My brain doesn't always think right

If you’re like me you commonly find yourself thinking about things

maybe you are even stuck thinking on things that you shouldn’t be thinking about
I have always been a rule follower. I was raised by strict Lutherans to follow the rules. This morning I took a drive around the neighborhood and was frustrated and upset by two families in our neighborhood of 64 homes who just can’t follow the rules- trash cans are out visible and there’s usually piles of trash or construction debris just general junk out for everyone to see. I wanna knock on the door and say why don’t you move to a neighborhood that doesn’t have rules if you don’t wanna follow them here???

Later Cathy and I went to the beach. I read the sign of the rules no fishing no pets no alcohol. And when I immediately got out to the beach I noticed a lot of people fishing and a lot of people with dogs. And I thought why can’t people just follow the rules.

Then I got to thinking...
what is wrong with me?
Why do I care?
Do I wanna spend my life always looking and wondering why these people don’t follow the rules???
Maybe I should just listen to the waves and watch the sunrise.



it’s a beautiful day in God‘s world if we’re paying attention. Don't get sidetracked, be sure to see the good

buyer beware

So I was working in Jacksonville and needed to make a hotel reservation.  Two nights in Palatka, FL.

I Googled the Holiday Inn in Palatka.  That turned out to be a mistake.  I thought I was on the Holiday Inn website but I was not.  I was on a third party web site that looked just like the Holiday Inn website.  My mistake, and I was fooled.

Later, my boss told me that I only needed to be there for one night so when I got to the hotel, I tried to cancel the second night.  Oops sorry, you did not reserve through us so you must deal with the third party web site.  I called them.  I talked to someone who lives in another country.  Sorry sir, no refunds.

And to make it worse, they have a $50 per day fee tacked onto the hotel cost.  

Buyer beware.  When making hotel reservations, make sure you are on the correct web site.  Or call the hotel directly.

I don't like feeling dumb, but it does happen from time to time.

A few weeks ago I got a call from an Amazon rep.  Seems that someone had charged a $1200 iphone on my account.  They had flagged the transaction as suspicious.  They wanted to know if I had made the purchase.  NO!  I did not.  We talked for a bit longer, the fellow had a number of questions for me.  I was probably on the phone for 5 minutes when I realized that this was not Amazon, this was someone trying to get my personal information.  I hung up.

But for sure, in this day of electronic transactions, do not open any links in texts or emails that you don't recognize.  Do not send gift cards to friends who are stuck somewhere.  And do not book anything over a site unless you are certain that you are on the app or web page of the actual vendor.

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

a beautiful morning

A few weeks ago I was in Kansas City and I caught up with one of the men's groups.  Covid has made their meetings few and far between, but on this day they were gathered in person at one of the Lakewood pavilions.

Being from Florida, I had on every piece of clothing that I brought with me.  I also brought a blanket just in case.

Well, it was a delightful morning.  Hearts were warm.  Discussion was beautiful.  The sunrise was amazing.  I miss all of these guys so much.  I am so glad that they get together and stay connected.

I hope to get back to visit with them soon.

nobody does a sunrise like the Lord

left to right: me, Paul, Brian, Eric,
Adam, Bill, Michael, John and Jim

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

trips

As the pandemic comes under control several friends have reached out to me about getting back to travelling.

Some have asked to go to the Holy Land.  Some have asked to return to Italy.  Some want to go on a cruise or river cruise.

If you are interested in any of these trips, or have other ideas for trips, please let me know what your interest is and I will see what we can put together.

Many happy faces in the Pergamum amphitheater
on the Journeys of Paul trip.

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

Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

If a picture paints 1,000 words

 I love my friends.  Some of the best stuff that I get to post comes from them.  This picture is from John and Kathy Muller.

The symbolism is obvious...

I love this picture.

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

A workin man

My friend Dave has a steel company.  One of his jobs is near Jacksonville.  This week I got to go up to Palatka, FL and work on steel like the big boys do.  I was near an old coal fired power plant which is being replaced by a new power plant fueled by natural gas.

I loved the ambiance and I loved the work.  The weather was great!  Odd as it sounds, it made me very happy to be involved in this project.

New Natural Gas power plant under construction

Steel for the new plant that I worked on

Big steel toys!

Cooling tower

Old coal fired plant that is being replaced

Steel worker Jeff

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

You matter

My friend Joanne sent this in...

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

Visit to Jacksonville

So ten years ago, Jenny's fiancé tore his achilleas tendon.  He spent a lot of recovery time on a knee scooter.  I drove up to Jacksonville to pick up the scooter for Scott to use and to see my daughters.

The five of us went to dinner.  Alli and Bobby,  Jenny and David, and an old man.

The next day I got to see my granddaughter Isabella.  How lovely!!!

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

depressed

I was depressed yesterday.  Briefly.

It seems that my old truck has a mechanical problem that I was having trouble fixing.  I thought it was the alternator.  I replaced it, but that did not solve the issue.

And then on top of a vehicle issue, I was having a minor medical issue.

I was blue.  In the dumps.

Then I thought, my gosh, what is wrong with me?  What do people feel like that have real problems?  And that brought me back to my senses.  Sometimes it helps to remember that things could be worse.

Update on Scott.  He saw the wound doctor yesterday.  The Doc says that the wound looks good [still scary looking] Scott does not have to go back to the Doc for two weeks.  I am hopeful that in a month he will be able to start putting some weight on it.  We shall see.  Thanks for your prayers.

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

Vaccine

I received my second Pfizer shot last Saturday.  Lots of people warned me about side effects after the second dose.

