok.  So it is fearful times.  Things are different.  Things will never be like they were when I was 21.  It is odd times.  I need to prepare my adult children for a new normal.

Having said that, if we are going to face fearful times, I want to face fearful times with you.
Scott, Ginger, Paul, Dave, Bruce, Sherri, Nancy, Mary, Brian, Rory, Tyler, Steve, Roy, Sarah, I want to share fearful times with you.  And 100 others of you.  You guys make me feel like everything is ok.  Thank you for that.

To make someone feel ok, when times are difficult, is a gift indeed.

I hate fear. But I am better about it if you are here with me.

Let me know how I can be there for you.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

We humans are really smart

My goodness we humans have learned so much over the years. Sending a man to the moon. Splitting the atom. Cloning. Stem-cell research. We have learned a lot.

My friend Arlene shared this joke with me-

Once there was a group of scientists who decided that they could do anything that God could. So the scientists sent an emissary to talk with God about the whole thing. They plan to entrap God by having a "human- making contest." The scientists think that they have figured it all out and that they can create a human being faster and better than God can. God says to the scientist, "what will you start with? I start with dust." The scientist says that they will start with dust as well. God says, "Great, You go first" and the scientist bends over to scoop up some dust. At this point God interjects, "Oh no, that's my dust, you'll have to create your own to start with."

And so we are smart, but we are not as smart as we think that we are.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Prayer

I have come to dislike the way that many Christians pray.  I have come to dislike the way that I used to pray.  I no longer believe that God is a vending machine... put in enough prayers and you will get what you want.  What I do believe is that prayer changes me.  It makes me sweeter.  It makes me more aware.  It makes me less selfish.  It stretches my compassion.

With those thoughts in mind, I share this writing by John Pavlovitz that was sent to me months ago by my friend Linda. Get a hold of something now, this may mess with what you have been taught...

Here is his article...
I’ve been a pastor for twenty-five years and a Christian for most of my life, and I don’t think prayer works anymore—at least not in the way we people of faith often like to believe it does or claim that it does or how I used to teach that it does.

When someone we know or love or read about is gravely ill, we default to asking people to pray for their healing; more specifically, we ask others to ask God to heal them. We enlist people to take our cause (this sick person) to the Almighty.

I have asked for such prayers thousands upon thousands of times over the past two and a half decades. I’ve solicited my congregations to pray for children in accidents, young mothers with cancer, and teenage gunshot victims. We have held prayer vigils and extended our hands in church services and created online prayer chains and stood circled around ICU bedsides.

In countless moments I have privately and desperately petitioned God to bring miraculous cures, to reverse seemingly hopeless situations, to circumvent dire diagnoses, to move in a particular moment and a particular person.

I believed healing was possible—and I believed I could sway God with words to bring it. I don’t believe that any longer.

I understand why we do this.

Praying for people is a beautiful expression of care and solidarity, an effort to somehow stand beside someone in unthinkable trauma, to let them know that we love them and feel their urgency. In this way, prayer surely works. It lets people understand the depth of our concern for them, to allow them to feel a little less alone, to lift them emotionally and physically as they face the senseless suffering of this life. We should pray and let people know are praying for them; that we are pulling for them and thinking of them and standing in solidarity.

I believe prayer changes our hearts as we pray, it tethers us to one another, and it increases hope in otherwise hopeless situations—but I’m not sure it actually works to save sick people from death. That might not be a good thing if it did.

To contend that God heals when we pray for those who are terribly sick or physically damaged—is to imagine a creator who needs to be convinced. It is to paint an image of a God who, though already fully aware of the gravity of the situation and the worry of loved ones and reality of the injury—refuses to move until we ask him* to.

Prayer appeals almost become spiritual GoFundMe campaigns where we’re told that if we “just get enough people praying” healing will happen; that there is a magic number or critical mass that will move the Almighty in our favor. We feel the pressure to adequately make our case that a newborn baby or a teenager with cancer or a grandfather in a coma should get a reprieve. We essentially ask God to save them—from God.

The problem with prayer for someone’s healing—is that we have to make sense of the results. If the person lives, we somehow believe we have engineered their survival and need to process why our prayers were enough and the person’s in the hospital room next to ours weren’t. And when healing doesn’t come, we second guess whether we’d prayed hard enough or we lament that we didn’t enlist enough “prayer warriors” to effectively move God, or we try to figure out why our petitions failed. Either way, it’s not a healthy way to live.

This week we lost a dear family member at the age of twenty-three. He was a compassionate and kind and funny and brilliant young man. He’d been sick for much of his life and in matter of days he worsened and he passed. He was loved by thousands and his life touched countless people and the ripples of this life were changing the world. I prayed for him. An army prayed for him. He didn’t get better. I refuse to try and figure out what that says about God’s character or about our prayers. That isn’t a good use of our grieving. It’s simply tragic and horrible as a reality, and that’s enough.

I still ask for people to pray and I still pray, but I try to reorient my prayers these days.

I no longer believe in prayer as a cause-an-effect endeavor.
I don’t believe in a supernatural Santa Claus who dispenses life and death based on the conduct or heart of the recIpients.
I don’t believe in a God who withholds miraculous healing or compassionate care—until sufficiently begged by us to do so.

I believe prayer works by unlocking our empathy for others.
I believe it binds us together in relationship.
I believe it to be a beautiful expression of love for people who are suffering.
I believe it connects us personally to God in ways that cannot be quantified.
I believe it is a sacred act of kindness.

But I don’t believe prayer can change God’s mind about healing people we love—nor do I want it to.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

More Sunday Rides

My Friend Mike sent this in...

Your article about going for a drive made me wistful. When I was growing up, we would often go for a ride. It was a form of entertainment. Something affordable and a way to get out of the house. There was almost never anything new to see in our smallish town, but it was just a nice way to spend some time together. Sometimes on a hot summer evening, we would stop at the A&W drive-in for a cold root beer. That was special.

One of our neighbors had a black Labrador named Pepper, who walked around in a ragged sweatshirt. The family and Pepper would often go for a ride. Once in a while, they would come home, and Pepper would refuse to get out of the car. He wanted more ride. So everyone had to get back in the car and go until Pepper had enough ride.

I wonder if going for a ride was something my parents learned from their depression era life. They learned to appreciate simple things and knew that extended time spent with kids really mattered, even if it wasn't glamorous.

Now that I am old and my family is gone, I really appreciate them more than ever. How I miss them! How wonderful it would be to go for a ride again with them....

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Where were you born?

Happy Mother's Day.
Where were you born?

I was born in Kansas City.  At St. Luke's hospital on the plaza back when there was only one St. Luke's.  My parents were married.  They took me home in a car that they owned to a house that they [and the bank] owned.  I was fed three meals a day.

Los Pinos

Why was I born in Kansas City instead of Orel, Russia?  Or Nairobi, Kenya?  Or Los Pinos, Nicaragua?

Why did I get to go to college?
Why was I able to have children?
Why have I always had medical insurance?
Why can I see?

We have a lot to be thankful for.
Where were you born?
Why?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Giddy

On Monday I was giddy.

The restaurants are back open.  I ate breakfast at my favorite place in Ft. Pierce with two of my favorite people.  I am sure that I talked their ears off.

I helped Dick deliver sandwiches to the homeless folks.  One of my favorite things to do.

I gassed up for $10.

I went home and took a nap.

I had a couple of brews at Bobby's and got to see some of my friends.

Monday was great.  I was giddy.  The world has come back to life.

Now it is almost a week later, and I am not giddy.  It all already seems like old hat.  But it shouldn't.  Life should never feel like old hat.

If you can go to a restaurant, you are blessed.  If you have food, we should give thanks.  $1.75 gas?  In Europe gas is $7 a gallon.  We should be very grateful.

We Americans take so much for granted.  Just stop and think about the simple things that we enjoy.  Sometimes we think that we are owed them.  We are not.  They are all gifts of God.

That is why our lives should be filled with kindness and generosity.  We aren't owed any of it.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

The role of music in a person's life

I have become a big fan of the movie Yesterday.  It is about a musician who starts covering Beatles songs.  To his surprise, no one has ever heard any of their music before.  He is obviously a big hit.

Imagine a world without the Beatles.

And so I started thinking about songs that I enjoy.  Songs that make me feel good.  Songs that I have loved over the years.

Among the first songs that I remember listening to and liking were Easy Come, Easy Go by Bobby Sherman and Suspicious Minds by Elvis.

And then life moved on and I listened to a gazillion songs.
Bad Blood by Neil Sedaka
Sister Golden Hair
I hear you knocking
Anything Eagles
Anything James Taylor
Neil Diamond
CCR
BTO
The Moody Blues
Pink Floyd

Wow the gift of music in a person's life is amazing.
Today some of my favorites are:

Van Morrison, Into the mystic.
Zack Brown Band, Free
Luke Bryan, Drink a beer
Meatloaf, two out of three ain't bad
Brooks and Dunn, Neon Moon

Imagine a world without the Beatles.
Imagine a world without music.
It's just impossible.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

depression era

Several commented about the post about a Sunday drive.  One friend wondered if this was something that his parents learned in the "depression era."  That got me to thinking.  My parents grew up during the depression.  Times were different, very different.

Children were to be seen and not heard.
Dandelions were not weeds, but vegetables for dinner.
A rabbit or squirrel in the yard was not cute, but dinner.
You never talked back to your parents.
There were spankings and there was being "taken out behind the woodshed."
Clothes were homemade or hand me downs.
No one ever had new shoes.
You never complained.
People helped each other.
People fed each other.
Left overs were eaten.
Nothing was thrown away.
I remember my mother washing off aluminum foil and folding it for reuse.
There was, at least in my family, a general solemness about life.

Once when I was young, I was complaining about something.  My mother said, "You got shoes on your feet, a roof over your head, and three meals a day.  What the hell do you want?"  It took me years to understand that when she was young, she did not have those things.