Well, other than a sore arm where the needle went in, I have had none.  In fact, I barely felt the needle.  I have watched the news for a year about the pandemic.  My daughter and her fiancé got covid.  I know a few people that died of it.

It never touched me.  I feel very fortunate.

I encourage everyone to get the vaccine.  I am surprised at people that I know that think it is some kind of conspiracy.  Some churches are saying that it is the mark of the beast if you get the vaccine.

Silliness.

We have the opportunity to be healthy.  Let's be healthy and get this virus behind us.

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

Scott update

Many of you have asked about Scott.  He continues to convalesce at our house.  We are all getting along well because we want nothing more than to help him get better.

I told him the other day, for all the times that I tried to get you to stand up and take responsibility for your life, we are not going to have that discussion now.  Your only job is to heal.  Our job is to help you make it through this.

We are seeing the wound doctor on Thursday.  There is a process called "granulating" that happens to an open wound over time.  We will see on Thursday how he is progressing.  Lots of pain meds, and still some pain.  But he is being a trooper.

Several asked about his bills.  We have set up a go fund me account for him.  If you are interested in helping, here is the link.  I share this with no expectations.  Thanks for your friendship and interest in his recovery.

Click here for Scott's go fund me

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

Thoughts from the monastery

 In 2004 I took my first renewal leave.  I visited many places and people and considered their spirituality.  The other day I was looking through the 20 page report that I wrote about the leave.  One of the things that struck me was the thoughts from a monk that I visited with at the monastery in Ava, MO.

Here are some questions that I had for Brother Francis with his answers.

Do monks stay here forever? No, usually not. 90% of monks will leave the monastery. You must be here for 7 years before you make your vows. Almost all of those that leave, do so before their vows. After vows are made, hardly anyone ever leaves.

Do they ever go to town? No. Only the monk who serves as the purchasing agent goes to town. Others could go if they wanted to, but no one wants to. Monks crave silence and solitude, not hustle and bustle.

Is there a secular side to a monk? Monks joke when making fruitcake.   Life is funny. Look at us. Monks are funny. Some of the world’s best humor resides right here in the monastery.

They seem to crucify their passions? Yes, they work very hard at this. It takes a good deal of praying and self discipline to be a monk.

It looks like a hard way to live, but a good way to die? We enjoy our way of life, and when we get old and sick, we take care of each other. The 20 monks that are buried behind the monastery are truly at rest.

I had a good deal of thinking time at the monastery. Here are some random thoughts.

What if in life if I were better at crucifying passions?
no more fights over the last can of coke
I am not addicted
I am not attached to anything
No need for new clothes
I only focus on
Loving others
Doing Gods will
Being a part of a caring community

The results of this might be:
I never feel guilty for wasting time
I have all there resources that I need
I am truly doing good
I am doing God’s will
I understand life

Thoughts from the monastery 2004.  Still good for today.

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

Address

Several have asked about sending a get well card to Scott.  By the way, they sell Hallmark cards at the Dollar Tree for $.50.  If you ever get a card from me, I spent 50 cents...

Anyway, if you are so inclined, our address is
6463 55th Square
Vero Beach, FL 32967

Scott saw the wound doctor yesterday.  The doc was surprised at the size and seriousness of Scott's wound.  But, he said that it looked ok for 8 days into the experience.  He gave Scott some pointers on care and wants to see him next week.  So all that is good.

But he told him, this is going to be a long haul.  And so Scott and Scott's parents need to get prepped for the long haul.  Sometimes in life we want things quick and easy.  Sometimes in life we get what we want, and sometimes in life we get what we get.  I think that it is a spiritual gift to stand in a moment of trial, for the long haul.  Tribulation worketh patience.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

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

to bear another's pain

So here is an update my son.  I am withholding the graphic details.

His wound is gruesome and they were not able to close it.  In my mind it needs a skin graft, but who knows?  He is seeing a wound specialist today so hopefully we will learn something.

Worker's comp has denied his claim because he supposedly signed something at the hospital.  We will see about that.  He has run out of pain meds because doctors are not prescribing OxyContin like they used to.  

Regardless, in the morning, he has to shower and change the bandages.  This is a very painful process and my 30 year old, tough as nails son cries out in pain.  It is the most terrible thing for a parent to listen to.  I think, if only I could take the pain of my son, I surely would.

Think about that for a moment.  Wouldn't you, wouldn't any parent take the pain from their child and bear it themselves... but alas, we cannot.  Life just doesn't work that way.

But the next time you hear of some tragic thing, some thing that makes you say, where was God when that happened?  Just remember, God is there, hearing our cries, wishing he could take the pain.  Wishing he could hold us.  

Jesus said, come to me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Good Friday

Good Friday.

First of all, several of you have asked for an update on Scott.  He is home from the hospital and convalescing with us at our house.  Though he does want to get back to his apartment.

He will be out of work for 1-2 months.  Should I start a go fund me page for him?  Ha ha.

He met with the Workers Comp team.  We will see how that goes.

You never want your kinds to be sick or injured.  Our first priority is his health.  Making sure that his wound stays on track.

Back to Good Friday.

The birth, life, teachings of Jesus and his death are evidence of one thing.  God loves us.

The Christian faith was never intended to be centered around sin.  It was to be, from creation, about love.  There is no greater teacher about love than Jesus.  His death is a sign of how much he loves you and me.  He laid down his life for us, we can lay down our life for others.  And when we do that, we come to understand why we are here.

That is why we call it good.  Good Friday.

Love is on total display.  I can learn to love in a radical way.

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