So, pandemic or not, we really don't have much to complain about do we?
May we all focus more on what we have instead of what we don't have, what we have found instead of what we have lost.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

more first world problem issues

I friend of mine sent this in.  I love it!

A number of people have posted on Facebook about how upset they are that their vacation was cancelled. My fingers hovered over the keyboard keys. They trembled. I forced myself to scroll past. Because I wouldn't have made a positive comment.   Had I decided to comment, I would have posted FIRST WORLD PROBLEM! 

 Then the other day we ordered 2 pizzas in 2 different sizes (our son still lives with us). Like you, we wanted to show support to local businesses. When we opened them up, the smaller pizza was badly burnt. That was the one for my husband and I. I was instantly angry that anyone would let that go out of the shop. Our son said we should return it. But pizzas take time to cook and I was ready NOW for supper.  [hangry]  So I cut off the burnt parts and we ate the middle part. 

 As I had time to think about it, I was glad I didn't raise a ruckus at the pizza shop. I could imagine a young pizza employee putting the pizzas in at the same time, not thinking the smaller one would cook faster. I could imagine the young person being scared and upset and not knowing what to do when they saw the burnt pizza. I could imagine the young person boxing the pizza and hoping no one would notice, and being worried the next couple hours about a complaint. And then I could imagine the young person feeling great relief that nothing negative happened. I smiled. That's the story I would go with in my mind. 

 Be kind. In a non-pandemic world, I might have returned the pizza. But not this time.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

When is Cinco de Mayo?

Today is Cinco de Mayo. Cinco = five. Mayo = May. The fifth of May.

I love to ask people, "when is Cinco de Mayo this year?" Many people recognize it as a holiday but do not understand that it is date specific. Much like someone from another culture might hear that we celebrate a holiday called July 4th. If the words July and fourth don't translate well into their language, they might not know it was a specific day.

Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated very much in Mexico? Cinco de Mayo is actually a fabricated holiday for Americans to drink margaritas and have a party.

It is also not the Mexican day of Independence. That is September 16th. Cinco de Mayo celebrates a Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, May 5th 1862.

Anyway, today is Cinco de Mayo. When is it next year?

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Star Wars Day

Yes it is here again... Star Wars Day!

I remember when the original Star Wars movie came out.  I was 19 years old at the time and visiting my friends in San Jose, California.  I was there for two weeks.  I saw the movie seven times during that visit.

Why is today Star Wars Day?

May the Forth be with you!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

Sunday Drive

When I was a kid we went for a Sunday afternoon drive.
I never really understood it, but in some ways it was my parent's way of having a family.

This practice started in 1969 when my dad got a promotion at Ford.  As a part of his job, he had an LTD Country Squire station wagon as a lease car.

We would all load up in that car and go for a drive on Sunday after church.

I don't remember what we talked about, if anything at all, but it was good to get out.  It was good to think that we were doing something together.

After all of my difficult stories about my family, this is a good one.  At least as good as it gets for our family.

During this time of lock down, maybe you can get together with your peeps and go for a Sunday drive.

Everybody needs a little time together.  Everybody needs a little time away from the boredom of regular life.

Pile your family in the car and go for a Sunday drive.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

whiny baby

I was a whiny baby.

I usually work at the church on Monday and Thursday mornings.  I almost always stop at the Pot Belly Deli to pick up their $5 breakfast sandwich.  I do this because I like the sandwich and to help keep them operational during the lock down.  I also leave the server a $5 tip.

Well, I had been wanting to try the new Wendy's sandwich.  So I pull into Wendy's on Monday and order the sandwich with a large tea.  The sign said $5.58, but when I got to the window I was asked to pay $7.85.  I was a bit miffed about that but I didn't say anything.  I assumed that the large tea was a $2 add on to the meal that included a regular sized drink.

I pulled out of Wendy's and onto US 1.  About two blocks down the road I picked up the tea to take a drink.  I was thirsty!!! 

Oh yuck!  Yucky!  They gave me sweet tea!  Now I am mad.  I said nothing about sweet tea.  I don't drink sweet tea.  Ever.  I want to go back and exchange it, but who wants to wait in that line again.  Also, I have an appointment at church to get to.

Then it occurs to me... I am being a whiny baby.  These are first world problems.

Next time I am just going to go to the Pot Belly Deli and buy the sandwich there.  They know how I like it.  And it is all about me isn't it?

Here's to more days that are less about me and more about appreciating all of the good that we have.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

May Day

May 1st.
May day.

When I was a kid we would make paper flower holders in school.  Then after school we would pick flowers, take them and hang them on someone's door.  I always hung mine on the door of my next door neighbor, Mrs. Davis.

When I was a kid on May Day, we would dance [skip] around the May pole.  One year my mom decided to teach me how to skip.  Up to that time I had only been galloping. 

Today is May Day and we just got word that the restaurants and stores are opening back up!!!  I am ecstatic.  Let's cut flowers and give them to someone!!!  Let's dance around the Maypole.

Maybe life is going to take a step towards normalcy.

We have so much to be thankful for.

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

Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com